painted easel

Reminds Me of Olives

2012-02-12T05:00:00.000-06:00

I really like color combo of the painting I made for a friend, so I created a much smaller scale piece with one of the original sketches I made for her.

I've actually put a glossy finish on it since I took the picture. I like it better that way.
So imagine it if you can....

Acrylic 11x14"

Wine Glass

2012-02-07T07:00:00.000-06:00

9x12" Prismacolor on paper

Random Collage

2012-02-03T09:00:00.000-06:00

I've really enjoyed playing with techniques and resources at my disposal with no clear direction.

I let the art tell me what's next.

This one started with a wash of watercolor, acrylic stenciled on top, white paint pen circles, some colored pencil circles and then magazine images added last.

Not sure if I love this one, but I like the movement I created with the collaged images.

What do you think?

3x3" Mixed Media

Buttons

2012-02-01T07:00:00.000-06:00

I'm not the kind of person who just loves buttons.

I have enough of them, but I don't collect them.

But when looking through a magazine for a focal point to put in the
middle of the yellow rays the buttons were calling out to me...

"Pick us! Pick us!"

How could I deny them the opportunity to live contently in my little drawing?!

2.5x3.5" Mixed Media

Another Abstract Painting

2012-01-27T10:18:00.000-06:00

There's just something that calls me to non-objective and abstract pieces.

When I sit down to paint for fun, it just flows out of me.

I can't help it.

So I surrender....

3x3" Watercolor

2012-01-22T14:56:00.000-06:00

There has been a huge fascination with birds lately.

For me it's because they are easy to draw.

Just a couple curvy lines and you're done!

They also make a quick and easy focal point/subject matter when you aren't sure where to go next.
I had created this watercolor background that was sitting on my desk for a few (ok, several) months and I just wasn't sure which direction to take it.

So I just started to draw and not care (or worry really) about where it would take me.

I filled in the white areas with yellow-green and blue-green and then stamped the fence on and added some sharpie detail. Easy enough and only took 10 minutes!

EEE!!!

2012-01-18T14:30:00.002-06:00

Tribute to Lauren...EEEEE!!!!!!!!!!

Yellow Rain

2012-01-10T12:08:00.000-06:00

I created this without having any idea of what to do with it,

so it became a place to try new techniques.

Some techniques didn't work (watercoloring stencils)

while others turned out pretty well (Neocolors on top of everything).

I think I'm a fan of it as a finished piece though.

What do you think?

I'm A Card Making Machine

2012-01-02T07:00:00.000-06:00

Time to refill my box of blank greeting cards.

With 24 people on my husband's family alone, we give out a lot of cards.

Birthday cards, graduation cards, Christmas cards, congratulations cards, etc.

Blank is the best way to go, which means making them is a lot easier!

For a couple of hours last night, I stamped and painted designs for the front of blank cards.

Some could be fancier with some scrapbook paper added as boarders or something, but it was late and I was tired so I took the easy route.

I still like them though!

Collaged Beach Scene

2011-12-30T07:00:00.000-06:00

My sister requested a beach piece for her house in Cali.

She saw the mixed media love piece and wanted one of her own.

She said "something beachy and with starfish."

So here's what I came up with!

Step one: Stamp the word beach.

Step two: watercolor the sand and water/sky

Step three: Collage on starfish and boat

Step four: outline with black and add some dots, waves and a horizon line.

Voila!

Working Away

2011-12-26T21:35:00.001-06:00

While I'm off for the "winter break" or what I like to call "my birthday and Christmas break"

I have been pseudo busy playing with some new art tools that I got as gifts.

Neocolor water soluble crayons,

Stencils designed by Julie,

and acrylic stamps from the local craft store.

Playing always leads to a mess...as seen below.

What are you doing during your Christmas break?

Love One Another

2011-12-06T07:00:00.000-06:00

1 Corinthians 13

If I speak in the tonguesof men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. ² If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. ³ If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.

⁴ Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵ It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶ Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷ It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

⁸ Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. ⁹ For we know in part and we prophesy in part, ¹⁰ but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. ¹¹ When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. ¹² For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.

¹³ And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

12x12" mixed media

Smoke Like

2011-12-02T07:00:00.000-06:00

I currently have an A-MAZ-ING student teacher.

Luckily for me her strength is my weakness...

WATERCOLOR.

This week she taught my advanced students some watercolor techniques and I got to play too!

This one reminded me of really pretty smoke.

What does it remind you of?


4x6" Watercolor and ink

Journey

2011-11-25T07:00:00.000-06:00

This watercolor experimentation has been quite the journey.

All so far have been abstract,

but some are organic like this and others are more geometric like the next post.


4x6" Watercolor and ink

Squares

2011-11-20T08:30:00.000-06:00

This is the geometric watercolor I promised in the last post.

(It's funny that I'm just now noticing the lines are slightly angled!)

4x6" Watercolor and ink

Antique Keys

2011-11-15T16:00:00.000-06:00

I played with lots of layers here:

1. Blue Watercolor

2. Yellow/Orange stamp pad ink spread on with a make-up sponge over a circle stencil

3. Keys drawn in ink inside the circles

4. It felt incomplete so I used a small pen to outline the wonderful bleeding edges of the watercolor


4x6" mixed media

Abstract Repetition

2011-11-05T11:06:00.000-05:00

Nothing like a little randomness!

4x6" mixed media

Love & Desire

2011-10-31T08:06:00.001-05:00

Just playing with patterns and mixed media.

