Blue Elephant

Blue Elephant

The third in what I hope will be a series of zoo animal prints for kids.  Fun.

Pleasant Hill Winery

Pleasant Hill Winery 

Decided to try some new colors on this wine themed piece.  This winery is another in Texas and featured at the Autumn Art and Wine Festival in Spring, Texas this year.  It is located in Brenham, Texas.

Lady of the Forest

Eyes of the Forest

Love the deep color and mystery of this piece.  It was done in watercolor and was happy with the intensity of the color.

Sheer Blue

Sheer Blue

Was after a sheer feel to a fabric and loved the effect of being able to somewhat see through the material.  This was done with watercolor and ink and I had to be careful not to overdo the watercolor washes at the bottom of the skirt.  Liked the light feel to this piece.

Circus Parade

Circus Elephant

Flamingo Circus

Circus Parade

Flamingo Circus Mixed Media

Flamingo Circus Postcard

Baby Shower Invitation

Just completed the second in what I hope to be a series or circus parade prints.  Each print has an element that shows up in the next print making it ideal to hang together as a set.  I only have two completed at this point and the next will have the elephant's trunk incorporated into it.   I have also include additional works I have created from my original watercolor of Flamingo Circus (a mixed media work a postcard and party invitations) to illustrate that once you complete a work it is not necessarily done!

Raven Postcard

The Raven

Took my original watercolor "the raven", added some scrapbook paper, stamps and I now have a new mixed media postcard.

The Raven Postcard

Postcard Art

Dreamed of in a Girl

Always looking for new ways to market existing pieces of art and decided to create some new pieces from both full works of art and parts of an existing piece.  I took my original work "Dreamed of in a girl" and added some scrapbook paper to the bottom to create a different postcard.

Dreamed of in a girl postcard

Then decided.....what if I cut into two pieces, one to highlight the eyes....

Blue Eyes

One to highlight the red lips...

Dreamed of in a girl

What I ended up with is four potential postcards, each a bit different and unique.

ATC Cards

Daisy Girl

Fairy Girl

Love the history of the Artist Trading Cards and have traded a few with my sister.  I was invited to a gathering the other night of fellow artists and we were asked to bring along two cards (one to give away and one to keep).  Since I was busy looking through the book Fairy-ality, a wonderful collection of fashions created by using God's beautiful bounty, I decided to use this as my inspiration.  What I love about these are they are quick, fun and don't require a huge commitment.  It is also the perfect place to try your hand at something new. I traded mine and received a beautiful one in return entitled "Dream".  I had a wonderful evening and came away inspired.

Swan Lake

Swan Lake

Love Art Nouveau and have recently found a few other artists that had a similar style.  This piece is my nod to Louis Rhead.  It was fun to do, mostly pen and ink and then fill in with marker.  I do have a small bit of watercolor on the swan itself.   Every time I see a swan I think of my sister, don't really know why, but have since I was a girl.  So here's to you Rhema!

Bird Flight

Bird Flight

Inspired by the warm spring weather here in Texas and all the birds busy at work on their nests. A new mixed media work using printed scrapbook paper, stamps, pen, ink and colored pencil.  Fun to do and did not take too much time. The point is, there are no rules in this type of work and you can add as you go.

Peacock Lady

Peacock Lady Word Art

Always looking for new ways to market my art. Took my original Peacock Lady Pen and Ink, scanned it and created some digital word art.  It is a fun way to add a little something to an existing piece.  I thought this would be good for a mixed media piece or for scrap booking.

The American Chicken and the French Chicken

The American Chicken

My husband Brian has always loved chicken paintings.  He really is not sure why but thinks they are great.  This is surprizing if you know Brian, who almost always wears blue jeans and black t-shirts with work boots.  His favorite color is gray and I never see him wear anything that is not black, brown or gray.  So when he told me he liked chicken paintings I was a bit shocked, all those bright colors just didn't seem to fit.  He did not grow up on a farm, was not around chickens as far as I know so who knows.  It just goes to show that there is a bit of flashy color that appeals to us all.

The French Chicken

Both originals are available on my Studio Quest Etsy Site.

Peacock Lady

Peacock Lady

Loved working with Pen and Ink and decided to use two of my favorite colors; blue and green.  Again, I find myself putting blue (and green) hair on my lady.  I started with a pencil sketch and went over the main design with ink.  Much of the background work was freehand.  While this can be tedious it is relaxing and fun to do.  The original is available on my Studio Quest Etsy Site.

