New Art, and possibly a new obsession!

     It has been quite some time since my last post here, and my blog, as well as my art, have been undergoing some changes. After much thought on the matter, I have decided to change my blog name from "Primitives & Whimsies" to "Art & Whimsies". I know it's not a major change, but it feels like it to me. I have not made "primitives" for quite some time.... so I am not really sure why it took me so long to make this change.

    At the same time I am starting to feel that my art is taking on it's own individuality... finally. That, to me, is a big deal!

Here are a few newer paintings that I have been working on....

 

Keeper of the Sea (progress photo)

          Practicing painting "loose", as opposed to my usual OCD detail all the time. This one was fun, it was nice to just relax and let the paint do it's thing.

Mixed Media Collage on cardboard.

Mixed Media collage on watercolor paper

 These last three were part of a facebook challenge, led by Jane Spakowsky (GrittyJane), which was a 10 Day Painting Challenge. We were challenged to make one piece of art a day, for 10 days. It was a great challenge... but one that I did not quite finish.... I made it to day 7. Oh well! It was fun anyway =).

Now to the newest obsession... or at least it might be if all works out well ;).

For the longest time I have been admiring, and one day hoping to adopt, an adorable Blythe doll. *sigh* They are just so cute, customizable, and photogenic!!!! But the price tag gets me every time!! About a year ago I had my eye on one on Ebay that needed a lot of work, which would have been perfect because I that is exactly what I was wanting to do..... but I hesitated and missed out on a great opportunity. Since then I have gone back many times, but they just seem to be getting more and more expensive!! For my first time customizing, I just could not see spending that much.

Then I stumbled upon the adorable Tangkou dolls!!! Seemed too good to be true, a doll very much like a Blythe, but for 1/3 of the price! So I started looking online for reviews and saw some great things, and very little that was bad. So I decided to buy myself an early birthday present =). 

Here is what she looks like.

Click to go to Tangkou site

    I think I am in LOVE! I ordered her about a week ago, and have been patiently waiting for her to come in! Thankfully Hubby checked the post office this morning, and she is in, just have to wait for him to bring her home =).
    So, you can probably expect another post tomorrow with pics!!

A Rainy Tuesday

It is so dreary and rainy today. I am thankful for the rain, for the flowers sake, but I would so love to get out and enjoy the spring warmth! It's supposed to get into the 70's tomorrow, so I'm hoping that the rain will hold off for a couple hours so we can play!

Here is a peek at what is on my work table this week. I'm not sure how much more I will do with her before she is deemed "finished".


I am really liking the idea of painting with just 3 or 4 colors on the palette. In this case I used burnt umber, vermilion, sap green, and lamp black. Then I just mixed colors and tones within that scope. It's very freeing!! The original drawing is outlined with a super fine sepia pitt pen.



I am sorry that I have taken so long to update you all about the fair. The Big Thaw was so much fun! I sold a rather large painting within 5 minutes of opening, we were actually still setting up when the woman came to look at it. We had a couple of issues with our setup in the beginning, but we got it worked out =). The foot traffic was quite steady for the whole day, and we made a few decent sales, and lots of new connections. We have another art show or two in the works for this spring/summer. I will give more details once we know more.

New Frontiers

Wow!! It has been far too long since I have posted anything on here. There is so much going on that I want to share.... but maybe not all at once =).

First of all, Valentine's Day is right around the corner! I have been working on some LOVE themed mixed media paintings that I have just added to my Etsy store.

I am hoping to have some V-Day cards made up very soon with these images, so be sure to keep an eye out for that.

Second of all =). Anyone who knows me well knows that I am not content unless I am trying something new. That in mind.... I am considering setting up a second Etsy shop specifically for cute, whimsical accessories. I have been crocheting for a while now, and am running out of people to crochet for lol! Not to mention, running out of $ for my ever increasing yarn hoard. I haven't figured out a shop name yet... but when I do you better believe I'll be sharing the news.

Here's some photos of a project that I worked on last night... gotta keep my hands toasty warm, it gets down right freezing during these Maine winters!! These are coming in "handy" while I'm working on other projects. tee hehe!



Here is a link to the pattern for these adorable fingerless gloves.... just in case you're feeling crafty =). She also has an adorable Etsy shop with some of the cutest handmade stamps i'v ever seen!!