One Misty Evening
is available in my shop
There is a print set available of these two forlorn sisters, One Misty Evening and One Misty Morning
also in the shop
I am finally painting again. Aquired a bit of the sniffles this weekend, but I managed to start a new painting that is the sister of her.
A set will be available soon.
Sometimes I just like to doodle in my sketchbook. This is one of those doodles from today. It reminds me of my childhood, trying to devise a plan to get to my friends house (which was totally unwalkable and miles away). We mapped out a way to bypass the highways through the woods. The imagination of children is precious, I am thrilled when a teeny glimpse of it is rememebered.
Acorns in moss from the other day. Acorns are falling, fall is in the air! The weather has been absolutely perfect.
I unearthed a silly wooden doll (she is in need of some clothing!) and now she spends her days with Mr. Bluebird. She was purchased at a yard sale and came with a swatch of calico fabric and a colonial style dress pattern. I must of posted soooo many photos of this vintage bird find here, I just love him so much!
Have a beautiful weekend!
Now, what would a little foxling want with a lone cardinal? The fox is stalking it, tormenting the cardinal so!
Here is The Curious Fox painting on handmade petal-filled paper
Inspired by an older milky fox sketch in my dear sketchbook from last December. Gosh, that seemed just like yesterday!
Print is available in my shop
As you can see, the taste of chill in the air that I experienced the other night ’round the campfire has me wishing for cold…brrr!
The last few days have been spent in such relaxation…taking long walks stepping in the crunchy leaves (while closing my eyes and imagining its Autumn), reading, scouring thrift shops, painting and sketching a bit. The other night we had a camp fire with toasted marshmallows in the country. For the first time in a long time I saw the sky scattered with stars. And it was COLD…a light wool sweater type of cold! I love September. So, from now to the end of October, its all Autumn here! It comes and goes to quickly, I am going to savor every second of it, and I’m sure you will want to too!
A few things as of recent…
My desk, newly cleaned and cleared-off. I have a new project in the works, the pile of paper covered masonite in the top left corner is a hint of it’s preparation. The sketchbook on the lower left side is brand new, and probably the best sketch book I have ever had for many reasons. It has a soft, flexible leather cover that I’m thinking will accommodate the bulge of papers pasted on its pages. It feels so good in my hands! I just can’t wait to fill it with doodles.
Some vintage clothing I am ecstatic about! My very cluttered shelf to the right. Good clutter though.
Thrifted things from last Friday. Oh, except the old medicine bottle.
Martha Labels, Kiki Smith, Embroidered bee, a odd couple I snipped from an old book, tree card from Whole Foods, and another Kiki.
A peak at the first painting in the new project I was writing about above. She is painted on beautiful handmade paper with little petals captured in the pulp, which is giving her a very soft feel. She will be in the shop very soon, along with the others.
I am ever-so-excited about this painting, my first oval! A rather forlorn looking gal reads in the shipyard on a cold, cold misty morning. The rest of the story is for you to construct. I imagine her hat to be sewn from a very thick piece of felted wool, hence her being able to concentrate on her book and not shiver to death. How I wish I had a hat like that! Thats the fun thing about painting…dressing the characters in imaginary clothing that becomes oh-so-real. The original piece is painted in acrylics and papers on a cotton oval canvas.
A print is available in my shop
And now, a little bit of Monday’s Whimsy. And a whimsical Monday it is, for I returned from a trip with lots of vintage goodies. And socks! I have been very, very crazy for socks, especially knee socks.
I discovered the BEST paper store ever, The Paper Source. I am thrilled that they have a website. Their store was so lovely, packed with so much paper, and the BIG flat sheets (not the square 12″ by 12″ scrapbooking kind, although they do carry that on their website). I bought a stack of pretty papers that remind me of dollhouse wallpaper. I sometimes use paper in the backgrounds of my paintings so these will be perfect. I am always on the lookout for calico prints.
Have you ever seen a spider spinning a web? I spotted one in the woods the other day. The way that the the sunshine was beaming down upon it it looked like a silver orb amongst the trees. As I approached closer, I saw the spider was only half complete with his wonderous silky creation, so I stood there and watched for a few moments. The spider was big and scary and I tried not to get him in the photo.
This morning I found a perfect feather…
Which reminded me to take a picture of these little guys. They are salt and pepper shakers. I think they are just so folksy and wonderful! I think that they are supposed to be penguins, but I am imagining them as blackbirds. I love blackbirds, especially red-winged ones. They are very particular about where they live, so the conditions have to be just right to see them. They enjoy a setting that is half meadow and half watery, like a lake or pond. What is your favorite bird?
A little sneakpeak at a painting I have been trying to finish, on an oval-shaped canvas. It needs a lot more painting details (especially on the boats), but I am hoping to be done with it today, and it will soon be in my shop. The girl is a bit forlorn, and reading. I think she will need a companion, to be painted on another oval canvas.
Have a wonderful Monday, the last Monday of August!
So, I’ve decided to offer these two as a set. They really do go great together!
Here they are-Ships in Bluebird Cages and The Very Reluctant Farewell
And now that I look at them, they seem to be a bit of a sign of the crist fall months ahead. I know its hard to imagine in the heat of August, but you can image, can’t you?.
Doesn’t this say fall too?
This little guy was growing in the woods amongst crispy leaves and a few soggy rotten things as well. I do think he is a little omen that my favorite season is nearer than it has been all year!
The painting to compliment Ships in Bluebird Cages is complete and I am ever-so-happy with it! Still quite large (for me) it measures 16″ by 20″ and is painted in acrylics on canvas with a flowery paper collage background. A girl in a pastorial setting says goodbye to the cardinals as they sail away one-by-one in tiny ships down the stream. The birds fly out of a vacant birdcage high above in the branches. As you can see, the cage isn’t full of the winged creatures…they simply appear at its hinged door and leave. This time there is only one bird cage, and I do think that the girl and the cage are one in the same.
Prints are available in my shop.
Now my head is swimming with new painting ideas, I am off to sketch!
Gosh, how did this happen? Never before was I under the spell of pink until I acquired this beautiful vintage sheet during a thrifting spree. It was a little wrinkled gem staring at me amongst a stack of shabby, faded linens. I think it was the rose motif that got me. It makes the most perfect picnic tablecloth, whimsy fit for a Monday indeed…
After purchasing the sheet in all its pinkness I stashed in away in my ceiling-high fabric stash thinking “I just wish it wasn’t pink!”. But then, yesterday I was foraging through my goodies looking for something pink to compliment a forest find and my liking for the piece of fabric was renewed.
The forest find was this, doesn’t it look like a miniature pink tree?
Full circle indeed, here is a snippet of another painting I have been working on non-stop (and hopefully ready to post tomorrow).
The trees are almost pink. More of a peachy color (as much as I try to like pink I still tend to lean more towards peach)
And another find, a ceramic calico hand…
I love disconnected hands! They look perfectly odd on my shelf, and they hold trinkets, feathers and stones. A collection has begun!
Last-but-not-least I would like to share a favorite storybook as of recent. The images by illustrator Angela Barrett are highly detailed and slightly chilling. I love how she uses neutral and greys with tiny bits of bright (think pinks and oranges) within her artwork. I was pleasantly surprised when I removed the book jacket to find this delicate design on the bookcover…
I plan to spend the rest of the day eating my raspberries and painting~
What is YOUR favorite color and why? Please do tell!
