Showing posts with label painting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label painting. Show all posts

rainy days are good for...

while snow is still expected this coming week, the next few days are offering nothing but rain. I have always found it curious that at the first sign of a sunny day- the windows fly open and everything just begs to be cleaned and tidy. Kitchen floors scrubbed, windows polished, floors vacuumed and tables cleared. but i digress. that was yesterday.
Today it rains. and rainy days are good for sleeping in and hot cups of tea. fresh baked bread to warm the lower rooms (and the tummy!), long naps under big fluffy down comforters, movies and endless hours of painting.



 time to finish up on new spring offerings.
and then a few more paintings.

while I do look forward to sunny days and the plotting of the garden, i think for now it's nap time.
stay dry.

live well.
love each other.

Daily Blessings

Blessings that I am thankful for every day:



My home and hearth, and that I am able to share it with my loving family, who hang odd things on it at any given time.




My grandmothers; the wildly brilliant women that came before me, and their families that made them all crazy.


 


 Those men and women that altruistically defend this.




                                                                     Witnessing this.



Growing this.



 




                                                                Good Friends.


 



A magical place filled with warm hearts, bright spirits and great coffee.





              Knowing that this is the worst I have to 
              look forward to when my son gets home
             from school. (Guess the artist gene runs in the family, 'eh?) 
                                                      

Having the ability to do what I love, every day- and have wonderful fans, collectors, galleries, shops and friends that support me in doing it.




            Being on the outside of this gate.




guys that look and talk like this

                                       
                                and this   :o)
      (okay- I know they aren't real- but come on!)





And all of you that follow, fan and tweet the studio and share a glimpse of your world with your comments and blogs.

What are your blessings?


Wishing you all wonderful holiday and a life of blessings.
enjoy each other.
live well.

Walking through WIP; part 3

The titanium white highlights are all on- notice the objective is not to highlight every stroke but only enough to keep the illusion going. I use a number 2 and 0 liner brushes to mix up the thickness of the highlights.





Next stop- globs of Liquitex Opaque Flakes
go for the flake- not the opaque! :o)

It's Finally Here!

I Love Spring. The earth warming, little bits of green popping here and there. New life everywhere you look.
The stream that runs along the Studio has exploded with life. It is just so exciting to watch everything come back to color after the long winter months.

The days have still been a bit chilly with showers on and off - but I always remind myself of the little rhyme we learned as children- "April showers bring May flowers"- A promise of the end of the cold, wet and chilly days and the wonders of warm mornings, sunny skies and brilliant bouquets where ever you look.

So instead of continuing my momentary pout, I bundled up and headed out of doors to see what the day was going to offer.

Beautiful Blues Skies! Now okay- we all know that the brilliance this time of year is mainly due to the coldness in the air- but wait. I'm ignoring that, remember? So instead I'm going with the "My my- it's super warm out here- look at all that sunshine!"

The royal staircase. I love dancing down these stairs. Though you probably can't tell from the photo, the bottom two steps that you see are super sized. Instantly dwarfing whoever steps on them, like Alice. Zooooop. Your small again. Sort of like finding that chair that you can sit on and are still able to swing your legs back and forth. I think that is one thing that I miss being all "grown-up"- being able to swing my legs when I sit down. I could always build a chair, I suppose- but seeing that I am over 5' 10"- that is going to be one big chair!
Look- another heart! I am wondering why I never noticed this before. Sitting atop the grand staircase, you'd think I would have noticed it before. The thing is, about this property, it was truly love at first sight. I drove down the lane and announced quite excitedly to my dad (who had just called me on the cell to find out where I was) "I'm HOME!" It took about three months to seal the deal- and about two more hours to find the "first" heart. They are everywhere. And, much to the chagrin of most people I know - I have added them to my rock collections. Yes. I collect rocks. I'm not sure why. They call to me.."pick me up" "move me here" "I want to go there". It is all quite silly considering the Southern portion of the property- way up the hill- was where the glaciers stopped. Thus, I could pick up 500 rocks every day for the rest of my life, and some 50 years later than that - and still not have touched every rock on this property. Crazy- right! but they are all so beautiful; quartz, sandstone, jasper- in blues and reds and pinks and greens- thousands of little deposits of stones and rocks that shouldn't be here- but are- deposits of history- Just begging to be picked up!

So they get piled here and there, some for function, some just for design. But, don't you dare move them - because I know where every one is.
This one is my favorite. Have you ever seen anything so perfect? Just a little reminder- that love is everywhere and the universe is willing to give us these little hints- if we only look around and listen once in awhile.






This has got to be the coolest stone I have ever found- mainly because of its location! This piece has become my house talisman. Warding off evil spirits and unwanted visitors. Wouldn't you be a bit wary if you were up to no good? lol.
(feel free to click on the photo to enlarge and you will see what I mean) The tree grew right around the stone as if holding it in its long spindly fingers. Quite a tight grip I must say too. I keep checking to see if, as the wood ages and shrinks, it gives up a bit and will let the stone fall out - but so far- it is not budging!

We must be reaching the end of our adventure, and the wind chimes are starting to stir- warning of impending winds. I'm not sure I can put off the urge to get warm much longer :o)
Beltane is around the corner- and the warm winds will be here soon. Time to sow and tend to the garden. I can't wait to see what will grow this year. So much work, yet so worth the effort.
So many things going on- that's the beauty of Spring- perfect chaos - the music of the spheres. Energy everywhere.
I am working on so many project pieces, custom orders and pieces for publication - that I am actually hoping to get some down time in the studio when I can just "create". Silly - I know- but free art is a welcome break from goal art. Creating for the sake of creating- slapping paint here and there. The goal is that if the weather starts to hold- I can open the studio and bring out the encaustics again. (Its a huge no-no to work with encaustics in a closed area) Which will be uber fun! And having that extra time means that I will finally be able to finish the pieces I have slotted for Etsy and Artfire.

