A Santa A Day

A wrinkly crinkly old elf, this Santa is my first Northwoods Santa of the season. Painted with layers of maroon, burgundy and reds, this Santa has a warm and cozy feel.

Hand sculpted pine cones and vintage mica "snow" add to the warmth and soft glow of this handsome fella.

He stands about 13" tall. I put felt dots on the bottom of all my creations so that they are easy to slide on any surface without marring it. You can see more of my Santa creations at Reasons to Believe.

Santa Santa everywhere!

A sneak preview of my collection of Santas, some due to head to Reasons to Believe soon. I have a couple more to finish and then the good folks at RTB can choose the ones they want for this year. More photos, close ups are coming shortly. :-)

Wickedly cool gourd hag and black cat

Hee, hee, she's a looker isn't she?! Such a hag as this has never been seen.

A gourdeous little witchy,
with her broom and shawl,
ready to haunt the night...
come on, now don't you bawl!

If you see her taking flight,
don't just stand and stare...
cause if you're caught outside?
You had better beware!

This handsome black kitty is feeling meowvelousy good! From his paper mache hat, to the box on which he stands. Both the witch and this cat are gourd creations, with details made from air dry clay. All hand painted and detailed with vintage lace, real wool curls and antique buttons, Gourdelia, is ready to haunt a new home. Mac the cat is a make-do with a gourd head, wood spindle, and paper mache box stand.

A Fishy WIP Done!

I love it when a plan comes together! I'm sure you've heard that one before, but this is a true statement for sure. My friend Marvel saw a piece at an art show that she wanted but didn't have the money to buy one so we made our own. I know, bad for business but this way you can choose your colors and style and make the piece your own. No we didn't copy completely, just used the basic idea to create a hanging that would look good in her home. She did great I think!

We sure had fun doing this, and it's a great way to spend good friend time. I enjoy teaching people but having a good student certainly helps! So this will hang in a place of honor in her living room. Way to go Marvel!

Whoo-whooooooo you lookin' at?

On all Hallows Eve the owl took flight....

To see what he could see.

 An unusual perch appeared that night

with a smile filled with wicked glee!

 My first Halloween painting of the season. An OOAK by me for American Holiday Artists
If interested you can find this fellow at Mother's Dream Artworks

I accept Paypal so just click on the button and you can make this piece a part of your Halloween collection. Thanks for stopping by.

More Painting

There's more to painting than just having a canvas and paints. Texture, layout, color and design all play an integral part on a good painting. The fun of painting is finding out what you can do in that regard. Or trying to work outside your normal comfort zone. These are just a couple stabs at these ideas.

Had to Paint Today

There are days when I just need to paint. I can't think of anything else to do but paint and so that's what I did. After mowing the lawn and shoveling gravel I pulled out the canvases and then some ideas that I'd saved. The lighting in my home isn't the best for photography so I took two. The bottom photo best reflects the true colors although the background in the top is my true to the painting.  Have you ever noticed that purple doesn't seem to photograph very well? At least that's been my experience. I started with a cowboy and hat, then went to an Indian chief, but neither was working for the size of the canvas I was using so I did this one instead. A stab at abstract, which is fun to do on occasion. I love bright and bold so here it is!

What's In a Picture

My vanity always gets the best of me when it comes to having my picture taken so I don't have them done often enough. The worst are the throw away cameras as they will add about 10 pounds or misshape faces among other things. I love how you can do so much with photos now though. I took the same photo and tried different effects to see what I would like better. The black and white is obvious of course, and I suppose the sepia one is as well, but can you tell which is the original and which is antiqued?
Using different effects is dictated by what you are trying to achieve. Sometimes a plain old black and white just looks better, depending on what you are going to do with the photo. Most actors and musicians have their portfolio photos in black and white or a slight variation of such. A person can actually look quite different from what you would see in a regular setting, just by changing the color of the photo.
What do you prefer when taking photographs? Do you ever play around with color and style to see what you can do? I could get bold with these photos, but I'm needing to change my photo on Facebook and other venues to show my new hairstyle. Which one do you like the most? Which one ages or makes look younger? This was a big step for me as I don't like to show photos so be gentle....:-)

VIDEO: Using Contact Paper for Masks & Stencils

VIDEO: Using Contact Paper for Masks & Stencils

Good morning and happy Monday to you! I love to get info emails from Empty Easel, but don't often take advantage of them like I should so this morning I decided to see what I could learn. Here's a wonderful tip for using contact paper that can help you add dimension and texture to your art work. Enjoy!

