A different kind of altered book

I am not sure what you would compare this to. It's almost an accordian style, but not quite. I first glued together pages from a book...two pages at a time. When that was dry I used a cd as a stencil and cut out all those circles...all 23 of them. I folded them in such a way that when the 'book' was finished, you could just open the 'pages' by pulling on the left and right side, and it would pull open, almost like opening up a flower. I then went to work on collaging and painting the circles. I attached them, cut the edges with my decorating scissors, and finished it off with a pretty ribbon. This was for my daughter's birthday, so each circle represents a letter in her full name. It was a lot of work, but very addicting!

A multi-media painting

I finally have a minute to put up this latest painting. I call it 'NO REASON'..and that is for the fact that I just know people are going to ask me why the two canvases? lol I just figure maybe this will answer the question to their satisfaction!! LOL I just really like the look of it...as I knew that I would.

Anyway, this painting measures 10" x 30" and is done with acrylic paint, various types of paper, glass grit and a textured gel. Some of the paper was used for texture underneath the paint, and some was used on top for the jacket/top that the lady has on. I am doing another one right now in this series. These paintings are going to be submitted to be accepted for a show and sale. Wish me luck! ;)

A very busy week so far

I will be posting a few more pictures very soon. One of the items I have done in this last little while is a birthday gift for my oldest, so I will have to wait until after this Sunday to post that. I have also just finished a painting, which I will put up very soon. Good thing I have painting to keep me busy...since we are getting a really awful late snow storm here and have had almost a foot of snow! Might as well stay inside!

Five more pictures

These paintings are older but they were each part of a "growing" faze in my art career. The first one, Portrait of Paul, was really my first one where I tried to add abstract elements to it. I found that this was my favourite part of the painting! ;)

The one of the lady and the tulip...or as I call it... "Red Two-Lips".It was unlike anything I had done before, and so will likely be my favourite acrylic painting of all the ones I have done. It's simple, but quirky...and that's what I love about it. It was a gift for a good pal of mine.

The third one is my first triple canvas painting and it was the one I did of San Francisco. I wanted to do a very abstract painting for this one. My family and I went there in 2005 and had the BEST time! I really love that city and would go back in a second!!

The fourth painting is my first..."let's just see what happens" painting. I didn't have any plan at all...and I really love how it turned out. I call it "Red"(which is my favourite colour).

The fifth is actually a fridge magnet...believe it or not! lol It's only 3" by 4"...and it was way too much fun! I don't know...I tend to want to challenge myself a lot. This was a big challenge as at the time I was doing a lot of these fridge magnets and selling them. Eventually I will put most of the designs I did up on the blog.

Well, since it's my birthday today, this is likely going to be it for now!

Things aren't working in 'blog city'

I had a few more painting pictures to put up but the blog site seems to be having issues tonight. Will try again tomorrow!

The family

Thought I would put up a few pictures of the family, and then add about three more paintings from the recent past.

This first picture is of myself and oldest daughter, Jacquelyn. She will be 22 soon, and is engaged to Joe..."Ghostbuster Joe"! LOL

The second is of our "camera happy" daughter Danielle...who is 20.

The third is of my husband Paul...who is not only a programmer, but a handyman as well. A multi-talented fellow!

Oh, and I can't forget Martini...our crazy Tuxedo kitty. Follows me everywhere I go! :)

More gifts from the past

This is it for today. These next two are a portrait of my father with my daughter when she was a baby, (Acrylic), and a portrait of that same daughter (Jacquelyn), when she was 14 years old. That one was done in coloured pencil.

Some gifts from the past

So, these next few paintings, drawings (coloured pencil), were gifts that were given to various people in my life.

The first one is of my wonderful sister, Diane. She passed away at the too early age of 48 of breast cancer. Unfortunately, as I found out many years later, I have the breast cancer gene, which was likely true for Diane as well.

The guy I had a 'thing' for...

The next two are of David Soul...who played Hutch.

Confession time

I have lived with a secret long enough!! LOL It's not that big a deal, and most people would say..why was that a secret...but at the time it was my very private 'thing'...that I didn't feel like sharing with anyone other than the people who were also into it. I had a thing for Starsky and Hutch. Okay..I said it!! LOL (Okay...it's not drugs or alcohol, but it was definitely an addiction). So, because of this...I did some drawings that I am very proud of. They were mostly given to people who were also in the 'club'...although as I recall I did get paid for one of them. Anyway...without further ado I will show what I did during this time in my life. Which was, btw, about 7 years ago.

