What have YOU been up to????

I have not posted in such a long time and want to update. Here's some of the things I have been working on

Obama presidency stitched in quilt show - Post-Tribune

Obama presidency stitched in quilt show - Post-Tribune

Fantastically FuNKy Fingerless Gloves/Wrist Warmers

I still have lots of lovely fingerless glove designs in fun and funky colours , perfect for the chill of January! Check them out HERE!

Tranquil Dawn

This is one of my new paintings recently completed. 6" x 6" on deep block gallery wrapped canvas.
Available for sale

"House Finch

"House Finch, Photo by Donna Ridgway, Vaughn, Montana" by Donna Ridgway | RedBubble:

Giclee prints available on this Red Bubble site. Hope you enjoy seeing my little finch. Him and his friends come to my house each day to raid the bird feeder. :)

Donna Ridgway

Fabric Art Necklace

Triple strands of beautiful knotted and beaded fabric embellished with tiny handmade fabric flowers-an amazing statement piece which works equally as well with a classic smart outfit or a hippy/boho style-depending on your mood!
This design measures (approx) 36" at the longest strand. The layered strands are attached and neatly bound at the back of the neck so the piece stays in place and does not twist or tangle-really is stunning when worn!

Available for sale HERE!

Nasty Toys for Naughty Children

The Hollyhock Stalk

"The Hollyhock Stalk"

This year, in my flower garden, the hollyhocks grew to be 9 feet tall.  I was amazed!  There's a full six foot of flowers and blossoms showing on each stem, plus the huge leaves they bear.

I decided the hollyhock stalk was the hero in this flower drama, for they bear the weight of it all!  They don't break in the breeze, and sway back and forth gracefully.  I did give them a bit of help by roping them to the yard fence in a few places, but mostly they stand alone.

I just hope they do this again next year, for I've been enjoying them so much!

If you stand level, inside the grouping of hollyhocks, this is the view you see as you look toward the sun.  I love to stand inside the tall plants, and look out!

Hope you enjoyed seeing these flowers...

The original painting is for sale in the Artist Peeps R Us gallery on Etsy.

Hope your summer is treating you well!

Donna Ridgway

The Colorful Cow

I can't help it, I love cows.  Even after spending a lifetime of working with cattle, and all their personalities and foibles, I still love them.  Nothing is cuter than a cow's face!

So in honor of the cow, I created this painting.

Hope your day is as bright and shiny as she is!

Donna Ridgway

You can find The Colorful Cow shop at Zazzle!

Feisty a 4X4 inch chipmunk painting.

One day I was walking through the aspen thickets on my cousin's ranch.  The Rocky Mountain Front loomed above me, and Fish Lake was by my side.  Ahead of me, was a large rock.  Suddenly this feisty little chipmunk jumped up on the rock and proceeded to tell me what he thought of me.

He was so small, and so cute with his bossy ways.  I had to paint him.

This is a small painting, just 4X4 inches in size, on a gallery wrap canvas, so you don't need to frame this if you don't want to.  The painting continues on around the sides.

If you'd like to purchase this painting, it's listed here  in the Artist Peeps R Us gallery on etsy.  You can also contact me to purchase this painting, or to have this painting placed into a one inch pendant you can wear around you neck.  If you love nature and the animals you find there, you might love to have this as a pendant also!

Donna Ridgway (donnaridgway1@hotmail.com)

Paint Party Friday 12

 It's Paint Party Friday and I've been painting all week.  Simply Swans is an 8x10 that I've been working on for months.  Finally last weekend I changed the coloring of the swans and I like it much better.  I still haven't decided if it's done or not.  I am thinking of adding a few more highlights and shadows to the swans and possibly the water.  What do you think?

 This is a rock I did several years ago and it had become all faded, so I gave it a facelift.

 I got this beautiful cardinal planter from my sister for my birthday a couple of years ago and it had really faded also.  The male cardinal was a yellow red and the flowers blended in.  I might do some of the grass, I'm not sure.

This little froggy rock got a face lift too.  He was lookin' kinda sad. 

As you can probably see I had a blast with my craft acrylics, it's the kind of paint I used when I first started painting. 
I hope you can find some time to hop on over to the Host Blog of Paint Party Friday and check out the other entries.  You will find some awesome artwork!
Have a wonderful weekend.
hugs,
Brenda

Nasty Toys for Naughty Children

JAPAN DISASTER SPECIAL : Foamy The Squirrel

My entry for the Stephen Colbert Portrait Challenge!

I have entered a piece to the Stephen Colbert Portrait Challenge. Really fun! I have also built a Squidoo lens on it. Image below is my piece and you can get to my lens by clicking on the image or the link above!

Work In Progress...

A few more snaps of my newest painting in progress today....she will be completed soon now! :)

Lighthouse on the Beach aceo

I decided to try a new support for this aceo, a dark green mat board.  I named it Lighthouse On the Beach and it was created with Prismacolor colored pencil.  It is listed in my etsy shop if you are interested, and it's only $15.
I created Lighthouse On the Beach aceo for my DAWG TEAM March Quest, Oceans/Beaches, stop in and 'like' us and if you create artwork, come and join our group.  We are a group of women who love doing art and love the Lord.
Be sure to enter  our DAWG TEAM aceo giveaway just click on that link and it will take you to our DAWG blog. The giveaway goes until the end of March, so be sure you spread the word.

