Rainy Day People

So, my good friend and sister artist, Susan Amadio, presented me with the Facebook challenge of posting three pieces of artwork for five consecutive days on Facebook. Having been fairly prolific, it wasn't difficult for me to find enough artwork for the challenge. What was difficult was determining which were my best 15 pieces and I wanted to make it something of a retrospective so that it covered my entire career as an artist. 

I think it's good for every artist to go through their entire inventory list every once in awhile to see how they've evolved over time. I have copies of all the 700+ pieces I've created since I began painting in 1996. (Well, there may be a few I didn't save for posterity.)

One of the collage images I proffered for the challenge received such positive response that I decided to use it to create art prints and T-shirts. So, here it is. What was originally entitled Rainy Day, I've now re-titled as Rainy Day People. (Yes, a la Gordon Lightfoot, of whom I've always been a fan.)

"Rainy Day People" can be purchased as a print on archival paper or on canvas at Society 6.

Or it can be purchased as a T-shirt in a variety of styles (for women only) at "shop crabulous!"

Roses in the Alley

"Roses In The Alley" - Enhanced Digital Collage

The photo from yesterday's blog post inspired this enhanced photo. I love the colors and textures which comprise this image. 

Lady Banks Roses

This is a prime example of extraordinary beauty in ordinary places. This beautiful Lady Banks Rose bush grows unattended next to a fence at the end of the parking lot where I park for work. Savannah was built on a bluff. River Street, where I work, is at the bottom of the bluff and Bay Street, where I park, is at the top. I make my way from my car to the shop via a maze of stairs, alleys and narrow passageways. The Lady Banks Rose sprays over the fence and forms an arch over the fire escape type stairway that I descend to reach Lower Factors Walk on my way to work. Such a lovely canopy!

More Flip Flops

I call this design wheels for obvious reasons. Once again, I've selected a default color for the straps and soles, but you have four options to choose from. It's cool to have cool flip flops for the summer!

Wheels Flip Flops from shop crabulous!

New License Front End License Plate

Three Sunflowers!

This is my latest design for front end license plates which is one of the most popular products that I sell from Shop Crabulous! This was inspired by checking the list of state flowers. Do you know which state boasts the sunflower as their state flower? I do!

Three Sunflowers Front End License plate now for sale at shop crabulous!

Daffodils

Yes, I know. This photo is out of sync and out of season, but I couldn't help posting it. It's been in my Camera Uploads file since July and I thought it was time to do something about it. 

This past July, while visiting my cousin in Ohio, I looked over her collection of my artwork which she displays throughout her home. I'm truly honored to have her do that. This particular pastel was done ages ago and is one of my favorites. I just thought I'd share it.

Two More Crabs

I finished Crab In Blue and Crab in Gold to go with Crab In Red. I love their jewel tones. And although I'm willing to sell them individually, I think they'd go great together as in my example below.

"Crab In Blue" - 6x6 - Mixed Media Collage

"Crab In Gold" - 6x6 - Mixed Media Collage

Magenta Series #3

"Jonquils (Sort Of) - 8x10 - Mixed Media Collage

This is the third in the series of collage which all began with a magenta toned canvas. Once again, fantasy flowers, but this time in cheery yellow.

The Magenta Series

"Yellow Iris" - 4x12 - Mixed Media Collage

This past Sunday I decided to hunker down and produce six new pieces in 48 hours. I had happily sold far more paintings than I expected on Saturday and I have a show coming up this Friday and felt a need to "fill in" (so to speak). 

In a stab at efficiency, I began by painting all six canvases in the same magenta paint. And one by one I'll show you the results. Please excuse any typos or anything weird. I'm exhausted!

"Yellow Iris" was the smallest of the six canvases. I really thought that I would do an abstract with this one, but instead this cheery iris appeared. I'm not complaining.

Whimsical Garden

"Whimsical Garden"- 4 1/4 x 8 1/2- Mixed Media Collage
Available at Crabulous Fine Art on Etsy   

I was struck by a fit of whimsy today. I make no apologies and I make no promises that it won't happen again. Whimsy happens.

More Scrap Collages

You know very well that I love making abstract collages from my paper scraps. They come in handy in so many ways later on. They're good for backgrounds, they're good for subject matter, they're just fun! And making them is akin to therapy. I just let my mind wander and subconsciously focus on color. I've made these two this week to use in two different art pieces which are currently under construction.

Retrospective Part 4

Florals

"Ceramic Birds & Morning Glory Vase" - Pastel - 11x14 - 1998

Ultimately, flowers became my favorite subject matter. My mother has always been an avid gardener and I grew up following her around the yard asking the names of all the flowers and learning the difference between annuals and perennials. I learned to love flowers, but somehow, not gardening. :\  Don't get me wrong. I love to plant flowers, but whether they live or die is up to them.

Anyway, creating images of flowers, in all mediums, is a huge source of joy. Interestingly enough, the flowers in this first image were from my yard (obviously something survived my rather crude gardening methods). I had just made a breakthrough in my handling of pastels and was having a great time with them. What I love most about this painting, though, are the ceramic birds and vase. They had been made by my grandmother almost 40 years earlier. I realize that when she made these she must have been around the same age I am now.

"Nasturtiums II" - Pastel - 16x17 - 1999

The nasturtiums in this second image also came from my yard. Hmmm... maybe I'm a little more into gardening than I realize. I absolutely adore nasturtiums and enjoy representing them in collage, too.

"Blue Vase - Pastel - 11x14 - 2002

This final piece of pansies (also grown by me) was painted as a homework assignment for a pastel workshop I was taking. Fact of the matter is, I never went back after the first session. The instructor was such a flake. Work was never really accomplished in the classroom unless the "energy was right." Most of the time he just talked about painting. I must have gotten something out of it though. This image was made in response to his encouragement to think about composition a little differently and I rather like the way it turned out. 

Retrospective Part 1

"Two Pears" - pastel - 4x5 - 1996

I'm currently visiting with my mother who lives 650 miles from me; so I don't get to see her often enough. Being the supportive mother that she is, she owns the world's largest collection of my artwork. This collection covers the gamut from my very beginning days until now. It's always great fun and a great education for me to review these pieces whenever I'm visiting and it has inspired me to create something of a retrospective exhibit within my blog.

I was 39 before I discovered that I had the ability to draw. I was never one to take art classes in high school and I really never doodled or dabbled in art. But, I've always been an art lover, a frequent visitor to art museums, and a collector. Finally, one day, I just had to see if I had the ability to create anything of my own.

My first foray into creating art was learning to draw with charcoal and pencils. Unfortunately, I don't think any of these early works are in existence. I was over zealous in cleaning out my studio one day and... whoops!

After spending time just honing my drawing skills, I stepped up to using color. Pastels. The little piece above is the very first pastel I ever did. When my new box of Nupastels arrived, I broke them in and practiced using them by creating pears. Ever since then, whenever I try something new, I almost always experiment by using pears as my subject. My art friends tease me about it being my favorite fruit. As far as I'm concerned, the shape and countours of pears allows you to fully experience the extent of the capabilities of a new medium.

Shortly after the pears, I painted the image below from a photo of my parents' back yard.

"In A Southern Garden" - pastel - 18x24 1997

This was probably my first attempt at flowers and you can see I had a tough time with them. I love their silliness. I became much better at flowers later on.

Red Flower On Red (Note Card)

I think my note cards are some how becoming my equivalent of daily paintings! They're fun and quick to do, they serve as a warm up before I get started on my "serious art" and ultimately, they prove to be useful! So I'll probably share many, many more of them. (You have been warned!)