Behind - a new master piece by Rhys

This is something that my little man produced this evening, it was done in black marker pen and he sat for a very long time concentrating very hard. I think this is a beautiful piece and told him that it should go on my blog for you all to see!!!

Personally when I look at it I see dancers! What do you see?

Illustration Friday - Subterranean also GPP Street Team 'Grabbing a tissue'

Well I didn't think I'd make this Illustration Friday as I just couldn't make up my mind what I wanted to do but the thing that was always coming to mind when I thought about this word was 'under the surface of the sea'. I love painting mermaids but this one is a bit different as I decided to try painting a picture over two different canvas'. I really enjoyed it and felt that it helped me to simplify things, I didn't need much of a back ground as I just wanted to create the feeling of movement like she was gliding under the water. I used lots more texture than normal with this and I'm getting quite addicted, I used tissue paper and texture paste with acrylic paints and had lots of fun slapping it all on!

I think I might pop this one in my shop!

I also just discovered another challenge site, Michelle Ward's GPP Street Team. This month they're 'grabbing a tissue'. If you would like to find out more about this site click here

(Sunday Sketch) Good news: My baby finally looses his first tooth, Bad news: He accidentally ate it!

Hi guys I just had to post this as I thought my little mans note was too funny not to share, I especially love the diagram that he included just in case!!

'Autumn' the fairy

Hi everyone, here is my new fairy which I'm going to add to my shop. I had so much fun with the mixed media on my last fairy that I had another go, using more tissue paper and patterned paper as well as inktense pencils and paint. I have also bought a varnish that is a spray on instead of a paint on as I was finding that it would smudge some of my mixed media pieces, these photos were taken before the varnish as I wasn't sure how it would turn out but it looks good and is just drying now!!

This week was very lucky and honoured to receive a few blog awards from some lovely people. Thank you so much, it's been a crazy weekend this weekend with lots of family gatherings as well as the inlaws coming to stay so I'm afraid I haven't been able to respond to them properly, I shall get on to that this week!!

My Geisha is going to a new home....

I just thought I would show you my Geisha painting now it's been framed. I have a buyer for her that happened to see her through my husbands face book. This lady is very excited to come and pick her up today, she loves Japan and anything Japanese especially Geisha's. I'll be sad to see her go but I'm glad she's going somewhere to be enjoyed, I think I'll have to paint another one now as she has proven quite popular through my pendants as well. I might try a different pose and different colours!!
Anyway thought you'd like to see her all framed as she looks so beautiful!!!

I have two photos as one shows how bright the colours are but there is a flash in the middle of it and the other one you can see the detail on the frame better....

New ribbons to update my shop!!!

Hi everyone, well finally I received some new bits and pieces to play with today. I have found an ebay site that sells these multicoloured voil ribbon necklaces. I ordered loads in all sorts of colours so that depending on the Japanese paper or the print of an original painting of mine that I'm using, I can use the appropriate colour to compliment the pendant. I like my boho style chain and silver ball chain but these ribbons I hope will add another option. I really like the ribbons and am wearing one myself now. It's interesting to see how a different necklace or chain can change the look of a pendant. Here are two that I added to my shop this afternoon.

Mixed Media Monday 'It's not all black and white'

This week really took me out of my comfort zone, I love colour so to create a piece where I have to restrict myself was hard work but I managed to incorporate quite a few colours into it in the end :0)

I used a canvas board then glued some scrap booking papers to it and painted over them in white so that you couldn't really see the colours but still the shapes. I just used black and white acrylic paint and painted over some of the scrap booking designs. I also used some black and white print for the newspaper for the trees in the back ground. I quite enjoyed creating this piece as it's quite different from my usual pieces.

The Tooth Fairy..........

I LOVE being a mum. Ok sometimes I might feel like pulling my hair out but it's times like this that I really really enjoy it and I feel very lucky! Rhys who's 6 nearly 7 is my oldest and finally, after lots of waiting (by him) he announced excitedly the other day that he has a wobbly tooth!! He is so pleased with himself and often wobbles it proudly when he thinks we're not looking. So that got me thinking that the tooth fairy is going to need to pay a visit soon!! Hopefully it won't take too long to fall out as he's very impatient heheheh. So what is the going rate for a tooth these days? Does anyone know?

For this piece I used some scrap booking papers and glued them to the canvas, then I painted over it in acrylic paint and used my iridesant paints to bring some sparkle to her dress and shoes. I also used my inktense pencils. I haven't painted over scrap booking paper on a canvas before but I really enjoyed!!! I think I might do some more characters like this, and I'm thinking of putting this little lady in my etsy shop!!! Happy Friday everyone!

Mixed Media Monday - Enchanted

Well it's been quite a while since I participated in Mixed Media Monday. Since my interest in making pendants has grown I haven't kept up up with these weekly challenges as well as I used to. This week though I was already working on this piece which I had originally started for Illustration Fridays 'Propogate', but didn't finish on time and really didn't feel that it was working for that theme. So when I saw the theme for this weeks Mixed Media Monday I was very happy as I felt it fit it perfectly. I'm so glad it did as it made me persevere with a piece that I wasn't very happy with but now I quite like :0)

I've used acrylic paints, some texture paste, butterfly stickers that I actually had decorating my light box and come copper metalic acrylic paint. I also tried using some new crackle medium but it didn't seem to work perhaps my colours weren't different enough for it to show up or it could have been the way that I put it on, I'm going to keep trying with the crackle medium though as I'd like to learn how to use it properly.

Illustration Friday - Perspective

Dorothy has a long journey ahead of her on the yellow brick road.......

I didn't get to finish my piece for last weeks Illustration Friday but I have created a canvas which i'm putting the finishing touches to, I shall post it up when it's done. Very tired today due to my 3 year old keeping me up half the night. Both my boys seem to have suffered from night terrors at one time or another poor little things. Hopefully tonight he'll have some sweet dreams.....

