Quick and Easy Santa

Painting For Christmas

Christmas is my favorite time of the year ... and I could paint for this holiday all year round. On my painting table this week is my tin angel. It's a surface that I have had for a long time - a very nice size - about 16 inches. It comes primed - so all I had to do was start painting. Light pencil sketch:

First base coat:

Adding shading:

Time to change my palette!! (just plain ol' freezer paper)

Adding the hair:

GIVE AWAY TIME!

I am the feature of the October Monthly Artist Interview...on the Merry Whatever blog! Drop by and sign up to win my Giveaway prize ... and then stop by Wymzee Art Friends Blog and read my story.

Updating Those Canvas Bags

If you're like me, over the years you've collected little tote bags...some have logos - some are plain .. but they all seem to pop up here and there.

Now, I'm not one to recycle (SSSHHHH!!!) but while cleaning up my basement, I kept moving a pile of canvas bags from one chair to another ... and I just decided I'd join the wave of bag toting ditching the plastic grocery tote folks.

I normally start with a pencil sketch ... I'e used transfer pencils, charcoal pencils and reg ol' number 2 pencils.

Now I know there are tons of fabric paints out there on the market ... but I ditched those long ago in favor of plain acrylic paint. These bags will be used to tote groceries to and from ... and will most likely rarely see the washing machine. The first layers, I'll scrub in to my fabric with water and glazing medium. I've found glazing medium to work wonderfully in sealing the paint into the fabric, while keeping the painted surface pliable.

Shading on fabric, at least for me, is just as easy as on paper. This is where I left off with my tote last night ... I'll post the finished bag soon!

Here is a pic of another canvas messenger bag that I painted last weekend .. . I love painting on fabric - and painting on canvas is actually my favorite.

For Sherise ... Painting Faces

This is for Sherise who commented on my double canvas post regarding painting with acrylics and darker skintones. I haven't done a video in a while - I need to get back to them - but here is a video I have on my youtube channel where I'm painting a face :

Double Canvas in Progress

Can you believe we are beginning the sixth month of the year!!!! I know I need to kick some things up a notch - the year is 1/2 way complete!! ...so not one to let time go a-wasting ... I'm working on my double canvas today - and so far so good.

Have a great weekend everyone~

Custom Order Completed!

A few months back I received an email from a fellow small business owner - she loved my painted journals and wanted to know if I could paint her logo on a journal for her. In exchange, she would send me some of her products - the equivalent value. I LOVE to barter, so I said yes. I posted my step by steps here ... but refrained from posting the finished jurnal - as I wanted Adachi to be the first person to see it. She received the journal today - and happy to say - she loved it!

Today, I received my products from her ... and they are YUMMY~!!

You can see more of her products on her site, ANKH HOLISTIC HEALERS Developing relationships with fellow business owners is very rewarding and it's a wonderful way to share not only your services and/or products - but your knowledge, craft and ideas.

Keeping The Creative Fires Burning

I started something new ... this time I am painting on 2 5x7 canvas boards. I have an inkling of what I want the finished canvas' to look like ... but I am learning to just let it flow. Basecoating with Jo Sonja and a little glazing medium:

Doing a quick sketch with my charcoal pencil:

Melancholy ....

Her name is Melancholy ... and she is currently on my painting table. I promised myself this year that I would be truer to my art ... dig deeper ... be freer ... not there yet .. but getting there. It's all in her eyes, isn't it? :)

Something Fun Update

Around Mother's Day I posted my initial progress with an old surface I had laying around HERE. UPDATE:  I think I am closed to finished with this piece ... I messed up the front near the hydrangea and covered it up with all the colors that were on my palette ... and here is how I left off...

Here is the inside ...

Many are telling me they wouldn't want to cover up the design with paper plates ... I'm thinking it would be nice to hang on a wall and use the racks to drape something?...I dunno... what do you think?

Custom Journal - Work In Progress

This latest custom order is for a fellow crafter ... she wanted her logo on a journal. So far, so good. Step One: I sketched the logo onto the journal face, using my fav yellow marking pencil.

STEP Two: I started basecoating the headdress, ankh symbol and her face...very loosely...also adding initial shading.

Step Three: I am now adding more colors to the under tones for the flesh ...

So far ... so good...the sixe of the journal is 5x8. The paint I am using is by Jo Sonja

Something Fun In Progress

Good Afternoon .. I hope everyone is enjoying the weekend. I have several surfaces in my stash that I bought so many moons ago ... and I'm starting to dig through it all - just looking for something fun to paint. This surface is a paper plate holder .. so with the coming of summer ... I am painting it up. I have no clue as to how it will turn out - but that's half the fun!! Enjoy the weekend...and have a Happy Mother's Day tomorrow.

