Jeez... what a friggin' AW!!!

Thank you beautiful .... 

Sure, I'll AW with you.


Last year, my sister and I were asked to transform a traditional Christmas Nutcracker into an art piece. We did the "prototype" to show what could be done with them and then dozens of local artists received a Nutcracker and are transforming them.



Here's the before on the left and the transformed on the right. He's titled, "Heaven and Nature Sing" and is based on St. Francis and the famous Bird Girl statue in Savannah GA.


Here's the pretty stones I painted for his birdbath.





Here's a closeup of his noggin.




I had so much fun doing this one that I agreed to do another one this year. The one I'm working on now is carrying a huge toothbrush and is very "Tim Burton-esque." 


We also had a bicycle Gran Prix race and I was asked to decorate a bike to hang downtown to commemorate the event. Many artists were involved in this project, too. It was a lot of fun and really added to the festive look.



Then, just for fun, I painted these two Pool Pals. My aunt used to wear a swim cap any time she was near water. She never went IN the water, but she was prepared, anyway.




I found a radio cabinet from the Habitat for Humanity ReStore and painted that sucker up. It was a fun painting job. I kinda didn't want to stop painting it.



When I get tired of painting, I go out and play with the chipmunks and squirrels.

AWESOME PICTURES!!! Great talent and beautiful art... I love love love the radio cabinet and the bike .... and that picture with the squirrel touched my heart ... I love love love tiny animals .... 

I worked on a canvas using heavy acrylics over the weekend ... it was a challenge but I enjoyed it...

Thanks for making my thread BEAUTIFUL!!!!!

Thanks! I'm lucky that I get to do what I love. I know this! 

The chipmunks are so funny. I have about a dozen that come up and demand peanuts. It's the first thing I do every morning... before I even have coffee... go out and feed the little fellers. Can't keep them waiting! 

Do you ever use palette knives when using heavy acrylics?  I really like the look of layered acrylic with a knife.

I sat and painted nonstop yesterday. I didn't even want to take a break to eat or pee. Today is doing the less than fun stuff on the Nutcracker project. Sanding, base coating, etc. Blah stuff.
 Oh well, it still beats being in an office.

 I used a rake brush and 2 palette knives ... then I used natural and synthetic brushes for blends ... this piece is totally drafted and unfinished .... I still have to define the faces and the hair but I had to wait for some layers to dry ...

I know about painting non-stop ... and holding off on breaks ... once I get something stuck in my head I have to keep going ... and I cannot live without my gesso cause I am a PITA and anal too LOL ....

Your work is just FABULOUS .... I can draw and sketch things as I see them or imagine them and I can only paint and on canvas and paper and do murals on walls.. I can't paint objects like you ... it is AWESOME the way you bring it together and the colors are soooooooooooo perfect ... I love it!!!

Those chipmunks are soooooooooo lucky... and painting certainly beats being in an office ... I wish I could stay home and paint all day ... but then there are days I don't even want to look at a brush nor a piece of fabric ... on those days I am usually farting around with my hair or weave..or extensions ... go figure...

Thank you so much for sharing ... your artwork is AMAZING ... I stopped and showed it to some friends here and they were all saying how AWESOME all your pieces were ... 




Excuse typos ... typing on the tablet and can't see a lick by now LOL ... 

Who are the people in the portrait? Is it from a wedding photo?

I hauled all my stuff out (including the life sized Nutcracker... have to "walk" him out like a dork!) and started painting... and then it started raining! I "walked" him back into my garage and then the rain stopped. I think it's a sign.

I love painting furniture. It's really my first love. I like doing little bits of everything, though. Keeps you from getting bored, am I right?

I can't sew like you can, though. My sewing end up in swearing!

 Just getting in from gym ... the peeps are Tinkerbelle and her groom (totally unfinished)..

How heavy is the life sized Nutcracker? you are doing an AWESOME job on it. Is it not cold out where you are? It was so chilly and rainy here today I was shivering when I left work ... did you bring him back out when the rain stopped or did you get entertained like I would with something else? I have so many unfinished bits and pieces it is not even funny LOL... Yup little bits of everything keeps one from getting bored.... I wish I could paint furniture ... I did this beautiful painting in sepia working with burnt/raw sienna and raw umber with yellow oxide... then I mixed ultramarine blue and sienna for tones of black for lines... with swans and butterflies on the top of a dresser and finished it off in clear gloss and it came out perfect ... then I got greedy and decided to stain and finish all of it and messed it all up and ruined it... had to get rid of it it was THAT bad... 

Your chipmunks would love my #8 ferret ... he LOVES perching on my laptop... I think he likes the heat and the light from the screen LOL and he LOVES nuts too... I have to watch them when I am painting... my albino ferret Caspar ran through my palette and got red paint all over his tail ... my son was able to do damage control and his fur was not stained...

**typos**

Incredible work!  Thanks for sharing it with us! 

Wow! Such amazing work! Wonderfully talented artists here! I loved all of your works and they brought a smile to my face! Thanks to you both for sharing and could you possibly send some of that awesome talent my way, please!!!
Martita -you always make me smile... you are one super lady and your posts bring joy to anyone and everyone *****ads them!! Keep them coming..  N.M. -you keep up the great artistic work, too-Very very nice work from you both, take care,  Mary