Search Results for: swedish dala

One Painting a Day – Weeks 19 and 20 – Daily Art Project

May 29, 2017 by Ashley Hackshaw

Catching up today on cataloging my daily art project. Weeks 19 and 20 came and went and now I’m almost into week 22 with my paintings.

A Swedish Dala horse:

I edged it with tin when I was finished painting:

If I had a cow I’d name her Buttercup…even if she was a boy:

A tiny fox painting…with more tin:

A red hen:

A bluejay:

A folk art farm scene on a large piece of Hemlock:

A small deer:

And week 20:

A small painting with some words I found in my journal:

A bright landscape:

An abstract textured landscape:

A lively landscape:

First thing I do every single morning is make scrambled eggs and whip my coffee. I love this drink: coffee, ghee, MCT coconut oil, flaxseed milk, a tiny bit of blue agave, cinnamon and a dash of sea salt. I blend it with my hand mixer until it’s nice and frothy. It feels decadent that way. Then I start to paint with the windows open so I can hear what’s going on outside:

A few floral paintings in the works:

More progress:

This was a commissioned painting:

Sienna is out of school and she brought home this awesome pinch pot of a dragon. I need to go back to elementary level art…I think that would be very good for the soul.

“Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once we grow up.” -Picasso

I prefer to paint upstairs but sometimes I do paint downstairs in the basement. This is the less often seen side of my basement studio. Up until a week ago it was just a huge jumbled stack of mess but one morning Brett helped me make that rack with 2×4’s. We didn’t even bother with shelves, just attached the planks to the ceiling and floor. Then we added the horizontal pieces. Eight pieces total. The bins and canvases just slide right in. I feel much more organized now:

I do list some of my artwork for sale. You can find it on Etsy here.

All my daily paintings can be found indexed here!

Painted Concrete Deer – Upcycling Concrete Garden Decor

May 2, 2017 by Ashley Hackshaw

When we moved into our house two years ago I was so excited to have these concrete deer as a potential project. I immediately saw painted concrete deer as an upcycling project:

Below is what they looked like before. I knew that I needed to at least give them a new coat of paint because they were started to really be affected by the elements…they are over 50 years old. You could use any old garden sculpture for the project….and people are always listing these things on Craigslist:

I see old concrete yard art all over the place and I always think about what designs could be painted on them. This poor little deer is looking a little worse for wear. His rebar skeleton is showing:

I finally got around to starting to paint ours now that the weather is warming up. I used Deco Art’s Outdoor Living Exterior / Interior Paint available at Michaels and other craft supply stores:

My grandfather was Swedish and we grew up with an appreciation for Dala Horses and other Scandinavian art so that’s the theme I decided to use for the first deer.

A dala horse just for reference:

First, I painted the deer with with a flat white spray paint primer. Then I sketched different designs on using willow charcoal. Willow charcoal is a painter’s best friend! It can be easily painted over and easily wiped off. One box will last for years…I’ve had mine for at least 20:

I changed my mind a few times on the design and I just painted over the area I wanted to change with a layer of white paint. I love how it finally turned out:

I think the key for the Scandinavian design is to pick a theme and just a handful of colors to stick with for the whole project. It looks more cohesive that way:

Have you ever seen those statues in different cities that are painted different themes? We have bears nearby in Cherokee and there were Big Horned Sheep in Palm Desert. That’s what this reminds me of:

The back of the deer:

Her side:

When completely finished with the deer I coated it with two thick coats of marine varnish which expands and contracts and basically is durable enough for a ship at sea:

It will protect this from harsh outdoor elements:

It will protect it from the elements for a long time to come!

Stay tuned for the second deer soon….it’s quilted!

The Li’l List

October 16, 2010 by Ashley Hackshaw

A Li’l List of new and favorite things to share!

Anna from Noodleheads made this adorable peasant dress with one of my favorite patterns from Leila and Ben. She used the Lil Blue Boo Li’l Leggings pattern for the cute striped pants! Love this outfit!

I just got some goodies in the mail….one package was from a favorite upcycled clothing store: Dress Me. Check out Boo’s newest t-shirt! Pieced and blocked from recycled knits!

I’ve been trying to add more upcycled items of my own for boys…..here are some silk screened appliques from recycled t-shirts I made this week…..aren’t they cute?

I love Zazzle! I added my Swedish Dala horse graphic to some shoes for Boo:

We are still loving the ones with Li’l Mei and on them:

Finally, next week is Lil Blue Boo’s Two Weeks of Photography! Photography has come a long way. Years and years ago my father worked for Photo Corporation of America….he and a few friends left and started a photo company called American Studios which put photo studios into WalMart. As a baby I was used in many of their ads…..these are from around 1977/1978….check out the sitting fees and prices…..this was before digital too!

I found this cool sheet of photography stamps my dad gave me when I was little for my stamp collection:

I grew up around photography….but it was all now antiquated studio photography. I’m so excited about the next two weeks and ready to update my photography skills! Lisa has put together an amazing two weeks of posts…..and it all starts on Monday! Guest bloggers, tutorials, fun products, downloads, giveaways etc!