some more...

paintings still in the works, new earrings in silver that I antiqued on my own and a long owl necklace.

Completed pieces and works in progress.... I've been working on some new things this week! Stay tuned!

earrings and owls necklace are availabe in the shop

so....

canvases prepped for painting
preliminary sketches ready for paint

I'm making a concentrated effort to blog everyday. Yes, I am. Whether it is bland, boring, exciting, fascinating or whatever. I'm making a more ardent attempt to document my life on my blog.

And so, being said, the last few days weren't so exciting. I've been making some new thick copper bezels, in simple inspiring words, that are now listed in the shop. Plus, I've been making a few custom orders. An order of custom studs for a wedding party (pics of which I'll show soon), some matching earrings for a necklace that was previously purchased, and I've also been inspired to paint.

It's odd, because ever since this whole jewelry thing took off, I haven't been inspired to paint too much. Which, in whole, probably has something to do with why I started making jewelry and beads in the first place.

However, in a strange way, the painting has started to creep back in. And I'm welcoming it, quite frankly. I miss painting. Even though I'm not sure quite what to paint yet. I'm just going with it and seeing where it takes me. Painting is my first love. I'm not a fine artist. I'll be the first to admit that. Even though I have the shiny fancy degree to prove it. My work lies somewhere between illustration and decoration and I'm okay with that. I want to tell a story but I also want to paint what I paint. I don't want to get caught up in any convoluted notions of what it means because it is what it is. I plan on finishing these up in the next several days and updating my long neglected art shop.

and here she is...FTW

After I coated the wire bust with a coat of Modge Podge and tissue paper to form a base, I coated her with some acrylic modeling paste to make sure the wire wouldn't show through.
Partially decopaged.
All finished! After I finished decopaging her, I covered her with another layer of tissue to give her a smooth surface, then I antiqued her with an acrylic wash, to give her depth.

and here is Madge....for the win! All decopaged and shabby fab. I really should have taken a before photo. Well, at any rate, here are the transitional phase photos so you can see her transformation. To start she had an ugly wire cage bust. She was a cheap TJMaxx clearance item...and I spent way too much time making her pretty, but really....it was just bits and pieces of time here and there while I was waiting on other things. And I really think that the time paid off....What say you?

I may still add some ornamental elements on top to pretty her off, but I may not...who knows???? The cool thing is that her arm and neck sockets are open so I envision adding shabby arms and neck to her. Maybe an old paint encrusted paintbrush or ornamental something that I can hang more jewelry off of.

Let me know your thoughts! I'd love to hear comments and suggestions!

Check this Out!

Claudine Hellmuth has paired with Feterie Modern Stationary to offer her custom artwork paired with customized papergoods. What a beautiful and clever idea!

I know that if Claudine did a piece for me (..someday..) I would want it plastered on my Christmas cards and party invitations for sure!

shop update!

Although I have been much engaged with some of Mr. Mike's family in town for his Mom's 70th birthday and family reunion, plus preparing for an upcoming art market, I managed to update my 2ndsurf shop and my floridity shop this week. Please take a browse...

collections

center, the last supper; top left and right, two vintage ladies; bottom left, brokeback mountain; bottom center, the blessed virgin.

one of my bizarre collections is vintage paint by numbers. i've had a penchant for them ever since i can remember. i don't have too many because i'm a)cheap and b)very particular. i like them to be very strange and kitschy and well priced. here is my collection as hanging on the wall in the kitchen chez mike's. i call the landscape one on the bottom , brokeback mountain because it a pastoral scene complete with cowboy riding a horse and the cowboy's shirt was painted pink. Classic!

covered in paint....

i've been a busy b. this week working on new work to list on my etsy store. I had my first sale from it this week and i'm very excited about that. It's giving that extra push to get my rear in gear and get those paintings i've been procrastinating about finished.

in addition i've also posted some new things on my kit of parts etsy store that i hope will delight and inspire you to create and spread love and peace to those around you.

i've taken some measures to reduce the work load at my full time job so i can devote more time & energy to my web offerings...

btw, if you are looking for some of my older work that is still for sale you can find it at my ebay store as well as my other hobby which is combing sales for lovely used surf/skate gear and home decor items.

junk paintings

new junk paintings are up on my etsy shop.