"Where the Red Ferns Grow" - A Landscape Painting of Fall in Detroit

Finally, I'm getting back into my groove with these Virtual Paintouts! I've missed doing them so very much, and so this month I made sure to do something for it, even if I couldn't post it til the end of the challenge. Here's what I found on my trip to Detroit, which as usual for these challenges, was surprisingly gorgeous! I came upon this pristine meadow of red ferns with the most stunningly red tree I've ever ventured upon and I was just stopped speechless in my tracks. It was a no-brainer for me - this shot was screaming to be painted, don't you agree?

"Where the Red Ferns Grow"     5" x 7"     Acrylic on Archival Canvas Board 

This was one of those rare jewels to work on, where each stroke made me more and more excited to see it as a finished work. It's always such a treat when you stumble upon scenes like this. Definitely makes me feel all the more ready for the beauty of fall! I hope your weekend has been a good one - mine's been rather... Interesting, I suppose. Haha, oh man, does interesting ever mean good anymore? Oh well. Such is the life of a fibromyalgic.  =/ We could use prayer - we could ALWAYS use prayer, because the pain is mounting along with my fear of another horrible winter ahead of us. I don't mean to sound melodramatic, but trying to stay positive is so much easier said than done... At least I know that with the grace of God we can get through whatever is sent our way, even if that means He has to carry us all the way through. Quite literally in my case, too! Hahaha! Oh, it feels good to laugh when you're scared, doesn't it? Makes things feel a bit less serious and puts you a bit more at ease. Laughing is really quite good for the soul. Plus, it helps you burn calories too, so that's an added plus!  =0)

Announcing The Contest for May 2013 : My Funnest Contest Yet!!!

So I'm doing Leslie Saeta's "30 Marketing Ideas in 30 Days" and one of the things she wanted us to do was to post a link to one of our favorite available paintings. I immediately knew which one to choose - "Montana Sunset." This is one of my favorites of all time, and it's only $90 with a double matted frame. It's quite exquisite as a whole, and since it's an original work of art, it's truly a fantastic deal. So if you are interested in purchasing this one of a kind work of art, follow the link below. Trust me, you won't regret it!

"Montana Sunset"     5" x 7"     Acrylic on Museum Quality Claybord

Here is another one of my favorite smaller works. It's an ACEO called "Mint, Anyone?" Oh how I loved painting the packaging - trying to capture the glint and the glimmer of the wrapper as it shone in the light. Such a delightful experience. If you're interested in purchasing this original piece for only $25, you can follow the link below as well. It's sweet and delicate, and sure to charm your guests. =)

"Mint, Anyone?"     2.5" x 3.5"    Acrylic on Canvas Paper (ACEO)

Yesterday's challenge was to add 20 people to your mailing list. Haha, ummm... hmmm... I don't HAVE a mailing list. "So," I thought to myself, "perhaps I should start there..." =P   Considering the fact that it's already a new month again, that means we're due for another contest right about now. I'm pretty sure you can see where I going with this. Well, here goes nothing...


INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE CONTEST FOR MAY 2013

I'm not gonna lie. I don't like signing up for mailing lists. In fact, I rather hate it. Most of them are super annoying and hound my email with something nearly EVERY DAY of the week, which makes me feel like half my time is taken up deleting email's that I neither want nor need. I don't want that - it drives me nuts. Who want's that!?! HOWEVER, I do like keeping in touch with people, and I like places that send out only the good stuff - great coupons, great ideas, great incentives and fun news - and that don't send it out too often. You know, like telling me about fun events they have planned or explaining how certain things went, or warning me of amazing deals so I don't miss out. I like that. I like that when I sign up for something, and I like that as a rule for myself.

