Watercolor Paintings by jdmstudios

Want to Win Some Art? Check out Lisa Russo!

2012-01-20T16:08:00.001-04:00

I would like to introduce you to a dear friend of mine. Lisa Russo and I met many years ago, when we first started out selling our artwork on ebay. We were both in the group QAE artists on ebay, and to this day, we are still in the same group!

Lisa is an absolute sweetheart and an amazing artist and I do hope you will check out her blog here...she is having a giveaway of one of her prints! If you would like a chance to win one of Lisa's beautiful prints, you need to act quickly! Saturday, January 21st is the last day to enter. She will be drawing for the prize on Sunday the 22nd.

Here are some samples of her work...

I absolutely love Lisa's florals. She uses such gorgeous, vibrant color!

Her passion for art really comes through with her thoughtful abstracts...

My personal favorite..."Angel Tears"

"Circumlocution"

"Beyond Boundaries"

To win, you need to do one of the following:

Follow her blog
Follow her on Twitter
Join her mailing list
Like her Facebook Page

Good luck!

Twas the Week Before Christmas...and Why You Should Never Put Something In A Place Where It Won't Ever Get Lost.

2012-01-19T12:39:00.000-04:00

T'was the week before Christmas and all through the house,

a great mess was stirring and and chaos did rouse.

Guests were arriving, great presents and snow,

In the mail, a gift, from Magic Love Crow!

A painting so lovely, a pointsettia crow in the frost,

Carefully I placed it so as not to get lost.

Her Christmas card hung on the stairs with such care,

And her painting was placed...only I knew where!

The holidays too crazy to post in my blog,

I would wait until later when my brain cleared of fog

And soon, it is quiet, I was ready to post,

I look for the crow painting, and oh no, it's lost!

I searched in the attic, the basement, the tree...

Panic set in, "My painting," cries me!

It's time to put all the decorations away,

I hope still to find it, I hope it's today!

With all but the last decorations remaining,

my hope of finding the painting is waning.

Just the garland atop of the mantel remains,

my heart skips a little, I feel in my veins

I lift the garland and what do I see,

but Stacy Magic Love Crow's painting looking at me!

Thank you so much, Stacy! I absolutely love it! Please click on the links above and have a look at Stacy's blog. You won't meet a nicer, more generous or kind-hearted person on the web :) And she's talented, too!

Wine Glasses, Anyone?

2012-01-10T00:38:00.000-04:00

Since I did my last post on painting wine glasses, I thought it would be great to share with you the artwork of an AMAZING artist who also paints on wine glasses. Her work on the glasses is beautiful, so say the least. And yes, her work is in high demand. This is one busy lady, people!

I met Pauline Ross through Fine Art America. This is where you can buy prints of our artwork. If you would like to have a peek at her shop where here prints can be purchased, go to http://paulineross.artistwebsites.com/ Her artwork goes well beyond painting, she quite the photographer, she also does wood sculpture and her pyrographic artwork had been shown on the History Channel! How do you do it, Pauline?

Pauline says she follows pretty much the same method I do for painting on the glasses, though her style is quite different from mine. She draws the images, and does not use photos. Her bake times were a bit different, it is important to read the label of the particular kind of paint you are using and follow the manufacturer's recommendation. If you would like to see more of Pauline's glasses, go to her Yessy shop. It is worth looking at...she has so many more available, it was hard to pick which ones to show here!

Painting on Glass Tutorial

2012-01-05T23:22:00.000-04:00

This year, I decided to paint some wine glasses to give for Christmas gifts. Everybody seemed to be really happy with them :) It was hard to take good pictures, the final picture didn't really do them justice. They transparency of the glass made the colors so lively and fresh.

These were so much fun to paint...I tried to keep the process fun and simple. Allowing the colors to mingle together on the glass created a pretty watercolor effect.

When I am painting on glass, I use Pebeo glass paint. After baking in the oven, they are considered to be dishwasher safe (however, I still recommend hand washing just to be on the safe side! )

Another important point is about using these paints is that only the areas that are not in contact with food should be painted. I left any area that would come in contact with lips paint-free :)

The glass paint comes in little jars, or in a tube. The tube paint is thicker and is used for outlining.

Here, I have used the jar of white paint to paint the stem. I found it needed about 3 coats to get complete coverage with this paint. Not sure if I will do this again. One time, I painted black and white stripes on the stem, I loved the look, they were fun and whimsical, but really tricky to get the stripes on straight!

Once this was dry, I used the black outliner to draw out the shape of the grapes and stems. When this was dry to the touch, I added some color. I worked quickly for these next steps. I wanted the colors to mix while they were wet. I laid the glass on its side to do this part.

First some blue...

...then dropped in some red...

...followed by some yellow.

After these colors mingled together a bit (not too much!) and then dried, I painted on the leaves. I used a gold outliner before dropping in the green.

These need to air dry for 24 hours before baking in the oven. The oven should start out cold, once the temperature has reached 325oF, bake for 40 minutes. After baking colors are dishwasher safe and resistant to detergents and common solvents. Check the instructions on your bottle of paint just in case you are using something different from me.

There! Now you are ready to paint your own wine glass! Try it, and send me a pic! What will you paint on your wine glass?

Glad it Over!

2011-12-31T13:42:00.000-04:00

It's New Years Eve. Tonight, we will be spending the evening enjoying the company of family, friends and neighbours. Lots of great conversation and a feast of delicious Chinese food. For the finale, a round of spectacular explosions as the fireworks are blasted off at midnight. The kids love it almost as much as the guys who are setting them off!

The holidays are finally winding down to a close. I love Christmas and New Years, but I can't say I am not glad to see them sneak out the door. The excitement and hectic craziness of it all makes me long for normalcy.

The glow from the candles in the window, the glimmering Christmas tree and the soft shimmer of the garland on the stairs. These all made me smile the first night I had all the lights out but, in between rounds of gift wrapping, scrubbing walls and floors and running here there and everywhere!

And what a wonderful time we had! We had a little party for the kids, and you'll never guess who stopped by for a visit!

My awesome cousin Ron was visiting from Houston with my aunt from New York! We had a fabulous time. Ron was hoping to get some skiing in. That didn't quite work out, but instead, we managed to sneak in some sledding and the Two Rivers Wildlife Park.

I had barely enough time to paint some wine glasses which were to be gifts for some of my favorite people :) I'll post a tutorial if there's interest....leave a comment!

For me, the real finale is not the fireworks but the calm that follows on New Years Day. Ahhh....peace and quiet!

I will be enjoying it thoroughly, since it will after that that I plan on going full speed ahead with those New Year's Resolutions. But that's another post!

Why Not Art?

2011-12-06T10:45:00.001-04:00

If you are like me, you are always looking for something different and unique for Christmas and Holiday shopping. Well, why not art?

I just relisted one of my giclee prints on Etsy. This is one of the first crows I ever painted, and it's probably the most popular, too :) Sorry, but the original is already sold...it's happily residing in the home of a crow lover in beautiful British Columbia. But the print is still available, and now I am offering free shipping on it, too :)

It is printed on GORGEOUS heavy weight archival watercolor paper which is 8x10 inches. The actual image size is 7 1/2x6 inches.

So, if you'd like to have free shipping on ANY item in my Etsy shop, all you have to do is enter the code HAPPY HOLIDAYS when you are checking out.

Don't leave it too long to order though, especially if you would like to receive your item by Christmas! According to Canada Post's website, parcels to the United States need to be shipped by December 8th and items within Canada by December 12th. (This is by regular post. Sorry, but I can't extend the free shipping to Express Post, but if you do need your parcel in a hurry and it's past the deadline, just email me and we will work it out :)

Holiday Craziness and Work in Progress

2011-12-03T00:48:00.001-04:00

The winter holidays are quickly closing in...are you ready? It is only the first week of December, and already you can feel the rush and bustle in the air!

Things here at the house are getting pretty hectic, too...I have lists everywhere and calendars are filling up with schedules, activities for the kids and Christmas parties all over the place. No wonder it's hard to keep up with it all :) That's not to mention the cleaning and shopping. I love cyber Monday :)

My youngest son, Ethan did his solo in his Christmas concert beautifully...we were all so proud!

They also enjoyed the Christmas parade :)

Facebook, Twitter, Blogs and Google Plus, Etsy, Fine Art America...Anybody else find it hard to keep up with it all? As an artist, I think it's important to be on at least some of these social media sites. It's a way of getting your work out there and seen and also see and enjoy other artists's work. I like to start my day by checking my email and putter around with all these different social media sites.

Here's my problem...I get on all these sites, and it's fun...meeting other artists and chatting and having a look at all the amazing artwork out there. The next things you know, hours have gone by and I haven't painted a darn thing! Anybody else experience this? I'd love to hear how other artists and bloggers balance it all. (Yes, I know I have been slow updating my blog here!)

So that being said, in spite of all the craziness going on around here, I have got a bit of painting in:) Here is a sneak peek of my latest work! It's a work in progress, still a bit more work to be done.

I plan on adding some collage elements to it. It's based on a photo of my grandfather when he first came to Canada from Poland. I collaged in some letters from his mother in Poland, some pay stubs and some receipts of money he sent back to the mother country. A lot of these got painted over, so I will print these off on rice paper and collage them back in, distress it a bit, too. Any thoughts?

Thanks for stopping by!

Pics Pics Pics

2011-11-18T11:51:00.001-04:00

Another busy week down and it's finally Friday...Yay! I have been working all week and finally (ahem) got my camera back.

