"Little Red"

Over the river ... Wishing all of my dears in blog land a most wonderful Thanksgiving! I know those of you outside the US don't celebrate it but maybe you can treat yourself to a slice of pie and think of us yanks ;)

We are busy busy readying the house for the big meal! We have a total of 10 for dinner which for us is exciting! I will be making what my daughter calls *pie marshmallow* the good ole sweet potatoes with tiny marshmallows on top. Baked until they are toasty brown....yum! Along with cranberry sauce (with marmalade) and other various dishes, of course everyone coming will bring a special dish as well. Looks nervously at scale!

Kitty

What is it about fall that makes me want to nest? Everyone else spring cleans ... I arrange my long neglected nest in preparation for the holidays.
I'm even enjoying domestic activities like cooking this time of year. I just made wonderful scallops and shrimp with olive oil and garlic *yum* Maybe its the chill in the air, which in itself is a rare jewel here in Florida, or the looming specter of company arriving, but I'm all a flurry with activity that normally I would put off till tomorrow (or the day after!)

My youngest daughter had her first ensemble experience at a county chorus competition, her group made superior and she was so proud. It's almost surreal to see your child breaking away with this new talent blooming. Especially one as foreign as vocals are to me! Its been a wonderful experience for her so far and I think she may even go out for show choir next year.

Speaking of school, I can't believe its almost time for fall break! I've got so many loads of clay pots to fire for the kids .. then glaze and refire before the semester ends *scrambles* I always do this and run full force until the last minute. One day I will learn value of *winding down* Before you know it, a new semester will be here with a new eager and energetic classes! No wonder I want to savor the autum, it is when time seems to travel too fast!


I have had a little time to paint..... this is "Kitty" with her pet bird out enjoying the crisp fall sky.

tag!

I've been double tagged for this one, so I'd better get to it!

the rules are tell 7 little known things about yourself then tag 7 others (be sure and link everyone!)

Alteredevents and Karen from Moonlight and Hares thanks for thinking of me!

seven things about me

1. I decided to become an artist as a teenager while looking at a sunset turning into a violet night sky. Nothing else seemed as important as those colors.
2. I adore flowers and plants, and dream of knowing what I'm doing in the garden.
3. I've never been out of country *sigh*
4. I love to travel!
5. As much as I love nature, I'm not much of a camper. I remember being so let down after finding out the girl scout cookie sales were to raise money for a lousy camping trip!
6. I'm adopted and wonder what ethnic background I might have.
7. I miss baking, I just never seem to have time (and I don't need to eat it!) . I sometimes look at pictures of pretty cookies and cupcakes and swoon!

and seven taggies (is that a word?) these delightful bloggers!

archetypaltheater
teachinghandwork
art4sol
vusova
athenasarmoury
littlepeanut
artprojectsforkids

A bit of the festive touches around my place, A new find for me these paper lantern style witch hats! I love the little lanterns too and trimmed them with a bit of fluff.
I just wish I had time to cook up more, holidays seem to come faster each year!

I hope everyone has a wonderful Halloween. We had a lovely Samhain service at church led by our women's group on Sunday and we are all invited to a bonfire after trick or treating on Friday at a friends campground! This will be my girls first bon fire so they are very excited! Mommy is excited too and hoping it won't be too cold!

And now a question.... What are you (or your younglings) going to be for Halloween this year?

I think I'm going to wear my Arabian Pirate costume (Zora the Explorer LOL! )

Here is Cora Belle with color. Its always a challenge balancing the colors to bring a haunting character to "life" while keeping the ghostly quality. Thank you for the kind comments on the sketch!

Ghost, Sailor Girl

Here is a little spirit I've been caring in my sketchbook for a month or two and she is almost ready for paint. I do believe her name is Cora Bell and she is a little ship wreck ghost. Cora Bell loves crisp cotton and ribbons (everything is so damp these days!)
Her favorite color is sea green. You can sometimes see her waving good bye from the deck of departing ships. This is probably not such a good omen.