Also take a look at the ACEO Online Magazine.  We'd love it if you'd 'like' us, and if you are an artist please think about joining our group too.  Right now there are 57 members and growing.  This is our Blog 
We also have a group on the Ellen Degeneres ning site I'm the moderator on this site, and would love it if you joined us there too.

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This past weekend I was looking around YouTube on colored pencil tutorials, I am always wanting to learn as much as I possibly can.  I came across this young artist named Jacqueline Pettie, and she's a wonderful colored pencil artist.  She even has her own YouTube Cannel.  I am very impressed by her talent and dedication to her artwork.  This little lady is going places, that's for sure.

Well, that's it for now.
Have a great day,
Brenda

New Painting: Byzantine Blues

Byzantine Blues - Lynda Lehmann c 2011

"Byzantine Blues" is one of my recent series of small paintings, just 11 x 14 inches.  It's one of those paintings whose name seemed to arise out of the ether as I finished it.  While my title does not really fit the definition of Byzantine, I still like it for this work.  Since it's my painting, I guess I can call it whatever I wish!  One of the added joys of making art is the freedom to associate ones image with words and name it thus. That is, to see an image in your own unique way.  
The viewer too, is called upon to see whatever he or she wishes, and that is the freedom that is inherent in the ambiguity and mystery of abstract art.  Although the bottom line is that titles are not at all necessary to the visual experience, especially of abstraction, and may even detract from the viewer's freedom to see it in his or her own way.
Dictionary.com defines "Byzantine" as follows:
4. Fine Arts . pertaining to or designating the style of the fine or decorative arts developed and elaborated in the Byzantine Empire and its provinces: characterized chiefly by an ecclesiastically prescribed iconography, highly formal structure, severe confinement of pictorial space to a shallow depth, and the use of rich, often sumptuous color.

You can see that this painting does not resemble the "ecclesiastically prescribed iconography," of Byzantine Art at all, although the confinement of pictorial space to a shallow depth and the use of rich color, may apply.

You can read more about the Byzantine Empire at Wiki.  
Although I appreciate the beautifully rendered realism of masters such as Da Vinci or John Singer Sargent, my preferred style of painting is abstract.  What is your favorite style, when it comes to making or appreciating art?
All images and text on this blog are copyrighted material, and may be used only with written permission, except where syndication rights have been granted. All other rights reserved. Please visit my primary site at http://www.lyndalehmann.com/gallery if you would like to see my acrylic paintings and more of my photography and digital art. 

Rose Bird by Diane Clancy

Rose Birds, Digital © Diane Clancy

Please visit my Etsy Shop to purchase Rose Bird or other vibrant colorful paintings. Many are available in different sizes. I want to inspire and uplift you! Thank you ~ Diane Clancy

Blog: dianeclancy.com/blog
Facebook Artist Page: DianeClancyArt
Twitter: dianeclancy
Website: dianeclancy.com

Little Book of Tags ...

I am delighted to be offering for sale this lovely fabric art concertina style book, made from heaps of yummy fabrics .
It is filled with a selection of five (5) darling little tags, all handmade textile art ,stamped with words such as care,love,always...plus faces and pretty embroidered designs. The whole thing folds up concertina style and slips into a case made from vintage fabric.Every surface is embellished lavishly,inside and out!
Nothing to stop you, of course, using the folding booklet to keep your own special keepsakes in and taking out the tags to embellish your journals,art, or even special gifts.
Each tag is layered intricately and many of my own hand dyed fabrics are used too. Each is finished with stunning colourful yarns,ribbons and fibers. Tags measure an average of about 2" long.
This book,closed, measures ( approximately ) 4" x 3",( not including all the trails of lace and fiber embellishments) and ( approx) 2" or so thick.
A really delightful collection of truly unique art tags!
Currently available for sale CLICK HERE!!

Serendipity is Nature's Generosity

Lamb's Ears - Image c Lynda Lehmann

I've been wanting to get back to painting, because painting is my first love.  I had promised myself that my next post would be about pigment instead of pixels.  But nature intervened and threw me a curve.  
I had all but given up on finding anything pixel-worthy on my walk today, when I stumbled upon these dried "Lamb's Ears" plants (as a friend of mine calls them).  They are just slightly wilted from the cold, which has been intense for a December on Long Island.  But their light gray-green color was outstanding against the auburn of dried, fallen leaves.
It's sometimes hard to find subjects to shoot on suburban streets, unless one comes across a wooded area or something at the very edge of the street. In order to respect people's privacy, or should I say their feelings about privacy, I never point my camera towards a house.  That's why I so enjoy getting out of the neighborhood to the larger outdoor spaces with my camera.  Not only is there usually more to shoot, but I feel free to point my camera in any direction.
Nature came through again today, with a subject that I feel holds a good deal of beauty and mystery.  I've seen this cluster of plants in the same location before, but today the light was right and the colors just popped! Whenever I take in a scene or object of beauty, I feel rich. So today held a tiny bit of serendipity for me.
I hope you found beauty and a touch of serendipity in your day, as well!    
Reposted from Peripheral Vision blog.  All images and text  are copyrighted material, and may be used only with written permission (email is okay) by the author/artist, except where syndication rights have been granted. All other rights reserved. Please visit my primary art site at http://www.lehmann.myexpose.com/gallery if you would like to see my paintings and more of my photography and digital art!