Seahorse Throw Pillow

Seahorse Woven Throw Pillow from shop crabulous!

This image is a personal favorite of mine. I love the subject matter and the colors. I think I may have to get one of these for myself!

Tidal Pool

At long last... another new collage! I'm going for more of a textural feel right now, so there's modeling paste involved.

"Tidal Pool" - 6x6 - Mixed Media Collage available on Etsy

crabulous!

I've created a new design that I think is almost too cute for words. Click here to see it on T-shirts and click here to see it on various style tote bags.

Budding Artists

"The Rain" - illustrated poem by Georgia May Copland

I am blessed with a baker's dozen of nieces. Two generations of them, actually. And all are beautiful and talented each in their own way. Among the youngest of them are two budding artists; Autumn and Georgia, and from time to time they send me samples of their artwork. I recently had the opportunity to spend the weekend with Georgia (who's 8, almost 9) and we drew and colored for hours on end. Then the other day in the mail I received the masterpiece above, which she created.

When I was the age of these two young girls, I was humiliated by my teacher for what she perceived as a lack of imagination and talent. From that point on I struggled in my art classes until I was in the eighth grade an no longer required to take it. I never took an art class again (except for art history and art appreciation) until I was 39.

I've since come to realize that there are just two requirements to being an artist. 

 1. a desire to create

 2. the joy of making a mark on a piece of paper or canvas

That's it! That's all that's required. Now I can't tell you what makes an artist successful. I don't think anyone knows the answer to that. 

But I highly encourage anyone consumed with the desire to create to go out and do just that. We were created to create. I firmly believe that. And we truly are not happy unless we're creating. So, today; now, even. Go make something. Bake a cake, write a poem; know the satisfaction of being a creator.

Tangy Zoodles in Color

You've probably noticed that color has been creeping into my Tangy Zoodles and last week's works are almost all in color. I haven't yet decided if I like the color or black and white better, but it's all fun!

Remember, if you're interested in pursuing the art of zentangle yourself, here's the book I recommend: One Zentangle A Day

A Brand New Crab!

That would be me! A brand new crab.

"A Brand New Crab" - 6x6 - mixed media collage

I'm learning to love repurposing old materials. In this case newspaper, sample paints from Lowes, and cheesecloth. This crab is a little bit more freeform than my previous crabs, too. I think it gives him a little more character.

Below is the paper I made from which I created this guy. 

Violet Wave Crab

click here for more information or to purchase

And yet another blue crab in violet. Why not?

Violet Speckled Crab

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Of course, this crab is way too pretty to eat!

Red Wave Crab

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I create new art papers by smushing together the paint on my palette paper after I've finished using it during a studio session. That's what this crab is made of!

Red Patchwork Crab

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In real life, blue crabs don't turn red until they're cooked; but, this isn't real life! ;)

Blue Patchwork Crab

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Another day, another crab!

Aqua Wave Crab

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Since I sold out of crab collages at my last show, I just had to make new ones for the upcoming event!

And, yes, that's a map that I re-purposed for the background!

Crab Art

"Crab In Red" - 6"x 6" - mixed media collage

One thing I've noticed by doing the art festivals this summer is that when people see my banner, "crabulous fine art" they expect to see crabs. They're not sure if it's paintings of crabs or paintings made with crabs, but they want to see crabs. One gentleman came in, took a quick look around and demanded, "Where are the crabs?!?" I then pointed to my husband and myself and when he saw our name tags he "got" it.

But, I always have at least one piece of crab art available. And since I sold my last piece at the last show, I'm busily making more for the one coming up next weekend. I'm planning on three pieces that will work singly, but also look great all together (and there will be a special price for buying all three).

The crab above is the first of the three. It is not available on Etsy. They will not be available for purchase until the show on Saturday. 

Crabs

"Crabs" - 8x8 - Mixed Media Collage
Click Here to Purchase on Etsy

It was time for another crab image. After all...

Banners

I've learned that creating a banner for an exhibit tent is very different from creating a banner for a blog or a website. I thought I could just take images of my artwork and stretch them to fit. Hah! By the time you take an average painting and make it fit a 10" x 60" space it is quite pixilated and no amount of adjustments in Photoshop will make it any better.

So, I just created a banner from scratch, making the original size 10x60. I think I like it. Of course, it's 2:00 a.m., too, so right now I'm not in a position to make any long lasting judgments. I'll look at it again once I've slept on it.