A Special Kind of Longing...

I spent the last few days making art, and oh-how-great it felt!  This time I used only paint, working on three canvases simultaneously.  No mixed media in sight, even though I love that style of art.  I painted and doodled and the face showed so much longing that the title became "A Special Kind of Longing" whatever that means in the scheme of things.  I was happy with the wild colors as usual.  This canvas measures 10x10" and has 1.5" sides.  The other two canvases are not finished.

I have created some pieces that never made the blog, so here are some pictures of those:

Some urban birds on a mixed media canvas titled FLY, 12x12"

Old furniture painted with turquoise chalk paint...

A chime without bells.  I made it from recycled lamp parts and LOADS of beads and crystals.  A friend received it for Christmas.

Matchbox mixed media for a swap on the Mixed Media Facebook group.  It went to Canada and I got this lovely altered Altoids tin from artist Lisa Scott in TX:

Isn't that gorgeous??  I love it!  

Besides art, I have been doing some writing.  I started the second book in the Trials of Hallion series: Crystal World.  One thing is for sure; when you multi-task you never get bored. :)

Happy creating in whatever media you love! 

Check out my new book!

Maybe it's detrimental to success in any line of work that I do, because of the lack of focus, but I am a jack of all trades. I bore easily, so when I get bored, I do something else.  My inspiration for art has been low for a year or two now, so I decided to finish an old project that was part of  my "previous" life as a writer.  Once a writer, you can never quit being a writer.  It just goes in cycles.  Anyway, here is my latest epic, and it is an epic!  Trials of Hallion, Two of Swords, book One is the first in a trilogy.  The idea for this story came to me in 1995, and it has gradually evolved into a long story.  It took me years to finish since I was a world class procrastinator!  But, I had a lot of fun with it, and also the very tedious work of getting the manuscript into shape for publication.  I probably had to read and revise the manuscript fifteen times!   When it comes to writing, you have to be a perfectionist to get the respect of your readers.  I decided to make it into an ebook since that is the future of publishing.  About the cover:  I found a big tree in my back yard, a live oak, and borrowed a sword from a friend who has everything.  My friend/artist Photoshop wizard, Karen Heidler, helped me with the design, and this is the end product:

Description

Through a dimensional rift, stuck inside a tarot card spread, and trying to solve the mystery why her aunt stole something that could spell the end of an entire continent, modern New Yorker Kate McKnight has to face the fact that she has landed in a different world. Totally unprepared, she is plunged into a war where evil is moving toward resounding victory. As she is forced to develop skills she never knew she had, she struggles to reconcile what is real in her life and what is a dream, all her beliefs put to the test.

Jamie Kirkland attempts to right the wrongs of his father who perpetrated the rift, only to be told he is facing a useless death. Even if his efforts will not make a difference to saving Hallion, he has to support Kate in her struggle to discover the clues of their mission, a race against time that will take them to the heart of evil. They have to recover the six items that will give them the power to restore Hallion, but they have to face all of their own inner weaknesses to succeed, and a dark force that permeates everything.

Kindle edition:  click here

Smashwords edition.  Smashwords distributes to most other ebook outlets:  click here

Busy week...

I had a very busy creative week and it feels great!  Didn't make anything very different from what I usually make in crafts, but it feels good to be productive. These items can be purchased at Serenity Now in Palm Harbor.  I took just one picture of the lot.

Have a creative week, folks!  

Spirit Box

I think it's a "crime" to throw out tin boxes.  Well, you can recycle them today, but I have saved some Altoids boxes that I didn't know what to do with until I saw this article in the September/October issue of Cloth Paper Scissors on making spirit boxes using old tins.  The article is by Lyn Belisle and you can order the ceramic faces in her etsy shop.  Being a polymer clay "fiend" I made my own faces out of polymer clay and a mold, then painted them.  Here is my first attempt at a spirit box and it was so much fun.

The front which is embellished with various paper scraps, beads, fabric trim, copper wire, twig, and the painted polymer clay face.

I left the Altoids tin plain inside except for a sticker that says gratitude.

The back of the tin I collaged with paper and the white is gesso.  I painted the edges with acrylic paint and varnished them.

The back of the piece with the tin attached.   

The glue has to be tough so that the box can be opened without tearing off the art work.  E6000 jewelry glue is great. 

So, if you have a secret wish or prayer, write it down and put in the box and hang it on the wall!  The spirit will guard it and no one will know.  :)

I also got busy making more polymer clay mosaic tiles for my picture frames and boxes.  I took a long hiatus from that since it's pretty repetitive.  Here's a picture of some partially painted tiles.  It takes three coats and I usually use some Perfect Pearls metallics to swipe on at the end.  They give that magical shimmer to the paint, and add depth.  Hopefully I'll have some pictures for finished pieces soon.

Have a creative day and thanks for stopping by!  

Hearts....

It's been a long time since I last posted in this blog.  I miss it, just as I've missed my inspiration for art for a while now.  Anyway, got some art journaling done, and that felt really good.  I also finished this mixed media piece that has more layers than a double-decker cake!  In the end, the art work turned out very simple....  It felt like I went around the block five times to get there.

Inspiration, hope, faith, joy, truth, happiness all come from the heart...

I went on a recent trip to Sweden where flowers were in full bloom... here are some pictures.  

Uppsala cathedral built in the 14th-15th century

Uppsala castle from the 16th century 

Supreme baked goods and tea/coffee... yum

Rune stone

Birds and poppies....

Seems that I've been into birds and poppies lately.  They say you create your own symbols as you go along on the artistic path and birds are definitely one of my symbols.  They can mean many things but mainly I think of freedom and lightness when I see them flying.  You don't see many white birds in the wild, but I like to paint at least one white bird in the crowd.  Looking at the wonders of birds in general, it's easy to see the superiority of Mother Nature's creation.  A painting is only a small echo of the natural "glory," but at least I hope the delight for the subject shines through.

Poppies are deliciously elegant, and the long stems seem unable to hold up those glorious red heads, yet they are perfect in every way.  An abstract rendition is very easy to paint.  Most people will immediately see the resemblance but I did have someone ask if those were lips...  All in the eye of the beholder, right?

My art journaling has been addictive for quite a while, but I have to keep stocking up my etsy shop.  I'm planning to add more paintings soon.  This piece is available now in my shop, here.

                            6" panels with 1.5" deep edges, painted black.

A little of this, a little of that....

I've been doing a lot of art journaling in the last couple of months.  The style is all over the place, but as I try new techniques, I get inspiration for paintings.  Here are a few pictures:

The one above has a fold-out page, which adds more space for the subject

This spread inspired the acrylic painting below: "Golden Bird."