Lavender Rose SOLD

4" by 4" watercolor on paper. $40.
I mixed up some cobalt violet with some pink, I think I'll try something different for the color lavender tomorrow, the color isn't exactly what I wanted.

Sunflower Days

4 inch by 5 inch watercolor on paper. SOLD

Synthesis

four by four.... watercolor on Clayboard. $40.00

I love trees, its always been one of my favorite subjects and I paint them often.

The Trees

$30.00 watercolor on clayboard.

I love painting on this surface and need to fine a good inexpensive source for the product. If any of you know where I can find 4" by 4" pieces of ampersand or clayboard, let me know. I would buy in bulk.

Abcient Ritual 15

ACEO 2.5 by 3.5 $13.00 plus 1.50 shipping write to me at shantmarie@aol.com if interested.

ACEO almost but not exactly 2.5... 2.3/8 by 3.5 Penquin Love

I was a little haphazard with the mat cutter and this isn't exactly 2.5 its almost 16 of an inch less.


its still adorable. sniff sniff

Ancient Ritual 13 on Yupo

9 by 12 on Yupo part of my Ancient Ritual Series. 100.00

Boy, did I have an adventure this morning. A big thunder storm pass thru here last night dumping a ton of water into the creeks. As luck would have it, I took my three labs down to the park which has a lake on one side and many small creeks leading down to the water. It was wet and I knew no one would be there. I let them off the leash to run and play for awhile. Its difficult at times to exercise these dogs especially if I've been sick. Well, as we are strolling along the dogs see a Beaver...

All H E double hockey sticks breaks loose...It took me ten minutes to get those dogs away from that poor creature. There I was standing up on a trail looking down, thinking a Raccoon or Possum must be down there. I hear growling and barking, while I can only see something brown and wet trying to get away from the three dogs. While they circled him and nipped the poor little guy, I'm tromping thru the underbrush and the wet rocks to get down there. The Beaver( he was about 40 lbs) couldn't get away cause he was in a very small creek bed and they are apparently pretty slow on land. There wasn't enough water for him to swim to get away so they had him cornered. I was calf deep in the creek mud, sand and water are rushing by me (good thing I wore my CROCKS) yelling to the various dogs but they are all insanely intent and not listening. I think I'll have to try to get one dog at a time... I knew Sam would listen to me as he is the best dog. I call for him and reluctantly he comes back & I tie him to the bridge nearby. Then my little yellow lab who is mostly afraid everything including this beaver and easily comes to me but is still very curious and is dashing about. Now that I have the two males secure, I know I'm going to have a bit of a struggle with the last dog, while going back for her I notice the Beaver is steadily moving up hill in the creek with Missy right behind her. My female lab is a mix breed and has some Australian sheepdog in her blood. She loves to run,she loves to chase anything that moves. Every time the Beaver would move she would dart over and try to nip it then crouch down and eye ball it for a moment till it moved again. Needless to say I'm wet, the rocks are wet, the Beaver continues to go upstream so I'm having a time even catching up to them. Finally after some yelling to the dog she stops. But while I watching them The Beaver is only feet away from me and is between me and the dog now,I'm afraid the dog will be bit, the Beaver occasionally turn around and show the dog its teeth. Finally the beaver crawls under a rock, the dog listens to me and comes back with this ashamed "I'm sorry I don't listen" look and I got the three of them out of there.

The whole time we were walking back the dogs were all full of themselves. Prancing and sniffing, they were on high alert,they kept looking for more Beavers. I put them in the car figuring we all had enough excercise for one day.
Now we're home, the house smells like a wet dog, the car is trashed and wet, I smell like a wet dog and we all need a bath. Just another summer day in South Carolina.

Radio Shack

Watercolor on paper 4.5 by 4 inches 30.00 shantmarie@aol.com if interested.

Summer Solstice or Koi Snack

"Koi snack"

I love these little koi paintings and almost hate to sell them this is for sale for 35.00 its 5 inches by 7 inches.


It was very hot here in the South. I sat in my yard and watched the Bumble bees flirt with all my Lillie's and Sunflowers. I sketched some flowers and did a little paint/sketch as well. I heard it is summer solstice so I would have to assume its going to be a very long day.

Canopy

This piece is 3 inches by 5 inches, watercolor on ampersand.
I like painting trees and if you have followed along with my blog you have noticed I paint them regularly. The other day I was in the woods and it was raining. I was glad for the tree canopy because It served as a great umbrella.

Ancient Ritual #12 ACEO

This is the front of the card



This is the back, I will sign and date it for you at purchase.