Thanks for joining my on my little adventure into Spring! I'm running back to the house for some hot coffee!
The Guardian at the gate will show you out. (Don't worry -he's harmless - just give him a little pet on your way by and you'll have a friend for life.)
Have a great week!

Out of the heart of darkness: take 2 (or was that 22)


What it looked like after I changed it ...again.

and then I swiftly packed it up- :o) and sent it away.

much better I think- though the colors are a bit off in the photo.


Out of the Heart of Darkness







Challenge complete

I belong to this grand group called Mixed Media Mischief Makers- a hysterical bunch of, you guested it... Mischievous mixed media Artists! We just finished the current challenge (actual end date is tomorrow- Can you believe I actually finished on time! I am Always behind! ) This challenge was based upon "Wicked" or the "Wizard of Oz". My offering to this challenge is "the two faces- Which witch will you be today?" OK - so I took emotions from a current "real life" dilemma and read into the whole good witch/bad witch scenario- but it works in the end- and helped me work through issues! what more could I ask for?




A 20x16 canvas with layers of pain, liquid paper clay, glaze, molding paste, paint and a green interference (to make the Emerald City glow)



The Witch mask is a free sculpt mask with creepy purple eyes and a felt hat and ribbon accents all sliced through the canvas, resealed and glued down so that it it three dimensional. I have to say here - that I usually have a real hard time with the whole green faced witch. It's a lifestyle. But I worked through it to complete the challenge and it was OK since it was based upon the character in the book/movie. And reading further into the two main characters, I have always interpreted the green witch being "bad" because of being so jealous - which is reflected by green..... so you see...



I can't wait till the next challenge- Alice in Wonderland... this is gonna be fun! A great change of pace. challenges, that is. They make you think/create/travel in directions down roads that you usually don't travel.
Back to the studio...
Have a great weekend!

Just a quick note

Busy, busy, busy... wow- feast or famine rings true, doesn't it..

I am working on a commissioned series the "Organics" - almost finished 5 pieces! whew!

I will give a sneak over the next few days, as things progress.

Why is it that when you paint- you come up with all of these grand sculpt ideas and when you sculpt- all you want to do is paint? Ahh - those Muses! Always teasing!
Until later :0)

First from the New Digs

So, having put the world on hold for the last three weeks, last night it was time to get to work!!
And I have to admit, the new digs are working out quite well. Everything within reach. I can actually find things I am looking for (and feel good doing it!) Wooo Hooo!!!
Time to catch up on the orders!

A custom piece -
Soap Bubble Dreams


Turning of the Wheel

A sneak of a mixed media in four parts.
each square is 10x10.

This piece can be seen in its entirety at the Silent Auction to benefit the
Emmaus Farmer's Market - at the Farmhouse Restaurant.
**see posts below for details**


Losin' my mind!

See this... This is me...


Between deadlines and work, it seems as though there is just not enough time to do much of anything else. Every week, I say that things will lighten up - and slow down a bit - but it just doesn't seem to be happening!

I suppose however, looking at things from another perspective would lead me to..... it's better to be busy than bored! I could be sitting here complaining about how none of my work is selling, or I haven't had a commission in months. So - on that happy note - things could be a lot worse in a completely different way! Woo Hoo!
I am truly blessed!

I still have to post to the Etsy shop - but all of my work is either sold or in a shop somewhere else. Once I get a few more pieces completed - TheGigglingGoblin will have inventory - I promise!

There wasn't much going on in the studio this past week. I was suffering from artist block there for a few days - but as of this afternoon - that seems to have been... blown right out of my mind... It is amazing what dissolves an artist block~ and amazing really describes what dissolved mine!

So, it is back to the studio. Ideas flowing, paint flinging , stuff flying about everywhere!!! Better duck!!

Come on Down!

Stop by for a Meet and Greet Friday, August 01, 2008
Perk on Main, Emmaus
6-8pm

First Friday Celebration!
All of main street will be open late;
Great restaurants, live music, local artists!
Why not wrap it all up with the PERFECT
cup of coffee and the best coffee house
(that's right....On The Planet!)
Perk on Main!
Proprietor "Jill" and her happy band of
baristas will be on hand with live entertainment,
artists and JAVA!
So stop on by and say Hello!
The Studio will be there along with our good friends from
Crowhaven Farm Studio. Fair Trade Jewelry will also be there (there goes my profits!)
I don't have the full line-up of artists and musicians that will be attending - but I guarantee
that there will be something for everyone and the weather is supposed to be perfect for a stroll through town!
So head on down to Main Street for some great food & outstanding local talent.
Make sure you stop by and say Hello!
For more information - follow the link to Perk on Main~
Hope to see you there!
Cheers!

The Giggling Goblin

New at the Noll - an Etsy shop!
tag:: TheGigglingGoblin
When I get back from my much needed mental health vaca - the shop will be opened. a multitude of works. Mosaics, art dolls, paintings, mixed media and some are even a combination of all the above -
Keep your eyes open around the third week of July. I will be posting several "opening week" special posts.
Thanks to everyone for their support and always believing.
Trac