Hang on Kitty Illustration

hello friends, here is my latest illustration on a vintage book page. The moon has a red hat, do you think I may be dreaming of Christmas already, lol? I added it to my Etsy shop, which I am slowly starting to stock up for the holidays.

Next weekend I will be bringing all my boxes upstairs, and start decorating. It is a long and tiring process, as they are stored in the basement and I'm on the top floor, yuck!

On a postive note though, once it is finished, I can sit back and create holiday themed art. It's time to start folks, if you expect to get it all done. It's only the first week of November, but time has a way of getting away from you, and before you know it, Christmas will be here.

thanks for reading!

The Hope of Love

hello friends! Here is my latest illustration on a vintage page from a book dated 1918. I think he turned out pretty cute, surrounded by pinks, lol!

It's been a rainy weekend, perfect for staying in and painting.
After ruining a few ACEOs I was working on,  I realized I either don't understand color theory very well, or my watercolors and acrylic paints are not the right shades.

Can anyone recommend a  particular brand of watercolors that you feel are very bright and intense? Or even inks?
I mostly use Windsor and Newton watercolors, but would like something more bold.
Is there a really bright, transparent  pink out there, that is not muted? It's my favorite color, and I can't seem to get the intensity I want. A transparent purple would be nice too. The one I've got is just too dull, I can't seem to do anything with it.
I've heard good things about Windsor and Newton's Opera pink, but don't have it yet.
The Daler-Rowney FW Acrylic inks are quite nice, and easy to use. I may have to take a trip to the art store for some more goodies :-)

thanks for reading!
xoxo

Illustration Friday - Star Gazing

Hello friends.  I couldn't resist this weeks topic at Illustration Friday. I had a great idea for last weeks, but never got to it on time, and was determined to not miss this one. I'm still working on my watercolor skills, I'd like to be more loose and playful, not always controlled.
Here's a tip for anyone wanting to practice with watercolor:   never paint on 90lb watercolor paper without stretching it first. This painting buckled big time!

Hitching a Ride Over the Moon

hello dear readers! I'm not feeling too inspired to write anything clever tonight, but here is my latest illustration on a vintage page.

Right now I'm waiting for my sister to bring me a carton of ice cream from a new shop that opened. I don't know what it is about this place, but the ice cream is addictive! Last weekend after a trip to the farmers' market for some fresh foods, we stopped by for a cone. I tried a peanut butter and banana cone, and wow!! I can't stop thinking about it, lol!

My window is open and I can hear a man whistling some old fashioned tunes, very loudly I may add. It's kind of nice, like in those old detective movies where a man dressed in a dark suit and fedora goes off whistling into the night.

Does anyone know when Project Runway will be airing in Canada? We are usually 3 weeks behind but I can't find information anywhere.

Oh my, this blog post is all over the place!  I better stop rambling now, haha!
Hope you are all enjoying your summer (or winter if you are in the Southern hemisphere).

Funky Cardinal and Free Vintage photo

hi everyone. Meet my latest critter done on a vintage book page. I thought since I've done so many girls, may as well draw a  cardinal. Yes I know he looks funny, but he is supposed to be a cardinal, lol!

Today I went to the Antique market  and picked up some nice vintage photos, as well as a couple of old childrens books. Here is one of the photos I purchased, that I would like to share with you.
 If you make anything with it, I'd love to see. I've been collecting things like this for a while now, but can't bring myself to use the originals in my art, even though that was the idea

Click on the image to bring up the larger size, then save it to your computer.  I will be adding more freebies in future posts. 
Can you imagine what it would have been like to be dressed like this in the summer heat? I'm pretty sure the women weren't allowed to shorts, lol!

Natalie baked you a pie...

Do you like it? The pie I mean, lol! Here is another of my ink on vintage page illustrations.

Did you all notice the nice new feature blogger has? The preview button now let's you see exactly how your post will look. Very cool!

This is a very short post as it's past midnight and I have to get up early tomorrow for work. Note to self: do NOT drink a Starbucks bold coffee a few hours before bedtime , haha! Now I'm paying for it.

have a great night!

