For such a simple painting, this one was a challenge. I used an actual conch shell I have to use as a model, but getting the texture down was tricky. I did use a gray ink outline but used watercolors as much as possible for the highlights and shading. Final size is 9x12 on Arches paper.
Another watercolor painting on paper featuring a mystical being. This one was another fun one featuring a sweet little gnome making friends with a monarch perched on a giant mushroom.
Definitely feeling fun when I painted this one. It's acrylic on 5x7 canvas board and features the evil eye on gumballs.
Painted for a family member who recently visited and posted this as a photo, I had to copy it in watercolor on paper. I resisted using a black ink outline, and I'm pleased with the outcome!
Watercolor on paper, this whimsical tree goddess is fueld by the ametrine crystals lying at her roots. Definitely different from my other works.
These cold-weather loving cats are so rare and unusual. According to WWF, they don't roar but instead they 'yowl'. Also, they are more related to tigers than they are leopards. I find them beautiful and mysterious, so here's my painting.
Painting felines is not easy, probably one of the most challenging paintings I have done yet. My favorite part are the eyes, a multi-faceted array of greens. I struggle with green in general when I paint typically. This is watercolor on a 10x12 canvas board and will be sent to my dad who also loves snow leopards.
It's been 18 months, and still working from home full time. When will we go back to the office is the question of the decade it seems. All those commuting hours I'm saving is going to good use-sewing more clothes! This is the Hinterland dress designed by Sew Liberated, which is the same designer I purchased my Schoolhouse Tunic pattern from.
The hashtag for the Hinterland dress will come up with thousands of images on Instagram of others who have made this dress. It has a variety of styles to customize it-from sleeveless to 3/4 sleeves, lengths, and buttons or no buttons. Pockets are a part of this dress, which is nice to have. For this project, I chose an indigo linen material. It's lightweight, but heavy enough for fall. The topstitch uses a jeans thread as I like to use contrasting threads when it's appropriate for the fabric. Choosing buttons wasn't easy. I ended up finding faux abalone buttons, although my preference was wood. Of course I found this button website after I completed the dress! Next time...
Check out my Apatite necklace on the last image! Supposedly this stone helps with creativity. Maybe or maybe not, but I'm very pleased with the outcome of this dress. One thing that slowed me down in making this dress is I ripped one of the buttonholes on the placket that was to large to repair without looking terrible. Thankfully, the rip didn't go into the body of the dress, so I just had to re-cut and sew a new placket for the buttonholes.
Let's talk about buttonholes-they are NOT easy! My machine does them automatically, but if tensions and settings are just perfect, it's a waste of time and thread. I used the entire spool of my jeans thread on top-stitching alone (ran out just as I finished the last step!). I used a blue thread for assembling the pieces to conserve the jeans thread for this project.
This pattern will definitely be a staple in my DIY wardrobe. I might skip buttons next time however.
My monstrous stash of acrylic yarn needs to go to a good use. I had a lot of pink yarn and wanted to make a girlie blanket with it. This is actually a gift for my 100 year old great aunt. While she informed me her favorite color was blue, I'm hopeful she will find comfort and delight with this.
This made a slight dent in reducing my stash, but another 3 or 4 of these types of blankets, and then I will allow myself to buy more yarn!
National Parks are all the rage right now, advance reservations just to enter America's National Parks are being required for the most popular. At first my reaction to this was a little sad, however over time I've come to appreciate that this is for the best to preserve those sacred lands. And, I'm even more appreciative that we have a Native American leading our National Parks.
While the joy of standing in these beautiful lands is thrilling and spectacular, I can't help but feel as if I don't want to hasten any decline in quality of our national parks. I've got my 'bucket list' of parks I still want to see-North Cascades, Lassen, Yellowstone, Picture Rocks-it goes on too. For now, I will simply enjoy zooming in with Google Earth and seeing images on the the NPS website.
With those lovely images I can see, these prompt me to paint more landscape style 'bookmarks' on Arches paper. I have a huge lot of Arches remnant papers that were part of a bigger project from my former employer at the art supply company. Most watercolor artists are aware of the pristine quality of this paper, so any remnant big enough to paint on is worth saving.
And I'm not limiting the images I paint to just American parks either. Australia is another country with outstanding and wild national parks. For example, this image is of King George Falls.
This is a remote and incredible dual waterfall that is only accessible by flying or boating to it!
Acadia National Park is also on my bucket list. This is one of the parks requiring advanced reservations, and it's also over 3000 miles from where I live. For now, I will indulge in photos that others have taken and recreate this beautiful place.
Sewing is a skill I often take for granted. Years ago I had experimented with sewing my own clothes, but grew frustrated with the lack of desirable patterns, patience, and money! Fabric is expensive, and takes patience and precision to come up with a quality finished product. While cruising Etsy for general sewing patterns recently, I discovered how many designers are selling PDF patterns for garments that are actually fun to wear. This led to me finding independent sellers of fabric targeting these fashions, and I made a goal to begin sewing more of my own clothing. My first choice of buying garment fabric online is Sewing Studio. This shop is local to me and doesn't have a store-front, but the quality is outstanding.
