Some new crow paintings and video

Got some great energy moving in my studio yesterday with some amazing music as I started (and finished!) two new ACEO paintings.   

I was listening to The Grey Dusk of Eve (Return to Portobello), a song by local band The Rankin Family.  This mysterious and powerful song always gets me fired up and really lets me get that paint moving.  I made a little video using the song and some of my crow paintings if you'd like to check it out, it's on the bottom of this post.

The warming sun of autumn got me thinking about Halloween and the brilliant colors of  golds and oranges in fall.  This little guy I call my "Halloween Crow".

I love the warm sunny days of fall and the freshness of the cool nights.  Here's "Moonlight Crow" out enjoying the brisk night air.

Last week my son and I went out on a photography expedition.  He hopped on his bike (he loves that bike!) and the two of us headed down to the running track.  I was in search of some good crow photos for reference pics.  I figured the track would be a good place to start  because there are always loads and loads of crows there.  

There was quite a few people around as it was a gorgeous evening and the sun was just starting to set.  People were out walking and enjoying the evening.  The crows were out too.  Watching us, anybody would have thought we were totally off our rockers for sure.  

We tried to sneak up on the crows to get their picture.  But of course they always KNEW we were there.  And would immediately start their funky walk in the opposite direction away from us.  I was having a hard time getting a front shot of them.  I could only get them from behind.  Well, duh!  We would get so close and then they would fly away.  I would just get them in my viewfinder, shoot and my camera was just fast enough to get the tail feathers as they took off.

Not Sour Grapes

Remember way back when  I mentioned that I was participating in a fundraiser to raise money for mental health?  Here's the link in case you missed it:  Here's a Great Cause

This week, I finished two of the 6x6 inch tiles, and today I got them both packed up and mailed off to Halifax.  Yay!  

Here's a peek:

Not Sour Grapes 1

 They are both painting using acrylic paint and are both on 6x6 masonite tiles.

Not Sour Grapes 2

Thanks for stopping by!

Guess What Came Today!

Magic Love Crow   is one of those blogs you go to and it just puts a smile on your face.  Stacy is a such a cheery and kindhearted artist.  She always has the most fun posts on her blog and is always coming out with new ACEOs and paintings.  Like me, she is a die hard crow lover and she creates these fun, whimsical crow paintings.  

Stacy has purchased several of my own ACEOs and I picked out one of hers just last week.  It arrived in my mailbox yesterday...Yay!  This morning I got around to taking some pics...

 

See...ya can't help but smile!

Here's a close up of "Autumn Flowers"...check out the detail on the wings.  The picture doesn't do it justice, it is so pretty and fun.  Stacy's personality just comes shining through!

Right now Stacy is having an AMAZING blog giveaway for her September birthday and anniversary of opening her Etsy shop.  Interested?  Here's the first blog post on the giveaway here.  And since this giveaway has started, she has added even more prizes including a booby prize...hehe  I love it ❤

Crowing about New ACEO Listings

I just put some new ACEO paintings up on Etsy of one of my favorite subjects...Crows :-)  This is my little mini-series of mini-paintingsYou can click on each of the images to have a look at the listing.

Crow Closeup

The size of these little paintings is 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches. They are all ACEO paintings, which stands for "Art Cards, Editions and Originals" and are the same size as a baseball trading cards. 

Crow Cawing



They are all  painted on watercolor paper, 140lb using acrylic paints. 

Crow Walk

Thanks for stopping by!   Let me know if you have a favorite, okay?

Here's a Great Cause...

What makes you feel good as an artist?  I love beauty and light, and I love to create.  I love to capture that beauty and share it.  When an artist creates a painting, they are creating a labor of love.  There is an energy and passion that goes into each and every painting.  Thoughts, feelings and emotions all come through in their creation, even those that are unintended.

I am able to share this creation with others.  And whether they simply give it a quick glance or take in every drop of paint, they are taking in that energy  and passion that went into creating that piece of art.

This week I am creating paintings that will be donated to the Canadian Mental Health Association Halifax-Dartmouth branch.  They have an amazing fundraiser coming up and I really want to share this with everyone.

A good friend recently asked me if I'd be interested in participating in this art event.  She is a volunteer and a great supporter of the Canadian Mental Health Association Halifax-Dartmouth Branch.

This association is inviting all artists to participate int the 13th annual Mosaic for Mental Health.  The exhibition consists of 6"x6" individual works of art.  The Annual Mosiac for Mental Health has become a powerful expression of artists who care about mental health and mental illness.

Here is their website if you'd like to have a look:  www.cmhahaldart.ca


CMHA promotes the mental health of all and supports the resilience and recovery of people experiencing mental illness.  Proceeds from the Mosaic for Mental Health support the Social Programs of CMHA HalifaxDartmouth Branch:  Among Friends Social Club, Sharing and Caring Social Club and Building Bridges.

All media are welcome, whether it be painting, ceramics, drawing, textiles, photography, collage, prints, 3-D.   All work for the event (with the exception of ceramic, sculpture or textiles) is to be on or attached to 6"x6" tiles, which are available from CMHA Halifax-Dartmouth Branch.

If you live in the Halifax-Dartmouth area, the tiles can be picked up at the CMHA branch.  My tiles were mailed to me, however in future, they are suggesting that artists create their works on 6 x 6 inch watercolor paper, and the artwork would be mounted to the tiles after they are received.  In this way, costs on shipping are saved as they do have a bit of weight to them and we all know that shipping costs can get pricey.  If, however your medium of choice doesn't work well on watercolor paper, they will be happy to send some tiles to you.

To have your work included in the Mosaic Poster, artwork must be submitted by Wednesday, September 21.

The exhibition will begin on Thursday, Oct 13, 2011 from 7-9 pm until Sunday Oct 30th at the Craig Gallery, Alderney Landing in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.

Final submission deadline is Monday Oct 3.

All submissions will be for sale at $25.00 each, which is an incredible price for artwork.

Further info 902-455-5445 or email cmhahal@ns.aliantzinc.ca  

My tiles are all gessoed and they are almost ready to go.  What I create on them will be a surprise...will it be an abstract?  A crow?  A light filled still life?  What would you like to see?