Each different layer/media (3 of them) only took about 15 minutes (give or take...probably give :)


4x6" mixed media

Inspired

2011-10-26T07:39:00.000-05:00

I read in a book that make-up sponges (you know, the triangle things) are great applicators for ink (stamp pads) and paint.

So I tried it out.

Pretty quick and easy!

(with no clean up since I just threw them in a bowl for later use!)

5x5" mixed media

Rain Rain Rain

2011-10-23T14:56:00.000-05:00

I took my sketchbook along to a show I did a few weeks back and had time to create this little ditty.


4x7" watercolor, stamp and ink

Repetition

2011-10-15T13:44:00.001-05:00

Currently I'm teaching my students about repetition and pattern.

So it's not surprising that repetition is on my mind.

7x9" Mixed Media

Inspired by Julie, I ordered a bunch of stencils from scrapbook.com including the one seen above and played with it a bit in my sketchbook. I'm not in love with it as a finished product, but I like it enough I guess to play with mixed media and stencils.

Outlet

2011-09-21T15:43:00.001-05:00

Made with water soluble carbon paper in my sketchbook.

New Jewelry Banner

2011-09-11T14:46:00.001-05:00

Unfortunately, I originally created a really ugly banner for myArtFire jewelry site.

Hopefully not too many people saw it.

Here's my new Painted Easel Jewelry banner.

Much better, huh?!

I guess now I need a new profile pic on the right...

Black & White Design

2011-08-31T12:53:00.000-05:00

School is officially in full swing now.

Our first project deals with composition and design. We talk about the rule of thirds, focal point, overlapping, value, contrast, repetition, etc.

They were given a worksheet with three items (mostly two shapes and a line) and had to use only those three things to come up with their composition.

They got to use ebony pencils too. Fancy for Art I, huh?!

This is one of the quick examples I made for the students to show them what I expected.

Bright Paisley Pattern

2011-08-28T08:45:00.005-05:00

8x10" Watercolor and Black Pen

Quick Flower Drawing

2011-08-21T07:35:00.002-05:00

Things have been a little crazy around here. I was traveling for 2 weeks, and then I thought I had a week off before work started up again, but I was wrong.

It ended up only being one day, so I have been on the go since July 26th.

Last week was staff development, which went really well and the students start back tomorrow, so there's not really any slowing down for me for a while.

I finally sat down to draw for the first time in a long time and was inspired by my last post with Danny Gregory's video.

I grabbed a calligraphy pen, jar of ink, and a small jar of water and sat down on my couch and watched Bones while I drew the flowers on my mantle.

The flowers came first, but then the background was too empty and I was too lazy to fill it all in completely with flowers (which was my original goal). So as I sat debated about what to do.

I knew it needed something...maybe color. Nope, too lazy to get up and get anything else.

So how about a pattern? Sure. But the line quality of the flowers are so organic and interesting that anything black would have made it too busy and made the flowers disappear.

The lighter the better....so I ended up just using my dirty water to make thick stripes for a more interesting composition.

I am happy with it as my first attempt at drawing in a long while.

Drawing Video

2011-08-17T19:46:00.000-05:00

I have signed up for the following emails from Dana

And boy are they wonderful!

In her latest email there was a great video that I want to share.

A guy, Danny, drawing in his kitchen.

Watch and learn...

The Art of Breakfast from DannyGregory on Vimeo.

Paisley Greeting Cards

2011-08-11T07:42:00.003-05:00

A set of four blank paisley greeting cards available in my ArtFire Shop.

A Boat

2011-08-07T22:51:00.000-05:00

5x7" Mixed Media

Maurice

2011-07-30T23:03:00.006-05:00

I am currently in Boston.

I love traveling.

One of my favorite parts of traveling is seeing the street artists.

I love supporting local artist, whether I'm at home or in another city.

Today I got to meet Maurice.

He is a nice man with great artistic talent.

The local museum brings in a live model for their guests to practice drawing and this is Maurice's drawing from the museum class that I bought.

While it's more of a sketch, he had finished portraits that were in pastel and they were gorgeous!

He is much better at drawing portraits than I am!

Here we are at the North End on a Saturday evening listening to the US Air Force Band.

Such a blessing to meet him!

Gifts for Family

2011-07-21T08:03:00.002-05:00

I visited my mom, sister and niece while off for summer vacation and we went into an AMAZING bead store while in Cali.

I wish I could remember the name of it.

Well, my mom found these cute blue flower beads and loved the gold ones that said "peace" and "joy".

When I returned home, this is what I created with them.

I've really been into making hoops and she loves flashy accessories, so these were perfect for her!

The ones below were for my sister (they were a surprise which is why it's just now being posted!)

I noticed she wore a lot of teal while I was there and she also loves the flashy bling

(wonder where she gets that trait from!)

She loves them and said she wears them all the time.

Glad I could make them both happy!

(My niece is only 16 mo. or else I would have made her a pair too :)

2011-07-14T15:57:00.001-05:00

This is one of my favorite pieces from my week of ceramics.

It's practical yet pretty.

And actually can be arranged in different positions to create a different design.

I can't wait to glaze them! Now to pick a color...

Ceramic Chopstick Bowl

2011-07-08T21:53:00.001-05:00

I have taken a little hiatus from painting and made some 3-D work this week.

Herb Weaver led (with Charlotte Chambliss) an AP workshop I took and it was fantastic!

He is a gifted artist when it comes to ceramics and sculptures

(I've have not seen his 2-D work if there is any).

He gave us the assignment to make a chopstick bowl but with our own personality and voice.

Here's mine in the leather hard state. It's in the kiln as I type this.