So, I would love to share with you all some pics from the last couple of weeks. Remember Stacy from Magic Love Crow? Here's the awesome painting I won from her blog giveaway a few weeks back. I am a bit late posting this, Stacy...So Sorry! But here it is and I hope you enjoy. I have it in my front entranceway with my other 2 favorite pictures.

I also received in the mail a gorgeous poster that I will have to frame! I participated in a fundraiser by doing a painting a on 6x6 inch tile for the Mosaic for Mental Health. It was hard to get a really good picture so I took several.

Every little square is a different painting from a different artist.

Aren't these fabulous? I love how there is so much color!

So much great art here.

If you look closely you can see my grapes in the middle of this one :)

There is everything here from abstract to realistic, anime to impressionist style.

Incredible.

There is so much amazing work here. I would have loved to have been there. Maybe next year :)

Every year at my workplace, we raise funds to "adopt" a less fortunate family for Christmas. This year we are selling tickets on a huge basket of goodies. Everyone was asked to bring something in for the basket, so I hand painted some wine glasses... I tried to make them funky and fun.

I hope everyone has a great week! Next I'll be posting a pic of my work in progress...It is still a work in progress but slowly coming along :)

Excuses and I'm Lost Without My Camera!

2011-11-07T11:05:00.000-04:00

Did everyone turn their clocks back? I don't think Daylight Savings time is buying me any time...It's been quite a while since I posted! I am, in fact, shocked at how fast the time has been passing, even with our clocks turned back :) Seems there is always something crazy going on these days.

So what's been going on that's been keeping me so busy?

First, I have to tell you about this wonderful little item I received in the mail....I can't even tell you how thrilled I was to open up this happy painting by Stacy at Magic Love Crow. Stacy is always so upbeat and her blog always has something fun and new going on. She also has the best giveaways, too!

So before Halloween, Stacy had a giveaway for Magaly's All Hallows Grim Party, and guess who won...I did!

This happy little 6x6 inch painting is going right in my hallway so everyone can see it. Isn't it adorable?

I should have a photo of it on my wall but...Part of the reason why I haven't posted lately is because my camera is on the missing list. Well not really missing, I just left it in my locker at work.

Last week was "Take your Kid to Work Day". All the kids in Grade 9 get to go to work with their parents. I took my son, Andrew and his friend Michael. Since I work part time, I was off that day. I took my camera to get some shots and left it there! I am really missing my camera! I think the boys really enjoyed their day, though. They thought it was cool that they got to wear lab coats...said it made them look smart LOL. They got a great tour of blood collections and all the areas of the lab and the X-ray department.

Halloween was a blast for the kids. We took them on haunted trail tours the weekend before, carved pumpkins, got costumes ready and Halloween night we had somewhere in the neighbourhood of 130-140 ghosts and goblins at our door...pretty good crowd! We topped the night of with fireworks and sparklers with all the neighbors. It was great fun...I'd share pics but I left my camera at work :) No tricks except for the after hours pumpkin stomping goblin.

I've been working on a painting. I was planning on doing a step by step of the painting process, but *sigh* my camera is at work. Yeah, I know I already said that, right? Okay, I can't post the work in progress, but I will show you the original photo that I'm working from...

Is that an incredible photo, or what? My grandfather came from Poland around 1910. He worked at the steel plant for most of his life. Before you could get on in the plant, you had to "earn your dues" in the rail yard...here is my Papa earning his dues. He is sitting in the front row, furthest to the right. He is looking down. They look like such hard workers, don't they? But check out that guy in the middle...it looks like he has a shovel in his hand and he's about to bop the guy in front!

Featured Artist! Yay!

2011-10-17T23:38:00.000-03:00

I was in a rush and a flurry all day. From my son's doctor's appointment in the morning to a highly important run to walmart with my oldest son for hair product, supper ready, piano lessons, then off to French class. Phew! I came home checked my email and guess what? I'm featured in the Top Artist Directory...how cool is that?

So, what is the Top Artist Directory, you ask?

The Top Artists Directory is a list compiled by Kim Barker, aka laketrees and is compiled from the Top 101 Artist's Blogs List at laketrees. Kim features an artist from the Directory every Friday. I feel honored to be this weeks pick...Thanks so much, Kim!

By the way, speaking of featured artist, and though I hate to blow my own horn, I am excited to share this with you! I have also been given the great honor of being chosen as featured artist for Pierscape this spring 2012.

Pierscape was started to highlight local talent and has grown into an annual weeklong festival celebrating Sydney's Whitney Pier. Pierscape continues to grow every year. Paintings by local artists are exhibited for the entire week with activities going on every day. There is Ukrainian egg decorating workshops, painting workshops, food festivals, poetry and prose reading as well as music.

My grandfather came to Whitney Pier from Poland in the early 1900s. He worked at the steel plant until he retired. Here is some information I took from www.whitneypier.org's website.

Whitney Pier is a working class area of Sydney that was settled at the turn of the 20th century by peoples from all over the world who came to work in the steel and coal industries. Presently, the ethnic groups represented in the "Pier" include Jewish, Celtic, Newfoundland, Ukrainian, Polish, Italian and Black (both Nova Scotian and West Indian), as well as a small number of First Nation families. Whitney Pier is considered to be one of the most ethnically diverse areas in Eastern Canada. Community institutions, represented by "ethnic" halls places of worship and, reflect this diversity.

The development of Whitney Pier has been going on for more than 100 years. Since it began as a working class community (steel and coal transportation) at the turn of the 20th century, this multicultural community has always retained a strong and proud sense of itself, and it is that pride which continues to make Whitney Pier an ideal place in which to live and to work.

The activities of the Whitney Pier Festival of Visual Arts (PierScape'98 Sept. 14-20, 1998) will coincide with and enhance recent and positive changes in the community. Several new businesses have started in the "Pier". Park areas have been revitalized, the Boys and Girls Club has initiated a beautification program, and there is considerable interest in the summer walking tours. Furthermore, the Whitney Pier Resource Centre has become a focus for community development. These developments all indicate a new ambience of optimism in this community which has been hard hit by the down-turn of the coal and steel industries in Cape Breton. In the midst of these initiatives, the strong voluntarism within the community has guaranteed the strength of its ethnic groups and its historical society as the basis for continued cultural development.

So my plan is to do some paintings that celebrate the origins of Whitney Pier from my grandfather's perspective. Stay tuned and thanks for dropping by :)

Some Vitamin C...

2011-10-14T23:23:00.000-03:00

There's some nasty colds going around these days with the change in weather. How about some Vitamin C for the soul? Here are two paintings I did in the spring and I finally just got around to listing them in my Etsy shop today. These were both done from life in my kitchen. Hope you enjoy!

Both this painting and the next one are painted on watercolor paper, 140 lb using transparent watercolors. Both are 5x7 inches. You can click on either image to go to my Etsy shop where they are for sale.

This next one is a painting of pear. I find pears to be very zen like, don't you? I added some collage and stamping to this one with the words, "live simply".

Here's some great news...A while back I did a post on the Canadian Mental Health Association's Mosaic for Mental Health. Here's the link here if you'd like check it out. The association invited artists to create paintings on 6x6 inch tiles. The put the tiles together to create the Mosaic for Mental Health. Here are the paintings I did on the tiles:

The opening was last night. And both of these paintings sold! Yay! It feels great knowing these small paintings are helping people in a huge way.

They have the posters of the mosaic made and hopefully mine will be here soon. As soon as I get a pic of the poster, I will post it here!

Thanks for stopping by :)

Giving Thanks

2011-10-09T00:57:00.002-03:00

This weekend is Thanksgiving here in Canada. So as it is a day to give thanks for the bountiful harvest with which Canada has been blessed, I thought I would show you a painting I did a little while back.

My grandmother grew garlic in her garden and after she passed my uncle carried on the tradition. After the bulbs were harvested, they would let them dry and save them for cooking. They would always set some aside for replanting. They were absolutely huge bulbs! And if you love garlic, you would love these! So flavorful!

I painted this one on an 8x8 inch gallery wrapped canvas using acrylic paint and I also collaged some handwritten text.

I wish you a Happy Thanksgiving and a Happy Columbia Day to my American friends!

Some new crow paintings and video

2011-09-30T15:46:00.002-03:00

Got some great energy moving in my studio yesterday with some amazing music as I started (and finished!) two new ACEO paintings.

I was listening to The Grey Dusk of Eve (Return to Portobello), a song by local band The Rankin Family. This mysterious and powerful song always gets me fired up and really lets me get that paint moving. I made a little video using the song and some of my crow paintings if you'd like to check it out, it's on the bottom of this post.

The warming sun of autumn got me thinking about Halloween and the brilliant colors of golds and oranges in fall. This little guy I call my "Halloween Crow".

I love the warm sunny days of fall and the freshness of the cool nights. Here's "Moonlight Crow" out enjoying the brisk night air.

Last week my son and I went out on a photography expedition. He hopped on his bike (he loves that bike!) and the two of us headed down to the running track. I was in search of some good crow photos for reference pics. I figured the track would be a good place to start because there are always loads and loads of crows there.

There was quite a few people around as it was a gorgeous evening and the sun was just starting to set. People were out walking and enjoying the evening. The crows were out too. Watching us, anybody would have thought we were totally off our rockers for sure.

We tried to sneak up on the crows to get their picture. But of course they always KNEW we were there. And would immediately start their funky walk in the opposite direction away from us. I was having a hard time getting a front shot of them. I could only get them from behind. Well, duh! We would get so close and then they would fly away. I would just get them in my viewfinder, shoot and my camera was just fast enough to get the tail feathers as they took off.

