More folk art, and a great link for Health conscious people

hi folks, well I finished the second primitive style painting a few days ago. I like how she turned out even though this isn't my normal style. It's nice to try different things to keep you fresh. At one point I was ready to just give up, I had white paint on my brush and was going to eraser her, but I pressed on, until I got a face I was happy with.  So now, maybe it's time to incorporate this loose, and colorful style, with my usual big-eyed girls I am used to doing...?
I'm starting to find that I absolutely love doing backgrounds now! that used to be my weak spot, but now it's so relaxing to glue bits of paper down on a canvas, and cover it over, add more paper, add more paint, and on and on. This is the sort of thing you can always do when you are not in the mood to paint. Just put 3 - 4 canvases on your table, rip up various bits of paper, and start gluing. Then put them aside, work on them when the mood hits you, and when you finally feel the urge to do a full painting, you've got part of the work already done...no need to wait for stuff to dry either! 

I also wanted to recommend to anyone who is interested in their health, to join this free 'summit'.
You simply sign up with your email, and will be getting links to these really great interviews which you can phone in to, or what I do is listen after the event, through the internet. Each interview is available for 24 hours. I just finished listening to one by a Dr. Michael Kloper which was really fantastic, and wanted to link you all up before it's done.
this is the link to the Food Revolution Summit:
http://www.foodrevolution.org/summit#.UYJtQ8rotJQ

I've listened to many of these type of broadcasts in the past, and gain so much knowledge from each one.  Sorry I didn't get this post up yesterday when I wanted to!
thanks for reading!

My medinilla plant, and some Art

hello fellow bloggers, yes I am still around, and I feel so bad for neglecting my blog! I've wanted to update many times but felt I had nothing really to say. On top of that, I haven't been creating much art lately, in fact, this one above is the second painting in a few months. Just haven't been in the mood.  This winter has felt like the longest one ever, so depressing and dreary. For some reason, the sky has been white, overcast and grey, rather than the clear blue skies I am used to seeing.
No matter, it is almost May, and today was a gorgeous day, so here I am saying hello to my blogging friends. I am so looking forward to the warmer weather arriving.
It gets even harder to create when you want to be outside, but if I can get organized, I'd like to take my art journal outside with some supplies, and just play. I've been reading some of my fave blogs all along, and am happy that I am not the only one who has slowed down on posts, I don't feel so bad now. Hopefully I can at least be more consistent. The secret for me, is to look at this as just an online diary, rather than feel I have to be clever.
Now I would like to show you a gorgeous plant I picked up at a home show called a Medinilla. I believe it is only grown in Ontario right now, and is shipping around North America. This plant is stunning! and after it almost tipping over a couple of times I found the perfect pot. This is definitely a centerpiece among all my plants, and I do have lots, lol!

Click on the pics for a closer look.

Well folks, that's it for now. Next post I will show you some of the journal backgrounds I've done.
thanks for reading!

Some witchy art

Does anyone else feel like Blogger is way more complicated than before? Maybe it's because I'm not used to it yet, but I find myself almost dreading making a new post....it's too glitchy! and from some comments I've been receiving, I'm not the only one having trouble!

Above is my latest witch, sorry about the not so great photo. I am still without a printer/scanner, and trying to get a good photograph is impossible! It's so overcast here, that by the time I get home, the sun is gone over the neighboring houses, so I can't get an accurate image  Now that I started painting again, the last thing I want to do is stress over photographs. 

It feels good to get some new art done. Once again my sketchbook is filling with ideas, and any day now, I will start with the Christmas art. It's coming alot faster than you think! Once Halloween is over, the holiday season swings into full speed- at least here in Canada, and every year I am left unprepared. It would be nice to be ahead for once in my life, lol! I really envy those of you who are so organized,  manage to get everything done on time, and manage to take gorgeous photos too! 

