Small Gestures = Big Smiles

Never underestimate the power of small gestures. A beautiful young lady (who happens to be the daughter of an old high school friend) gave me the sweetest gift this weekend. This young lady, Emily, recently had the awesome experience of backpacking across Europe. Backpacking - as in, all she took on her journey was a backpack. And yet, she still managed to bring me back a little something from her trip. A postcard. But not just "a postcard". A postcard with Alice. The Alice - the wonderland one. In order for you to understand the significance, read THIS post on my papercraft blog.



She got it in London and when she saw Alice and the flamingo, she immediately thought of the painting I completed right before she left for her journey.



And it makes me remember this quote by C.S. Lewis:

For, you see, so many out-of-the- way things had happened lately, that Alice had begun to think that very few things indeed were really impossible.

Have a wonderful day and a week full of possibilities. Thanks for stopping by.

Friday Fly By!

Just stopping in for a quick "fly by" post. Been busy, busy, busy. I wanted to let everyone know that I have added a couple of art prints to my Etsy store. This is the first time EVAH to have prints available through Etsy. I will be adding some more in the next few days.



This one is "Pirates Alley" and is available here. This was my first really BIG New Orleans painting that belongs in a private collection now on Royal Street. It's been a favorite of mine and that is why I'm offering this print first. It's a 5x7 print matted in an 8x10 white mat. Great idea for Christmas, especially for someone who loves New Orleans.

I'm looking forward to the weekend. We've just been through our first week of school in our house and it's a big adjustment, and we are still suffering through triple digit heat. Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by.

The Dog Days of August...

As summer is coming to the end, I'm reflecting on how FAST the "dog days of August" have gone by. It's usually one of the slower months. But this one has zipped by. The children's art workshop and having two art shows the first week of the month was action packed. The next week was recoup time and also time for the kids to prepare for school. August always holds two special dates for me: 1) the anniversary of when I met my husband (it's now been 24 years!) and 2) my oldest child's birthday. My son was born the day after one of our "meeting" anniversaries. He was due on our meeting-anniversary, which would have been cool, but I guess he needed his own special day.


my birthday boy!

So, now back to looking up the origination of "dog days" of August. Wikipedia says: "Dog Days" are the hottest, most sultry days of summer in late August. Dog Days can also define a time period or event that is very hot or stagnant, or marked by dull lack of progress. The name comes from the ancient belief that Sirius, also called the Dog Star, in close proximity to the sun was responsible for the hot weather.


Okay, so now that I've educated you on that piece of information..... Moving on to some art. I recently finished one of my most favorite summer themed paintings - another mermaid. I had several people tell me they wanted me to do a brunette mermaid. This one is for a special collector. She's similar to the one in my etsy store.

"Mermaid Moon No. 2"





My favorite part is the texture AND glitter on the tail.

And to give you a glimpse of what my hands look like when I'm working..(mermaid tail colored hands)



Thanks for stopping by today. If you are in the heat-wave zone, stay cool. We know that the temps will come down eventually. Gosh - I'll be so glad when the triple digit days are over. Have a great day!!

I'm Taking Flying Lessons

I'm taking flying lessons! I'm taking the e-course "Flying Lessons" from an artist that has deeply influenced me in the past 18 months, Kelly Rae Roberts. This five week course is backed FULL of information on how to let your creative business soar. It's as if we were sitting down one on one picking her brain. Oh, how I've learned so much in the first 2 weeks.



My journey will Kelly began about 18 months ago when I read a friend's blog about Kelly and her art. I was in corporate America at the time and my friend's post re-awakened my creative urges. Within just a couple of months I had Kelly's book and dove back into my art full-force.



Through this e-course, I've already networked with tons of creative people all over the globe and my mind is so full of creative ideas that I'm seeing new art in my dreams. Being able to share the day-to-day aspects of life as a creative person with others who can relate is invaluable. Kelly is so positive, and encourages you to develop relationships with people that are positive influences - those that "celebrate" your successes with you. (And a shout-out to any flying lessons peeps that have stopped by. I'd love to hear from ya! ;) )

I'm looking forward to the weekend. August is passing by so quickly - and summer is nearing to an end. (and my, my has it been a hot one). I'm posting one of my favorite paintings of the summer - my "Moonlight Mermaid". I was inspired to paint this after seeing the mermaids (well, the nice one anyway) in the latest Pirates movie. There is texture AND glitter on her tail. This is still available in my Etsy store. It's 20" x 20" and comes with a gallery style frame.




Have a great Friday and thanks for stopping by!

My First Mixed Media Art - In Print!

I'm so excited to be able to share that my first mixed media art project has been published! It's a pair of Halloween Witch (cute - not scary!) wall hangings.



They are in the October 2011 issue of Craft n Things on page 70.




They are both 8" x 8" on gallery wrapped stretched canvas.



I used a variety of things from my scrapbook stash. Complete instructions for both are in the October issue.



They were so much fun to make. I'm thinking about putting them up for sale in my Etsy store soon - that is if I don't sell them locally. I'll post a link here if I list them (which will be soon). Thanks for stopping by today.

Snickerdoodles!

I'm taking a detour from my "art" related posts today. I was talking recently to some gals in my pokeno group about cooking, and for me, it's a creative outlet. So, when I got in a creative mood today, (shhhh, I was really just craving something sweet), I decided to document it just for fun.



