Madame Monarch hair clips

Greetings, my fine feathered friend!

I finally finished the butterfly hair clips for the boutique! :)  Alas, now I have to clean up the mess I made over the past week :p  And now I seem to be speaking in rhyme...
Later on I will be posting more pictures of these in various colors.  But first I would love some more feedback on the design.  So my friend, do you prefer Design A or B?  Why?  Thanks for your input! :)

As always: Happy Flying!

Butterfly wings update

Greetings, my fine feathered friend!

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday :)  I thought I would share an updated picture of some of my Madame Butterfly hair clips.  They still need to be fitted with a few jewels and mounted on clips.  Hopefully I will have the finished product to showcase soon! :)

Happy Flying!

Painting butterfly wings

Greetings, my fine feathered friend!

I spent the weekend cutting and painting butterfly wings for my hair clips.  I'm not used to doing mass-production art so it's taken me a while to get started.  But I must say that I am having lots of fun with this project! :)  I will post more pictures when the clips are finished.

Happy Flying! 

Small & Simple Things

There is always something to be thankful for.

Happy Flying!

Barn Owl update

Greetings, my fine feathered friend!

Thanks to all of you who responded to my hair clip post the other day.  I value your insight! :)
Here is the progress on the barn owl so far.  I can't wait to get to the speckled plumage! :)  Have you ever had the opportunity to feel an owl feather?  It is so soft.  About a year or so ago, we had a barn owl take up residence on our property for a while.  She was kind enough to leave some feathers behind to remember her by.  I'm using one of them as my reference for the isolated feather drawing that will be below the owl portion of this piece.
Speaking of references, I thought I'd show how important the reference photo is for me when I do the details of a piece:

I hope to get some more done before this week is over.  Until next time: Happy flying!

Madame Butterfly hair clip

Greetings, my fine feathered friend!

I mentioned last week that one of the many projects I'm working on is making hair clips for a local holiday boutique.  Above are some pictures of the prototype I finished yesterday.  I plan on making them in a variety of colors.  The swirl and the butterfly wing are made from Tim Holtz grungeboard: a flexible, dingy material that you can do just about anything with.
So what do you think of the design?  What colors would you like to see?  I would appreciate your feedback :)

Until next time: Happy Flying!

Small & Simple Things

Happy Flying!

Barn Owl Beginnings

Greetings, my fine feathered friend!

One of the many projects currently on my drawing board is this barn owl.  As always, I start with the eyes, my favorite part! :)  One key to making realistic eyes is to include some of the background color in them.  Eyes are extremely reflective, so you want to be sure they reflect their environment.  My next step: the beak.

Happy Flying!

"Moth to the Flame" pencil sketch

Greetings, my fine feathered friend!

Here is a sketch of a colored pencil piece I have planned.  I originally attempted this using paint on canvas and it was a complete disaster.  I think it was God's way of telling me that this idea He inspired me with is meant to be done with prayer and pencils.  It was a humbling reminder that my talent is His gift to me and that He is the ultimate instructor. 
I'm not sure when I will get started on this piece.  I have several projects lined up right now, including the making of some woodland chic hair clips for a holiday boutique.  I hope to have some pictures of those to share with you soon.

Until next time: Happy Flying!  

Ocelot wins Best of Show Award!

Greetings, my fine feathered friend!

On Saturday I went to the reception for the NVAL Small Painting Show.  It was a blast! :)  There were many people I know there, including my favorite art instructor from college.  I was also excited because I really wanted to meet the juror Stefan Baumann.  He is an extremely talented artist and instructor, and I absolutely love his TV show The Grand View.
There were so many incredible pieces  in the show, and I didn't believe my ocelot would win anything.  So I was completely amazed when the Best of Show Award was given to my furry lady! :D  And then I was given a copy of the show's booklet with "Up Close" staring back at me from the cover! :D  Then I find out that my piece had already been purchased before the award ceremony even took place! :D  I got to talk with the new owner, which was great.  But then the evening got even better: I had the opportunity to speak with Stefan Baumann.  He gave me some wonderful advice about the steps I now need to take to launch my art career.  It was an incredible honor!  Thank you, Mr. Baumann! 
If you would like to see all the winners from the NVAL 2012 Small Painting Show, visit the NVAL website  at www.nval.org and click on the "small painting show" tab.  My personal favorite: "Redwoods" by Sharon McKelvie.
And for the record: I danced all around my living room when I returned home! :)  

Happy Flying!  

Small & Simple Things

Happy Flying!

Congrats to all Blogtoberfest participants

Greetings, my fine feathered friend!

Hats off to all of you dedicated bloggers who participated in Blogtoberfest. :)  It isn't easy to blog every day, but it certainly was fun seeing what everyone came up with.
It was a good experience for me as a new blogger.  It helped me overcome my anxiety about posting and I learned how to talk about my art.  Thanks to all of you who have been perching in my blog tree and leaving comments.  I appreciate it! :)

Happy Flying!