Lest You Think I'm Just Goofing Off......WIPS

A summer to remember so far.....or not. After Kent ended up in the hospital I had a bout of something as well so we were a pitiful pair for a bit.  In spite of that we have been enjoying the summer by fishing and making a run to Portland to see my son. There was a huge pile of gravel in the front yard, but we hired 3 young men from church to move it for us, so we now have time to play. So playing I am!

The weather has been so pleasant I moved a little shelf outside so I can use it as a sculpting table. I parked it under the big willow in our front yard, and have been enjoying the cool breezes while I sculpt happily away! The Santa in the top photo still has some work, can you see what's missing? This bottom Santa is done as far as sculpting goes, so now on to painting when he's thoroughly dry. I now have several Santa's that need painting, and two that are in the sculpting phase, as well as two horse heads. There is also a Halloween guy waiting for arms and a stand. All fun stuff. I'm so glad the weather is so nice! How is your summer going?

Utah State Fair Here I Come!!

My hubby and I were just talking about this September's schedule. Yes I know, we are way ahead of the game, but my hubby likes to plan ahead. He asked me about Peach Days in Brigham city, which I had said would be fun to go to. I love peaches don't you?? Well, wouldn't you know it, Cathy from the Utah State Fair called me to confirm my being a working artist in the Creative Arts building the first Saturday of the Fair, September 11th. I will be there from 2-8 pm sculpting on gourds, with several to share hopefully. I'm so excited! What great exposure for me, and a good opportunity to show others what can be done with gourds. I've been told by gallery owners to not share how I do what I do, but hey, someone will come along and see my creations and try to copy them anyway. This happens a lot in Utah, but their style will be different and I have the advantage of more experience. I hope what I do will inspire someone to try something new. Sooooo, unless we get up really early to run to Brigham City, we will have to pass on Peach Days this year. Perhaps next year. Utah has so many fun things to do, such as the Greek Festival, which will be the same weekend we will be at the fair. The food is to die for, and the dancers are fabulous. So Utah State Fair, here I come! I hope to see some of you there!

A Fishy WIP

Sometimes you see something so cool you want to try to make it for yourself. A dear friend and I are working on a fish wall hanging for her as she saw one she fell in love with. We put this one together as a team, but she wants to make another one with me just supervising. It will be fun to see what she ends up with. This handsome salmon will be sectioned where the deep lines are and hung from copper wire with beads and driftwood between each section. We are waiting for the top to dry enough to flip this over and take the mold out so the back can dry. We call ourselves the 2 Portugees as we both have Portuguese ancestors. Who woulda thought I could come to Oregon and meet someone I could call my sister in blood....lol.

Traveling Doll WIP for PWGL

My second attempt at a cloth and clay doll. She has been a lot of fun to create, so I will have to make more.

I hand painted the petals on her so that she could have a two tone look. She will hang as well as sit. You can see more of her at our PWGL blog. She will be on her way shortly to be dressed and readied for our charity auction. As always, thanks for stopping by!
As an addition to this I really need to give credit where it is due. Annie of Chickadee Primitives created the doll body, and Susan of Prim and Proper Folks will be dressing this doll.  Take a moment to stop by and see what these talented ladies do. Thanks!

The Secret.......

He won a ribbon...yay! And he sold! Whoohoo! I have several folks looking at these and asking for more. It sure is nice to have such positive feedback. :-)

I have a secret.....

Today we helped hang and place the art for the show this weekend. I have a little secret that can't be revealed until tomorrow night, but it's good news for sure. I had a lot of great comments on this piece although it was mentioned that perhaps next time I let some of the natural gourd show through so I will have to ponder that for the next go round.
I worked with two great people in placing and hanging art. The fella who worked with Michelle and I commented at the end of the day on how refreshing it was to work with folks that didn't have an agenda, over blown egos, or anything like that...lol. It was very satisfying to help place pieces where they would look the best. I look forward to doing this again next year.

Wallowa Valley Festival of Arts Bushel of Apples Done!

