Playing around with mixed media

I love playing around with collage and painting on top of it. The results are always so surprising. I had a blast with this one. I did the papers several weeks ago and wasn't sure what it was going to be. It actually has the words "giggle, laugh and play" scattered throughout and it wasn't my intent to cover them up, but they are.

 If you are coming here from the Mixed Media Monthly Challenge Blog - Welcome! The theme this month is "Superpower" and I feel like mine is collage paintings, mainly because I love it. What is yours? If you play along, Stampers Anonymous is sponsoring the prize!

My creation for this challenge is my collage piece.

It's mixed media on wood, and framed in a reclaimed frame that I painted with a faux weather finish.

I hope you are inspired to play along with the challenge.


 Here's how to enter: 
Make sure you visit each designer's blog and leave some comment love for them... we LOVE hearing from you all! Please follow these rules to be eligible for placements and prizes. Entries not following our rules will be deleted.
* You must use our challenge graphic in your challenge post. 
* You must comment on at least 3 design team member's blogs.
* Your post must link back to the Mixed Media Monthly Challenge post 
* Add a link to your direct post, not your entire blog, a YouTube Video or a Pinterest Board
 * You can combine with up to 4 other challenges.
 * No Backlinking (linking a project completed before the start date of our challenge) allowed! Any back-linked entries will be deleted. 
* You can enter up to 5 times, create whatever you want, and HAVE FUN! 

 You have until 11:55 pm EST on April 31st to enter!

Starting off This Week Full Throttle

Happy July! I'm starting this Monday full blast. I had to take some things to the post office, so just for fun, we stopped by the Duck Dynasty warehouse. Can you believe that we live just a couple miles away and haven't stopped by. (Gasp?)

We didn't stay long, and off we went to run errands.

I finished a new piece Saturday. It's 30" x 40" and my daughter named it "Over the Rainbow". It's similar to my "Summertime Blues" painting. It's available if anyone is interested. Just message me thru my website or facebook page.

 "Over the Rainbow" by Melanie Douthit

I got the sweetest commission this weekend. I was asked to put a hidden message in a piece. I'll be starting it tomorrow. I'm also working on a very fun project that I hope turns out. More on that in the weeks to come.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Thanks for a great 2012!

I've been so busy in the past two months that I haven't updated my blog. Plus, my husband *won* and ipad and I've been spending all my time on it and haven't taken time to get to the computer to upload pics.

I participated in the Art With A View event which is a huge fundraiser for the Monroe Symphony Orchestra in November.

Here is one of the pieces I created for the event. (It's been sold).

(Indian Summer, 30x24 - sold)

I've been filling commissions and baking cookies and spending time at our Christmas production practices. It's been a whirlwind season. I'm typing in my PJ's getting ready for family movie night just after taking down the Christmas tree. I have white candles in the fireplace and on the mantle and am about to enjoy a dinner of ... pizza! Love cozy winter nights.

Here are a few Christmas photos - let's call them "Christmas Past" (yes, I'm being sentimental)

and of course,  "Christmas Present"

And a Happy New Year to you! Thanks for stopping by.

True Colors Art Reception

Thanks to everyone that came out to the "True Colors" art reception at Crescent City Coffee Shop. I was so surprised to have internationally known artist Don Cincone stop by. I took a workshop from him earlier this year. What a talented artist as well as instructor. I felt so special that he made the trip - "just for me" as he said.

Dr. Cain Budds from Louisiana Tech University provided classical guitar music for the event. It was the perfect addition to the show. I was very impressed with his music and may secure him for one of our art events. If you are looking for someone to provide sophisticated live music for one of your events, weddings or dinner parties, contact the university and get in touch with him!

I was interviewed a few weeks ago by the Tech Talk, the La. Tech University's newspaper, and the article is due out this week. Can we say nervous? Why? Maybe because I was sipping on a venti frappe from Starbucks and was quite chatty? LOL. We'll see how that goes later this week.

Here are a couple of pieces at the "True Colors" show.

"True Colors" 24" x 24"

To purchase contact North Central Louisiana Arts Council, 318-255-1450.

"Mr. Know-It-All"

To purchase contact North Central Louisiana Arts Council, 318-255-1450.

 The Downtown Gallery Crawl is THIS Thursday! Make Ouachita River Art Gallery AKA The River Gallery, your first stop during this night of fun, food and art.  The River Gallery will have musician/singer/songwriter Amanda McDowell. The Gallery Crawl times are 5pm-9pm. We are at 308 Trenton Street / Antique Alley in West Monroe. The gallery just redesigned the way the members hang their art, so be sure to stop by any time to see. It's open Tues-Sat from 10am-5pm. phone 318-322-2380.

