Watchful-Step by Step

A glance at the making of Watchful…

Watchful-acrylic on paper, 20 x 20 inches (50.8 x 50.8 cm)

Hippity Hoppity

Team T International is hosting an Easter Egg Hunt full of fun spring finds from various handmade and vintage shops found on Etsy. Hop on over to see all the collections.

For me, crucial to a successful Easter Egg Hunt are just a few key details~

Make sure the event can happen Before the Rain.

When out in search of the hidden treats and treasures, don't forget to look In the Tall Grass.
And, maybe most important of all, be thoughtful in the goodies that  are to be found.

 What's an Easter Egg Hunt without the traditional, brightly dyed, hand dipped eggs. One of my family's favorite tricks for creating beautifully swirled and speckled eggs is to add a couple of bits of butter to the coloring cups.

When you are about half way done coloring all the eggs, warm the cups of dye in the microwave just until it's slightly warm to the touch, enough to melt the butter. Then drop small bits of butter on the surface, allow the butter to melt without stirring. Now continue dipping the eggs into the colors, as the eggs go into the dye the butter swirls around and grabs onto the surface of the egg creating a resist against the dye. Unfortunately, after a few different eggs get dropped through the butter it breaks down on the surface and starts to lose its effectiveness, but by that time you should be finishing up.

Love Is In The Air

This week Artisans Gallery has taken on the challenge of designing the perfect artisan wedding-from the gifts to the decor to all the little extras that make any wedding day a memorable one.

1 Signs by Diane, 2 The Joy of Color, 3 Marci G, 4 Sewn Natural, 5 Zoe Chen, 6 Sarah John Afana, 7 Piping Hot Papers, 8 JL Wood Turning, 9 Two Left Hands, 10 Illuminated Perfume, 11 One Clay Bead, 12 Kathi Roussel, 13 Schemata, 14 Noble Gnome, 15 Earmark Gatherings, 16 Ali Herrmann, 17 The Little Red Door

Still, any bride will tell you it’s
all about the dress (original acrylic painting on rag board, 11 x 14”).

My best wishes and congratulations go out to Christine and Lee for their upcoming wedding. Recently Christine commissioned a portrait of the couple to give to Lee as a wedding present. I was honored to be but a small part of their celebration.

Get Crafty

My sister and graphic artist Justine Nielsen of Juicy Graphics has taken some of my original artwork and transformed them into new designs for all types of crafting. Along with vintage script and other layers she has created designs that are downloadable for crafters to print and use in all the ways they can think of from original jewelry to scrapbooking.

Artisan crafter Alice Johnson of Piping Hot Papers has recently used the designs to create unique cuff links for a memorable special occasion.

“Inchie” designs used to create pendants and earrings by Justine, I like to call them “Juicy Jewelry”.

Long Ago II-original acrylic on rag board, 6x8"

Colorize Your Spring

For about four years I have been creating hand painted holiday ornaments for Christmas, always describing the process as being a lot like dying Easter eggs. The dyes seem to make their own patterns and much of the colors created are a bit out of my control. This year I was able to find clear glass eggs, something I hadn't found in the past, and from there my spring has become a lot more colorful. I have starting joking that "these eggs are what the Easter Bunny would make if he could use an airbrush".
 

What the Rains Can Bring

If you follow me on Twitter you will recognize my “#surfinsunday” tags from my many surfing expeditions. While most of the time those tweets are accompanied by quick photos of the current beach we have invaded taken with my iPhone, I always have with me one or two other cameras for whatever my eye finds worthy of capturing. This time of year we are surrounded by the bright blooming wildflowers, and our 30 minute drive to the beach of choice is no exception. The rolling hills that separate us from the ocean are scattered with what the rains can bring. What the Rains Can Bring I, II, III-digital photos.

Inspired by Spring

Inspirations for my landscape art come from all around me and my corner of California. Every year at this time the surrounding rolling hills explode with cotton candy covered trees and the grasses that were so well watered by the winter rains become the epitome of “grass green”. Overnight, those fluffy trees that decorated my drive home along the lake road lose their blossoms to become fields covered in confetti. Making sure not to miss the limited engagement of showing this year I was able to capture the almond orchard that rows the lower flat at a moment just before a sturdy Spring rain melted the cotton candy from the trees.
Valley Orchards-original acrylic painting on paper, 10.5 x 13.75”.

Top The Promise; bottom Well Traveled Path-photographs.