Afternoon in my meadow

I bought a new set of Micron pens, a colorful pack with green, red, blue, purple & brown. All Fine Point 01. And along with that purchase, I also got some fabric. So this illustration is a combination of these new materials. It is called "Afternoon in my meadow".

Now somehow I've managed to ruin one of my Microns already. I have done this before, and I *know* better. You see, I like to add fine details in my paintings sometimes with a pen. Using a Micron pen over acrylic is not too good of an idea. But using it over wet acrylic is a disaster. It kills the pen. The wet paint gets into the tiny fine point of the pen and then the pen will no longer work. I know better, but my (sometimes) lack of patience overcomes me and I just can't stand to wait for paint to dry. This is maybe why oil paints and me do not get along. Watching paint dry is like watching a pot boil. But it was semi-dry, so I thought I could sneak in a few marks with the pen. It is a bummer because it was the brown Micron. I love brown pens. It is possible to sometimes revive a Micron, I've done it before (as you can see this is not a first time incident), so maybe there is a little hope to save it. Hopefully a lesson is learned, and I'll learn to practice patience.

[ Posted by Beth ] [ ]

This chalkboard hangs in our dining room. After looking all over for the perfect chalkboard, and not having any luck finding what I wanted (or that was in a decent price range), I decided to make it about 5 years ago. Lucking out at a 50% off frame sale at the local arts & crafts store, I bought this frame for around $5. Took out the glass, and cut a very sturdy piece of cardboard to fit inside (wood, or any other hard surface would work). Then I sprayed the cardboard with chalkboard spray paint and popped it in the frame. Since the frame is now 5 years old, the chalkboard surface has gotten a little faded from use and needs a fresh coat of the chalkboard spray. Sometimes I will put the night's dinner menu on the board, other times I will write quotes, or just random messages. Right now I am dreaming of the blossoming magnolia trees to come visit with us again.

For Christmas, I got a few gift cards for Anthropologie. Their plate designs have always stood out to me, so I was really happy to get a few and they even had these lovely plate racks in shiny white, antique white and a rusty black. I opted for the darker one, even though we have a lot of white, I wanted it to match our black scroll grilles and to tie in with some other elements.

This is a detail of one of the plates. They all have designs of birds, flowers and bees. Makes me dream of a warm summer day, laying in the green grass surrounded by dandelions. These would be great plates to use for dessert or little snacks, but when not in use, they beg to be on display. I still have a balance on my gift cards, but am saving them for a special treat later on this spring. The rest of the weekend was spent having good meals with people we love, organizing our art supplies in a new 7-drawer storage system that we got for a super good deal, and just trying to clean, organize and balance things within the home. Now that the house is smart and clean, there is no clutter or dust bunnies to distract from painting and creating.

[ Posted by Beth ] [ ]

I got these little square pieces of wood and am having fun painting on them. This one is called "New Planting" and is acrylic on wood. It is a petite piece of art, the surface is 3" x 3", and is available for sale here. There is a detail view there, too so you can see all the little brush marks.

And this was the finished dog card:

Very excited because tonight I'm going to one of my favorite Mexican restaurants for some yummy stuff. They have those pinto beans, the kind with jalapenos and onion and simmered in beer. So good. Then going to hit up the Jo-Ann Fabric store for some new fabric to sew curtains. After trying out a half dozen different curtains from 3 stores (and having to return them all), I decided it would be easier & quicker to just sew my own. All I want is basic white curtains, how hard do you think that would be to find? But none of the fabric was right. Too stiff, too sheer, too off-white... another looked too much like bed sheets. So hopefully I will find the perfect white fabric and my windows can be happy once more.

[ Posted by Beth ] [ ]

A little sneak peek of my latest illustration. Germies came my way this week, causing me to be sick, and feeling like cuddling up real tight and sleeping my day away. This illustration has that sort of cuddly, cozy, sleepy element to it. I'm going to print up some cards with it, and have them in the shop this weekend, along with some other new goodies. So if you mosey on down there later on, you'll see the full illustration, and maybe it will make you feel all warm and fuzzy, too.

Have a happy weekend creating, laughing, dreaming, sharing, being in love, or whatever it is that makes you happy inside.

[ Posted by Beth ] [ ]

It has been 6 weeks since our last (and first of the season) snowfall. Every year around here, there seems to be less and less of the much anticipated white stuff.