Don't forget to "like" my facebook page to keep up with the latest news!

Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!!

Gone Duck Wild!

If you are a Duck Dynasty fan, you know that it is filmed in Louisiana. Even more, it's filmed in my own town. Not that this has ANYTHING to do with this painting - it just LOOKS like it was influenced by the show. In fact, right after Christmas I was contacted by a friend overseas (yes, she lives in Europe) about a special painting for a gift. She didn't need it for a few months, and so it helped me get even more inspired when Duck Dynasty started coming on A&E.

Here's my "Duck Decoy" painting. It's 48" x 24. The ducks in the water are decoys, with the ducks flying in. I love the way the sunset sparkles on the water.

I'm working on brand spanking new art for an upcoming solo show! I'm so excited. If you haven't found my page on facebook, please "like" it and keep up with my sneak peeks!

I will try to update here more frequent than I have. I can't believe this month is almost over! Thanks for dropping by.

June Art Crawl at The River Gallery

I have been out of the studio for over a week. Hubby and I have been redecorating our master suite (yes, I said suite because there is also a sitting area) and I haven't had time for much else except maybe a few summer movies. (by the way, Madagascar 3 is adorable). I'm trying to get two new paintings finished as well as plan and decorate for a girls night at my house this week. I thought June was going to be a slow month. Not so!! Anyhoo.....
 
The Downtown Art Alliance Gallery Crawl was last week as well as Downtown River Jam across the river in downtown Monroe. Our gallery (Ouachita River Art Gallery AKA The River Gallery) had live music by Steve Cagle, keyboardist for Eddie and the Party Rockers.  (those are my paintings in the background)

 

 Our featured artist this month is wood turner Rusty Patterson.

 It was good to see so many friends stop by and make new friends.

 And hanging out with artists  musicians is fun, too.

 

I'll be back soon with more new art! Thanks for stopping by and have a great day.

Arts Goggle in Fort Worth, Texas May 19

I'm so excited at a new adventure that I'll be embarking on in less than three weeks. I'm going to be one of the participating artists in a huge art crawl in Fort Worth, Texas. I was invited two months ago to participate in the Spring Arts Goggle 2012. The date for Arts Goggle is Saturday, May 19.,

This year 70 businesses in the Near Southside will become art venues and open their doors to show off the work of a variety of local artists. The public is invited to park their cars and rediscover this revitalized urban neighborhood by foot, Molly the Trolley, bicycle or pedi-cab. For the third time, the event will take place on Saturday afternoon instead of Friday evening, with extended hours to allow visitors time to enjoy all the art and music. ArtsGoggle visitors strolling along Magnolia Avenue after dark will see how the recently installed tree lights have transformed that street into one of Fort Worth’s most distinctive destinations, as well as Main Street and Park Place.

ArtsGoggle is presented by Fort Worth South, Inc., the non-profit redevelopment organization working to revitalize this important urban neighborhood. Each year record ArtsGoggle attendance attests to the success of Fort Worth South, Inc. and the Near Southside community.

If you are in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, I hope you can attend. I'll be showing my art at:

Wells, Purcell & Kraatz
1619 Pennsylvania Ave.

The date of Arts Goggle is Saturday, May, May 19 and the times are 4pm - 10pm.

I hope to see you there!

Chalkfest 2012

Chalkfest is a yearly event at Bolton High in Alexandria, Louisiana. Every spring the art department invites 50-60 students to spend the day recreating beautiful and colorful works of art in chalk pastels on the concrete hallway in front of the school. This spring, the weather didn't cooperate and the students were moved indoors and given paper to work on. When the parents saw the works, many inquired about purchasing the art, so these beautiful creations are now going to be auctioned as a fundraiser for the art department.

I was contacted because the students chose one of my paintings to be recreated, and what a wonderful job they did! I was given permission to use the photos of the students with their creation to share on my blog. I'm in awe at their beautiful work and secretly wish I were a student in their art department. :)

 Here are some pics of the students recreating "Happy Hour For Two".

You can see more of the students in action at Bolton High Student Art Photos. Thank you, Tracie Campbell, for contacting me about this project. I'm honored that they chose my art. Keep up wonderful work with these talented young people.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day.