Have you ever looked through the magazine called Artful Blogging? pure eye candy. I just want a fraction of the prettiness found inside. My blog is so plain, no frills, no fancy lettering, but with so little time,  you have to pick and choose where you spend it. Right now I need to focus on getting better at my art, and as much as I wish I could take gorgeous photos of my art to put on Etsy, it just isn't going to happen.  It sucks, but that's life.  Besides, I went on an art supply shopping spree on Etsy and at Micheals, and  got myself a whole lot of fun stuff to play with!  Papers and stickers and tapes, oh my!

thanks for reading, and have fun wherever you are
xoxo

An early Halloween painting

hi friends, I'm making an effort to be more consistent with blogging, we shall see how it goes, lol!
As I write, the winds are howling outside my window, and it gets dark much earlier. .My favorite time of year!
Makes me want to drink coffee all day long, And I just noticed on the calendar that our Thanksgiving is on Oct 8th??? WHAT? that's pretty early, normally it's mid October. Oh well, that means I get to enjoy pumpkin pie earlier, and there's nothing wrong with that :-)

I finished 2 Halloween paintings on the weekend, including the one above. I like the other one too, but the scan is crappy so I don't want to show it until I can figure out why my computer doesn't like my camera's memory thingy. It's very liberating to paint looser than I am used to. I love folk art, but normally am too controlling...this time I let things get messy. Hey! what the heck is that 3-eyed thing doing at the bottom of my painting???
just kidding, it's a sticker, lol! I love stickers, and other fun embellishments, they add an extra bit of whimsy to your art. You can't tell, but there are lots of various papers underneath. Normally I do lots of layering before I paint the main image, but I think I overdid the paint bit, because you can't really see the papers anymore. Next time, I will make sure I add some acrylic glazing liquid to the paint, to make it more sheer, so that you can see the backgrounds. So the viewer may not see all the layering, but the artist knows it's there, and that makes me happy :-)

That's it for now, I'm going to watch the Voice, one of my favorite tv shows. Hope you are all doing well.
thanks for reading.

Two New Snow fairies

hi everyone. Did you all have a nice Thanksgiving (those of you in America)?Now the countdown to Christmas begins. Can you believe it's less than a month away?
This year I wanted to get some seasonal fairies done before the end of the year, and the one above is the first. She is on a wood panel, my favorite base, and this time I let lots of the wood show through. Maybe she will sprinkle some flurries my way, lol!
The original is listed in my Etsy shop (I'm also offering prints of her as well), and hopefully, will have some blank greeting cards as well. If I manage that, it will be the first time I've been this organized for the holidays!

For the second fairy, I think I went a bit crazy with the sparkle, but I think she will appeal to those who love fantasy, and sparkly things, lol!
Prints are offered in my Etsy shop, as well as the original.

Well, that's it for the night. I thought I'd give a quick update. Hopefully I can get some Christmas photos up next time. I was in some cute shops today, but  haven't checked  the camera yet to see if they turned out.
thanks for reading!

New Art

hi friends. Did you remember to turn back your clocks? This is so much better than in the spring when we lose an hour. However, be prepared, because it will now get dark a little after 5,  lol!

I've always loved painting shabby folk art girls, but never used beeswax as a finish. Normally I use a nice satin varnish, but for the next few, beeswax will be the way to go. It smells divine! and it really does give your paintings a glorious, dreamy finish.   I see these little canvases as experiments, where I get to play, and try out new things. 
The first one I did yesterday  looked great,  until I added the beeswax. I must have scraped off some paint, because there was dark smudges on her face, and there is no way to fix it. I should have known not to experiment on the more expensive wooden canvases,  she is now heading for the trash...oh well, live and learn.

 This angel painting is more my usual style. She was made  for an auction for charity. I can't seem to get away from putting little kittens in my angels' arms though, lol! She turned out pretty good, that I will be offering prints in my Etsy shop. With all the craziness of this world,  we can all use more angels.

I hope everything is good where you all are, thanks for reading!

Here come the witches!

It's hard to think of Halloween when we are still in September (well not true, I think of Halloween year round, lol!), but I thought I'd better get a head start on my paintings, otherwise I find myself scrambling to get some art done. I finally finished this one, which I started 3 days ago. She is my first in a series of little Witchlings, and I named her Nina.In my initial sketch, she was supposed to be a red head, but she had other plans, lol! For my next one I will try to do red hair, but that is not a promise- my fellow artists know how a painting will tell you what it wants, and there is nothing you can do about it, lol!

