Large Canvas In Progress

When I was married, my ex never wanted me to hang anything on the walls - ANYTHING. Now for most people that is a WTF ... but for an artist - it's agony.LOL Let's just say I went with the "pick your battles" scenario for a long time ... and now ... I find myself hating the site of white walls.

Since I rent, I can't paint them ... so FINALLY I will cover them - with my own art. I have painted boxes and chairs ... ATCs and mini canvas ... and finally I feel as if I'm ready to tackle large canvases again.

This one, which is in progress now, is going to hang in my bedroom.It will be interesting to see how she comes out ... I'm just painting with the flow on this one.

Good Things Ahead

Hello Everyone!

I am loving the time off I've taken for Christmas ... just relaxing with my son ... and doing absolutely NOTHING. For the past 3.5 months I'd been burning the candle at both ends, painting for my local Small Business Expo's ... and how tiring it was!

As much as I gained from the experiences, it left me so drained!!! The last Expo was Dec 15th ... and I was happy to finally REST and concentrate on the holidays.

Now that Christmas is in it's last hours .. I've already started thinking about what to paint next - large canvases! The past couple of weeks I've painted some 6x6 and 8x8 canvas, but I'm itching to paint a larger piece...so I'm breaking out my large canvases and I'm excited to see what comes of it.

Below are some pieces that I've done over the past couple of weeks ... all in this blog are listed on my Etsy site (just click the button here on the blog).

Violet by K.Thomas 8x8 Canvas Board



I Love Me by K.Thomas 6x6 Canvas

Have A Wonderful Christmas Season!

I want to wish all my followers and fellow bloggers a wonderful Christmas! I can't believe how quickly the year has flown by....Christmas is 24 days away! From my house to yours, I wish you the best of seasons- Merry Christmas...and I will be back in full swing for 2012!!!

There For By The Grace of God this Thanksgiving ....

Hello There!

I've been a bad blogger ... I've been taking care of many things in my life ... I had a good first show at the SBA Expo last month ... and I'm preparing for a Christmas Expo on December 15th .. lots of good things ... then real life began creeping in ...

It's like a series of minor incidents with my son had been building up to this point. I had a scare with him with a football injury...he had cat-scans checking for head damage. His migraines had also flared up ... and my worry quotient had already been high ... many things I had been doing were falling by the wayside because it seemed my son began having all these health issues.

... but one single event brought everything home for me last Saturday.

My thirteen year old was with my ex, and because of inattention on the part of my ex- they were involved in an accident totaling my ex's car .... and only by the grace of God, my ex and my son walked away without a scratch.

"Mom, I've been in an accident"

I still get chills remembering the sound of my son;s voice. He is calm like me, going cold under pressure ... but I just needed to see his face ... hug him close .. it was the longest 15 minute drive of my life.

When people say a certain event puts everything else into perspective - believe it. This did, the painting, the shows, the design teams, the swaps ... all fall by the wayside.

The car was indeed totaled, and the police told me had the truck - yes TRUCK - been going any faster, they would both be dead. Here it was the week before Thanksgiving, and God saw fit to leave my only child on this earth ... he and his father were alive.

THAT is what I am thankful for, what I am grateful for ... why I feel blessed. I have my son.

Its Beginning to Look Like Christmas!

The rush is on ... At least for those of us that sell during the holiday season. With the Women's Entrepreneur EXPO. 3 weeks away, I have been in paint mode. This conference is also giving me a jump on building my stock up.

I'll be scarce until after the conference ... and I promise to post tons of pics! Hope you all are well and busy crafting!

Kay Tee's Christmas On The Brain

It's too early for Christmas in the stores - I mean we haven't even gotten to Halloween or Thanksgiving yet ... but for artists like me who love to paint for Christmas all year round .... it's never too early.

At the end of the month I'll be participating at a Small Business for Women conference, so I've been painting up small items to sell. Many things will be on display, but I will have things 10-20.00 that people can purchase if they want.

