Decals are HERE!!!

I have been caught up with a very fun commission lately, which I would love to share pictures of but I have to keep a secret! And so...my decal project hit the back burner for a little while. My Etsy shop is finally up now and decals are available. I did order some before posting the shop (and stick my favorites all over my house) to test the image quality and I was very happy with them. I will continue making new designs in between projects and will post them as they become available.

CLICK HERE TO SEE SOME DECALS! 

Holiday Gifts!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! The holiday season is coming!
  That is how I usually feel each year, but I think I am actually on top of it this time. Then again, I have felt that way before and later found myself paying for expedited shipping and knitting away into the wee hours of the night.
  In an effort to remove some stress from this inevitably bustling stretch of the year, I am making an early last call for holiday commissions. I can only accept orders for small paintings or custom decals at this time. Alternatively, there's always prints and knick knacks from Fine Art America and I will launch my Etsy shop as soon as my first run of vinyl decals arrive.
  Feel free to run any ideas by me if you are unsure about timeline or need a quote.
  As always (whether you make a purchase or are just here to rest your eyes), thanks for your help in keeping alive the practice of making these completely non-functional, horribly inefficient, entirely handcrafted works of art in our fast-moving, highly mechanized, digitized world.

R.I.P. Cicada Tree

I drove by my previous home recently and was sad to discover that an old favorite tree had died. I found it interesting that my painting cuts off right about where the tree now ends. Strange. It feels good to have had a lifetime of documenting things I love--these things, they come and go...

Painting in the Woods of Philadelphia

  One if the things I love about my neighborhood is that I can walk to the woods. In about 10 minutes I can be along the Wissahickon Creek and feel far from the city. 10 minutes in the other direction and I can be at a favorite restaurant in bustling Manayunk. It's really the best of both worlds. As long as you don't mind hills.
  Last week I took an afternoon to enjoy the creek and paint. I went down with my little backpack of watercolors and set up on a shaded bench at what I think of as my favorite entrance to the park. I'll sound cheesy if I try to describe how pleasant it was. Just imagine doing your favorite thing, in your favorite spot, in perfect weather...sigh.

'Kitchens Lane'

More Decals!

Landscapes are momentarily on the back burner and I have been working on some cuteness!

These are some recent hand painted vinyl wall decals. I was originally offering them as tiny commissioned originals, but I found a way to reproduce them and make these original designs much more affordable. News to come on that venture, which will probably incarnate as an Etsy store.

 

This litter of bunnies is going to be my pilot run for the reproduction decals. If I'm happy with the quality, I'll go on to make many more . Send me your suggestions on what animals to make! The possibilities are endless...mythical, insects, underwater, glow-in-the-dark? I'm very curious to see how it all goes and I"m hoping to get the individual pricing very low.

STUDIO SALE!

I am having my first ever...

STUDIO SALE!!!

  Ever try action painting in a small labyrinth? I do it several times a week and it's driving me insane.

  I really need to clear some space in my home studio and I am also working to fund some technology for my next new project. I don't usually post prices online because it's not classy but, in celebration of my messy workspace and new endeavors, I am doing the unclassy.

  I am only running this sale for a week or so before I jump into some projects on the sideline. If you like a piece that sells out or if it clashes with your throw pillows and you wish it was purple, or whatever the case may be, I will honor the posted sale price for a commission of the same dimensions.

  I am experienced with packing and shipping (in fact, that's been my day job for many years) and am offering shipping services on items of any size. Inquire with the destination address for shipping costs.

 To make a purchase, contact me with the title of the work that you are interested in or a brief description of your commission concept. I use PayPal for credit cards/electronic payment.

  In other news, (if you didn't see my last blog post) I have entered the world of CUTE ANIMAL DECALS!! I'll be opening an Etsy store to offer a little collection of these, but you can get in on the cuteness early if you want. As part of this sale, request a custom decal of any animal for $15. Little guys only for this price. For example, the chipmunk to the right is about 3''. Your decal will come cut out and ready to go. They are self-adhesive and work well on smooth surfaces so think walls, switch plates, painted furniture...I put the chipmunks on a somewhat lumpy baseboard and that worked with a clear coat over the decals. I can mail these in a little envelope, so don't worry about shipping cost.

Red Bark. Oil on Canvas. 24''x32''.

$250

 

Shagbark Hickory and Friends. Watercolor on Paper. 10.5''x14''.

$45

 

 Water Collagraph. Ink on Rice Paper. 14''x22''.

$45

  I have two slightly unique renditions of this available. One is printed with a straight black ink and the other with a subtle red tone. Collagraphs are amazingly fun. If you haven't heard the term, it's a printmaking technique that uses a textured surface which is glued onto a firm backing. This one was just made with crumpled paper on cardboard. It's different than woodblock or linoleum printing in that the image is reproducible but degrades a bit with each edition. I printed this one to death--until it was squished and saturated with ink. The many prints I made were a chronicle of the creation and destruction of an image. So interesting! And so here is what remains. They are one of many, but also one-of-a-kind.

 Home. Dripped Enamel Paint on Canvas. 24''x36''.

$200

Knifed Landscape Study. Acrylic on Canvas. 14''x22''.

$125

 This piece is framed as shown to the left. It was a study for a larger painting. It is done entirely with a palette knife and very highly textured...I only used a brush to sign it.

Off-Shore Wind Turbine. Oil on Unprimed Canvas. 60''x48''.

$1,800

DIY Wall Decals!! CHIPMUNKS!!!

I did a fun experiment this week that turned out really great. It would be an easy thing to reproduce if you want to make your own wall decals...

