A Picture, Please

(Photos taken with iPhone 6 and edited in Instagram)

When I was little my father used to travel a lot. Before he would leave each time he would ask us what we wanted him to bring back for us. I always looked forward to whatever surprise he would return with. Since I have been traveling a lot lately I thought I would asked my daughters what they wanted me to bring back for them. To my surprise my youngest asked for pictures of landmarks. 

While flying to Seattle I managed to snap a picture of the Space Needle which she thought was pretty cool. Shortly after that trip, we ended up taking both our girls on an over night trip to Seattle by train which was pretty spectacular. We walked a lot and the girls took tons of pictures. At one point we passed an art gallery and my oldest was happily snapping away with my Nikon D40, there must have been an opening that day as there were a lot of people mingling inside. My daughter stopped right in the middle of the doorway and started snapping photos. One of the people who appeared to worked for the gallery looked up at her. I thought for sure we were in trouble for taking the pictures. Instead of the negative reaction I expected she gave my daughter the biggest smile and two thumbs up. It made my day. I love the support of the artist community and was happy to see it carry over into a setting like that. I can't wait to look at all the pictures they took that day. Especially the ones at the gallery. 

The photo collage above is from another business trip I took recently. Again I was asked to bring back pictures of land marks. You can see the Grand Canyon in the second picture and all the places between Phoenix, AZ and Portland, OR. One of my favorite things is to take pictures of the landscape as I fly so I honestly love that she asks me for these pictures. 

Rainbows from Real Life

I actually wrote this post a while back, thought I had posted it and discovered today I hadn't. I love the days I get to spend with my girls so much that I can't help but post this now.

***

 Today we painted "rainbows from real life," as my daughter called them. It was raining on and off throughout the day but the sun was up and shining bright so there were rainbows to be seen.
A fun day all around. I was happy to spend some much needed time with my two favorite girls.

Medium: Watercolor

Summer Lilly in Color - Update

Here she is, all finished. We gave the original to my Mother-in-Law for Christmas this year. After Christmas I took her in to get it matted and framed. I love how it turned out. It is always fun to see your art all dressed up and ready to display. I don't think I will ever get over the giddy feeling that comes with seeing a piece completely finished (frame and all) for the first time.

The mat is actually a Mauve Taupe, similar to this primrose, but the lighting in this picture makes it look brown.

Do you know who invented the color mauve?

Happy Valentine's

Here is another form of art I love to create. Mmmmm.... I love cupcakes and I love making cupcakes with my girls, who also love cupcakes as much as I do.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Medium: Cinnamon Vanilla Cupcake with Cherry Frosting, Edible Gold Glitter, Sugar Crystals, and Pearls

Summer Lilly

Here is one of my current works-in-progress. I have a few more layers to apply and need to redo part of the current layer due to a sad miss hap. I grabbed a can of adhesive instead of a can of fixative and didn't realize it until it was too late. It could have been worse, so I am happy. I have decided I want to work on my portraiture so I have been collecting inspiring photographs. You will probably see more of these popping up now and again, so I hope you enjoy them. 

Medium: Charcoal on White Bristol

Midnight Sketch

Here's a sketch I did last night when I couldn't fall asleep. It is of my youngest daughter. I am struggling with the resemblance so I think I am going to revisit this one. There are quite a few things I would like to try differently, as well as improve upon and this will be a good study to work with. Hopefully I will find some time in the next couple of weeks to get back to this and try again.

Medium: Charcoal on Paper

Precious Moments

Here is a new piece I did for a friend of mine. It's a picture of her sister and nephew. It's a sweet moment that takes me back to when my girls were babies. It warms my heart with happy memories, as I hope it will for her and her family.

Medium: Charcoal on Smooth White Bristol

Spring

 This is a picture I painted last year for a friend. 

I rarely work with acrylic and I have never painted birds or butterflies before so I ended up doing quite a bit of research on this little yellow finch.

I draw butterflies all the time because I love their whimsy but like I said I had never painted one before. It felt like painting a flower to be honest. I also took some time to emboss a few patterns into the background. I wanted to include a few surprise elements that you might not notice right away when looking at the piece.

I have to confess I think I am in love with birds and butterflies now.

This is my favorite part of the whole painting. In the very beginning stages I had this piece laying out across my living room floor. Some how this little footprint, and another partial print, magically appeared. I have my suspicions, but have yet to receive a confession.

Sometimes it is the unexpected mishaps which make a painting so special. This particular mishap makes me want to let little feet walk on my art more often. It is extremely precious. 


Medium: Gesso and Acrylic on Canvas

Something Different

Every once in a while I like to try something different. I love branching out and trying different forms of art. It is fun to see what I create, but even better when I find something I really enjoy. I haven't decided how I feel about poetry, however I have written a few pieces. Good or bad it was fun to try. 

When my oldest daughter was born I wrote this poem.

***

She is the image of true beauty 

in body, mind, and spirit.

I am captivated by her, 

as if I am narcissus staring at my own reflection.

I cannot pull myself away, 

afraid she will vanish in an instant.

Her soul is pure and unblemished.

She is a gift to this world, 

              ...entrusted to my care.

I am blessed beyond all measure, 

euphoric, and afraid.

She is my baby, 

my joy, 

my pain, 

my love, 

my future.