Folk Art Painting on the Wheelchair Ramp

Hi Folks,

You'll remember this project from last year but there are hundreds of posts on the wheelchair ramp and with each of them painted differently this project is taking some serious time.

The most promising thing about it is that I never get tired of working on it and trying all sorts of variations on brush stokes that I've been wanting to teach myself.

The best part of this is that it's improving the look of new Dala Horses that I design.

You can read all about those on my dala horse blog. I love it when all of my efforts begin to come together into more interesting  and challenging projects.

I'm headed back to painting another post now and am also painting a little box with dala horses on it. Yes, they'll share some of the same design elements so you may want to check out the other blog as well.

Thanks for Stopping By,

Julia

A Bit of a Thaw in the Garden and Then Back to the Painting

I'm still working on that canvas but thought I'd go outside a while and see if there's anything stirring in the garden after our 60 degree temps this week. There were a few glimpses of green in the lily bed but that was about it.

I headed back to the canvas and still don't have a clear idea where it's going. I added a bit of green to that too.

I continue to enjoy working with the paints but can't stop reaching for the blues, I'm still waiting to see where it leads.

When it hit this point I was beginning to consider using it as a background for a vase or pot of flowers. 

Heading Back to Last Months Canvas

I wasn't quite sure what to do with this canvas when I started it last month but I grabbed my paints and went on with it anyway. Here are a few photos of it each step along the way today.

My current working title is Chasing the Blues because of my persistent urge to grab the blue paints first no matter what else I try to do.

As I'm painting I can't quite decide what I'd like to create or say with this one.

yes, it shows.

I flipped it on it's side and thought I may develop it into a landscape of sorts of a view of the flowers in my garden.

Here's a detail view of the right hand corner so you can see what sort of knife and brush strokes that I'm building the texture with. 

The Finished Painting

Here are the inspiration photo and the finished painting side by side. The important thing for me is that I capture the feel of that moment and not the exact look of a thing. Why go to all of the effort of painting just to create an exact copy? There are people that go in for that sort of thing but I'm just not one of them.

I enjoyed working on this and will head to my zazzle store to put it on a greeting card and a few other things as I decide what I'd like to paint next.

Painting From Your Garden Photos

Here's one of my favorite pictures from last summer's garden. I'm not thrilled about all the houses in the neighborhood so it's nice that I can create my own reality around it in my painting.

It's off to a bit of a rough start. As you can see perspective doesn't come easy to me. I'm self taught and didn't learn any of the things that I didn't already know. I've always worked more or less on instinct and passion and have finally come to realize that it just isn't enough. There's so much to learn and experience and I'm finally ready to take that journey. There's no telling where it might take me and I'm looking forward to sharing it with you.

I've stopped worrying about whether or not everything is the right shape and am relaxing into the paints and just enjoying the process. I'm using my hands, brushes and painting knives. I'm kind of pleased with the progress so far. What do you think?

It won't be long before I finish this painting now. There are just the leaves, grass and plants to paint now. I couldn't resist adding a few more blooming roses than were in the photo but that's just because there were a lot more of them by the end of the season.

Here's the finished painting. Definitely something new for me and less about creating a good painting than it is about celebrating good memories in the garden. There was a bit over flash when I shot this painting, but it should give you an idea of the results. 

Daisies

Daisies

by julia_art

I started by growing some daisies in the garden and then moved on to drawing and painting them. I'm looking forward to planting more of them this summer and adding a few different varieties as well.

Landscape Painting on Computer Accesories to Brighten Your Home or Office

mountain lake mouse pad

by julia_art

Here's a blast from the past. I did this landscape in oils back in the 1980's. What fun to be using it now to decorate the office!

lakeshore wireless mouse

by julia_art

Cala Lilies for Tea

It's always nice to have company in the studio and yesterday was no exception. I cut the lilies from my houseplant and arranged them in a small pitcher for a centerpiece and decided on an easy menu. I just served cheese and crackers, a veggie tray with spinach dip which I had on hand and some hot, fresh donuts from a Chinese restaurant in the neighborhood. Needless to say, the donuts were a big hit. Best of all it was fast and easy to put together.

After everyone had left I decided not to let the flowers go to waste so I did some drawings around photos of the table and used them for Thank You cards for my guests.

