Genesis

New work title: Genesis
Date created: March 2012
Dimension: 20 inch round convexo canvas


Mixed media: Glass nuggets and spheres in varying sizes, cotton cloth immersed in acrylic paint and mediums, glitter.  This is a very intricate and complicated artwork that is best appreciated in close live view.  The camera is unable to capture the multi-dimension of form and shine.  Please contact artist to view the art in person.  


This art is currently available.

Making Art with Kids

Today was quite inspirational.  I hosted a birthday party at my studio with 11 year old Morgan and her friends.  We made art together and it was really fun.  After the party ended, I was immersed into it myself for a while.  Great day!

Not creating

I am not doing anything.  I am not making art.  Lately, life was about refocusing on other things.  One big area of focus has been diet, and I have been detoxing and sleeping a lot.  Feeling kind of tired of the gallery and curating art and all that.  Its a big puzzle why I got a big art cool-down going on, but I believe it is about all the transitions I am experiencing.


Another area that has been interesting is growing up to understand what is love.  I don't think we ever truly think about things we already have.  Somehow people are always thinking about things they don't have, or think they need to have.  For me, it is evaluating some pretty philosophically loaded issues.


I've read somewhere that the cause for unhappiness is expecting for people to be/act certain way.  When they don't fulfill those expectations we become unhappy.  However, one person can never be the reason, cause, or cure for our happiness or unhappiness.  So you are either happy or unhappy.  You either accept people or you don't accept them.  It's your own choice.


2012 for me started sluggish in every sphere of my life, art included.  For some strange reason the fire is not there, and I am fine with the rainy season.  I am also fine with avoiding all caffeine, meat, cheese and all kinds of processed food.  Every day my body & mind feel better and I become healthier.


One thing I am doing is sleeping 12 hours a day.  This may be unusual to some, but when you are trying to detox your body it comes naturally.  It feels great.  Occasionally I wake up, have some water and continue.  It's a dream land almost as interesting as art making.  I get into all kinds of situations in my dreams.  Surroundings are great, and people I meet there are also very interesting and unpredictable.


Good night!

14444 Page Views and Hall of Fame/Shame

All right, all right... I log in today and see my blog had 14444 page views.  Whoa!  That's a lot of views.  I am not that frequent blogger, so if i do the math and divide these views on 3 years approximately, it comes to be around 13 views per day. 

So, what's going on for those who follow/view this blog?  Well, although I can't tell you all of my secrets, one thing that is sure is that I have jumped on a bandwagon and painted Des Moines skyline, lol.  Yes, every artist pretty much at some point did Des Moines, our city, and I am now either in a Hall of Fame, or Hall of Shame, not sure.. 

So, here are the two pics, inspiration pic and art pic, so you can see how it happened.  My reference inspiration pic was on my iPhone, and that's how I painted it.  Held my iPhone to view the tiny image, and kind of enlarged and stylized in my own way.  You can't say technology and art don't mix well, because yeah, they do.

Next, I took this image of finished art and posting here.  Not the sharpest pic, but hey, it was taken with a phone.  Let me know how you use technology in production of your art, or anything else you are doing.

 Art

Inspiration pic

Regatta

On a recent art show in Perry, i was charged with demonstrating acrylic painting.  This is a result of two days in the show, plus preparation before I went there.  The thick texture was applied and dry before I started this demonstration.

One thing I have noticed demonstrating is nice, but it lets you pay less attention to the visitors of your booth.  I was in the bad mood during the show since I was in a somewhat crunched up space and my demonstration table was pretty much taking the entire space.  But, the art turned out beautiful.  It is my own interpretation of a boat race with colorful sails flowing around. 

 Regatta 3 (20 x 24 each)

Regatta detail

SOLD

Dwelling in texture

Once again, I said my art is getting a lot better.   After hundreds of pieces created and sold, it is no wonder.  I know my medium as the back of my hand and now we are manipulating that medium even further.  Pushing the acrylic mediums to dazzle and amaze, pushing the texture and sparkle to an extreme.
At this point I feel that I am past the point of experimentation with glass and other additives to paint, I have finally learned how it behaves and what it will do.  Not that the result is always predictable, but I approach each new project with much more confidence.

Here is the latest result, artworks that push the textures and mixed media to an extreme.

 Aquarium 12 x 12

Trepidation 6 x 6

New Art - A Collection

I am working on an eclectic collection of small paintings for a client of mine.  The idea is to create a collection that seems acquired over time.  Here are some of the new artworks that go into this collection.  Let me know how you like these new pieces.  Thanks!

