Latest Painting, Mixed Media Abstract

Yesterday, I said to my oldest son, "watch this..."  I brought my newly completed painting to my yountest son, who is 6 and a half.  "What do you think of this, Ethan?" I asked, expecting for certain that he would make a screwed up face and say something like, "weird" or just simply shake his head at me.

What I got was the complete opposite...His eyes popped, his arms flew up in the air with the exclamation, "I LOVE IT!!!!  That is soooooo beautiful, Mom!  I can't believe you made that, WOW!!!!"   Kids never cease to amaze me, and as I learned for myself, you just never know what reaction you are going to get!

You can click on the image to see more views of this painting on my Artfire site.

My Sweet Kitten, Jingles

Yesterday morning I spent working on a watercolor of my kitten, Jingles.  I did it on an 1/8 sheet of 140 lb watercolor paper.  What do you think?

Funky Handpainted Wine Glasses

I had fun creating these wine glasses.  A coworker and friend of mine made the suggestion to me that I just absolutely HAD to create these wine glasses.  Well, I just had no choice but to make them...hand painted, with funky designs on the stem...I loved the idea right away.  I ran to Michaels, did some research, bought the best materials (of course, nothing but the best!) and began to paint.  I hope you enjoy them, too.  Tell me what you think!

Greeting Cards, anyone?

 

My Artfire Shop

One of my favorite things about Christmas and the whole holiday season is receiving Christmas cards. I love it...I get so excited when I go to the mailbox and, there it is. A perfect crisp envelope addressed to the MacDonald family. The excitement builds as I try to guess who sent it. Sometimes it is obvious, by the return address, but sometimes, the sender can be quite mysterious! Putting only their address or no return address at all.

Sometimes cards are from far away, with long letters of their events of the past year, sometimes just a signature. Some cards are from people who live reasonably close by but don't see too often. And some cards are from people I see every day. They are all beautiful and it means so much to hear how loved ones, family and friends are doing. It is such a thoughtful thing to do, to send a card. It is a time of year when there is constant hustle and bustle. "Time! I don't have enough time!" is a common complaint. But, somebody took the time to send a note, in a simple card and say, I am thinking of you. What a beautiful gift.

And here is Snow in the Birches

 

Snow in the Birches on Artfire

So, on that note, if you happen to be looking for Holiday cards, I just so happen to have some for sale on Artfire.  Both images here are prints of my most recent watercolor paintings. I was especially happy with the poinsettia, I hope you like them, too.  You can click on either one to see my shop.

I certainly hope your holidays are warm and joyous and thank you for reading my blog.  Please feel free to drop a note and share your thoughts, I would love to hear from you.

Jo-Ann

www.jdmstudios.com

jdmstudios on Artfire

Fine Art Reproductions

Okay, I found this website and I am curious to know if anyone has ever tried them. They offer fine art reproduction prints on paper or canvas. The site is CanvasPress.comNew customers get 15% off the first order if you click here:
15% off your order. Use NEWCUST at checkout. Expires 11/30/2010. * new customers only
Let me know what you think!

Jo-Ann

Autumn is on its way out...

The days are certainly getting colder.  There is a cool nip in the air and the leaves are slowly disappearing from the trees.  Here is a painting that I finished just over a week ago.  These gorgeous leaves were just outside my kitchen window, just off the deck and I absolutely loved the way the sun caught the reds, golds and yellows.  I hope you enjoy.

I have listed this painting for sale on Artfire, here is the link if you'd like to check it out
My Artfire Listing Autumn Glow

With the falling of leaves ventures in Old Man Winter, and thoughts of Christmas preparations.  And it got me to thinking about getting those Christmas cards out early this year (ahem...that would be a far cry better than other years when they were hand delivered, one year late...you know who you are...sorry!)

