Chili Challenge results - Crazy Kinookimaw Chili

Back at the beginning of December I entered the Zantac Chili Challenge. Well the votes have been counted and the winners notified and ....................I wasn't one of them LOL but...I did come in 10th overall. Pretty darn good I think :) I want to thank everyone who voted for mine. I received over 2000 votes. Thanks all.

You can find the recipe here: Crazy Kinookimaw Chili

valentine painting - Promise Me the Moon

Promise Me the Moon......aceo size (3.5" x 2.5")
There has been a lot of talk lately of using a combination of mediums so I decided to give it a whirl. I went out of my comfort zone (although not completely) and used coloured pencil for the hands using a technique of using complimentary colours for the undertone to give depth. The hands were first a combination of turqoise and lavendar. I then did them in peaches and pinks. I think it adds a lot of depth. The background is done in acrylics.

You can find this painting listed on Ebay here.

Tall Ship painting & modern Cruise Ship

From a modern Cruise Ship (night scene)

To a tall ship sailing into a storm. I've added these two to my listings today. Both are aceo size (3.5" x 2.5") and are listed here

An award

I want to thank Red Mommy Crafts blog for awarding my this award today.....much appreciated. Thanks Amber for reading my blog.

Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy Group on Facebook

My 10 year old grandson Owen has Duchennes. My daughter has formed a support group on Facebook. She started the group to raise awareness about Duchenne and to make a place where others with children or family members with Duchenne could support each other. We are so excited....Today her group reached a great milestone.... The group now has over 3500 members and is still growing. What an amazing show of support for families who are battling this disease everyday. If you are on Facebook and would like to show your support, please feel free to join. Lots of sharing of information, support and news.

Just click on here:
Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy=Show Your Support!!!

Lighthouse Lighting Storm painting

Lightning Dance (3.5" x 2.5" acrylic) Note: This painting is not framed. Frame is used for illustration only.

As thunder plays in the background, lighting performs it's slow dance. ........Still in a stormy mood, I have painted this one using pinks and blues. A storm rolling in at dusk. The lightning reflecting off the water (calm before the storm) So many times we see the water get like this here at the lake. Just like glass until the last possible second when the storm hits. It's always spectacular! You will find the painting listed here

Tall Ships, Storms, Lightning

The latest in my Storms at Sea Series. A long lighthouse getting beat up by waves. (aceo size 2.5" x 3.5")

A ship trying to negotiate it's way past the rocks in the midst of the storm. (aceo size 3.5" x 2.5") They are both listed for sale here

Sea Storm, Lighthouse, Lightning painting

I have been painting lots of crashing waves, rough seas etc lately. This one is calmer. Sort of the lull before the storm. ACEO size (2.5" x 3.5") painted with acrylics. I have listed it on Ebay here.

valentine painting - Flamingos aceo

This will be the last of my valentine heart series (maybe) This one is flamingo. As they do their love dance their necks make a heart shape in the water reflection. ACEO size (2.5" x 3.5") listed here on Ebay

Chicadees - Work in Progress complete

I added the blossoms tonight and gave the birds feet LOL. I am about done. It's extremely cold (-48 with windchill tonight) They will be at the feeders in the morning no matter what the temperature. I always make sure there is plenty out there for them to give them energy. They come to the feeder even while I'm adding food. They are not afraid at all and usually yell at me to hurry up.
8" x 10" acrylic on stretched canvas titled "Chickadees in the Spring" You will find it listed locally on Kijiji here

New work in progress - Chickadees

Of all the birds that come to my yard, my chickadees are my favourite. They are fearless no matter the size of the competition. So I figured it's time to paint them. First I started with rather a plain background. Greens and just a little rose colour.

Because I wanted the chickadees to be uniform in size (like they are in real life) I drew them first on paper and then transferred them with graphite paper.

