Mermaid art and new art goodies

Hello all, This is a whimsical little mermaid I finished a few days ago...rather than printing out the words like I normally would, I thought I'd embrace my somewhat messy handwriting. It seems to work in this case

What do they say about best laid plans? well, after finishing her, I was eager to continue with a little flower fairy. I was so excited to get home from work and paint, and then life happened. One of those unexpected things that you need to take care of, which took my entire night and left me mentally exhausted...unfortunately it carried on throughout this past week. It's so easy to want to give up sometimes, or to just sit in front of the tv and relax after work. That's the easy way out. I'm tired of taking that road, because I have very little to show for last year, and I'm still pissed at myself for my lack of discipline. This year must be different, I need to push through the distractions, and the lack of motivation, and at least do something every day.
Otherwise what is the point? I know I'm not alone in this, as many artist suffer from the same thing. I feel for you working moms out there, it must be hard fitting in time for yourself when everyone else is screaming their share.
So, I will paint, tonight, don't care how late it is, but once I finish this post I will work on the fairy- or whatever else may show up. You can't always choose what characters will appear in your art!

On a happier note, I am a certified art supply junkie, I love supplies, can't get enough! and now that Amazon has a really good selection of stuff, it's very dangerous for someone like me, especially when I'm bored and wasting time on the computer, lol! someone on Facebook happened to mention some Posca paint markers at a good price, and there I was, clicking 'buy now, lol!

These beauties in this pic were just delivered to me, most of them are Ranger products I got on sale, and being absent minded I ordered the same color ink pad! oh, and I thought I was getting a bargain with those distress ink pads in front, but note the size of them, they are munchin sized!! hey at least I didn't pay much for them, that will teach me to click without reading the small print.

 If you have a Michaels close by, they have the spring bargain section out, and I got those two cute writing pads in the back right side of the photo...the new spring line is adorable! I picked up some greeting cards as well, and of course more scrapbooking paper as you can never have enough.

I'm off to play with my new paints, thanks for reading!
stay creative!
betty

hi everyone, I finished the work in progress painting from my last post. This is not quite what I had in mind. I planned to add red roses, but guess what, you cannot see red roses against red hair, lol! so I had to change my original idea, and added just one pink rose at the bottom. Oh well, not everything you try is going to come out as planned. So I just had fun and experimented, covering over the elements that didn't work. That's the beauty of mixed media on wood.


While I was on a mad hunt for a rose to stencil on her, I realized how much cool stuff I have that has never been used! I was looking through a clear container and it was filled with stencils, stickers, rub on letters, and other fun stuff. They were purchased for use in my art as well as my art journals (oops, they have been neglected, lol!).
A good New Year's Resolution will be to USE THEM UP, lol! and that includes all my Golden Fluid paints which I am 'saving' for when I'm a better artist. How silly is that? It's time to get out the good stuff, and have fun with it. So many supplies, so little time :-)


thanks for reading!

Carnival Girls

Hello lovely people!
Here she is, 'Dancing Delilah',  the painting I gave you a teeny little peak of on my last post. I had been holding onto this idea for a couple of years now, and I finally thought, enough!  I've always loved the gaudy glamour of carnivals since I was a child, and wanted to create these dolls/puppets, on a faded and shabby background.

Why did I wait so long you ask? well, I was plagued with the usual doubts of 'I'm not good enough yet'. You know, that negative voice in your head that is forever trying to hold you down.  That tells you to wait until you are a better painter/ artist/ writer, etc... Do you know what happens when you listen to that annoying voice, and don't create the thing you desire to create? Someone else beats you to it. That's right, and then you think to yourself  " I can't do it now, everyone will think I copied from so and so'.

This is not the case with these carnival girl paintings, but it has happened to me in the past when I've been holding onto an idea until I felt ready, and then one day noticed another artist doing the same thing. It can be very frustrating, and you feel deflated. 
I guess what I want to say is don't wait until you feel good enough. Just get your creativity out into the world, who cares if it is not perfect! Who said our art needs to be perfect anyway? I know I will never be fetching millions of dollars for my work, I simply do this because it is in my soul, and I can't imagine not creating. I do it because it is fun, and fulfilling. If others like my work, that is a bonus.

Creating should make you feel joyful and alive, not scared of making mistakes.  Put love into everything you do.  The world needs you to be who you were meant to be. No one else can do this.
Each one of us is a One-of a-Kind creation, so lets stop beating ourselves up over our perceived flaws, and celebrate them!

