Hello? Do You remember Me?

Wow, it's been way too long since I've blogged or made art.  I've missed them both dearly.  And I miss all you lovelys out there, and the sunshine you bring to my world.  So sorry I went MIA for so long.  There's been so much going on which I will try to catch you up on, but since that will take a while I will keep this post short and sweet and just get it done and "out there" to let you all know that I'm alive and well.

I've been so darn intimidated to write a post since it's been so long, but today I painted in my art journal for the first time in months (!!), so I figured I should continued with the "jumping in" and do a post too... so here I am! 

 It's so nice to be back.  I'll be back again next week with another post with photos of my new art journal pages, etc... see you then!

Photos From The Petite Valentin Art Show

Fantastic chandelier at Zinnia.  Illuminating Inspiration!

Hi there.

I would like to share some photos with you of the Petite Valentin art opening that was at Zinnia last weekend.

It was a great night!
I got to meet other artists, look at all kinds of art, and even sell a painting..... or THREE!!!  Yahoo!  That's right, I sold my very first paintings (to non- family or friends that is)!!  When I showed up two were already sold!  See those beautiful red dots next to two of my art pieces below, that means "back off buddy, these are sold!"  Let me tell you, I was thrilled!!  I have my first non-family member collector.  Right?  If this woman (of impeccable taste you know) bought TWO of mine, doesn't that make her a collector?



Wow, I sound like such a novice.  Don't make fun, this is a whole different world than painting Trompe L'oeil on people's walls.  The art world can be a bit of a mystery.

Reva (left) and me

As I was cruising around I started talking to an artist/creative life coach (how cool is that?),  Reva Solomon, who submitted some work also, and she asked which were my pieces.  When I showed her mine, this dear woman,  also of impeccable taste, and a funky edge :-) pointed to one of mine and said "I'm going to buy this one".  I wasn't sure she was serious, but next thing I knew, she took "Pinned" down and bought it right in front of me.  I was unsure what to do with myself.  Three sold out of six before the first hour was even up?  Yahoo!!

"Pinned" is already sold and gone!  It was above "Be Gentle"

For most, if not all, of us artists, each art piece we create is very special to us, a piece of ourselves.  Our babies.  So to see someone appreciate your art is a good feeling. It's as if you yourself are understood in a way.   I've been wanting to release my "babies" into the world for a while, so to sell three the first time participating in a show gives me a much needed boost to get out there and release more for others to enjoy.  I create art because I have to, I'm driven to, but I don't create just for myself.  I create because I want to share what I have to offer, what I've been given, with the world.  To find others that connect with my art, that "get it" is a true blessing, and it lets me know that I'm on the right path (even though really, I DO know this.  Heck you couldn't shove me off the path if you tried, but it's just nice to get a little extra confirmation, you know?)

Reva (left), one of my very first buyers! and me (right)

So here's a big huge THANK YOU to my buyers, and also to you, my blog followers who keep supporting and cheering for me from Blogland!

The art wall that my pieces are on.  Can you spot them?

Another wall of Petite Valentine art

Zinnia is jam packed with creative goodness!

Their displays always amaze me!

Notice the saw blade Valentine"wind chime".  I love it! (sorry these were from my cell phone so it's kind of hard to see)

I love the figurative painting that's on the wall above.  I stare at it every time I go in there.  It's by Joe Carrion, a darn talented artist, who works and teaches at Zinnia.  If you look to the left of Reva in the photos at the top, you can spot Joe in the background looking busy in the green shirt.  Hi Joe!  

Another brilliant display.  It's a rusty bedspring that has hundreds of hearts tied to it!

I fell in love with an art piece at the show titled "Heart Seat" by Connie Freedman, so I made my husband buy it for me.  It's so pretty.  I can't wait to frame it.  I love encaustic art!

As we were walking to our car we saw this below... they were playing a classic Charlie Chaplin film on the side of a building!  Wonderful!  We'll be sure to be at South Pasadena's next art crawl, and maybe even be a part of it again!

**side note.  My brain is not what I need it to be right now, tough day, so I had by husband proof-read this post.  I learned something that I thought I'd share with you because it MUST be true.  After finding not one, but three apostrophes where they need not be, to make me feel better he stated, "It's a proven fact that being on your period causes unnecessary apostrophe usage".  Of course.  I should've kno'wn.

Tree Tunnel Shadow Shots and a Painting Peek

Hi there!

