Friends
This is a new mixed media painting I did on paper. It is 11.5″x15.5″.
Funny enough, well, not funny at all, Beijing tried to jump on top of the fridge today and fell and hurt his leg. He is at the vet right now, under observation. Ching, ching (that is the sound of money …booooooo hooooo).
SOLD
Otto
This is a mixed media portrait I did of Otto the Bullodog. Isn’t he adorable! This was really fun and I totally fell in love with my subject.
Striped Socks, Yellow Hat and An Orange Cat …Finished
This is a 3’x5′ mixed media painting on canvas.
SOLD
The Accomplishment
Remember when you learnt how to tie your own shoes? It was quite the feeling of accomplishment.
I did this 9″x12″ mixed media painting today and guess what? Imogen tied a bow! WOW! She was so excited. There were high fives all around, even Scarlett was in on it.
The only thing that you don’t need when you are trying to tie your shoe is a cat. Ever noticed how they like long stringy things?
SOLD
IF ‘Impossibility’ Blue Butterfly
Sometimes blending in is an ‘impossibility’.
IF ‘Poise’ Balanced
I did ‘Balanced’ a little while ago but couldn’t help but think how perfect it was for this topic!
SOLD
Mirror, Mirror On The Wall
This is the mirror that I have painted for the Dentist office. It will hang directly across from the completed poppy mural at the ‘smile station’. Say ‘CHEESE”!
Free As A bird ( I Wish I Could Make It All Better)
This is a 18″x24″ mixed media painting on wood from My Too Small series.
The image of a bird cage just keeps popping into my head and on to the pages of my sketchbook but, I until now, I have not included it in an actual painting.
I love the see-through quality, and delicate wire bars of this Victorian birdcage. As a sculpture, a birdcage is rather beautiful and decorative. (Indeed, many people collect birdcages just for that reason.) However, I can’t help looking at an empty birdcage without feeling a little sad. Like something is missing. (Well, a bird obviously!) Perhaps I just need to try thinking about it differently; that the bird has escaped its captures and is free. This would make me happy if I was not so sure that a bird that was once caged would most likely not fair so well out in the wild.
I worry about being over protective with my children. How will they fair if I never let them fail? I constantly try to protect them from any hurt or nastiness that this world may bring them. Will they be able to make it all better for themselves? Comfort their own hurt? How can I teach them these skills? And, indeed, is it already to late? If I keep them caged up now, what chance do they have? At the same time, I want their childhood to be magic, innocence and joy. Childhood should be paradise. It should be free of worry and sadness. It is the only time that we are truly allowed the freedom of those feeling. When I see children that are deprived of those things my heart aches.
It is such a balance isn’t it? Just finding that perfect balance is a life’s work. A mother’s work. (And father’s too, of course).
Pillow Art by Sandy Mastroni
This is the cutest pillow in the whole world! It was created by Sandy Mastroni and when I saw it on Etsy I just had to have it! I think I am going to frame it in a shadow box frame and hang it in the girl’s room …so they don’t fight over it!
IF ‘Legendary’ The Frog Prince
He was legendary among the old timers in the lily pond.
Oh, by the way, this one is available as a limited edition reproduction ACEO.
As Free As A Bird
Just a little mixed media painting I did today. I am working on a larger painting, also with a bird cage. I have been wanting to include this wire birdcage in a painting for quite awhile now and I finally got around to it.
SOLD
In The Moment
Here is a new 8″x10″ mixed media canvas that I did today.
Capturing a moment. Mid giggle.
Usually I gravitate toward the static , moody pose but occasionally I like to challenge myself with this type of image. Not unlike ‘Joy’.
Spring Dreaming
This is another mixed media drawing that I did today. She seems to be in a meadow. I wish I was in a meadow. A way from this frigid cold. I am so done with winter. Perhaps I have spring on the brain. I wish spring would sprung already.
Also, you can read an interview I did recently about blogging and my art by checking out this fabulous blog : Art of Humongous Proportions.
Drifting In And Out
I finished this painting today.
The title refers to the way our memories fade in and out. Some memories are so clear while others are foggy and transparent. The memories that are clear are not always the most important, often we wonder why we have held on to that memory at all. How can we remember things so vividly from long ago but barely remember things that happened to us last week?
The memory can be selective and often distorted. What is really true, what is fabricated, what is embellished? I often wonder these things. And I often worry what memories I am creating for my children. What are they going to remember? Mommy keeping the house clean? Our walks to the library? Ballet class? Our endless photo sessions? Watching too many Barbie movies? My limited patience? My reclusive tendencies? How will my choices effect them in their adult lives? Did I give them a feeling of entitlement?* And on and on. It sure can be exhausting.
I remember somewhere I heard/read of a woman ( I think it was some film star) saying she had absolutely no memory of her childhood. It was like she didn’t exist before a certain time. I wish I could remember if I had read it or heard it on TV but there you go, my memory fails me. I found that idea fascinating though. No memories of being a child. That would be so odd. I wonder if she ever had children of her own. What kind of Mother was she? How would she relate to their childhood? Surely the memories of our own childhood shape the way we raise our children. For good or for bad. Isn’t that why we hold on to traditions? To try to relive our childhood through our children’s experience of the same things we did when we were children.
I’ll stop now, I could go on and on.
*I am currently reading ‘Outliers’ by Malcolm Gladwell
This painting is available on etsy
IF ‘Breezy’ – Girl With Red Balloon
Every time she held a balloon she couldn’t help worrying that it just might blow away.
I did this 8″x10″ painting this morning. She looks to the future, I see the past. Somehow we both have to try to enjoy our moments together right now without letting these thoughts get in the way. Somehow, as a Mother, I need to teach her these skills so that she can be content and happy with what she has right now.
Available on etsy.
Painting In Progress
I haven’t posted anything lately. Life gets in the way sometimes.
Here is a new painting that I am working on. This was my party dress from when I was five.(It also has a Holly Hobby pinafore that goes over top.) Now Imogen wears them for dress up. Once again, the past and the present intertwine into one.
I think that I am almost finished this one. Almost. It is harder to know with some paintings.
SOLD
ACEO Easter Bonnet #2
This is a new 2.5″x3.5″ mixed media painting I did today.
This piece is available on etsy.
ACEO Easter Bonnet
This a new painting I did today. It is a 2.5″x3.5″ mixed media painting on 100% archival rag paper.
SOLD
Scarlett and The Blue Hydrangeas
This is a new painting of Scarlett in Nanny and Grandpa’s backyard. Kind of reminds me of ‘Alice in Wonderland’, which really, when you think about it, describes Victoria perfectly. It truly is a wonderland.
This is a 16″x16″ mixed media painting on a 1″ deep wood stretcher. The sides are painted red.
Circus Girl and Lion Study (ACEO)
This is an ACEO study I did today of Circus Girl lying against the lion’s mane.
SOLD
Circus Girl and The Newsprint Flowers
Here is a new Circus Girl painting. This one is large, I really felt like painting a larger version of her … she is almost life size.
This piece is a 24″x30″ mixed media painting on wood.
SOLD
