Two and Three Fourths of a New Series......

Who hoo!  I seem to have finally gotten it all together!  I've been juggling baking and making jams to sell at our local farmer's market (plus my cards ;)) twice a week with teaching and finally, FINALLY, regular painting!  All added together, it almost equals a "real" job, and one that allows me to stay at home to be available to kids and hubby!  It's been really hard, but I think I've found a rhythm that I can do it all! 

Last week I started a new series of mini paintings- I wanted to have a different price point for my original paintings.  Right now, they're featuring pansies- yep, once again, I'm on a flower kick!
These are sweet little 4"x4"x1" deep canvases (these images are almost actual size!) and I've been listing them on Etsy as fast as I can paint them!  They'll be coming in as cards too as soon as I take the time to put some together- maybe even today!

For now, here's "Copperfield"- For more info, I have it listed HERE in my Etsy shop.

 Where I live, we plant pansies in the fall and every time we have warm weather, they will bloom.  I swear there are about a million varieties of pansies, but this series- Skyline Copperfield is my favorite!

Another Copperfield pansy- the title of this one is "Enchanted"- for more info, click HERE 

I like this one on the diagonal, like this:

Lastly, my current WIP- it's almost done, just needs a bit more tweaking here and there 

and a signature and it too too will find a place on Etsy!

That's all for now, for the first time in a very long time, I actually feel like I have time to participate in Paint Party Friday- there are always close to 100 links to visit, but today, I think I can do it!  Hope to see you there!
Happy Friday
xx
Stephanie

Paint Party Friday (a day early ;))

I finally have it all together enough to once more be part of Paint Party Friday!  YAY!  I've missed visiting all the amazing artists and seeing what they've been up to, but I never want to comit until I know I'll be able to visit 80+ blogs!
Anyway, here I am and I have my pages for Angie's journal finished.

I ended up using two quotes instead of one- unusual for me, but what can I say?  The muse told me to, so I DID!  I extended my page so both quotes would show when the spread was first opened, but not all of the painting.

 And here it is fully open.  It probably doesn't look like I changed much from yesterday, mostly, I added more butterflies and expanded on the roots, but decided to leave them white.

Be sure to stop by Paint Party Friday tomorrow- always SO much to see there!
That's all for now,
Stephanie

I'm Baaack!

I can't believe it's been almost three weeks since my last post!  But, I was so busy with painting everyone's rooms and moving furniture from one room to the next plus all the MAJOR chaos that went with it...

I just haven't had a chance to paint (except for walls ;)) much less post about it!  

But, today, I was able to get back on the painting wagon.  I have three canvases that I've been wanting to finish or do a little more work on and even though

 I have ideas for new pieces, I'm making myself get these done first.  

That's one reason why multiple projects don't really work so well for me- it feels like nothing gets done!

For today- I pulled out the previously named "Soul Music" and got the finishing touches done (yay me!)

Here is "A Little Night Music"- for more pictures, she's in my Etsy shop HERE

And here is what she looked like before....

You can see that the cello was once blue (which I liked, but not with the background) I also changed the shadow on her face and added more "hair" flowing into the trees- also, no more stars...

I like them in the photo, but in real life, they somehow detracted from the over all effect.

I'm so happy to be in time for Paint Party Friday this week- I've really missed visiting the artists!
Have a great day!
Stephanie

Paint Party Friday & Summer of Color

Yay it's Friday and I have a painting to share for Paint Party Friday and well as an entry for the Summer of Color.  I started this painting about this time last year and while I mostly liked it, I wasn't happy with her expression- she looked angry where I wanted her to have an air of contemplation about her.  

So when I saw that this week's ice cream color challenge was Baseball Nut (a flavor I've never heard of BTW;)) and the colors were raspberry, vanilla and cashews, I thought this would be a perfect time to finish her plus use her as an entry for the Summer of Colors!

I added more shadows to her face and changed her mouth and eyes a little.....

 and here she is from before.....

 I might do a little more tweaking or maybe I won't....I kind of think she's finished now- what do you think?

I'm off to visit my friends at the parties now- won't you join me?

TTFN

Stephanie

It's Time for Paint Party Friday Again!

Like I said before I haven't had much time for painting- but, I'm almost done with my pages for

 Lisa Wright's Round Robin Book.

I changed the colors a bit in the mandala:

I might do a tiny bit more tweaking, but this is pretty much finished.....

And I did more on the dancing ladies....a LOT more:

 please pardon the shadow in the upper left corner- it's quite a grey day here, 

and tho I took this picture several times, this the best I could do

I'm pretty happy with this except for how "two tone" it is- but on the other hand, I don't want it to be a riot of color.  So, here's where I need input; if I added any different colors, what would YOU suggest?  

I'd love to hear any ideas!

In the meantime, come join me at Paint Party Friday, it's always a blst filled with so much talent and fun!

TTFN,

Stephanie

Paint Party Friday!!!

