…..a sample of items I made for friends and family:
A nursery painting for my little niece Cari due at the end of January…..
…..whose bedroom is decorated in two shades of pink and zebra print.
My sister-in-law Carolyn loves zebra print….so this fabric was perfect for a little outfit too: [Read more…]
The SYTYC Contest is on hiatus this week. I still have to come up with a project by tomorrow for next week! Here was my submission last week for the “mitten” theme: little matching mitten cork stamps. It didn’t get the most votes but I am still in the game! I used them to create some stationary for a Santa letter….
….and a simple piece of artwork for our guest room night table.
Wine corks are the perfect size for making miniature stamps. (click here to see some others I have made.) I start by slicing off one end of the cork so that I start with a perfectly flat surface:
Then I draw my shape:
And cut straight down around the edges of the shape:
And then carefully cut and chip off the pieces from the sides:
Then just dip them in some paint and stamp away!
One portrait down…two more to go. I just finished this one a few days ago.
This little girl has the most crazy beautiful blue eyes and I really wanted them to be the focus of the painting.
Every portrait I do takes a few weeks. I paint a different layer every day (sometimes twice a day depending on the time I have) and then sand each layer down slightly. I scratch away paint, I do some glazing, I layer on some ephemera….and then I sand it all down and restart the process. The result is a very textured, weathered, interesting portrait. I never know what they will look like until I am finished….i.e. I don’t have a plan when I start.
This girl’s family has recently moved to Philly for 2 years while her dad goes to business school so I included a Liberty Bell to signify that time in her life.
A closeup of some of the texture and distressing:
Some old transportation tickets wrapped around the side (this painting was on a 2.5″ gallery canvas):
Scratching away of the paint and some layers peeking through:
Some stamps and old papers:
My little portrait business is always the busiest around the holidays. I have a few more to finish and ship before Christmas. If anyone needs me I’ll be up late at night in the painting studio for the next month! You can see more of my work on my painting website if interested.
