Weekly Challenge at Inspiration Avenue: "Broken Pieces"

This week the theme at Inspiration Avenue was "Broken Pieces" and what immediately came to my mind was the collaged art journals I've been making. 

I've always loved making collages and when I had the idea to use prints from my paintings to make altered books, it was a natural transition to the journals I find myself hooked on creating!  There's just something so satisfying about tearing and cutting and gluing pieces of paper and scraps of ribbon to make something new! 

I love quotes, and any chance I can use them in my work makes me happy!  And of course any opportunity to use my scraps of ribbon is a good thing- I have everyone I know saving them for me plus tissue and wrapping papers! 

Be sure to stop by Inspiration Avenue this Sunday to see what everyone else has submitted for this challenge.  Or, even better, take a little time to make something to submit for yourself!  Each week you enter, gives you a chance to win our monthly giveaway!
This month's giveaway is offered by Robin:

 I'm writing this from my husbands computer while everyone is sleeping....yes, my computer is officially dead- so I'll have to take stolen moments here and there to blog and even more importantly, READ my favorite blogs!
For now, cheers and hugs-
Stephanie

WIP and MAJOR computer woes.....

Arrgh, I never knew how hooked I was on the computer until mine stopped working!  At this time, I can count on being able to use my computer for 13 minutes and then it shuts down- this includes online and offline time  Did I say arrgh?  My husband is a major computer guru and he's always been able to fix any comp problems before.  Unfortunately, he;s pretty sure the problem is the fact that my HP is slowly dying.  I personally am wondering if I've given it a nervous breakdown from over use?  Is that possible.....?  Anyway, it took me three tries, but I managed to upload some pictures of my current WIP and save them to Picasa- hopefully I'll be able to upload them here from my DH's computer.....:)

Now, please remember this is a WIP and right now, I know it's way too red/green or complimentary color dominant.......but overall I'm pleased with the direction she is moving in.  Tomorrow, I'll be adding a series of browns and puces and my new obsession, hummingbirds.  Plus more flowers and different colors of flowers to change up the palette a bit.
So that's all for now, I just wanted to check in. 
Have a great night all!
Stephanie

Weekly Challenge at Inspiration Avenue: "What's Your Favorite Month?"

Judy had a really fun theme this week at inspiration avenue- "What's your favorite month".  I immediately said April, because I LOVE Spring, when the garden is bursting with new life and it's also my birth month.  I usually get a gift from my garden- each year my roses bloom just in time for my birthday......
With the return of the flowers, comes the return of the hummingbirds- I could watch these little beauties ALL day long!  I love when they surprise me working in the garden, I'll ear the sound of their wings, look up; and there one is- right beside me!
So, for my entry this week at IA, I created a painting in an effort to encompass it all.....the hummers, roses, infinity and of course a muse for the garden.... 
Here is "Infinite Spring"

There are three hummingbirds "hidden" in the background of green roses with one coral-ly pink rose for contrast and I couldn't resist giving the muse a touch of Klimtishness with her medallions....

Here is something I found on Hummers that I thought was neat:

The hummingbird symbolizes many different concepts. Because of its speed, the hummingbird is known as a messenger and stopper of time. It is also a symbol of love, joy, and beauty. The hummingbird is also able to fly backwards, teaching us that we can look back on our past. But, this bird also teaches that we must not dwell on our past; we need to move forward. When the hummingbird hovers over flowers while drinking nectar, we learn that we should savour each moment, and appreciate the things we love.
Very fitting symbol for the theme....
Be sure to hop over to Inspiration Avenue to see what everyone else created for the theme- I'm always amazed at the variety we get each week!

Revamping my Etsy Store and Need Feedback......

Good Morning, all- I hope everyone is enjoying their Monday.
I've been planning to do a shop makeover for a while now and just started taking new pictures for my shop.  I'm not planning to change any of my painting listings since I'm pretty happy with them the way they are.

What I need help with are my card listings!
Before, I just had an image of the painting the card was printed from and now (slowly- I have more than 40 cards in my shop!) I want to include more pictures.....
That's where I need feedback!
Here are some of the pictures I've taken:

This one I'm pretty happy with- I think it's a good representation of what the card looks like.  HOWEVER, I am part of a group that does a lot of treasuries and participates in them too- so, if you were creating a treasury; would you want to use the above image or this one? 

  And the same goes for this; the more interesting ones to look at, or a straightforward shot of the image for the card?  

I personally really like this one.....

 

 And this shot, or a similar one will also be in each of my card listings, just to show how they are packaged- tho' I know the clear plastic doesn't show up well in the pic....

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Stephanie

New Tulip Painting- "Snow White and Rose Red"

This is the first of two paintings I had on hold until I decided where I wanted to go with them.  Initially it looked like this:

 But I was unhappy with the background and I didn't like how perfectly symmetrical the tulips were, especially the red one.....backgrounds are usually the hardest part of painting for me.  This one has been more colors than I care to admit!  Anyway, after studying it for awhile, I knew I wanted to add more leaves into the background and I wanted to change the red tulip to a red flame tulip.  So, that's what I did, and I like it MUCH better now!  The flame tulip has that asymmetrical feel that I love about parrot tulips and it offers a bit more interest to the overall composition.

 So that's one of two that I wanted to rework and then I'll be ready to start something new.  Of course, since posting the image for my next painting, one of my "free" spirited ladies has popped up in my head and is rather insistently begging to be put at the top of the queue......so who knows what my next piece willbe.  Maybe I'll let Inspiration Avenue's next challenge decide for me!
Toodles for now,
Stephanie

Weekly Challenge at Inspiration Avenue: "What Inspires You?"

