I’m going to be offering some paintings here on my website in what I’m calling the Chopping Block series. These are paintings that have expired from my Etsy shop, and for one reason or another, I don’t want to list them in my ArtFire Studio. Or, some might be in my ArtFire Studio, but I feel the pieces no longer represent my body of work.

Artistically, I’ve been feeling a pull in a slightly different direction lately, and I want to continue on this path for a while. I’m using more photographs for reference while painting, and less is coming from my imagination. It’s not that I don’t like these older paintings anymore, but I also don’t consider them my best work.

These Chopping Block paintings will be offered for a short amount of time, and at dirt cheap prices for fast sales. If nobody buys them within a couple days, I will be gessoing over them, and will reuse the canvas.

The first one up on the chopping block is Sea Water. It is a mixed media, acrylic painting. 9″ x 12″ x 0.75″ on wrapped canvas. Staples in back. Signed and titled on back.

You can get this painting for $30.00 + $4.75 USA shipping only!
If you live outside the US, email me for a shipping quote, please.

When the Buy Now button disappears, it will no longer be for sale.

girl in a bear costume drawing

I used a photograph I found somewhere online for this painting. I didn’t try to copy it exactly. Actually, it doesn’t look much like the photograph at all. The little girl was wearing a tan hoodie, and the color didn’t do much for me. She was also a blonde or redhead (not sure cuz I couldn’t see much of her hair), and had lots of freckles. She was definitely a cutie, but I decided to go ahead and do my own thing with the painting.

I thought I’d show how this painting progressed from start to finish. I remembered(!!!) to take photos of the drawing before rushing ahead with the paint brush like I usually do. I’ve said it before, but I’m not all that great at drawing. I usually rush through that part to get to the painting. That’s where all the fun begins for me.

I videotaped and edited another time lapsed video.

This came out a little dark because it was late afternoon, and the sun was on the back side of the house, and my studio is on the front. But, I thought it helps to visualize the size better, seeing it on the easel. That is my full size easel, not the table top.

Painting was sealed six times with a mixture of glossy varnish, gel medium matte, and water. The surface is slightly glossy, and should resist dirt and dust. Can be cleaned by wiping with an ever so slightly dampened cloth.

Original painting and prints available in my ArtFire Studio.

wordless wednesday

i’m messing around with the layout here today. i had to update wordpress 3, and my theme wasn’t going to work anymore. so, i’m trying out some new ones. you might get error pages or whatnot..but don’t worry. if i go missing, i’ll be back.

edit: ok, i’m done! i think. heh! man, i don’t know why they have to update wordpress so often. it breaks everything every time they do it. but, i suppose i have some new tools to play with now. it better be worth it. lol this new look just took me about 6 hours. oh for the love of blogging. heh.

Masked Magician

I’m running behind updating here and listing paintings. I’m still working on moving things from my Etsy shop to my ArtFire Studio. I hope to be finished with all the old listings sometime this week, so I can start listing all the new stuff I’ve done in the past couple months. I’d really like to get to the point of painting a painting and listing it..I don’t like to be running so far behind on the listings. I should stop painting, and just get it done, but I can’t. I need to paint almost every day or I feel out of sorts. The listings can wait, my mind screams..painting can not.

If you haven’t checked out my new shop yet, please do!

I’ve also got a couple videos to edit. Three, actually. I painted this one, Melody (little girl painting), and my newest one with the camera rolling. I haven’t had time to look at any of them yet, but I will probably start working on one of them tonight.

If you missed my updates on FB this morning..this is what I’m working on today.

girl in a bear costume

I think the title is Are You Kidding Me?!, but it’s not set in stone yet.

i think it’s almost done, but it’s still a WIP at the moment

I suppose I’ll receive hate mail if I say I watched Alice in Wonderland last night, and absolutely hated it. Yes, I said it. Did NOT like it in the least..not from the very first word spoken, even. I have to really wonder what the big hoopla was all about. I was sooo incredibly bored, I kept falling asleep. Oh, Tim Burton, you disappointed me on this one. Ah, well..I guess it makes you more human to me now.

So, what are you working on this fine, hot (108F here! woo!! LOVE it!!) summer solstice day? Did you like Alice in Wonderland? Do you want to beat me up for not liking a Johnny Depp movie? Well, bring it! Leave me a comment or jot me an email. I’d love to read what you have to say.

Amy sent me a photo of her daughter, Melody to paint last week. It’s coming along, but I’m having a little lot of trouble capturing her youthfulness. She’s waaay more cute and has more of a playful expression than I’ve been able to get to come across onto the canvas. See? Here’s the photo (Amy said it’s ok to post it)..

Painting little kids is hard, unless you find it easy. lol I’ve got her looking beyond her years, I think. I’m not quite sure how to add the shadows on her face without making her look older than she is. I’ve tried several different times (like 5 long days and counting, but it’s very good practice, so I’m not complaining), and I’m not succeeding. But, I’m working on it, and this will be one of those that takes me forever..and I still may not get it right. I can see what I need to do by looking at the photo, but to tell the brush in my hand to translate those thoughts is not as easy as it sounds. I love my paint brushes, but sometimes we just don’t see eye to eye. lol

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The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance. – Alan Watts

Little quote I posted on my FB status the other day, and here’s why..

I have a little announcement to make, and I’m going to keep it short because I don’t want to burn bridges at the moment. I’m going to be closing down my Etsy shop in the near future. I have been letting my listings expire, and I’m moving everything over to my ArtFire studio.

I haven’t been happy at Etsy for quite some time now, and I have finally made the decision to move on. There are simply too many problems, and waaay too much drama going on there for me. I may change my mind at a later date, like say, if the situation improves. For now, I’m going to put my focus and time elsewhere.

Sooo, I’m having a grand re-opening sale in my ArtFire shop. Everything in my shop is 10% off for the next three days. You have to use the coupon code at checkout to get the savings, but how cool is that??!! Coupons!! Gift certificates!! All the cool stuff that Etsy has been promising for years is already on AF, and has been for a while now. Plus, I LOOOOVE all the front page exposure I’ve been getting since becoming a Pro member.

So, please come take a look at my new shop, and tell me what you think. I’ll be listing new items daily for a while. I still have tons of new, never seen before paintings, which I will be offering for sale.

Do you have an AF studio? I want to see!
Let me know in the comments or shoot me an email.