The Red Dress

Another new piece hot off the press! This is another 11x14 collage on canvas. The picture is from Itkupilli. Actually there are two photos, the background and the lady.

And if you can believe this, I actually used Photoshop (which I hate) to merge the two and change the colors. I know! Don't get used to it. Photoshop and I do not get along, so I this won't happen often.

I had a lot of fun with this piece, creating a sort of Alice in Wonderland-ly feel, or so I think anyway. :) I have the perfect home for her too, because my living room walls (only two of them actually) are red, I think she will look awesome there. That is until someone buys her... hint hint...


So I'm off now to bring ALL my artwork home! It has been vacationing this spring at a lovely local cafe, but now it must move on to bigger and better things. The Library! I will be hanging my art in to the local library in June, so this is really perfect timing. Now I won't have to worry about having enough pieces!

See ya!!

Angel Of Harlem

Here's a brand new piece, fresh off the studio table. An 11x14 collage on canvas, and I call it Angel of Harlem.

Now, I actually have no idea who this is or whether or not it is in fact an angel of Harlem, but as I was making this, the song Angel of Harlem came on, and well, the name kind of stuck. It just seemed so fitting somehow.

I don't normally do religious pieces (for no particular reason), but I thought this lady was so pretty I could not pass her up.

My recent flurry of sales has totally inspired me to go back in the studio, and create like a madman, so I have several pieces in the works right now. Only 3 made it to the photo shoot today, but two more are very close to finishing, and I have many more just waiting to be started.

Now, I have a super dilemma though. I'm not sure how many artists struggle with this, but I'm guessing quite a few do. My problem is I want to do so many different styles and techniques (so many possibilities out there!), that sometimes I get quite overwhelmed, and when that happens I tend to freeze up. Not in a bad way, it's just I can't figure out what to do first.

It's kind of hard to explain I suppose, but that's where I am right now. I have a few different styles I play around with, and I have a long list of many more I want to try, but it's like I don't know where to start, or even if I should.

I wonder if I should be sticking with one style, and make it my signature look you know? Or is it best to keep playing around, and it doesn't matter if you do multiple styles?

Any thoughts??

Goodbye Pretty in Pink!

I sold this one today!

It's been quite a week! Besides the fact that some artwork is selling, I'm very excited that I am able to create art that other people resonate with. It makes me feel good, that others appreciate the piece as much as I do. And maybe even more! :)

In other news, I spent this weekend doing some marketing for myself, and managed to waste a ton of time researching places to get postcards. It took several hours, but I finally got it done, and now I eagerly await those 14 days it will take to get them!

Once I have them in my hot little hands, I can sell some online for those who may want some artwork, but can't afford an original.

I'm also looking into making greeting cards, and if all goes well finally some real art prints! The fact that I probably need to buy a fancy printer is holding up the whole process, but I'm hoping I'm getting closer to resolving this issue. When all that is done, I will for sure offer them for sale on the website!

Another One Bites the Dust!

I'm a little sad, but also super excited to have sold "Someday her Prince will Come"!

This piece went to a lovely 6 year old artist who wanted it for her room. I'm thrilled that I could contribute to her decor!

Enjoy!

Sold!!

Oh my goodness, I sold my first piece today!! I got the news this morning, and it took me a long time before I was able to stop shrieking. Too cool!

A lot of good things are happening art wise right now, and it is such a good feeling to be able to sell a piece that someone else will enjoy as much as I do.

So long Beautiful Dreamer hope you like your new home!!

Big News!!

I'm finally official! I have a website up and running! I have business cards that I can pass around now, and I have my art on products over at Zazzle!

Now all I need is an audience. :) I'm very excited about this because it's been a long time coming. I am concentrating almost exclusively on art now, and that is a very good feeling.

I am also in the midst of proposing a project so hopefully I'll have more good news soon.

Anyone interested in checking out the new digs, come on over to Polychrome's Palace! That's my new name! Like I said several blog posts ago, The Cat's Pajamas was already taken as a website, so I had to come up with something new.

Well the story behind the name is on the website, but the gist is, polychrome means lots of color! And we all know my artwork if full of that!

Don't worry though, I know I'm breaking the rules, but the blog name will remain The Cat's Pajamas. I like it, and I want to keep it. So I will.

Now about the art you see. That is Catherine of Aragon. If you know your history you will recognize her as Henry the Eighth's first wife. That's 3 Henry wives down, 3 more to go for a complete series. I love doing these collages, though I suspect they aren't as popular as the other stuff I usually do. Too bad, because I'm having fun!

