The art of Happy

...or happy art.



I heard that word again this weekend: happy. I went into the coop art gallery where I'm a member and was greeted by a lady that recently bought one of my paintings. We had not met in person until that moment, and she described my art as "happy". I'm going to start journaling every time I hear that word.

"Spring Flowers" from Happy Dayz Art Series. Available for purchase. Contact me!

Two weeks ago I received a message from a collector that lives in the Northeast US:

Hi Melanie!! I just glanced up at my painting a minute ago and I just can't tell you how HAPPY it makes me, every time I look at it. It's so beautiful, and something about the colors is so invigorating..I think it is my favorite thing in the whole house. Thank you!!
Lynn Anne

Today I wish I were the owner of a artsy flowered covered vintage VW van so I could drive it around and watch people smile. Enjoy your Labor Day and thanks for dropping by today. :)

In search of the Mardi Gras Dachshund

September, please bring cool weather quickly. (smile). The turning of the calendar days closer to fall, has me looking forward to cooler weather, even though it's still in the high 90's here. The changing season will still come. And that makes me happy.

To be interested in the changing seasons is a happier state of mind than to be hopelessly in love with spring. ~George Santayana


I want to do something fun. Years ago on my old (gone) art website, I had a page for people to sign in on when they found me by seeing my Mardi Gras Dachshund at Mimi's Cafe Restaurants. I want to do that again, but with photos.



She looks similar to this photo but has evolved over the years. If you happen to run across this jazzy dog, I would LOVE to hear from you - and even better yet - have a photo of it, or you AND the jazz dog (that part is up to you). Tell me which location you found the jazz dog at so I can put the location with the photo. I'd love to put them up on future blog posts. You can leave a message here. If you sign in with an e-mail address, the e-mail address will only be visible by me - or you can go to my Facebook Page and upload the photo there.



This photo was sent to me this summer by Jansen in Lakeland, Florida of her daughter with the jazz dog.



Linda from California sent me this photo about 9 years ago. I forgot what location she was in, but I think it was near San Francisco.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great day and don't forget to turn the page on that calendar.

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.