The first drawing is of Paul Michael Glazer...who played Starsky in the TV series.

More Altered books

I forgot to mention in my last post that the altered book I did for Danielle was one that could be hung up on the wall. This is a relatively new idea. (Not mine...saw it in a book! lol). Anyway, the next book I am showing you is one I did for my son-in-law to be, Joe. (He gets a lot of my art work! lol) This one was for Christmas of 2007. He has said in the past that he would like to have his own restaurant, one that served food from all over the world. I took that idea and ran with it. This altered book is like a menu...in which almost every country is depicted. (I will only upload half of the pictures of the book as there are a lot of pages.) This book was, again...A LOT OF FUN! :-))) I figure if you can't have fun in your life, what is the point? We are all here for only a short time, so we might as well laugh while we are here! Oh, and before I end this off for today, a couple more quotes from some of my favourite artists:

I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn't say any other way.. things I had no words for. (Georgia O'Keefe)

The emotions are sometimes so strong that I work without knowing it. The strokes come like speech. (Vincent van Gogh)

Altered books

So, I decided one day to try altered books as I had seen a book on the subject and was fascinated by it. I had done one or two that weren't as good as I would have liked, but then started to get better at it. This one was for my daughters' 20th birthday. (See daughter Danielle in picture.) She is in "Holistic Health" in college and this altered book is depicting different aspects of that subject. I took a LOT of artistic license, though! I had a lot of fun with this book, as I do with all altered books! They are way too much fun! lol

Extremely enjoyable

So, going to lighten things up a bit today. I have a few 'fun' pictures to show. The first is a caricature of my future son-in-law, Joe. He loves the Ghostbuster movie, so, I figured let's make him a ghostbuster! LOL I had a lot of fun with this one...I was sorry when I was done!

This painting is called "Family Dysfunction". All I have to say about this one is...doesn't everyone have a dysfunctional family? ;)

This is one of my favourite paintings. It's called "I Adorn You" and it is directly related to my breast cancer experiences. The lady in the painting is looking up at a window...what would she see if she looked in that window? What might the future bring? Even though she has lost her hair, she can still 'adorn' her body in different ways. Whether it be through jewelery or flowers. She is hopeful, but still grounded in reality....as portrayed by the simple daisies that surround her.

This next painting is called "Searching". It was done for my daughter Danielle's 19th birthday. At the time she wasn't sure what she wanted to do for a career and was searching for answers. This is what I came up with.

A new week begins

It's Monday the 14th of April. Today I will put up a few more pictures to show. None of the ones I put up are available as they have been spoken for long ago. Most were gifts as this is the way I have done it in the past. I find that if I am intending the painting or book to be a gift, it really gets me going on it. I look forward to each day and can hardly wait to start.

This first painting is called "Our Love Is Forever". It was to celebrate the 30 years that my husband Paul and I have been together. We met in October of 1977 at a symphony concert and have been together ever since.

Because I have so many pieces to show, I will add a few more today. It will take me quite a while to put them all up. This next painting is called "Floral Cascade". It is done with the street where I grew up, in mind. Especially the flowers, which my father was a master at growing, and the three houses in the picture which signifies my two best friends homes and mine.

Art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life. Pablo Picasso

Art is a lie that makes us realize truth. Pablo Picasso

Great things are done by a series of small things brought together. Vincent Van Gogh

A New Day

It might sound a bit corny, but I think of this blog as a new beginning for me. After the last few years where I have dealt with numerous health issues including cancer, it is my safe haven from this crazy world we live in. Nothing can ever replace it and I give thanks every day that I have it in my life. I will be putting up pictures of my paintings, collages and altered books and will let you know when they are available for public sale. I will also indicate whether there is any meaning behind the painting or if it just IS. Sometimes the painting comes from deep inside of me, and sometimes it's just for fun. That's where the altered books come in. I think of them as my 'fun time'....and I get completely addicted to making them. The collaging is something I have just added, and more often than not, it is included in with the paintings. That is something that has just happened in the last year, and my days of painting now just speed by...I never look at the clock...except to say.."No!! I need more time!!" LOL I will also be putting up quotes from my favourite people...artists. Pablo Picasso is my all-time favourite artist. After that comes Frida Kahlo, Vincent Van Gogh, Jackson Pollock, and so many others that I admire.