I love doing these kinds of paintings where you use so many layers, and keep covering stuff, adding even more layers on top. It just makes it more interesting, rather than a plain background, which although is easier, there really is no mystery in it. I was lucky to find a book on the history of magic that was being discarded from my library, which I used for the tree. It is from 1854! How cool is that?
Nina can be found in my Etsy shop. (Sold)

hope you are all having a wonderful weekend. It's very chilly here, perfect weather to stay in and paint, and drink lots of coffee :-)
thanks for reading!

new mermaid painting

It's been a while since I did  a mixed media paintings on wood, so here's my newest. I must have spent at least 10 hours on it, the background originally had seaweed, but I hated how that looked, so I kept playing around with it until I was happy with the result. I forgot how much fun it was to use my wood burner. It also gave me a chance to get out my glitter and gold stars, lol!

Since the weather is still crappy and overcast, I will take advantage and stay inside working on more art.

I have a question for my fellow bloggers: does this happen to you?  when I am writing a blog post, and I hit the enter key to move to a new paragraph, the curser jumps to the top of the page...what's up with that?? and I noticed last night, Blogger won't let me sign out. Is there some weird glitches happening?

hope you are all having a lovely weekend where ever you are, and thanks for reading!

Some journaling portraits

hi everyone.  I finally started doing some of the workshops I had signed up for. I am forever behind , it's worse when they are ongoing. It gives me an excuse to postpone working on them. Last week, I decided it was time to get to to Jodi Ohl's workshop called 'lets face it'. The above is my first page using her instruction.
I was watching American Idol, and Casey sang Nature Boy, which was going through  my head as I painted the girl, so I thought I'd write some of the lyrics down, changing it to 'girl' of course. The rest of the page is blank, as I am stumped as to what else to add, lol!

This next one is another fun portrait I did. For this one, I didn't do a sketch first, but started painting the face free lance. This looks nothing like my usual whimsy faces but I am very happy with it.
I am trying to get more creative with journaling, as it's been something I love when others do, but I have such a hard time with it. Practice makes perfect I suppose. I love the quote used. It's a reminder for me to work on what I love and stop wasting so much time!
Once I finish this post I will be working on my next face. Who knew this would be so much fun?
Maybe my renewed motivation is due to spring coming? Or the fact that it feels like time is speeding up, who knows?  With everything going on in the world, art is a refuge for me, and I know for many of you as well. It's what makes us happy. It's also a way to leave a bit of ourselves in our art.  When I paint, everything is beautiful, and time stands still. I could do this for hours, taking only short breaks to make some delicious coffee.
After the long slump I  had this is a refreshing change. Hopefully my muse will stick around longer this time, lol!

______

PS -Regarding my last post,  Thanks to everyone who mentioned stretching my watercolor paper. Of course!! How did I not know that? That's exactly what I needed to hear, so thanks to those of you kind folks who  took the time to remind me of something that should have been so obvious. The art community is filled with the best people on the planet, and I adore you all :-)

It's here! the One World One Heart Blogging Event.

hello everyone! this is an exciting day. It is the 5th and final One World One Heart event, an idea brought to life by the wonderful Lisa Swifka.
This is an event for bloggers worldwide, in which we get to visit new blogs, make new friends, and even have a chance to win a prize.  This is my third time participating in this annual event where I have discovered many new blogs and met some fantastically creative people.

I will be drawing two winners  for my giveaway.  The first prize will be for the original mixed media angel painting you see on the top of this post (size: 6" x 8" canvas)  (15 x 20 cms).
The second prize will be for your choice of any print from my Etsy Shop.

For those who don't know me, I am a self taught artist who likes to create all kinds of whimsical art including ACEOs, angels, mermaids, and big eyed girls.