Oh and feel free to stop by Zazzle. I've got a lot of new products in the store this week. New things are posting everyday!

That's all folks! Hope to see you over at Polychrome's Palace!

CupKate

Meet Cupkate! She's an 8x10 mixed media collage on canvas.

Her creation took several months believe it or not, but I'm glad I persisted with her.

For the longest time, I just wasn't satisfied with the background. It took many many layers of paint and papers before I could actually start feeling like I could go somewhere with this one.

Now the cupcake was a different story. I knew right away I would do that, but the problem was how to create it.

Since I'm not a magician, and I never took any ribbons with my drawing and painting skills, it was quite clear from the start that I needed to find an alternative cupcake creating method.

The cupcake wrapper was the easiest, it is folded and painted tissue paper. Pretty standard. But the frosting, I wanted to make as real as possible.

So, I created a combo of molding and fiber paste which I then put into a plastic bag, snipped off the tip and then squeezed the "frosting" out just like I would with a real cupcake. Once it dried I painted and embellished with glitter and beads.

The face however, came a lot later. I had created her sometime last year as a doodle, and then brought her to life with paint just last month. She has been patiently awaiting a body and a home, and neither were forthcoming. It wasn't until this week that I realized she would do very nicely on this canvas.

You can't see it in this picture but she is 3D as well. In order to make her even with the frosting and to glue her on, a background of molding paste was built up for her to rest on. I then painted the sides to match her hair and hat, and viola! She is complete!

Oh and before I go I want to mention again that I have a new Zazzle store! You can click on the word Zazzle or click on my store widget in the sidebar. Also If you hadn't noticed I have now added pages at the top of the blog so if you clink on the store link it will take you there as well.

I add new products almost everyday, so you should come and check it out sometime! Also Zazzle is having a Tax Day Sale. Here's the info below in case you get the urge to shop:

Tax Day Sale at Zazzle- 10-40% off ALL ORDERS!

Use Promotional Code: TAXDAYZAZZLE

Ends Thursday April 15th

Thanks for stopping by!!

Anne of Cleves

Well here she is, Anne of Cleves, Henry the Eighth's 4th wife. The lucky one, as she was so repulsive to Henry he decided to divorce her as soon as he could, which I'm sure saved her neck. Literally.

As is the case with all my favorites, this one gave me big trouble in the beginning. I kept adding layer after layer of the same colors, and it just wasn't popping for me. Finally after deliberating about it for days, I decided to add a new color, and chose the green for a little contrast.

Finally things started to come together, and now, I am pretty pleased with the results.

In fact I had so much joy after finishing this piece, and since I really wanted to do another collage in this style, I went and did one of Henry himself. The old beast. I really don't like him, but he is part of the series I suppose.

I actually was not intending to do him at all, but since I had his image already printed (I was going to do him at one point but changed my mind, then changed it back again. Confusing I know), and I had just run out of ink and could not print Katherine of Aragon like I wanted to, I did Henry instead.

Unfortunately his collage did not come out as good as I wanted. I still may touch it up later, but for now he is hanging with Katherine and Anne over my couch, soon to be joined by Katherine of Aragon. Hopefully I get my ink soon!

Collage elements used were the agreement to divorce that Anne wrote back to Henry, her motto, her signature, her portrait, and her badge. I also used fluid acrylics, and oil pastels to create texture and depth.

That's all for now!

I finally got my groove back!

Oh my goodness, the last 10 days or so have been extremely frustrating for me. I've been completely blocked artistically. Nothing was inspiring, nothing I tried to create came out, I couldn't draw, I had no imagination... You get the picture right?

I couldn't believe this was happening to me again, and just when I had gotten started making art again this year.

Last time this happened it took over 3 months for me to get back into the swing of things, and I was so worried that was happening again.

It definitely was not a good time for the artistic well to run dry either. So many new things are happening art wise, and it would have been terrible if I just stopped creating again.

Oh, I wish I could divulge everything that is happening, but I can't just yet. There are still a few loose ends to tie up that are taking longer than I anticipated. Which is a big bummer, but there isn't much I can do about it.

Anyway, the collage above is an 8x10 I did last year, titled "Wonderful", the photo in the middle is from Itkupilli. Another canvas that missed the boat. Apparently there were several pictures that never got posted to the blog last year, I guess that was during the dry spell of 2009.

So, back to the present. Last night, I went into my studio to try to fix the 5 canvases that are sitting around waiting for me to finish them, and I couldn't do it. I just sat there, staring at the walls. Oh I dabbled around with the paint a bit, but nothing was turning out. I wasn't getting that spark, that a-ha moment, when you just know the painting is turning out good. So I quit, and played games the rest of the night.

