Steveston Christmas Craft Fair

For those of you in the lower mainland, I would like to invite you all to the Steveston Christmas Craft Fair being held tomorrow, Nov. 27 10-4. This ever popular show will be held in the net shed behind the Steveston Community Center. With over 150 tables there will sure to be something there for someone on your Christmas list.
Come visit me at my table where I'll be selling original paintings and prints, magnets, ornaments, cards and calendars. This year give handmade.

Wordless Wednesday

Elle Moss

Sunsan

Ouma

Liz Design

Celebrating with a store-wide sale

Hello everyone! Guess what? This coming Monday is my birthday. I'm now at an age where I would rather skip my birthday altogether than put on a party hat but I thought I would hold a store-wide sale in my shop to "celebrate another year".

From Nov. 22-30 I'm offering 20% off anything in my shop. You'll find a large variety of prices that will surely fit into your Christmas shopping budget. If you're thinking of getting something truly special and unique, I'm happy to point out that my monotypes will be reduced by at least  $60 and free shipping and insurance is still included. (!)

So let's start the online shopping season off right and enjoy the savings of Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Happy dances all around everyone!

Wordless Wednesday

Sweet Pea Toad Tots

So Fino

William Dohman

Pink Perch

Blogs to inspire

For part my Pikaland Bootcamp course we were asked to research blogs that we enjoy and really look at what it is that is attracting us to them so that we could possibly apply the same principles to our own blogs. Well I have to admit that my blog reading list is quite huge and I don't get to regularly visit as many as I would like. The ones I end up visiting the most are the ones I get through my email and the ones I see on my Facebook stream. There's one lesson right there: get email subscribers and be part of NetworkedBlogs on Facebook.

So I thought I'd share with you some of the blogs that I find inspiring and thoroughly enjoy reading.

Image coyrighted to Lisa Evans

Lisa Evans-Firefluff
 I really enjoy how she shows the process of her work through photos. Most of the computer stuff is over my head but she does break it down into components.


Arrolynn 
I just LOVE the color of her work.
 She has a HUGE list of illustrators and people she's inspired by with their links.  Lots to click on for me.


How about Orange
Jammed-packed with tutorials and downloads. I could spend a whole weekend on here.


Louise- Art and Ghosts
Love the imagery and how it's simply presented with large photographs.


Amy Earles- Wool&Water
I get to see her artwork in progress. She has short and clear posts which is great for someone like me who scans most pages.


You know there are many more that I could tell you about but I just don't have the room to talk about them all. I've put a list on my side bar that you can click to see more. I'm sure that list will get very long, very quickly. Happy reading.

Wordless Wednesday

Rover Dog

Moloco

Atomic Aprons

The Haunted Hollow Tree

So Inspiring

For today's post I thought I 'd share with you a couple of artists that inspire me with their work. There really are so many that do but today I'm picking Jennifer Davis and Adam Rex as the people who make me want to paint and express myself via the canvas.

I'm not sure where I first saw Jennifer Davis's work but it blew me away. I've clicked all around her shop and blog trying to choose one piece that I can put on my ThisNext wish list.  A very hard task indeed. I find Jennifer's work so beautiful in the most unconventional way. Each piece is unique and has some unusual and peculiar narrative going on. Most fantastic.

The other artist, Adam Rex, I found when I went to the library to choose some children's books for the kids. We always get a pile of books for bedtime and then I choose some just for myself to look at. Because I've had this long range goal of illustrating a children's book one day, I always enjoy absorbing the images and techniques of other children's book illustrators.

Adam Rex's work reminds me of Daniel Adel's in its painterly fashion and I'm enthralled by each brushstroke. Adam paints the way I wish I could. Expressive yet controlled and filled with the textural beauty of the paint. I recently ordered "Frankenstein makes a Sandwich" through my daughter's school fundraiser just so I could add another of his books to my children's book collection. Not only can Adam paint, but can also write a humorous and engaging story. How inspiring is that? I wonder if I'll ever be able to afford on of his originals. Hmmmm....

Tell me which artists inspire you. Are they online, are they historic, is it your own mother? Would love to hear about it.

A peek into the studio

A while back I showed you the inside of my studio and the mess it had become. Well....not much has changed since then. I had hoped to get another set of print drawers to hold my increasing collection but I haven't found any that I can afford. I did find some drawers at Ikea that I think I might adapt to hold my smaller pieces. It's on my Christmas wish list if you're interested in donating to the cause.
Right now my studio is particularly messing because I'm trying to work on so many projects at the same time. I'm a visual person and I need to "see" what needs to done for me to work on it. So I've got the Pikaland Bootcamp assignments, a Christmas boutique to create inventory for, a one-day Christmas show and sale and all the Christmas gifts I make for the family every year. You'd think that I'd have a break by Christmas  to clean up but I have to create a collection of new work for a show in the new year. I love creating all this of course so I'm not really complaining. I do have to share my space with my husband though and I  feel guilty when my mess creeps closer and closer to his easel.

My work space. What a mess.

A pile of projects on the press. An in-progress painting, calendars waiting to be cut and tin magnets.

Tin magnets waiting to be delivered to the Christmas Boutique

My new mini-magnets 

My sketchbook with a painting I've been itching to do in encaustic.

What does your space look like? How do I get my space to look as tidy as some of those on Etsy Open Studios? I swear the "Organized and Clean" studio is on my New Year's resolution list.