How to enter my giveaway

In order to have a chance to win, all you have to do is have a blog, and leave a comment on this post. Very easy, right?
The giveaway ends on February 17th, and I will use a Random Number generator to pick the winners.
I will announce the winner on my blog, as well as contact them.

For more information, and for a list of all participants,  please go to the OWOH blog, and enjoy your trip around the world!

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!

New Christmas Angel painting

                                                      

                                              My latest painting called:   A baby changes everything. (SOLD)

Have you ever heard a song that was so beautiful that you needed to illustrate it?  I listen to all Christmas music radio these days, and I heard this song by Faith Hill called 'A baby changes everything'. I didn't pay attention to it at first, but once I did and really heard it I knew I wanted to make a Christmas Angel, and include words this time. I started it last night, and worked away until it was done. When I find inspiration  in a song, I play it over and over again while painting, hoping to convey the right feeling. I honestly don't know if I succeeded. Sometimes the image in our head is difficult to bring to fruition.
It's listed in my Etsy shop if anyone wants a very sparkly Christmas painting :-)

So are my American friends enjoying their Thanksgiving weekend? Did you all hit the malls for Black Friday? I can't even imagine what that must be like, I read about the chaos in the papers, lol! I think I'd rather stay inside and shop online. I love going into stores, but it's the line ups that drive me crazy. As I age, I find my patience wearing thinner.

This last Thursday I went to the last craft show of the season, it's called the One of a Kind show, and it features over 800 vendors. Fun, but tiring. My feet were killing me after all that walking...and as you get to the end you find yourself passing by the booths much quicker. It's hard to maintain your excitement after seeing so much. Luckily you can pick up a pass to go back later on - it's a 10 day event.  I would love to go back a second time for another look.

That's it for now, I'm off to do a bit more painting
thanks for reading

Snow Angel

hi everyone, here is my first 'winter' painting for the season, the first of many I hope. Sorry for the bad photo, it's evening, and I have a crappy camera, lol.
I had to stop myself from creating too much texture which is not an easy thing to do. I love texture! but unfortunately, if you want to make prints of something, the surface needs to be relatively smooth.
Do you think I should add text to the painting? I was thinking of the words 'let it snow'...or should I leave it as is? I'm on the fence right now...

Thanks for all the sweet comments on my mermaid journal page from my last post! You've inspired me to keep at it. When I posted that page, I didn't think it was all that creative but now I know that there is room for all types of pages. It's those darn expectations that we all have to deal with. Let's keep reminding each other to just go for it, create for the sheer joy, and stop expecting our work to be like everyone else's.
My blog friends are the best!

thanks for reading, have a blessed day
betty

The witch is done!

Here is the (almost) finished witch painting that I showed you in my last blog post. I say 'almost' because I like to go back in after a day or so, and add more little details. I need to lighen up, lol!
I went back over my blog because I couldn't remember the last actual painting I did....it was in June! Wow, I went that long without painting my whimsical girls!  I need to make sure that doesn't happen again.
The background gave me trouble when I started, but after a while, it seemed to flow. So much for keeping it simple, I started adding layers for some interest.  The secret is to just paint, and let it go where it wants to, and mostly, don't stress about it.  There is no right or wrong way to do art, and even if you make mistakes, you simply learn from them, and apply what you have learned the next time.
I'm looking forward to my next painting now, maybe I can get into some kind of groove, and not go another 3 months!

The last couple of days we have had some insane weather. Yesterday they were calling for a 'weather bomb', which I have never heard of. For us we had  the craziest winds  and they've lasted so far for 2 days.
According to the news it hit lots of areas hard, especially in the US.
Were any of you affected?  I'm surprised at the intensity, and how much area it has covered. Makes me think that we are in for a hell of a winter.

thanks for reading!

Long overdue re-organizing

The last few days I have decided to completely re-organize my entire home. I couldn't stand the clutter and chaos any longer. So last night I went to Walmart and picked up some shelving units and storage boxes. I removed everything from one of my closets, threw out 2 bags of old clothing that I will never wear, and basically organized it so well I can't believe I never thought of this before.  It has such a better energy now. I don't have to sift through art supplies, canvases, and perfume bottles (they need to be in a cool place) that I had stacked on the floor. Now everything has it's place. 