Ornaments are quick to paint and can still be offered at an affordable price. My ornaments will be all free hand - no one piece will look the same ... so the customers will truly be getting a one of a kind ornament this year.

Getting Ready For Christmas!!

Hello Fellow Bloggers!

It's been a long while since I posted any updates, as I have been busy painting all new designs to update my 2 websites in time for the Christmas season. As anyone who paints to sell knows, we paint ahead of the seasons ... so summer is for Fall and Christmas painting and the winter is for Summer and Spring painting.

So as you can imagine ... summertime is busy for me ... but as soon as my sites are updated with all the new content - I'll be back and posting more progress on my painted chairs.

Painted Chair ... Still Plugging Along

Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekends. It's raining here inmy part of the world, so I've been plugging away at my chairs. I managed to get the face completed .. I'm leaving the wings for now.

Decided to start sketching out the spindles. I use a chalk pencil and then when I decide on the design, I'll take a liner brush and sketch the outline.

Painting Chairs_Taking Shape

Hello everyone!!! I've been ripping and running recently, and haven't had a lot of time to post. I had to finish up a couple of swaps, send off design team articles ... and finally got a chance to work some more on my chairs ... they're coming along nicely.

I started with placing the faces ...



Then took a liner brush and sketched the shapes and started blocking in color ....



Looking at the black chair, I "saw wings" ...



Last thing I did tonight was to begin adding texture and tones for my undercoat ....



...I think they are taking shape nicely ...

Painted Box_I Finished Her

After stressing a couple of days with her hair ... I bit the bullet and just added a short wavy bob, using a wisp brush and watery acrylic paint. I didn't want her hair to become a focal point, taking away from her face ... so I kept it as simple as I could.

June_July SOC E:SPIRE Is Available at Your FIngertips!

The Scraps of Color E:SPIRE EZINE is available and ready for download. Its a wonderful issue full of ideas, projects, product reviews and more! ... and on Page 31, I try to entice you to add a little paint to those pages!!!

Best of all?? IT IS FREE!!

So, take a look and tell me how you like the latest issue!

Remember The Fallen

As you go about your preparations today for the last day of Memorial Day Weekend ... take a minute to remember what this day is really about. Our fallen men and women of our military, who gave the ultimate scrifice - and continue to do so - for the freedoms we enjoy today.

Memorial Day Weekend Painting

I'm getting a lot done so far. This is the box I worked on today ... still in progress. I had made a video showing my progression, but I had the radio playing in the background and YouTube flagged it!!ROFL ... so I deleted the videos.

This is the point I always seem to get stuck at ... adding the hair. I feel as if I almost ruin the piece trying to put hair on, ROFL.

Spring Has Arrived Painted Box

Happy Memorial Day Weekend!! I have decided to have a painting marathon this weekend, and avoid the busy roads. Yesterday, I finally finished my painted box, and thought I'd share.

Working On Painted Box This Weekend

Hello Fellow Creative Minds!

I hope you all have been blessed with better weather than have. It's been raining buckets here in Virginia .. only a couple of sun filled days - but not enough. I have been working more on my painted box ... starting to add more details.




I also was not happy with the sky, so decided to do a little dry brushing to add more texture and colors. This is going to be one of those projects that I won't know when to stop....since I'm just adding as I go along - not using a pattern.

Getting Ready For Fall Craft Shows

... and thought I'd paint up something to hold my business cards. I have been going through my wood stash lately - and have so many nice pieces ... waiting ... waiting ... for what?LOL



So, I decided to paint this to hold my business cards. My sister and I will be doing some craft shows in Jersey and Pennsylvania this coming fall... so I figure I need to get started.

Painted Box - Work In Progress Continued

Hello Bloggers!

I pretty much finished the box for my son - while I'm still thinking it needs something else in the background, he likes it AS-IS ... so it may not remain too much longer on my paint table!LOL It wasn't until I reached this point that I realized I have him pointing the gun at his head!! ... but my son thinks I'm taking this too literal. he loves it.

I'm trying to think of some more elements, but the box isn't that big, and I don't want to overwhelm it .. yet I wonder if I can add anything.