Yesterday was a good day!!  I painted more!!  Yay!!  It feels SO good to finally be getting back into my studio regularly.   The house is a mess, but eh...who cares?!! (sorry honey).  And I may have finally finished a painting that's been eluding me for quite a while.  It just wouldn't tell me how it wanted to be finished, but yesterday I was determined to GET IT DONE!!  I got into that lovely flow and had the best time working on it.

More of that later, let's get to those cool shadows.
These were taken on the way up to a client's house in Crystal Cove (the one I painted the furniture for this summer shown here and here).  I love how the trees formed a beautiful, leafy tunnel to drive under.  Pretty, yes?

Check out more shadow shots or join in the fun by heading over to Hey Harriet's for Shadow Shot Sunday HERE.

Ok, back to the painting...I still need to take photos of the piece I finished (well, it still may need a few more finishing touches first), so you'll have to wait a few days, but to hold you over here's a lil peek.  I'm so darn excited about it, I can't wait to share it with you!

Until then...

Shadow Shot Sunday : Tree+?

Hi there.

I would like your input on today's shadow shots.

At first glance these two photos look the same...BUT if you're very observant (and I know you are), you'll notice the tree is in the center in the first photo and a bit on the right in the second photo.  I usually try to go by the rule of thirds in my photos, which tells you NOT to put the main subject dead center... BUT once in a while I like a photo better with the subject in the center, not on the side.  Like in these photos.  I like the centered one better, but I was going to ignore that and post the other one because "the rule... don't ignore the rule!"
 I think sometimes we need to break the rules.




















I would really like your opinion. Which do you prefer out of these two photos?  Sorry to make you work on a Sunday ;-)  but I appreciate your input.  Thank you!!

For more shadow shots or to join in with your own shadows, go on over to Hey Harriet's for Shadow Shot Sunday!

Shadow Shot Sunday : Lettuce

Hi there!

This gorgeous, yummy lettuce is... uh scratch that... WAS from our garden.  Tasty stuff.  There's nothing like fresh veggies picked right before dinner.  

 So... lettuce cut out this chit chat and head on over to  Hey Harriets for Shadow Shot Sunday.  

Sorry... I tried hard to control myself by NOT using any lettucy puns, but I just couldn't help myself.  

Ok, I didn't try THAT hard, hee hee.

Shadow Shot Sunday : Church

Here is my shadow shot for this week.

 This photo was taken of a church in uptown Whittier, Ca.  I was driving by and noticed the strong shadows being cast on the church by the tree.  So of course I had to turn the car around and park, and take a few photos.  Do you blame me?

To see more shadow shots, or join in with your own, pop on over to Hey Harriet for Shadow Shot Sunday.

RED...Better Late Than Never...?

Last week was red week for The Summer of Color, but I took an involuntary blog break. 

 A nasty bug got me, then my hubby, and now that things are just getting back to "normal",  I'm trying to get caught up.  I didn't get to finish my red piece of art, but I figured since it's  already late I'll just find some red photos to post.   

Any excuse to dig through my stash :-)

The dandelion photo was taken using my son's wagon as the backdrop.

This photo above was taken when we were on our honeymoon in Paris in 2000.  I love the French waiter (who kinda reminds me of Kramer from Sienfeld) in the right foreground.

This one above was taken recently in Pasadena.  I'm not sure why the tree was decorated, but I thought it was fun.  Love the red umbrellas in the background.

And of course I have to throw in a Hipstamatic app photo.

I know I could've just skipped red but I was so excited about it because it's such a great color.  Hope you don't mind.

So now I need to whip up something with purple for this week's Summer of Color.  I hope to make some time soon to get something together for that before the week is up.  

See you then.

Plaster + Burnt Umber(brown) = Happy Goodness...And SSS.

 This week's color for The Summer Of Color challenge is brown... rich, warm, luscious brown.  But to be honest, when I first heard it was brown I thought "blah" (even though I love brown... weird).  But then I realized brown = burnt/raw umber, chocolate, latte, etc.. Ooh, now we're talkin'!  I also realized I didn't have to make the WHOLE piece brown...just the main focus.

I've been longing to work with plaster again since I did this piece for green week.  It's so much fun.  I learned so many cool techniques in the "Plaster Studio Workshop" and needed to start using and experimenting with them more.   So I decided to work with plaster again for this week's color challenge (happy for an excuse to play with the stuff really!)

This piece combines several techniques from class, mainly transferring with CitraSolv (above), and carving into the plaster.  After I did the transfer, it wasn't as sharp as I wanted it to be, so I carved in details (the white lines) over the transfer with a sharp tool.  I also carved other details like the frame, etc..., then antiqued the whole thing (except the transfer) with Burnt Umber paint.  Mmm hmmm....happy goodness.  As a bonus challenge we could incorporate a "pop of color" to our brown piece.   