Thanks for reading

sweet poison, and my latest cheeky girl

It is so hot today! I refuse to turn the air conditioner on, since we haven't had a real summer for the last 2 years. I am sitting in my tiny little art room, it is so sticky, but I wanted to get my cheeky American girl finished, and varnished. I'm also listening to a great program on Hayhouseradio.com on healing spices. You may as well learn something while you work right?
I was reminded of the benefits of cinammon, so I promptly went to my kitchen, got a large glass of water and added a cinnamon stick to it. Water is another thing I forget to drink, I'm sure I'm not the only one.

There are so many easy things we can do to improve our health, but we have to make the effort. Most of them really don't take that long. I get lazy...but then I hear about another person struggling with illness, and am reminded how fragile this life is. I remember hearing a phrase that said basically make time for your health, or make time for illness. I have blogged before about my addiction to sugar.  I am in the process of cutting back, but it is not easy.  I remember learning that cancer cells need sugar to thrive, so you would think that kind of information would do it, but nope. I still continued. Why is it that caring for ourselves is so difficult?
Or perhaps it is the fact that sugar -especially the High Fructose syrop, is addictive and hard to stop.

I picked up a book out of curiosity from my library called the Belly Fat Cure and skimmed it briefly. His plan is not really a diet, but a change in how you eat, and one of the things he does is tell you to cut your sugar intake to 15 grams per day. When I look at a food label, I normally look to see how many carbs are in it, since all this time I thought that was the problem. Well I was in for a shock, sugar is everywhere! even in so-called healthy 100% bran cereal!! All this time I only considered things like cookies, muffins, and cakes as the things I needed to cut back on, only to find sugar lurking in almost all processed foods.

This was reinforced by another article on the dangers of sugar I read on Mercola.com.  This concerns me because I don't think we realize how dangerous it is, and by blogging about this, I hope some of you do a little research of your own. I don't want any more people to deal with illnesses that can be avoided by eating a more natural diet. I'm just saying know the facts, and make an educated decision when you are buying your groceries.  And if you think drinking diet soda is better, think again, it is poison! .The information is all out there if we want to see it. . Our lives are way too precious to take for granted, it's time to treat our bodies like the temples that they are.

thanks for reading, and stay healthy :-)

Blonde Angel

hi friends,  yes, another angel, but I tried to do blonde hair this time...it's not so easy.  Yesterday was such a gorgeous hot day, the first in a long while, so I made myself a coffee, and sat outside with my sketchbook. I worked out details on some ideas I had a while ago, and maybe this weekend will try one out,  after I clean up my workspace, what a mess!
It was never this bad when I did simple acrylic painting, but the moment I discovered mixed media, look out! not a single piece of paper gets thrown out now, as well as anything that may be added to a painting.  I've heard this from other mixed media artists, lol! I'm sure we all peel glue off our fingers every night before bed.

Another thing I'd like to get to is actually making my small art room feel more like a creative space. Maybe some nice Christmas lights hung on the window, and a tealight holder  to keep on the desk I work on.  This is supposed to be a creative area, and it looks anything but.  It amazes me I can work in such a cluttered area, but right now, it's the only space I have. I do know artists who work on a kitchen table, and they manage just fine. We got to make the best of what we have, and work around the limitations. You somehow focus on the work at hand, but I'm tired of not being able to find what I need due to clutter.  This sounds like a good project for this long weekend.

What are your plans this weekend?

Endless Night

Every night and every morn

Some to misery are born.

Every morn and every night

Some are born to sweet delight

Some are born to sweet delight

Some are born to Endless Night

God appears, and God is light,
To those poor souls who dwell in night;
But does a human form display
To those who dwell in realms of day.

Hello friends!  I  finished my latest mixed media painting called  'Endless Night'. After the pink angel I showed on my last blog post, I needed something a little darker.  I must say though, that this painting flowed so easily for me. It was so much fun, and I didn't have to think or plan, it just came together.  I'd say it's my favorite one in a long time.
She is based on the poem 'Auguries of Innocence' by William Blake, which I had memorized a while ago. One of my strange quirks that people don't know about me is that I love memorizing poems, just for the fun of it.  The lines you see above are from that poem, and I have added some on the painting, which I then covered lightly with sheer paint, and tissue paper.
There will be a companion painting for this, a lighter one, born to 'sweet delight'. 

thanks for reading!

Pink Angel

hello lovely people! I finished this mixed media angel tonight. She is a bit different from the original sketch I planned out, but once I got to this stage, I was afraid of ruining her with the idea I had. You will have to wait and see the next one I do to know what I mean. I went crazy with the background, using a few different techniques, and lots of gold leaf.
She's quite pink and glittery, just like my screen name, lol!

