crane in marsh flowers

my latest commission is done on a 12" x 18" piece of solid aspen. the picture doesn't do justice to all the textures and layers of this piece. i used lots of crinkled up tissue paper under the body of the crane and for the reeds at the bottom. plus the acrylic paint flowers are built up in layers as well. it was a fun piece and has gotten rave reviews from my client and all my co-workers.

i'm headed to the kitchen to fix a quick bite of supper so we can watch the election results! i was at the polls at 6:10 this morning and finished at 7:55. can anyone beat my hour and 45 mintes spent at the poll? it was well worth it!!!

paradise palm

today was my first day of unemployment -- a glorious day!!! i got up at 6 am and spent 3 hours completely reorganizing my art room. it was a total mess and i just couldn't even think about collaging until the chaos was banished. then i spent the rest of the day working on this commission piece i titled "paradise palm". it is an 18" x 26" solid piece of aspen and will hang in the home of a co-worker's friend who lives in bermuda. i wasn't sure if i would like collaging on wood but i totally did. it did not have any give so the paper did not bow or buckle so it was much easier to work with than canvas. please tell me what you think about this collage. i don't feel very objective about this one. probably because i'm tired!!

tomorrow i'm hitting the art room early again so i can get a few more canvasses done before my artist reception on may 11th. i have a few ideas brewing but nothing sketched out yet. since the art room is cleaned up i can veg out and sketch while sipping my coffee. it will be another day of glorious unemployment!!!

pussy willow vase

this is the commission i just completed to coordinate with the "blue flowers serenade" 14 x 14 original mentioned in my blog below. this one is 12" x 24" and hopefully pammie will love it. i was very pleased with the way it turned out. i love the blue and brown combination so much and will be doing some additional pieces in this style soon.

i am enjoying a bit of peace and quiet after having my granddaughter jenna for the weekend. we have so much fun together and she is such a whirlwind of energy. at 3 she is very interested in everything in my art room. her favorite thing is my box of oil pastels. today she discovered my box of pastel chalks which were quite messy but she thought they were grand.

jenna's parents, my son matt, amaris and layla came for lunch which was fun. everyone wanted to play on my new mac, check out all the latest canvasses and put in bids for what art they want me to create for them. it looks like my "unemployment" period will be very busy. and that is exactly how i want it. i sent matt home with my "crane in cattails" canvas as he really wanted it and i did not want to sell it and then have to create a similar one for matt.

only three more days of getting up and going to my current job. big sigh!