PFATT Unveiled!

Just a few of the offerings I have at PFATT this month. The cat candlestick/candy dish is a funky and fun creation.
My Man in the Moon mixed media art piece is a one of a kind original.
The snowman print comes with a hand painted frame.
My hubby's personal favorite is the gourdeous gourd fella above.
A gathering of Santas, 2 gourd ornaments and one driftwood fella, all can be bought together for a slight break, or purchased separately. These all make wonderful gifts so get your shopping done early! I've already sold the crock you will see on PFATT but the rest are available.

ANOTHER PFATT PREVIEW

A sneaky peek at at least two of my gatherings for PFATT this month. There will be several Halloween pieces to choose from, 3 Santas and a gathering of snowmen that I am finishing up as I write....oh yes! I'm multitasking!

Going BAtty with the Man in the Moon

He's on ebay now!

Oh, BATS!!!

Another road trip piece of art. At least a part of it. It's hard to do tiny details when you are going up a snake like road. So I did the tiny stuff when we got home. Do you ever take advantage of long trips in the car to get some art done? I'm still in the process of deciding how this will be presented, whether matted and framed or mounted on something, but I will be creating tags, and or cards with prints. Contact me if you are interested in the original.

WIP'S

Every weekday as I head out the door I'm loaded down with my laptop and tub of projects. These are what I brought with me today. Two driftwood chunks that will have clay elements for a different twist on my usual driftwood Santas, two egg gourd Santa ornaments, that just need to have the finishing touches on their painting done, two clay pendants, one a black cat, and the other a Santa, one bottle Santa that needs painted, and a large gourd that I am getting ready to work on. He will need a bit of stabilizing as he wobbles a bit so I will be painting the whole piece as opposed to leaving the natural shell show.
With the gourd Santa figures, I like to turn the gourd around and around, getting a feel for where the face should go. I always start with the face, and that usually reveals the theme each Santa will take on. Sometimes I do preliminary sketches, because I already have a specific concept in mind, but sometimes I just go with the flow and let things come to light on their own. How about you? Are you a sketcher of ideas, or do you just let things happen?

He's a Winner!

He's a winner! We spotted him with a blue ribbon at the Utah State Fair and would have taken a photo but there were so many other entries there we couldn't separate him out. I'm excited though!

Featured Artist on American Holiday Artists Blog

We have several great announcements on the AHA blog, including a mention about some of the new things happening with my art. Trot on over and see all the goings on.

An Exciting Announcement!!!!

Sometimes dreams really do come true! Years ago when I was a stay at home mom, I looked for ways to add to our income while being home for my children. I happened to be living in North Pole, Alaska at the time. I would scour magazines for ideas as I had a friend who was a master tole painter that taught me how to paint. Living in North Pole made it natural to think of creating Santas so I picked up copies of BHG Santa Claus, as well as other publications looking for something I could do that was unique and not found in the shops in the area. I read a couple of features on REASONS TO BELIEVE, a business started by Scott Schultz and Dennis Brown in the Seattle area. I thought, wow, how would that be to be able to have a where I could make Santas all day and earn money doing it?! I so admired their work, and the work of other Santa artists in the Santa Claus publications, but never seemed to be in a position to be able to reach a wide audience and collector base. I stared with birch wood slabs that are "mistakes" from hitting the side of logs while chopping wood. I called them my happy mistakes and you can see a sample in the top photo above. Well, thanks to Ginny Diezel, and really Suzanne Urban, who have both given me an opportunity to rub internet shoulders with some of the best creative artisans in the nation, I was lead to the Reasons to Believe website which Scott and Dennis own. Ginny urged me to contact them and Scott got right back to me. So now my work can be found on the Reasons to Believe website! I'm so thrilled to have such an opportunity, as I really love creating Santa figures out of a variety of media. I would also like to thank Linda Kennon of Gourdqueen Originals for sending me my first gourds and challenging me to see what I could do with them. Thanks to all who made this possible, including my husband, who is so supportive of all I do. Head on over to Reasons to Believe to take a look at all the talented artists to be found there.

PFATT Offerings Revealed!

Aaaah, the fun begins! It's sure been fun fooling around with pen and ink. Both these pieces are on the PFATT Marketplace for your perusal and to add to your collection.

September PFATT offerings

A sneaky peek at what will debut tomorrow.
Pen and ink Halloween pieces that come framed. Perfect for the owl collectors, or anyone who loves Halloween art. Stop by tomorrow for more!

It's Utah State Fair Time!

Autumn Time Santa is my entry for Decorative arts this year.


And just barely making it into the trunk is my painting for Fine Arts.

I forgot to take a photo before I put it into the trunk, but a raw version can be seen on my other blog as a side photo. I did some touching up and so it's hopefully acceptable. My dear husband has been so patient with all this. I never seem to be able to get ahead so I'm rush, rush, rushing to get stuff finished and the house is all upside down still from the flood. We can't put it all back together anyway as the carpet needs to be cleaned again, the odor didn't come out. So I'm glad these are done as when we get back from Oregon this weekend I will need to get the house right side up again. Life is good! :-)

Crows and Pears and Pumpkins, Oh My!

