Art Every Day - Day 61 - And some days...

And some days feel more like this!

11x14 acrylic on canvas with jewels

Happy New Years Eve!!!

Art Every Day - Day 60 - Some days....

Some days just feel like this.

11x14 acrylic on canvas

Art Every Day - Day 59 - sketch

Busy day out and about  so another quick sketch.

Art Every Day - Day 58 - sketch

Just a quick pencil sketch today.

Art Every Day - Day 57 - painting

I felt pulled to do another of these abstract flower paintings today.

I chose a slightly softer color palette with white, yellows, corals, and browns.

It didn't have the same effect on me as the gray and red one I did the other day.

It feels like something is missing. Maybe its just the intensity of the colors this time, or lack thereof.
I still like it, it's just not as exciting to me as the other one.


30x30 acrylic on canvas

Art Every Day - Day 56 - Christmas paintings and sketch

So here are the paintings I did for Christmas gifts. They all went over very well.



This one was for my son's girlfriend. Gray and red are her favorite colors and I wanted to do something kinda fun and girly and different for her. She loved it and its the exact colors she is redoing her room to - and I had no idea. I just knew she liked those colors and it seemed to fit her when I saw a similar design online.

 I had a blast doing this one and its one of my favorites of all the recent paintings I've done. I think I'm going to do more like this in the near future.  24x24 acrylic on canvas

This is from a photograph of my husband playing golf. I simplified the background, took out buildings and kinda made it abstractish.  18x24 acrylic on canvas

This was for my son, a PlayStation fan. Simple, but it means something to him. 

16x20 acrylic on canvas

This is for, and of, my in-laws on a trip in West Virginia, I believe. I struggled a lot with this one, but it turned out pretty well in the end. They loved it and that's what counts.

     18x24 acrylic on canvas

And this is my art for today - a quick pencil sketch.

Art Every Day - Day 55 - Christmas coloring

Merry Christmas from my creative heART to yours!

Art Every Day - Day 54 - coloring

Nothing says the holidays like a green octopus in a candy cane striped hat playing the guitar!! ;-)

Merry Christmas Eve!!

Art Every Day - Day 53 - painting

Once again making progress on Christmas paintings. I purposely made this one blurry so you could see I was working on it - but not quite tell what it is fully. It is not done yet, I have a few more steps to add to it. But I needed to post something.

Art Every Day - Day 52 - painting

I finished another Christmas present painting today but I still cannot post pictures yet.

Started the background for another one too. (Its on a plastic drop cloth on my floor)

Check back after the holidays for the finished pieces.

Art Every Day - Day 51 - painting

Well, the next few days I am going to be very busy working on some paintings. However seeing that they are Christmas presents for people who might happen to look on here, I cannot post any pictures until after they have been received. For example, I just finished the painting I started yesterday, but I cannot show it. Sigh.

Soooooo......I did this mini as well, that way I would have something to post. ;-)

6x6, acrylic background with paint marker lettering.

I know these little motivational quotes can be be cheesy to some people, but I don't care. I love reading them wherever I find them and when something strikes a cord with me I jot it down. I have post it notes and scraps of paper all over the place. And sometimes when I am working on a larger painting project I have leftover paint on my palette I hate to waste, so I got a bunch of these mini canvases I can slap the extra paint on for the background and future use. Then when a little painting idea or quote comes up I want to do something more with then just write on a scrap of paper, I can make a mini painting out of it.

I'm using my resources wisely! ;-)

Art Every Day - Day 50 - painting

The beginning of a new painting.

Art Every Day - Day 49 - coloring

Exhausting day. Another mindless coloring page.

Art Every Day - Day 48 - Good Day Jar

Today is my Birthday. I made it thru another year! lol

I've had this idea in my head the last few weeks of starting a gratitude jar - writing down things I'm grateful for everyday and putting them in a jar. Kinda like a gratitude journal but in a more visible form. I was planning on starting that the first of the year along with a bunch of other things.