One of my favorite designers is Sew Liberated. The patterns are easy, functional, versatile and fun to wear. I first purchased the Schoolhouse Tunic because I like the bohemian look. The first tunic was made with a batik fabric. I wore this tunic shirt in Jerome Arizona, a cute little western town high up in the mountains of Arizona pictured with my older kids below.
Before I was a knitter/crocheter, I was a beader. I spent hundreds of dollars on beads each month making my own jewelry, giving them as gifts, adorning other trinkets. My favorites are semi-precious stones because of the heavy feel of wearing beautiful tiny rocks as jewelry. Not commuting to an office over the past year had led to my old beaded necklaces sitting in a drawer for months. Pulling them out and appreciating the beautiful stones gave me inspiration to re-vamp them into new works.
The first one I re-created was a rhodonete, hematite, rose quartz necklace. The shiny metalic appearance of hematite goes well with the translucent rose quartz and matte rhodenite. I added larger round rhodentite to this new necklace to give it more length and variety in appearance.
I have a couple more that will get makeovers soon, updates to follow!
A full two months in the making, this king sized bedspread reflects my love of rainbows. As a kid, to see a rainbow was very special occurence for me. To this day when I see one, it feels like magic is in the air. When I had the opportunity to purchase a huge lot of various colors of acrylic yarn, I knew instantly that I would turn it into a some kind of blanket.
This turned out so delightful, and I'm looking forward to sleeping under this rainbow tonight.
😊💜💙💚💛💓
I love to make these, but the major challenge in that is threading the needle! These are very tiny beads (size 11) going on to DMC thread perle cotton size 8. Once the beads are loaded on using a Darice bead spinner, it becomes much easier.
The beads are an iridescent purple with a faux sugilite resin teardrop and round genuine amethyst beads. I've made several of these in the past with the needle threading being my major inhibitor of making a lot more. I'm hoping to sell these at a local artisan craft booth nearby as they make great necklaces to carry your favorite trinkets or crystals in.
Sometimes I'm amazed at some of the stories of my Sicilian family ancestry, how they came to America in the early part of the 20th century, the traditions they still carry on, and the pride of their heritage. The DNA test I took claimed I have 24% Italian in my genes. Whether that's accurate or not, I'm definitely of a Sicilian bloodline, and I think it's pretty cool 😊
What I love about Sicily is the blend of being a desert yet so fertile with citrus fruits, grapes and plumerias. Visiting Hawaii a few years ago, the scent of plumerias were everywhere and it is one of my favorite floral scents. I'm surprised plumerias grow in Sicily because I think of that flower growing in a more lush tropical environment. Blood oranges are also a thing in Sicily, and those are delicious. Sicilians grow the best tasting lemons too. And of course wine is another gift from this volcanic island.
This abundance is due to the rich fertile soil from the volcanos nearby, particularly the active Mt. Etna. In this painting, I refer to her as Ms. Etna, and the glowing flow of her lava and plumes of ash contribute to this soil. I also imagine standing at a market in Catania, indulging in the beautiful colors of this magical place.
Painted on 10x12 canvas board in gouache, fluorescent acrylic and other mixed media.
On a 6x8 canvas board, this is a mixed media of gouache, ink and watercolor. The full moon goddess shines her gentle light over the hills of Big Sur California, sprinkling her magic over the delicate Calla Lilies. In the distance, the turquoise ocean reflects her light.
A few years ago I got a hold of some sample Arches watercolor 140lb cold press paper that are small narrow pieces still attached to the glue. The original pads were cut and these slivers are the remnants. I have about 8 of these narrow pads and reminded me of bookmarks. Over the years, I have painted landscape scenes and other small glimpses of other worlds.
Below are two places in Europe that a) I have seen in person or b) would like to see in person.
Since the 80's, giraffe populations have decreased by about 30%...think about that. Just 40 years and nearly a third of these gentle giants are gone. The more I paint animals, the more I really appreciate just how special they are. This one is done from a copy of a photo, and then I added my own idea of an African landscape. Painted on a 10"x12" treated canvas board with watercolor paint.
I love tiny canvases, and found these at Dick Blick a couple of years ago. They came as a pack of six, and have just been sitting in my art supply stash for quite a while now. Since I enjoy painting animals it seems lately, I thought it would be fun to paint Bean and Jerry-my older kids' cats. Both of my older kids are roommates, and they each have a cat. Bean belongs to my 24 year old daughter, and Jerry belongs to my 21 year old son. These cats each have quite their own personality, but one thing I especially love in cats is their eyes. Bean (my daughter's tabby cat) has glorious green eyes, and Jerry (my son's white cat) has some intense amber eyes. These canvases are just 2"x2", and these head portraits are painted in gouache.
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| Bean on the left, Jerry on the right |
A few months ago, I had an intense dream of these blue and gold Macaws flying above my back patio at dusk. It was a very happy feeling, yet somehow not a single spot of bird droppings in the dream. The feeling that I was left with inspired me to paint one in my watercolor bird journal. These are large birds, and live for many years, such incredible and beautiful animals. Watercolor on paper.
Lately I have been reading more fantasy novels and find my imagination inspired by the other worldly scenes described in these books. I fin...