My daughter took a summer prep course recently, and her teacher made Snicker Doodle Cookies, which she loved. Her teacher shared the recipe, and I made them for the kids art crawl a few weeks ago. They were devoured.



They are easy to make, and the only thing you might not have in your cabinet is cream of tartar. It's a staple in mine now, although for years I never used it.




They are much like a chewy sugar cookie, but with cinnamon sugar on the outside.



We made a little over three dozen with our batch. I don't follow the "one dozen" rule on our cookie sheets. We basically put as many as we can get on a pan.



The only take about 8-10 minutes to cook. Just long enough to catch up reading someone's blog or two.



And the house will smell yummy.



And your helper will make sure to lick the bowl clean




If you decide to try these, come back here and let me know how you liked them.

Here's the recipe
Snicker Doodle Cookies

Preheat the oven to 400.

You will need:
1 c. butter or margarine, softened
1 1/2 cup suger
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups flour
2 teas. cream of tarar
1 teas. baking soda
1/4 teas. salt
(Coating: 2 tablespoons suger and 2 teasp. cinnamon)

Cream butter. Add sugar and eggs, mixing well. Sift flour, cream of tartar, soda and salt. Mix into butter mixture. Make balls of dough, roll in coating. Place on ungreased cookie sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes at 400 degrees. Serve with a tall glass of milk!

Not in Kansas Anymore

My Alice in Wonderland obsession has taken a twist and turn, and I've been inspired creatively by the Wizard of Oz. I call the "Journey to Oz". You can see some of my previous pieces in this post .

My latest creation is called "Not In Kansas". My husband is convinced it's a self-portrait. It might be. I feel like I've been through a whirlwind of changes in the past couple of months, and I'm on a new path, hence the not in kansas title. Since I started getting back into the art world in the past 9 months, things have been very past-paced. But the one thing that has been constant is this - my collectors have been absolutely encouraging and enthusiastic and I couldn't ask for anything more. thank you!

So, back to "Not in Kansas". As with my "Alice" series paintings, this is a mixed media piece. When I was deciding on what I wanted Toto to look like, I went straight to the creator, Frank Baum, and was surprised to find that he didn't specify any particular breed. Well, I took that artistic license all the way to my love of dachshunds and decided that, at least in my new painting, that Toto would be a dachshund.







I used papers, rubs and alphabets from my scrapbook stash along with paint and paint sticks. I just love coming across cute phrases and sayings to use in my papercraft box to incorporate into my mixed media work.

I listed this in my etsy store yesterday, and decided, just for fun, to create this dachshund treasury. There are some really fun long dog goodies out there (just to warn you!)

Thanks for spending time here today. I've blogged more in the past week than I have in a long time. Have a great day!

I now have art in Ouachita River Art Gallery

With all the other activities going on this week, I haven't had time to mention that I've just joined a local co-op gallery in my city - The Ouachita River Art Gallery. The Ouachita River Art Gallery recently won the award for Best Gallery in the Delta. I'm so proud to be joining the other artists there. I'm not a stranger to this gallery. I was a member in 1996-1998. I mostly worked in watercolor then. It's nice to see many of the same familiar faces that are still a part of this group.

Here are a couple of the recent pieces I created recently and have hanging there. I've been working on a series called "Journey to Oz".


In my "Oz" painting, I have included Emerald City, poppies and more Oz flowers, a hint of the yellow brick road, a bird (well, you know - where bluebirds fly),the really big puddle amidst the poppies.. that's the melted witch, the twister, and amidst the twister you can see some trees that represent the forest. All in all, it was a fun journey to create.

"Oz", 30" x 24" , acrylic on canvas with gallery style moulding



I had so much fun with this painting. I used burlap to add unexpected texture to the poppies. My daughter walked in my studio after they were painted and said "Oh, mom, you added pizazz to your painting". Pizazz - I like that word.

"Poppies, Poppies.". 36" x 24", acrylic and mixed media on canvas with gallery style frame moulding

Thanks for stopping by!! I know I've had a lot of blog posts this week. Have a great day!

Children's Art Workshop and Show`

It's been a busy week, and July was a busy month. Not only was I working on getting six BIG pieces ready for the Bistro show, I was getting new pieces ready for the bi-monthly art crawl. Last week I taught a children's art workshop and they also displayed their art during the art crawl. The local newspaper came and took lots of pics. You can see the gallery here: Art Workshop Online Gallery

I wanted to share a few pics from class here as well as the art show "Outside the Lines". They were so thrilled to see their creations hanging and the people coming in to see their art. Enjoy the pics and thanks for stopping by!

Bistro Show

The Bistro Show had a great turnout. It was nice meeting so many people from Ruston as well as the other exhibiting artists. The show will hang through October 1. If you would like to purchase any of the artwork at the show, please contact Executive Director Leigh Anne Chambers with NCLAC at 318-255-1450. They offer payment plans and will ship.

Here are a few pics from the show and some of my paintings.





Group photo of artists with the staff and/or board members of the North Central Louisiana Arts Council.


"832 St. Peter" (New Orleans Shotgun Houses), 30" x 24".


"September at the Cafe Dumonde" 30" x 24" with gallery style frame.


"Rainy Sunday at Jackson Square" 30" x 24"