But a little bit ago I read a story online about the brothers who started the Life is Good company. Every night at dinner their mom would ask them what was good about today. And no matter how awful their day was, they could always find something to share and smile or even laugh about. That question led them to the company they now run.

So that kinda sparked something in me and I decided to turn my gratitude jar into a - what was good about today jar. And I decided to start it today because what better day to start a happiness jar then on my birthday!

I took some light colored scrapbook paper I had (not cardstock cuz its too thick) and cut it up into approximately   1.5 - 2" by 4 inch strips. Some of them are a bit bigger too, you know, in case I have a really awesome day I need to record. ;-)

 The past week or two I've started looking for a really pretty clear/ colored glass jar at whatever store I happened to be in, for this purpose. But I had yet to find something and I wasn't really at the right store for it, but I figured I still had time before January 1st. Of course that changed about an hour ago. So for now I'm using this small jar I have til I find the right one I'm looking for. I know its out there and I will find it when its ready to be found.  For now though, this works.

So today's happy moments - I made it to another birthday, and my kids are doing dinner and a movie with me tonight. Spending quality time with my children always make me smile. :-)

Art Every Day - Day 47 - coloring

I needed a mindless art activity tonight so I decided to color.

Art Every Day - Day 46 - sketch

Only had time for a quick sketch today. Picture is a bit fuzzy. Actually the drawing is a bit fuzzy. I should have used a darker pencil to do it justice. Is what it is though.

Art Every Day - Day 45 - mural

I finally finished the "window" mural today.

Art Every Day - Day 44 - painting

Got a busy afternoon but got the background started on another painting this morning.

30x40 acrylic on canvas

Art Every Day - Day 43 - painting

I spent a good part of the day today researching for some upcoming paintings - kinda hard to show that here, but it is part of the art process.

I did paint the background for one of them today. 16x20 acrylic on canvas

Art Every Day - Day 42 - heart healing

So the last few days I have been not feeling well. I have a heart condition that every once in a while causes me to feel extremely slow and worn out. I call them slow heart rate days. Its normal for me and something I recognize and accept because I have no choice and cannot change it. My body just has days that it is says - Nope - we are not going to function today. Its a rest day whether you like it or not. It usually lasts a day or so and I am forced to rest no matter what is going on in my life. It hit me in the middle of the day on Thursday and I had to quit work early that day. I woke up okay on Friday but it was not gone. I tried to fight my way thru the day but was forced to quit early again as it continued to grip me. It lasted a bit longer than normal probably because I didn't listen, was stubborn and wanted to get further than I was in my mural. In the end though - I could not, and had to leave to rest.  I got a bit concerned Friday evening, but it finally released its vise by the time I went to bed.

Today I am still worn out, so I am taking it easy once again. I did some soul reading this morning and decided I needed to paint myself a Soul Art Heart Healing painting. I need to bring the flow of Love back into myself and my heart, on many levels. I am gearing up for some big changes next year, mainly with my health and my soul - taking better care of myself. I am working on gathering all the pieces so that on January 1st I am ready to turn the corner on the new me.

But today my heart needed some self care. This piece is a mixed media piece. It is a 12x12 canvas painted with acrylics. I then added glitter, some flowers and some gem swirls - all things I love in colors that I love. Yes even the yellow heart. This painting is me in every way. It is a symbol to remember to love myself even when I don't feel very lovable. It is a symbol to take care of myself, because without my heart, I do not exist both physically, and spiritually. Without Love I am just an empty shell. I do not want to be an empty shell. I have so much love to give, I just need to be brave enough to let it flow.

Have a beautiful magical day!

Art Every Day - Day 41 - mural

Added another table and chair set today. I have one more to do, but once again I was not feeling well and just did not have it in me to stay another couple hours to get it done -  This one took me 3 hours to do as is. Lotsa detail work in the iron of those chairs.