Do you see the little panda?!

Chandelier Earrings

2011-06-30T17:13:00.000-05:00

This week I bought some fun laser cut chandelier earrings and today I made them complete!

(Please ignore the horrible photos! I promise to make them better soon!)

If you were not put off by the horrible photos and would like to purchase any of these, visit my studio here.

Martini Cards

2011-06-28T18:07:00.000-05:00

Here's a set of 4 martini greeting cards.

With some glitter added for that little something extra!

You can purchase them here in my shop.

Bird Cards

2011-06-25T18:41:00.002-05:00

Here's what I've been working on this week...

You can purchase these at my ArtFire shop!

New Product!

2011-06-22T15:42:00.000-05:00

I have a show coming up in September and I needed something to appeal to multiple generations.

So I came up with a new product...Greeting Cards!

I have a few different designs in watercolor and then print them on cardstock.

The printed color is not quite as vibrant as I would like, but I didn't know what to do about it until this weekend. I went to visit my mom in California and saw a Cinderella book all decked out with glitter.

THAT'S IT!!

GLITTER!

That's exactly what these ladies at the show love!

That was the missing piece to make them pop!

So here are the pics before the glitter, which I took before I left.

Shop Local

2011-06-14T14:17:00.000-05:00

You can now shop local for my work.

I now have paintings and jewelry for sale in a shop just south of downtown Dallas!

Indie Genius

Closed Mondays

Tues-Thurs 11-7pm

Fri-Sat 10-8pm

Sun 12-4

409 N. Zang Blvd @ 7th Street

Behind Bee Enchiladas on Davis

One Block from Bishop Arts District. Walk on over!

www.bishopartsdistrict.com

There are a ton of other shops there.

It's full of vintage and handmade goods, so there's something for everyone!

My booth (well, wall really) is just past the cash register on the right (next to cute note cards).

I hope you stop in and check it out. Indie Genius won't disappoint!

Watercolor Bird

2011-06-13T15:19:00.000-05:00

Today I made this little bird in watercolor.

I wonder what tomorrow will bring!

MMM....Cupcakes!

2011-06-12T15:57:00.000-05:00

I have been working on something this past week that I'm really excited about,

but I think I'm going to keep it a surprise until it's complete.

So until then, I'll give you a sneak peak...

Third Time's a Charm!

2011-06-06T09:25:00.000-05:00

One not-so-successful show, one semi-successful show, and now one very successful show!

I guess third time really is a charm!

Etsy Denton is such a fun, friendly, and supportive group!

It was such an honor being part of their bazaar because I'm not officially part of the group.

I met some wonderful vendors and customers who were all very encouraging and complimentary of my work, both jewelry and artwork. And had some good sales while I was at it!

Karin, owner of Blossom Shop, was on the left of me. We were originally put next to each other at my last show at Indie Genius, but we both moved spots to be in one that was less windy. I said that we were meant to be friends because we were put next to each other again! She make beautiful antique jewelry and one-of-a-kind pieces. No two are alike! Turns out that we live 5 minutes from each other too! Even more proof we're destined to be best friends, huh?!

To my right was Cherry's Creations. She makes jewelry (also very different from mine) and wall crosses. Her daughter, Ella, was there helping out too. It was Ella's 13th birthday! She fell in love with one of my watercolors, so I traded a cross for the painting as a birthday present for sweet Ella. I enjoyed getting to know Cherry and Ella. A very sweet family!

Christie Cone was there too! She was behind Cherry's booth, so near buy, but honestly there was a steady flow of people almost the whole time, so I didn't get to chat with her a whole lot. That just means we get to grab coffee this week, right Christie!?

Lessons learned this time around:

1. I can carry two gridwalls at the same time, which means I can zip tie them together ahead of time so they form a right angle and are ready to go with just tightening of the ties. And they will stand up while I tie all 4 together, and the best part is it doesn't require any help to set up!

2. Figure out a way to make fewer trips to/from the car. Two have to be used on the gridwalls, so my goal is now to figure out how to get the rest in one trip (ok, two at the very most!). Note to self, buy plastic tubs with lids!

3. Karin showed me how to organize my jewelry better so I don't have to use baggies to store them in, which makes it a LOT faster to set up and tear down. Off to buy some of those plastic bins too!

4. I MUCH prefer indoor shows to outdoor shows! This was in a nice and cold air conditioned room, with just the right amount of vendors to keep customers looking, but not so many that you'd get overwhelmed and want to leave. No tent to have to deal with, no heat to brave, no wind to have to suffer through either. As Goldie Locks would say, it was just right!

Here are a couple pics of my set up. There was just enough space for me to stand next to the paintings and get out of the way or right behind the table to help customers.
I seemed to find a good flow for my booth!

Saturday's the day!

2011-06-01T09:04:00.000-05:00

Over the next few days I'll be getting prepared for the first ever Etsy Denton Bazaar!

I have my artwork ready so now I just need to finish making jewelry. I have some great new designs in mind and I can't wait to get them into reality.

I will will have some new original mixed media paintings available for the first time at this show too!

So clear your schedule and mark your calendar for THIS SATURDAY!

I look forward to seeing you there!

Birds on a Wire

2011-05-30T17:17:00.000-05:00

I did not grow up with birds.

And I live in the city so there's not really any good bird watching moments for me to observe them in. We have pigeons, big black crow looking ones, but neither of those are very pretty to look at. We have a few other more common ones that are pretty, but they don't hang around long enough for me to sketch and study.