Not Sour Grapes

2011-09-15T22:14:00.001-03:00

Remember way back when I mentioned that I was participating in a fundraiser to raise money for mental health? Here's the link in case you missed it: Here's a Great Cause

This week, I finished two of the 6x6 inch tiles, and today I got them both packed up and mailed off to Halifax. Yay!

Here's a peek:

Not Sour Grapes 1

They are both painting using acrylic paint and are both on 6x6 masonite tiles.

Not Sour Grapes 2

Thanks for stopping by!

Guess What Came Today!

2011-09-13T11:51:00.000-03:00

Magic Love Crow is one of those blogs you go to and it just puts a smile on your face. Stacy is a such a cheery and kindhearted artist. She always has the most fun posts on her blog and is always coming out with new ACEOs and paintings. Like me, she is a die hard crow lover and she creates these fun, whimsical crow paintings.

Stacy has purchased several of my own ACEOs and I picked out one of hers just last week. It arrived in my mailbox yesterday...Yay! This morning I got around to taking some pics...

See...ya can't help but smile!

Here's a close up of "Autumn Flowers"...check out the detail on the wings. The picture doesn't do it justice, it is so pretty and fun. Stacy's personality just comes shining through!

Right now Stacy is having an AMAZING blog giveaway for her September birthday and anniversary of opening her Etsy shop. Interested? Here's the first blog post on the giveaway here. And since this giveaway has started, she has added even more prizes including a booby prize...hehe I love it ❤

Crowing about New ACEO Listings

2011-09-05T15:06:00.003-03:00

I just put some new ACEO paintings up on Etsy of one of my favorite subjects...Crows :-) This is my little mini-series of mini-paintingsYou can click on each of the images to have a look at the listing.

Crow Closeup

The size of these little paintings is 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches. They are all ACEO paintings, which stands for "Art Cards, Editions and Originals" and are the same size as a baseball trading cards.

Crow Cawing

They are all painted on watercolor paper, 140lb using acrylic paints.

Crow Walk

Thanks for stopping by! Let me know if you have a favorite, okay?

Here's a Great Cause...

2011-09-04T01:13:00.000-03:00

What makes you feel good as an artist? I love beauty and light, and I love to create. I love to capture that beauty and share it. When an artist creates a painting, they are creating a labor of love. There is an energy and passion that goes into each and every painting. Thoughts, feelings and emotions all come through in their creation, even those that are unintended.

I am able to share this creation with others. And whether they simply give it a quick glance or take in every drop of paint, they are taking in that energy and passion that went into creating that piece of art.

This week I am creating paintings that will be donated to the Canadian Mental Health Association Halifax-Dartmouth branch. They have an amazing fundraiser coming up and I really want to share this with everyone.

A good friend recently asked me if I'd be interested in participating in this art event. She is a volunteer and a great supporter of the Canadian Mental Health Association Halifax-Dartmouth Branch.

This association is inviting all artists to participate int the 13th annual Mosaic for Mental Health. The exhibition consists of 6"x6" individual works of art. The Annual Mosiac for Mental Health has become a powerful expression of artists who care about mental health and mental illness.

Here is their website if you'd like to have a look: www.cmhahaldart.ca

CMHA promotes the mental health of all and supports the resilience and recovery of people experiencing mental illness. Proceeds from the Mosaic for Mental Health support the Social Programs of CMHA HalifaxDartmouth Branch: Among Friends Social Club, Sharing and Caring Social Club and Building Bridges.

All media are welcome, whether it be painting, ceramics, drawing, textiles, photography, collage, prints, 3-D. All work for the event (with the exception of ceramic, sculpture or textiles) is to be on or attached to 6"x6" tiles, which are available from CMHA Halifax-Dartmouth Branch.

If you live in the Halifax-Dartmouth area, the tiles can be picked up at the CMHA branch. My tiles were mailed to me, however in future, they are suggesting that artists create their works on 6 x 6 inch watercolor paper, and the artwork would be mounted to the tiles after they are received. In this way, costs on shipping are saved as they do have a bit of weight to them and we all know that shipping costs can get pricey. If, however your medium of choice doesn't work well on watercolor paper, they will be happy to send some tiles to you.

To have your work included in the Mosaic Poster, artwork must be submitted by Wednesday, September 21.

The exhibition will begin on Thursday, Oct 13, 2011 from 7-9 pm until Sunday Oct 30th at the Craig Gallery, Alderney Landing in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

Final submission deadline is Monday Oct 3.

All submissions will be for sale at $25.00 each, which is an incredible price for artwork.

Further info 902-455-5445 or email cmhahal@ns.aliantzinc.ca

My tiles are all gessoed and they are almost ready to go. What I create on them will be a surprise...will it be an abstract? A crow? A light filled still life? What would you like to see?

Crow Calling...New Crow Print!

2011-08-24T23:21:00.000-03:00

Just added this latest painting to my Fine Art America shop.

It's called "Crow Calling" and the original is available, too!

2011-08-21T00:38:00.000-03:00

Just thought I'd let you all know that I now have reproductions of my work available! Woohoo!

Fine Art America is a great site, they offer giclee prints, which are the highest quality reproductions. All prints are produced on Epson 9880 giclee printers using archival inks guaranteed to last up to 75 years. This was really important to me when I was looking for a printer for my work.

So, what I also liked about Fine Art America is that you have your choice of prints...you can have the image printed on gorgeous fine art paper, or on canvas that is gallery wrapped. They offer framing and even greeting cards are available.

They also offer a 30 day guarantee, so if you are not happy with your print,you can return it within 30 days of the order date, and they will reimburse you fully upon receipt, including the outgoing shipping charge!

So please, have a look at my shop at Fine Art America! Let me know what you think...You can click on any of the images or on the Fine Art America logo at the bottom of this post :-)

Have you ever used Fine Art America before? Tell me about your experience, I'd love to hear.

I Believe, I Wish Art Cards

2011-08-12T23:51:00.000-03:00

Just thought I'd share some of the other ATC's I made while working on the piece I created for the Artist Trading Card event at the Confederation Center in Prince Edward Island.

These little paintings are like a "mini-series" I painted while creating the art card for this fun art event. The art card and series are both called "I Believe, I Wish"...you can have a peek at the post by clicking here. I explain what art cards are here, too, just in case you haven't heard of them before :-)
The painting on the left here is called "I Believe". It is painted on 140lb watercolor paper and it is painted with watercolor and acrylics.

I find that sometimes when I'm painting, I can get impatient and go into washes before they're dry and just make a mess.

So, I like to have a 3 or 4 that I work on all at the same time. While one wash is drying, I can move on to the next painting. This is great because I find it helps me to keep it fresh. I am constantly moving from one painting to another. Then while one area is drying, I can move on to another painting using colors that are already mixed and ready to go. I am in the groove and able to keep on moving.

The Art card to the right is called "I Wish". It is also watercolor and acrylic on 140 lb watercolor paper.

Thanks so much for stopping by. Hope you like these art cards. I plan to have them listed on Etsy shortly so they will be available for sale soon.

Are you an artist who creates art cards? Are you an art card collector? Leave a comment...I'd love to hear from you :-)

What the heck are ATCs anyway?

2011-08-10T13:47:00.000-03:00

Artist trading cards (ATCs) are miniature works of art! They are about the same size as modern baseball cards, or 2 ½ X 3 ½ inches (63 mm X 89 mm). They are small enough to fit inside standard card-collector pockets, sleeves or sheets and they can be created with any material imaginable. Some cards are produced in editions (a limited number of the same card), some in series (a set of cards with a unifying theme), and some are singular originals.

An offshoot of ATCs are the "Art Cards, Editions and Originals" also known as ACEO. ACEOs originated when some artists began to create cards to sell, and/or trading among themselves.

Here is an example of how popular these little cards have become...

This week on August 11, the Confederation Center of the Arts in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island is holding it's fifth annual Artist Trading Card event! It's Fifth! There are more than 60 artists from all over the maritimes participating! There will be local artists to Prince Edward Island as well as artists from New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and Ontario.

The event starts at 7 p.m. in Memorial Hall as part of the Thursday in the Gallery series. This year's submissions include a wide variety of techniques including linocuts, watercolours, collage, and mixed media creations.

I am not able to attend, but I'll give you a sneak peek of the card I submitted:

It's called "I Believe, I Wish" The original painting is watercolor and acrylic on 140 lb watercolor paper. I love how this image turned out. I submitted signed, limited edition prints of this painting. What do you think?

I have created several ATC and ACEOs and they do seem to be quite popular. If you are an artist, leave a comment, and share your experiences with Art Trading Cards and ACEO's. Do you find they are popular as well? And do you sell them or use them primarily for trading with other artists? Do you use prints or originals or both?

Who Loves French?

2011-08-02T11:25:00.001-03:00

Who doesn't love French? The romance of the language...the gorgeous countryside of France or the incredible beauty of Paris, famous for its history, romance and art?

I love the language, and it's been on my bucket list for a few years now to learn it fluently. I have been taking weekly classes for two years now, and I've come a long way, but still have tons to learn. I love getting out once a week to get my French fix.

French class is finished for the summer and will start up again in the fall. So to honour my love for French, I have decided to relist my Valentine ACEOs on Etsy ♥ If you'd like to have a look at the listing just click on the image :-)

Do you love French? Leave me a comment!

I Love These Fossilized Shells!

2011-07-25T13:22:00.001-03:00

Ammonite shells again...my visit to the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History has inspired me to paint these gorgeous shells. Not only are they incredibly beautiful, they also resonate with me on a more meaningful level.

