"Are You My Mother?" - A Whimsical Painting

"Are You My Mother?"     5" x 7"     Acrylic on Archival Canvas Board

Not For Sale

I'm not sure if you are familiar with marine biology, but this little guy is called a Nudibranch, and he's a form of soft-bodied mollusk. I've always loved these little creatures, and think that they are some of the most amazingly beautiful and uniquely designed creatures God has ever created. They simply blow me away! My niece, who's 9th  birthday was this last weekend (Happy Birthday Iris!!!), has a particular fondness for Nudibranchs as well, and so her momma, my sister, asked if I could make a painting of them for her as a birthday present. Of course I jumped at the idea since I love painting sea creatures, especially when they look as whimsical as these do, and it turned out that this painting was quite the treat for me as well. Plus in the end she seemed to really like it, which made my day! =D

It's been so much fun for me this last week or so to get back into working on paintings in my whimsical style - I didn't realize how much I missed it! Hopefully I'll find some time to get back into painting like this on a more consistent basis, or even just find some time to paint period. Haha, one can dream, right? Well, I hope you're doing well on this rather blustery day - I know I'm enjoying the simple fact that I get to enjoy it from inside my house (I never have been one to like windy days,  though I do so enjoy to hear the rustling of the trees and the soft, sweet notes of my wind chimes). Take care, my friends, and stay safe out there!

"Henry and His Nectarine" and the Instructions for the New Contest for JUNE 2013

Hi there my friends! I'm sorry it's been so long since I've posted a brand new painting, I just knew this would happen when my new flare hit. But I'm hanging in here, trying to build up my strength every day, and trying to finish up some of the incredible projects and commissions I have going on right now. I have some wonderful new things in the works that I'd love to share with you, but I want to wait until they are a bit more seasoned until I unveil them. So many new paintings are on the way, so many commissions close to completion, and I can't wait to show each and every one of them to you!

But until then, here is one sweet little painting I finished about a week ago. This painting actually has a rather funny story to it. It started out as a humble little nectarine on a plain greyish white background and somehow, I seriously don't quite know how, it morphed into this. Large buildings all aglow with lights (which seem to truly glow in person thanks to Golden's Interference Gold) popped up in the background, and a book-reading little caterpillar seems to have set up shop against a plump, fresh nectarine. I love how playful this turned out - it reminds me of "James and the Giant Peach" which has always been one of my favorite books.

"Henry and His Nectarine"    4" x 4"    Acrylic on Museum Quality Claybord

Oops, I almost forgot to put up this month's contest news!

CONTEST INFORMATION FOR JUNE 2013
So this month's contest is a simple one. I would like to hear from you what types of work you like to see from me the most or that you would like to see more of. Do you like a certain style in particular, or a certain subject for that matter, or do you want to see something made into a series? You could even let me know if you have a painting or a series in mind that you'd like to see from me. Anyone who comments on my blog from today through the 30th of June with an answer to any of these questions will be entered to win this sweet little painting above. So let me know what you think, okay? I hope to be hearing from you soon. Thanks!

And the 3 Winners Are....

"Entangled"     4" x 5"    Acrylic on Archival Canvas Board

Congratulations Jeanette Combs! You've won 1st place for May's Contest! How exciting! And Congratulations to our 2nd and 3rd Place winners, Rachelle Gosling and Sea Dean, as well! Why don't you all go ahead and look through the options below, according to what place you've won, and let me know what you would like for your prize.

My appologies for not getting this out sooner - I honestly didn't realize just how much info needed to be tabulated in order for me to give out the correct amount of tickets to each contestant. But now that it's done I just want to extend my heartfelt thanks to everyone who signed up for my newsletters - I'm so excited to get started on those soon! Thank you for your steady support both now and in the future!

Here are the options for our prize winners:

Jeanette, you may choose any one of these "1st Place Prize Options:"

1. Any available original painting that is 5" x 7" or smaller, unframed
2. A print of any of my original paintings or fine art photographs, in any of these sizes: 5" x 7",  8" x 10" or 11" x 14", unframed
3. A miniature painting, 2" x 2", complete with easel. You may choose from any of these subjects: natural landscape (no buildings), animal (fictional or not, as long as it's not copyrighted), abstract or still life. All the details, including color choices and lighting, will be up to you as well.
4.  An ACEO complete with frame card and frame. You may choose from any of these subjects: natural landscape (no buildings), animal (fictional or not, as long as it's not copyrighted), abstract or still life. All the details, including color choices and lighting, will be up to you as well. 
5. Two sets of 5 notecards, with the phrase (ie. Thank you!, I Miss You, In Deepest Sympathy, On Your Birthday..., Happy Birthday!) on the front as well as any image of my paintings (you can pick two different images or keep them all the same) chosen by you. The insides are blank.
6. A calendar for either 2013 or 2014 with all of your favorite paintings in it.
7. A mug with your favorite painting printed upon it. 
8. A hand painted round ornament with an optional phrase written upon it and either a natural landscape (no buildings) or an animal (fictional or not, as long as it's not copyrighted) for the subject. The ornament itself will be plastic, so that if you have pets or little ones, you won't have to worry about it breaking, though if you really prefer glass I can see what I can do. =)

Rachel and Sea, each of you may choose any one of these "2nd and 3rd Place Prize Options:"

1. A 5" x 7" print of any of my original paintings or fine art photographs, unframed.
2. Two notecards with any of the phrases above of any one or two paintings. The insides are blank
3. An ACEO with frame card, unframed. You may choose from any of these subjects: natural landscape (no buildings), animal, abstract or still life. All the details, including color choices and lighting, will be up to you as well.

Today's the Day!!!

Today is the day I get to post up all the winners from this months contest. I had a good amount of people sign up for my newsletter, and just so you know, if you still want to sign up and hear about fun events, what's going on, and great upcoming promotions, then you can still sign up by emailing me or "Facebooking" me.

Okay, so I'm working on all the things that go into tallying everyone up correctly, and God willing, I will have the totals either tonight or tomorrow. So excited to see who won this time! There are so many choices for prizes and I can't wait to see what they'll pick. AWESOMENESS!!!

I'll try to be back here asap, but until then, take care!  =D