I was working on one of my little animal murals in a tough spot along some baseboard the other day when I decided I needed a new technique. It was really difficult to get my hand in this spot and my legs kept falling asleep, so my chipmunk was looking pretty dumb.
I went home to sketch other chipmunk poses that might better suit the spot, and while I was rifling through my supplies I had a brainstorm!!!
My grandfather had a company that did graphic design (pre-computer days), and when he passed away I inherited a lot of curious supplies that I have been whittling away at over the years. One of the things I had yet to find a useful is this self-adhesive Pantone paper. It comes in large sheets with a sturdy paper backing and the adhesive works great. Here's a little snip of it that was left over:

If you can't find a product like this, just use an opaque contact paper. You are basically just making a vinyl sticker.
So, I sketched my chipmunks with a fine point Sharpie on my Pantone paper. I chose a Sharpie because a pencil would have made grooves in the vinyl that might be visible in the end product and a regular marker would smudge.

 

Chipmunks look evil without eyes. Don't worry about how they look at this stage, none of it will show in the end (although you would see this sketch on the back side of your decal if you end up mounting it on a window).

Next, paint the subject of your decal to completion with a good quality acrylic. Paint quality probably will matter here as runny paints will bead and make it difficult to get coverage. If you aren't a practiced painter, it would be just as cute to do silhouettes on an opaque solid color or on a patterned contact paper. If you are using contact paper, make your life easier and do your sketch on the paper back side (remember that your image will then be reversed).

Here's how one of my guys developed:

I installed my decals in a high-traffic area, so I wanted to add a protective top coat over my paint. I had fixative on hand and that worked great, but any sprayable (apparently that's not a word) clear coat should do the trick. I found a really sunny spot for this step to cut down on the drying time and quickly get in several coats.

After they were completely dry, I VERY carefully cut out the decals. I forgot to take a picture of this step, but use either sharp scissors or a craft knife on a cutting mat. Don't use a knife on a surface that is not completely smooth or you may get snagged and ruin all your hard work.
Now you have adorable little hand-made decals. Play around to get the placement just the way you like it, then peel off your backing and adhere it onto the wall. Smooth it from one end to another so it lays nice and flat with no bubbles. And since I was working in a high-traffic area, I actually brushed on another clear coat once my guys were on the wall so that they were securely attached and could be safely cleaned over.

Voila:

Fine Art America

I have made a collection of my works available for reproduction on Fine Art America. I am ordering myself a novelty throw pillow for the fun of it and I'll post a photo when it's on my couch!
Start shopping at Fine Art America

Winter Oak

This painting is in the midst of a big makeover...
  I know I have some images of the underpainting somewhere too, but I'll have to add them later when I figure out what phone or camera I was using at the time. I started this painting a few years ago, when the subject was then just a favorite tree in my boyfriend's yard. This project got put on hiatus when I moved and time went by...and by...and by. I eventually rediscovered it in my hoarder's delight of a studio and decided to take a different approach. I now live with this tree and know it well, so my perspective and the meaning of it all has changed a bit.
  For a while, I had gotten away from my usual process of dripping a graph. I use this technique to establish segments and bring some order to the big mess I make when a painting begins. When I came back to this piece after not seeing it for about a year, I decided to dive in and just paint naturally without trying to continue the non-drippy style I began with. The dripping process has become so much a part of painting for me that it looked weird without it! This tree has got the most interesting bark. A piece actually plopped off and was laying in the yard so I keep it in the studio next to this painting. I can't wait to get into the details.

hiatus state:

When Guinea Pigs Fly

  After teaching several children's classes and now living with a 7-year old, I have taken an interest in making art for children. I had been playing with the addition of animals in my last few landscapes and have always been a huge sucker for cute, fluffy animals in general so it is a pretty natural direction for me to find. I think I feel an Etsy shop coming on!

  Here is "When Guinea Pigs Fly" (for Hazel this past Christmas):

Songbird Mural

Now that I am not a renter I am really liking the fact that I can paint on the walls!! I previously posted our kitchen mouse...now I've added a robin in the bedroom. I made some gauzey linen curtains up there that cast a beautiful soft light on this little mural and it is just dreamy.

Clothes on a Line

It's a snow day here and I'm making up for lost time! I have some blog posts that I never got around to publishing, so I'm going to release them all now and pretend they have different dates...

  I have been largely consumed by this beautiful Victorian home that I am so tickled to live in. I grew up in an early 1900's reproduction stone farm house and I have always sought out old buildings as a renter. In my childhood home, there were Mercer tiles around a beautiful little St. Francis statue on the back of the house (this little thing was so important to me that I made rubbings of the tiles when my mom sold the house so I didn't have to leave them behind). Mysterious artifacts would sometimes get churned up when we tilled the garden and we ate apples from enormous trees that had been dropping fruit on that yard for god knows how many generations. It was all a big mystery that would never completely unfold. I enjoy the feeling of living in a place with deep history. This current house is so full of character and stories as well.
  This past summer, we renovated our little side porch and made all kinds of interesting discoveries. The crawlspace under the porch was hiding a huge, ornate bed post (it took a few weeks of walking past it in the hallway for us to place what exactly it was), several antique laundry ringers and a number of other great-looking but yet to be identified objects. THEN, we opened up the walls to add insulation and discovered that they were lined thick with old newspapers. They are very brittle and delicate so I carefully stashed them away in my studio, intending to do some projects with them but unsure of what they would be.
  I recently started a painting that incorporated these pages. I also used some stiffened fabrics that I cut into hanging laundry because I am sort of obsessed with clotheslines. Something about the way fabric catches the wind, and perhaps they represent a meeting of domestic life and the natural world. I can't put my finger on it, but I just love the image of clothes hanging on a line. It's been a while since I did a mixed media piece and now I remember why it is so fun! This piece is pretty rough around the edges, but when I get a solid block of time to work I think it will be very satisfying. I'm always off to a very messy start!
  Here is my progress thus far: