Good day...

It rained (poured, actually) last night and thankfully, this cooled everything off and it feels like Fall again instead of a humid, day in the middle of July.

Today, Norrie and I went to the park and took a zillion pics, played and ran all over. Then, we stopped at the thrift store...sort of slim pickings but I found a few interesting things. I'll take pics of some goodies. I got an old baby blanket that I'll wash up and cut as batting for some mini-quilts I'm also working on. I ran out (or can't find) some batting I used. I got some fiber-y batting that I'm not quite sure how to use (it was at a thrift store, so why not).

I also got an interesting vase white and cream. I like it because it has coil method clay work and has two handles. Very unusual, plus it's big enough to hold all sorts of flowers or even big paint brushes.

A lucky find was a pair of Furbies (mini) that Norrie has become quite attached too. It's funny because Jon got me a furby 7 years ago for our first Valentine's Day gift. I was really shocked/surprised. Since then, it's been through some bumps and what knot’s. Now, it has been re-loved by the gals even though he is limited in his abilities (lots of falling down). I'm glad I kept the little guy.

I've been busy doing some artwork...a call from the local gallery asked if I had any fairy paintings and I looked and found a few. But I wanted to do more and did 8 or so new ones. I dropped them off and that's when I found out they're going to VA for a art show! Wow! I'm glad I made as many as I did...15 in all.

Each night, after the girls go down, I relax painting my miniature paintings. I've done about 20-40 paintings. So, I'm happy and I hope all my clients will be too! :)

Today, I finally started the triptych paintings I'm working on. This is three paintings made at the same time. It's going to be slightly different as I'm playing with colors and mediums. I want to add my beloved oil pastels to it...so, I may have something very different then what I normally do.

With this last batch of paintings, I discovered a new way of displaying this work. I've worried about the canvas/masonite board as it's hard to frame (at least for me) and can be costly in the end. What I discovered is if I back these boards with 2 by 2 inch wood pieces (cut to fit) I can make a thicker backing, keep the masonite sturdy as heck and it's entirely unique. So, I'm very happy with the look/feel. I think I could get fancy and sand it a bit, but I really like the rough look. Plus, it's not cold metal frames (which I don't like).




Last week, I started working on my pond piece by starting to screw on wood and secure the piece to blocks of wood. This is challenging to say the least as the shape is oblong and not square or round. So, I'm looking for lots of wood (natural piece) from our walks to add to this one. It will be a very heavy piece...I always seem to go in this direction with my bigger works.

My next goal is to get more 2 by 2 inch wood strips and secure the 10 or so paintings I have on masonite. I remember one art teacher in college, Joe Soldate, saying hardware stores are the best place to get art supplies...and boy, was he ever right! I love that place! There are some things art stores are good for but on the whole, new and inventive works come out of raw materials...and hardware stores are where it's at. :)

I'm going to add resin on this piece and then drill holes for the supports. It's a backwards process but I wanted to see how it will look.

This is part of a diptych.