For the next one I think I will pull out my book on color  and try something with maybe yellow and green, for spring.

thanks for reading!

Illustration Friday - Shaky

This weeks topic for Illustration Friday is the word 'shaky'. It took me a while to figure out how to illustrate this one, but eventually came up with this quick little drawing showing how some of us would feel if we didn't get our morning coffee.

I would recommend joining Illustration Friday, it forces you to stretch yourself artistically. This is out of my comfort zone, but maybe if I stick with it, the ideas will come much easier. It's also a good way to kick your butt if you find yourself in a slump :-)

Of Fairy Tales and Cats

Today as I was looking through some old work I realized I haven't painted a fairy tale in a very long time. Back then I was struggling with my backgrounds, and working on creating prettier faces in my art.
Then I discovered ACEOs, and Mixed media, so my fairy tale series got put aside. It's time to do a new one. I think I have done 6, and next on my list was Cinderella. We shall see if I can find time this weekend to continue....

Other news, I saw the musical 'Cats' a few days ago. It was fantastic! As I was watching my little artist brain was busy planning out what paintings I could make based on it. Inspiration is everywhere! too bad that the image in my mind was much better than the end result. I don't care for this painting at all, I think I made her face way too wide. Oh well, you can't always get it right. I still beeswaxed her though, and will have it on my bookshelf to remind me of the musical.


Yesterday I received the last of my OWOH giveaway prizes, so here is a picture I took- sorry for the quality, it was overcast when I took it...on the left is the lovely mixed media canvas by Sanna, and on the right is the cigar box of incredible goodies are from Carole
I got so lucky with this event!


that's it for now, I must continue cleaning :-(

Outside my comfort zone

I love shabby art, but have never been able to create like that. I tend to be very controlled in the way I work, which is something I really want to change.

I painted this cowgirl, and used the background techniques from Suzi blu's latest workshop to create a more shabby effect. I ended up making it too dark, so had to go in and add some stars and stamping to break it up a little.
I just put her up on Ebay, and if she doesn't sell she will go into my Etsy store. I've got too many original paintings sitting in my art room, they need some love too!

It was fun doing something outside my comfort zone, and I'm already thinking the next girl I will do in this style. What a nice change from my usual 'pretty' backgrounds.
How do you like her goofy looking cat :-)

Time for Another Alice

Being part of the 'One World One Heart' giveaway (scroll below to the next post) made me see how much talent is out there! People have amazed me, and have made me so proud to be part of this group. What a great opportunity to meet new friends, and find more blogs to love!

I want to thank all the wonderful people who have entered my giveaway. I never expected so many comments, and I read every one of them. I have decided to add one more print. It will be a print of my latest painting (the one above), so there will be 3 winners instead of 2. This giveaway ends Feb 12th so there is lots of time to comment, and check out other participating blogs.
Thank you also to the followers of my blog! I love each and every one of you, and I thank you for believing in me and my work.

Right after I joined, I was inspired to create another mixed media painting on wood.
This one is titled 'Another Alice' (which I may change soon). I searched for the perfect quote from 'Alice in Wonderland' and none of them worked, or they were too long for this small piece. Finally, listening to a song called Karma Police by Radiohead, these words jumped out at me, and I thought they just might work.

What do you think? Words or no words? I wanted something a bit more than just a pretty girl.

***Just to avoid confusion, if you want to be entered in my giveaway, leave a comment on the post below this one titled 'One World One Heart Giveaway'. That is the post I will be drawing names from, not this one.... :-D

Don't they know it's the end of the world?

How's that for a title? This is my latest, a wee bit different from my others, but I felt like creating a sad forlorn girl. My inspiration came from the song called 'The end of the World'. I love the Carpenters version of this song, and I had it playing constantly while I painted this. The colors are more subdued, and the landscape is barren and gray. The only bright thing is the broken heart she holds. I added the following text:

Why does my heart go on beating?
Why do these eyes of mine cry?
Don't they know?
It's the end of the world.

I love adding words to my art, and should do it more often. It's not considered 'fine art' but I don't care. I am now just painting whatever I feel like, and trying not to worry how it looks to others. I have some online galleries but haven't updated regularly because I can't help but compare my work to other artists, and tend to feel a bit out of place. I know I need to stop worrying about my art fitting in, and just do it!

Check out the song behind the image: just click to play..

How about some puppy love?

