A Pillow for Christmas

Starry Night Woven Throw Pillow

Once again, my good friend, Lori, has come up with another good idea for my designs. Per her suggestion, I created this accent pillow for Christmas. Cute, huh? :D

Starry Night T-Shirts

OK, then! T-shirts in the Starry Night design have been requested and therefore created. I hope you like them! :D

Click here to see more styles and colors!

Starry Night

"Starry Night"
Click here to see all the products available with this design.

I created this image nearly a year ago and then I apparently forgot all about it. I just rediscovered it and thought it was too cute to be ignored. Therefore I've resurrected this frosty little snowman, named the image "Starry Night" (because of some good natured kidding from a good friend) and put it on Christmas cards, note cards, coffee mugs and a beer stein. I think it's just adorable (dig those crazy Northern Lights) and don't be surprised if you see me using this as my Christmas card this year. (Although you can be very surprised if I send out Christmas cards at all!)

Maximum Flight

"Maximum Flight" - 4x12 - Mixed Media CollageAvailable on Etsy

On Monday, May 7, I received a text message that my daughter-in-law was in labor and I hastily packed a bag and drove 90 miles to be there when my grandson, Max, was delivered early the next morning.

When I returned, home (a week later) I saw the piece I was working on when I got the call still lying on my work table and decided to name it in honor of my new grandson.

On the flip side of the emotional coin, before returning home from Maryland, I swung up through Pennsylvania to pick up artwork from the Yellow Springs show. This show has always been very successful for me, so it was a kick in the gut to discover that this year I sold nothing except for one bin piece. After commission and the price of gas to make the 230 mile round trip twice (once to drop off; once to pick up) not to mention the time spent... well it's probably a loss.

In the world of art, nothing is guaranteed and counting your chickens before they hatch is certainly a dangerous proposition. And things go in runs, as well, and I think I've had a very good run there and have certainly enjoyed my experience working with the enthusiastic volunteers at Yellow Springs.

So for now, I'm going to focus on local venues and trying to promote sales in this area. crabulous fine art is getting ready to embark on its first ever season of outdoor shows and festivals, so it will be a whole new adventure.

Still Playing Around

New Beginnings

8x8 Canvas - ready for more fun!

By now I know you know just how excited I am by the prospect of a blank canvas. This morning I had three of them. I laid out a palette of paints in my favorite shades of blue and turquoise (with some purple thrown in for good measure) and just started covering canvases and any other blank sheets of paper I could get my hands on. I have no idea, yet, what my subject matter will be on any of them. That's part of the fun. Waiting to see what the paint will suggest to me. 

A blank canvas represents a new adventure, a new journey; no passport required. Just a suspension of belief and a sureness that you can make magic.

After I finished covering canvases, I spread the paint over the palette paper and added tiny blue star confetti. I will one day use this in a collage.

Retrospective Part 3

Landscapes

"Cool Roots" - Pastel - 11x14 - 2003

I really enjoyed doing landscapes, both en plein air as well as from photos. Where I lived in Maryland was a hugely picturesque area. There was one stretch of country road that particularly intrigued me, but it was all privately owned land and there was no safe place to pull over the car to stop. So one beautiful autumn afternoon in 2002, I had my son drop me off at one end of the road on his way to run errands somewhere and told him I'd call him when I had walked to the other end (about two miles) and he could pick me up then. It is one of the most memorable afternoons of my life. Driving by an area is nothing like walking through it and looking at it through the lens of a camera. I was shooting 35mm at the time and I may have gone through as many as four rolls of film on that walk. I don't even remember how many paintings I was able to create from my photographs, but "Cool Roots" was one of them. I'm glad it didn't sell to anyone outside the family because every time I see it at my mother's I'm always reminded of that magical afternoon.

"Hazy Morning" - Pastel - 11x14 - 2002

"Hazy Morning" was created on site, sitting in my driveway. I just looked across the road one morning and painted. Like I said, we lived in such a beautiful area. I painted numerous landscapes, en plein air, just from my own yard. We had great vistas in all directions.

"Cold Winter Sky" - Pastel - 10x17 - 2000

"Cold Winter Sky" was actually painted from a hastily drawn black and white sketch. I had been driving along Route 50 on my way to see my mother-in-law one evening when the twilight sky caught my breath. I pulled my car over to the side of the road. Since this was before I started carrying a camera with me 24/7 all I could do was sketch the scene and make careful reference notes concerning color. I then presented the finished painting to my dad as a present because I knew his affinity for the moon and stars; the same as mine.

(Sorry for the poor quality of this photo. Very difficult to shoot behind glass. I may have a 35mm photo of this somewhere; taken before it was framed. One day I'll replace the image with a better one if I can.)