Special Etsy Experience

Christmas time is drawing near so I am more aggressive in my browsing looking for handmade gifts for family and friends.

I hearted a neat mixed media design by Natalia who lives in Amarillo, Texas and her Etsy shop is 
http://www.TerraCollageArt.etsy.com

I am just starting in Mixed Media and also work a little with collage photos so the piece I hearted which was an ocean landscape intrigued me.

The next day I received an email from Natalia telling me that she had picked up the last issue of a PaintWorks magazine many months ago and was drawn to the design Swirling Fog.  She was just beginning to paint and used the design to create a more dimensional piece as a Christmas Gift for one of her daughters' teachers.  (She  has 2 "precious daughters").   She had just recently picked up the magazine again and had stopped at the same design....which Yes, was mine.  She recognized my name and was so surprised that I would be drawn to her work as she had been to mine in PaintWorks. 
She sent me the nicest email and included a photo of her interpretation of my design.


On a Painters' Yahoo group that I belong to I had just recently written how much students have had an
impact on my life....and here is proof of how two artistic souls can be joined.  Such a neat thing to have happen...  With as many vendors/shops on Etsy what are the chances of this ever happening?  

She lives in Amarillo with her husband and 2 daughters and has lived in several different places and countries and was an interpreter and translator of  TV shows for television channels.  She now is able to
devote more of her time to her unique and beautiful style of art.  She says she is inspired by colors, good music, nature and smell.





Glass Frog Paint Brush/Tool Holder

My workspace on my table is limited and I wanted/needed to have something that could "hold" the brushes I was using on a project as well as tools ( quick to grab)  and not take up a lot of space.  Something sturdy and substantial.    My solution were vintage glass frogs...... I LOVE THEM and they work perfect.  I have several as I also collect them.    I have two on my painting table.  One is for my brushes,  and  the other I use for my stylus, graphite pencil in black/grey and white, a couple of q-tips, my stylus pen, and then fill in the remaining holes with my specialty brushes.  i.e.:  mops, dry brushes etc.   I love "recycle" when it is this pretty, this small, and  fits so easily into your purse, painting bag, etc. to take to a class or when traveling.   The brushes are straight up and down so they really don't take up much space and are easily identify-able.


These frogs come in different colors as well as sizes.  I have some that are depression glass green and pink that I just love......and how neat to have something pretty, creative and clever to "recycle" and use.    You can purchase these at grange and estate sales, antique stores and I have even found them in thrift stores so keep your eyes open.  


I also use these when I am working on jewelry pieces to hold my pliers and they also work great when you are working on mixed media pieces, watercolor pencils, colored pencils, micron pens, etc.  


HOW NEAT............




Necklaces

I have been working on some new necklace designs and I just love these 2" pendants.
They are substantial and large enough to make a statement.  The domino and scrabble necklaces are cute but are not very noticeable when worn,  where these are.


It has been hard to pick a couple to make for myself as I like them all.....  Here is a blue for with jeans, and a non red and green Christmas Santa.  Just finished some Ouija ones and I will be putting together a necklace for myself with these.


I am listing the pendants on Etsy and for those who don't want to put the pendant on a ribbon, piece of leather or a chain I will make a necklace just for you for a one of a kind piece for an extra charge.


I used small spacer size lamp work beads, Tierra Cast findings, seed beads, chain and lobster claw clasps.  I can hardly wait to wear the blue one; Santa will have to wait till
December 1st.










Benham Falls

My granddaughter and I (along with my little dog Pru) hiked to Benham Falls to day just a few miles from our house.  It was a gorgeous fall day and I got some awesome photos.  Remember my photos have a copyright.  Thank you.

Enjoy.


Fall Foliage



Oeeeeee, It doesn't get much brighter than this.  Awesome foliage right now here in Bend, Oregon....  All around town this is what you see....makes you KNOW there is a God in nature.
Our fall foliage is at its' peak right now and when I drove up the street today I saw this tree and had to get a picture.  Being from the East coast we have hillsides and hillsides of color that is just awesome but here I more or less have to be content with just trees here and there, or like aspens in a grove.  With the  small corn rows going to seed  and this tree it was just a striking photo...good for painting reference.  



LIQUID SHADOW by Kerry Trout

Liquid Shadow Bottle.jpg  Liquid Shadow by Kerry Trout is a really NEAT product.  I have a bottle on my painting table and use it a lot when I paint.  I just learned a few new things about the product that I would like to pass on:

 To customize the Liquid Shadow to "fit" your design palette even more:

1.  For use on lighter colors:   Thin with clear glazing medium.

2.  Add dark blue if you are working on a blue backgrounds.

3.  Add deep burgundy for red backgrounds.

4.  Add lavender for snow shadows.

5.  Add Orange for a brown shadow color.

6.  Add yellow for a warm dark green shadow color.

7.   Add medium  green to create a rich and cool dark green shadow color.

8.  A dry mop really helps to soften your floats

I am really going to work with this product even more in the upcoming months.  

This can be ordered directly from the artist at http://www.kerrytrout.net

CROSS HATCHING EXAMPLES

CROSS HATCHING:

Cross Hatching is an extremely popular technique used by inkers to indicate shadows. It's a very effective technique, if done correctly. Below are some different examples of cross hatching techniques...

CROSS HATCHING is such an interesting technique.....especially if you are drawing, doing pen and ink,

sketching,e tc.  So great when designing to indicate areas to be shaded.....  I used the technique long before I knew what it was called....and it has been a favorite of mine.....    As you can see there are more that just "one way" to cross hatch. 

 



 



 



 



 





JAMIE MILLS PRICE

I love painting JMP designs.... They work up quickly for me and I can just relax and paint since doing so many of her designs.  I feel like an elf as I paint for the Christmas holidays.  It is nice to not have to do anything but just paint....

This was done on a fencepost surface....I take the design I want to do and just go in search of something to paint it on that fits.  I just finished doing this same design on a tall thin clock surface painting the background green instead of blue, and the base, sides and back of the clock are done in a bright red. 

Right now I am working on some of her penguins which I love doing.... 


This was done on a round plate that I had and I purchased a clear round glass plate which can be placed on top to keep clean.....  this design is just awesome.  I  used the comb brush that I cut (and have shown you how to do it here on my blog) as well as a Princeton filbert rake which is the best rake I have found so far. 

T

LAST ROSES OF SUMMER

Even though the chill is in the air, and we are preparing for some fall weather our roses don't seem to realize that the "season" is over and this time of year they just seem to be "their best"....  My husband has had 3 bushes this year and we have our fingers crossed that they are hearty enough to make it through the
winter here.....the last one didn't; so fingers are crossed.  I love taking photos of them, especially when they are this beautiful.   They are protected with a metal cage as the deer seem to like them too....but I love the deer too so we just have to do what we have to do to have both.

Enjoy the last rose of summer....

I LOVE FREEZIN' FOG DAYS

I LOVE FREEZIN' FOG DAYS
Freezing fog on a pine tree bough.