Willowing Arts: A Year of Light (January)

It's good to be a lifelong learner!

 

I'll Always Be Behind You...

"Once upon a time there was a young girl who adored her little sister...
She loved her as a baby and as a little girl. 
She took care of her, played with her, and told her,
"I'll always be behind you..."

This image makes me swoon.

I love the story it tells.

Maybe because I was (am) a little sister with a big sister a decade older...

It's just so very sweet. 

I love doing commissioned paintings.  

I love hearing the stories of what makes their image special.  

I love the extra stress and pressure of knowing I have to get it right. (I know, that one's weird.) I love the honor of putting their story on canvas.

It starts with a text...

"You don't know me, but I've seen your work... I'm wondering if you could paint something for me."

Then it moves on to how she found me and asking to what she's hoping for. 

"I don't have the original photo, but I have a picture of it in my phone...  The photo is 50 years old and kind of blurry...  Some of it is cut off." 

Oh, no... what have I gotten myself into? It wouldn't be the first time I've heartily agreed to paint something then wondered how in the world I would manage to pull it off...

Then the image appeared on my phone screen.

Oh... it's precious. Tell me more...

Next there are the logistics... What size? How soon do you need it? Are the specific clothes important? How about the background? 

Here we go!

Click the little video and watch the process with me! (It's about 30 seconds long.)

I was captivated by the scene.

It didn't take long to complete the oil painting.

However, I wasn't finished with the image.

I did it again in a fanciful, magical way.

And, I still wasn't finished.

I wanted one more in a soft, dreamy way

Sigh... I only got to enjoy seeing them for a short time. I already gave them to the "big sister" to give to the "little sister." I hope she is surprised and pleased.

Do you have a favorite?

Original Oil Painting on 10"x 20" Wrapped Canvas

Original Acrylic Painting on 9"x 12" Art Paper

Original Mixed Media on 9"x 12" Art Paper

[SOLD]

Word Weaver Art Blurb Book 2024

 It came today!
Yay!

Another year... another collection of paintings... another little Blurb book.

When I took those first lessons back in 2007, I wouldn't have dreamed that I might still be painting  in 2024.  

When I wrote my first blog posts back in 2009, I couldn't have imagined that I'd keep it up, that I'd love it, that I'd "meet" so many friends.

I have a Blurb book for every year since I began. I am a huge fan of Blurb and would recommend them any time.

My little collection of Word Weaver Art books grew today.

If you'd like a peek inside, click HERE.  Once it opens, click PREVIEW.  Then you can click the pages to flip through the book. If you read my blog, you've basically already read it, but it's fun to see it all put together in a book format.

Do you know my favorite color combination... go ahead... take a guess. 😊

Mosaic Daisies

I know I've tried a lot of different art mediums in the last couple of years, but his was a first. 

My WordSpark group was challenged with the word "Mosaic." 

I thought this one would be easy.  I've made a lot of stepping stones with concrete and bits of color. I'll just whip this one out in a no time.

Yeah... that's what I thought...

No... that's not how it worked out...

I decided that I'd like to give doing a "real" mosaic a try. So, where does one go to learn something brand new? YouTube, of course.

I have more art supplies than... well... I have anything I could ever need for any craft... except for...

... mosaic adhesive... and grout... and colored glass shards... and glass cutters...

It looked so simple.

It was not.

But, I did try again and gave new life to an old frame.

I will eventually do another... I do have the supplies after all...

The top one is done on a wooden plaque. (It was a plaque that the Harley place had given Ron when he bought his motorcycle. I just "upcycled" it.) 

the second one was done on art paper and made from scraps of paper I'd painted on.

I Like... (1/25)

Thank you to Leeanne of Not Afraid of Color for reminding me to notice things I like. 

I like having my word-of-the-year words
where I can open a door and be reminded.

I like giving my delivery guys a treat when it's time
for all the Christmas packages to be delivered.

I like looking out the window and seeing
a pink unicorn... grandkid helping Pop-E with the yard work.

I like sewing little bags.

I like to watch them come running when I shake the sunflower seed container.

I like my kitty. He keeps a close eye on me.

I like playing Wordle, Connections, and a game of Double Free Cell every morning.

I like getting stockings ready for our little ones... and our big ones.