When I got up this morning, I felt hopeless. Then I got an idea. Why not go to the cafe that has my art on display. Maybe seeing it will help fuel my muse.

So we went and had breakfast, and seeing my art was definitely fun and cool, but it didn't quite inspire me. Though I must say It was nice to the paintings again, because looking at pictures just doesn't do them any justice at all. They are so much better in person.

Oh and one cool thing happened while we were there, some customers came in and complimented my artwork to the lady working at the counter. Of course I didn't actually hear them because I was busy reading the comics, and stuffing my face with biscuits and gravy, but my husband let me know what they said.

Now all this back story is actually leading up to me telling you, that somewhere between the biscuits and gravy, the flat tire we got on the way there, going to the post office, coming home and surfing the internet, taking a nap, and making dinner, I actually got the urge to go back in my studio.

And thank goodness I did. I managed to finally finish my Anne of Cleaves painting, which will sit proudly next to Katherine in the living room. I wish I had a picture to show you, but I won't have one, until Tuesday. I also managed to touch up 3 other canvases, and this time every color and swipe with the brayer was right. It all came out! I finally was able to fix my cupcake canvas too, something I've been working on for several months.

I'm telling you, when I finished Anne of Cleves, I nearly cried with joy. It felt so good to be painting and creating again, and have things come out, and like them. It was the most awesome feeling. And now, I can't wait to go back and play again tomorrow!

All is right with my world again.

Katherine Howard

Finally!! I finished the Katherine Howard piece. As you can see, It's another new technique, which I actually really like, and originally wanted to do collages like this about 10 years ago, but never managed to quite get it.

If you remember I started this in early Feb, and absolutely hated how it was coming along, so I set it aside for nearly a month and a half hoping I would grow to like it.

Just the other week, I picked it up, and started playing with it again, and I managed to finally get the look I was going after, for the most part anyway.

It's not perfect, but I am pleased with it. And believe me, if you saw it before you would see the improvement.

This is a collage on canvas (of course), and for the collage pieces, I used her signature, her portrait, a letter written by her, her motto, and her badge.

As usual this was done by trail and error, and there are several layers involved, some covering up the original papers completely, and I actually had to print them out again, because too much was becoming obscured.

Most of the painting was done with a brayer, but some was done with a wet paper towel if you can believe it. I actually really like that effect, because it's blends the paints so nicely and discovered it by accident when I was trying to wipe off a mistake. Love it when that happens! Though if you aren't careful, the paper towel starts to shed all over the place which of course could be really uncool.

I also tried the paint splattering technique with red paint. It wasn't until after, that I realized it looks a lot like blood splatters, and gives the piece a rather gruesome effect.

Especially if you factor in the fact that she had her head chopped off. I could see how that might lead one to think that the red splatters were meant represent her blood, but honestly that wasn't what I meant to do. I kept it in because I like the accent, but I do wish the splats were bigger.

That's all for today!

Things are a changing...

First off, I'm sure you've noticed that I've changed my blog look. I was getting tired of the old one, so I had a peek over at Itkupilli's again, and chose these cool steampunk one.

She has so many cool backgrounds, and I really wanted something colorful this time, but I swear I must have tried nearly every design, but the colors just didn't go with my art, so to compromise, I chose this one. Then I went over to Pigs in Pink, and was wondering why I was looking at my blog with someone else's artwork on it. It took me a minute to realize she was using the same background too. Guess it's a popular one. :)

Now, I know the black background highlighted the pictures better, but I'm so done with black right now. Spring is coming and I'm looking for a new start.

In case you are curious, this picture is another oldie that I did last year. I guess I forgot to post that one too.

It's a 5x7 on canvas with images from.... uh oh. I totally forgot it was so long ago. I know it's someone on Flickr. Forgive me for not remembering at this time, if I remember I'll update this post it may have been Lisa Kettell. Gee whiz, It's been awhile It could also have been Suzee Que.

Anyway, I'm super excited right now, because yesterday I got my new business cards!! The only bummer is, I can't give them out yet because the website listed on them is still very much under construction.

So that means I still can't reveal my new name and site, but I hope to soon! Also I'm still waiting to clear a few things up before I talk about my other exciting news. It's not terribly exciting to others I suppose, but it's a huge step and beginning for me!

Exciting News!

Here is a piece I did last year, and totally forgot to post it. And thank goodness I did, because I have news to spread, and I didn't want to do a new post without a picture. That would have been terribly boring.

