JULY Calendar Piece

die-cuts 

 

The year is half way over! It's been a busy year so far, but goodness, it's going fast! I took a girls' trip to NYC in May, 

went to my niece's wedding in Jamaica in June, and now my focus will be on the wedding of my own baby girl in October! I just saw the gorgeous venue this morning. I'll be spending a lot of my time over the next few months getting wedding decorations done!

However, I still have to make time for my own creative interests. Right now I have several things started. Here's a little peek at a few ideas I'm working on. 

This is a 12" x 24" piece I started.

It's inspired by this cute little flower shop in NYC.

(See it down there in the corner?)

This is a fun challenge because, though I have the reference photo,

I'm having to figure out a lot for myself - color, perspective, etc.

Also, I got a great deal, in February, on a nice little Christmas tree for my studio.

I'm planning to hang my own miniature paintings on it.

Here's a couple 2" x 3" pieces I started.

One of my favorite cocktails - an Aperol Spritz.

Ellen - our very missed, furry kid.

I have two more paintings in the works - inspired by the Jamaican trip,

and a few more miniature ideas for the tree. So, I'm busy, and putting my studio to good use.

Here's one more thing I recently did, the wedding card for my niece and new nephew.

Thanks for stopping by!

So much to celebrate!

 Champagne glasses - 8" x 10" oils

I've done a calendar for the last 5 years. It gives me focus and a goal of at least 12 new pieces. But, this year there's two big weddings in the family, plus more things to celebrate, so most of my creative energies will be focused on those things. Originally this piece was going to be January 2026, and who knows, maybe it will still end up being January 2027.

Here are the steps:

This is the first layer in acrylics, just getting it laid out.

Second layer done in oils. I love the frosty look!

Third step

Fourth

Fifth

Sixth

Seventh

The results of the seventh and eighth steps are at the top - 

fine tuning the material, and adding the bubbles to the glass on the right.

Cheers!

Thanks for stopping by!

June Calendar Piece

 Die cuts, drink photos, and fun paper.

Wishing everyone a great summer ahead!

Thanks for stopping by!

Olive - Colored Pencil Portrait

"Olive" colored pencil on toned paper

Some of the steps:

Steps one and two were on the same day.

I was excited after one session so I came back to it a couple hours later.

This was the second day. Same thing - 

I was excited so I went ahead and did the finishing touches (top image).

 Tip:

I drew the image freehand. When it looked like this, I dropped it into Procreate in a layer over the top of the photo. Then, I reduced the opacity until I could see both images at once. I was able to see where I had gotten it wrong. The one you see above is actually after I corrected it. I had drawn the eye on the right side way too low. There were also little adjustments here and there, but I was pretty happy with myself for getting so close. As it's colored pencil, if I get something wrong from the beginning, there's not much I can do about it later. 

Thanks for stopping by!

 

May 2025

 Die-cuts and digital work in Procreate

Hope you're all having a wonderful spring!

APRIL

 Die-cuts and digital work in Procreate

The month is more than half-way over and I realized I forgot to share the April page of my '25 calendar.

Contrary to the image, I've hit a bit of a dry spell. I always pull myself out of them. It's just a busy and complicated year!

This is the one bit of artwork I've done in the last month!  A little sketch of my granddaughter I did in my sketchbook. 

Thanks for stopping by!