However, we have lots of birds that seem to flock to one area and hang out in trees and on near by wires. Like hundreds of them at a time. It's crazy! I love to watch their silhouettes from afar (not under them unless I'm in a car). I love looking at the spacing, poses and little personalities that happen several feet up in the air.

So on this beautiful, bright, sunny day I bring you just that. Birds on a wire.

5x7 Mixed Media

Collaged Flowers

2011-05-25T21:28:00.000-05:00

Time for something a little more feminine!

FLOWERS!!

5x7" Collage

5x7 Collage

5 Reasons Why I love ArtFire!

2011-05-22T21:15:00.000-05:00

ArtFire.com is an amazing platform to sell (and buy) your handmade or vintage goods.

And here are 5 reasons why (in no particular order).

1. ArtFire Customer support is the best!

They are always checking in on forums, answering emails, and creating help guides for you to peruse at your leisure and to make your business a success. AND...If you sign up for a Pro account there even a number you can call and speak to a real person!

2. SEO is key!

The ArtFire team works really hard at making sure you understand all the techy lingo by providing a vast supply of help guides and forum posts to make it super easy to understand. You always have access to them in case you forget after a while.

3. The support of the community is incredible.

I have not met anyone on ArtFire who is not super friendly and willing to help out. If you are struggling getting your first sale, having SEO troubles, have a silly question, need critiques, or just want to get to know other sellers, you have come to the right spot. There is a vast amount of knowledge not only from the ArtFire staff, but also from the other sellers. It's a very positive environment and supportive place to have a business.

4. The staff listens to sellers requests...and makes them happen!

I know that on other venues similar to ArtFire, sellers beg and plead for certain things to change, get updated, or added and we end up not feeling heard. Nothing changes.

Not at ArtFire. Your suggestions are heard and are either in the works, soon to be added, or if not possible, then you will at least get a viable reason as to why it can't/won't be done...at least they respond to your request and make you feel like your opinions matter, right?!

5. The bottom line.

Other sites have a ridiculous amount of fees for the seller. Listing fees per item, percentage of sale fees, and expiration dates on listings.

Not so at ArtFire!!

One monthly fee is all they ask. You get unlimited listings, (and all the perks mentioned above plus some) and they do NOT take a percentage of your sales! You can keep more money in your pocket and prices lower for the customer too!

Now, who doesn't like saving money?!

I really couldn't recommend ArtFire enough to other sellers....so here's your chance!

If you sign up through a friend (me) you get you're third month FREE!

Interested? Have questions? Let me know what you think.

-Nikkie

Collage Bicycles

2011-05-19T07:36:00.000-05:00

Maybe you are athletic instead of a musician?

Interested in bikes?

These will be for sale a the Etsy Denton show June 4th (as well as a few others).

Let me know if you are interested in them before the show!

5x7" Collage


5x7" Collage

A Little Art & Art-Making

2011-05-15T20:39:00.000-05:00

This weekend was full of art and art-making.

I visited a friend's booth at a local art show and am so grateful for all her wisdom. I consider

Amy Taylor a mentor (is that what she is even if she's younger than me?!) and a friend who was very generous with her time and patience with me and all my questions.

She makes wonderful watercolors that are both abstract and realistic.

Check out her stuff. You won't be disappointed!

For my own art-making, I made this wonderful little birdy! Ok. Two of them.

I made these with my Citra-Solv papers so no two are alike!

They will be for sale at my Denton show June 4th, but if you are interested in purchasing them online or before the show, email me and I'll send you pictures of the other four for you to choose your favorite.

5x7" Matted Collage

Lesson Turned Into Art

2011-05-11T12:21:00.000-05:00

I was working on a stamping demo with my students the other day and showed them how to use a stamp to create repeated patterns and radial designs.

In the picture below, the purple radial design in the middle was my stamp example and

I also showed them water-soluble crayons they could use (it created all the color in the background).

One of the girls pointed out that it looked like tie-dye.

I didn't even notice till she pointed it out, but I agree!

I used a piece of paper from a book that was laying on the floor in my classroom.

It had some random paint splotches on it, but I think it adds character. Then after I stamped and colored it, I added the words in sharpie. It was a quick little piece that took about 15 minutes.

5x7" Mixed Media

Etsy Denton Summer Bazaar

2011-05-01T20:34:00.000-05:00

Oh happy Day!

I received word this weekend that I was invited to participate in another juried show.

If Indie Genius was too far south for you, how about one in Denton?

Etsy Denton is having a Summer Bazaar on June 4th.

I will be there along with my good friend Christie Cone, so mark your calendars!

I know you won't want to miss it!

Was For Sale...

2011-04-26T14:40:00.000-05:00

I have been feverishly making guitars for a potential show coming up.

I sure am learning a lot about Stratocaster, Telecaster, and acoustic guitars!

I won't find out if I'm accepted to the show until May 1st, but I'm working ahead so I'm not in such a panic last minute.

I was showing one of my librarians my last post of the guitar and she said she wanted to buy it for her son who is in a band. I brought her my small collection today and she bought her favorite guitar as a birthday present.

I am so blessed to have such wonderful support and encouragement from my friends and family!

Thanks Karyn!

4x6" image in an 8x10" mat

A Cool Blog By Julie Balzer

2011-04-23T08:49:00.000-05:00

I have been following a blog recently that I found and thought it was interesting enough to post for you to check out an enjoy too.

Julie Balzer creates mixed media work and lots of journal pages and shares her creative process on her blog.