These ancient shells are call ammonites. They look very much like shelled nautiloids but are actually more closely related to octopus, squid and cuttlefish. Very similar to a nautilus, however, they grow and move into a larger chamber which has grown ahead of it. It adds newer and larger chambers to the open end of the coil and grows like this until it has reached maturity.

Isn't that just like life? We are constantly building and growing on what we have already know based on what we have learned and what we have experienced. Sometimes it might take a couple of tries to get it right, and there may be a few bumps along the way, but eventually we do learn and grow :-)

And here is my latest painting. It is a mixed media and incorporates collage. Let me know what you think. I hope you love it.

8 x 8 x 1.5 inches

Ancient Shells and Building on what we Already Know

2011-07-21T21:29:00.003-03:00

One of my favorite places my family and I went to on our recent vacation was the Museum of Natural History in Washington DC. It was the first of the Smithsonian museums that we were able to see, and I was in absolute awe the minute I walked in the door with my husband and my two kids.

I was so excited, I started taking pictures right away. I was taking as much in as my little brain could handle, reading all the little information cards and doing my best to commit the information to memory.

"Look, kids...this is a blah, blah, blah! And look at this, isn't that interesting?"

My husband, who had been to the Museum of Natural History before was shaking his head. "Ah, Jo-Ann...this is just the small stuff, are you sure you don't want to move along and see some of the bigger stuff?

But I didn't want to miss anything and I was determined to take it all in! I loved these ancient fossilized shells! They were so beautiful!

The artist in my was creating mixed media collages in my head. Here is a mixed media painting that I created this week. It is 8 x 8 x 1.5 inches on gallery wrapped canvas.

And therein is the story of everything else. A baby is born with an infant’s consciousness: everything, beginning with Mom, is an extension of itself. As a 1 to 2 year, the toddler begins to understand the distinct nature of itself. The second level of consciousness supercedes the first, even as it is wholly built upon it. Cognitive abilities continue to increase as the child grows older: from the manipulation of its environment to the complete separation of its personality from parents and others, to an always heightening understanding of cause and effect, then adopting a social self, a critical self, a self-critical self. Each point in the process is built upon the previous one, and is always a part of the previous state of consciousness and understanding

The whole is a result of previous and lesser sized parts, one built upon the other. No part loses its significance, even as its specific usefulness ha been transcended.

An acorn becomes a shoot, becomes a sapling, becomes a young tree, becomes a mature oak. Everything about the acorn is still a part of the great oak tree, but has been transformed and functions as a much larger and much more complex part of the tree’s wholeness.

Here's My Tree!

2011-07-16T19:21:00.001-03:00

Phew! I'm finally back from an amazing vacation with my wonderful family. Sorry I've been slow to keep this blog updated! We were busy travelling across Eastern Canada and the United States. What a fantastic trip! So many sites, so many museums (including the National Gallery of Art!) I have came back refreshed and with tons of great ideas for posts, so please stay tuned!

Right now, though, I'd like to update you on this project...

My last post was all about the Trees for Life Charity Exhibition..a wonderful fundraiser started by Trevor Jones. He has asked artists from Twitter and Facebook to donate a piece of artwork, preferably of a nature inspired theme to raise funds for Trees for Life, a fantastic charity supporting the growth of the Caledonian Forest.

I decided to do a watercolor painting of some trees at my favourite trail...I always find it so incredibly peaceful and quiet in these woods. There is nothing like hitting the trails at a run or a peaceful walk to clear you mind.

I started with this sketch...

Then I added color wet into wet. The tree is a birch, so I wanted the main trunk to remain white. I worked around this area, being careful not to get the trunk wet which would allow the paint to seep where I didn't want it.

The color dried a fair bit lighter as you can see in the following pic. When it was completely dry, I began adding some shadow to create a bit of value. Because I was working on a dry surface, the dark color stayed put and did not mingle with the other colors already in place.

Getting closer to being finished here...

A bit more work on the detail in the roots and earth along with some finishing touches and Voila!

Done!

On Monday, this 6x9 inch painting will be shipped off to join the other paintings in this exhibit. Please have a look at some of these amazing paintings go to: http://treesforlifeexhibition.blogspot.com

Trees for Life Charity Exhibition

2011-05-23T15:07:00.000-03:00

I'd like to tell you all about an amazing charity project by Trevor Jones. Trevor is an amazingly talented artist who is originally from Canada and currently living in Edinburgh, Scotland. He has a passion for trees that can be seen in his artwork and this passion is what has set the stage for his latest and greatest project.

"It really is unsettling to know that over half the world’s forests have been destroyed by humans and as I mentioned in my blog only 1% of the original Caledonian forests in Scotland are left today. That’s really depressing and quite scary!" Trevor Jones

We all know the importance of trees. Not only are the beautiful and give a sense of peace and joy, they are also play a major role in controlling the Earth's weather patterns. Here is an interesting top 10 list I found of the top ten reasons why we need trees from Lungs of the Earth at
http://www.lungsofearth.com/

Top 10 Reasons We Need Trees

Source: USDA Forest Service

1. Trees help purify the air we breathe by absorbing pollutants.

2. Trees increase property values and improve the tax base in communities.

3. Trees improve neighborhood appeal, attract businesses, shoppers and homeowners.

4. Trees cool our cities and towns by reducing heat generated by buildings and paved surfaces.

5. Tree shade, properly placed, can save an average household up to $250 annually in energy costs.

6. Trees reduce the amount of pollutants in sewer systems, saving communities millions of dollars in water treatment costs.

7. Trees soften harsh building lines and large expanses of pavement, making urban environments much more pleasant.

8. Trees provide habitat for birds and other wildlife, maintaining a balance with nature even in urban areas.

9. Trees reduce the amount of water-borne pollutants that reach streams and rivers.

10. Trees reduce levels of domestic violence and foster safer, more sociable neighborhood environments.

There is a sense of urgency needed to address this situation. The United Nations and the scientific community both recognize this,
which is the key reason why 2011 has been declared the International Year of Forests.

Baille Ard Trails, May 2011

Trevor says his original thought was to donate a percentage of sales of the artwork to Trees for Life (a fantastic charity supporting the growth of the Caledonian Forest). After more thought he realized he could make much more impact for his cause with the help of social media Twitter and Facebook.

He has asked artists from Twitter and Facebook to donate a piece of artwork, preferably of a nature inspired theme. The size must be approximately 6 x 9 inches (postcard size). Each piece will sell for £45. Trevor will have them professionally card mounted and backed.

The exhibition and sale will occur November 1-13. Paintings must be submitted by July 31.

Trees can be extremely tenacious! Check out these roots!

This event has quickly grown into a huge international event with over 100 artists from 15 different countries participating!

I am thrilled to be participating in this event. Not only is it exciting to participate in an international event, it is an absolutely fantastic cause.

Enjoying some family time in the woods

I have been totally focussed on finishing my print order, and I should have it finished this week...woo hoo! I've been painting in my head even though I haven't been able to get my thoughts on paper just yet. I have so many mental images I am working through right now. I absolutely cannot wait to begin working on this project! I'll have to get it finished and mailed by early June, I figure, to make the July 31 deadline. That will be another post!

My Magnolia Tree bloomed!

If you are an artist and are interested in participating, or would like some more information on this Exhibition, please go to the 2011 Trees for Life Charity Exhibition at http://treesforlifeexhibition.blogspot.com/

Hope you have a wonderful week!

How to Frame your Prints with Solder

2011-05-08T00:19:00.000-03:00

What a crazy week its been around here! I've been framing my prints with solder. If you have ever had any experience with doing stained glass I am sure you would know all about this technique. I have never done stained glass before I began framing my prints like this, so this was all new to me when I first started. The following is a step by step instruction on how you can do it too.

Years ago I was asked by a wonderful lady and shop owner, Wendy Smith if I would be interested in displaying my prints in this way. She helped me get started and have me a rundown on how to do it all. Every spring, she places an order for them from me for her shop, Glass Artisans Studio and Gallery. Her shop is completely hand crafted glass items made entirely in Atlantic Canada. If you happen to be passing by on the Cabot Trail, it is an absolute must see gallery.

To get started, you would need the following:

a print of your artwork or something you wish to frame.
matboard
2 pieces of glass, same size as the matboard
copper foil tape
flux
solder (I prefer lead-free for health reasons, though I hear it is trickier to work with)
soldering iron
wire
baking soda and dishwashing liquid
stained glass patina
wax for stained glass

The items in italics are stained glass products and can be found in a shop that sells stained glass supplies.

So, here is how I do it. First of all I take my image, which is approximately 3 x 5 inches and glue it on a piece of 5 x 7 matboard. I sign it and put the title on the bottom. I also leave a white edge around the image.

I also glue my bio on the back.

I then sandwich the mat board/image between two pieces of 5 x 7 glass, one on the front, the other on the back.

Tape the whole thing together with copper foil tape. I use 1/2 inch wide tape.

Solder will bind with the copper and not the glass, so where you put your tape is where the frame will be. It is important that the tape is straight. This will be your frame.

I start off by taping the sides. I line the glass/image sandwich up right in the middle of the tape. Go around all 4 sides. It is important to burnish this edge by rubbing firmly to make sure it sticks firmly.

Once the outer edge is stuck on good, gently push the sides down to the front and back of the picture. When you get to the corner, fold it as if you are wrapping a present as shown below.

Once the picture is taped, it is really important to
burnish the tape. I use the back of my thumbnail and go over the entire taped area. This ensures the tape will not lift during heating with the soldering iron or allow any flux, cleaner, patina or wax that will be used later to get underneath the foil.