Art Every Day - Day 40 - mural

Today I worked on the patio table and chairs. I only got one set (of 3) done though as I wasn't  feeling well and cut my day short.

Btw - there is tape (under the paint) running down the center of the table, holding the place for a window frame - that is why the center of the chair and table are not completed. I didn't want to put all the work into painting the details when it will just be painted over.  Stay tuned a few more days to see what I mean.

Art Every Day - Day 39 - sketch

Only had time today for another quick sketch.

Art Every Day - Day 37 & 38 - mural and sketch

Spent the day with my sister, so just another quick sketch today.

OMG! - I just realized I forgot to post yesterday! How did I miss that! Sigh. I actually did paint yesterday too. I worked on the mural again see -

I repainted the entire patio area - again. I'm still not thrilled with it - but its better then it was when I left it on Friday. Plus once I get the tables and chairs on there and the window framing done, the patio will be masked some and not stand out so bad. At least that is my hope. 

So I have still done Art Every Day - I just totally forgot to post yesterday. I remember thinking it when I came home, but then I think I thought I had done it later on and forgot to check. Oh well. I'm still counting it - cuz I did actually do it.  haha. 

Art Every Day - day 36 - year in review

While I did paint a foam core cork board solid black for a project I need to do, I did not get anything else drawn or painted today.

I did however work on a project called the Holiday Council. One of the creative people I follow online, Molly Mahar of Stratejoy, does the program called the Holiday Council every December. This is the first time I have done it, but it seemed only right given all the transitions I am going thru currently. Basically it is 4 weeks of worksheets reviewing the previous year - business and personal life wise - what was good, what was not, lessons learned, etc - and then planning out the next year - goals for your business and life in general. This past week was all about reviewing 2015. I was not able to listen to the live podcast last Wednesday - so today was my day to catch up on that and start doing the worksheets. I still have a few things left to complete for week 1 but it's already late and I need to get ready for my week. So that was all the creativity I got done for today, unless you count cooking an awesome roast in the crockpot, doing 5 loads of laundry, cleaning house and designing a workout/food tally log for my upcoming workout challenge, being creative. :-)

Art does not always have to be painting or drawing. It can be writing and planning, researching and thinking. There is so much more to the creative process then what you actually see on paper, or canvas or a wall. So while some people may argue that because I did not actually draw or paint something today (tho I did paint a board black - I just didn't take a picture of it,) so therefore I did not do any "Art" - I say I did plenty of creative work today in reviewing my year of art and taking the first steps towards planning my artistic year next year.

Art is in the eye of the beholder! ;-)

Art Every Day - Day - 35 - sketch

Not feeling very Arty today so just did a quick sketch. Didn't wanna break my streak due to an emotional funk.

Art Every Day - Day 34 - mural

Today I worked on the patio bricks and slate. And I struggled. I did the brick parts yesterday but I didn't like it - so I repainted them today. And then repainted them again. I did the background for the slate twice as well - adjusting the colors then started adding all the grout lines. And I hate it. The entire patio. It looks fake and cartoonish. The brick wall looks great - I'm very happy with that. But the patio sucks so far. I keep making adjustments - and I keep not liking it. I know its the black grout lines (the wall has light mortar but the ground is dark )- but that is how it looks in real life. I just cant get it to look right so far. I finally gave up and ended my day early because it was driving me nuts.  So I decided to end the misery, give it the weekend and tackle it again with fresh eyes come Monday. Sigh.

Art Every Day - Day 33 - mural

Finished the back and middle ground areas. Worked on the brick parts of the patio and planters. 

Art Every Day - Day 32 - mural

Got the ponds and more middle ground tress and details done today.

Art Every Day - Day 31 - mural

I started on a new mural today. This one is on a wall in a windowless basement - painted to look like you are looking outside through a window. I got the sky and the trees in the background done, and the rest of the bigger areas blocked in today. More tomorrow.