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.