So that's how I'm gonna do this. No worries - I'm not going to hound anyone. I don't have the time to - remember? I have two boys. TWO. BOYS!!! Two boys who are 3 and 1. Both in diapers. Both very social and energetic and fun and cuddly and needy. And even though they both walk, one of them still likes to be carried ALL THE TIME! Cough, cough.... Owen... Yeah, I'm a busy girl. And I know you are busy too. Plus, when you throw in all that I still have to deal with because of my fibro, such as weekly appointments, exhaustion and ridiculous amounts of pain and forgetfullness, well, frankly I don't have much time to waste. I can promise you that! =)

I will only be sending out updates every couple months, and at the very most, monthly, though it will be a while before I do them monthly, if I ever do. I imagine some months will be busier and easier to fill up than others. BUT no matter what, I will make them worth your while. They will be fun, and interesting and sometimes there will be AMAZING deals in them that only people who sign up for them will be eligible for. I hope to include things like blasts from the past - looking back at my older works of art, interviews, poems, photos, and upcoming events, as well as news about my business, upcoming workshops, classes and more. These newsletters will go out via email, though I will occasionally want to send out an actual physical mailer every once in a while with either a coupon, a flier, a business card or even a postcard that you can put up on display. And to top it off, every once and a while I will pick someone from my contact list to send a gift to in the mail, as a way of expressing my gratitude for following my are. But I sure won't be filling up your mailboxes with a ton of wasted paper or wasted time, so don't worry about that! I know how busy everyone is these days, and I don't want to waste your time any more than I want to waste mine.

So if you are interested in hearing fun and exciting updates on the weird and creative life of Melissa Adams, then join along with me and show your support: EMAIL ME HERE or send me a PRIVATE MESSAGE ON FACEBOOK HERE, my friends! What I would love at the very least is for you to include a link to your email address so I can put it down in my contact log, which will grant you two tickets towards winning this months prize. And like I said before, if you're interested in occasionally receiving additional coupons or even possibly a free, unexpected gift through the mail, not to mention frameable postcards of my work, then you can include your mailing address as well, which will buy you two extra tickets as well. Any other forms of communication would be great, like your blogs and phone number, personal FACEBOOK page or fanpage, even letting me know whether you are an artist or not, and if so, what you do - well,  each one of these will earn you one more chance to win! HOWEVER, in order for you to earn any points you have to send me your email, and in order for you to win more than 2 points, you have to include BOTH your email and your mailing address, as those are the two most important means (and perhaps the only means) of communication I will use. PLUS... If you publicly follow my blog (whether you've been doing it all along or just signed up today by filling out the form when you click the term "Join this Site" on the righthand sidebar of this page), and if you've "Liked" my Facebook Fan Page (again, no matter when you do or have), then you will earn 2 more points for each one. So the more contact info you give, the more ticket's you'll earn towards winning a prize!

I would love to see and hear more about your life as well, so including your own blogs, Facebook pages, and more will be icing on the cake. With so many chances. I hope all my friends will do this with me so I can keep in better touch with you and can let you in to see a little more about what's going on in my life and my career, and the places I hope to go with it. And don't forget, you CAN win more than once! So go ahead, what are you waiting for? Sign up to get great deals, fun news and a deeper look into what's going on over here in a more comprehensive and exciting way than ever before! This is going to be GREAT!!!  =D

"Ahhhh, wait a second..." you may be asking. "We've only talked about what we have to do and what we can expect from you in regards to your newsletters and mailers. What about the contest? What do we GET if we win this month's contest?"  Hmmm.... Well, I think this time I'll make it a little more interesting. With all these points to earn, why not have a 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winner? And to mix it up a bit more, I'm going to let the winners choose their gift from the options. There are two categories:  "1st Place Options," and "2nd and 3rd Place Options." As the winners, you will have the wonderful opportunity to be able to choose whichever prize you wish from your category. It's YOU who gets the choice. This is going to be a VERY Fun Contest!!! =)

If you win FIRST place, YOU may choose ANY single ONE of these "1st Place 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. =)

If you've won 2nd or 3rd place, you may choose any ONE of these "2nd and 3rd Place 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. 

So good luck my friends! I hope to hear from you soon! =D

"Flying Through the Snow" - An Animal Painting of an Owl by Melissa Adams

This sweet little owl was made as a commission for a wonderful woman from our church. She asked me to create a teeny-tiny painting of a Snowy Owl flying through the sky during the daytime. Of course, with my love of owls, this was a treat to do, and after having just gone to the snow myself, I was truly inspired!