Hopefully I'll have the painted version ready to share this weekend!


And I suppose everyone knew this but me! The new Alice film will be a mix of stop motion and live action by Tim Burton. Johnny Depp will play the Mad Hatter! Excuse me while my head explodes from glee!

Violet, studio notes

I will organize my studio today! *nods head determinedly* Its getting a bit crazy with shipping supplies and art supplies and new jewelry supplies vying for attention! I should be realistic and recognize this will take more than one day, but since when have I let reality get in the way! :)
One more Halloween painting for you, meet " Violet"

Cauldron bubble ... and we have a winner!

The day for the drawing has arrived! Isn't this exciting? My little helper has all the names in her shiny cauldron and is stirring them up with her big black spoon.
And she scoops up.... Jessica Mason! Congratulations!

here is Jessica's Halloween prize.. a 5x7 print of "Pepita Pasiley" the Pumpkin Girl, festive felt sticker, and a magnet from my shop!

Well the little witch just couldn't stop there, so she drew 2 more for a a little Halloween treat
athena
and
Diane Clancy

will recieve a mini print of Miss Paisley our Pumpkin Girl :)

Thank you to everyone for your wonderful creative input, this has been so fun and inspiring for me. I can't begin to thank you for the sweet names, kind words and bits of stories. What a magical group of readers I have! I do believe you have given me names enough to inspire for quite a time to come!

Autumn Blessings!

Cat

Calamity, a ghost story

I know you've already met Calamity, but she has such stories to tell I made a book for her. Actually its a book/box that opens up for treasure stashing and secret keeping. On the binding it reads "Calamity Walking on Moon Beams" I do think one day she will evolve into a picture book. I do love her like this though, an open book so to speak :) There is a little jar of star dust wired to the hinge and faded roses in her favorite color.

The Little Things

Yes, sometimes the smallest things bring big smiles :)

Thank to richlayers of toldtales a wonderful fairy tale community on live journal for the heads up on this! I'm not a big Mc Donalds fan so I would of missed the cuteness that is my tiny Wicked Witch.
I'm a silly enough Elphaba fan to of purchased this on Ebay (well I don't do hamburgers!). And yes I'm feeling a strange buying a mass produced doll, but hopefully I'll be forgiven (*cringes*! Well she was 3.00 ;) Here she is next to my painting "Little Elphaba"

Dear Hubby helped me get all the decorations out of the attic this morning. I just don't think I have enough pumpkins!

I will post pictures when I've made a bit more progress :)

Pumpkin Lass

Well Pumpkin lass is colored and painted and is generally feeling quite pleased from all the attention all of you have been lavishing on her. If you haven't had a chance, go to the entry below to name her and enter my Halloween drawing!

Ahhh, Autumn, even here in Florida the air is just a touch cooler. We've been taking more walks and I even pulled weeds this weekend and put out some wonderful purple and orange flowers. I can't wait to get the Halloween decorations out of the attic this weekend!

Halloween Give Away!

Another Pumpkin Girl coming to life in my dear moleskine watercolor book. But this one isn't talking.. she just won't tell me her name. So I thought... perfect topic for my first blog giveaway!

The rules

1. post your idea for a name for Pumpkin Girl.

2. make sure you leave contact info

3. I will drop all the entries into a hat for a drawing on Oct. 15th

The winner will receive a special Halloween goody package from my shop

Ella, Little Pumpkin patch girl

I've been busy with Halloween goodies for you!

Meet "Ella" my little pumpkin patch girl. If you notice her mice you might guess why she prefers "Ella" to Ellie (her real name). You see Ella has been reading fairy tales and has a big imagination! She is hoping her fairy godmother will come along one day too. She really prefers her walking shoes to glass slippers though.


And here is "Soot" a sweet little Halloween kitty.









Prints available here

I will be listing the originals Thursday.