Angel's Voices

Angels Voices

Found these wonderful song sheets in a cute little shop.  Thought they would be great for my mixed media projects.  I had intended to use bits and pieces but loved the title of this particular song and decided to draw directly on the music.  Again, I found myself drawn to blues and greens and the celebration of women.  I used watercolor, pen and ink, paper ephemera and colored pencils.  The sheet measures 9 1/2 x 12" and the original is available on my Studio Quest Etsy site.

Mermaid Dreams

Mermaid Dreams

Blues and Greens.....I seem to be drawn to these colors.  Perhaps it is my love for the sea and all things near the ocean.  I see these colors pop up time and again in my work and love them together.  My latest collage is made with vintage photo ephemera, acrylic paint, stamps, paper, ink and watercolors.  It is adhered to a stiff canvas board.  The quote reads:  she lived in the deep under the sea where the seahorses swim and the seaweed flows...... Makes me think of my times snorkling in the deep.

The Raven

The Raven

Decided to try my hand at a watercolor with elements of ink.  The Raven started out with an inspirational image in Artists' Cafe Magazine by Stampington and Co. Vol 5.  After sketching the initial Raven I then began to play with color and add elements of my own.  I like the final result and think it would look great with a black mat and frame.  If you have not had the chance to look at all the Stampington Magazines pick up a copy and take a look.  They can be found at Michaels or ordered on-line.  My favorites are: Artists' Cafe, Artful Blogging, Where Women Create and Somerset Life.  They are a constant source of inspiration.

Bird, Egg, Nest, Feather

Bird, Egg, Nest, Feather 

As promised, I finished my 1x1 mini watercolor collage and had so much fun I am sure I will do this again.  The nice thing about creating such small pieces is that you don't have to commit to hours on a piece.  A bit here and a bit there and before you know it you have enough to put it together like a quilt.  My grandmother would be proud, as she made many handmade quilts out of the smallest bits of fabric, wanting nothing to go to waste.   Birds seem to be the theme this week and I have already been working on the next bird watercolor.  Try your hand at these little works, they really free you up to just play. 

I dreamed of a girl.....

I dreamed of a girl

It is quiet this morning so I started to sketch.  Pretty soon the watercolors came out, then the ink and next thing I know paper scraps, stamps and glue.  As I added a bit of this, then a bit of that the woman became a bit clearer in my minds eye.  It isn't everyday I paint a woman with blue hair but I think it works.  I looked through my word cut outs and found "I dreamed of a girl", perfect!  Overall, I am happy with the result.  Hope you like it too.

Slowing the Days Down after Christmas

Peep

The month before Christmas seems to be a blurry of activity.  There is shopping to do, a tree to cut down, decorating the house and tree, mailing gifts, making all the special holiday foods and treats, and for those of you  out there that are just like me, making a gift or ten!  I always seem to bite off more than I can chew but the ideas just float around in my head waiting to be created!  I tried to slow down a bit this year and did pretty well, if I do say so myself (thank you very much).  Fortunately, my children are not demanding and do not expect extravagant gifts (which makes the crazy shopping trips fairly easy).  They will act like they are that interested in creating an art project but when I start pulling out the supplies they get into it a bit and start creating themselves.  My youngest, Blythe decided to make a cute little stuffed chick for her sister Lassyn's baby which is due this next year.  Once she completed one she decided to make another one to put on her own etsy site www.etsy.com/people/dacoma    He is a bit cockeyed and seems to have a character of his own.  His name is "peep".  I was really proud of her, she hand stitched the whole thing and I only had to help untangle twice.  We have already made another trip to Wal-mart to pick out new fabrics for her next creations.  In the meantime, I have decided that I need a new scarf and found this beautiful Martha Stewart yarn at Michaels Craft Store in Igloo (a very soft sea foam green-blue).  Sitting by the fire, crocheting is my idea of slowing down.  I don't think I could totally sit still if my life depended on it so this is as close to it as I get.   

Mermaid Felt Purse Project

Mermaid Purse Felt Project

Once again, I find myself drawn to the colors of the sea.  I have never really worked with felt before but it looked like fun so thought I would give it a go.  I found the change purse at Michael's Craft Store and they had all these packets of felt pieces you could buy in every color under the rainbow.  I decided that they reminded me of ocean waves, seaweed and mermaids.  I simply laid the pieces on the felt and used thread to hold it in place.  My stitching is a bit on the rough side but then again, this one is for me so that's ok.   Was a relaxing little project and makes me smile.