Today's project is the kitchen, and I am being ruthless, throwing out old recipes that I have torn out of magazines over the years. I figure with the internet, and so many online recipe sites, why would you keep loose pieces of paper? Oh, and the fact that I really don't cook anything that fancy may have something to do with it, lol!

This still life painting you see has been sitting unfinished, started in an acrylics class I had taken many years ago. It was done on the last date of the class, and I remember it well because we had a blizzard that night, and me and another gentlemen were the only ones that showed up, haha! So we got lots of attention from the instructor. She had us stand at our easel, and made sure we painted with a thick brush, very loosely, and at arm's length from the canvas. I had never painted this way and it felt awkward, but in a way,  very liberating. I feel like I could see the shadow and shapes much better this way. I've always loved this painting, probably because I was surprised I could paint this way.
Maybe this weekend would be a good time to finally finish it, so that I can display it - unless I completely mess it up, lol!  We shall see.....

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?

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!

Mother's Day Art and a WIP

hi everyone! I thought I would show my latest folk art painting. You may have seen the rough sketch for this last week.
What a relief to finally finsh it. I changed the background 3 times!  nothing seemed to work, so after adding some nice vintage papers for texture, I ended up gessoing over it, and trying another color. That didn't work either, it was the wrong shade of blue. So out comes the white gesso, and then I came up with this one which I am happy with. I wanted the mother and her kids to stand out against a shabby background. Now if you can't tell, the kid on the left is a boy, lol! and my very first one. I think he's kind of cute :-)

Next up, is a work in process I am doing for the Gut Art class taught by the awesome Mystele. Working with this much color and this loose is very new for me, but I'm loving every second of it. Can't wait to get back to it. This may not look  like my style, but I really enjoy learning new things. There are so many online workshops out there, and I believe in learning all you can about something you are passionate about. Art should also be fun. I realize I never play at art, I am too serious, and spend countless hours trying to make sure a painting is 'perfect'. It feels good to let go of that, and let a painting go where it wants to.
thanks for reading!

A Mother's Love

My latest painting for Mother's Day. I didn't realize how quickly it was coming up so I had to do at least one with a mother and daughter.   I used various papers to add texture to the background,  and then went and covered them! For some reason, I can't do a painting without layers, even if I am the only one who knows what's hidden underneath...it's listed in my Etsy shop.

The bunny girl from yesterday's post  is already sold! Does anyone else miss their paintings when they sell?
I have a few that I can't part with, which is silly because they are tucked away in an archival box for safekeeping.  How crazy is that?? I think they need to be appreciated, and hanging on a wall somewhere. One day I may decide to finally let them go. Maybe  I will photograph a couple and show them here.

Next on my to do list is a painting of a mother with a boy and girl. I've never painted a whimsical boy, so I'm a bit nervous about it. We shall see how it turns out.
thanks for reading!
xoxo

Latest Painting

Hi folks!
Here is the almost finished painting that I blogged about last week. The dark and gloomy weather of the past few days finally cleared up long enough for me to take a photo.
It is inspired by the movie 'The Snow Walker', which was fantastic! this is my loose interpretation of the Inuit girl named Kanaalaq. 
After not painting any portraits for almost 4 months, I had a hard time getting this one right. In the movie, the girl has pale skin and rosy cheeks, that's what gave me trouble. Looking at it now, I wonder if the cheeks are too pink? I was hoping to make her look younger as well. Hey, at least I finally did it, so it goes to show you, no matter how long you have been in an art slump, or unmotivated,  it can all come back. It wasn't a good feeling sitting back and watching others create, while I found excuse after excuse for not painting.
I'm almost embarrassed to admit that I did a blog post about staying motivated, lol! I will have to look that one up, and take my own advice :-D


 One little piece of advice to my fellow artists, double check before you wood burn an image, that the eyes are even, haha!  I was finished painting the face, when I noticed one eye seemed higher than the other. What a huge pain in the butt to redo!