I tried a number of different approaches in watercolor pencil and ink. some went to guests and other as letters to interested friends who hadn't been able to come.

Nothing was quite good enough to put on my merchandise on zazzle so they just went out in the mail.

I tried pen and ink but as you can see I'm much too out of practice at that. It looks like I need to hit the books or watch some videos to brush up on my skills.

Designing With A Sock Monkey Drawing and Painting

Sock Monkey

by julia_art

I've been experimenting with these designs on a wide variety of products over the last few years. This week I'm working on redesigning and updating a lot of them. There's always something to do in the quest to create products that will sell well.

If you want to see the drawing and painting in progress you can check the archives on this blog. As near as I can remember they were done about 5 years ago.

Ultimate Valentine

Ultimate Valentine

by julia_art

Well, here it is again. Each day I add a few more products to it and am amazed at how well this image works on any size and shape.

I did this oil painting over 20 years ago and it's brought a lot of pleasure to people in the last couple of decades.

Art can add a lot to your life in unexpected ways.

When I was a little girl all I wanted to be was a Dixie cup and Kleenex box. To brighten up life a bit and come in handy whenever needed. I never appeared on those products but I'm on thousands of other products that do the same thing.

Your dreams can come true in unexpected ways. Almost anyone can do this, it's always worth a try. You may be surprised at the results.

Iris Garden Electronics Accesories

Iris Garden Gel Mouse Pad

by julia_art

You may remember  this design from a painting I did quite a few years ago. It's been fun to use this detail view of it in so many ways. I'd worked on that painting in my garden off and on for fifteen years. Now I get the chance to take it to the next level and see just how far I can push the image.

Iris Garden Power Bank

by julia_art

I've used it here as a repeat pattern.

Iris Garden USB Charging Station
by julia_art

Iris Garden Power Bank
by julia_art

Iris Garden Mouse Pad
by julia_art
I think this will brighten up any office, don't you?

Iris Garden Wireless Mouse
by julia_art

Ultimate Valentine Gifts from the Lily Painting

Ultimate Valentine

by julia_art

I got a late start on this but love the idea of a set of matching products for a valentines gift. Pick your container and the products that are perfect for your valentine. So far I don't know anyone that's doing this where everything matches and I'm really looking forward to finding out whether or not people like the idea. No matter your budget this gift will be incredibly special and unforgettable. I'd love to get one myself!

Sunny and Cold in the Garden

Hello there!

I's beginning to feel a bit like the winter that wasn't in the garden. It's cold and sunny but you can still see patches of the lawn everywhere but in the shade of the trees where we've still got a bit of snow. The only visitors to the garden have been squirrels, cardinals and goldfinches.

I discovered yesterday that we can put art on a wireless computer mouse and I thought that would be the sort of gift that almost anyone could use. I made quite a few of them and plan to go back today to make mouse pads to match them and see what other computer products are available. Who knows, I may design whole collections of them.

When I finish that I've got a nice little wooden box that I'm painting some dala horses on. I think it would make a great gift filled with some of the tiny dala horse ornaments that I was painting earlier this winter.

Back to the Paints

I've spent so much time lately just working with designs that I needed to feel a brush in my hands again and reconnect with my paints.

I was tempted to do some easel painting but decided to finish a few small projects first.

I started with this small wooden box and my fall back floral and dot designs. It will be a gift for a friend in a few days.

It's not very inspired but it is decorative enough to be interesting and took a surprising amount of time to complete because of all of the layers of tiny dots.

The box itself was a dollar tree purchase so my cash investment was minimal.

The nice thing about projects like this is that they allow me to relax and think about other things. They're my breathing space between more challenging projects.

Few people understand that in spite of my best efforts to explain it. All that really matters is that it makes perfect sense to me and it helps me move on to other things.

Ties Designed by Sister's

Easter Tie
by wildties

Art Glass Neck Tie
by wildties

Island Moods Tie
by wildties

Goes with Anything Tie
by wildties

Pop Art Neck Tie
by wildties

Vacation Tie
by wildties
All but this last necktie were designed with Tami's drawings in different sizes and arrangements. This last one was Julia's. As you can see we both like bright colors but Tami better at it than I am. They were all a lot of fun to work with.