My Three Entries for the Wallowa Valley Festival of Arts

Calabaza de Cuero

 It's nail biting time again. Funny, I always worry about being accepted, and haven't been turned away yet, so why the nail biting? I guess it's that old lack of self confidence creeping in. Keeps me humble right? Lol.

Sunset In Sonora

 This was an interesting challenge, but a lot of fun to do. I wanted to try and use my doilies in a tree painting, and it worked, although I had another style in mind prior. What's nice is I can still try my other idea. I've learned though that joint compound does not like cold basement floors. It was a bit hard to spread, and a lot more crazing happened than I like. The paint filled most of that in luckily, and the antiquing process brought out what was left, to my advantage.

The Red Hen

Pastels and chickens, who knew that would be my new fun challenge to try?! I have a couple of other challenges in that regard, and my temptation is to blow past the sketch step and get right to it, but I think I will try and sketch out my idea first to make sure I have my light and dark areas figured out. I can do that while Kent is doing his dulcimer practice so it works for both of us.
I'd better get to finishing getting ready for work. I am introducing Mary Cassatt to my students today. It will be interesting to see how they settle in after Spring Break.

Humpty Dumpty's PFATT Marketplace Debut Today... oh and the chicken as well...

On Humpty Dumpty I did some research, and it seems that no one really knows just how old he is! So I've decided to have a party for him as he is waaaay past due. He truly is excited as you can see, and hopes that you will throw him a party as well. Don't let the party start without him!

As for the little red hen up there, she comes with a hand painted barn wood frame and is ready to hang. For more information on both of these pieces stop by the PFATT MARKETPLACE this morning at 11AM mountain time.

Dreaming of Chickens

The Stansbury Art and Literary Society challenged us to come up with a poem and then a painting or some way to illustrate our poem. So I've been dreaming of crocus and chickens and dragonflies, trying to decide my topic. Here she is, what I've settle on. Not sure I'm completely finished, but she's pretty much there. Now to find a frame and get her ready for her debut tomorrow night.

Sunflowers and Abstracts...

 Or is that abstracts and sunflowers? A long long time ago, in a land far away..... I started taking commercial art classes. One of the tips the professor gave us as artists was to build a file of favorite photos, so the sunflowers are an attempt at a pastel of sunflowers from a photo I've toted around for years.

I can sure tell the difference in papers I'm using. My textured, colored pastel papers are in Utah so I'm trying something else. The smooth surface isn't quite as fun to work with as the color wants to slide right off the paper. With each layer of sealer spray I've been able to build up some tooth though and the color is sticking better. This was a loose and easy painting, not too detailed as I wanted something fun to play around with and didn't really want to get bogged down in detail.
The abstract is just that, a fun textured painting that will look great framed. It's so nice to be getting some creative time in! Now, back to work.

Virtue.... a finished WIP

I'm still in my jammies as I have been working on this and getting the photos and entry done, whew! I can go on vacation with peace of mind now. At 32 inches tall, she is the tallest/largest sculpt I've done to date. She is made from a total of 5 gourds, one for the body and two for each of the arms. No baby though. I had to remove the baby as it was looking more like a cocoon from outer space than a child, even a folk art one...lol. This is a bit different than I had planned for her dress as well, but sometimes things change as we go along. Now, to wait and see if I've been accepted.

Here's a closer look at her base. I tried to achieve a turquoise stone look to the panels on her dress. I hope that will show up in person. Photos are hard to take here.

Another one of my entries for the Wallowa Valley Festival of Arts. A mixed media abstract.

I know I've shared this before as well, but here's "Who's Chicken?" again. Now the waiting begins. Will I be accepted? I hope so as I'm supposed to demo my sculpting and I usually volunteer to help. I do enjoy this show, but will be looking for others to enter as well. They are great experiences and you can get good feedback on where you need to improve. If you haven't entered a juried show before I urge you to give it a try. You never know!

Of Chickens and Things....

Chickens are funny creatures. They scratch and peck and bwaak bwaak their way around a yard, skittering here and there to catch a bug, or get out of the way if necessary. More and more folks are getting into raising chickens, and here in Utah there are communities that have passed ordinances allowing town folk to have a limited number on their property.
When we lived in North Pole we had several chickens, the white Cornish cross we would raise every year for eating. The year my ex and I split the second time I was left with about 30. They became my visitor greeters, surrounding any vehicle that came into our driveway, pecking at their tires and waiting for the "victim" to get out. I looked out my living room window one day to see a friend sitting on his bike with my little flock staring up at him. They even tried to go running with me and another friend one day. We took off down my drive and heard the skitter of tiny feet. As we looked back all my little hens were following us, trying to keep up.
We would like to raise laying hens some day, but for now, I will suffice with painting them. Here's a pastel I did yesterday. Do you have chickens?

An Apple a Day....

There are a multitude of reasons you should eat apples. Here's an article on 10 Reasons You Should Eat Apples.

Me, I like to paint apples as well as eat them so I always have models on hand. The above piece was done on Strathmore colored art paper. Just a study, and trial of what I can do with soft pastels. Am going to tackle some more this afternoon. 

The painting above is a pastel I did last night while sitting at the table. Hubby was serenading me with the dulcimer so we had a peaceful evening. I am heading back to the table to try my hand at more pastels. I have a couple of landscapes in mind, and need to get going on them as I have a deadline to meet for the Wallowa Valley Festival of Arts. Time to get painting!

Bunnies and Ravens and Signs and Things....

 

It's a sign of the times.... literally. Easter is fast approaching and this sign is ready to display anywhere you would like to add a touch of Spring. Inspired by Victorian ephemera, this one of a kind original will be a great center piece for your Easter decor.

  

 Buddy Bunny Pull Toy is a little egg gourd creation I put together using air dry clay. It's a two part creation with a little pull cart sculpted from clay. Buddy's friend Charlie Chick Pull Toy will be featured in Celebrate365 Spring issue.

 

Last but not least, I've decided to let the original pastel of this painting above to go. You will find all these pieces on ebay so visit my link to the right.