Walnut Bay Light – vintage photo

I finally gave FotoSketcher a try – it’s a software a Greenleaf forum member showed us not too long ago. You can make drawings, paintings, etc. from your regular photos. I took a photo of Walnut Bay Light and played with the settings. I love the vintage photo effect. :]

Categories: Art and paintings, Walnut Bay Light
May 19, 2017 | 0 comments

He’s just misunderstood

I grew up reading Dr. Seuss books and have always loved the whimsical characters.  My childhood copy of The Lorax is still on my bookshelf and is in rather good condition.  I’ve even been to the Dr. Seuss National Memorial in Springfield, Massachusetts.  It rained the day I went, but I still had great fun viewing the sculptures.

So, I was over the moon when I discovered The Secret Art of Dr. Seuss (as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases). You can see many of the works here.  My personal favorite was Cat from the Wrong Side of the Tracks.  I contacted the folks at Dr. Seuss, and they granted me permission to reproduce this print in miniature for my personal collection.  Hooray!

I think it will end up in the Brownstone ultimately, but it might make appearances elsewhere in the meantime.  I also plan to make a frame for it eventually, so I made the art crate a little larger than the print.  In this photo, you can see the slight texture of the scrapbook paper I used that gives it a canvas quality.

I made the art crate from basswood scraps darkened with a touch of brown paint mixed with staining medium.  The nails are bronze paint.  It is non-opening.

I cut a stencil using the Cricut to dry brush lettering and symbols.  :]  I used recycled office supplies for the material since it’s very close to true stencil plastic.

Considering the success with the small parts of the letters, I could likely make even smaller stencils.  I did have to pause the cut a few times to remove tiny bits of plastic that popped out so they wouldn’t get caught or interfere with the blade.

The trial was a success.

I cut away the excess so they would sit flat against the wood.

These were relative large in scale, but the crate is large and needed clear markings.

One side turned out better than the other, so I have a definite right side.  Yes, that’s a packing list pocket, bill of lading, invoice and certificate of authenticity.  :D

Categories: Art and paintings, Miniatures
April 19, 2017 | 0 comments

Fishies!

Sometime ago, April sent me a link to a lovely modern home that featured some enormous artwork. While the Greek horse was fine and all, it was the fish painting (we thought it was a painting) that drew us in.

I put it in my inspiration file for later. Then April’s birthday rolled around, and I remembered the fishies!!! I wanted to find the original so I could see the entire work, and after some quick Google searches I found it at New Ravenna Mosaics. It’s actually a mosaic and not a painting. It’s called Ellen’s Fish by Ellen McCaleb.

Painting I can do. Mosaics in miniature? Not for me. I cut some canvases measuring 3 3/8″ by 4 7/8″, which are fairly large for 1:12 scale, but this is modern art we’re talking. I painted a base of blue-greens and grey then added paper fish swimming in a school. The works are more inspired by the original than a precise replica.

This is the one that will stay in my collection and likely be housed in The Brownstone since it has high ceilings and large rooms good for modern art. (I sent one to April for her birthday.)

This one is listed on eBay. It’s #3 in the series. Where will the series end? I suppose when I get tired of making these.

Categories: Art and paintings
October 28, 2015 | 0 comments

Autumn color

The orange vase is a vintage piece found last autumn at an antiques mall. The LED twigs are from Bed, Bath & Beyond. It’s the perfect item for a hard to decorate space.

Categories: Art and paintings
October 12, 2015 | 0 comments

Bird prints

I found these beautiful bird images online. They are vintage prints from A History of British Birds, published in the 1850s by Rev. Francis Orpen Morris. I resized them and added borders before printing them on bond paper.

I used Yes! paste to affix the mini prints to thin sheets of balsa wood. (Note: I no longer recommend Yes paste – I use Wallpaper Mucilage instead.)

I cut the images out using the borders as cutting guides. I constructed frames from picture frame moulding from Hobby Builders Supply. The pieces were thin and tiny, so it was a bit tedious. Here the assembled frame is taped to a cardboard scrap for painting.

I originally cut a mat for the image but liked it better with only the frame. One down, eight more to go.

I had a fair amount of waste wood left over, even with the use of an Easy Cutter, because the frames had to be as close in size as possible since I wanted to hang them as a set.

Here they are above the sideboard in the kitchen’s dining area. The box is a silver and Swarovski crystal charm by Jolee’s Jewels and it opens. The shell is real, but this is the only side I can display since there are holes drilled through it to string on a necklace.

The sideboard is from a Mayberry Street dining set.

After new coat of paint (before painting the hardware silver), it becomes instantly more modern.

Categories: Art and paintings
November 22, 2009 | 0 comments