Small Forest 2 (6 x 6 each)

Basketball 2 (5 x 5 each)

Continental Divide 2 (6 x 6 each)

River 5 (6 x 6 each)

2012 Desk Calendar - A new art each month

DeCode

Title: DeCode
Medium: Mixed Media on Linen
Size: 24 inches x 96 inches
Where to buy: Studio Gallery in West Glen

Emerald City

Detail

Size: 12 x 12 inches
Medium: Mixed media on canvas (glass, glitter, paint)
SOLD

New ending is a new beginning too

New ending, 36 x 60 on linen

New ending 36 x 60 on linen

detail

detail

scale

Title: New ending

Size: 36 x60

Medium: Acrylic on linen, mixed media

Materials used in creation: glass spheres, acrylic mediums, ground white marble, glitter

Price: SOLD

This art is white. The white means a new beginning. There are traces of the past but yet, in every ending there is a beginning.

The canvas that was used in the creation of this art was stolen, ripped and repaired. On the back of the artwork, I wrote: "2 drunk buttheads stole this canvas from my studio gallery 4/23/2011, another man found it by the dumpster the following week, thief was scared, the man took the art home thinking it is nice, but after the news story turned it to West Des Moines police... We fixed the wounds painted anew, the new ending is a new beginning too!"

I hope you enjoy my art. Let me know what you think!

You can also see it at my studio gallery.

New custom order

Painted 14 x 18 on linen

Picture of the actual building

Video tour of my art studio gallery

Moonlight

Diptych, overall dimensions: 30 x 84 inches

Seen at indirect light

Size: 30 x 84 inches on cotton canvas, framed

Medium: acrylic and organic glass media

Price: SOLD

The new artwork titled Moonlight has a soothing quality of neutrals and moon-like silver shimmer dispersed with organic media: sticks, glass nuggets and small spheres. My new artistic direction consists of a lot of experimentation with glass and the reason is this: When I create a nice piece of art, and if you turn off the lights, the art is dead with everything else. However, glass is able to capitalize at any small, indirect source of light and creates a completely new refreshing feeling in the room. Instead of always having to have lights pointed at artwork, we can now enjoy it with limited light streaming from a neighboring room.

This art is only available at Art by Magic studio gallery. SOLD

New Work

I have a gorgeous new piece titled "Moonlight". It is based on texture, moonlight shine and glass nuggets, organic media. I have decided not to post this piece on-line, and to ask my fans and followers to visit me at the opening reception at my new studio gallery in West Glen. You can see it there:

When: Friday, May 6, 2011, 5:00 - 9:00 PM

Where: Art by Magic, West Glen Town Center

Address: 5515 Mills Civic Parkway, Suite 135, West Des Moines, IA, 50266

Pretty Necklace

Size: 12 x 12 inches - SOLD

Mixed media on canvas: acrylic, beach glass, glass nuggets, glass spheres

A necklace, well, to adorn your walls of course!

Take me to the River

Size: 8 x 8

Medium: Mixed media (beach glass, glass spheres, glitter and acrylic media on canvas)

The spontaneous progression of my 2010 work that started exploring dry mix-ins for art creation leads me to play with glass and other sparkly elements. If not lighted properly, paintings become dead objects. Through experimenting I have discovered wonderful properties of glass. It is not only reflective but it catches the faintest light source in the room. Therefore this new line of work is not only different but it truly capitalizes on regular living conditions, sometimes poor and indirect light. This and similar artwork may be available at my online store.

Postcards !!!

If you are romantic like me you probably like snail mail. I still write letters, notes, send postcards... I make sure when I go on a trip to bring addresses with me and send a simple hi to my friends and family back at home. It is simply a nice thing to do. When I receive a postcard my face lights up! Postcards are good mail to send and receive! Have you heard of postcrossing?

My collection of postcards is expanding. First, I made postcards of only my artwork but now I am including some photographs as well. It is a collaboration with my husband who is good at taking photos and also completing graphic art projects. Our latest design is an oversized postcard of a pretty lily flower. See more postcards at my online store.

You can find more about postcrossing at http://www.postcrossing.com/

New way to reproduce art in a cool way

I invented this & totally take the credit.... I just think it is so cool to mount the photographic prints on wooden blocks. I am sure it has been done before, but I did come up with this idea on my own. The blocks rock! It makes an otherwise expensive piece of art affordable in a smaller but equally fun and interesting form. Well, I am keeping the original forever but you can have "Contrasts" reproductions on wooden blocks. Let me know if you like them!

This item has SOLD. Let me know if you would like me to make another one like this.

New Product: Inspirational Mouse Pad

Occasionally I execute a good idea like this one: inspirational mouse pads. Look at your mousepad, how does it look? Is it pretty dirty, past it's prime, plain single color? Maybe it is time to replace it with one of my refreshing designs that will help you keep a positive outlook.

Available at my online store.