Back to work for me.....

Well I've gone back to work. My art and painting projects suffer but my soul is nourished. If some of you aren't aware I work with severely autistic children.....I will get back to painting soon I hope I'm just so slow to get back in the groove. I am so tired when I get home.
 Here is the dresser I was working on before

I went back to work. I did finish it...

Still at it....buying and painting.

I'm still at it. I am so slow I know. I have ordered the knobs and I finished the painting. Now I need to sand off some of the edges and wax it. It is turning out so beautiful. My mom is going to be happy.

 

                           I'm not even sure you can tell from this pic that it is a soft pink color
     Bought a wonderful old buffet today. The best one I have seen in awhile. I'll post soon.

 

No more stripping.....

  In my last post I told you I had picked up my vintage buffet. A redo for myself. But I had a piece I had to finish first. Well here she is ready to paint. Ready as she'll ever be. Thank goodness for chalk paint. I don't think I could want to get anymore paint off this beauty. There are so many coats of paint. There was white , orange and a lime green. This thing must of been a hot mess in the 70s....kinda like me..

  I have not used chalk paint before (I'm a late bloomer) so I'm hoping all I hear is true and it will adhere to this piece. I'm going to give it an aged look so it need not be perfect. I love things when they are a little imperfect....me again. lol  OK you got me... maybe a lot imperfect.

 This is for my mom and it is going to be a very soft pink color. It is so her. She is such a girly girl...♥ Southern Belle...♥

 

Before the stripping.

Vintage Buffet.....

I finally picked her up. My new buffet. I've been looking for awhile to find a piece that was just the right size and look. So here she is. I've got a little work to do on it. The bottom of the drawer needs replacing and there is some veneer on the top missing too. Since I am going to paint it I think I will just fill in the missing veneer with some wood putty and sand it down.

 Now for the paint. I've been pondering that for some time and still not sure. I still need to paint my dining room too. I'm thinking maybe of going more coastal with blues and yellows. Oh if I only could decide.....It will come to me I'm sure but first I have to finish an antique dresser for my Mom. I'll post some photos of that when I get it off the work table to wipe it down.

 

 Until then happy painting..........

 

 

Before and After table top...

If you've been following my blog you know I have been redoing some furniture for my niece and her husband and thier new home. You can see that here. After my brother her father sanded the top I got to work and painted it to mimic a dark wood grain. The former reddish stain would just not work for her style.


Before
After



A furniture redo for ME....

 I have finished all my furniture project. Well almost need to retrieve a piece from my mom and do that for her. Need to do that while my hubby is on vacation so he can do all the heavy lifting (hehe).
 Then on to something for ME.... I found this piece on Craigs list on the west coast of fl. I'm on the east coast. So some dear friends of mine who live there picked it up for me. Thank you thank you.

Before and after furniture redo.

All finished but the clear coat and it will be a satin poly finish.

 I think my niece will be pleased.

Furniture redo progress. I love to paint furniture.

  Moving right along. This is now the second layer its a lighter color. I really like the results. Next I will rub off some of the paint and darken those areas. I almost forgot how much I love to paint furniture. Its like curling up with a good book..
                         
                                Click here for previous photos..

I'm also stripping a headboard that I painted and it started peeling. So had to redo it. Its for a dear friend and I want it perfect....

Furniture Redo....Milk Paint

          Have any of you used Milk Paint before?
 I purchased some Miss Mustard Seeds Milk Paint to redo some furniture for my niece. Well after recieving the paint and not ever using it before I decided to go ahead and do the kind of redo I'm comfortable with and can get to her quickly. I think I should practice with the Milk Paint first and I just don't have time to experiment right now. I feel sure I can get a similar look.
                       
                        So here is one of the pieces I recieved.

Here is another with the first layer of paint. The second layer will be a lighter blue.

 I'm looking forward to using the Milk Paint. I have wanted to for so long. I will practice with it and do another piece with it soon.
            I love every piece Miss Mustard Seed does.

                          This is the look I'm after....Wish me luck

Blue People Dolls new and revisited...

  Some of you will remember the story of the "Blue People of Troublesome Creek" I blogged about in 2010. They were the inspiration for a few paintings and dolls. I have painted and made a few dolls along the way. But as usual inspiration took me along another path and I had put the Blue People on the back burner.  A follower asked me about them so I decided to repost some of the past picks and new ones of some I have in the works, I keep meaning to get back to them with gusto but inevitably something else pulls at me.

Pentecostal Preacher, The chicken raiser and Ruby....

 I will at sometime make more because they are such a part of me. But for now they just sit and watch me do other things. Maybe they will start to speak louder and get my undivided attention soon.

He or she? only time will tell.

