Etsy Store Revamp

I've been so focused on creating new work that I have put off updating my Etsy Store. Shame on me. I've made the changes and I'll be listing new work as I finish it.

I finished this piece, Night Flight, a few days ago but couldn't photograph it because my lovely subject broke my camera. I think this may have influenced my choice of background.
But now I do have a new camera and, frankly, it works better than the old one!

Been too busy making art...

I confess- I've been too busy actually making art to post it to my blog. Here are a few new pieces...

I'm not sure this one is done. It's got me stymied.

I've got another one I'm working on that I need to get back to. Enjoy!

Paper Doll Portraits

Last year my daughters made their own paper dolls from a template. They had a wonderful time coloring, cutting and finally assembling the articulated dolls. The results were so expressive and ... bizarre.

Of course I had to give it a try.

Paloma and the Chicken

Mahalia with Raven

There is something oddly satisfying about making paper dolls of my offspring- I felt a bit like a mad scientist or puppeteer. Let's face it, paper dolls as a concept are loaded with meaning.

When I showed my daughters the finished pieces, they were genuinely baffled that I chose to affix the dolls to the background. "What's the point of that?", my oldest asked.

To me these dolls have become art, but to my kids they will always be toys meant to play and create with.

More works in progress

Been working on a couple of new mixed media collages (more like stumbling through). Managed to do things in a rather bass-ackwards manner, but that's how I learn.

Combining different elements like the drawing, collage and old woodblocks is a challenge. It's sort of like putting the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle together. But I think I'm figuring out what works, mostly by seeing what doesn't.

Arts Alive Banner

A few months ago, I was asked to paint a banner for the Arts Alive Banner Program 2012. Participants paint a banner that will hang from lamp posts along Highway 101.

The banners are then auctioned off to raise money for the following organizations; 101 Artists' Colony, Cardiff 101 Mainstreet and Leucadia 101. For more info, visit Arts Alive Encinitas

Now, these banners are HUGE (33" wide and 84" tall) so even finding a place to lay it out is a bit of a challenge.

I decided I would do a portrait of my daughter in the back yard. Made sense since the banner is as big as the windows that look out into my garden.



Note the paw prints left by one of our cats after he traipsed through the underpainting.



After planting a few plants last year that are butterfly attractors, I was treated to a profusion of butterflies, including Monarchs, in the garden. It was actually pretty amazing.






A few not-so-great shots of the finished banner. I can't wait to see what it looks like from the street.