Good Morning!!!

Good Morning Everyone! It's Wednesday ... and that means it is all downhill to the weekend! There are a lot of fun things going on this week - want to make sure you guys check it out. On the New Handmade Collective, there is a wonderful sweepstakes going on - lots of goodies to be had!!

So make sure you CLICK HERE and enter to win. Also, over on the Merry Whatever blog, tons of talented artists are offering up wonderful pieces of art ... with Mother's Day approaching, you'd be giving a very unique and beautiful gift! And last but not least, a new group I came across- Etsy Artists of Color who also offer a fabulous selection of goodies on ETSY. So ... wake up!!...get a cup of coffee...and search for something beautiful...and along the way meet a wonderful bunch of artists. Have a Good Day.

Tea Time Caddy .... Getting To The Nitty Gritty

This is always the part that is the hardest for me. Do I leave her faceless - or do I add details ... I will have to hit the sketch book to play with expressions ... the devil is in the details .. at least that is what they say.

BABYCAKES MERRY WHATEVER BLOG GRAND OPENING!!!

**TODAY** is the GRAND OPENING FOR BABYCAKES MERRY WHATEVER BLOG!!! Support local and small artisans of color, beginning TODAY!...Monthly features of wonderful designs and artistry will be featured on a monthly basis. You will be able to view and purchase unique hand crafted designs all throughout the year for that special occasion and someone in your life. You also get to meet the designers and support their local handmade efforts in their communities. Stop by daily - you never know what jewel you will find there!

Tea Time Tea Caddy .. Making Progress

Tea Time In Progress ... it's coming along ... I'm trying not to rush it. Roses aren't my best or fav thing to paint .. but I'm not done yet - so I'll see what happens. I'm just "winging it".

Tea Time .... In Progress

Good Morning! I have started a new piece .... it's amazing what you can find when you clean your stash room!!LOL This surface is a wooden tea packet holder - and I've just begun a loose freehand sketch with acrylic paint and a round brush. I hope to paint all the tea packet holders I was able to find - they are a really nice size and weight - so stay tuned!!

Hand-painted Wooden Surfaces for Spring

Just a peek at the outside of the surfaces that I did this weekend - which are done....still working on minor details for both pieces.

Both will be listed in my ETSY store as well as included on the Babycakes Merry Whatever blog beginning April 1st. It will be hard not to keep these - I love them both so much ... I love to paint and when it all comes together like this - it's wonderful. I hope they find happy homes.

Getting Ready For A New Team

I'm so excited I've been invited to join a team of fellow artists on the Babycakes Merry Whatever blog. I have been busy working on some new pieces, which will be featured beginning April 1st. Each month will be something new and different from all 10 artists ... so stay tuned!

To give you an idea of the types of things I'll be offering ... here's a sneak peek at one of my pieces - it's still in progress - but I'm already attached to it! It will be hard to put it up on Etsy for sale! :)

Don't Toss It...Recycle It!

Sometimes I look around at my box of bottles and wonder why I can't throw them away ... then I get inspired to paint...and realize why. I love painting on glass, and I love painting on bottles especially.

These two bottles are actually water bottles that my sister sent to me...and because of the writing on them...I painted a white undercoat ... then basecoated in blue - and threw some roses on them.

They make nice table toppers...and are also re-usable!

Quick and Easy Bird Tutorial

Back in 2000 I was crazy about One-stroke painting, and during my OSCI certification with Donna Dewberry, she gave us some good advice. She told us no matter how good we learned to paint flowers - that we should always know how to paint the basics - Fruit and Birds ... and practice your lettering!

Fast forward to 2012 ... I haven't painted strictly One-stroke in a very long time...but Donna Dewberry's prediction has come to fruition over and over again over the past 12 years. Customers always request fruit ... some type of bird ... and personalization!

The pictorial tutorial below is a Quick and Easy method for painting a cardinal. Luckily for me my customer did not want a realistic bird...they wanted a whimsical floral design with a cardinal...and they wanted the mailbox cover to be personalized.

I Think I'm Done ... 24x48 Canvas

I rarely paint for myself - and one of the things I said I would do this year was to paint just for me. This canvas will be hanging in my bedroom - I wanted it to be "soothing" ... something that would make me smile everyday. :)

I think I'm finished ... I added flowers - but wanted to keep it simple ... I may or may not add more leaves ... but at this point - except for painting the edge of the canvas - I think I'm done.

Canvas in Progress

I finally got a chance to get back to my canvas after being sidelined with a sciatic nerve in my back. I'm still getting used to working with such a large canvas - but I love the look ... and can't wait for it to be finished so I can hang it in my bedroom.