"Flying Through the Snow"     2" x 2"     Acrylic on Canvas with an Easel

 SOLD

Here it is in my hand, to give you a good sense of scale:

I had a blast working this small, but I'm starting to really want to buy a magnifying glass that has some lighting in it as well, just so I can really get in more and more details as I fall deeper and deeper in love with working so small. In fact, a fellow artist friend of mine named Kyra suggested what looks like the perfect magnifying glass with light for me and I'm super stoked! (Umm... Yes. Sorry Kyra. But uhh, I consider you as a "fellow artist friend" at this point with all our writing back and forth on each other's works. Just thought you might like to know. Lol!) Oh, and by the way Kyra's work is seriously AMAZING!!! You should really check out her work here. My favorite works of hers are from her "Alice in Wonderland" series. They are just stunningly beautiful!

Well, as you can imagine, I had a lot of fun painting this one, but now it's onto my next commissioned work. By the way, if you ever want to order a specific painting you want from me, like a pet portrait, self portrait, a painting for your bathroom, or just about whatever, you can contact me via my email address by clicking here, and we'll work something out. I'm finding myself really loving the chance I've gotten to commissions lately, partly because of the surprise that's in it for me in what they will ask for, and yes, partly because of the paycheck. I'm not gonna lie - it feels fantastic making money from my art! I've always wanted a job that I just completely love, and I've finally found mine!!!  =D

Oh, and if you WANT A FREE PAINTING, guess what? If you didn't already know it, my prize for this month's contest is a 9" x 12" Gallery Wrapped Canvas that's commissioned by YOU (granted that you win, of course!) And all you have to do is Like my Facebook fan page, write a comment on it, and then have your friends like your comment after Liking my page, and then you're all set. The person who get's me the most likes wins, so good luck! Pretty easy, right? Ooh, and you have until April 13th to do this, which means you have a crazy amount of time to get them in.   =)

Well, I hope you're having a good night (or day of course). This little night owl needs to do some Yoga and then go to bed, hopefully sometime soon atleast. I mean, it is 1am over here after all... Talk to you later. =)

"Study of a Pinecone" - A Nature and Still Life Painting

"Study of a Pinecone"     5" x 7"     Acrylic and Canvas Panel

I believe it was about 3 and a half years ago since I found one of my personally favorite and most influential artists and bloggers, Suzanne Berry. Her blogging style and art have made a huge impact on my own art and focus, as well as how I view the art world, and I've just really enjoyed reading about her life over the last few years. I loved that her blog wasn't' just this list of paintings she's done, but it was a sneak peak into her life as an artist, how she works in her studio and the joys and hardships she's gone through over the years - both artistically and personally. It's a great read with beautiful paintings  - what more could you want?!   =)

So her friend, Diana Moses Botkin actually came up with a monthly challenge between her and a select group of friends (oh how I wish I could be a part of that group!!!) that challenge each other with a new idea each month (they get to each pick on rotation - so cool!) that they only have a short time to create. Some of the challenges are ridiculously hard based on the amount of skills and creativity required to complete them in the time allotted, and some are quite a bit easier, but the challenge for January of 2011 was perfect for me. All you had to do was paint anything starting with the letters "pi," and so I decided to do it on my own with them just for the fun of it (Well... Really, I just all on my own after they posted what their challenge for that month had been. Lol!).

Sharman Owings came up with the idea, and to see all the actual posts from the Moses Botkin Challenge for that month on Suzanne's blog go ahead and click here. It was a simple challenge in one way, but in another it was hard narrowing down what to do. Either way, it was extremely fun considering all the possibilities you could come up with, and how varied the results would be when all was said and done.

So what'd I pick? Well, if you haven't figured it out quite yet my "pi" word was pinecones. I picked pinecones, because for one, they're scattered all over my home as decorations (especially now that both Levi and Owen see them as toys, and have been since they first saw them, which makes them even more scattered) and secondly, I just plain like pinecones  - they remind me of the forest and mountains, and the beauty of the wilderness. So I decided to try a quick, painterly sketch and gave myself the added quest of having to complete it in no more than 30 minutes, from start to finish, including getting your paints out and everything. It was crazy! That's one sure-fire way to make sure that every stroke matters!

