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