In the post links to above, she has a guest blogger, Michelle LaPoint Rydell (link to her blog), who also creates very bold and graphic journals. There are lots of pictures of various journals she creates and she shares some of her favorite products she works with too.

Stop by both blogs and take a look!

Guitar Art

2011-04-21T10:22:00.000-05:00

My husband turned another year older this week and on the card I made him, I collaged a guitar out of Citra-Solv paper. He loved it so much he asked me to make one for him to hang on his wall.

I just wish National Geographic Magazine pages were bigger!

So here you go honey. Love you!

5x7" Mixed Media

Illustration Friday - Journey

2011-04-18T14:23:00.000-05:00

Last week I was able to find some National Geographic magazines that worked with Citra-Solv! (Thank you Laurel for teaching me the Citra-Solv ways!)

I tried some older versions a while back, but nothing happened to the pages. This time I used 2008 and 2010 and they both worked really well! You definitely need to put a LOT of the Citra-Solv on it to make it bleed appropriately, but I didn't mind. It smells quite nice...if you like oranges.

And I sure do love me some clementines!

Anywhoo...

On this page, I love how the ink merged together to create a wave effect. The Illustration Friday word of the week is Journey...It was a perfect page to use! I just cut out a little boat and sail (both out of different Citra-Solve pages) and added a little colored pencil to get the blue and green color and enhance the water.

The yellow on the right was already there.
I loved it because I was able to use a yellow boat and tie the colors together.

5x7" Mixed Media

I am quite happy with this little guy and I hope you enjoy it too!

Watercolor Abstraction

2011-04-13T12:22:00.000-05:00

I currently have a student observer who brought in some of her work from high school and one piece in particular I fell in love with. Luckily, I had time to make my own!

It was quite soothing to let my right brain take over and paint random colors on the page.

And the outlining looks like it would take a while, but it really went quickly.

I think I am going to have my Art I students do this for their next assignment.

9x12" Watercolor and Ink on paper

Lessons Learned

2011-04-10T19:39:00.002-05:00

My friend, Christie Cone, told me about the show I was in this weekend. I am so grateful. I would have to say it was the perfect first experience. Not that everything was perfect, but that I learned a lot while still having a good time and actually made a little profit.

The wind was outrageous and it was sunny (and in the low 90's) on Saturday but Sunday was calmer wind wise. Because of the wind Saturday, I was really anxious and nervous the whole time. I had two jewelry displays break by the end of the show (one half way so it was still usable, but the other was completely shot). I had them each weighted with water bottles zip tied to the stands so they wouldn't fall over (thank you Anne for the suggestion!) But the paintings stayed hanging the whole time! Set up took me 2.5 hours (with a friend for 2 of them) but I did get to relocate to a less windy spot, so I really shouldn't complain. Tear down took less than 45 min, but there's some organizing to do now that I'm home. It was a lot of work, but I think I'd like to do it again soon.

A big THANK YOU to all my friends who came out and supported me! And thank you to my friends who spent a couple hours hanging out and helping me. I couldn't have done it without you!

(pictures of my booth are on the previous post)

Craft Show Day One!

2011-04-09T22:10:00.000-05:00

I have successfully finished my first day at a craft show!

It was incredibly windy and hot, but definitely worth it!

I am currently exhausted and ready for bed, but I thought I would post a couple of pictures of my booth. I'll share more after the show tomorrow (Sunday) as it's not as long of a day.

Purple and Pink

2011-04-05T07:27:00.001-05:00

I've been creating more backgrounds as beginning pieces to see where inspiration leads me.

This one started out as a wash of pink and purple and a smidge of the brown.

A few doodles and a bit of collage later and it's finished.

4x6" Mixed Media

Mixed Media Flower

2011-03-30T19:21:00.001-05:00

Here's another one from my flower series and will be
for sale at the Indie Genius Bazaar on April 9th.
I hope to see you there!

4x6" Mixed Media

I started with a watercolor background and added the halos in colored pencil. The middle of the flower has acrylic paint, colored pencil and pen that's been glued on. Then I used pen, sharpie and white colored pencil for the rest of the flower.

Illustration Friday - Toy

2011-03-25T13:39:00.000-05:00

When I got the topic for this week on Illustration Friday

I immediately thought of one one we have in the art room at school.

It's recognizable to most adults, but I'm not sure if kids these days are playing with them.

So maybe I see them as more of an antique toy.

Or maybe retro.

I'm not sure I really understand the difference between the two.

Either way, it's an old toy we use in still lives to teach cylinders and color.

2.5x3.5" Mixed Media

Illustration Friday - Cultivate

2011-03-24T08:51:00.000-05:00

Spring is definitely in the air!

Perfect weather and lots of beautiful iris' and tulips and

other bright beautiful flowers that make me smile.

While gearing up for the local art fair I've made a series of fun mixed media

flowers inspired by the beautiful scenery amidst the busy bustling city.

The last time I was at the local fine art store I found KHADI sketchbooks and immediately fell in love. The paper is made from recycled t-shirts! I bought the rough texture spiral bound book which ended up being the perfect size for small detailed work like my flowers (it's about 6x8").

Blue Paisley

2011-03-19T10:58:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I can only handle so much pink.

Ok.

Really it's MOST of the time.

So in effort to get out of the pinky-ness I went for blues and greens...
My husbands two favorite colors.

I was just thinking that would make it more manly,

but I don't know that I've ever seen manly paisley!

Pink Paisley!

2011-03-17T08:39:00.000-05:00

Time for something a little different...

Pink paisley!