I had a blast with that challenge and love seeing what they come up with each month. Maybe someday if I get the courage up I can even ask them if I can join their group, but until then I'll continue painting from the sidelines and just admiring all that they do. =)

"Sea Star" - An Ocean Wildlife Nature Painting of a Starfish

"Sea Star"     2.5" x 3.5"     Acrylic on Acrylic Paper (ACEO)

SOLD

Example of What the Frame Card Looks Like Unframed - Comes with an Envelope as Well =)

It feels like ages since my last real blog post, you know, one complete with a finished painting and all, and I can't tell you enough how much my heart has been aching to paint and write and really just catch up with you all out there. I miss you! And I miss painting and feeling that amazing sense of release at creating something beautiful all the way to completion - there's not many things in the world that feel better than that for an artist.

Now, before I go off into my tangent of where I'm at in my heart right now, I just wanted to remind you out there that February is already just about halfway over, which means that time is ticking away for you all to enter this months contest! And this is an easy one! All you have to do to be entered to win one of my original ACEOs like the one shown above (complete with FREE shipping, a Frame Card and it's own Envelope so that it's ready to frame or give away as a gift if you choose to) is to LIKE MY FACEBOOK FAN PAGE and let me know you want to enter simply by WRITING SO ON MY FAN PAGE WALL. Yup. That's it folks. It's really doesn't get much more simple than that!!!! Sooooo.... Here's the link to my fan page, so that if you are interested in being one of the THREE WINNERS this month, all you have to do is CLICK HERE and you're one third of the way done already! Woo-hoo!!! =D


AND NOW FOR THE PERSONAL STUFF...
I have to admit I'm really disappointed with myself this month so far. My hopes for this year were to create 365 paintings, regardless of how I felt or what was going on, (I mean, to a degree anyways - more than anything my hope was to just catch up when life was bad but to not have to miss too many days in a row so that the task of catching up wouldn't be so daunting), but after having missed as many days as I did this month, I feel so lost and I can't see how I could possibly catch up. I had so much momentum going for me, so much so that even my husband was excited about it, and he's a hard guy to get excited about stuff like that, let me tell ya! Lol!

My heart has been so heavy lately with the pain and setbacks and anger and all the emotions that come along with having come so far and then seeing it all ripped away in an instance because of a few mindless words that caused an intensely painful and debilitating flare. My doctors said I'm literally a textbook example of just how much words truly CAN and DO hurt you, and how much emotions play a role on your physical well-being. I've been an emotional wreck lately, and my poor, darling husband has had his hands full with me and my sense of failure as a person, and as an artist, as a mother, a friend, a daughter, and as a daughter of God. This flare has been so painful, and has given me this immense feeling of loss that's almost indescribable. I feel like I've lost everything, and have struggled with immense feelings of worthlessness in every facet of my life, even towards God.

Tyler caught me off guard today with something he said about this though, and I am really grateful for his wisdom and just straight up patience with me of late. I've been broken so badly lately that like I said I even feel like I have no worth in God's eyes. The reason for this is pretty straight forward - God created me to be a mother of my two boys, a daughter to my sweet mother and in-laws, a wife to my husband, and a friend and servant to all those I know, friends, family, and acquaintances alike. He especially has created me with a heart and a desire to serve Him in every way I can, which I was doing through our middle school ministry for which I have a great passion for the girls who are struggling so much to find themselves as they are just now learning to break from the molds their parents have put them in and find who they truly are as independent beings. God even created me with this unbelievably strong desire and passion to paint, to make a career of it, and to use it as a potential ministry when or if the time for that arises. But I'm failing so miserably at all these things. I'm not a mother. I barely get to play or hang out with my kids, let alone teach them the important things in life, like how to be patient and loving and gentle, as well as the other things like how to count and spell and write their names, or even walk for that matter. I can barely do anything with them. And my role as a wife is wretched at this point. My friends, God bless them abundantly for all they do, are doing a far better job of that for me than I am, by cleaning and cooking and helping out with the boys. I don't know what we would do without them, or without my family who have also taken on that role for me. I am forever indebted to them, and the saddest part for me is that there is no way on earth I will ever be capable of repaying them for what they've all sacrificed for me and my family, and so instead all I do is pray for them. And now even my painting, as little and insignificant as it may seem to some, although it's huge to me, has been impossible for me to do lately. My hope and prayer is to get back to the place where I am able to take over all these roles fully again, and there is hope in me that someday I will, but there is also such a great and overwhelming fear that it's not God's will for me to take on all these things again, EVER.

