Name that cow

I finally finished another one of my larger paper pieces. It's 11"x14", which may not sound all the big for some things....but for this process it is still very much of an undertaking for me.

This one is for a local show which, yes, ends up having quite a collection of cows.

I normally do watercolors for this show but figured I throw in something different this year.There has never been any torn paper collage of this sort in the show before....so I guess we'll see how well it goes over.

For the "white" parts of the cow I slipped in numerous little bits from one of the local newspapers.

The snout also has some pieces from the black and white label used in our local brewery.

Now.....I need a name....and I think I need some help with that.

Any ideas are welcome. Would love to know what others think.

Beaded Beads

I spent the day yesterday at an all day workshop for "beaded beads". It started at 9:30 am and finished up a bit after 4:30 pm.....at which point I almost finished two beads! It took another hour after I'd gotten home to finish up the second one. I had taken a workshop with this instructor once before for another style bead which I still make many of and sometimes put into my etsy shop. These two beads were quite different in style. More crystals are involved in these....so a bit more costly to make.

It was a fun day and a sort of a birthday present to myself. Actually, the owner of the bead shop where the classes are held also knew that my b-day was this weekend....so she had a little cake for me as well. Sooo sweet!!!

More odd things

Well....looks like I can sign up for the "odd things with wings" swap now! Got them done.
This was quite a bit of fun and a bit different than anything I'd done to this point.
Surprising what can happen when you just let your silly side play for awhile.

Odd things

Well....I'm hopeful that I can play in a swap with the theme "odd things with wings".
So far, this little guy is what I've come up with. I'm just letting my silly side play a bit. He is done in watercolor, ink, and colored pencils.
The wings have a little shimmer with twinkling H2O's but that doesn't scan well.
Let's see if I can come up with a few more to go with this little fella!

Watercolor vs Acrylic

I tried doing two similiar postcard sized painting in pretty much the same design but in different medium. (click to enlarge)

The one on the left is watercolor on watercolor paper and the circles done in ink. I love watercolor and the variations you can get with the wet in wet painting. There is a lovely glaze of twinkling H2O's all over her tail and wings as well...but the scan doesn't pick that up very well.

The one on the right is all done in acrylic on top of a book page adhered to bristol board. I decided to make the background paint layer cover the text and only have it show through on the body itself. With the more flat type of finish that comes from the acrylic, I think the text adds a nice variety and interest. The circles were done in acrylic as well this time.

I must say that I'm not really sure which one I like better now. They both have their fine points and things I like about each one. I just found this to be an interesting exercise and may do this more often. There is always something new to be learned each time.

Weekend outing

We just had a lovely weekend visiting with friends in NH. A much needed break indeed! This was our first time going up to this couples home. I'd heard much about it. It is a lakefront home that they actuall designed. Well...everything I'd heard about how beautiful it was....was true.

The living room was a true work of art! Aside from the stunning views through the huge set of windows....the ceiling was created to take on almost a cathedral feeling. (click on pic for a larger view)

We stayed in the "cabin" just slightly up the hill from the main house. Pretty nice spot all on it's own...don't you think!!

One of the things we did while there was to go off to visit a place called "Cathedral of the Pines". It was just wonderful. You could walk the grounds and look at the gardens and just sit for a long time. It was built as "all-denominational and non-sectarian". People of all beliefs can worship there. The tower was dedicated to "women" and the service that women have given through time for our nation. The plaques that are on each side were created by Norman Rockwell and his son Peter.

When we got back to the house we went for a boat ride around the pond. There are some unique homes there...to say the least.

Think this is a boat??? Think again. This is actually a house with a front section made to look like a boat. Pretty cool!

And this one is another neat one. If you look closely you'll discover that the guest quarters for this one.... is actually a tree house.

And of course....the part my husband was really looking forward to.....taking out our hosts Adirondack guide boat.

It was a beautiful boat and Mark was delighted to have gotten to take it for a good run around the lake.

Wonderful weekend....beautiful views....and great company!

Buttercream

Managed to squeeze in another little cupcake piece. As we all know....there's always room for cupcakes...lol
There is an art gallery in NY that is doing it's yearly postcard show and I made this one for that event.
I must say....I do enjoy these little ones!

Happiness is....

The theme for the weekly postcard swap this week at my art site is "happiness is..."
For me that would most certainly be under a palm tree by the water.
I think I've always been an island girl at heart. I love being in the tropics (who doesn't) but since I don't live on an island I am at least happy to live on water just the same. A little steel drum music and a rum punch and I can certainly pretend that the pine trees around me are palms!!
At any rate, I do think I needed to spend a few moments with my watercolors instead of all that torn paper from the last project.....although the next one is in the works!!