Peace and Love to All

Forgive me readers - it's been weeks since my last post with all of the recent activity. St. Francis is popular with pet lovers and in this commission he is accompanied by: two Jack Russell Terriers, one lab, one beagle, one bunny, two meadow larks, one roadrunner, and one quail - whew! Plus his usual bird friends.

It took a while with all the detail and dog research but really like the piece. Still need to retouch it (take out the glare), but had to share!

Heart Break

A new and much improved picture of my Diana Gabaldon piece. It is a quotation from Dragonfly in Amber from the Outlander series. Went to her lecture and she signed this piece! She is pretty cool and a savvy business woman.

Plus a picture of another finished commission of St. Francis and client doggie - Wilson the Westi. 8" x 10" reverse glass painting.

Heart Song

Years ago in high school I remember
a teacher saying "don't die with your music still inside you." Of course we all were like "what is he talking about?" Well years later the phrase stuck with me and often chased away doubts of pursuing art as my day job. Funny but to this day I always associate it with song birds, birds in general.

Like one of those fortune cookie tapes that say something like "sing badly if you must, but SING."

Song birds will feature in some of my new pieces and this is the first. Cabinet door frames and tempered glass put them in my 'recycled green' series.

Working in series helps keep focus on a particular subject matter and is the way my brain seems to flow. I have one more in the Abstract series in progress, with two more designed for a total of five for the five seasons in Tucson - spring, summer, winter, fall, monsoon. Finished spring and fall, summer in progress here. It is called Heart Fire - Summer Passion. Mixed media of reds, oranges, yellows on a recycled cabinet door. It will be rich and passionate with color and movement. Plus it will be more 3-D , a bit sculptural. Can't wait to start!!

The November show will have a lot of new work that I am eager to show because it has been such a fun learning process to do them. Art is the heart that beats inside me.

** On Another Note: This summer has been very challenging for my mom health wise and now she is having surgery for cancer so I will go immediately to be with my family. Did not realize how stressed I have been until today when the veneer cracked as I told someone "my mom has cancer and she is in surgery right now." Suddenly I was trying so hard to keep from having a small meltdown and had a teeny one anyway. I hate it when that happens - how embarrassing!! And I imagined myself to be one of those cool, calm, self composed individuals - Ha! Meanwhile my mom is the one suffering through everything and she is the cool one, so strong - what a champ!

Aaanyway, enough boo - hooing - enjoy my works in progress (WIP's for short).

Sparrow Seranade

A mini 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" of the little sparrow that sang all day in my yard. So many little songbirds come thru my yard and I recognize each of their voices with the help of binoculars. House finches, sparrows, goldfinches, viros, cactus wrens, curve billed thrashers, cardinals, hummingbirds and more all visit and each is perfect! Had help from photo references for this one. Drawing from life is very challenging with wildlife since they are rarely still for more than a few seconds. A color version of him will be part of my Singing Bird mosaic that is in progress.

Glass Nature series

Working on the nature series for the desert wildlife flora and fauna. They include little bats, kit fox, raptors, mice, coyote, lizards and more. After finishing the paintings and mosaics, sections will be cropped for the little glass jewelry.

My next series is already on the drawing board - endangered species, both plants and animals. While I work Risa periodically comes to check up on my progress, ask me to take a break and come out and play. Sometimes I can take five and I do! Then I get back to it, refreshed :~)

Starting my local wholesale to establishments that resonate with my work and ideals. Botanical gardens, Wildlife museums, zoos.