Can I say, Hallelujah!!!! Time has flown this year as usual, and it's been so crazy! I fought the good fight though and won the battle over time versus life and finally finished this piece. I actually started this painting last summer, but the initial layers of paint were so scary I didn't think I could pull it out. I saw the painting sitting on my shelf last week and decided that by hook or by crook I was going to conquer this challenge and here's the result.

I love to use the gallery wrap canvases as they are a fun challenge to paint around. Funny thing, when I started this painting I was going to try and be loose and free flowing with my painting to make more of an impressionistic painting. The realist in me kept coming out though. So now I need to find a matte and frame for my donation piece for the silent auction part of the show this weekend.

No, this is not a painting, it's a photo I took. I love the vibrant colors and the black center so this or a similar one may end up as a painting later on. Should be a fun challenge!

Wallowa Valley Festival of Arts WIP Done!

Talk about a journey! I've never sculpted a horse head before but had looked at my goose neck gourd knowing it was destined to be one. I started out with a vision of the head looking like carved stone, with a base that had a tooled leather look to it along with an oxidized copper background for the tooled leather. Sometimes things don't always end up the way I start and this was certainly no exception.

After adding the floral flourishes, I realized that it wasn't quite the way I had envisioned, so I decided to blend the top and base together. So I thought I would try a bronzed look with a leather look base. After putting the first layer of the bronzing technique on, I had another thought come to me. So I tried burnishing the floral design with an antique gold, which really made the bronze too pink or well just not right.

I was getting discouraged and had all sorts of wild ideas running through my mind. After antiquing over the bronze to give it some definition and a more realistic look, I took some Champagne metallic paint and dry brushed over the gold. It toned down the gold and changed the whole feel of the piece. So I'm done! No more fussing, and lot's of lessons learned. I would really love to do another horse head or two, using my previous ideas but in a different way. Now I need to come up with a name. We've jokingly titled it El Caballo de Calabaza, perhaps that might stick!

Wallowa Valley Festival of Arts WIP continued

I got my clay order very fast so now I'm up and running again, getting the leather tooling design look on the base of my horse sculpture. I suppose I could pyrograph the design on, but since I don't know were my wood burning tool is or whether I could do it right, I will stick with what I know, and that is clay and paint.

I'm getting excited! I am itching to get this finished and get to the painting portion, but I better be patient. I do enjoy sculpting and designing with clay so I need to enjoy the journey. After the clay flourishes and design work are done, I will clean everything up, and start painting. I hope to achieve a tooled leather look on the base, at least in part. The rest will be revealed as I go along.

Why Not Wednesday...Friend Share

A long time ago, in a land far away.....oh, no, wait! That was a story I read once....or was it a movie? I really don't remember, and yes it has been a while since I met Suzanne Urban of Smirking Goddess Studios. She first contacted me through ebay asking me to join her newly formed group, American Holiday Artists Ornaments. She had a vision, and saw a need to  fill for collectors of ornaments. We started out with the idea of just creating year round ornaments but had so many fabulous artists join us who did so much more than ornaments that we decided to expand our venue to include all types of holiday art. Thus we became American Holiday Artists. Suzanne has been a powerhouse in keeping our group running, and has sacrificed many, many hours to promote and upgrade our group.
Today I'm spotlighting her as I so admire her ability to create whimsical illustrations and designs. Not only that though, she creates the most incredibly detailed and amazing needle felted figures!

Her dedication to detail and design shows in all of her work. I own several of her little mini paintings done in her unique style, as well as a needle felted bear ornament that is just darling. Wouldn't you just love a children's book with full of Suzanne's delightful work? Learn more about Suzanne at
Suzanne Urban Designs.

Wallowa Valley Festival of Arts WIP

The progress continues. I've got maybe a touch up to do on the eyes and then on to the base. I have an idea....not sure if it will work but whatever I do has to balance the piece out and make it so it won't tip over.

I would like to do something that looks like tooled leather on the base. Wish me luck.....:-)

Monday's Muse on Abstract Art

Abstract art has always held a fascination for me. Being such a literal person, abstract pieces are intriguing in their interpretation of life and things found in life. Much of what was found in early art dealt with simple lines, form and geometric shapes to represent a certain subject. There have been several advances in abstract art with terms attached to the styles or format, such as Fauvism and Cubism. Some of the early noted abstract artists were Paul Cezanne, James McNeill Whistler and the most notable Pablo Picasso. This is quite a detailed topic so I will refer you to this article Abstract Art on Wikipedia.