Almost time to add solder!
I pour some of the flux off and with a brush, I paint the entire copper foil area. I find it works best if I give it a little scrub as I am painting it on.

I use a gel flux that is smokeless and odorless, which really helps. Sometimes the fumes can be strong when the heat hits it, so make sure you have good ventilation while you are doing the soldering.

I'd also like to note that the gel flux isn't as watery as most types of flux I've used in the past and doesn't seep under the tape and make a mess of my print!

Now the fun begins!
The soldering iron is VERY HOT, so be careful. It just need to touch the solder and the solder will melt right on to your copper foil.

Adding solder to the top of the frame. I usually do all four of the side edges, then all four sides on the front. I do the four sides on the back last, though it does not really matter what order you do them in.

I've used this same old can for my "support" since I started doing this 5 years ago. I don't think I'll be eating what's inside that anytime soon! It's pretty gross looking up close.

Here I just keep the iron on the solder the whole way across. If there are any lumps or bumps, and usually for me there are, I just go over the area again at a smooth pace. I don't need to add any more solder from the spool, and the solder is already quite hot so it is just a matter of moving the iron across that one line of the "frame".

Once all side are completed it is time to add the wire to the back. Fold the wire about an inch or so from the end and add some flux. Take a dab of solder and carefully solder the wire to the frame.

Bring the other end of wire to the opposite side and bend it at 90o where you want it to end. Then cut it with wirecutters approximately one inch from the bend. Solder it on as you did the other side.

Okay, now that the soldering is all done, the flux needs to be washed off. You can buy commercial products that are designed for cleaning the flux or use a mixture of water, baking soda and dishwashing liquid. This will neutralize the flux. Wet a cloth with the mixture and wipe down your picture. Just make sure your cloth isn't too wet, you don't want water seeping under your tape. I have had way too many ruined prints because of this!

Once the flux is washed off, you can add a patina. Brush it on and wipe off. Simple as that.

Follow up with wax. Put the wax on the frame and glass. Let it dry and buff it off. Gives it a brilliant shine.

And Voila! The final product! Any questions or suggestions, please feel free to leave them here in the comment section. I'd love to hear from you! Oh, and let me know if you've tried it!

Pierscape...Week Long Arts Festival!

2011-05-05T01:02:00.000-03:00

How does a week long festival of fine art, drama, poetry, Italian food, creative writing, sculpture sound to you? It has been an annual event here in Sydney, NS since 1997 and never disappoints.

The Whitney Pier Society for the Arts is gearing up for another great festival

May 9th - 14th, 2011

I spent most of last weekend and early part of the week getting some paintings ready for this wonderful event. Here are the four I submitted, they are all 5x7 inches:


Pear

Mixed Media

watercolor, watercolor pencil, acrylic

5x7 inches

Live Simply

Be Happy

Three Amigos

Live Simply

Watercolor

5x7 inches

Be Happy

Watercolor with collage

5 x 7 inches

Three Amigos

Watercolor

5x7 inches

I was going like a mad woman trying to get the paintings finished and finally framed, but in the end I was happy with the result. And hey, I wouldn't complain if I sold one or two :-)

I always enjoy Pierscape. And opening night is a real treat. Here is an example how things looked at the fine art display from last years event. (And if you look closely, you can see one of my crow paintings. It's kind of like playing Where's Waldo. )

Everyone is invited to the Opening ceremony at 7:30pm on Monday, May 9th in the Whitney Pier Memorial Junior High (199 Jamieson St. Sydney, NS).
There will be a large exhibit of fine art, as well as music and refreshments.
Dr. Elizabeth Beaton will be the special guest and key note speaker.

You can even join in the festivities by participating in one of these amazing workshops, too!

Ukrainian Egg Decoration with Rev. Dusanowskyj

Unveil Your Creativity

with Onni Nordman

If you are interested in the workshops, or if you are just plain interested and want to know more, you can check out their website here, at www.pierscape.ca

One World One Art

2011-04-22T17:57:00.000-03:00

In February, it had the pleasure of participating in One World One Heart. This is a huge blog event hosted by the amazing Lisa Swifka of Whimsical Bohemian that had been running for the past 5 years. Participants would visit the blogs of other participants, introduce themselves and have the opportunity to win a lovely giveaway prize.

With over 800 bloggers participating, it was wonderful to meet so many artistic and amazing people! I even had the surprise of winning an adorable necklace!

There was some good news and bad news with regard to OWOH. The bad news was it was the final year for One World One Heart. The good news? Next year will be the first ever One World One Art. What is the difference you ask? Well, there are a few differences, thought subtle. Read on to find out more...

The exact date of the One World One Art will be announced toward the end of the year, but most likely it will occur in February sometime. The event is still quite a ways away. And this information is exceptionally early. But I am sharing this now to give other bloggers an opportunity to have the heads up ahead of time.

Some things that Lisa makes very clear about One World One Art are:

It is NOT a blog hop
It is NOT about blog candy
It is NOT a carnival
It is NOT a festival
It is NOT a swap
It is NOT a challenge

It is "An International Blogwide Art Event" - plain and simple!!!

This event is NOT just about having the potential to win something. Although we all like that aspect it is NOT the driving force behind this event......this is about finding artists/artisans/creative people and seeing what they do. It's about finding inspiration and connections with others. This is a chance to turn up your artistic light for others to see and you to see theirs.

Another thing Lisa makes very clear is that you must be and ACTIVE blogger.

The gift giveaway is probably the biggest difference between One World One Art and One World One Heart.

Previously, the gift giveaway was required to be handmade. With this new event it IS a requirement and there is another requirement as well...your giveaway must be created in the art form of the "artistic passion, whether that is art, crochet, jewelry, you name it. It is your passion.

The idea is for people to stop by, read about you, see your art, read about your artistic passion - leave a comment with a chance to win a piece of that persons "art" they can follow back to you and perhaps create a connection.

The next newsletter for ONE WORLD ONE ART will be coming out in about 3 months or so, and Lisa will hopefully have the new logo ready! If you are a blogger and are interested in participating, and you have not yet signed up for the newsletter, you can do so here...

Our Walk in the Woods

2011-04-16T20:19:00.000-03:00

It's been a such beautiful week here. You can smell spring in the air. The sun has been shining and the air is starting to warm up (finally!). Right now, there is no snow in my yard. And no ice in my pool. Summer is finally coming.

This year was incredible year for snow around here. Here's a pic from a previous post that shows how high the snow banks actually were. When I was a kid, we got tons of snow, but the last 20 years or so have been a bit lean in the snow department.

On this particular cheerful, sunny spring day, I pick up my camera and my son at school and along with a friend from his class, we went for a walk in the woods down at Baille Ard Trails.

There was still a bit of snow here in the woods and on the trails. We had to be a bit careful walking.

The sun shining through the trees...so pretty.

We brought some bird seed to feed the birds and squirrels. Every so often we could come across a bench along the trail and leave a little present for the little critters.

We made some new friends. The chickadees were a bit shy.

This cute little squirrel was very friendly and let us stick around and watch him eat.

The kids had a ball clowning around on this awesome rock.

And couldn't resist throwing some rocks.

Found this birdfeeder...

And a pussy willow!

I fell in love with these tree roots. Maybe they'll make a great painting.

Couldn'r resist taking some more reference photos. Maybe you'll see them in one of my paintings sometime.

Loved this...

And this....

Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing our walk in the woods :-) Have a great week!

Finished two paintings, and need your help!

2011-04-10T15:02:00.000-03:00

Finally finished two of the paintings I gave the sneak preview on last week!

It was a tough week...my youngest, who just turned 7 was sick with a cold all week, running a fever for most of it. I kept him home from school. I do love having my little buddy with me, but I do get concerned. I don't like seeing him miss so much school, though he is pretty bright, it doesn't seem to affect his schoolwork too badly. He's already missed almost 2 weeks of school this winter. He loves to paint alongside me. He does a great job and he chooses some pretty interesting subjects to paint. I will post his work when he finishes his piece that he started.

Those that follow me on facebook have already seen the leaves painting finished. I call it "Back to the Earth".

Back to the Earth

These are leaves that were laying on the ground in my garden. The crocuses were popping up around them. Funny how life is like that. The old, falling back into the earth, making way for the next cycle, the next season.

Here is the crow painting...looks quite different from the preview.

Crow Calling

I call this painting "Crow Calling". I snapped a pic of this beauty as he was up in a huge poplar tree just outside my kitchen door. My cat, Jag was trying to make friends with him, but I don't think this gorgeous Corvus wanted anything to do with him!

Both of these paintings are for sale on my Etsy site, just click on the images to go there.

I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. Hope you like 'em!

Have you ever heard of Heartsy? For those that buy on Etsy, it's a great place to get deals of over 50% off different shops. For a seller to become featured on Heartsy, they must be voted on by the community before they are reviewed and featured. A seller must have 60 votes within a 72 hour period. I am trying to get featured right now, and I'd really appreciate your votes! This would give buyers the opportunity to purchase my artwork at great prices and it is great advertising for me. It's win-win!

So, this is where I need your help...if you haven't already, I would really, really, really appreciate it if you could go to http://heartsy.me/deals/1519/like and vote for me. Just click "Yes, definitely" to vote.

Thanks so much and have a wonderful week!

Some Sneak Peeks of Paintings in the Works

2011-04-04T23:08:00.000-03:00

Wow, it's been such a busy week here! Most of this past week was spent getting ready for my youngest son's birthday party. He turned 7 on April 1st. *sigh* It is hard to believe how fast the years have gone by. It doesn't seem that long ago since he was born! He will always be my baby, though. My baby is 7 but he wants to be 14 just like his big brother. Growing up wayyyy too fast!