I for one, love the snow. It decorates the landscape, makes the ski slopes nice and powdery, and creates the desire to sip hot cocoa with lots of marshmallows. This past weekend's snowfall was tiny. Just a light dusting, more icy and sleet than snow. Not enough to sculpt a snowman with, or make snow angels, or to go sledding. Not even enough to shovel. Shoveling is an activity that I find myself looking forward to. Especially shoveling at night, after the sun has set. It feels so peaceful to be out there in the dark, hearing the sound of the shovel scraping across the pavement which seems to echo and hang in the cold night air. Making narrow cuts into the snow, revealing the covered ground underneath. Clearing away a welcome path to your home. A path for friends and family and the mail carrier to walk upon. Then coming inside, and putting your wet shoes and socks in front of the heater, and snuggling up under a blanket with the above mentioned hot cocoa. It just feels so peaceful, and I feel so settled and content.

[ Posted by Beth ] [ ]

Usually, my illustrations are contained in somewhat organic shaped boxes. But for this one, I wanted the colors to bleed out a bit.

Tonight I'm getting my "Love in the Hood River Valley" painting packed up and shipped out. Wanted to let it dry a little more and give it a final spray of matte varnish. It helps with the whole UV protection thing (so if it is hung in a sunny spot, it won't fade) and helps to protect it. My painting uses some graphite, which can smudge, so this helps to fix it, and protect that from happening. Then I need to sit down and write out my Christmas thank you cards and cook dinner. I'm aiming to eat more fish this year, and there are some nice pieces of Mahi Mahi in my fridge waiting for me. So that is what is in store for the evening, after getting done with the 9 hour shift at work. Too bad there were not more free time in the day. Maybe I'd knit pretty things and finally use all those knitting books that sit on the shelf, wanting to be read.

[ Posted by Beth at 5:52AM ] [ ]

In the mood for making Valentines so I combined that mind set with my preferred subject matter for the word buzz, which would be bees! Sweet & happy bees. I love watching the bees in spring, buzzing around from flower to flower getting all the pollen on their fuzzy faces.

Speaking of buzz... the buzz on the street is that I have some new prints available, including this one of Mr. Bear & Bee!

[ Posted by Beth at 6:25AM ] [ ]

This is Matchstick Man, my latest illustration. I've been really fond of humanized inanimate objects lately.

Matchstick Man is available as a Valentine card in my shop. I will also be adding some new prints tonight! Yea!

[ Posted by Beth at 6:12AM ] [ ]

About 5 years ago, I found these little stickers at the Paper Source. I guess they no longer sell the stickers, but they do sell it as a rubber stamp. Anyways, my husband has one on his easel, and I have one on my computer monitor, always making sure that I never forget to live this way. To wake up everyday and do something that makes me, others and the world happy. To create and seek out joy. Each and every day.

There are other things on my 2007 list, and I am really excited that less than a week into the new year, I accomplished one of those things. Actually now that I am looking at it, two of those things. Wow. Maybe this is one of those positive visualization things. You visualize yourself doing something, and then it happens. Because i sure have been visualizing lately (more like day dreaming). However it happened, I am grateful.

Jan. 1 : Accepted in Projekt30's January Exhibition
Jan. 2 : Sold my first painting (Yippee!) & painted a painting
Jan. 3 : Updated my online portfolio
Jan. 4 : Found out that I am part of an upcoming Art Show benefiting the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.

(More on the last one later...)

Now it is Friday, and I am wondering what sort of personal task I am going to accomplish today. I want to make today count. To achieve something.

Oh, and the image posted above- Dean & Britta. I love them. Last night, I was sketching and opened our cd cabinet trying to find something happy and fun to listen to. The album we have is "L' Avventura" and is just so light and fresh and perfect to listen to on these gray winter days.

What kind of music do you enjoy listening to while you work?

[ Posted by Beth at 6:36AM ] [ ]

Guess what? I've been selected for Projekt30's Juried Exhibition. Projekt30 is an artist run arts organization that promotes emerging artists. Each month, they select 30 artists for the monthly featured exhibition. This is a happy way to start out the new year.

(P.S. I am the 3rd row down, 5th one over)

[ Posted by Beth at 8:30PM ] [ ]