It's Friday again, and you know what that means- time to PARTY!  With all the other artists at Paint Party Friday!  I'm almost done with my mandala- on Wednesday, I got it out to finish and then remembered that duh ! it has to work with the spread it will be "floating" above!  So I put the mandala to the side and started working on the two page spread.  I'm glad I did too, because they did NOT want to have the same colors!  I had used really intense colors for the mandala and the spread wanted to be soft and gentle.  And I can make them work together, but the way I work; I have to work on them simultaneously!  It's just how I am ;)  Anyway, that said, let me show you how it is right now:

 Now I love ultramarine blue, but it just doesn't work for me when paired with the spread :

I think, the figures will now become turquoise which will give a good continuity 

between the two pieces while allowing them to remain different

And here is the inside spread by itself:

Eight ladies dancing to honor the eight ladies in our Inspiration Avenue Round Robin

That's all for now, I really must get to the party, 'cause as usual; I LATE!

Come join me?

Just in Time for the Party!

That is; just in time for Paint Party Friday!  I've been so busy the last couple of weeks that I had very little time to paint and I was worried that if I joined the party, 

I wouldn't have time to visit all the other folks there!  But this week, I can- so here I am!

 

Sorry these pictures aren't the greatest- it's quite overcast here today and I couldn't get very good resolution.... that said, I'm a lot closer to being finished with this- I changed the angle of the Clematis and worked on the shading a bit- still need to do a little more in terms of highlights and such- what drew me to paint this was the sweeping line created by the flowers and the ivy and I want to emphasize that a bit more.....  I also want to soften the roses a little and do some reworking of the background and then leave it alone to study over the weekend. 

That's all for now, I'm heading off to visit the other artists at Paint Party Friday- you should too if you get a chance, always so much beauty to see there!
xx
Stephanie

Killing Two Birds with One Stone.....

Happy Friday!  It has been one crazy hectic week around here with the end result being that i just didn't get much done painting wise.  SO, I'm double dipping this week with a combo post for Palette & Paint Thursday AND Paint Party Friday....I did take these pictures yesterday but spent half the day at vet with an injured Peri and the other half prepping for my art class!
Anyway, I almost finished my garden angel...

I want to do a little more distressing on the face and maybe a bit more with the pansies....

but for the most part, it is finis!

Here's my palette too- I love mixing the pansy colors!  Like Easter Eggs in acrylic :)

That's all for now, I'm off to visit the other artists at both parties- click the links above and join me!

x

Stephanie

I'm Baaccck- for Paint Party Friday!!!

I really missed being part of Paint Party Friday last week, but I also really needed a break and knew that while I might be able to post, I surely would not be able to visit all the folks attending the party!  Anyway, here I am rejuvenated and ready to Party!
It's been a really busy week for me- I spent most of my art time getting my book ready for my new Round Robin with my Inspiration Avenue sisters.....this included making the book and creating a sign in page plus (for me) a back page where I hope everyone will sign year book style!  You can find more pictures of my book HERE.  The cool thing about star books, is you can tie them open so all the inside pages (which are connected accordion style) can be displayed at once.  This shot just shows the inside covers I made...NOT tied, but you can see the ribbons ;)

For the front inside cover, I made two pockets with more pieces from my 29 Faces painting and then made tags for each of the ladies to sign in, I also made a postcard with a basic write up of my theme- "8 Degrees of Inspiration" which is a play on 6 Degrees of Separation...

Postcard & Tags laid out together

I also got some work done on my series of small canvases.  These are 6" x 6" and 1" deep-

 I LOVE working with them!

 For my garden angel, I did some more shading on the face and added another pansy....

I'm really happy with this painting so far!

For this one, I didn't like how it was mostly Christmas colors so I added some blues, purples and golds to update the palette- it's pretty much done except for some touch up work on the sides.

Hopefully, I'll be able to list these in my Etsy shop by the beginning of next week.  

I'll be asking $69.00 for them, so if you're interested, let me know and I'll hold one for you!

For now, try to get over to Paint Party Friday- LOTS of beauty to see there!

WOW- 52 Weeks of Paint Party Friday!

And I am SO proud to say that I was there for the very first one and have participated almost every week since!  This is such a wonderful thing that Kristin and Eva do each week; give all us artists a chance to connect and enjoy one anothers work.  Thank you Kristin and Eva- you guys are amazing!
I've been working on putting together a collection of small affordable paintings and that's what I have to share today.
First my "Fleur de Lis" (at least I think that's what I'm calling it ;))

 this is for the most part done- I just want to do little touch ups here and there.  I really liked the effect of composing it on the  diagonal- good thing too, 'cause sketching it out kicked my butt!  I can't tell you how many times I had to erase everything and start over...but I do really like the effect! 

 Oh and just FYI; this is 6" x 6" on a 1" deep canvas; so it has a really nice impact on the wall!  I'll be asking $65.00 for each of these little guys!