So, first things first. This collage is titled "Lily", and is an 8x10 canvas. The picture of course is by Itkupilli. It is pretty simple for me, but I actually like it that way.

Okay enough of that, let's move on to more exciting things...

I have a new online store!! No it isn't Etsy. Yet. I will get one set up soon ( I hope), but I do not have the ability to make prints yet, and all my originals are on vacation around town, so I don't even have those to sell.

What I do have is a Zazzle account, which can be found here and also on my side bar there is a Zazzle widget you can click on.

Right now I'm sticking to basic stuff like mouse pads, mugs, magnets and totes. I won't have any prints or cards made from them, because they put a Zazzle logo on the back, and call me fussy, but I don't really care for that.

I'm adding new stuff everyday, so keep checking back!

Also I will have a new web presence soon. I'm in the process of creating a website (yuck!) and changing my name. I'm afraid the Cat's Pajamas has to go because that domain name was already taken, but I did pick out a new one, which I hope you all will like.

Of course I'm not going to tell you yet. :) I'll reveal that when all is done, plus I will have some other exciting news to tell soon too! So stay tuned!

Flower Power!

Here is my latest piece. I only did one this week, due in part to "artist block", and not feeling well.

This is done on canvas as usual, but I totally forgot what size it is. I could get up right now, and measure it, but I'm pretty lazy at this moment, so let's say it's somewhere in the range of 18x36.

Anyway, this piece was originally supposed to have a Venetian Carnival theme, I even drew a mask and everything, but no matter how hard I tried it wasn't coming together.

Most of the original work is covered up in paint now, but underneath there is actually loads of paper pasted down. I was doing the patchwork collage technique, but as I went along, more and more would get covered when I tried to cover up the colors I didn't like.

I can't even remember the original colors for this but I do know it had dark purple in it, and that was messing me up big time. It threw everything off. This is not the first time. Purple and I have a somewhat spotted history when it comes to my using it in artwork.

For some reason, I can never get anything to go with it. Although the purple that is left in this piece I do like, and goes really well I think. Go figure. I've now come to the conclusion that it is fine for a supporting color, but not as the main character.

Anyhoo, a few hours in, I was fed up with the whole mess (this happens often I know). I took the cat for a walk to get a break, and then it came to me. Make a flower! The colors by now, were perfect for flowers, but not so for the mask theme I wanted.

So, as soon as I got home, I sat down and drew the flower, and after screwing it up big time trying to color it with pens (the color would not match), I decided to paint it, which surprisingly took several hours, and half a pint of ice cream.

Long story a lot longer, this is end result of a huge mistake, and guess what, I actually think it might be my favorite. :)

Ta ta for now!

Mushroom House

This piece is a 15x30 canvas. One of the biggest I've done with this technique.

Believe it or not, this was inspired by my Kelly Rae book. It looks nothing like her stuff, but I did use her patchwork collage technique, or my version of it anyway. I can't actually follow directions, so whatever I try to copy always ends up totally different. Which is good and bad at times.

On one hand, I certainly don't want to copy an artist outright, but on the other, I would like to actually learn the technique I'm trying to do. I guess I end up learning it in my own way, and usually things turn out nothing like I'd imagined.

That is exactly what happened with this piece. Like I said, it's good and bad. Oh well. It's all definitely a learning experience.

During the creating process I took pictures of every step I did. Which is the first time I've done this, and I really like going back and seeing how it all developed. I might actually post all the pics on flickr someday to show a step by step process.

Now however, I need to get back to painting!

Yes We Have No Bananas

You will have to excuse the title. I couldn't help it. What with her banana outfit and all, it was only natural that the "Yes We Have No More Bananas" song would get stuck in my head. Obviously I had to give it that name.

This is another 3x3 on canvas that I did a few weeks ago. I thought I'd already posted it, but I don't think it did. I do remember posting it somewhere though, I wonder where that was? If it is a repeat, so sorry about that.

I've been trying all week, to get some art done but for some reason, I seem to have artist block. I'm not really coming up with any good ideas and it scares me. I think tonight I will just sit down and play around and see what happens.

I've been scared to do that for fear of "ruining" or wasting canvas and supplies in case I don't come up with anything, but I really need to create. I think if I don't I might get discouraged again, and I do not want another 3 or 4 months to go by before I can paint again.

Wish me luck!

Suzy Homemaker

I'm really liking this collage now. It's a 10x10 canvas, and believe it or not, I started this last September.

I drew the girl and started the background, and then never did anything else. It sat on a shelf until now.

I just saw it again the other day, and thought I wonder if I could apply Kelly Rae's technique to it?

