A few new little things...

Well Merry Christmas!
Whew, I've really neglected this blog.

Here are a few pictures of paintings I've been doing.
It's a bit random. OK very random. I've been forcing myself
to go through my big stack of half-finished canvases.
I'm hoping to have these up for your viewing pleasure
(if you live in Whitefish that is) at the Wrap and Roll Cafe
very soon. So maybe it's time to try their new breakfast burritos eh?

the difficult to photograph (because the background is metallic)
Vase of flowers on a red checked tablecloth
11x 14

Flowers in a green vase
10 x 10
(sold)

Snowghost
Sold
(can you see the sleepy face?)

 Mountain study, encaustic
10 x 10
(sold)

Night Voyage
11 x 14
(sold)
the moon and stars glow in the dark
kids dig it




Sitting Nude 8 x 10 Encaustic 
(sold)

Garden Photos and Fair Memories

I haven't done much in the studio today except press a page of dill flowers. But I did take a few photos...

I'm lovin' the new camera... it's not one of these credit card sized point and shoots, it's got some heft. I pick it up and I feel like I really could get that National Geographic job. Best thing about it though, it makes me feel like I'm 11 years old again, snapping black and whites around the farm with my Gradfather's old Minolta. My mom would help me, even drive me around early in the morning, looking for the perfect dawn landscape. I would enter my carefully chosen photos in the Tillamook County Fair. Man I lived for that Fair.

Oh to be young again just for a little while... to feel the elation of the elusive blue ribbon, to be set free (after double checking my Holstein) with my rag tag band of 4H friends in an exciting world of carnies and townies! Set free to be hurled around in those questionable rides, marvel at the race horses, eat sticky caramel apples and be out after dark... Ahhh those were the days.

Of course now I have to go searching for one of my old fair photos but all I can find is this... I think I was a little peeved about that red ribbon ;)

New Encaustics

... and here are a few photos of the encaustics
I just put up at Crush Wine Bar



Vineyard
10 x 10
Encaustic on panel

Dance of the Twinflowers
8 x 10
Encaustic on panel

Columbine in the Garden
10 x 10
Encaustic on panel

Tree Line
8 x 10
Encaustic and pressed Aspen leaves on panel

Aspen Rise
8 x 10
Encaustic and pressed leaves on panel


As you can see I've been really into working with pressed flowers lately. Especially
the columbines and Aspen. These are just small concept pieces so hopefully I will have some
awesome, perhaps more detailed larger pieces done in this style soon

New Decoupaged Pressed Flower Miniatures

These are a few of the new decoupaged pressed
flower pieces I have up at Crush Wine Bar in Whitefish
for the month of August. I didn't have ideal conditions to photograph
these little lovelies, so I will probably re-shoot and re-post sometime after
the show comes down.



Sway
Acrylic and pressed flower on canvas
4x6 inches

Columbine Grace
Acrylic and pressed flower on canvas
4x6 inches
Sold

Columbine Bliss
Acrylic and pressed flower on canvas
4x4 inches

July Bloom
Acrylic and pressed flower on canvas
4x4 inches

Columbine Star
Acrylic and pressed flower on canvas
5x7 inches

Seasons. Four 20 x 20 in paintings

I was visiting my husband at his new office recently and snapped this pic of the 4 abstracts I let him whisk away straight off the easel last month. They are meant to convey only a passing thought or memory of the seasons, like a ghost image on the back of your eyelid view of.. (from left to right) Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter...

A Birthday Banner

Just finished another birthday banner. This one had lots of beautiful vintage buttons on it. I currently have a mini one in my shop if anyone's interested. They are up-cycled from my canvas stretching and painting extras.

Click on the images to see this banner more closely, and to bask in its adorable, yet also rusticly-artsy glory.

Encaustic Hood is in, things are cookin'

A sneak peak at the new encaustic side of the studio. The hood is up and performing its duties admirably, if not a bit frankensteinishly. My fingers are relieved to be done working with sheet metal for a while. The temperatures have all been figured out, the mediums have been mixed, the paint pots are simmering and things, (landscapes dontcha know!) are in the works. Joy!

Red Mare Wines

Exciting news! The wine label project I have been working on with my talented winemaking sister Anne Vawter is about to be printed and bottle-affixed (for my lack of a better term) very soon!

Here are a few images of the front and back label I created for the delicious 2007 cabernet sauvignon.

Check out her newly finished website redmarewines.com





and here are some shots of the embossing die and printing process...

