Making my own canvas and abstract art.

Inferno

Lost at Sea

Found a nice round bolt of white thick fabric at a thrift store.  Love when I get a deal on things I need.  I bought 2 x 3 x 6 furring strips and made a simple framework.  I then used a stapler to stretch the fabric and staple it to the frame.  I put a coat of gesso on let it dry then began my paintings.  The beauty of making your own canvas is that you can make larger frames at an affordable price.   I have to admit that they are not stretched as tight as the store bought frames and hopefully with practice and time I can learn to make them tighter.   As an artist it is important to keep track of trends and what sells.  There is some debate on whether or not you should do this and personally I like creating what I like regardless of whether or not anyone else likes it.  But..... while that is what I like to do, I have to sell art to fund my creative passions.  I read somewhere that people like red and art with red tends to sell more than some other colors.   I took a close look at what I generally create, the predominate colors are blues and greens.  I know that stems from my love of the sea.   I have had a lot of fun creating some of the abstract works and decided to try reds, oranges, yellows in the work titled "Inferno".  The finished product reminded me of a lava flow and the name just popped into my head.   To give my eyes a rest, the next painting I used my familiar blues and greens and the finished result looked like turbulent seas, thus the title: "Lost at Sea".     Both of these works are larger than I usually paint and measure: 18 x 31.  They are currently hanging at: Across the Tracks, artist market in Livingston, TX 

Books: Collected Art Works of Tamyra Crossley

Daughters of Eve

The Sea Beckons

Wine and Travel

Compiled three different Art softcover books.  12x12 about 20 pages each.

The Sea Beckons; a collection of original art works that have a seafaring theme.
 Daughters of Eve; a celebration of women.
 Wine and Travel; a collection of wine and travel themed art work.

Travel Photography Books by Tamyra Crossley

Greece

Lakeside 

Seaside

Romania

Have just created four new travel photo books (12x12 softcover 20-26 pages each) of my original photographs while experiencing new places.  I have been blessed in being able to have seen some unique places around the world and am thrilled to share these with others who love to travel and have a desire to see the world.  They are available through my etsy site: viewfinderphoto.

S is for Sailing

S is for Sailing

S is for Sailing Word Art 

  I am always trying to think of new creative ways to sell my artwork.  Sometimes I will make a small painting into Jewelry, at others create digital downloads with word art for scrap booking or mixed media work.  I decided to add a story to the Alphabet letter S that I completed.  It reads:  He went off to sail the high seas in his little sail boat.  He had no idea how long the voyage might take, how rough the seas could become or where he might land his vessel but the lure of the sea called, beckoned to him like a long lost love.  The salt air felt good against his weathered skin as he loaded supplies to last the long voyage.  A compass,  maps, telescope, star charts, rope, fishing reel, tackle, water, food, matches, cooking utensils  blankets, rain coat, clothing, a few books, boat shoes, knife,  flair, repair kit and his pipe were the things he considered essential.  He knew once he set out it could be a                       very long time before he was able to restock supplies.  He had planned this trip for many years, writing and re-writing his list of supplies, mapping out routes to take and preparing his boat.  The day had finally arrived…..

I hope to create one painting for each letter and think they would be really fun in a nursery.