I don't know why I always paint the birds first, but I like painting them first and then branches, trunks, leaves whatever later. It helps me to balance what I am seeing on the painting. These chickadees are pretty basic at this point.

Now to start filling in some details. The yellow on their breasts. Give them some eyes, paint the branch and give it some moss. Next I will do the blossoms and some detail to the feathers. Must remember to give the poor things some feet!

Lighthouse, Seascape, Storm painting

As storm starts brewing. The lighthouse stands as a lone sentry to guide ships safely passed the rocks. Painted with acrylics, this aceo (2.5" x 3.5") is signed and dated on the back. You will find it listed here

Valentine painting - dolphins

Fish aren't romantic? They aren't a symbol of love? Pish Posh I say.....They are when they can swim and dance and form a perfect heart! :) An aceo (2.5" x 3.5") acrylic signed and dated on the back. I have taken a whimsical look at dolphins doing their Love Dance, while swimming into the sunset. You can see "Love Dance" listed here

Swans - Valentine painting - Work in progress

This is just a fun little ditty in time for Valentines Day. It wasn't going to be a work in progress, but I photographed each stage so I thought I would put it on the blog as one. I did the background first and then the outline of the swans. You can't tell at this point even what they are going to be.

Put in some details. It's not a perfect mirror image (that would be pretty much impossible unless you were doing digital art. But I think it's pretty darn close.

Some finishing touches to the water, and there you go.....Love's Reflection. Swans mate for life and when posed such as they are, their necks make a beautiful heart. The heart shape is reflected in the water. An 8" x 10" acrylic that I will list somewhere. Just not sure if it will be local or on Ebay.

I also painted a similar aceo that will be listed on Ebay. You will find the aceo (art card editions and originals 2.5" x 3.5") listed here

Stat counter - Seeing where my visitors are from

I just added this really cool visitor counter so everyone can see where my visitors are from. It's the really neat square on the right with fireflies (I love fireflies) It makes my blog look like it just opened, when in fact it has been around for over a year. I wish I would have seen this sooner. No matter, it will fill up in no time! In the mean time I am painting away. I've started a painting for Valentines and also another one in my bird series. I will add the bird one here as a work in progress later.

sunset and Tall ship in Storm - new for 2009

After a short Hiatus, I painted some art cards today. I've been focusing on larger art lately, but am back to painting miniatures. Both of these are aceo size (2.5" x 3.5") The sea painting is very "blue". Must be in the warm Caribbean.

This one is of a sunset just after a storm. Colours are always so vivid at dusk right after a storm. You can see both of these listed on Ebay here

New Pastels

I received a set of beautiful soft pastel pencils for Christmas. They are really going to take some practise! It is going to be fun learning though :)

Bluejays - Finished

I finished the bluejays this afternoon. I learned the hard way that you can keep tweaking the painting forever and ruin it in the process. (when are we ever satisfied with out art work) so today I decided that it was done. I had fixed the pines and added the snowflakes etc so I decided to quit while I was ahead. Enjoy!

bluejays - work in progress

Background work today. This is going to take some time I think. I have to make some of the pine needles bigger.

Blue Jays - Work in Progress Day 3

I didn't work on this much today. Still working on the birds. I probably won't tweak them anymore now until after I have them standing on the tree branches. (or whatever I decide they are standing on) It's snowing so hard out today that I'm leaning more and more to snow covered pine branches. I had to erase a ton of lines out of the picture. They were confusing more than helping and I had already decided I didn't want the birds on mountain ash branches anyway, so got rid of them. I'll start fresh tomorrow (or tonight)

Bluejays - work in progress Day 2

I managed to get some very preliminary birds started today. I'm not to sure what I am going to put them on. either a pine bough or a stump. I will have to see. I may put a chickadee in near the top just so that you can see the size of the jays. I also changed the background a bit. I wasn't happy with the montain ash berries, so I made the clumps larger. They won't be so pronounced after I add the pine branches anyway.