Some folks have asked me when this series might be finished or how do I know when a series is finished. All I can say is when I don't paint another. I used to say I was almost finished with my Koi series and suddenly I would just paint another from no preconceived desire or plan. This is an intuitive process, you have to follow where it leads.

I was watching a show on TV the other night about these two Brits who are living in the wilds with these native people and they are watching the native create the craving on the front of a shield which he also plans to paint. They pick up a piece of charcoal and asks him why he doesn't draw out the pattern and just carve out along the lines. I was taken back by his look and what he said next. First off.. He looked like they had just said something pretty stupid... He then said he needed to be able to respond to the design as it came to him. The shield would tell him what direction to go. This is in fact the way I paint these paintings.

Big Wave

I'm still pretty sick and don't have a lot of ambition to paint...
since I painted beach scenes the last two days I painted this little 4 by 6 of a Big Wave. One of the good things about being a daily painter, you can paint certain subject matter relying mostly on the intellect rather then the intuitive. Believe me this can get you out of a jam. Most people think you can paint when your ill...thats its isn't a difficult thing for us artists, but you don't realize the amount of brain power it takes... if you do, you don't push it. You paint what you know.
4 by 6 inches $ 30.00 watercolor on paper,

Morning Flight

5 by 6 30.00

I'm ill, so not too many words and not a big surprise that this painting looks a lot like yesterdays. I don't really have enough imagination to come up with something new. The Dr thinks I have Chicken pox but I also got a tick bite this week so there is a chance that I have Rocky Mt spotted fever. They took tests and I started meds for both.

Here's hoping things are better tomorrow...

Father's day at the Beach

4 by 6 watercolor on 140 lb paper. Happy father's day!

Abstract on Yupo

9" by 12" Yupo synthetic paper and watercolor. $30.00

I'm a little ill today so I won't be writing much. Try Yupo its a very liberating material.

"Roses for you" watercolor on Yupo

This painting is on Yupo, this is a synthetic plastic type paper used for printing. I painted it the same way I would paint on paper and it is Archival. The only difference is that it will have fixative on it. This is because the plastic does not absorb the paint and thus allows it only to sit on the surface. The fixative prevents damage from moisture. This is 9 by 12 (inches) and can be matted and framed in a large 16 by 20 frame or a smaller 11 by 14 frame.

This is for sale for $250.00

I started out abstract on this piece but knew it needed a realistic image to really make it work. Hope you like it!

Wamrn Days ACEO

I painted this card last night after a sweltering day of heat and humidity. I guess I’m affected by everything that touches me. Its was stormy and hot which is a condition I’m really-not used too. Growing up in Ca we didn’t have humidity and it seldom ever rained. South Carolina is a bit different. Its gets more humid as the day goes on and then if your lucky, it rains. sometimes this brings relief and other times It just makes everything wet.

This little card is for sale for $10.00 plus $1.50 . It comes in a plastic sleeve, It is signed and dated.

I dreamed of a painting last night. When I say this type of thing, people say… you were painting? or, a painting hanging on a wall somewhere?
Well all I can say is…It takes up my complete field of vision in the dream. so I guess you would say either I’m standing right under it or its huge. I see it just as if I were studying a painting in a gallery or museum. It was a painting with the words NO weaved thu the piece, in all different languages with symbols and such also indicating the negative. It was mostly green…. all shades of green, some muted others soft and still others seemed mixed with other dark colors, yet it seemed lively. In my dream I remember thinking, if you were saying no, you would use red rather than green…using green-seemed odd to me. It seems the opposite of NO since you think of Green as being the colors of street lights which say GO. Anyway at the bottom was this beautiful color of Sepia mixed with the green to make a wonderful color of moss or wet algae on rocks. The dry brush reminded me of the complete freedom of movement. If anyone is a dream interpreter, maybe they could write me an email....

Azul .

A four by four inch watercolor painting. I love these colors and I have used them in my home. I might even keep this painting if it doesn't sell.

Sunflower window, ACEO

SOLD
The size is 2.5 by 3.5 on 154 lb paper. Watercolor on paper.
Signed and dated. $13.00 plus 1.50 S&H.
This little ACEO is a sunflower by a window, very much like you would see anywhere. I painted it because I like sunflowers and I have planted them in my back yard. So often, I think people associate sunflowers with a happy face or a smiley face because of their BIG round shape and their color. Yellow being so warm, it seems to just give off a good feeling. I hope you enjoy this little flower, its raining here today and very humid.

Two sided ACEO "Blue dragonfly" and "Cherry pickin time"

This dragon fly is the backside of the ACEO You can see it is signed and dated 2007.



The cherries are the front side of the card. This painting is on 300 lb paper and is for sale for $13.00 S&H is 1.50 ... 2.5 by 3.5 = size. Fits in all baseball trading card albums for a collector or can be framed for a great piece of miniture art.