Bluebeard *time for scary stories*

Illustration by Gustave Doré
Bluebeard, The fairy tale that reads most like a horror story. I'm actually quite sure I never read this story as a child (and I read a good many tales!) I believe it once was very popular, back when fairy tales weren't so sanitized. This story is pretty difficult to clean up for modern readers.
Bluebeard is the tale of the husband Bluebeard who forbids his new bride to enter one room in their home while he is away. He had been married many times before and the wives have vanished.
Bluebeard for me is a tale of contradictions, curiosity is a dangerous thing in this story, or is it the key to survival? One thing that rings true is once the discovery is out made is no going back. (the image of the key is one of the most powerful in the tale) Somethings cannot be undone.
you can read the whole story here at SurLalune
I've created a minature portrait of one of Bluebeard's unfortunate wives. Its ACEO size 2.5x3.5 inches the original is here. The pocket sized portrait just felt right. I'd also love to do one of heroine of the tale.

I'd love to know if you found this story as a child or later in life?

Bells

"Bells" A dancing sprite. watercolor, actually I painted her at the start of summer when I feeling very carefree and whirly!

her costume is inspired by some wonderful belly dance costumes I've seen. Hopefully I'll find time to do some more dancers! And maybe find more time to dance myself.

Prints available here http://darklingwoods.etsy.com Also in a new batch of sweet pocket mirrors!

Dragon con and camera mishaps

Sadly no pictures yet of dragon con or the pirate party to share, please cross your fingers for me! I'm doing battle with a malfunctioning memory card to get them back. (and really lovely pictures they were! Its making me nuts!) My advice.. don't get a new camera before a big trip.

One of the great things about these conventions is catching up old friends, like Dana my writing partner who I don't see in real life often enough, and likewise Fati an up and coming film maker and artist who seems like a little sis.

I also had the pleasure of meeting CJ Bloomer and his lovely wife for the first time after long admiring his mythology inspired work. If you haven't seen it yet you must check it out! His work is classical and fresh at the same time, like looking into a favorite storybook. I had preordered his graphic novel "The Price of Tea" and was delighted to find he had personalized it for me :)
Then I saw this piece in person "Ryuketsu Shrine" I had seen it on deviant art and thought it beautiful, but that hadn't prepared me for the glory of the piece in person. Its quite large and very vibrant, I couldn't afford the original (worth every penny though) Lucky for me CJ was offering a limited run of three large prints :) I was so thrilled, its already hanging in my daughters room (she's so lucky!)

My display seemed to be doing well, we had to come back before the convention was over so I won't know until the they ship everything back for sure! One year I'll have to actually work a booth but I really love flying free around the convention with my girls!

Dragon con and Pirates!

Off tomorrow to Atlanta for Dragon con, I've got an artists bay but not a table so I'll be free to roam the convention. I'll be running around in pirate/gypsy costumes with my pirate hubby and girls :)

Looking forward to CJ Bloomers panel on Mythic arts and of course the Pirate Party! Hope to see you there!

(any orders from my shop will be shipped as soon as I return next week!)

Cheers me hearties!

Alice in my garden

My birthday was in June, and my hubby and girls gave me the most special gift, a beautiful Alice statue. The best part was how they wrapped up clues and sent me on a scavenger hunt all through the house to find her. Right now she is braving Tropical storm Fay the picture shows her on a sunnier day!

And here is wonderful link from Ulla http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5wHMgTPF-s for those of you who are brave of heart and Alice fans a version not to be missed! Thank you Ulla!

Fit for a Queen

What a confection! My youngest daughter Savvy is the proud owner of this lush crown. My dear friend Michelle made it for her (Michelle is an artistic wonder without a web presence ... I need to do something about that!)

The crown is the type of glorious piece that every time you look at you see something new. I wish you could of seen her face when she received it!

btw.. any comments you leave I'll be sure to share with Michelle, maybe I can convince her she needs to start blogging! :)

Cat

My First Blog Award!