It's His choice - it's His choice to put me in pain so we can learn to love and serve despite it. Some people like to say Satan is attacking me, and I've been guilty of saying the same - that he's attacking me and our family like crazy, because my hardships are just the tip of the ice-burg of what's been going on in our homes lately. But really, I'm learning it's not Satan. Yes, he may be the one physically doing it, MAYBE. But it's God who allows all things, who when Job was tested ALLOWED Satan to take on that role of testing him in order to prove to Satan himself just how wrong he was to assume that Job only loved God because God had given him a charmed life. But God, in His love and ultimate knowledge is the one who allows these things to happen in order to grow us and change us into the person He wants us to be. So somehow, somehow in the midst of all this ridiculousness and loss on my end, I have to find out how to actually BE a mom, and a wife, and a friend, and a sister and daughter and servant and... Well, the list can just go on forever. But I also have to learn how to stop wallowing in this stupid entangling self-pity and ask God to pick me up off the floor and teach me to become this NEW person He WANTS me to be. This is and has always been His hope for my life. It's always been His plan for me. It's not just some hardship to overcome or some difficulty to endure for a time, it's God's PERFECT PLAN for my life. Oh Lord, help me to accept this, but not only to just accept it, but to grow into a beautifully broken testament of your unfailing love.

May the Potter's hands be with you today as well, molding you into the perfectly flawed creation that He has always desired you to be. Have you ever noticed how sometimes the flawed works of art are the most beautiful? Maybe it's just me, but I have. I love those works that while they are beautiful, they aren't perfect and they're that way because it's how their creator intended them to be. It's not so great when it's unintentional flaws, but when they are there because their creator was pleased with them that way, oh how much more desirable and interesting and beautiful those works become in my eyes. Really, it's quite the sight to behold. And you know, if you didn't know they were there, you would have thought it a beautifully intentional perfection in the work, and not a flaw at all. So my prayer for myself and for you today is this: that you will know that sometimes God wants the flaws, that He desires them in you. But don't get me wrong, He wants you to work on getting them worked out, but in HIS way and with HIS help and in HIS timing. And you know, sometimes He says no. "NO, I want that there, just like that, even though it's not perfect." For some things are put in our lives that are less than savory, and their intentions by Him are to make us more pure and useful and more lovely than ever before.

"To keep me from becoming conceited because of these surpassingly great revelations, there was given me a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Cor. 12:7-10)

I love you all, and I'm sorry if my painting posts end up being a little patchy at times, and if my pouring out of my heart becomes too real, too raw and too emotional for you. My goals are to truly be a daily painter, to post as often as my body and my heart will allow, and to let you see the real me, the me that God created me to be, right out there with no pretty ties or cover-up to make it look better, but with flaws and all so you can know that you too don't need to try to be some perfect human being, because honestly, it's just not gonna happen. So I ask in return that you please won't give up on me when things go badly for me and a week or so may go by between paintings and posts, or if I say something that offends you. I am just trying to be honest with you, and to use the voice that the good Lord gave me. I will be back Lord willing, as often as I can posting my attempts at daily painting as long and as often as I am able. =)  Today hopefully marks the restart of my daily painting journey once again, and I hope that you are still up for joining me on this rather interesting ride. I also hope you're having a fantastic day and I want to thank you for listening once again to my rather epically long posts - we might as well face the fact that I'm a rambler... Always have been, always will be. =D Lol! Well, have a good one, my friends! I hope to see you all tomorrow. =)

"Calla Lily" - A Still Life Nature Painting

I stumbled upon an old photograph of a Calla Lily I took way back when and just had to paint it today. At first I thought it was an Iris, and then half-way through the painting I realized what a nerd I was and that it was indeed a Lily instead. Wow, I guess I really don't have a green thumb after all (as if anyone was questioning that, seeing as how the only plants I can keep alive for any amount of time are Cacti and Orchids).

I'm not normally one to get all into painting floral compositions, though I love looking at other people's work on the subject, but for some reason I was drawn back to this subject already during this "30 in 30" challenge, which I found a bit odd. Perhaps it will just be a passing phase, or perhaps it will lead to more, only time will really tell... =)

"Calla Lily"     4" x 5"     Acrylic on Archival Canvas Panel