A new pendant and a big thank you to a lovely blog friend!!!

Hi guys, as promised here is my new pendant that I listed in my shop today! I am waiting on a delivery of some pretty ribbons to put my pendants on so as soon as they arrive I will be listing the rest.

Also a big thank you to Kelly from Kelly Berkey Designs for this pretty pendant I won last week on a giveaway on the Boho Markets blog. Thank you Kelly I have worn it out to lunch with the girls already and shown it off!!!

....and here is what I made with a print of the painting

I decided that I wanted to make Clarey her own Welsh lady pendant so she could carry a little piece of Wales around with her always and here it is!

Tomorrow I'm going to be listing some new pendants that I have been working on in my etsy shop so keep watching this space!! :0)

A present for a very special person.

Well here is my new Welsh lady, which was requested by my cousin Clarey who is about to pop with child number two! Clarey like myself, emmigrated to Oz from Wales however she's still in the 'early years' having only been here about 6 years. I know how hard it is when you make a commitment like this which means that half of your family and friends are on the other side of the world. Sometimes it's harder than others and at the moment I think Clarey is missing her other home and the people there with this special arrival fast approaching. So she requested that I paint a Welsh lady for her new baby's room. I wanted to add a special touch to this one and I've painted some of the Swansea coastline as seen from my house where I used to live, I hope she recognises this and that it helps her feel like she always has a part of home with her and her new family.
I painted this one on canvas with acrylic paints but i tried something new, I glued some tissue paper to the background to give it a bit of extra texture. I'm also going to do something extra special with the print so i'll show you that tomorrow when it's finished.
I hope she likes it as I'm giving it to her tomorrow, I'm pretty confident that she won't be checking my blog tonight (she's too busy putting her swollen feet up and nursing a sore back) not long now flower!!!

Illustration Friday - Adrift

Just a quick one this week as i didn't want to run out of time.

Little Benjamin got more than he bargained for when he hopped on top of this giant balloon. Hope he's not adrift for too much longer as it's looking cold out there!!!

I painted this in acrylic paint, used some crackle medium on the sky as well as pen and my inkense pencils to make him pop out more.

New painting and my one year 'blogiversary'

Hi everyone, as I mentioned yesterday today is my one year anniversary of blogging! I really never thought that I would still be doing this a year later. But I have found it so addictive and rewarding I don't want to stop!!! It's so nice to have an outlet for my art as otherwise I'd be painting pieces that no one ever saw, I've also been so inspired to try new things like making pendants and jewellery, opening an etsy shop etc that I wouldn't have dreamt of doing if not for the encouragement of my blog friends, so thank you!!!

I thought I would show you my new painting, I don't know if you remember my Geisha lady? Well she has become quite popular (as a pendant) and I even have someone who wants to buy the actual painting which is very exciting for me, I'm just in the process of framing it so I'll show you a picture of it when it's done. I'm hoping to continue with this theme of beautiful women in traditional clothes and want to try painting ladies from all over the world. This next one is an Indian lady. I really LOVE the jewellery, clothes, make up, everything about the Indian culture, not to mention the food!! I find the clothes so colourful and beautiful that i had to paint my own version. So here she is, I painted it her in acrylic paint, inktense pencils and used some texture paste on the background. I googled some photos of Indian ladies in traditional dress and took ideas for a pose from one, clothes from another and added my own flare. I find that it's good to have some point of reference for these paintings otherwise I'd get lost with all the details.I painted her on MDF wood just like the Geisha. I think she'll look nice as a pendant too. Hope you like her.....

...and the winner of my OWOH giveaway is ......

True she was picked at random by my very helpful and lovely hubby!!

Thank you everyone for taking part in my giveaway it was so nice to meet so many wonderful talented people and make many new blog friends, I had so much fun on this years magic carpet ride!!! It was my first time and won't be my last. I can't believe I had 157 people enter my giveaway!!

I have also realised that tomorrow is my one year blogaversary! I can't believe I've been doing this for a year now, I never thought that I was going to enjoy it as much as I have and it's really become part of my day to day life, i've learned so much from other artists and gained so much confidence with my work through lovely feedback and encouragement I have received from so many people. I feel like I really have made some wonderful friends and enjoy visiting you all so much! Thank you!!!

Some new pieces

This last week has been very busy for me. With the OWOH event happening and soon coming to an end :0( I have been visiting lots of wonderful people and it's quite hard to keep up with. I've been working on a new painting which I shall post when it's finished and Ive been making some new pendants. I also made a bracelete the other day which matches a pendant that is already in my shop. I will be listing these pendants but I'm currently waiting for some new leather look necklaces to arrive which I bought on ebay so I shall take some pictures for my shop then.

Illustration Friday - Muddy

It's not just boys that like to get all filthy and play mud pies. This little girl looks a little guilty after she's had a fun time playing outside in the mud!!

Sunday Sketches

This is my piece for the lovely Sophia's Sunday sketches. If you haven't been there already, take a trip to this lovely lady's blog! She is a very inspiring woman!!

This is a doodle that I started a couple of weeks ago and when I sat down today to sketch someting up for the challenge I decided to finish it, I didn't have any plan in my head I just sat in front of the tele and doodled. I'm really glad that I finished it and it was so nice to just sit and draw for a change. Since I've started making jewellery and painting alot I don't often just sit and draw.

If you would like to participate in Sophia's Sunday Sketches click here

New pendant 'Summer fun'

Here is the first of my pendants made from my recent canvas! This is made from premium hand cut glass and is now listed in my etsy shop!!! I really love how these sillouhette paintings are turning out as pendants they are quite striking!