September 1st is a start for me, to the Autumn season. Perhaps it was my teachers putting leaves around the bulletiere.n boards, or if you are in Alaska, the leaves outside have already turned or started. What ever it is there is a change to the sunlight and it just feels like Fall is almost here.
This print is a very popular one of mine and you can find it now on ebay. The original was created on canvas using acrylic paints. It looks wonderful framed.

They're done!

I love how this Santa turned out. I layered color on until he was just the way I'd imagined. And added sprigs of antique fruit and berries along with some cinnamon sticks to his pocket. The pocket is textured to look like waffle weave fabric.
I had my doubts about this one until I got him painted. My hubby loves him and I would have to agree.
Lingonberries adorn this handsome Santa. It takes me back to our days in Alaska when we would go harvest the low bush cranberries on Labor Day weekend. They get a deep red, but some will still have a blush to them and this is what I wanted to portray.

This little Santa is packed with personality, even though you can't really see all the detail. I hope to have better photos, or better yet, let the professionals do this and then I can direct you to where they will showcase. Thanks to all who showed interest!

More WIPs

Can't wait to get these finished! Check back for the finals.

Sharing a Giveaway by an AHA Artist

Isn't this beautiful?! If you would like to win this lovely ornament get on over to Victorian Whimsies by Nancy Lee Malay. Scroll on down and you will see where you can enter. Good luck to all of you!

Celebrate 365 and me

I'm so very excited to share this with you! Connie of Celebrate 365 has put one of my ornaments, the Uncle Sam, on the front cover of her last issue! So here I am, feeling very lucky to have my work there next to the likes of Johanna Parker, Amelia Schaefer, Debbie Thibault, and more. Click on the Celebrate 365 banner to learn more about Celebrate 365 and all the goings on.

Bwaaaahaaahaaaa and a Ho Ho Ho!

The Man in the Moon is watching you so you better be good.....
Santa has been making his list and I know he's checking it twice, so you know what that means! Are you being good....or naughty....
For more info see my ebay link.

AHA Artist Ornament Giveaway!

Okay, so I may be shooting down any chance of winning this but, we are so lucky to have Susan Vanderhoek of Seasonal Whimsies as a member of AHA! She recently got chosen to have one of her hand sculpted Santa designs turned into a blown glass ornament by Artistry of Poland. How cool is that?! So as a special promotion of her new design Susan is having a giveaway at her blog. Go here http://seasonalwhimsies.blogspot.com/ for more details and get signed up! A big AHA congratulations to Susan!

Halloween Anyone?

Stay tuned for more..... PFATT Marketplace offerings for August.

Percival P. Gourdon

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the internet service lasts long enough to get this post in. Percival is a wickedly naughty fellow, so if you like wicked, and you like naughty get on over to ebay and place your bids!

Is it Christmas yet?

I know all my artist compatriots are madly working on Halloween, but I just love creating Santas. Can you guess which one was a White Swan perfume bottle, or a Tapatio bottle, or hot sauce bottle? Okay so the big guy is out, he's obviously a gourd, but see how well you can guess.

Snap up those owls before they get away.....

Yay! The internet is working today....lol. These handsome owls are waiting for you on ebay. They go off tomorrow, snatch them up now!

Halloween Owls - Owliver and Friends

Trying something new here. Still need to work out the sound quality as in trying to not sound like I'm sitting in a can. Let me know what you think. As for these delightful little paintings, they are being sold as a set on ebay right now so go over to my ebay link and let the bidding begin! :-)

Sneaky Peek.....

It's beginning to look alot like Christmas at PFATT for July.

Christmas in July isn't a new idea, but it's never too early to shop for the holidays.

And what better place to find fabulous Christmas creations, all hand made by skilled artisans, all one of a kind originals, than at the PFATT Marketplace. Stop by tomorrow to see all the new wonders of Christmas.

Did I tell you?

Well the wonderful Suzanne has been so kind as to ask if I would mind being featured on our AHA blog and of course I said yes! Who would pass up the opportunity to "get out there" and American Holiday Artists is the premier holiday art group. Stop by our blog to see all the fabulous artists we have on board.

On the home front, here's my biggest WIP.....


Between running to Utah to see my hubby and grandson, oh and his mommy and daddy of course, the car breaking down on the way back, deadlines and issues with suppliers as well as internet fits, I'm a little behind. But there's one more coat of red, and then the trim needs to be done. The yard? Well it's hard to tell but right in the front of the house is a big long hole that had to be created for drainage when the addition was put on. So next year I will be adding a wrap around deck on the front and paving some pathways. This is is garden boxes, finishing painting, and if there's any money filling in the paths around the boxes. I sure wish there were 48 hours in a day sometimes! Now I'm off to get some work done!

Jingle Time July For PFATT

Ho, ho, ho! It's time for another spectacular PFATT Marketplace event! Don't forget to check back as I will have a sneak preview.