Home Sweet Home

We are home! It seemed like we were gone forever and over so fast if that makes any sense. It was a wonderful break from everyday life. I met an artists selling prints of his work on the island of Tortola. What a life! Painting in lush, tropical surroundings and meandering down to the beach when the cruise ships come in.
I, of course, took my journal and my travel art kit, and by starting several pages at home, was able to complete them while I was away. Can't be away from art for too long:-) I will share more later, but here is a page for now. Glad to hear you had lovely Thanksgivings, shared with family and friends.
Just for Christmas, I am offering free shipping in the US and Canada the first week in December, on any purchase of an original piece of artwork from my etsy shop.

No Place Like Home

We are heading away from home for the holiday, and while part of me longs for the traditional Thanksgiving meal around our own table, my heart realizes that home is where your heart is. We are taking one last family vacation before my middle son goes off to college. I will miss the early morning turkey stuffing session and the yummy smells that are so much a part of this day of thanks, but I am ever so thankful for time spent with my family. It doesn't hurt that we will be enjoying the creature comforts of a cruise either:-) I will admit to being such a lover of holidays, that I will still be cooking the traditional turkey dinner when we get back!
I wish you all a very happy Thanksgiving and the blessings of family.
I'll leave you with a page from my journal. Notice the napkin from a pizza place, you can find cool things to incorporate into your journal everywhere. The sketch was also done on a napkin and then adhered with gel medium. I will be taking my journal with me, so I won't be without art while I am gone.
I would so love to come home and count your blessings among my own, so leave me a comment about what you are most thankful for this year.
Blessings!


P.S. I have put my etsy shop on vacation too, but will be offering free shipping on all originals the first week of December, so be sure to check back:-)

The Last Kiss

It has happened. That dreaded day that all mothers of little boys fear. The last kiss. The day that as you drop your son off at school they ask you in a very grown up voice, if you can please not kiss them goodbye in front of everyone. Sigh. I knew it was coming. I've been there twice before. Now we will strike a deal to get that sweet little kiss before we get to school. I quickly put my feelings into this little sketch while they are foremost in my mind. I wish I had the time today to paint my feelings, but it is not to be, so I will have to be satisfied with a quick sketch for now. My only consolation is that they get over this phase and in their late teens, don't mind and even welcome the extra attention as they stand towering over me.

GPP Steet Team Monthly Challenge

This months GPP Street Team Challenge (Green Pepper Press, Michelle Ward) is to experiment with GESSO. This is one of the pieces that I played around with. I use gesso all the time for surface preparation, but it was fun to use it for a bit more. I started with a bit of leftover blue paint on the background of a watercolor journal page. I didn't have enough to cover the whole page, but that didn't matter. I then dry brushed some black gesso in both directions, here and there. For the next step, I took a palette knife and applied gesso to a foam stamp and stamped this on the page, giving it a nice texture. When this was thoroughly dried I painted a wash of Golden's Titan Buff over the whole page and ragged it off. The gesso acted as a resist and let the stamped elements show through nicely. To this background I added collage elements, stamped images, stenciling, and text. The end result is a Pamified Steampunkish look. Yes, I am making up words as I go-lol!

Angel In Disguise

Wow, it's Friday already! Where did this week go? I have been furiously busy working to complete several projects before we leave. I also added a new project to my list, that I am very excited about. I will share more about that later:-)
My care package for my soldier son is ready to go to the post office. Yesterday I made 8, yes EIGHT, loaves of pumpkin bread, and then got a wild hair to make rolls from scratch! What was I thinking? But I am enjoying a piece of that pumpkin bread right now while I write, and it's nice to know that the extra rolls are in the freezer, ready to be pulled out for a future dinner.
My latest piece is called 'Angel In Disguise'. So many times angels come to us disguised as friends or family or even strangers. So keep your eyes open and be on the lookout for them! You wouldn't want to miss seeing them:-)
TGIF