Two sided ACEO " Lost ship" and Silent Trees.

This is a two sided ACEO.... on one side you have the collage of the "Lost Ship", and on the other you have a watercolor of "silent Trees". This card is for sale for $13.00 + $1.50 S & H Two pieces of art for the price of one!

My friends say this looks like a Pirate ship! You decide.

"Summer nights" 11 by 15 Watercolor on gessoed paper.

This is my painting for today. It is watercolor on Gessoed paper. It is for sale for $99.00 Plus s & H. I like the colors blue and brown together. I also love the lake so this is a natural fit for me.

Chubbs ACEO

Today in our art league painting session all of us were talking ACEO's and everyone is very interested in making them. My Friend Nance has been making these great Collage ACEOs which I may try to show you some time. I went home & decided to do a little pen and Ink with watercolor ACEO. I didn't have much time to get anything together and as I got out my paints.. My cat was sitting on the window, she instantly became the subject.

Chubbs is a special cat and I have many many drawings of chubbs but only a few actual paintings. I think its because she is really a beautiful cat and I can't do her justice. Looking at her from the back she looks like just any old cat. She always reminds me of a bowling pin. It makes me laugh! She weighs only nine pounds so the name doesn't actually fit any more. The thing is...when we named her, she was a very fat kitten but we found at least two of the pounds are just fur. She is one huge fluff ball.
She sits at the Window like so many cats and watches the birds at the feeder or in the bird bath which is just outside the glass. She is ten years old now and I love the fact that I have many good memories with her. I love dogs and have three but there is only one Chubbs.

She is actually a black and white rag doll kitty but from the back you would never know. Her trademark is a little Hitler mustache.

I hope you like this little ACEO, its for sale for $15.00 + 1.50
Shantmarie@aol.com if interested.

Pastel and Watercolor 3 by 5 postcard

This 3 by 5 inch size postcard was painted in watercolor and finished in soft pastel.

SOLD

Watercolor and tissue paper collage

I made all this paper and then cut or tore it according to how I wanted it to look. I love the look of watercolor paints on tissue paper. It almost looks like stained glass. After I glued it all down and used a brayer to get it even, I spayed it with mat fixative so it will have consistent appearance.
I'm not sure what I'll call it. I have a great list of potential names for paintings somewhere. A while back I accumulated about 20 great titles, but now I need to go dig them out.

This is 11 by 11 inches and is mounted on Archival Mat board. All paints and papers are archival and 100% hand made. This would look great in a modern setting but could look nice in a traditional decor as well. This is for sale for $99.00, This took more than a day... more like two days but since I painted a bunch of ACEOs in between, I figure it still counts. The prep work took a long time and that doesn't really count.

ACEO Carolina Treetops

I have been painting a lot of these(ACEOs)lately, I like painting these little paintings but I have also been very busy making a collage and doing some other art projects. These small paintings can be finished in an hour or so and give me time to work on larger paintings. I find I will try anything on these little paintings and I'm much less reserved about my subject matter. In fact, I have some that I haven't posted because I didn't think they would be of interest, either they are rather morbid, dark or I may have pushed one tweak to far to be considered a good painting. I do experiment with them a bit more than larger paintings. I have learned a lot about my painting likes and dislikes. I have also use them to explore abstract design. The smaller size forces me to consider the importance of every stroke.

I painted four or five yesterday and I decided to put this one up today. I have also been painting the backs of each. Some have birds, others a Gecko another has a dragon fly... Maybe I'll make a stamp and begin stamping them all the same. I think I'll do that.

ACEO Watercolor and Collage "Gecko"

This little Gecko is a collage on 300 lb paper with a watercolor under painting.



The other side of this Gecko is a beautiful landscape...


I love these colors and call this side Evening Breeze. If you purchase this ACEO you really get two works of art in one!

You get to choose which is your favorite.

My Box of Tricks

This is a mixed media piece …watercolor, ink, and acrylic on hot press 140 lb paper. 11 by 15 I might take another picture because it is after ten PM and I usually take the photos outside when its daylight. This seems a tad dark. $140.00 The reason for the name is a simple one, I was teaching watercolor texture techniques today and This was the start from that class. It has almost all the techniques I use to create texture. When I teach, I have a old candy box with all kinds of stuff tucked away inside. Atomizer, drafting tape, splatter screen, dots, carpet tape and much much more. I use these things to create texture in watercolor. I wasn’t going to actually make this into a painting but when I got home I knew I could save it… so here it is. Maybe I’ll take a photo of my box of tricks so you can see all my trinkets for texture.