Oh so lucky!

Hi everyone!

Two new paintings done on small box canvases with acrylic paint and felt tip. I really like these two, I personally prefer the colours of the orange and turquoise painting but the purple is sweet too. I was thinking the other day about horse shoes being a symbol for luck and I remembered that a stables I rode at used to have one on there mounting block to touch for luck before a ride out. I also got to thinking about the game 'Horseshoes' so I did some research and it's actually an official sport, you learn something new everyday! I found some information on it here.

So I imagine everyone is preparing for Halloween? I'm preparing my Crow costume at the moment, still need to make my wings though so I'd better get on it! Have a good Halloween weekend all :-)

New banner, an online revamp!

So I decided that my online places are in need of an update, I have changed my blog banner and also my Etsy banner. Even though they are not identical I think they still feel similar enough to work together in my head. I am also in the process of updating my Etsy shop and Flickr account, I have let them go lately as I have been  far to busy to give them any attention.

I also have new work to show you which I will do very soon...It feels good to have refresh of all these online places!


My new Etsy Shop banner!

I am a little sad to let go of the birds that have been on my banners for so long now, I did sneak the little yellow bird with 'socks' in to both banners though, I don't think I could lose the birds completely..that would be a step too far! ;-)

Treasury

I actually put this treasury together a while ago now (back in September)!! I am now in the process of tidying up loose ends  so I wanted to share my first Treasury with you.  I plan to do this regularly now as not only do I love searching Etsy for treasures I also love seeing other peoples treasury collections so I am hoping you will like to see mine! Here we are:

For the love of clay

Illustration Friday 'Racing'

Acrylic painting with beads and thread. I had a lot of fun with this one!

Is it finished yet?

Here it is, the painting that I just couldn't finish, the one I kept returning to and tweaking. I  finally figured it out a couple of days ago. The problem was that the horses mane was far to tidy looking (I realised after painting the piece in the previous post that I like my horses to have a scruffy appearance)! So I changed his mane, that was much better, but still one more thing needed changing...The colour, he just wasn't RED enough. So now I have a very red horse with a scruffy mane and I'm a happy painter. I hope you like this one. :-)

Painting

Hey all! I hope you are well, it's flipping freezing here at the moment, actually it's colder inside my flat than outside as its a sunny day outside, but still, right now I feel cold..I'm clutching mammoth sized cups of tea for warmth and the steam from my cooked breakfast this morning almost made it impossible to see what I was eating..Haha! Still I am a few months away from putting drinks in thermal mugs, wearing a sleeping bag over my clothes whilst doing art, wearing thermal base layers and having frozen water pipes...So I shouldn't grumble really!

Okay so I finished another painting yesterday, there was no plan to this I just started a painting and this is what happened. I quite like it although it doesn't really look like something I'd create. It almost looks too cute, however I do really like the texture and colours in it, it has a nice optimistic feeling to it that I'm really enjoying.

Introducing Laura

Hey all! I wanted to introduce you to my good friend and textile designer Laura Redford. I met Laura at university where we both worked on the bar together, she was studying design, I was studying Fine Art. After university Laura went on to do an MA course in textile design at the university of Falmouth in Cornwall. Laura has now finished her 2 year course and is now taking the step into freelance textile design.
Her final designs for her MA were inspired by the animals and plants of the South Pacific and Africa, as a result the collection is very colorful and bold, perfect for injecting some sunshine into your life!
Laura has recently got an Etsy shop and a website up and running and I thought you may like to see her fabulous designs and find out more about her work.

The image to the right is from Lauras sketchbook, I adore this image featuring tropical birds and really wanted to share it with you, the simple colour and line work make a very attractive  image.                      

Below is one of Laura's final designs for her MA show, this design is printed on Habotai Silk, all of Laura's designs are digitally printed using a Mimaki Digital Textile printer in Falmouth, Cornwall, UK.