Change is Scary. But Fun

We had such lovely weather this last weekend, and wouldn't you know it we all came down with sore throats, which is disconcerting for many reasons, the worst being that our first downtown gig is tomorrow night. I hope I don't literally croak... ahh but that is a story for another day. Maybe Friday... (It's Thursday night at the Crag if you want to come see us, look for the Cannonball posters)

It was a stressful week yes, but today my dear readers, something wonderful happened! I finally laid brush to wax! That's right, the encaustic side of the studio is now in use... well sort of. You see my ventilation system is not installed yet, so I cheated a little, and froze a little with all the doors and windows open, but it wasn't too bad. I will post sneak peeks soon I promise.

My but it is exhilarating doing something new in one's own studio! I learned many things;

1. I probably should have changed out of my good sweater (will I ever learn?)
2. The Opal Aqumarine hotcake by Enkaustikos is AWESOME
3. Making your own medium is really not as intimidating as it looks
4. Burning your fingertips is part of learning how to work around hot plates
5. I must remember to inspect and pick out on average 5 dog hairs between each layer of wax
6. I need a bigger studio. Just kidding... but not really
7. I almost got scared and started painting on an unfinished acrylic painting I have on the other side of the room right before I fired up the hot plates, I had to give myself a pep talk. Change is scary. But fun.

Working on the Studio

Jolie and I in the studio, working on a birthday banner

I always love to see other artist's working spaces. So here are a few pictures of my little art studio, which is undergoing some changes right now. Besides a much needed spring cleaning, I am re-defining the space to include an encaustic painting area (photos of that still to come).

There are some challenges with this space. It has to be many things; a laundry room, a potting shed of sorts, guest room (sorry Mom), and horror of horrors... a dog kennel for two big hairy and farty dogs. A situation I am living with but plotting to remedy.

Painting area before picture, cluttered and in need of some furniture editing

After (with the lawn chairs inside because it's been raining so much)

Thinking about encaustics

This is an encaustic painting I did in Shawna's workshop. It was a shower gift for the beautiful Lindsey Jane of Lindsey Jane Photography. I like how you can sketch into wax, that might be my most favorite thing about it.

Speaking of encaustics... more are soon to come! I'm pretty dang excited about my decision to move into this medium. For me it is a big commitment in a lot of ways so... it's kindof, well, it's just BIG!

Decoupaged pressed flowers

arica 4 x 4 pressed flower over acrylic painting

aspen leaves 4 x 6 pressed leaves over acrylic painting

Aspen Leaf 4 x 4 pressed leaf over acrylic painting

The Blues 4 x 4 pressed flowers over acrylic painting

Columbines 6 x 6 inch pressed flowers over acrylic painting

It knew when I pressed these flowers last year that I would wish I had done more.

I'm ready for summer now :)

You can find most of these for sale at my Etsy store.

Love This Day

So this is a piece Jolie helped me with. She also helped me with the title. As I mentioned in my last post she has become impossible to keep out of the studio, but as luck would have it, turns out she's the most wonderful little studio assistant. I hope this phase lasts for a while because it's pretty fun. I set her up and let her go to town at the easle while I surreptitiously get a little work done at the table behind her. Periodically she shouts for a new color. "Red, need red mom!" I procure an acceptable red and she shouts with glee, holding the tube of paint up like it's some kind of lost family heirloom found again. "Yes, Yes, Love Red MOM, LOVE THIS RED!" She then proceeds to get some of that paint on the canvas amidst jumps and whoops and then, following a period of blending, and exploration, it's on to the next exciting color. Kids are pretty cool.

Two new paintings

Summertime 11 x 14 acrylic

I love you 11 x 14 acrylic


I have so much new found respect for abstract painters these days. Also Jolie is now very interested in painting, and I think having her in the studio now is helping me to loosen up and allow unexpected things to happen. Stay tuned for more :)

Encaustic Workshop with Shawna Moore

Vineyard II 10 x 10

Here are photos of pieces I produced this last weekend during a truly awesome two day encaustic painting workshop with Shawna Moore. Click on the images to see them in a larger size.

I've been interested in this medium for years but it would take an overhaul of my studio to commit to it so I've just been learning little bits about it here and there to see if I'm really into it. I am so grateful Shawna gave a 2 day workshop. It was such a luxury to have all that time to play and experiment with the medium in her comfortable, well-stocked studio. I got to meet and hang out with some great gals, and had full access to Shawna's tools, supplies and extensive knowledge.

The pieces I came out with are a bit childish and seem very unfinished now that I look at them here, but I'm still ridiculously happy with them. Maybe someday I'll add some more layers.

In the meantime I'm right where I want to be with rejuvenated creativity and inspiration. So it's back to spring cleaning and project finishing and after that... a new direction? :)

Dearest Child 10x10
(my first piece using cursive, always wanted to do that)

Faraway 10 x 10

Hazy Mountain 10 x 10

Vineyard I 10 x 10

Earth and Sky 11 x 14

Flowers in a Vase 8 x 10

Astrology