Matboard tile frenzy

with the holiday season quickly approaching, i have several holiday art open houses this week. the first one is in Worthington, MN at the Dayton House. i will be there sharing a table with my best friend who is a stained glass and jewelry artist. then, friday and saturday are the local holiday tour here in town and i will be working down at HGS Gallery on saturday to meet shoppers.

one of the items i will be featuring are matboard tiles. most of mine are approximately 5"x5" squares. my hope would be to make more and then, also post to my etsy store- so i will keep you posted on that.

happy election day!

the moments {a series} no 15: painting for a cause

On Friday evening I painted downtown at HGS Gallery. All proceeds from the silent auction went to our local fire dept. It was the "halloween" show so all the artists needed to paint in costume.  I was a witch..... Not very scary or bad, but I did wear fake eye lashes! I love those....especially in blue- I am such a dork....  

my idea for the evening was to paint a set of my "love letters" on canvas- (2) 6x8 and (1) 8x10. the words I had picked out were along that theme- adultish. however, when I realized that a young girl was who was going to win my set of paintings.....I needed new words.

 

I opened my "magical" book and poof! the words, "an excited little pink whirlwind" were the first words that spoke to me. those words could not have been more appropriate because when I first started painting with my first color (a red/ pink), the little girl exclaimed, "I want the pink ones mommy!"

I truly loved the words I found for this set of paintings for the little girl!

these were my paintings early on at this point.....they ended up with a quinacrodone magenta over the whole thing to pull it all together. I loved the texture that I put onto all of these. you catch a glimpse on the corner in a soft blue/ green.

end of the night.....this was how I ended. many people asked if I normally paint with my fingers and hands....well, yes- of course!

artist flea market and rummage sale

last night was the kick off of our flea market....and judging from the number of visitors and sales- it was a hit! my super best friend owns the gallery(HGS Gallery); she was the host and "imaginer" of the cool idea. as an artist of the gallery you could bring in art supplies that you did not want any longer and stuff you had made a while ago, but, maybe had not sold anywhere (and still liked). and, the other thing- you could also bring in vintage/ antique items.

so, last weekend when i was cleaning my studio space....that is what i was getting ready for. and the bonus?! when i took my stuff down, i got to snoop around!! so i could scope out what i wanted ahead of time. go ahead and say it....naughty, i know- but, check out my cool stuff i got-

 i made a trade for the salt and pepper shaker set above. i have been looking for a unique set for the dining room table. and this king and queen will fit the bill.

 then, there was a pottery artist who brought in incredible work! i picked up the pitcher and this footed bowl below. there was other incredible pottery that went out the door last night that i wished i would have snagged, but, i had to leave stuff for our shoppers!

 i also spied this round palette which i have been secretly coveting and wanting for a long time- so of course i grabbed that. so excited to fill this up with my absolute favorite watercolors!

 and....there is another artist whom i have admire for as long as i have known him. he is a print maker with incredible vision and detail and i managed to grab 3 of his prints. one i have never seen before- because during the process of making the prints and doing the etchings it destroyed the plate. so each of the 4 prints of the there were different- different tones and color and different details. i loved the roots of the bird on  this print.

to top off the night, i had a friend whom i have admired basically since i met her (so incredibly talented!!). she told me that she bought a gelli plate because of me and my blog! my gelli prints inspired her to purchase one!

night made!! thank you! every artist yearns to hear that they inspired someone else!

and tonight, i shall paint (in my best transylvania accent)

tonight, my best friend who owns HGS gallery here in town is hosting a "things that go bump in the night" painting show. she asked 6 local artists to a "paint off." we have a set amount of time for painting and at the end of the evening, our creations set to the theme, will be in a silent auction. the money we raise tonight will be donated to our local fine arts committee who are working on a community project.

i normally do not paint in a set amount of time, so although, i will be painting in acrylics, (my medium of choice), the time factor has been making me nervous. above, is a transfer off a vintage pic that i plan on using. getting the gel medium onto the copy and allowing time for drying in between layers takes time...time i did not want to lose tonight- so i prepped this last weekend.

this is a portion of my storyline....i was doing a trial run to see what i wanted to write my story in...pencil, versus ink, or sharpie....i'm thinking a combo of pencil (which would be my choice) and ink. oh, and we have to wear costumes!! that was the other kicker for tonight...i am looking forward to tonight just to see what we all will create. there will be some very talented artist there tonight. i will try to get pics of the creations to share with you. wish me luck....

purchased

the local gallery i am in was having its' 2 year anniversary yesterday. while i was down helping, my great friend and owner told me that the artist who makes these birds is no longer going to make them.....i have purchased a flock over the past 2 years, but, never a bird for myself to enjoy.

i bought this pair yesterday. birds just for me....