Updated Flea Market Painting

It's called Pity Puppy by Gig from the 1960's and the story is the puppy is sad because his home burned down.



Anyway I picked up an old framed print for a few dollars at the Yellow Springs Flea Market and added my own twist.



Meanwhile I have faced the cold demon and have the beast under control. That can't be said about my sewing, I got carried away making nazar boncuk felt birds.



I

Snow Monster

Has come back to haunt us



and it is snowing hard and fast.



I would say eek, but I am still recovering from a week of cold and side effects of cough medicine, so staying home snuggled in is okay with me. Sewing, prep work in the studio, a little bit drawing, and reading me thinks.

Vintage Scrapbook Pages: The Peasant Look 1970

No, not talking about me



I am still fighting a horrid, icky, grotty, miserable, rotten cold. I think you got the gist of it, right ;)

So I thought I would share a page from my 1970-71 scrapbook. My mum did the beautiful chalk pastel design but don't remember which mag I cut the images from.



I still have a cameo brooch that belonged to my Nana and I used to wear it similar to the photo on

Bottle Cap Art and Much More

I came across a wonderful artist who refers to herself as an artist and agitator, Mary Ellen Croteau,right there you must have guessed she is an artist right up my alley.  Did you notice the size of the portrait? She kindly shares how you can make a bottle cap mural on her website here.



Mary does much more, check out her gallery and see the range of her work. As she says in her artist

Life Drawing and Wall Art Issue

WARNING









Before you give me the evil eye be warned if life drawing offends ye, don't scroll down.



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This is for those who are new to my art blog and

All that is Golden

I couldn't get out of my comfort zone TOO much with this one, so I ended up letting loose with the brush with her collar, touched up the nose, the birds beak and added red to the lips.  Just need to leave it for a month or so and let it thoroughly dry before putting resin on it. Then fix the hinges, and it's DONE. I love the gold leaf paint effect, makes the wood look carved and has a Gothic

Body Art Expo March 22-March 24

Body Art Expo Website

 Premium Tattoo will be exhibitors at the Body Art Expo next weekend! If you are interested in booking an appointment with Matt, Brett, or Danielle during the convention give us a call at (510) 922-8901. Great shops, fun vendors, and friendly competition!  Follow the link under the above image to the Body Art Expo website for further information involving directions and hours of operation. Due to our participation in the expo, Premium Tattoo will be closed Friday, March 22 thru Monday, March 25. We will open our doors again Tuesday at 11am. See you at the Body Art Expo!

Fighting Your Comfort Zone

and it isn't easy. 



I wanted her hair to look like a nest, the brushstrokes visible, and the bird more of a suggestion of one rather than try and render it realistically.The whole time I was doing this I wanted to slip back into my comfort of  blending and trying to get a realistic face.

Not sure what to think of it, although I really like the bird. I do like the loose brushstrokes, but I'm

New Tattoos

 New pieces by Matt Decker
and Brett Baumgart!

Large line work piece on Allison. Tattoo by Matt Decker.

Gears tattoo by Matt Decker

Tribute tattoo on Mickey. Tattoo by Matt Decker.

Tattoo by Matt Decker

Johnny Cash leg piece on long time client Brady

Alicia Keyes signed and Brett Tattooed.

Alligator tattoo started by Brett, color to follow. Big thanks to Craig for traveling from New York for some ink!

Small memorial tattoo in progress. 3 hours in another 4 hours to go.

Small back of the neck tattoo on Teddy from the uptown.

Bird in Hand and Liquid Gold

I made a cast of my hand last month and used it for the Public Art Box.  We, as in jafagirls, don't change it every month, but we take turns putting something in it when the mood strikes.



Meanwhile in the Studio



I started preparing mdf panels I cut out for a tri fold frame for a painting. 

After painting it black, I glued on filigree paper (think I got it from the scrapbooking

Leaving Our Mark

One can never really know if what we paint, write or sing passes through the centuries and sometimes the most obscure and strange things take on a life of it's own.

Will these strange tiles left on the streets of so many cities be remembered in 50 years, a 100 years? The tiles will disappear, but now they are recorded for posterity, perhaps.


Available on Netflix Streaming.



My Mark



Out

Not so Cute Really

altoid tin, velvet, embroidery text, shell, bottle caps, paper and plastic


Free Art Friday Box: Plastic Pollution

I know it looks cute on the lid, just as we think owls are cute but are we wise. We love our birds, owls and sea creatures and YET  we are killing them by the thousands with our plastic garbage. Sixty to  eighty percent of the marine litter is plastic and it doesn't degrade. Some

It's International Bunny Day

no wait, Women's Day. Like this Hare I just woke up and gathering me wits (with the help of a cup of strong tea).

Anyway I thought I would share a few links about Female Graffiti Artists who very "often find it hard to be taken seriously" 



"painting your voice in the street is an act of courage and transforming your city and making your gender visible on the wall . These female graffiti

While I was stuck in the studio

and the birds were stuck in the treetops



I worked on my own bird



adding layers of cut plastic feathers 

static made it rather a challenge



Bird

It was passed from one bird to another,

the whole gift of the day.

Pablo Neruda



The day was a gift, a winter wonderland with the beautiful sound of silence.

Bursts of Colour

I know, it's the same old stencil bird cd AGAIN


but this is more about colour and placement. I always enjoy walking down Keiths Alley in Yellow Springs and seeing the graffiti.
This one is on the back wall of Main Squeeze, which also got a bird CD.



In the cold grey winter days these bursts of colour are much needed. 



Getting my Craft On

working on another faf box



and you would

Tea for Two English Style

Finally after reading each others blogs for about as long as we have been doing our blogs (6 years)we get to meet. Sue has a wonderful blog called Rabbit Run Cottage and what keeps bringing me back is her fabulous photography and descriptions of life, and travel and all the things she loves. After a cuppa we buzzed downtown and of course she couldn't come to Yellow Springs and NOT put a bird

The Tortoise and the Hare

 The fable of the The Tortoise and the Hare is often referred to as a children's story, but it's not. 


I see many adults who could learn a lesson or two from reading Aesop's Fables.  Sometimes we (general we) are in such a rush we compromise our art by trying to be popular, get noticed,or get ahead. I see it in the art and craft world and sometimes we see others getting so much attention for