The Art of a Daydream Believer

I was saddened to hear the news about the passing of my childhood star crush, Davy Jones. I have had "Daydream Believer" playing in my head since last week. As I've stated before, I'm very artistically inspired by music, and I already have several versions of this particular song swirling in my head. I completed one this week.

"Daydream Believer No 1" 20" x 20"

This painting was created for a silent auction raising funds for the Masur Museum of Art in Monroe, Louisiana next week. I'm so looking forward to this event.

The studio has been a creative hub for the past few weeks. I'm still frantically trying to get orders done as well as some personal projects I'm working on. Here's a peek at some in-progress work.

Here's a fun photo I took of one of the collectors of my "Bon Appetit Y'all" signs. I purposely had her stand in front of her camaro so I could show hubby that people that drive cool cars collect my art.

Lots to do today and some deliveries to make tomorrow as well as a supply run. We are expected to get 5-6 inches of rain in the next few days. (I thought it was April that had all the showers). Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!

Born This Way

I titled my most recent peacock painting "Born This Way". Think about it: the peacock didn't decide to be a magnificent looking bird - it was, in fact, born that way. I got to thinking - are artists born? or are they made. There is much debate on whether artistic ability is genetic or learned, and it seems that it can be both. But if it can be learned, can "all" people learn to be artists or are certain people more likely to be be "better" at being an artist than others? I'm sure that can be a long debate, too.

I decided to go back to the first known accounts of artists in the bible. Bezaleel and Aholiab.  Exodus 31:1-6

AND THE Lord said to Moses,²See, I have called by name Bezaleel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah.³And I have filled him with the Spirit of God, in wisdom and ability, in understanding and intelligence, and in knowledge, and in all kinds of craftsmanship,⁴To devise skillful works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in bronze,⁵And in cutting of stones for setting, and in carving of wood, to work in all kinds of craftsmanship.⁶And behold, I have appointed with him Aholiab son of Ahisamach, of the tribe of Dan; and to all who are wisehearted I have given wisdom and ability to make all that I have commanded you:

I've always understood this passage that the talent and ability was from the Spirit of God. The children of Israel had just come out of a few hundreds of years of bondage. They were slaves and forced to make bricks. I don't think there was a lot of time to learn wood carving and fashioning things from gold. Their talent had to be given to them by God, either from birth, or at a later time. So, does this mean that all talent comes from above or was that just a special occurence. What do you think?

Here is the before and after of "Born This Way"

"Born This Way" 20" x 20"

Born this was was sold to a smart collector of happy art about 30 minutes after I shared it on my facebook page. I love it when that happens.

Keep up with my latest studio creations on my Facebook Page. Just press the "Like" button and you will get my feeds directly on your page.

And now you can shop my Etsy Store directly from my website. Here is my Shop Link.


Thanks for stopping by today. Have a wonderful weekend!

I Believe In Pink

I believe in pink. I believe that laughing is the best calorie burner. I believe in kissing, kissing a lot. I believe in being strong when everything seems to be going wrong. I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls. I believe that tomorrow is another day and I believe in miracles. ~Audrey Hepburn~


"Words to Live By" 20" x 20" by Melanie Douthit (Honorable Mention)

The Franklin Medical Center in Winnsboro, Louisiana is holding a silent auction to benefit Breast Cancer Awareness this week, Thursday, October 13. I created the above painting and the one below for the art competition. These paintings along with 8 others will be auctioned. If you would like to bid, they will take your bid via mail, website or phone. Call (318) 412-5265, Charlotte Boone. The website is www.fmc-cares.com. They are also on facebook. Bidding starts at $50.


"Pink: It's an Attitude" 22" x 28" by Melanie Douthit

Reposting from their facebook page: The winner and honorable mention will be used in a marketing and educational campaign to promote Breast Cancer Awareness.Funded with a grant from Northeast Central Louisiana Susan G Komen for The Cure we have begun a campaign at Franklin Medical Center to bring mammograms to more women in our communities. All of the art submitted and donated will be auctioned at the Gala on October 13th. Proceeds from the auction will placed in the "FMC Breast Cancer Awareness Fund." to provide mammograms to underinsured or uninsured women in our communities. We hope to see this fund continue to grow through generous donations from community members and future grants.

We provide digital mammography services right here in your community. Please schedule your mammogram today.

It was 2 years ago this month my my husband lost his cousin to Breast Cancer. We all know someone who has been touched by this disease. Please spread the word to your friends to get regular check ups.

Thanks for stopping by today!