Big Eye'd Mermaid Illustration.

hi everyone.  I'm still trying to figure out the best way to offer illustrations in my soon to be opened second Etsy shop. It's a lot of work! I'm not sure it's worth the effort, it's hard enough keeping one shop active. I won't bore you with all the details, lol!

Here is my latest big eyed character, with a visitor tagging along for the ride. Not sure how I would describe this illustration, it is sort of a print, but also original. The mermaid was printed on a vintage book page, then re-drew some of the lines, and added paint and other details.
I got lucky with these vintage books...they were being discarded, and I managed to get a few before that happened. This particular one is dated 1918, and I even found one dated 1890. It's nice to give old books a new life, as well as recycle. Watch for lots more illustrations on vintage pages.

It's been so hot and muggy the last few days, that it makes it quite difficult to sit in a hot little room and create. I hope you are all keeping comfortable where ever you are.
thanks for reading!

Hot and Lazy Sunday afternoon

hello everyone! It is gorgeous out these days, yet I've managed to get some new illustrations done. These are a bit different from my  last, but they are still on vintage pages. I was very lucky to salvage some old books heading for the dumpster, so I don't feel bad tearing them apart. One is from 1898, I haven't used the pages yet but I will.
These may have to be listed in my regular Etsy shop, since I haven't opened the second one yet, depends on how much time I have. It's been fun playing around with art, and being a bit more carefree.

The above piece was done on watercolor paper, and I added lots of various vintage text on top. I didn't have a plan, just let it go where it wanted to go. Sorry about the poor photos!

Today I took a drive to the Antique market that runs every Sunday, and I scored some wonderful paper to use in my art. I found 2 very old books filled with vintage wallpaper samples, and I got them for $5, for both!
Now it's a matter of figuring out how best to use them, the papers really are beautiful!
I also picked up these cute little Japanese made dolls. I know nothing about them, other than that they are story book characters.

It was a good trip. I went alone since everyone I know wanted to watch the World Cup final. Congratulations to Spain, and to the Netherlands for what I hear was a wonderful game.

I thought I'd mention a funny thing that happened to me this morning. I have a sweet little canary which I adore, named Lucas.  I took his feed dish to fill it up with seeds, and he flew out. I heard fluttering and when I looked around, he was on the floor looking at me, so I let him stay out for a bit and stretch his wings. When I went to catch him, naturally he tries to fly away. He flew into the bathroom, and I figured, no problem, this will be easy since the bathroom is so small. Before I had a chance to even walk towards him he flew right into the toilet! I quickly pulled him out, poor little guy! His belly and wings were wet so I dabbed him with a paper towel and placed him in his cage. He was perfectly fine, he's such a little trooper.

Last but not least, I mentioned buying lots of new plants in my last post and someone asked for a photo, so here is one that shows some of them. This is the stand by my kitchen window, and yes, that is a cat on top, lol! It's my sister's persian/himalayan cat.
I have to put 2 plants on the floor because she likes to lie on the shelf and watch the birds outside. The plants are throughout my home, but this is where most are.

hope you are all having a wonderful weekend
thanks for reading!

Flowers in the Desert

 I thought I'd show my latest illustration on a vintage book page. I'm enjoying working on these wonderful old, distressed pages.  I will post a more gothic style girl soon....

I picked up some canvas a few days ago but haven't had a chance to work on a smaller folk art girl. It's about time I get back to  original whimsical paintings. There aren't many left in my Etsy shop, and my goal is to refill it with new work. It's feeling a bit stale at the moment.
Do you ever get bored with the art you produce?

Today I plan to stay in  and work on a couple of my online classes.  I am in Mystele's Gut Art class  which I missed the first time it was offered. Unlike most classes I take, this one has a finish date, which is fast approaching, and I am getting through the first week now, behind as always, lol!  I admire her folk art style, and would love to learn to loosen up. Lots of videos to get through, and I would recommend this class to anyone who loves her work.

That's it for now, I spent the morning reading my favorite blogs, so now it's time for coffee and a video. What a perfect way to spend a rainy day :-)