I'm excited about metal!

I've been toying with the idea of using some corrugated metal my hubby has in the shop. I couldn't sleep the other night so I started this little project and went for it. I'm so happy with how it turned out my brain is now full of ideas. I started with a paint wash if blue and green. I wanted it light so you could still have the metal showing through.  I randomly tore circle-ish shapes from book paper. I layed them out and adjusted until I was happy then adhered them with collage podge. I first used Golden Vat orange on the circles (let that dry) then a mix of Golden Pyrrole Red, Quinacridone Magenta, Vat Orange and a few drops of Acrylic Glaze. I used two coats of the mixed paint to get the look I wanted. I used a Liquitex black paint for the stems and archival black ink with a couple stamps. I happily went through my button stash and glued them on with Glossy Accents. Doodled with a gelly roll 08 white pen and a micron black pen. I'm so so happy with it!

I've been holding back!

I've tried to keep this blog mostly about my art life so I haven't mentioned the bee side of life.  Yes, bees! They actually will have something to do with my art because I plan to use the wax we collect in some of my work. We started looking into bees about a year and a half ago. Now we have 13 hives. The more I learn about these little ladies the more fascinated I become. There are many things in our environment that hurt bees, they have many things against them (pesticides, mono-croping, mites). As a beekeeper it's a very delicate balance to try and keep them healthy and try to take care of them naturally.  We'll do our darndest to make this work! I'm including a couple pictures the one where I'm in my vail is a picture of me on our way home from picking up our last batch of bees. They weren't in the back of a pick up so we had a few stray bees flying around I was trying to make sure I didn't get stung! I relaxed about half way through the ride....lol

My latest girl!

Over the weekend I had one sale at Red Sled. It was my Petite girl, I was actually shocked that was the first to go. I think it's because I'm not quite comfortable with my ladies yet but it's definitely increasing my confidence. This girl is on a wood frame. I'm still deciding on a quote and need to cover her in beeswax.
Happy creating!

I just added the pic that shows her finished with a quote and sealed with beeswax. Hoping she finds a good home. It was hard to let go of that one!

Americana!

I was challenged to make a canvas with the Americana theme. In the March/April Somerset Studio magazine Sara Naumann has an article on that very subject. I followed the base idea but changed it to fit my style. I gathered pieces of cherry red, blue and craft paper brown papers and some ephemera in the same colors. I started with a 12x12 thicker piece of scrap paper.  I used Golden Matte Medium to randomly adhere the paper & ephemera. I'll be adding some Navy blue and liquitex gesso stamped with bubble wrap. Now I'm not sure what I'm going to do with it but I'll post the upcoming results! Give it a try!

Frustrated with trying to verify Pinterest but completely excited about the upcoming Red Sled Spring & Garden Show!

I tried to verify Pinterest on my blog and it didn't work. It was the most irritating thing I've worked on in awhile. I'll be consulting my bff to see if she can help me. I followed the instructions to a tee and even watched YouTube videos. Oh well, I've got more important things going on!! Like working in canvases for the Red Sled Spring Show. Hoping and praying people like my work.  I delivered 22 canvases which was pretty close to my goal. The nice thing is I can bring in more to replenish as the month goes on.  Hopefully I'll need to add more product. There's a part of me that's prepared for a bust but I wouldn't let it get me down. I believe in my work and that's what matters! I just keep trying to a learn more and grow a an artist.  Keep on keeping on everyone!!

Here's a couple pics of my most recent work. The Paris is always a great idea is covered on beeswax. Love the results from doing that!!