Lots of little pen detailing and colored with watercolor. 8x8"

Indie Genius Bazaar

2011-03-16T16:22:00.000-05:00

Yesterday I got good news.

My work has been accepted for a spot at a local art bazaar!

I'm super honored they liked my work enough and thought it was appropriate for their expectations.

I'm also very excited because the people putting it on have quite a fun reputation in these parts of town!

If you're in Dallas Apil 9th and 10th, stop by and check it out.

Be sure to say hi to me too!

Architecture Inspiration

2011-03-14T15:04:00.000-05:00

There's a local architecture contest some of my students entered.

The rules were to create something inspired by architecture.

It could be realistic or abstract and in any medium.

While they were working on their unique pieces, I created one of my own.

I used an old piece of cardboard that was laying around my classroom, an exacto knife, sharpie and white colored pencil.

The Process of an ATC

2011-03-11T12:29:00.001-06:00

I was working on Artist Trading Cards (also called ACEO's)

with my students the other day and I made one of my own at the same time.

My instructions for the kids was to create a background, focal point and embellishment,

so I followed my own rules too.

I started by misting the background with orange watercolor.

I really liked how the corners didn't get any color.

Next was a focal point. I wanted to include a letter, but not because it had any significance. I just wanted it for the overall shape - trying to forget what letter it was. So S was chosen for the size, curviness and movement.

Finally I added the embellishment - orange dots. But it was still too boring so I added the green with colored pencil around the white areas. Again, I still wasn't satisfied. I needed some way to tie it all together.

Blue dots!!

I love how it's hard to tell if the blue dots are oozing down the page

or if the green/orange is covering the dots.

The Real Thing

2011-03-09T17:32:00.000-06:00

Christine was so right!

All I had to do was scan it instead of taking a picture.

It was so much easier and faster!

Very different from the last post, huh?!

Each is 2.5 x 3.5" watercolor and sharpie on illustration board

Something Unexpected

2011-03-06T19:04:00.000-06:00

I found time today to make (and finish!) a set of ACEO's.

However, the color of red and orange I used, hates the camera. I was trying to digitally manipulate it so it didn't look fluorescent in the picture, but it wasn't going well. I managed to make it look completely different, but I loved it! I thought I'd keep it to share with you.

Each is 2.5x3.5" Watercolor and Sharpie

I'll work on the original picture and have it up for sale soon.

Illustration Friday - Swarm

2011-02-28T13:01:00.000-06:00

Lately I have been thinking about all the various ways to interpret the Illustration Friday topics (regardless as to whether or not I was actually able to put them on paper), but this weekend I went with my Academic Decathlon students to the State competition, so there wasn't as much time to create as I would have liked. The competition lasted the entire weekend, but the time allotment for actual art making was limited, so I had to go with my initial reaction and make it quick before time ran out and I was "on the clock" again.

I hope you enjoy it!

5x7" Watercolor and Ink

Blue House

2011-02-20T20:20:00.000-06:00

One more (but not the last) watercolor painting of my house series.

8x10" Watercolor and Acrylic Ink on Paper

It's for sale in my PaintedEasel ArtFire Shop.

Interactive Color Theory!!!

2011-02-16T12:31:00.001-06:00

Haha!

I just posted this thinking it was for my student's blog, but it ended up on this one.

I'd like to leave it here though to share the good times.

These are so fun! You could spend hours playing around :)

http://www.poynterextra.org/cp/colorproject/color.html

http://www.mariaclaudiacortes.com/colors/Colors.html

Watercolor House Series

2011-02-09T06:40:00.001-06:00

Here's another watercolor painting of my house series.

8x10" Watercolor & Acrylic Ink on Paper

It's for sale in my PaintedEasel ArtFire Shop.

Snow Day Painting #3 & #4 & (I.F.)

2011-02-06T08:23:00.002-06:00

The weather has warmed up a bit, but here are two more paintings I made while on my unofficial winter break.

I had enough gray ice & snow that needed to paint something with brighter colors. Considering I had only left the house once (for 30 min to run to target) in 4 days I was hoping to reverse (the Illustration Friday for the week) the weather and warm it up a bit.

5x7" Mixed Media (available for you here!)

2.5x3.5" Watercolor

Snow Day Painting #2

2011-02-05T09:07:00.001-06:00

Here's another mixed media painting started and completed in two days.

Thank you crazy blizzard weather!

This one gave me a bit of trouble.

I got stuck at one point, but finally the key came to mind and finished it off for me!

8x10" mixed media on canvas

It's for sale on my ArtFire store!

Snow Day Painting #1

2011-02-03T21:26:00.002-06:00

I'm on snow day #4 and have found plenty to occupy my time.

I could totally handle being jobless.

Assuming my husband wasn't of course.

Here's one of my little goodies from the week (and for sale here).


Mixed Media 8x10" on canvas

What have you done with your snow day?!

Next House on the Block

2011-02-01T17:22:00.000-06:00

8x10" Watercolor and Acrylic Ink

Watercolor House

2011-01-22T18:15:00.003-06:00

A year and a half ago, when we bought our first house (!), I made some sketches of houses.

They are more contemporary and modern with a little abstraction.

The sketches stayed in my sketchbook until last week.

I finally completed about half of them.

I really like them and hope to make more.

Here's the first one in the series.

8x10" watercolor & acrylic ink

M is for...

2011-01-17T19:42:00.000-06:00

I am starting to fall in love with mixed media.

It's hard to do mixed media on such large pieces, which is what I'm used to working on,

so I've had to scale it down and make it more manageable.

ACEO's are the perfect opportunity for that.