With all the excitement of party planning I had very little time for painting. I started two watercolors that seem to be coming together. Another one of my leaf paintings that I already have posted. Here is a sneak preview.

Here is another that I started of a crow...it was in the giant poplar tree outside my kitchen door. My cat, Jag was tormenting it from one of the branches below and he was making a serious racket! lol Not sure yet how this is going to turn out...it might be a bust yet, or maybe I could collage it into another painting...we'll see :-)

I also started an acrylic painting too. A bit dark yet, but I like the organic, woodsy feel to it.

My plan is to finish these off this week and get them posted.

I was included in this watercolor collection on Artfire. Have a look at the work of some of these watercolor artists...Beautiful stuff. Please do leave a comment at the bottom!

Watercolor Wonder

Curated By: ScrapItBeauti...

ArtFire.com

Fine Art Photography

♥Spring Changes♥

2011-03-24T22:41:00.000-03:00


Spring Changes

Mixed Media on watercolor paper

9 1/2 x 11/1/2 inches

This is a watercolor/mixed media painting of my lovely crocuses peeping up around the snow.

If you look closely at the earth in this painting, you can see the text printed on unryu rice paper and collaged on.

The earth brings forth changes, bringing us the first sign of spring, growth and renewal. Cheerful, I can hear the birds singing.

What a pleasure it was to see these delicate little flowers after a hard, old fashioned winter! Check out my front garden...we were running out room to put the snow. A week of rain helped clear most of it away.

I belong to the Passion for Painting Guild on Artfire. Every month we have a painting challenge, and for March the theme was "Changes". (All month I've had David Bowie's song Changes stuck in my head) I painted this one for the challenge. You can check out the guild page here: Passion for Painting Guild Please "Like" the page to receive all the latest updates on the amazing artwork there.

Get Your Vitamin C Here...

2011-03-17T21:10:00.002-03:00

What an awesome week it's been...The kids have been off school for March break, the mountains of snow have been melting like crazy, the sun has been shining and little plants have been poking their little heads out of the ground. And I've been painting like mad.

For those that follow me on Facebook, you would have seen my status earlier this week...

My son and his friend were so disappointed yesterday. They were in the kitchen with me chatting and watching me cut up oranges. I put them on the kitchen table, artfully arranged them and started to draw..."Heyyyyy...we thought you were giving us a snack!" LOL I think they were hungry :-)
I've been creating loads of paintings of oranges!

This is one of my first paintings:


Watercolor on Paper 10 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches

This is another...

Watercolor on Paper 10 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches

The following two paintings are ACEOs. For those that don't know what ACEO, it stands for Art Cards, Editions and Originals. They are miniature works of art, 2 ½ X 3 ½ inches that can be matted and framed to hang on the wall.

They are small enough to fit inside standard card-collector pockets, sleeves or sheets if you choose.

ACEOs can even be put into a greeting card as an extra surprise for a birthday, anniversary, or just as a special surprise.

Watercolor on Paper ACEO

I started posting Creativity Tips this week on Facebook. If you are an artist or just love to create, click on the "Like" at the top of my Facebook page to receive updates on my artwork or my Creativity Tips. Here is my page: www.facebook.com/jdmstudios Or, just click "Like" on the right hand side of this page. One of the tips I suggested this week was to use crayon or wax as a resist.

I used wax on the following two paintings as a resist. Check out the highlight on these oranges. After drawing these oranges, I used a white crayon and colored in where the light was hitting them. When I added my washes of orange color the area where I colored with crayon remained white. Looks just like orange peel skin.

Watercolor on Paper 10 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches

I used a white crayon on this painting, too but didn't quite turn out as well as the first one, unfortunately! Too much paint and not enough wax. I ended up lifting color to create the highlights but didn't quite have the same texture as the painting above.

Watercolor on Paper 10 1/2 x 8 1/2

This last painting is an acrylic. My youngest son kept raving about how juicy these oranges are especially if you peeled them and bit right into it! Hopefully some of that came across in the following painting:

"Juicy" Acrylic on paper 10 1/2 x 8 1/2

Jingles the Wonder Cat (cuz we really wonder...)

2011-03-13T23:21:00.000-03:00

I have to share this story about my latest addition, Jingles the Wonder Cat. She is a grey tabby, still a kitten. She will be one year old on May 11. She is quite different from other cats we've adopted into our family. She is pleasant, but doesn't like a whole lot of cuddling, 30 seconds is quite long enough for her... unless my husband is on the laptop and she tries to sit in his arms. He complains that he can't get any work done, but he secretly loves the attention :-)


Watercolor Painting of Jingles

Besides being standoffish, and I know that most cats are, she has this quirky little habit. She does not like stuff on tables. And will spend a fair bit of time knocking stuff on the floor. Doesn't matter if its a pencil or a book. One night she and I spent a half hour straight playing knock it down, pick it up with my youngest son's puffer. You would think I had nothing better to do!

So, this story begins with three straight weeks (seems longer) of having flus, colds, and ear infections in our house. My husband was the only one spared. After finally getting through the worst of it, it felt fantastic to go through the house vaccuuming, washing floors, dusting, just giving the house a good, thorough cleansing. Exhausted, I sat down at night to watch a little TV with some nachos and salsa, one of my favorite snacks.

I do watch my weight, so I left some in the bag. I left the bag on the table just in case I came back for more. Now, I am sure you can see where this is going. I had my fill of the salty tortilla chips and went off to bed.

I woke the next morning to my husband's hysterical laughter and "Ah, Jo-Ann...you've really got to see this!"

Now, our house is not small. Its a century old home and from kitchen you have to go through the dining room and down a hallway to get to the front door, I'd say 25 to 30 feet. From one end to the other, from the kitchen to the front door, was a huuuuge trail of tortilla chips. And at the end of the trail, right at the foot of the stairs, was the huge, empty bag . I have no idea if she ate them (judging by the amount on the floor, not likely) or if she just used the bag as a toy, but it sure looked like she had a fantastic time throughout the night! And guess what I spent the next hour doing... vacuuming those darn tortilla chips.

Here's a picture of the little monster:

She's pretty cute, isn't she?

2011-02-15T11:54:00.000-04:00

These are fresh of the press! Well, not off the press, really, but fresh off my brush, if that makes sense.

This first painting here I have been fussing and playing with for some time. Might have gotten a little busy and I struggled a bit with which way to take it. I took a photo in January on our trip to Petersfield Park (see blog post How to Remember Summer in January I was playing with my new camera, and taking some closeups of leaves. They were brown and broken, no longer the flashy reds and golds of autumn, but elegant all the same.

I find that I can get a little carried away when I am painting, and I am not very patient. It drives me crazy waiting for a wash to dry, and I sometimes risk going back to work on an area too soon. If its too wet, it's mud. I usually like to have several paintings on the go at once, that keeps me busy while I am waiting for a wash to dry! I started this abstract here: Fun to do, it is painted on watercolor paper with watercolor paint. I used some stamping from random objects and collaged some found material (can you guess what it is?)

And last but not least, I just finished this piece yesterday. I had two paintings on the go...one was a complete disaster! lol but I learned loads about working with my booboos. I tried to fix it with gesso, acrylic paint, collage, and even gold spray paint. It just got worse and I think it's time I let it go. I might be able to save part for collage later....hmmm...Anyhoo... back to the painting that actually worked out:

It is a mixed media painting. I drew the pears from life and added this quote:
"One day we will realize that the battle we are fighting is not outside ourselves, but within."

I am not sure if I made that up or heard it somewhere, but if anyone out there knows where it came from, could you let me know so I can reference them :-)

Thanks for stopping by and don't be shy...say HI!

One World, One Heart

2011-01-31T22:27:00.003-04:00

Update: Time to pick the two winners of my One World One Heart Draw! Drumroll, please.........

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

27
7

Timestamp: 2011-02-18 02:31:33 UTC

Congratulations to Cherry, from Thoughts of Cherry Jane who posted #7 on my blog and

Cobblestone Creations who posted #27! Wooohoo!

Greetings and welcome!

Let me tell you a little about One World One Heart ! It was created and hosted by Lisa, also known as The Whimsical Bohemian! Please visit Lisa's blog as she is amazing. There, you will also find a complete list of all the talented bloggers who are participating in OWOH. What a wonderful opportunity to meet and greet so many warm and sharing people! This is the very last year for the OWOH, sadly, however I am truly excited to be participating and look forward to meeting many new friends.

My name is Jo-Ann Dziubek-MacDonald, and to tell you a little about myself, I am married and a mother of two wonderful boys, ages 13 (almost 14*biting nails* :-) and 6 (almost 7 :-)

I am an artist...I paint in watercolor and acrylic, and I love exploring mixed media. After my youngest was born, I got away from painting. Fear kept me from going back to painting! Yes, fear! If I did happen to pick up a brush, it just did not cooperate at all...there were several very disappointing experiences and I avoided my studio like the plague. This fall, I decided I just wanted back in the saddle. And I'm back full throttle! Oh, did I mention, I am a Reiki Master, too?
I also work part time, and I feel extremely blessed that I have a pretty cool job, (I work as a medical laboratory tech in our local hospital). I am able to be home with the kids when they come home from school quite often, and I have time to paint when they are in school.

I hope you will enjoy exploring my blog! Leave a comment (I love getting feedback)and you will be entered to win one of the door prizes shown below! The draw will be held on February 17th by a random number generator. make sure you either use your Google ID or leave an email address so I can contact you.


