A big old post because I’ve been away so long…tangled hair teacups and sketches

Where did the week go? And someone tells me its March already… spring will soon be here! I am so awaiting the sweet colors of spring and sitting out in the grass. Anywho, lots of inspiration and sketching here. I have been collecting pictures of flapper-ish women, muses and models for paint and sketching maybe. This one I had for years. I found her in a cigar box in an antique shop (I have another photo of here too, in a differernt pose!) She had a very, very sad life the past couple of years though. You see, she went missing, but the good news is that she was found last week. I was cleaning out my wooden box with drawers, and she was wedged between the underside of the bottom of the drawer and the dresser. She was all folded up, like an accordian, which damaged the photo and made me very, very sad.

To make me feel better I bought this gem of a little photo on Etsy, just look at these sisters! The photo came in a set which included a boy but I threw him into my scrap box, as I really don’t care about photos of boys that much. But these two sisters..I am definitely going to use them in my painted imagery.

They fulfilled my criteria for the photos I collect.. post victorian (preferable 20’s and 30’s)…soft waves in short, shiny hair, slightly out of place and frizzy…a certain facial expression that I can’t quite put my finger on, and oh the sepia…

A very cold windowsill this morning, strange little bird family, icy outside

Oh my and I bought the most pretty golden teacup earrings, at the thrift shop of all places!

They have these little saucers and even little golden spoons! And my hair always tangles all around them.

My friend bought me this pretty mug yesterday during out treasure hunt.

and the other side, sewing machines!

hehe for pure fun and whimsy… a love of tangled hair in strange places…

Which leads me to share a new love for wooden hair sticks! I bought these from Etsy and they are in need of beaded ends, which I will add. I looooove hairsticks (and my hair loves them too, they are really gentle on the strands!)

Been filling the pages of my journals with sepia tones watercolor sketches, which helps so much with underpainting and its a good reference source too. Creating a visual log of my own personal imagery for more narrative pieces in the future.

I am SO inspired by this painting by John Everett Millais:

Isn’t she a dream? She’s been a springboard for some new ideas. More sketches and other things to come!

doodles

Recently my sketchbooks have been brimming with ideas for future paintings, so I thought I’d post some here. It makes me a bit nervous…they are for future paintings, which means they might not happen for awhile or at all. But they happened in sketchbook form, so why not show? And I absolutely LOVE to see other artists sketches posted! So much work goes into a final piece, from inspiration concepts to little notes in the margins to color ideas and torn pages…usually unseen behind-the scenes scribbles and such. My sketchbooks have become more and more valuable to me, I can dream of having piles and piles of well-worn sketchbooks filled to the brim with little ink, pencil and watercolor, mmmmm!

Although I tend to switch back and forth I LOVE this sketchbook’s paper! It’s a hardcover 8 1/2 by 11″ acid free recycled light brown.

Bee stings and rosey things like cheeks and cherry red lips…and the girl wearing the garden is getting painted, without a doubt!

sepia rose sketches and other Tuesday things…

Yesterday I sketched this two page spread in my moleskine. If you look carefully on the left side there is a garden behind the woman. In the garden are three sleeping foxes amongst paper ephemera sepia colored roses. They blend in all too well!

Right now I am jumping for joy! I have been eyeing these vintage lace up boots for weeks now. I could not get them out of my mind (yes, they are the reason my favorites were set to private!) I like to try on so I scoured the stores to find new ones like these but no luck anywhere. They are from one of my favorite vintage stores on etsy, Salvage Life. The store is blooming with subdued colors, my favorite. These boots are just what I need to wear with all my winter skirts, and I just love lace ups!

Etsy is just blooming with the best vintage things! Two other vintage items on Etsy, still for sale at JohnDoeDress. Lovely, lovely colors and shapes, lots of pretty things in the store too.

warm pumpkin and golden tones like those above have been inspiring me as of late. I guess its warmth that I seek. It is COLD here! Everything is covered in a thick layer of shiny ice. I am looking forward to the holidays when I can hibernate! ~*~*~*~*~*~*~

forest walk

The weekends are spent meandering around and exploring in nature. Now that the days are short, dark and chilly I have to squeeze in my long walks on saturday and sunday. I think in the wintertime I need to look harder for inspiration, but when I find it I am so happy! The sky is gray but the crabapples are plentiful…their ruby red fruit is a visual feast! Yesterday when I was walking I stumbled upon this tree…just look at the fruit!

The trail in the woods where I walk…

It was so snowy and magical the other morning!

A new favorite wool sweater to keep me warm. Not vintage but vintage-inspired and perfectly faded and soft. The colors capture my favorite tones as of recent. Reds, grays, brownish-greens.

When I walked by the crabapple tree on the way home there was a flock of blue jays and other little brownish birds perching in its branches. I stood quietly trying to get one to come close so I could snap a picture. This little gal was perched above me and againt branches and sky she was so pretty!

I’ve been collecting little nature things along the trail for inspiration. Usually when there’s snow my treasure hunt is useless, but yesterday I filled my pockets with these seed pods. They are so delicate! I put them on my book shelf

On a side note, my vintage dress came in the mail! It is so pretty and feather light, a billowy shimmer of gray with burgandy accents and cute little buttons. I am going to make a deep red sash for it. Its from the Etsy store of Stephanie Bracciano (and thats her in the photo below, modeling my new lovely dress!) She was such a doll and included two pretty little prints in the package as well.

And here we are…Monday. I have to admit that not all days are full of walks and seedpods. Some (or should I say most?) are full of to-do lists and trying very hard to squeeze even a sketch in. And here they are, scanned, to-do lists and sketches, worn and crumbled from my pockets:

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A catch-all of sorts…

I keep a spiral bound book to record my ideas as they are unearthed…mostly ones with snippets of fabric and papers and such (these are too bulky for my hardcover sketchbook…it would never be able to close!) . Yesterday I bought some yummy golden printed fabric snippets and glued them on the page (along with a piece of favorite paper) and sketched a girl with a fox-like mask. These little experiments help so much with my painted images. And its fun to rummage through treasures in dusty corners for inspiration!