I found this website, Vistaprint, and they offer 10 free Holiday cards.  What's the catch?  Well, it actually looks legit!  I went through the entire process as a guest.  I uploaded an image of my own for the front of the card (being an artist, thought it would be nice to have my own artwork there).  No problems with the upload.   On the left hand margin, I noticed a $2.49 I was to be charged for an upload fee.  As I went through the process of options available, including color photo on the inside of the card (black and white photo was free, but color photo was an additional $2.49) I could change my message, too.  I was offered matching envelopes for $7.99 and matching mugs, notebooks, pens, none of which I chose, though I did think they looked pretty cool.  As long as I did not order the extras, my bill stayed at the original $2.49 and I didn't even have to pay that if I chose one of Vistaprint's images.  Then there was shipping, which was a pretty standard rate.

Here is the link if you'd like to check it out:

Gorgeous fall day...

The leaves are changing here in Cape Breton, Nova Scotia and what a glorious day it is here!   The air carries the pungent aroma of damp leaves and earth, still wet from the gentle rain we had this morning.  The sun is shining and it is unusually warm for this time of year.  It makes the red and yellow leaves stand out even more against the dark bark of their trees.

I am so close to finishing my fall leaves painting.  I can't wait to get back to my paints.  Stay tuned...

So little time...

I have been going like a madwoman making changes to my website!  I have struggled with learning CSS, but I think it is finally coming together.

I have gotten a really good start on the galleries (check out my vertical drop down menu, please!!) but I still need to get some more paintings on there.  The Angels section is finished, as are the Florals.  Still have to get the Landscapes written and uploaded as well as Abstracts, Soldered Frames, Quilts, Still Life and New Work.

It is pretty cool when it all starts coming together, but hard on the head trying to sort that code out.  My son keeps asking me why I don't use one of those programs that do all that stuff for you, but hey, I do love a challenge.


If you get a moment, check out my Etsy page.  I have my latest painting "A Simple Pear" on there now and it seems to be getting quite a few looks.http://www.etsy.com/shop/jdmstudios

It has been a busy week!  Working part time certainly has its benefits.  I consider myself blessed that I can have the best of both the working world ( I do enjoy my job) and the art world.  I have been off all this week and have been painting up a storm.  My plan is to be busy.  Busy with my artwork.

I have so far listed two framed watercolor paintings on Etsy.  My store is jdmstudios.etsy.com if you get a hankering to check it out. My crows are there, too.

Check back in the next day or so for my newest work.  They are almost ready to be seen by the world!

Jo-Ann Dziubek-MacDonald
www.jdmstudios.com

Welll, it's been a wet week, but I have finished several paintings I've been working on.  I am still working on the crow series.  I hope you like them!  The one above I call "Through the Foliage--the Crow".  It is mixed media on 140 lb watercolor paper, 15 x 11 inches, predominantly in watercolor and watercolor pencil, with acrylic media for added texture.

The following on is called "Here's Looking at You--the Crow".  Same size and media as the one above.

Thanks for stopping by!

Jo-Ann  Dziubek-MacDonald

Reflecting on an Apple (Ipod, that is!)

Hey there!   Just finished this today, and I am happy with the result.  It is a painting of my son, Andrew, sitting under a tree with his Ipod.  

I took this pic on Easter Monday at the same park where I took the pics of the crows.  Andrew took a time out from kite flying.  I loved the way the light was coming through the trees, just had to take the picture!  

It is not too often we get weather like we had that day here Cape Breton in April.  The weather made up for it today, though, cold and snow :-(

My Crow

I've always loved crows.  Some people find them to be a bit of a nuisance, you know, when they are sifting through garbage or making a racket.  Personally, I find them beautiful with their slick, black feathers.  They are always around, here in Sydney...everywhere you go, you can pretty well spot a crow.  

One crow sorrow, 

Two crows joy, 

Three crows a letter,

Four crows a boy...

Five crows silver,

Six crows gold,

Seven crows a secret never to be told.

If I see one, I always look for another, just in case its true, you know, about the sorrow.

So, there were five crows when I took this picture, but I only painted one so far!

Hope you like it!  Let me know what you think!

Easter Monday, what a beautiful day!

On Easter Monday, my mom, my two sons and I went out to the local park to fly a kite. I took some great shots and hope to get them on to watercolor paper this week.

Today is my first day painting in a long time. Check back soon for the results!