ACEO stands for artist cards, editions and originals. They are the size of a baseball trading card, 2.5 x 3.5 inches. They are a wonderful, affordable way to collect your favorite art

(and for me to make them).

You can own this original to keep for yourself or give as a gift! You could place all your ACEO's in a small photo album, or in a frame for display on your wall. They look great grouped together!

Here is the latest edition to my ACEO collection for sale on my PaintedEasel ArtFire shop.

Love

2011-01-14T22:00:00.001-06:00

I had an idea for a Christmas painting I never got around to.

It was going to be red and green with trees and what-not.

Well, this is it now. And very appropriate for the Creative Tuesday!

9x12" Mixed Media (mostly Acrylic)

I just love the color combo and the rich layers!

It's such a bright fun piece...

and for sale on my ArtFire site.

Believe

2011-01-10T13:01:00.001-06:00

2.5x3.5" mixed media

(paint, magazine, stamps & image transfers)

Busy as a Bee

2011-01-03T17:40:00.000-06:00

Yep. That's me. Extremely busy.

But I managed to find time today to experiement with some image transfers.

I came up with this little beauty.

It's in my altered book that is about 5x7".

I used Citrasolv to transfer the bee and then accented it with Sharpie.
The fingerprint things under the bee are transfered with matte medium.

(Use a laser print and put the matte medium on the image/ink. Put the image face down and burnish with a spoon. Let it dry completely then put water on the back of the image and rub away the paper slowly.)

I prefered the look of the Citrasolv over the matte medium because it looked a little cloudy, but I used watercolor on top and I seemed to like it more.

I continued to doodle with Sharpie and called it a day.

I'm quite happy with my little mixed media piece!

Cranberry Cloud

2010-12-29T21:07:00.001-06:00

I have made a very dear artist friend through the world of blogging.

Her name is Laurel Martin and she owns Cranberry Cloud.

I highly recommend checking out her ArtFire & Etsy site and purchasing a piece. You won't be disappointed!

I had asked for one of her mixed media pieces for Christmas and I was just thrilled today when it came in the mail!

It's even better in person and even the envelope is stinkin' adorable!

(the names have been blurred to protect the innocent)

I am so excited to find a frame and hang it right above my desk where I sit and make art.

Such wonderful inspiration and something beautiful to look at every day!

Thank you Laurel! I absolute love it!

(and thanks to my wonderful husband for the great gift too!)

Plastic Bottles

2010-12-22T17:43:00.000-06:00

We've been working in class using colored pencils on toned paper to draw clear plastic bottles.

Here are my examples.

Can you guess what the bottle is on the left?

I didn't have time to finish it because the bell rang and the student wanted to take her drink.

Really? Didn't she know I was in the middle of a masterpiece?!

The water bottle is complete though. They are on a 9x12 piece of brown paper.

Illustration Friday - Mail

2010-12-17T14:50:00.000-06:00

I was so excited to see that the topic for Illustration Friday was "Mail".

Very appropriate considering today is my birthday and I've gotten

such sweets notes and messages. Thanks everyone!

Made a New Friend!

2010-12-11T19:00:00.000-06:00

I made a new friend a couple weeks ago.

Christie Cone

We both volunteered at a craft show and ended up welcoming people at the door together.

We had coffee today and she helped teach me the ways of the craft/arts business.

She sells handmade ceramics. Both functional and decorative.

Her nativity sets are super adorable!

I encourage you to check out Christie Cone's work. You won't be disappointed!

I'm off!

2010-12-04T06:48:00.000-06:00

I'm off to the craft show!

Wish me luck!

My First Craft Fair

2010-11-28T15:17:00.001-06:00

I've signed up for my first craft show this Saturday!

I am so excited but nervous at the same time. There's a lot to do to get ready for one.

I have list after list, but things are slowly but surely getting checked off!

I'll be there Saturday, Dec 4th. Stop by and say hi!

Illustration Friday- Sneaky

2010-11-22T15:15:00.000-06:00

The first thing that came to my mind when I saw the prompt for this week was my kitty.

She thinks she's so clever.

Every morning when I step out of the shower I see her trying to sneak her little paws under the door to grab my clothes or feet. Little does she know I think it's adorable and I intentionally play along!

2.5x3.5 Colored Pencils

Illustration Friday- Burning

2010-11-17T07:59:00.000-06:00

2.5x3.5 Mixed Media

Right now I really feel like I'm burning the candle at both ends.

In the middle of the candle is everything keeping me busy and distracting me from precious sleep.

ArtFire Collection of Warm Colors

2010-11-16T06:45:00.000-06:00

May These COLORS Help to Keep You Nice a...

Curated By: ByBonnie

ArtFire.com

Indie Design

Electrician's Tape

2010-11-10T20:25:00.000-06:00

This is a one hour drawing I did with my students of black electricians tape to have them practice drawing from observation and pencil shading.

3.5x2.5" in pencil

For Kaily

2010-11-06T16:29:00.000-05:00

My sister is in town and today with my niece (who is 7 months old)

so I made this adorable onsie for her with the new screen print process I learned.

The first attempt was not so successful, but this one turned out better.

Another friend will be joining us for dinner who has a baby boy (about a year old) so I made this for him too. I didn't want him to feel left out!! Like the one above, the first attempt was awful, but this one was much better. The blue paint was much thicker than the pink and had a harder time going through the screen. I looks a little better in the picture because the edges aren't super crisp, but it'll do.

What an Honor!

2010-11-04T07:29:00.000-05:00

This was such an honor!

