Getting Ready for The In Laws

This little guy is a neighbour of my in laws who live on Lake Superior. He makes his home just beneath a rock in their front yard. He is oh so very tame and allows you to come quite close before he makes a dash for his hole.........I call it a condo since from looking at him he seems to be living in the lap of luxury.

Speaking of my in laws, they arrive tomorrow at noon which makes me quite anxious as my house is a complete mess. This is the day in which I freak out and turn into Molly Maid. When I look around, I try not to, I truthfully don't know where to start. Should I wash the kitchen floor, how about vaccumming the cat hair off the couch, the bathrooms need to be cleaned and I still have groceries to pick up.

Having other people stay with you forces you to clean out those drawers that continue to get everything stuffed into them. You know the ones with the old flyers, empty gum wrappers, tops of old tupperware that have no bottoms.... that junk. Now I may not notice it all that often because I'm used to seeing it but when guests arrive it is a whole other ball game. They will be opening all those lovely cupboards and drawers where I hide my lack of organization. I have this cupboard beneath my stove top where I stash all my pots and pans. It is very disorganized but to my credit, I have children. Everytime you pull out one pot, about three others, that someone (teenagers) has stacked on top, fall on the floor in a loud clank. Rather embarrasing when your having a dinner party. Did I say I had teenagers? Don't get me wrong, my in laws are the easiest people in the world. They would never expect me to do anything at all in preparation for their visit. This is just all of my "crazy stuff".

I wish I were more like my father in law, he is the ultimate in organized. The last time he was here he cleaned out my entire car complete with vaccuming. It looked like the day I bought it. Won't he be in for a pleasant surprise when he arrives only to see it has reverted back to it's old self. Both girls are out this morning so I can't saddle them with any of the chores. Weren't they smart to make other plans for today?

Back to that chipmunk.... I bet his condo is spotless. All those peanuts lined up nice and neat in a row but then again I bet he doesn't share his home with teenagers.

A Painting A Day

GoldenSOLD

Image Size 4"x3"
Double Matted 8"x10"
$100.00>

This Falls Under The Category "What Was I Thinking?"

I snapped this photo yesterday feeling all "happy and sunny" ....yeah, spring is here. Today I woke up to sleet, rain and wind. Tonight it is supposed to go below freezing...yuck! Poor flowers.

Lately I've been spending too much time reading art blogs. I can't help myself. I so enjoy checking out what others have been working on and posting. I have my usual list of artists I check in with almost daily and one of my favourite blogs is Creative Laundry, Art and Motherhood in the Suburban Wasteland. Not only is it brilliantly written but Ellen is an amazing artist as well. Her blog never fails to remain interesting as well as humourous. Her April 20th post "My Day Without Oil" is so very clever and funny. Today's entry "My Previous Life as A Poodle" took me right back. So in honor of Ellen's post here is my scary 80's hair which leads me to wonder "what was I thinking?"

What was with those glasses? I think Leonardo DiCaprio wore those when he starred in the bio pic "The Aviator". I don't know if you can see but I'm wearing pink stripped satin shorts alla "Olivia Newton John's video "Let's Get Physical". I think I thought I was pretty cool back then but come on....did I own a mirror? Why didn't John tell me I had to lose that look? Probably because he had the same big sunglasses as me and we both thought we were pretty hip. Anyone else brave enough to comment on their 80's look? That's my blast from past. Thanks Ellen for inspiration.

Painting A Day Blogs & The Talented Molly Brose

Alliums Work in Paint & Thread 11"x14"

So you know I've been kicking around this idea of selling my smaller pieces, which will be matted but not framed, from this blog for quite sometime. I've gone back and forth with the idea maybe I will, maybe I won't. So as I sit here typing away I've got my framer matting a few for me. I'm going to post them sometime next week. So tune in! There are many artists who are now selling their artwork from their blog as I have recently discovered. I like the idea because I think it makes art more accessible to everyone and it also gets us artists a little bit more exposure. Even though the web may be flooded with small artworks at this point I think each artist has their own talents and strengths and that will attract the type of client who follows their work. Just my thoughts!

Anyone who follows art on the internet is probably aware of the "Painting A Day" movement which was spearheaded by the famously talented artist Duane Keiser. Just in case you don't here's the lowdown.......In 2004 Duane decided to post a postcard size painting on his blog everyday and sell them for $100.00. He could barely post them fast enough as they sold almost immediately. Today he still posts his works from his blog but sells them through eBay. His small paintings sell for around $300.00 or more. You can read more about Duane in this article by U.S.A. Today.

There are also many other groups that have popped up lately such as the Daily Painters Art Gallery. Over 100 artists are represented and they receive about 15,000 views a day. Not bad.....not bad at all. Which now leads me to how I found one of my new favourite artists, Molly Brose. I found Molly's work on the Daily Painters site and absolutely loved it. Her unique work is done primarily in graphite, conte and watercolours. There is something so beautiful in how she is able to capture a story within each piece of her art. The swirling backgrounds done in watercolour add such delicate colour without overpowering the message the work holds. I usually check out Molly's work everyday but I'm not the only one judging on how quickly her work sells. I love "On The Mend" but someone beat me to it......of course the needle and thread totally spoke to me. Molly sells her work for $95.00 each and tries to post 3 or more paintings a week. If you get a chance check out her site. It is a feast for the eyes.

Spring

Some amazing weather has just begun here in Ontario and I for one couldn't be happier. Everyone I run into just seems to be in a better mood seeing that the long, cold winter we've just experienced is drawing to a close.

I picked up my artwork this morning for the Carriage House Show and I just couldn't be happier. Diane took each one out to present to me and I felt the chill start at my toes and eventually work it's way to the top of my head. I just couldn't believe the work could look that wonderful. I'm not going rattle on again about framing as I did that in my last post but suffice to say.........I am one happy girl.

Below you can find the before and after of "The Village". It started out with a plain white mat and a brown wood frame. Here is before minus the frame because I couldn't find a shot of it........just imagine that there is a brown wooden frame around it. The size was originally an 8"x10" but is now a 16"x12". It goes without saying a photo can never take the place of seeing it live.....besides I'm not a great photographer either as you can see by how lopsided the photo is.