Here is my latest. I love her! and once I get to the fabric store and buy some organza ribbon to hang her, she will be in my shabby chic living room. I wish I'd taken some pictures as I was working, just so you can all see the ugly phase before the girl started to emerge. I had such a hard time at first, the hair was originally going to be white, but I couldn't make the shading look good, it looked gray and dull.
I was only going to use pinks and white, but I added this very pretty spring green, and it just worked.
I finally managed to get a few prints listed in my Etsy shop as well. I've never been a big fan of them for myself, I prefer original art, but it seems like most people prefer prints. Probably because I'm too lazy to frame anything :-D
Good thing most people aren't like me!

Happy Election Day to my American Friends!

In honor of todays historical election, I thought I would offer up a mixed media painting I finished a few weeks ago. I didn't want to part with this, but then I want to keep all my paintings :-)
This was wood burned first on 6 x 12 birch plywood, then I went crazy with all sorts of materials. I love how she turned out.
I just put her up on ebay and if she doesn't sell, she will be placed in my Etsy shop. I titled her American Beauty.

May I just add that, no matter which way the election goes (although it seems pretty apparent who the winner will be) may it be the best for all Americans. I hope this new government results in a stronger, and more united country.

Blessings from this Canadian gal :-)

Happy Halloween!

I love halloween, and had all these great ideas for paintings planned for months. Of course, before I knew it, it was almost the end of October, and I only managed 2 new witch paintings. Time seems to be speeding up, you think you have so much of it, then find it has slipped away once again. I may add them to my Etsy store anyway. I did sell one of my favorite paintings last year after Halloween (the one my avatar is based on).

I spent last weekend re-arranging my tiny little art room. I have a large bookshelf on one wall filled with books I planned to read 'some day'. It finally occurred to me that this space would be more useful holding my art supplies and canvases that have been stacked on my floor. So I spent a full day weeding through books, and deciding which to give to goodwill. Isn't it funny that books you may have had sitting unread for 10 years would be so hard to get rid of? I figure if I haven't read them by now, I never would. So off they went. And what a great feeling that was!
Now my mixed media supplies are neatly organized on 2 shelves, beside my desk. I find it very hard to create when everywhere you look is cluttered. I always say, if you are feeling stuck, clean, organize, and you will see how quickly your muse comes out to play. The next day, I sat down and created another mixed media girl, in black white and pinks, which I love! I will post her here once I decide on a name :-D

Blogs and Books

It's about time I did an update. I sure hope I don't get into the habit of doing one every month.

Well, I am very excited to be featured on the blog 'Path of Heart'. It is a wonderful gathering of artists who honor Julia Cameron's very popular book 'The Artist's Way'. I had read this book many years ago, and found it incredibly inspirational. A delightful artist nicknamed 'Garlic' contacted me, and wrote up a lovely interview, with one of my favorite paintings being showcased. You can find the blog here : http://smartists.blogspot.com/

I started reading this blog and couldn't stop, the stories and authors really drew me in. Take a peek, and you will see what I mean.

*******************

Another good note, I will also have some of my ACEOs featured in a book called 'Create. Collect. Trade. A Collection of Artist Trading Cards Created by Artists and Students'. I decided to participate this year as it is for a good cause, and I will be joining many other terrific artists. Check out the blog if you are interested in joining, or purchasing a copy of the book which will help purchase books for the students... http://createcollecttrade.blogspot.com/

For those unfamiliar with ACEOs, they are little mini works of art that must measure 2.5" x 3.5" (which is the size of a playing card). I have done so many of these fun little cards, and sold many on Ebay and Etsy. With the Christmas season coming upon us (YAY!!) I plan to do many more. Check out my Etsy store if you'd like to see what ACEO cards I have available for sale. The pumpkin patch fairy on top of this post is an ACEO.

Meanwhile, I have been concentrating on mixed media paintings. I just finished a large 12 x 24 painting for my younger sis's birthday, and am happy to say she loved it. Here is a pic I took before it was done...



Now that this large project is finished, I must find time to start on the new workshop I signed up for with Wyanne, another of my favorite artists. It started Sept. 29th and I haven't done a single exercise yet! I am very excited to learn even more techniques for backgrounds, as that tends to be my weak area.
The internet has opened a whole new world for me with regards to art classes. I always thought that you could only be taught in a class room, but after finishing my Suzi Blu workshop, I know that is no longer true. The best part is you can work at your own pace, and meet so many incredibly talented people from around the world. I am hooked, and am already planning my next one.
I would highly recommend online workshops for any artists out there who want to work on their craft. If we stop learning, our art becomes stale. Art for me is a life long passion, and my one true love :-) With the selection of books and youtube videos out there, how on earth can you ever be bored? My only problem with that is I enjoy them so much I forget to do my own...so on that note, I am off to begin working on my latest girl....

Wishing you a fantastic day, and many blessings