Wompoo Fruit Dove

During today's epic Wimbledon match between my soulmate Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, I painted this little number. The feathers took me forever and I kept going over and over what I had done before, trying to get it right. At first I wasn't sure if I liked the final result, but now that I've had a few hours apart from it, I think it looks nice. I am especially fond of the contrast between the bright green and hot pink.

Click here to buy or see more pictures.

Materials: Materials: 9 x 6.5 x 1 inch beveled wood, acrylic paint

Eastern Kingbird

Today I painted the above Eastern Kingbird, and while painting, I realized how much I enjoy it. Painting for me can be such an escape from a world of uncertainty. It gives me a level of control that I long for in my own life when things seem to be spinning into chaos. I'm glad for this little bird, because he let me forget things for just a little while.

Materials: 9 x 6.5 inch beveled wood, acrylic paint

Chocolatey Goodness

A flower that smells like chocolate?? Say it isn't so! According to one of my plant books, the Chocolate Cosmos flower smells of a "rich, dark chocolate." Since my favorite chocolate just happens to be dark chocolate (and since the flower itself is a beautiful, passionate red), I was inspired to sit down tonight and paint it. I imagined the aroma of chocolate wafting through my apartment as I painted. Not only did I end up feeling hungry, but I also ended up with a nice little painting for a cozy nook in my apartment. I used 3-dimensional embellishment paint to highlight the shadows and light on the petals and stem.

Materials: 6x6 wood, acrylic paint, 3-D paint.

Wand Flowers

Well, it's been Art-Central here in Deborahville the past few days. Inspired by a neat library book I checked out on plants, I decided to paint a flower from the genus Sparaxis. They are commonly called "Wand" flowers, and I think they are really something else. I decided to do a modern take on a traditional floral portrait, and I'm really happy with how well the colors meshed.

As always, you can buy this little gem in the shop. More pictures there as well! Update: I've decided to donate this painting to the upcoming Birmingham Hospitality Network silent auction. BHN keeps homeless families together and provides them with shelter and basic necessities. You can read about them here.

Materials: 9.5 inch x 9.5 inch wood, acrylic paints

Tree of Life

After taking advantage of some sale items at Michael's yesterday, I got out my papers and glues and paints and came up with this rather funky creation (on wood). I don't think I had intended on the final image being as stark as it is, but I think it works. The brown of the tree and the vivid blues and greens hand-painted with acrylics in the background really compliment each other.

(And of course, you can buy it in the shop if you're so inclined. More pictures there, too!)

Materials: 9.5 inch x 9.5 inch wood, card stock, Mod Podge, glue, acrylics

J. Crew Girl

One of my favorite clothing stores is J. Crew. I find it quite difficult to afford many of their items when they are regular priced, so I typically shop in the sales department. I get their catalog monthly and enjoy flipping through it and getting ideas for my own wardrobe. I thought the girl above was very pretty and chic in her summer outfit and decided to draw her. I'm quite happy with how she came out. The hands look pretty good, and I'm so pleased with her legs: especially that bended knee!

Please note that this drawing is available in the shop.

Materials: 11x14 Windpower Vellum Bristol, Prismacolor colored pencils

The Great Cate

I am rarely able to capture the essence of a person when I draw him or her, but I think that this time I pulled it off. The above drawing is of Cate Blanchett, who I think is one of the most beautiful women in the world. And the best part is, I think it actually sort of looks like her! A rare accomplishment, indeed!

Materials: 11x14 Strathmore Medum drawing paper, Prismacolor colored pencils and Art Stix.

Glass!!

One of my all-time favorite things in the world is glass. I *love* glass. It can be in shards, blown into a beautiful vessel, or hanging from a Christmas tree; it matters not. And finally, after this decades-long love affair, I was able to take a glass-blowing class. I suppose it technically was not glass "blowing" because we didn't actually blow into the glass. A better name would be glass-shaping, or glass-molding. It was the most fun I've had in a long, long time. Seeing how glass changes from a liquid to a solid in a matter of minutes was absolutely fascinating, as was watching the colors slowly melt into the glass. I've posted a few pieces above; if you can't tell, they are all flowers. I felt that I did fairly well for my first time (the blue one is the only one I really and truly screwed up on; in full, it looks like the appendage of some alien life form), and I will definitely be taking more glass classes in the future.

Cat In Scarf Sketch

Cats have always been a part of my life and I have always loved them. We always had cats around the house growing up, and for a time, I wanted anything with a cat on it: shirts, cups, folders, you name it. Although I've grown out of THAT stage, my love for the furry feline has not abated. I used to be obsessed with drawing cats. My cats were more like stick figure cats and the girls always wore ribbons on the tops of their heads. I believe I was in the third grade when I wrote a series of one-page comics entitled "I Love Cattie," based off of "I Love Lucy." I actually showed these to my friends who seemed to enjoy them. I realized the other day that I haven't tried to draw a cat since then, and was horrified. I checked out some books on cats from the library, but was ultimately drawn to The Black Apple's cat, Miette. I looked at a picture she had taken of her cat and made a small, quick sketch (on a Post-It note at work, no less!). I hope you like it; I think I've come a long way and it's not bad for my first cat in twenty years.

Wedding Embroidery

Two of my good friends are getting married this summer, and in addition to the actual wedding gift, I thought it might be nice to make something fun for them. I embroidered the above image and placed it in a 5x7 inch picture frame so they could place it wherever they wished in their new house. It's very basic and intentionally drawing-like, and I hope very much that they like it when I give it to them later this evening. Even though it may not look like it, it took me several hours of work to complete. I've been doing embroidery on and off over the past year or so, and I'm at a stage right now where it's very seductive to me and I'm extremely interested in learning new stitches and techniques.