Once I get my last 2 WIP's done, my next planned piece is from a picture I took at the Atlanta Flower Show a couple of years ago.  It was part of a competition of window boxes, and I just loved it!  This year's flower show is coming up next month and I can't WAIT  It's like a whispered reminder that spring is around the corner with all the Hyacinths, and tulips and daffodils everywhere, plus SO many ideas for gardening AND inspirations for painting....like I said, I can't wait!
For now, I will bask in memories and anticipation for the next show, while I paint this beautifully mossy lady.
So, here's my entry for this week's challenge at Inspiration Avenue; the theme is "What Inspires You?" and for me, of course it has to be flowers, gardens and women....

Have a warm and wonderful Thursday.  here in Georgia, we've been stuck in the snow and ice since Monday...the kids are celebrating the longest snow break they have ever had, and I'm starting to crawl the walls- just a bit :)
Don't forget to stop by Inspiration Avenue on Sunday to see what everyone else came up with for the challenge.  As always, the results are sure to be fantastic!
Cheers,
Stephanie

New original acrylic painting- "Tulipa Rococo"

I finished my "Tulipa Rococo" today and in spite of MANY computer issues, managed to get it listed in my Etsy shop.  Anyway, here it is- I am very happy with it and now ready to move on to finishing my other two WIP's.....

Have a great day!

Stephanie

Weekly Challenge- OR, What I would have Submitted, Had I finished in Time.....

Time seems to be becoming more and more of an issue for me these days.  I don't understand but I need to fix it!  It was a little embarrassing to not have an entry for this week's challenge at Inspiration Avenue since I was the one who set the prompt.....but my daughter was sick all week, and I was down with a cold and add that to de-Christmasing the house, I just didn't get done on time!
However, I can show my painting to you as a WIP......I'm back on a temporary Tulip kick and my prompt was Color- do you dream in color and if so, which one is the one that sings for you?  My favorite colors have ALWAYS been purple and green in varying shades at various times in my life.  What's funny, is those are probably my least favorite colors to paint with!
For now, it's hot rich passionate VERMILION that sings it's voice into most of my work.  I'll vary it a little sometimes with pinks and magenta but it's always there in the background.....
SO.  Here is what for now I'm calling Rococo.....

So the only thing about vermilion is the fact that it's translucent and to get the brilliance I see in my head, I have to create layer on top of layer on top of layer....like I said, this is a WIP but I'm hoping to finish in the next day or two.  Because I'm feeling inspired to get moving on some new pieces!
Happy Creating,
Stephanie

Reflections, Ruminations and Resolutions......

I've been inspired lately by all the personal reflecting and musing going down on some of my favorite blogs. Which made me think of how I've been considering my art style and possible ways of changing it and THAT led me to think about where I was this time last year in bloglandia........So, I've decided to start a new series where I'll choose one post from last year and compare it to where I am right now and where I'd like to be this time next year.

For my first post reflecting I've chosen my entry at Inspiration Avenue when I introduced my "Muse in the Garden" for the theme of Mystique........

Here's the link to that post:

http://dragonflydegignstudios.blogspot.com/2010/01/weekly-challenge-at-inspiration-avenue_23.html

This was the first of my looser, more "free" paintings and the first glimmer I had of what direction I wanted my art to move towards. I've always loved painting people- women especially and I've always been drawn to romantic art.......

So for today;

My Reflections: at this time last year, I recognized that I wanted to see a change in the art I create. I love my flowers and will continue doing them, but I also want to create more of my women paintings!

Ruminations: Right now, I have 3 pieces in the works, plus 2 on the back burner they range from 2 tulip paintings to a red heided woman to a mossy statue of a woman in a garden. I feel like this is the right direction for me- I always see where there needs to be improvement, and one goal is to not be too hard on myself......

Resolutions: In one of my most recent posts, I opened up A LOT (for me anyway) and I got so much feedback telling me that you guys enjoyed hearing the more personal side of me. I am a very shy person in general and a lot of times I have a hard time believing that anyone would be interested in hearing about my life outside of the artist part......so, I'm working on being more personal here in my blog.

I had to share this picture. I like to call it; "Cat and Mouse" :D

And that would be our cat, Latte- the family ham!
Until next time, have a wonderful day!
Stephanie

Weekly Challenge- "What Direction is Your Art Going in......"

I thought this week's challenge at Inspiration Avenue was perfect- at least for me.  It hit home in terms of my own recent self reflection on my art- i.e. where it is now and where do I go from here......and I think my newest painting fits the theme perfectly.  No I still haven't finished it (I've been painting walls instead of canvases this week- our daughter wanted a room makeover for Christmas, so I'm living in the land of PINK and zebra stripes.....REALLLY ready for some canvas work, let me tell you ;))
Anyway, my own goals are to keep on the track I've been on of late- stay loose and keep focused- do more paintings of women and find a way to combine the  flowers and women into a new series.....
For now, here is my Feminine Mystique 2 I haven't even titled her yet, tho that doesn't mean I'm not pleased with her.....

Here she is, and writing this post reminds me that next week's challenge is up to me........eeeeee, I guess I'd better start thinking!  For the time being, be sure to pop over to Inspiration Avenue for a peek at what everyone else did for the challenge.  As always, it's sure to be wonderfully diverse!

Cheers, and Happy New Year!

Stephanie