Art Journal Page

Here's the first page in an art journal constructed from a discarded book. It's nice to paint exclusively for the joy of it which is my goal for this book. I could see using some of the elements in a painting someday. I love pink!!

First attempt at assemblage

I admire the many artists out there producing spectacular assemblage pieces. Here's my first attempt. Perhaps with a bit more practice I'll create one for my etsy shop. This one found a home in my dining room for now. I'm really stuck on the many shades of blue for months now. I just can't seem to get enough. I've been devising a plan to change my living room color scheme over to blue from a cranberry red. It's quite challenging to accomplish this without changing everything at once.

Pincushions

My mom and sister are the recipients of these pincushions. They were fun and easy to make!

Here's a link to the pincushion tutorial:

http://whipup.net/2006/03/01/stickin-it-to-the-pincushion/

Sunrise

I'm an early riser and I must say it does have it's perks, like the sunrise today over Lake Winnebago. Stunning view but the temp was 1 above zero, lovely.

Happy Birthday!

Unbelievable! You're 50 years old today, happy birthday to you! Yes, that's me and my very significant other. Maybe we'll stay up past 9:00p.m., just for old times sake.

Pocketwatch Original

I took a few weeks off from painting to focus on cleaning the studio. I need a certain amount of order in my surroundings before I can get to the business of creating. I am not, by any definition of the word, a perfectionist when it comes to neatness. I do however, recognize the need to take action when my surroundings look like a scene from COPS when they bust a crack house. Too much stuff! I'm not one to hold on tight to material things. I'd much rather give away that which I don't use. Where then do all these things come from? It's a mystery to me.

I've finally finished the mixed media painting above and it's available here:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=9951825

Computers......

I spent the majority of my day figuring out what computer component wasn't working preventing me access to the internet. One day and $100 later, I'm moving on.

Here's the front yard of our home under a new foot of snow. It's too cold to build a snowman. For those a little less snow savvy, it doesn't stick together at current temps.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Yeah, more snow. Gotta love it. Here's the view out my front door this morning.

Keep love center stage in everything you do today. I will!

Time piece

I've always had an affinity for pocket watches. Not for personal use, rather, nostalgic. My Grandfather carried one in the top bib of his Oshkosh b' Gosh overalls. He could sweep up a crying baby, sit them on his lap, and ever so gently place his pocket watch on their ear. Tick-tock, tick-tock. And then silence, always. Rhythm, everyone understands it.

So, this is the birth of a new painting. I'll transfer my feelings onto the canvas in some manner. If it was meant to be, the finished painting will hint at the above.

Song Sung Blue

Blue is how I feel today. Wisconsin winters are long when the sun doesn't make an appearance for weeks at a time. Today I yearn for spring. In time we'll hail it's slow arrival. I've noticed the days getting longer.

original posted above is up for grabs at:

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=9321252

Little Red Shoe Studio

My family is all grown up and two out of four children are no longer living here. That left room to have my very own studio. It's so nice to have a designated room for art. I waited a long time for a studio and spend most of my free time there. And yes, I really do have red shoes, and a red leather chair, a red formica table, a red door that leads to the studio, etc... It's the only place in our house like it. Bold, vibrant red. Oh, and the little bug is a papier mache sculpture I did a few years ago.

Girl in a Flower Dress

I diverted my attention from the larger painting and created a smaller one in the meantime. My Etsy shop was getting pretty empty. This appears to be the same painting as the one below, but there are subtle differences. This is done on an 8"x10" canvas.

On another note, it's above zero today, yeah!!

Work In Progress

I'm keeping my new year's resolutions and started a large painting. Well, large for me at 16"x20". I began with a sketch (bottom photo), prepared a canvas with the background, and then transferred details with carbon paper. I'll be adding script at some point but haven't come up with a concrete idea yet. Time to get back to work.

Finished Tote

This tote is a small token for my daughter upon graduation. Oh yeah, she graduated over a month ago, and I just finished it today. She'll be happy.

You Worked So Hard

My oldest daughter graduated last month in her chosen profession. She is now an R.N. Sarah is married, and mom to Alexis (9) and Cole (7). Congratulations ! I know how hard you worked to accomplish your goal.

Final valentine on blog

...............Instead of a few pictures at a time, I scanned the entire set and put tthem up on flickr. Just follow this link and enjoy....
http://www.flickr.com/photos/8506765@N03/sets/72157603717687802/

Library Finds

Fresh from the local library for my reading pleasure are:

Simple Sewing With a French Twist by Celine Dupuy

My oldest daughter has shown an interest in learning to sew and I've been searching for a publication that is beginner-easy and modern. With over 50 projects and wonderfully French, this might be just what I'm looking for.

Living The Creative Life by Rice Freeman-Zachery

Recommended by other artist/bloggers I was fascinated by the front cover alone. Ideas and inspiration from working artists.

Sundown Yellow Moon by Larry Watson

Recommendation comes from NPR"S Eclectic Book List.

read an excerpt:http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17109691

This was a lightweight day at the library. I usually take home more than I can read/look at in a week. I'm a book lover indeed.

More Vintage Valentines

Enjoy a few more valentines.

Vintage Valentine

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I found an unopened box of vintage valentines a few years ago and have never done anything with them. I think this blog would be the perfect place to post them for all to enjoy. There are 21 in all, so I'll scan a few every day until they're done. Enjoy!

Love Song

I like Valentine's Day and always have. My family celebrated with sweets; conversation hearts, chocolates, decorated sugar cookies and festive cupcakes. They were lovely to look at, but that wasn't the appeal to me. I didn't have a sweet tooth. It was the cards. And the opportunity to find out if the boy you had a crush on the entire school year had any feelings for you.

Here's a small mixed media piece available in my etsy store. I really do have so much fun creating these.
update:sold

Handmade Books

I really like handmade books and journals. They come in an endless variety of sizes, and if you're making your own, you're only limited to your imagination. This is the front cover of my first attempt at making one myself. It's a small 3"x4" and has 12 heavy watercolor pages.

I spent a lot of time searching for an easy to follow tutorial and here's the one I found to be the best.

http://www.davethedesigner.net/booktut/index.html

Have fun!

A Day of Firsts

Much to my suprise and delight I logged onto http://etsy.com this morning and my guitar painting was on the home page. That in itself was exciting, but the exposure lead to its sale. It's been an all around good day for little red shoe studio.

Mixed Media

Here's a second look at the tree and house from the last post. I wanted to change a few things, but by seeing the results I'm not sure I accomplished what I set out to do. Nonetheless, it's good practice.

available at http://littleredshoestudio.etsy.com

Home Sweet Home

I love home. It's my favorite place to hang out, and you're likely to find me in the studio. Here's a new mixed media project on canvas that measures 8" x 10". My personal goal is to create larger pieces this year.