A New Challenge...

Getting ready to start a new piece for a local show called "The Greatest Show on Earth". Think Circus circa 1910... Dark and bizarre... Side-show, freak-show. Carnival! I have lots of ideas floating in and out of my conscious and subconscious mind so my sleep is very unstable right now. Glad I have the next few days of work so I can try to focus on this piece.

This is the support I've chosen. It's a vintage table top. Solid wood so a bit heavy, I'll have to create a framework on the backside for hanging purposes. Next step is to strip it down to bare wood and start the process.

Should be fun. I'll post the progress.

Spring means WIND in Las Vegas

Traveling across town to pick up my daughter and took the first pic at a stop light. The second was about 5 minutes later a few miles west. This is not a cloudy day, this is a dust storm. Not unusual in the great basin of the U.S. Very typical for April when we have had very little rain since January.

For those not familiar with Las Vegas, Nevada, the tower in these pictures is the Stratosphere Hotel and Casino. It has several carnival-type rides at the top that are meant for thrill-seekers and an excellent, rotating restaurant much like the Space Needle in Seattle. But much taller. Our airport had issues with the height during construction do to flight paths.

Glad we are sunny and calm for a few days.

A Change of Pace for Today

Working on a little granny square baby blanket today. 

A change of pace for my brain cells. 

This will be available in my yarn shop here on Etsy very soon. 

I love the earthy colors instead of the traditional 'baby' colors. 

Plan to line it with a fleece backing to make it extra soft and cozy. 

Great for on the floor or car seat/stroller.

Having a fun and easy day.

Dance - Finished piece

Wanted to share the finished piece seeing as I did a post on the substructure of this painting. I hope you like how it turned out.

New print available on Etsy

After a long weekend in the sun and wind and a local art fair, I can finally take a few days to post new work for sale online. I'm happy to share the first one with you here and if you like it you can click on my Etsy link to purchase your own copy.

'The journey begins (and ends) with you". This was such a fun piece to create. I really love how bright and colorful it is. Full of hopes and dreams for a happy life.

This piece was printed on ultra premium Epson luster paper and has a satin-like sheen. The print will fit into a mat with an 8x10 opening. You can make the overall size of your framed piece as large as you like.

When All Else Fails. . . Dance!

New work on deck. Just finished collaging some paper to a 12x24 canvas and doodled up a sketch for the subject. Seems that some days just plain get you down. It usually helps to just crank up the music and let yourself go. It really seems to put things in perspective!

The embossed rose in the upper right hand corner is from a vintage paper photo holder. The kind that the studio photographer put your Great Grandmothers picture in. I'm very curious about how this holds up as I start to paint this piece.

Sunday, the perfect day to create.

Finished this piece and have spent the day prepping panels for new work. So satisfying to apply layers of gesso to firm wood panels.

'The journey begins ... and ends ... with you'. To me this means I will spend the rest of my life committed to my family to the very end. Sometimes we have to put aside our own plans to help those we love and gain satisfaction knowing we were able to be there. Our lives take many unexpected turns and it's better to roll with it rather than stress out about it. This too shall pass and there is joy in the process.

Blast from the past

I've decided to offer prints of a piece I painted a few years ago. This mixed media painting has sold but I think the colors turned out really well and it was the first time I used and actual dress pattern as part of my collage work. The buttons were sewn to the canvas as is the stitching along the shoulder line.

This was the beginning for me with this new style of work.

The print is available here or by clicking the Etsy link button on the right side of this page.

The Journey Begins (and ends) with you

Work in progress, almost finished. One week to my art fair and many rivers to cross before I rest.

A new original painting on Etsy

Just listed one of my color block cupcake paintings on Etsy. These little cupcakes make amazing little gifts for Birthdays or anniversaries. Don't forget Mother's Day is around the corner. Remember all the cupcakes that mom made for school bake sales and after school snacks? I think this would be a great way to pay her back with love. An original painting she can hang in her kitchen and think of you :)

Cupcake #5 ~ 5x5x1.5 acrylic on stretched canvas

Just changed the shipping to FREE in the US!

Freedom

There is so much satisfaction in finding a beautiful winged thing fluttering against a glassy pane, desperately trying to understand why it cannot move forward. Then you, the humankind, crank the window open and the winged wonder moves forward on it's journey to tomorrow.

Just had to share that moment before sunset.

A cupcake kind of day!

Who doesn't like cupcakes? Well, OK, some people, but I do!!! I love the bright and happy little cakes. Just big enough to make you happy and not do too much damage to your healthy diet plan.

These colorful little treasures will be on display at 'Arts and Eats' in Village Square in Las Vegas. Some will also be available in my Etsy shop shortly. Or leave a comment here or contact me in my Etsy shop by clicking the link at the right.

New work

Finished some little pieces this weekend. Some will go to a little gallery inside the Arts Factory here in Las Vegas called Jana's Redroom and I will be making more for my upcoming art fair in mid April. More about that in a later post.

These little pieces seem to take almost as much time as a larger one as you really have to watch your use of space. There isn't much of it! Hope you like these, I had fun with them. All are 4x4 inches on deep, gallery wrapped canvas.