My first attempt at an abstract painting was in high school down in Texas. Our teacher had us go through a stack of magazines to find a photo of something we could create an abstract piece from. I found a majestic picture of what I think was Banff National Park similar to the one above. I had a lot of fun adding multiple colors and lines going this way and that way with paint. It turned out pretty good, I guess it must have been as they framed it and hung it in the school office. You know I never got that painting back. Since then I didn't really do anything abstract in any way until the last 4-5 years when I picked up acrylics and started painting.

I'm not sure how abstract this is, but for me it was a reach outside my normal painting. It was fun to slap on the paint, using different colors and try to depict poppies without much reality. This may be more impressionist than abstract, but you be the judge. 
Have you ever tried to create an abstract painting?

Two WIP's

The journey continues as I work on the traveling doll for PWGL. I have now finished the clay portion of my work. I need to clean her up and get the petals created for her head.

I'm trying something new to enter into the art show in Oregon. Doesn't look much like a horse head yet, but I am slowly getting there. I had no idea it would be so difficult, but this is a challenge I've wanted to do for a while. I've already made some changes to the sides of the cheeks, and created the nostrils, which was no small feat. Working with a plastic horse and photos as my models has been interesting. Check back as there's more to come shortly!

Why Not Wednesday...Sharing a Gourd Artist and Her site.

I've been cruising the internet for inspiration to finish a gourd sculpt I'm doing for the Wallowa Valley Festival of Arts show in Oregon and I found some fabulous gourd artists online. One of my favorites is Patricia Boyd. Her gourd art is like nothing I've ever seen. She has an eye for form and color, and masterfully executes her style and cultural roots through her work.

Look at the detail and imagery she puts into each piece! Patricia is as nice to communicate with as her work is beautiful. For more of her gorgeous work stop by and see Patricia Boyd

MAY PFATT Marketplace

I've already had one piece sold, but I will share the other two. Created on an egg shaped gourd, this Uncle Sam sports real lambs wool hair.

A mixed media sculpted star shaped Uncle Sam backed with a 5 by 7 inch frame that holds a vintage collage image. See both of these at my Pfatt page!

Happy Mother's Day

My Mother's Day wish for you is that you enjoy all the love and affection of your family. Whether you are a mother in this life, or are waiting to be an eternal mother, you as woman have a loving, nurturing spirit, divinely endowed by God. May each day bring you a bit closer to Heaven on earth as you give to others the love that has been given to you. May you know how much you are loved, and that you will always be loved by someone. Happy Mother's Day.

WIP's Finished!

There are some good things about being home sick, such as getting some art done. Oh no, I didn't call in sick. The other day the twins daddy was up all night losing his dinner and the next morning the twins lost their breakfast all over me. Then the next day I started feeling puny and the twins were still struggling as well as mommy and big sister so we decided it would be best for me to stay home. So, when I can muster up the strength to go sit for a bit, I've been painting and putting together some pieces. This Santa is finally done and will be destined for Reasons to Believe.

Two projects I started a while ago that I finally finished, yay! I wanted to try a bit of  curly wool for hair on my newest Uncle Sam doll. He was fun to do, but now I'm covered in little white hairs from trimming his hair and beard. The other Uncle Sam wall hanging was a foam star I sculpted over and then applied to a hand painted frame with a vintage photo of the Declaration of Independence in the background. These two fellas will be part of my line up for PFATT this month. So I'm done for tonight. It's movie time, which is welcome as I'm ready to just sit and veg. Have a great evening. :-)

Traveling Doll WIP for PWGL

Sculpting is such a relaxing activity, I wish I had discovered it a long time ago.  I continue on with this doll nervously, because I've never been involved in a joint venture like this. As I've tried to make both eyes and sides of the mouth look the same, I had a bit of a vision of God or one of His angels sitting sculpting the next face to be born.

Have you ever considered that we came from a mold or a combination of facial styles that are part of a portfolio of faces? Has anyone ever said that you resemble a certain actor or singer or someone famous? Way back in the early 80's people used to say I looked like Melissa Manchester. When I look at photos of her now I see how refined her nose is compared to mine, her teeth are prettier, and well, we certainly didn't age the same.

I was also compared to Barbara Streisand lol!!!!! Really? Well okay, back then I had the same hair style she did. Well, it's off to fix a bottle and get some work done....have a great day...