And here’s a glimpse of fabric from a vintage dress I got in the mail…the twig-like cotton fabric is divine.

Oh, it is snowing and icy outside (again!) Very happy indeed, an excuse to stay in!

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Just because…

I love to sketch and many strange things become of it…
Her hair is to be made of feathers.

(a teeny part of one of my whole-page doodles)

And I’ve decided to sell the original painting of Under the Cold Cold Ground in my Etsy shop sometime on Saturday. Please check back soon as I’ll post here first! And don’t worry if you miss it, mini prints will be available as well.
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New Things

Although I bought this antique desk for my sketching I often find myself on the floor. It is covered in a drop cloth so messes can be made without worry. Some new things to inspire~ pretty luggage, ship basket and blue cup (I have been very much into cobalt blue recently). Going to glue some papers and whatnot onto the ship’s sails. The basket is just so perfect, like a dream.

I have been scouring Etsy for vintage clothing. This dress was the purchase the other night from AlessiaC

Can’t wait til it arrives! I managed to a huge lot of vintage tights and I think it will look pretty with the red ones.

New chocolate-y patent shoes from ebay. Very vintage and they even came in their original, tattered box! The laces will be replaced with a faded, satin-y ribbon, I think.

And…THE plate (and some new yard sale goodies too)

So I have been busy sketching, and more paintings are on the way. I am going to do more work along the lines of these which are not quick paintings. These larger, detailed and layered works make me so happy. I have just as much fun coming up with the concept in my sketchbook and exploring the many layers of paint and paper as I do with the finished work. Here’s a piece of a litte sketch for the next one up (the sheep was a last-minute-throw-in but now the field will be scattered with them, I think). It’s going to be a little darker and colder than the others but I do think it will be my new favorite…

Have a good night!~*~*

Autumn’s warm golden days

…have now turned grey and rainy. Speaking of grey I have to mention that am so inspired by the palette of Andrew Wyeth. His rural subject matter has always been an inspiration to me, but those grays and golds and browns! This little white house painting is a definite favorite. I clipped it out and affixed it to my journal so I wouldn’t forget about it again, along with a new little concept sketch underneath. I have an idea to paint scenes of tiny capped people, strange animals and grouped farmhouses from the 1800’s, all in a tiny scale and very detailed. These tiny girls are watering their gardens but they very well could be tending to strange animals in a faraway place.

I was going through a pile of old books and ephemera and uncovered this print of a painting in a funny little book, isn’t is so lovely?

It’s from a worn blue book called My Miniature Art Collection, Grade 4 and contains some of the sweetest prints in muted palettes. The book was a treasure stacked amongst old paperbacks at the back of a junk shop. I must share some more of this book very soon!

Little things are so delightful! I recently found this little porcelain box with a pearl charm inside and it made my day.

Here’s a pile of inspiring things- glass domes, white pumpkins, old hankies, rusty iron birds, tea cups and blackbird feathers.

I am thinking about setting them up in a shrine sort of way. I haven’t had an inspiration table in quite awhile and its time has been delayed too long!

Those who are here up north, enjoy the rain, it may be with us for quite awhile! Pitter-pat.

We Are Neighbors, Leaf to Leaf

A new love of mine is keeping a sketchbook. I have multiple ones going at once but I do have my favorites. Recently I adore the hardbound-type books. I usually use them to jot down quick compositions, color schemes, concept collages and other doodles. Sometimes I write little notes all over them til the picture gets covered in words! Last weekend I started a few finished detailed sketches which is very addictive! I found some beautiful folk art flower imagery and decided that its leaves could support a whole colony of little cabins. It was only proper to have a girl support the whole living structure. The cluster of houses was inspired by this little find (scroll down to see the white house) and the sketch as well from my moleskin last year. Here it is: We Are Neighbors, Leaf to Leaf

Graphite on creme paper with acrylic paint

Detail:

It was so hard for me to leave her faceless (I do get caught up in drawing features) but I kept her simple. Her face is so tiny!

a print can be found in my shop.

I would like to expand this idea, but for now I have lots of little sketches (very loose and not print worthy!) to develop into paintings.

Tell me doodlers which type of sketchbook is your favorite? I would love to know, as I am always looking for new ones to try!

pretty things and a sketch

We went to Philadelphia yesterday. Lots of exploring the city’s quaint alleyways, yummy food and vintage shopping. I picked up the most rustic pair of pointy-toed wooden shoes. I have a plans to make them into something wonderful and whimsical, an art piece of sorts… but for now, they rest on my cluttered little shelf with my feathers and blue book collection.

The Anthro was the most amazing store I have seen! Three floors of pure delight in the most beautiful building. The ceiling was a dream.

Better yet, when I returned home yesterday their catalog was in my mailbox. The autumn clothing is so cozy, textured and ornate, such a wardrobe inspiration.

Although I have been busy scurring all over three states I have managed to start a series of new paintings. Quite a change for me…they are larger (16″ by 20″) and more detailed scenes and landscapes. Before I begin a painting (and after I have the concept figured out in my minds eye) I quickly sketch out the subject matter on large 18″ by 24″ newsprint. When I am happy with the composition I transfer the rough sketch to a stretched canvas. Much can change from here but the general sketch looks like this:

I usually have the color scheme figured out in my head, although it tends to change too! By the time the sketch is complete and transferred the newsprint is so tattered and worn from resketching and erasing, it sometimes does not survive! I am going to start scanning all my sketches, and share a few here.