Camera another set of eyes for my work,,,...

I'm still working on some pieces that I thought were completed. Subsequently after snapping some pics and looking at them on the computer it shows something different. I realize now my camera is one of my best tools in judging my work, at least for myself. For some reason I see things I somehow did not when looking at it on my easel. Almost like another set of eyes.

Do you find you have another set of eyes that help you see and if so, in what way.

 Here is the latest one and I am finally happy with it, and can see that through my lens.

I can see through my lens that I need to repaint my walls too. Maybe a buttermilk color. I've always had colorful walls but now I think its time to lighten the walls and let the art do the talking.

Love these cradle boards. Why did I wait so long?

Hope everyone had a wonderful fathers day yesterday. We did. It's always nice to get all our family together. We are a motley crew for sure.
This is my first time using cradle board and I'm hooked already. Love them. Especially with collage work. The sturdiness of them is conducive to the way I paint..  I use rough brushes and scrub the surface hard sometimes. It just feels right for the way I paint. 
I seem to always be last in line to try new things . You can teach and old dog new tricks but how long does it take? ( don't ask my friends that question) I'm known as the "your on the list" kinda girl.
Gives me a million ideas about making my own. That way I can get the sizes I want.

How do you feel about them. Pros-cons.

 Here is my first work on my new cradle board.
Painted and mono printed papers with acrylic paints on cradle board.

"Birds of a Feather"

 

Ever Sorry you painted over your work?

  They just keep staring at me and screaming to be massaged with more paint. OK I'm a putzer so I oblige......Someone told me once they are not finished until the feeling is complete. That makes sense to me I get that. But it is still hard because as an artist we thrive on feelings...
  Am I the only one who does this. Let me know how often you rework your paintings or change them all together.
  Have you ever been sorry you redid one of your works?

                 

            Here is another I reworked.....I'm not sorry

I feel like I always learn something from my redos. Good or Bad.

Painting Redo....or just a WIP



Before



 When I first did this piece I was happy and deemed it finished but after staring at it for a few weeks something kept nagging me. So I picked up some glaze and paint and went to reworking it. I really do like the way the glazes and new colors softened it. Evoking more of the feeling I was after. Colorful but with a softness and depth to it. You can really see the colors in the close up pic.

How many of you redo your work? Maybe its not redo just a work in progress. They just sit in the corner patiently waiting to be finished.

 Went to Michaels yesterday and SCORE... 8 cradle boards on the clearance table. Sizes range from 8" by 8" to 16" by 20" as deep as

                                           3" and all for $38.00.



after



 So ready to get started on the small ones. I think it will be a challenge for me as I usually only work larger canvas. I need to make some more painted papers as the patterns I already have painted are to large for these small cradle boards.

 Its a gloomy rainy day here so a good day to paint.



close up



         

 Everyone have a colorful weekend.









Learning to promote your Art...

  I claim here and now I know nothing about promoting art and I would much rather be in my studio immersed in art ... ButAfter 45 years of dabbling in art I'm more willing than ever to give it a good try. I have many times gotten excited about a piece of work I was doing but this time I am excited about the prospect of pursuing the not so pleasant part of promoting your art...This has come from reading the advice of  Alyson Stanfield the Art Biz Coach . I'v been encouraged just by reading her tips and what she has learned over the years she has been doing this.  Her facebook page is chocked full of info and an easy way to keep up with her blog too. So nice when others share thier knowledge.
  I have lots to learn but a place to start and wanted to share this place with those of you like me that just did not know what to do or where to start. Please feel free to leave a comment about what you have learned  to help myself and others in the art of promotion.

 I finished my mixed media piece. I had to paint in the budgie and I added more glazing and color to the top. I think it gives it more depth. I'm so happy with my finished product.

I'm back and ready to paint paint paint...

  I've been absent here for 6 months. Many reasons and none matter. But I'm back and ready to go full force.
  I am so happy about my latest works and can't wait to share them with you. I've been working with a Gelli plate in the last week and trying to get a good hang of that. I've also been hand painting paper and doing collage with them. This is my passion right now. Here are a few pics of the progress and some that are finished.

These are the hand painted papers that were collaged to a canvas. These were the background for "Pink Roses with Budgie"

This is one I am working on now. Its titled "Pink Roses with Budgie" I will be putting the Budgie in next.

                            This one is finished and it is called "Ann's Roses"

These are the hand painted papers for "Ann's Roses"

This is called "Patchwork"

Hope you have enjoyed seeing what I'm up to now. I will be better at posting and try to post at least once a week. I get so ingrossed in the work I forget everything else. I will post more in a few days . Let me know if you are interested in seeing the steps as I work.