Set of 2 Angel card/envelope set

Set of 2 Sunflower Card/Envelope set

Angels Among Us

2011-01-29T20:23:00.000-04:00

A five year old boy in our community needs our help. He has Neuroblastoma, a childhood cancer. A local group has been formed to help with the financial cost associated with his illness. There will be a concert and a cabaret auction held on Sunday, February 13 at the Membertou Trade and Convention Center Main Ballroom at 4:00 pm. Tickets can be purchased at one of three places... Jimmy Dans Convenience on Cottage Rd, Stephen's Building Supplies Townsend St, or Home Hardware on Prince St

When I was asked if I would be willing to donate a painting to help raise money for this little boy, I asked what kind of painting would be best? A floral? Landscape? The response I got back was Angels...yes, perfect! I said, why hadn't I even thought of that?

I went up to my studio where all my paintings were stored and looked for my angel paintings. There were three left that I just didn't feel would suit such and important occasion. I prepped some paper, and began to paint.

Friday I kept busy by working on these paintings. That day I also helped a friend by doing a Reiki healing so I feel these paintings have also been infused with healing energy. Here are two of the angels I painted:

Watching over


Always With Us

I am wondering which of these angel paintings do you feel should I donate to the auction? I put a poll up to see what your opinion is, I appreciate your input. Leave a comment, too! I will keep you posted.

I will be framing one of these angels on Sunday, hopefully, to be ready for pickup.

Thanks so much for visiting my blog!

How to remember summer in January...

2011-01-21T00:37:00.001-04:00

Yin Yang Mussels

On New Years Day, I knew I had to do something about about the mounds of turkey and chocolate that were gaining coverage on my waist and hips. The kids needed exercise, heck, we all did! They had been stuck going from house to house visiting family and friends for days now. Not that there is anything wrong with that. But it does get a bit tired after a while So, we packed up the truck and off we went to the fresh air and wide open fields of Petersfield Park.

The kids moaned and whined as they flopped out of the truck and were dragged onto the nearest trails. It was a gorgeous day, the glorious sunshine made up for the biting cold wind. The woods sheltered us as we wound through the trails and over bridges. We passed the Coast Guard College as the trail continued to wind around the shore.

My six year old found "the tree" That big old gnarly tree that just begs to be climbed. He had a little help from his big brother.

We hunted for treasure on the beach. My youngest found some cool rocks for his new rock tumbler and some really nice shells. I got to play photographer with my new camera! Everywhere I looked I saw more that I wanted to capture. Sea shells washed up on the shore. Left over fall leaves littering the ground. Even sea weed! The sun made everything feel great, and I just kept shooting. Poor hubby did his best to stay out of the wind.

We found tons of treasures that day on the beach. The best being the memories we created as a family, running and chasing and having a blast. Okay, so the boys tormented each other but even that was fun!

We had an amazing day though I am still working off the extra holiday calories!

Big Mussel, Little Mussel

Here are some paintings of the shells I discovered that day. You can click on the images to go to my Etsy shop.

Yin Yang Mussels

Reiki Art ACEO original mixed media paintings

2011-01-08T23:55:00.000-04:00


Cho Ku Ray

As I am doing a series of blog post about Reiki, I thought it only fit to add some of Reiki artwork! These paintings are based on the symbols learned in Level 2 Reiki.

These paintings are original mixed media works. The symbol itself is raised, which is a cool effect which I was really happy with. It is painted with watercolor and Unryu rice paper is collaged over the top.

The Cho Ku Ray symbol is known as the power symbol. By drawing or visualizing this symbol Reiki's healing energies can be increased. It can also be used for protection. It is like a light switch that can boost your ability to channel Reiki energy by intention. Here is another Choku Ray in green, the color of healing.

Another symbol is the Sei He Ki, which has the general meaning "God and man become one". It is known as the Mental/Emotional symbol and helps people release mental and emotional causes of problems.


Sei He Ki

Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen is the third symbol. It is used to send healing Reiki energies over a distance or even to a time in the past or future. It actually means "No past, no present, no future" or it can have the meaning "the Buddha in me contacts the Buddha in you".

Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen

ACEO stands for Art Cards, Editions and Originals. They are miniature works of art, 2 ½ X 3 ½ inches that can be matted and framed to hang on the wall. They are small enough to fit inside standard card-collector pockets, sleeves or sheets if you choose.

ACEOs can even be put into a greeting card as an extra surprise for a birthday, anniversary, or Christmas.

These Reiki ACEO cards would make a great gift for somebody who needs healing. They can help if you are just starting to learn Level 2 Reiki. These paintings are available in my Etsy shop, just click on the images above to go there.

I'll be posting more artwork and more information about Reiki soon! Follow me!

Thanks for stopping by, and Please leave a comment!

Jo-Ann
www.jdmstudios.com

Reiki Part 2...Relaaaxxxx and Enjoy

2011-01-06T16:55:00.000-04:00

Human touch is used constantly as a form of healing, and most times we do not even realize we are doing it. What do we do when we have a headache? We touch our head. If a child gets hurt? A mother will touch, hug or kiss it better, right? Dogs and cats will lick a wound for the same reason. Instinctively we know that touch will help it to feel better!

So what is it like to receive a Reiki healing?

Receiving Reiki is a peaceful, beautiful, relaxing experience. You receive the treatment while lying down, usually on a massage table. A massage table allows the healer room for moving around to work on different areas of the body. If for some reason it is not possible to lie down, a Reiki healing can also be done while sitting, as well.

You remain fully clothed at all times. There is no reason ever to remove clothing during a Reiki session. It is preferable to remove your shoes, however and some healers prefer if you remove jewelry, or at least large pieces that might get in the way.

I like to begin a Reiki session by have the person being treated lie on their belly. I personally find this to be a very relaxing position and tends to put people at ease right away. Others may start with their client lying on their back. I keep the room somewhat darkish (subdued lighting) and have some relaxing music playing. Most practitioners keep conversation to a minimum.

So...there you are...laying on your belly, in a darkened room with soft music...what next?

The Reiki practitioner is going to place their hands on specific areas of your body. He or she will rest his or her hands in the same position for about 5 minutes before moving on to the next position. A Reiki practitioner will NOT touch the breasts or genital area! And will carefully accommodate should you feel at all uncomfortable with any hand position.. Reiki can also be done with no touching at all, and the hand simply hovers above the area that is being treated.

The area where the healer lays his or her hands is usually a chakra(or energy center) but it can also be an area that simply needs some healing energy. Healing work tends to be very intuitive by nature and Reiki works beautifully with this. Here is a great website if you would like more information on the chakras and where they are located on the body.
http://www.eclecticenergies.com/chakras/introduction.php

Before I begin Reiki, I like to do a "scan" I float my hand about 4-6 inches above the body, and I am going along, I note where my hand dips or rises. This give my and idea where there may be energy highs or lows in the body. I sometimes also may sense heat, cold, tingling or buzzing sensations, sometimes even an ache and I will give these areas a little extra Reiki love.

There are several positions on the head that may get worked on. These include over the eyes/sinus area, over the ears, the top of the head and the back of the head.

Occasionally, some people may find an emotional issue that had been troubling them, such a grief or anger may float to the surface. This is good! If you can, stay with the emotion and allow it to release. This is part of the healing process for you. If you do not feel comfortable dealing with it at the time, that is okay, too. We will talk more about physical dis-ease and their emotional root cause another time!

Some people will notice nothing at all in the area that is being worked on but most seem to notice something, whether it is heat, coolness or tingling. Some people fall asleep. Each Reiki experience and treatment is unique and almost all will feel a profound sense of well-being and relaxation at the end of a Reiki session.

Any questions about Reiki? Please feel free to email me or make a comment below. I will be talking about Reiki attunements next...the various levels and what one might experience. Follow my blog to stay tuned!

Reiki...what is it?

2011-01-03T17:34:00.000-04:00

I had heard of Reiki many years ago but never really knew what exactly is was or how it worked. I was always curious about it and wanted to learn more. So I did a bit of research on the internet.   I learned that it was a healing energy, a laying on of hands, so to speak and that it started in Japan. I was able to learn the history of Reiki beginning with Mikao Usui and how it was brought to America by Mrs. Takata in the 1930s. This was all interesting, but I still was not able to experience this amazing healing energy over the internet! Living in a relatively small community, I wasn't aware of anybody who knew how to do Reiki, let alone anybody who had ever heard about it!

Well, the Universe has a way of responding to these things. And, several months after my curiousity had been piqued by Reiki, our local paper had an ad offering Level I Reiki. Here was my opportunity!

Traditional Reiki consists of three levels:
Level I, Level II and Level III.
Level III is also known as the Master Level or for some, the Master/Teacher Level.

I felt a profound connection with Reiki and it truly did change my life and my way of thinking. In June 2010, I received my Master/Teacher level of Reiki.

By the way, you do not need to have any of these levels to experience a Reiki healing treatment.

So, what is Reiki, exactly? Where does this healing energy come from?

At all times we are surrounded by countless differenty forms of energy. Some of these energy types we are aware of, like heat energy, light energy or electricity. There are also other energy forms that are not quite part of our awareness like xrays and radiation, for example.

Picture a giant harp, the size of the entire universe. Every string on that harp vibrates at at different frequency when plucked. Picture again every one of these strings being representative of a different form of energy, all vibrating at different rates and frequencies. Picture light and color having their little section of strings, sound being another section. Some sounds can be heard as low and some high. Some the pitch too high for human ears. Further along these strings are emotions. Love, joy, happiness, fear, anger and hate all resonating their own frequency. Did you ever walk into a room and you could feel the love? Feel you could cut the tension with a knife? Hope has its own frequency and perhap even prayer does, too.