Something New

2010-10-31T19:22:00.000-05:00

I took the coolest class this week where I learned how to screen print. It was awesome and super easy!

I made a shirt last night for my husband that includes two of his favorite things (besides me of course!): The Dallas Cowboys and the TV show Lost.

The design was not our idea (kudos to you, Mr. Designer), but I printed it on the shirt myself.

He wore it to the game today.

It was something different for sure!

A Visiting Artist

2010-10-29T06:05:00.002-05:00

I got to use Skype in my classroom for the first time yesterday! Laurel Martin was so kind to be our visiting artist for the day (she lives in Canada, so a plane trip was not an option!). We had some trouble with the "reception" and had to call several times to get it to connect, but eventually it worked out. She did such a wonderful job giving demos about different altered book techniques and lots of cool tips & tricks my students (or I) hadn't thought of. I can't wait for them to apply the techniques so we can send her pictures of the artwork.

Thanks again Laurel! It was awesome!

My First Art Fire Collection

2010-10-23T22:34:00.002-05:00

ArtFire.com has a way of making groups much like Etsy's Treasuries, but they are called Collections.

In Etsy, I could only link to the treasury, but with ArtFire, I can actually post my entire collection here for you to see in all it's glory.

My sister-in-law's birthday is coming up and I was searching for something wonderful to get her. I looked through the gift guide on ArtFire, but she likes such unusual things, that I decided to put together my own collection of things she would like. Maybe this collection will help out others who have a friend or sister like her.

Gifts My Sister Would Like

Curated By: PaintedEaselJ...

ArtFire.com

Unique Gifts

Ta Da!
How cool is that!?!

What do you think?
Would you like any of these items?

Drawing Glass

2010-10-20T15:05:00.000-05:00

I was subbing a class today and they were drawing glass.

I had never attempted it myself, so I sat down and gave it a shot.

Used Prismacolor pencils on brown paper and they are very small (3"x2").

I'm not sure which one I like better.

What do you think?

Illustration Friday-Spooky

2010-10-17T21:40:00.000-05:00

A cat, hat and bat all flat on a mat.

Oooo Spooky!

Watercolor 2.5x3.5"

Illustration Friday - Transportation

2010-10-11T15:19:00.000-05:00

I had the day off and found the time today to make ACEO's for Illustration Friday.

Initially I thought about my feet being my number one mode of transportation and I knew I wanted to make a collage. While I was looking through a magazine, I found an awesome page of individual pieces of cereal. I instantly saw a car flash through my head.

So I decided to make them both.

Here is my shoe transportation and my cereal car transportation.

Which is your favorite?

Collaging Technique Video

2010-10-10T19:03:00.001-05:00

My students know how much I love Nev'r Dull.

It's a metal polisher that I find in the auto department at Walmart.

Sounds strange, I know, but it's awesome for manipulating magazine pages.

I look for any excuse to use it!

Here's a video I found Empty Easel on how to use it.

You can find a couple of my finished Nev'r Dull pieces in this blog post.

I'd love to see what yours looks like!

Altered Book

2010-10-05T18:27:00.000-05:00

I have recently been intrigued by altered books. I currently have a student observer who showed me some cool new stuff I could do with my book.

This is a new technique she showed me.

Here's the second attempt, which turned out much better than the first!

I used an xacto knife and cut out my rose. Then I used watered down white glue and glued tissue paper to one side. Let it dry for a couple of minutes and then fold the tissue paper over to the back. Trimmed off the excess and tad-ah!

A wonderful silhouette!

In the last picture you can see the thinness of the tissue paper with the ruler under it. It looks even better in real life because you can see the words on the next page barely through the tissue paper.

Try it...it's super easy!

painted easel

Reminds Me of Olives

Wine Glass

Random Collage

Buttons

Another Abstract Painting

EEE!!!

Yellow Rain

I'm A Card Making Machine

Collaged Beach Scene

Working Away

Love One Another

Smoke Like

Journey

Squares

Antique Keys

Abstract Repetition

Love & Desire

Inspired

Rain Rain Rain

Repetition

Outlet

New Jewelry Banner

Black & White Design

Bright Paisley Pattern

Quick Flower Drawing

Drawing Video

ART *FULL, a dose of ART & INSPIRATION in your inbox

Paisley Greeting Cards

A Boat

Maurice

Gifts for Family

Ceramic Chopstick Bowl

Chandelier Earrings

Martini Cards

Bird Cards

New Product!

Shop Local

Watercolor Bird

MMM....Cupcakes!

Third Time's a Charm!

Saturday's the day!

Birds on a Wire

Collaged Flowers

5 Reasons Why I love ArtFire!

Collage Bicycles

A Little Art & Art-Making

Lesson Turned Into Art

Etsy Denton Summer Bazaar

Was For Sale...

A Cool Blog By Julie Balzer

Guitar Art

Illustration Friday - Journey

Watercolor Abstraction

Lessons Learned

Craft Show Day One!

Purple and Pink

Mixed Media Flower

Illustration Friday - Toy

Illustration Friday - Cultivate

Blue Paisley

Pink Paisley!

Indie Genius Bazaar

Architecture Inspiration

The Process of an ATC

The Real Thing

Something Unexpected

Illustration Friday - Swarm

Blue House

Interactive Color Theory!!!

Watercolor House Series

Snow Day Painting #3 & #4 & (I.F.)

Snow Day Painting #2

Snow Day Painting #1

Next House on the Block

Watercolor House

M is for...

Love

Believe

Busy as a Bee