I thought yesterday's "sneak peek" with Mojo looking in the window was fun.....

that's how she tells me shes ready to entre.  Nope, this kitten is NOT spoiled at all- I promise!

Ya'll have a wonderful day- and try to get around to visit Paint Party Friday-

 SO much beauty and friendship to find there!

x

Stephanie

Paint Party Friday- Week 51!

It's Friday, and you know what that means; time for Paint Party Friday!   So I've worked and reworked my Klimt Homage- adding faces, and then muting them out, or eradicating them completely.  I've painted this background so many different colors I couldn't possibly list them all and finished it off with a "Q" in each corner to give the feel of a playing card.  As always, I still see things I want to do to improve it, and I will!  But for now; here's my painting as close to finished as you all have ever seen it.....

Should I list the thoughts I have while looking at this on the monitor?

1. To make it look more like a card, I could add an outline around the edges
2. As much as I love the "Frida face" I'm not sure she belongs here, should she be allowed to stay?
3. I'm happy with the purple I added in the upper right hand corner- should there be some teal (and other colors?) to balance the comp?

That's all for now, whatever I decide to do; for today, I'm sketching out a new flower painting.  And yes, I said sketching, I'm a bit over intuitive painting AND faces for a bit!  In the meantime, DO stop by Paint Party Friday and visit the artists there, so much beauty to see!
Toodles,
Stephanie

Paint Party Friday Week 50!

It's week 50 of Paint Party Friday!  Can you believe it?  I surely can't!  

So yesterday, I had to put my Klimt-ish piece on the back burner- I just need to study it for a bit.  But in the meantime, thank you for all the suggestions and kind comments- I really appreciate them!  And also, thank you Priti Lisa for the suggestion to do a slideshow of the progression of my 29 Faces of Klimt-ish-ness- I thought it was a great idea and it's now in my side bar!

For today, I'm going back to another piece that has been niggling at me, saying it's not quite complete....

my Soul Singer Cello Chick (and no, that's not the title, but I am open to suggestions!)

I've been wanting to add faces to the moons for a while now, even before I started the 29 Faces challenge.  So, yesterday, I did!  I also did some more work on the Cello and more touch ups here and there........

So, here she is!

I'll be playing a little more today, making the big face a little more subtle and the smaller ones a bit more obvious....you get the idea!

For now, be sure to pop over to Paint Party Friday to see what everyone else has been up to- it's always great fun and very inspiring!
update- Finis!

 touched up her face, the moon faces and sky and although there's always more I could do to a painting, this one tells me it's complete and that's good enough for me!

 

Paint Party Friday- Week 49

WOW, 49 weeks of PPF and I've been there for a lot of them!  Here's an update on my Klimt painting plus another face for the 29 Faces challenge- woo hoo we're well over half way done and I'm still goin' strong!!

I have to say I'm a LOT happier with it now that it doesn't have so many primary colors in it.....it's slowly coming together for me!  I am ALSO glad the there are only 12 more days of the challenge, 'cause I'm starting to run out of room!  Anyway, pop over to Paint Party Friday to see what everyone else has been up to- the party gets bigger and bigger each week!
Cheers,
Stephanie

Day Nine and a Little More Progress.....

Wow, it's day 9 and I've been working all morning, mostly on background stuff.  Have I ever mentioned that the background is almost always the hardest part of most of my paintings?  Well, it is, and this one's no exception!  Anyway here's the face I did for today:

I'm having a LOT of fun with these little non traditional faces!

And here's the overall piece:

so, should it go this way?

or THIS way?

I'm using this for my Paint Party Friday post- be sure to check them out if haven't already- there's always SO much to see at the party!
and
I'm also linking to Palette & Paint Thursday- Tracey Potter's fun weekly blog party.....

 Have a great day!

x

Stephanie

Paint Party Friday- Week 47

Whew I just barely made it to the party but here I am!
I've gotten a bit more done on my 29 Faces canvas and because the minute the weekend hits around here, I have almost no computer time, I did - one for today and one for tomorrow....I'll probably sneak another one in after I'm done posting so I can cover Sunday as well.
It's another inspiration from Klimt- this time following "The Kiss"

 So, here's the man:

 

and the lady.......

 And them together.....

 

 And the whole canvas as it looks now.  If you cam by yesterday, you know that I'm using a re-purposed canvas my daughter had started last year.  And while I'm a bit fan of ultramarine blue, it will NOT be this BLUE when I'm done!

You may notice that I've painted hearts into the corners- I decided in the middle of the night (do ya'll ever wake up in the wee hours with ideas for WIP'S?) that it needed to based on a playing card.  Don't know WHY or even how it will look, but for now, I"m going with it!
Happy Paint Party Friday!
Be stop to stop by Paint Party Friday to see what all the other artists have been up to this week- it's sure to be an amazing collection as always!