Laura's designs also lend themselves to greeting cards and clothing! This 'flamingos and coconuts' card design is one of my favorites.

This dress is so pretty, I need to get one of these for next summer, (Laura are you listening)??! :-)

If you'd like to find out more you can view Laura's website here, her blog here, and her etsy shop over here!   

Illustration Friday 'spooky'

Go me! At last an entry in on time! :-) So for this weeks word I got thinking about foxes and the noises that they make. You know the scary screaming noise the females make and the other noises that the cubs make when they begin howling. I've heard these sounds many times living in the countryside in Devon and they always gave me the creeps!
So I began researching foxes online and I came across this article about a sighting of a black fox in the UK, the article is from the Telegraph newspaper and is about a sighting of a black fox in a grave yard in Lancashire. The article goes on to explain how black foxes are very rare in the UK....

David Dunlop, Lancashire Wildlife Trust conservation officer, said: "Only one black fox has been seen and, as far as I know, it's the only one to be seen in this country before," he said "In North America, I think it's about one in five red foxes are black but that's because they were introduced from Europe."

 

Image from here

So I thought why not draw a black fox, a bit 'spookier' than a red fox image right? So I sat down to do a painting. Here it is...

I've got to say that I love this little painting! I'm so happy with it, it's great to make something that you love isn't it?! I'm still working on some other paintings, one in particular I keep restarting with...I'll get there soon though!

IF 'Transportation'

Yet again I failed to complete it on time...But I did it anyway, I was supposed to be busy tonight but then last minute plans changed and I suddenly had an evening free. I am so loving this evening, sitting in my art space, drinking tea listening to music that I have been wanting to listen to for ages now, but I have just been too busy to sit and make and listen lately. So yes tonight I am a happy bunny :-)
Earlier I did a quick image for last weeks Illustration Friday challenge, the word was 'transportation', so here are some wheels. I like them a lot.I hope to post again before the weekend is over, I have one finished painting to show you and the other 2 are almost there. I hope you are all having a good Friday night, happy weekend to you! 
Good night  ***

I'm so excited! I have a feature on 'Kate makes it', take a look guys!

Hey all just a short post to let you know that I am super excited to have been featured on the 'Kate makes it' blog. Kate contacted me a while ago to ask if I'd be interested in doing a feature on her new blog 'Kate make it'. I am so happy to be asked and I am really impressed with Kate's blog, it's full to the brim with exciting 'how to' and inspiration posts, Kate really is a clever lady! To read the feature and to visit Kate's blog click here.

So I wanted to say a big THANK YOU to kate for featuring me! Yippeeee!  :-)

Last weeks Illustration Friday image

I know, I know, I just keep missing the boat with these illustration friday entry's. I had so many ideas for last weeks word 'beneath' and started quite a few designs failing to finish any of them in time! Anyhoo I did sit down this evening to put something together. I decided to create a pattern design too as that is something that I need to get back on track with. So here we are, for 'beneath'... the idea was that beneath the horse there are his shoes. So I created a simple repeat pattern using a horse head and horse shoes. I am happy to get something done, even if it is too late to enter on the website.

I have almost finished my first painting so will post about that soon, hopefully tomorrow night. I have 3 paintings on the go at the moment and am enjoying them very much :-)

I hope everyone is well out there, have a good evening!|

Art swap

I recently swapped one of my 'listen to the birds' prints with Vesna of my Cherry Tree in exchange for one of her lovely broaches. I ended up with not one but two lovely broaches that arrived in fabulous packaging that I am very impressed with. Thank you Vesna!!

Beautiful packaging, seriously have you ever seen something so beautifully packaged? I need to make an effort with my packaging..It's on my to do list! I'm wearing this bird broach on my green winter coat at the moment.

And then the next broach arrived..Check out that packaging! I really really love this broach, it's so so sweet! Vesna has just received the print I sent and has posted an image of it on her blog, you can also view my Listen to the birds print on my Etsy shop.

I heart swaps!