After a long very long hiatus, I'm back. I've been working on some designs for my newly opened Etsy shop "Artspeek" and am having a great time designing again. Here are a couple of my favorites . . .
I'll be adding many more designs in the next few weeks, and may be running a contest for a free giveaway sometime soon, if there's enough interest. Your thoughts?
SO happy that when we wake up tomorrow . . . it'll be March.
Spring will be here before we know it. And I for one, cannot wait. My thoughts are quickly turning to flowers, flowers and more flowers. In the meantime, here is a sweet daisy pendant to keep me happy. Set in pewter behind a crystal clear hand-cut glass dome. Ahhhh . . .
Think I'll take a little time this week to plan some new garden beds in our backyard :)
Yes, I'm finally back to painting! It's been a while. Between recovering from all the house issues and then our middle daughter needing major surgery in December, I had to step away from the blog for a bit.
The good news is our daughter is now doing just fine and I'm back, and with some new art. Hoping this is just the tip of the iceberg . . . more paintings to come soon!
Here is what these little guys looked like yesterday, while they were still a 'work in progress'
And you can see a peek of some of the Easter images I'll be working on (in the photo on the left). In addition to the Mini Notes, all images will eventually be available as Gift Tags, Pocket Mirrors, Magnets and most likely as Note Cards, as well.
Hope you're enjoying 2011 so far, it's been such a whirlwind I'm kind of shocked to find tomorrow is February already!
In about 6 weeks (maybe sooner) this sight will no longer thrill me. But for now, this Winter Wonderland looks inviting, yet pristine. * Enjoy *
p.s. will be selecting the winner for the Free Box of Note Cards tomorrow evening (i.e. still time to leave comments on any and all blog posts, each for an automatic entry).
Love these little birdie mirrors and just had to share! Busy morning so far packing and shipping out some Etsy orders, and also designing new Stationery for the shop. Hope to have time to paint after Thanksgiving is over, but VERY much looking forward to some relaxing time with family and friends on Thursday.
I don't know about you, but for me the freedom and newness of being adrift and in new surroundings can both be exciting and a bit unnerving. The times I have found myself adrift typically were spent doing a lot of thinking, which ultimately enriched my life and my spirit.
And the beach. What better place to be for reflection and soul-searching :)
I had so much fun painting the designs for these sweet Love Notes earlier this week! New heart mini notes (or gift tags) are just in time for Valentine's Day and come in 15 different designs in red, hot pink, purple and light pink. This line joins the other sets of mini notes and gift tags already in the shop (Dragonflies, Owls, Mittens and Assortments). Available in the shop at BeeDazzlesGifts, they retail for only $8 for a sweet box of 15 notes and envelopes.
I've used the other designs to surprise the girls with a note of cheer from time to time - they always love getting an unexpected word of encouragement tucked into their bag or backpack. And with the addition of these Valentine notes - I'm thinking up some great ideas to use these for a little surprise for Jim.
Are you planning on playing cupid this year, too?
Better late than never . . . but I had to resort to something out of the archives for this week's topic "Wilderness". Having the kids home definitely makes it harder to get in the studio time I need. But beginning next Tuesday, they'll ALL be back at school and I'll be back to a more productive schedule.
My submission for Illustration Friday's topic is called "Tranquility". It's what I see when I envision the most tranquil scene in nature. I find this painting to be very serene and peaceful. I hope you think so, too.
My submission for Illustration Friday's "Confined" category. It feels great to finally submit - participating in Illustration Friday* has been on my To Do List for oh, about 2 years now. And I'm only a day late. New routines are a good thing :)
* Illustration Friday is a weekly illustration challenge. A topic is posted every Friday and then participants have all week to come up with their own interpretation.(from Illustration Friday's web site)
Will likely hold back a small selection of the glass ornaments for my studio - the colors are so inspiring. And a little extra motivation would certainly come in handy to offset the cocooning I've been wanting to do with the sub-zero temperatures and bitter wind chills we've been experiencing lately. I'm definitely looking forward to the warmer days ahead and the longer periods of daylight - just the catalysts I need to get the new artwork finished, and posted here.
Hope you're staying warm, or have a fun vacation planned to somewhere a bit more tropical in the weeks ahead...
