Trying a new style art

I know I am a bit guilty of not posting in a while...but I'm still here. lol And I've been painting too. I decided to try a new style of art recently...folk art. And boy am I truly enjoying it.



I do notice I tend to put a bit of fantasy in most my pieces though as that is my favorite all time style. I can't seem to help it really but I guess that makes my paintings more unique to others who also paint this similar form of art.



Like this 16 x 20 acrylic canvas here has a fantasy twist -

And I have a couple of new folk art ACEOs that have just been completed that will be listed on eBay possibly this evening. I have so many ideas with this new (to me) fun form of art that I don't know where it will end up taking me. I hope that you too will enjoy this journey. ;)

God bless!

Jamie

Wow!, Time Flies. lol

Well, finally it's Spring and I'm loving the fact I can go back outside without freezing half to death and wading through knee to hip deep snow. I LOVE Spring. It's so very much my favorite time of year when everything renews itself and the birds are singing again and we can start to wear a little less weight in clothing. lol I like Spring best because it's not too hot like summer can get and the bugs aren't too terrible yet either...time to think of gardening again too.



I know it's been a while since my last post...partly because not too much has been really worth writing and I might have been preoccupied with a somewhat newer hobby of mine...maybe. Last May I started recollecting vintage 80's stickers from my childhood and became so involved in buying, collecting, and eventually reselling that it really took up all my time and I haven' t done any art (or anything else for that matter, lol) for a while. But being it took so much of my time I decided to put the selling and buying on a big hold to focus on gardening and arting once again (which I really miss painting. Heck, I bought over 20 canvases large and small last Fall and only touched 1. It's time again.). I also decided to take a break in art due to the fact that prices were falling terribly fast because of the economy and I felt I just couldn't be "giving" my art away as I am a stay at home mom and that's my only source of income. But I miss painting so much that I thought I'd give it a whirl again.






Yeah, I can't believe there still is so much popularity in collecting stickers from the 80's. I managed to aquire a huge collection in under a year and become a powerseller on eBay by resselling the extra stickers I didn't want or need. I now have a shop on Etsy as well that I am currently selling but they don't go as fast so I thought I'd leave that shop running and not shut it down for Spring like I did on eBay. I added a link at the side there if you want to stop in Etsy and take a peek to see what I 've been doing while away from my art. :o) Here is a picture of some of my most prized unicorn collection as well. Unicorns were and still are my favorite stickers. I have a whole sticker album full of just unicorns now.



Also, times are a little different right now due to the fact that my hubby got laid off in December 4 days before Christmas which was a little hard but we are doing alright and making ends meet AND managing to stay a little ahead of the game as well. But I have my faith in the Lord to keep me going through all this right now...or I'da sunk a long time ago. lol I KNOW it's God keeping our heads above water and I thank Him for that. My hubby tried applying at a few different places (even Walmart for part time to help stretch out the unemployment) and we've heard nothing. Like I tell people "this is not the time to make your boss mad". lol Hang on to what you've got or ask God to find you new work but it's not easy right now on your own finding new work. I hope the economy is treating all you fine folks much better. I am encouraged to hear good news. So that's another reason that I will be painting...to help out around here. I know that being a powerseller for stickers sounds like that would help but it was volume of items sold ($1-$3 items) not volume in dollars. And buying more to keep people interested in coming back to see what's new took some of those profits as did fees and so on. I just got tired of it for now so it's Spring break time. We also have to get ready here for the big annual Renaissance Faire here so I just don't have the time to sit at my computer like I did over the winter. If I'm gonna sit I want to be painting.



Well, I should cut it short here. The warm and beautiful day is calling me outside and it's already 2:22 pm and I haven't been out yet. aaagghhh! lol I will try to be back more often and let you in on what's coming up for art and new ideas. As for right now I don't have too much in mind to share any sneak peeks.



ttfn

Jamie

Guilty! lol

Okay, okay. I am guilty of not writing here for a while. Sowy! I have been busy and at times would forget to stop by and drop in here. lol have been doing more painting and haven't really been keeping up with the posts though.

Nothing much has really changed around here except my husband just barely missed the cut off for lay-offs at his work so we are making some changes to the spending around here to help for what the future holds. And I feel more compelled than ever to help out with finances with my art to help us get caught up so we will be all right if something changes for us. We are, like I said a one income family with me a stay at home mom who paints to help with things around here. So I have been busy with trying to harvest the last of my garden, and painting, and processing apples from my mom's tree for extra food (and yummy too), trying to get caught up on house chores (lol yeah right), buying and selling vintage stickers (my latest craze that I've been trying to quit for now...a childhood being relived that I'm loving), and just living life one day at a time. Especially in these current and crazy days we are all having to deal with right now. But my strong faith in the Lord I know will be thing very thing that gets us through this. I KNOW we will be alright no matter what the future holds.