 With that in mind I added some aqua blue.  I don't know if it qualifies as a "pop" (huh..Kristin..?), especially since you barely notice it in these photos (argh), but it's definitely there and I really like the effect of just the two colors. 

 I know the above photo has a bad glare...it's not really that shiny (I think the sealer was still wet), but I like how the photo shows some of the depth and texture created by the plaster.

Ok, moving on.  Sadly I've missed several Shadow Shot Sundays (SSS), so I couldn't let another week slip by. So for this week I have several photos.  The first two are of an amazing door that I saw at Arte De Mexico last year.  Beautiful, beautiful doors, sigh.  The first photo is the one I used for my CitraSolv transfer on my plaster piece. 

Aren't the details on this door amazing?!  

In these photos you notice the highlights more than the shadows, but where there is light, there is shadow, eh?

But just in case you aren't satisfied with the above shadow shots (hmphh!),  I wanted to find a shadow shot from our Kern River trip to keep with the brown theme of this post.  This was the closest I could find in the brownish tones.  Do you see how hard I was working while my husband was lugging us and our trailer up to Kern?  Yes, it's another shot taken with the Hipstamatic app.  Sorry... you'll be seeing a lot of these. ..it's way too much fun (is there such a thing?!).  To join in our shadow shot fun, go HERE.

Next week's color for the The Summer Of Color is RED in case any of you want to play with us!  It's not too late!!

Dear Yellow, I Think I Love You!!

Lemon Tart

This week's color for the Summer Of Color challenge is yellow.   I didn't have much time this week, but I remembered this lil' bit o' fun I had laying around from years ago that never got finished.  

 I did this at a time when I wanted to create but was sooo stuck because I was taking myself and my art way to seriously.  So I decided to start making fun whimsical stuff that some might not consider art or take seriously.

  That's when this little collage was born.  The only reason it didn't get finished at the time was because I kinda forgot it's purpose.  It was almost done but I didn't know what to put at the top.  The word "tart" kept coming to mind (which would make me laugh whenever I thought of it), but I would talk myself out of it because it was too silly.  Um, hello, that was the whole point.  So my lil' Lemon Tart got tucked away and long forgotten until this wonderful challenge reminded me of it.

You can decide for yourself whether "tart" is referring to the lemons or the girl ;-)

The whole idea came from the cool netted bags that our lemons come in.  I kept saving them and one day I decided to make a collage on watercolor paper and use one of the bags as a dress.  I started by painting the background and the lemons, and cutting out a magazine photo of a girl and gluing her down.  Then I "designed" her recycled lemon bag dress and hat. She needed a necklace so I drew and painted on a citrusy one for her.  To blend her in she has a soft wash of paint over her and I doodled details onto her, the lemons, and other parts of the collage with a black pen.

To finish it (finally!!) I glued down a piece of paper across the top and stamped on leaves with green paint.   Then I stamped "tart" and added more layers of paint and pen until I liked it.  Done!   Whew!  In time to post for "yellow week".  Woohoo!

And now ... because 1) I think I'm in love with yellow

and 

2) I'm also now in love with my iPhone and the "Hipstamatic" app I decided to make my post even longer (!!) and share some yellowy photos with you from our recent Kern River trip.

You can see the reflection of my shirt on the window.  Coolio!

I love how the bus is distorted from the windshield! 

 None of these photos were altered in any way!!  That's all the work of my iPhone and this amazing Hipstamatic app (well... and a talented photographer, haha) !!  

Ok, that's enough.  See you soon!

Vacation Photos and Blogging Artist's Directory

Hi!  I'm back!  Didja miss me?  Huh, huh, did you?  Fine! ;-)

I just got back a few days ago from a nice relaxing vacation at Kern River.  Right before we left we got us some iPhones and I had fun taking tons of photos with the "hipstamatic" app!  Love it!! 

 Thought I'd share some of the photos with you. 

 

These three bottom ones were taken during our drive home (sadly, most of the photos are from the drives and not actually of Kern River...oops!) .   I have tons more to share with you.  This is just to start things off.

Lake Isabella

I also wanted to share this with you.  Geri over at My Heart Art is starting a directory for blogging artists.  If you want to be included hurry, she's gathering the info now to launch it this Monday, July 11th.  To find out more click on her blog name or the photo below to be  taken to her blog.

I'll be back in the next day or two to post my yellow "stuff" for the Summer of Color.  See you then.