I was kindly given the Arte y Pico award by Moonlight and Hares! Thank you so much Karen, I'm honored!

So, now I believe I pass it on to other lovely creative blogs...

The rules :

1. Choose 5 blogs that you believe deserve it for creativity, design, interesting material, contributing to the blogger community no matter what language.

2. Each award has to have the name of the the author and a link to his or her blog.

3. Each award winner has to show the award and put the name and link to the blog that has given the award to them.

4. Awarded blogs and the person who gives the award should show the link to Art y Pico blog, so everyone will know the Award origin.

5. To show the rules.

My 5 chosen blogs are: Fairies Nest, Serpent Mandalas,luna fay, Heart a Day,
fairy tale style,

Wisteria

Oh yes, I know I'm a little early. I just love Halloween and my little witchy girls so much I couldn't wait to start painting them. Here is little Wisteria out walking Ash and Soot, can't you just hear the leaves crunching under their feet (and paws :) ? The original is available in my etsy shop.

I'm also working on a series of small (ACEO size) paintings of ghosts inspired by the fairy tale Bluebeard.. but more on ghost stories later!

Rabbit in the Moon?

Watercolor, July 2008

In East Asian Folklore there isn't a man in the moon, but a rabbit.

In the traditional story of the Moon Festival (which is in the fall) In this legend, three fairy sages transformed themselves into pitiful old men and begged for something to eat from a fox, a monkey and a rabbit. The fox and the monkey both had food to give to the old men, but the rabbit, empty-handed, offered his own flesh instead, jumping into a blazing fire to cook himself. The sages were so touched by the rabbit's sacrifice that they let him live in the Moon Palace where he became the "Jade Rabbit."

From chinesefortunecalendar.com

In some stories I've read the Moon Rabbit is busy making a special elixir for the Moon Goddess, in others he is making moon cakes.

Since it isn't time for the Fall Moon Festival I imagined Moon Rabbit could take a break and go for a walk cloaked in moonbeams.

I think I'll be revisiting this folk tale, I have a special place in my heart for bunnies and the moon.

Happy Summer Solstice!

Happy Summer Solstice everyone!

I went out and bought some new flowers to celebrate (I will post pictures of the dahlia when it opens :)

Thought I'd share my painting of the Japanese Sun Goddess Amaterasu. I'm smitten by her story and the relationship between her and the goddess Uzume, This story of laughter and joy bringing Amaterasu out of the darkness after all the other gods had failed is so inspiring. Laughter is the best medicine it seems, even for the the gods :)

from pantheon.org

When the sun goddess Amaterasu had hidden herself in a cave, thus covering the earth in darkness and infertility, it was Uzume (Shinto goddess of joy) who brought her back. With her provoking and curlew dances she managed to make the gods laugh so hard, that Amaterasu left the cave intrigued. Her emerging brought light and life back to earth. Her brother Ninigi married Uzume to the deity who guards the Floating Bridge to Heaven.

ghost tour

The ghost tour of St. Augustine was great fun, we visited the Military Hospital, Oldest Drugstore, and the Jail. Our ghostly tour guides were wonderfully macabre and delivered the tour with great relish. I did get a bit spooked locked in the old jail house in the dark!
Many of the ghost tales were more gross than ghost and served to make us all very glad to be around in this century!
I still can't believe my youngest wanted to go and didn't get a bit scared!
We got back home last night, and I missed my little dog and of course my studio. Strangely I missed the green of my backyard. Its become quite lush and bit overgrown, we now have turtles wandering about :) I can be such a homebody!

*shiver*

Reporting from the shores of St. Augustine where we will be leaving for a ghost tour in about one hour. On the Ghosts and Gravestones Trolley Can you believe this was my 12 year old daughters idea? I'm a little nervous, I hope they don't have people jumping out at us! I'm a big chicken about that sort of spooky! However I do hope to visit the graveyard, and I'm more than a bit nervous about visiting the military hospital!

Wish us luck!