Anyway, I think what will be next on the easel is an ACEO storage box or two. I also have a couple canvases that will be in the future. One, an underwater scene and another, a lion fantasy. Plus, perhaps another black cat window or two and a black cat canvas as well. I might even try a fall themed folk art canvas but we will see if it gets that far with all of life's interruptions. lol

Okay, one really neat thing is new. I entered 8 ACEOs in the 2008 Year's Best ACEO Awards just about a week and a half ago. They aren't allowing voting yet as entries are still being sorted. I don't know what I will place or how I will begin to decide what great art to vote myself as there are soo many great entries. But it's all in good fun and I am honored to be a part of it. Placing something in one of the entries I listed would be a bonus too but I know there are so many great artists deserving of an award as well. I wish we all could get an award. lol So I will post the results at a later date on that as I don't know much right now myself.

But, I should end here for now as I need to get more done before bed. lol TTFN God bless us all.

Jamie

Finished My BEST Yet!

Well, I have finished my best painting yet. It's a 11" x 14" acrylic on canvas that has taken several days to complete. It is titled " Siberian's Sunset Serenade". It is spoken for at the moment but I will be offering prints as soon as I can get better photos of it.

For my next piece I think I will be painting a black cat vintage window again. Right now much money is needed for an annual family trip we take that is also sponsored by me...otherwise we couldn't go. So it is pretty important that I make a few extra dollars in the next few weeks. lol

Anyway, wanted to share my latest and greatest .:o) Now it's back to work. lol! TTFN

Jamie

Finished!

Alright here is the picture of my finished abstract. I really enjoyed painting it. Painting abstract is like nothing else. You feel free to do whatever. :o) I hope you like it.

Hey, I won second place! YEAH!!

Yes, I won second place in the ACEO YBA Contest. I am so excited. This was my first contest and I was so nervous because of all the great art that was entered. I really can not believe I got second. I thought for sure I was going to place at the highest 3rd or 4th. So I was happy...still am. YEAH!! lol

Anyway, I just completed another piece today. It's a 16" x 20" acrylic on canvas. I can't take pics right now as it's still drying. But I did a modern abstract. I really like all forms of art and mixing colors is so much fun. With abstract there are no rules...AT ALL. No shading or lines in the right spots or the correct colors even. Just paint what the brush directs you to do. I will show pics when it has dried soon here. It's going on eBay as I need the funds for an annual family trip next month. So I am putting the painting in first gear here. lol!

Well I can see that I should end here as I need to clean up and start dinner. TTFN :o)

your friend in art,
Jamie

Okay, So I've Been Away For Awhile

~ I know I haven't been keeping up on this blog. But I promise I will try harder know. lol The summer usually has me so busy that I can't find the time to do everything I need to do. This post I will show off some of my last pieces I missed posting when they were actually finished. Sowy sniff, sniff

I have a possible commission coming up next for me and after that...not sure yet. I entered a piece in the YBAC art contest on eBay (search YBAC ACEO on eBay). It's an ACEO group that I belong to that has a monthly contest and the most unique bidders on an auction entry determines the winner. So far I think I'm in first...for now. lol There is some pretty awesome art on there. Plus, I haven't done anything like this before and it's pretty fun. But I almost didn't get my entry in on time as I started it late then had a birthday party to go to and finally put it on after midnight my (central) time. Whew, close call! lol

I also entered at our local county fair this year. I wasn't so happy with the results as I brought in some pretty nice pieces and came out 3rd and 4th in my categories. There were a couple of really nice pieces from other artists that I was a bit nervous about but some was a little less not so and I lost to them as well. I figured the judging seemed to be determined by size for one and framing for two and not so much as quality and skill level. I was frustrated and confused. Oh well! It doesn't help that all the previous years I entered I got no lower than second and even brought home a few grand champions. But I really think the judging or the judge is different now as I haven't entered for a few years. My kids entered some items as well and got 3rd and 4th. I was pretty proud of them because they had some really good competition as well.

Right now my husband is on vacation so we've been pretty busy trying to get things done around here before he goes back. And at the moment we are having a new gas furnace installed to help with this winter's heating costs. Gas is almost 3-4 times cheaper than oil that we had previously. Though the furnace is pretty pricey we should actually be saving money by next year hopefully.

And the kids go back to school on the 2nd so it's pretty busy as summer winds down here. I kind of hate the thought of those long winter days on the way. I like being able to go outside and not be chased in because of a frozen nose. lol!

Anyway, I think I shall end here for now as I am off to go relax before I have to get more done. TTFN!

your friend in art,
Jamie

P.S. I did finish the angel...look below. :o) I think I might do another but human figures are not easy for me.