Painted Box_Work In Progess

I started going through painting surfaces in my stash, and came up with a couple of boxes that I'd been wanting to paint for a while now. One of the boxes had clawed feet - and I promised my son I'd paint that one specially for him.

He is really into paintball right now, so I decided to paint him, in full paintball mode.

So far, so good ... I think I should be able to finish this by this evening. He already wants it, and has picked out a place in his room!!

A Rose For Mother's Day

Happy April!!!

The newest edition of the Scraps of Color Espire is now out - and I have a wonderful painted rose journal I'd love you guys to try!

Click HERE and click on the pic for your free download....and check out my project on page 50.

New Projects On The Table This Week

Happy Monday Fellow Bloggers!!

It's says Spring on my calendar ... but it sure feels like winter!! This weekend I started 2 pieces ... and so far, it seems I am working them both at the same time.

I thought I'd post my progress ... maybe give you a peek inside my artful chaos as I try and develop these pieces.



They will both be original designs. Hopefully you will stay with me as I work on these ... and as always, critiques are welcome.




I've only base coated them so far ... and as you can see, the background of both pieces are landscapes.

Melancholy March

This week was the week from hell for me ... by Friday I felt battered and bruised, mentally. Today - things didn't go as I wanted either ... so I sought refuge at my painting table. I guess all my feelings show on the canvas - but it's how I've been feeling.

Black Angel Keepsake Boxes

I love painting these little wooden boxes that I bought last year from my local tole shop, The Apple Tree. They have a wonderful woodcutter, who does the most fabulous work. I decided to do a set this time, on these boxes .... and I think they turned out so cute! The hardest thing was putting them up on Etsy!!LOL

Rainy Days Are Perfect For Painting

Its been raining all day here in Northern Virginia, so I have been inside painting angels! I hope its sunny in your parts of the world - and if it isn't, I hope you took advantage of being inside by being creative!

Using Your Art To Package Your Art

Hello fellow bloggers! I can't believe its MARCH!!!! I just finished my first pins and I wanted to share with you the cards that I attached to my pin sets.

I cut out my tags from plain old manila folders, and stamped them with a hand carved stamp that I created last summer. Stamp carving is addicting!!!...but more importantly to me - it's a unique design that I created (don't have to worry about those angel policies!)

I added color to my tags using Anna Griffin inks.

February ... Celebrate Love ... and History

February is the month of Love & the celebration of Black History. For me, neither is ever confined to just one month. I celebrate love everyday - and tell those who I love, I Love you, every day. I celebrate my history, every day, making sure to speak with my son each day about 1 little known fact regarding our history.

Whether you are African American or not - embrace your history and share it with those that you love.

I'm Published!!!

Come celebrate the PREMIERE ISSUE of Scraps of Color Y'all!!! Women of color scrappin' and sharing their love of history through creativity!! You won't see anything like this on the newstands!!!!! .... and please check out my Painted Tags on page 46!!! I loved painting these and look forward to sharing my love of history and art with you via this venue.

Scraps Of Color E:SPIRE

Painters Block BreakThrough

Hi Bloggers!

I hope everyone has been having a creative New Year so far. While anticipating snow that never came, I decided to try and finish this piece that I'd titled Painters Block. I started it in Oct .. but put it aside when I'd reached an impasse.

I decided to paint the final face on the corner, I felt that it would somehow add dimension ... and while I'm not so sure I'm finished with the piece, I feel as if I'm close.

I'm going back and forth right now as to whether to leave her bald, or add hair using the same technique as I did with the corkboard project.

So while the smidgen of snow we got last night has already melted, I at least accomplished a little something!LOL

Bringing In The New Year Creatively

I decided to stick to my pre-new year promise to myself, and be as creative as I could. I needed something REALLY big that I could sink my teeth into ... and I spotted a spare cork board that I'd brought home from work before the holidays. This is what I worked on all day yesterday and into the New Year early this morning. I made it for work ... the mini white board is actually an extra ceramic tile. The days of the week are Scribbles glitter words.