Reiki is its own form of energy. It is percieved as a very loving, gentle flowing energy that is believed to be intuitive and goes where it is needed for healing. It is always surrounding us and available to us. Once attuned to Reiki, you are more able to tap into this energy.  It flows through your crown and out through your palms where it can be directed to different areas of the body. It is believed that Reiki goes where it is needed.

When giving a Reiki treatment, you can feel the energy as it is moving into the body. Sometimes it is felt as a tingling sensation or heat and sometimes even cold thought not as often.  Sometimes I might even feel an ache in my hands if I am working over a painful area. This sensation is called byosen. The sensation will usually peak and then dissipate. When it disspipates I move my hands to another area for healing.
I will be posting more about Reiki in the next several posts. I am also in the process of creating Reiki art with watecolor and mixed media. If you are interested in learning more, follow my blog. I would love to hear your thoughts, leave a comment and let me know what you think!

Thank you for stopping by!
Jo-Ann
http://www.jdmstudios.com/

Latest Painting, Mixed Media Abstract

2010-12-10T13:01:00.001-04:00

Yesterday, I said to my oldest son, "watch this..." I brought my newly completed painting to my yountest son, who is 6 and a half. "What do you think of this, Ethan?" I asked, expecting for certain that he would make a screwed up face and say something like, "weird" or just simply shake his head at me.

What I got was the complete opposite...His eyes popped, his arms flew up in the air with the exclamation, "I LOVE IT!!!! That is soooooo beautiful, Mom! I can't believe you made that, WOW!!!!" Kids never cease to amaze me, and as I learned for myself, you just never know what reaction you are going to get!

You can click on the image to see more views of this painting on my Artfire site.

My Sweet Kitten, Jingles

2010-12-09T11:56:00.002-04:00

Yesterday morning I spent working on a watercolor of my kitten, Jingles. I did it on an 1/8 sheet of 140 lb watercolor paper. What do you think?

Funky Handpainted Wine Glasses

2010-12-08T10:22:00.001-04:00

I had fun creating these wine glasses. A coworker and friend of mine made the suggestion to me that I just absolutely HAD to create these wine glasses. Well, I just had no choice but to make them...hand painted, with funky designs on the stem...I loved the idea right away. I ran to Michaels, did some research, bought the best materials (of course, nothing but the best!) and began to paint. I hope you enjoy them, too. Tell me what you think!

Greeting Cards, anyone?

2010-12-03T13:22:00.001-04:00

My Artfire Shop

One of my favorite things about Christmas and the whole holiday season is receiving Christmas cards. I love it...I get so excited when I go to the mailbox and, there it is. A perfect crisp envelope addressed to the MacDonald family. The excitement builds as I try to guess who sent it. Sometimes it is obvious, by the return address, but sometimes, the sender can be quite mysterious! Putting only their address or no return address at all.

Sometimes cards are from far away, with long letters of their events of the past year, sometimes just a signature. Some cards are from people who live reasonably close by but don't see too often. And some cards are from people I see every day. They are all beautiful and it means so much to hear how loved ones, family and friends are doing. It is such a thoughtful thing to do, to send a card. It is a time of year when there is constant hustle and bustle. "Time! I don't have enough time!" is a common complaint. But, somebody took the time to send a note, in a simple card and say, I am thinking of you. What a beautiful gift.

And here is Snow in the Birches

Snow in the Birches on Artfire

So, on that note, if you happen to be looking for Holiday cards, I just so happen to have some for sale on Artfire. Both images here are prints of my most recent watercolor paintings. I was especially happy with the poinsettia, I hope you like them, too. You can click on either one to see my shop.

I certainly hope your holidays are warm and joyous and thank you for reading my blog. Please feel free to drop a note and share your thoughts, I would love to hear from you.

Jo-Ann

www.jdmstudios.com

jdmstudios on Artfire

Fine Art Reproductions

2010-11-17T12:49:00.001-04:00

Okay, I found this website and I am curious to know if anyone has ever tried them. They offer fine art reproduction prints on paper or canvas. The site is CanvasPress.comNew customers get 15% off the first order if you click here:
15% off your order. Use NEWCUST at checkout. Expires 11/30/2010. * new customers only
Let me know what you think!

Jo-Ann

Autumn is on its way out...

2010-11-16T22:13:00.000-04:00

The days are certainly getting colder. There is a cool nip in the air and the leaves are slowly disappearing from the trees. Here is a painting that I finished just over a week ago. These gorgeous leaves were just outside my kitchen window, just off the deck and I absolutely loved the way the sun caught the reds, golds and yellows. I hope you enjoy.

I have listed this painting for sale on Artfire, here is the link if you'd like to check it out
My Artfire Listing Autumn Glow

With the falling of leaves ventures in Old Man Winter, and thoughts of Christmas preparations. And it got me to thinking about getting those Christmas cards out early this year (ahem...that would be a far cry better than other years when they were hand delivered, one year late...you know who you are...sorry!)

I found this website, Vistaprint, and they offer 10 free Holiday cards. What's the catch? Well, it actually looks legit! I went through the entire process as a guest. I uploaded an image of my own for the front of the card (being an artist, thought it would be nice to have my own artwork there). No problems with the upload. On the left hand margin, I noticed a $2.49 I was to be charged for an upload fee. As I went through the process of options available, including color photo on the inside of the card (black and white photo was free, but color photo was an additional $2.49) I could change my message, too. I was offered matching envelopes for $7.99 and matching mugs, notebooks, pens, none of which I chose, though I did think they looked pretty cool. As long as I did not order the extras, my bill stayed at the original $2.49 and I didn't even have to pay that if I chose one of Vistaprint's images. Then there was shipping, which was a pretty standard rate.

Here is the link if you'd like to check it out:

Gorgeous fall day...

2010-10-28T13:56:00.000-03:00

The leaves are changing here in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and what a glorious day it is here! The air carries the pungent aroma of damp leaves and earth, still wet from the gentle rain we had this morning. The sun is shining and it is unusually warm for this time of year. It makes the red and yellow leaves stand out even more against the dark bark of their trees.

I am so close to finishing my fall leaves painting. I can't wait to get back to my paints. Stay tuned...

So little time...

2010-10-24T00:49:00.001-03:00

I have been going like a madwoman making changes to my website! I have struggled with learning CSS, but I think it is finally coming together.

I have gotten a really good start on the galleries (check out my vertical drop down menu, please!!) but I still need to get some more paintings on there. The Angels section is finished, as are the Florals. Still have to get the Landscapes written and uploaded as well as Abstracts, Soldered Frames, Quilts, Still Life and New Work.

It is pretty cool when it all starts coming together, but hard on the head trying to sort that code out. My son keeps asking me why I don't use one of those programs that do all that stuff for you, but hey, I do love a challenge.

If you get a moment, check out my Etsy page. I have my latest painting "A Simple Pear" on there now and it seems to be getting quite a few looks.http://www.etsy.com/shop/jdmstudios

2010-10-20T22:11:00.001-03:00

It has been a busy week! Working part time certainly has its benefits. I consider myself blessed that I can have the best of both the working world ( I do enjoy my job) and the art world. I have been off all this week and have been painting up a storm. My plan is to be busy. Busy with my artwork.

I have so far listed two framed watercolor paintings on Etsy. My store is jdmstudios.etsy.com if you get a hankering to check it out. My crows are there, too.

Check back in the next day or so for my newest work. They are almost ready to be seen by the world!

Jo-Ann Dziubek-MacDonald
www.jdmstudios.com

2010-04-29T17:58:00.000-03:00

Welll, it's been a wet week, but I have finished several paintings I've been working on. I am still working on the crow series. I hope you like them! The one above I call "Through the Foliage--the Crow". It is mixed media on 140 lb watercolor paper, 15 x 11 inches, predominantly in watercolor and watercolor pencil, with acrylic media for added texture.

The following on is called "Here's Looking at You--the Crow". Same size and media as the one above.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jo-Ann Dziubek-MacDonald

Reflecting on an Apple (Ipod, that is!)

2010-04-16T23:08:00.003-03:00

Hey there! Just finished this today, and I am happy with the result. It is a painting of my son, Andrew, sitting under a tree with his Ipod.

I took this pic on Easter Monday at the same park where I took the pics of the crows. Andrew took a time out from kite flying. I loved the way the light was coming through the trees, just had to take the picture!

It is not too often we get weather like we had that day here Cape Breton in April. The weather made up for it today, though, cold and snow :-(

My Crow

2010-04-12T17:06:00.003-03:00

I've always loved crows. Some people find them to be a bit of a nuisance, you know, when they are sifting through garbage or making a racket. Personally, I find them beautiful with their slick, black feathers. They are always around, here in Sydney...everywhere you go, you can pretty well spot a crow.

One crow sorrow,

Two crows joy,

Three crows a letter,

Four crows a boy...

Five crows silver,

Six crows gold,

Seven crows a secret never to be told.

If I see one, I always look for another, just in case its true, you know, about the sorrow.

So, there were five crows when I took this picture, but I only painted one so far!

Hope you like it! Let me know what you think!

Easter Monday, what a beautiful day!

2010-04-12T10:36:00.003-03:00

On Easter Monday, my mom, my two sons and I went out to the local park to fly a kite. I took some great shots and hope to get them on to watercolor paper this week.

Today is my first day painting in a long time. Check back soon for the results!