So I stuck a bunch of papers on and slathered it in paint, added embellishments and this is what happened.

The dress I actually did last year too, and it is made up of various fabric scraps I had lying around. I was afraid at first that it would be too busy, but I think it actually works ok.

That's all for now.

Learning to Fly

This is one of the Kelly Rae inspired pieces I've been working on lately. In fact this is the piece that had the brown pastel mishap. I think I fixed up pretty well. Thank goodness.

It's an 18x24 canvas, which means it took a lot of paper and glue! Wow. I was super surprised at how much gel medium it actually took. The other collages I do, are usually smaller, so I don't normally use half a bottle of glue in one piece! And it was new too!

Originally I wanted this piece to be titled You can Fly When You Want To. Which to me that means, you can do whatever it is you want to do in life, whenever you are ready to let go of everything that is holding you back. Such as fears, anxieties, etc.

I really wanted to put that saying in this piece somewhere. However, I did not have all the letters to complete the saying, and my handwriting looks like that of a three year old, so I chose to omit the phrase altogether. I just couldn't justify yet another trip to the art stores when I'd been there 5 times this week already.

I'm not sure why I think we have money to spend on art supplies seeing as I've been on disability for the last six months, and therefore not contributing to our household income. But whenever I step into a Michael's or Aaron Brothers it's like I forget all financial woes, and go crazy. That feeling lasts until the credit card slip is signed and then I'm like holy cow, how, and more importantly, why did I just spend $130.00 on embellishments and paper?!

Anyway, getting way off track here, (perhaps I'm feeling a wee bit guilty about my art addiction?), basically I could not go back to the store, and get what I needed to make the painting complete so I altered it a bit. Which now makes me thrifty right?

Anyway....

In other exciting news, I got a call yesterday from someone who had seen my work in the coffee shop, and they loved it so much they want to display it at the library too!

The only teeny tiny snag is... Almost all my work is at the coffee shop. I'm not sure when exactly they want to display my art, but I hope it's not right away. I sure hope they like the new techniques too, because that's what I'm working on right now, and all I have. Yikes!

Green Fairy

Here we are. Another 5x7 collage on canvas. The image is from Itkupilli, and you may recognize it from my big patchwork quilt collage.

A lot of those images I used in the patchwork collage, I really liked, so I'm probably going to do a bunch on 5x7's just to show them off better.

I finished that piece that was giving me problems the other night, and I think it came out quite good. It's very colorful! I'm having it photographed tomorrow so I won't be able to post it until then.

Now, I'm working on another Kelly Rae inspired piece, and as usual I'm having trouble. A brown oil pastel is to blame. I was using it to cover up a mistake, and well, things kinda got out of control, and now it looks like a brown pastel exploded on top of my collage.

I've been thinking all night and morning how to fix this little boo boo, and I think I might have an idea. I sure hope it works!

East meets West

This piece is on an 8x16 canvas with pictures by Itkupilli. I've used them before but separately on 5x7 canvases. I really like these two ladies, so I thought I'd give them a chance to do a duet.

Now I know the title is misleading. It isn't really east meets west, but for some reason when I was trying to come up with a name, that's what entered my mind first, and I liked it. It's art, it doesn't need to make sense right?

I'm especially fond of this piece too. I really like the colors and how certain areas came out.

As usual my favorites are very problematic pieces to begin with, and this was no exception. The last half of creation on this one had me completely stumped, nothing would situate properly, and I felt I would never get it right.

But finally with a lot of persistence (working til 3:30 in the morning) things finally clicked. At least I think so. :)

Right now, I'm working on another problem child. Same kind of situation. I'm almost done, but it's not coming together. Something is missing, but I don't know what.

In this case, I'm trying out my new Kelly Rae techniques, so I'm in unfamiliar territory. I've been taking pictures of the process all along the way, and I admit that I have been pleased up until now with how things are going.

I sure hope I can fix this one, it was such a cool idea. And pretty too!

Fabulous Fifties

I was shopping around the other day for collage supplies, when my eyes landed on these cardboard ladies. Now most of you probably don't know this, but I'm a secret wannabee fifties housewife.

You would never know this if you knew me, because it's not like I clean, cook, and sew all day, but for some reason the "idea" appeals to me. I can't seem to put it into practice, so I'll just let it be a fantasy for now.

Anyway, I could not pass these gals up, and had to pay a little tribute to the fabulous fifties with this collage.

It's an 8x24 canvas, and I wish I had more, because I really like this size. I'll have to wait though, because I've been banned from buying any more canvases. If you saw the plethora of new canvases strewn about my art room you would understand why. Better get busy painting!