I'm now a registered member of Made in Montana for all of my art and crafts I create and sell! I'm very proud to be from this amazing place and it inspires so much of my work that it was important to be a part of M.I.M.
I am very excited to share that I now have work at Heartstrings Gallery in Billings, MT! Beth Regele and her husband run this awesome space full of art and local crafters. This is a wonderful business that is involved in the community and has a lot of events and projects going and I'm very thankful to get involved with them!
I got this fun little instant camera a few weeks ago, been playing around with it, while crafting I thought I'd take a photo. Came out horribly totally washed out all of my features except for a faint line at the edge of my glasses. Decided to turn it into a self portrait of sorts with an ink pen and a paintbrush! Its just a little thing, it will be in my studio to remind me of day and how nice it feels to just do something not to sit down with the pressure of really creating but just to use my brain and tools and do. Happy Monday, it's going to be a wild one.
Hoping to get an email today! I was excited to see this piece had been accepted into the online event and am very hopeful that it progresses and gets some recognition!
Well I didn't win any awards but, I was chosen to be in the online show and my art is in the online archive so that's still pretty good you can see the show and all the talented artists @ http://www.isap-online.com/6th_online/6th_online.html#artistindex
I'm getting ahead of myself when I say spring is here, some days it is and some days it isn't. That's the fun of living in a state with seasons, there's weeks of in between. Spring into Summer and Summer into Fall are the easiest to adjust to drys out a bit in the summer, gets pretty hot then we can appreciate the cool crisp air and beautiful Fall colors. Then comes the end of Fall, it's grasping onto those nice days in between the first few snows, before winter settles in and we're forced into hibernation as a full blown arctic wonderland envelops our surroundings. Then Spring starts to peek through the snow, birds come out, days get longer and the sun stays out a little longer, yearned for by our Vitamin D deprived bodies. We've been lucky this year a mild winter and frequent blips of very tolerable weather. I spend as much time outside as I can, with my dog or my horse or just to be outside, I love nature and wildlife and I'm very thankful to live in a place where the surroundings can be awe inspiring. I try to appreciate the world I'm in. Meadowlarks are Montana's State bird, they are also the state bird of Wyoming, Nebraska, Oregon, North Dakota and Kansas. Chickadees just happen to be truly adorable especially when they it's cold and turn into little bird puffs! The grass is greening, the birds are returning and our spirits are brighter....at least on the days it doesn't snow.
I've been on the hunt for months for some sort of artist's purse for myself. I've found a few people I knew I could make a custom order with and found one, yes only one very elaborate beaded purse by Mary Frances. After some fumbling around craft stores on an afternoon outing with my sister I decided some leather, 34g wire, E6000 glue, an ocean of beads and a nice black purse would be the pieces to solve my purse conundrum. I made dinner and sat on the floor in the living room with my fiance on the couch, hockey on the TV and the intention of spending a few days on this project. When I adhered the last bead it was nearing 10 o'clock, rather late for the girl who works at 5am, I breathed a sigh of glue filled relief and joy. Though our coffee table is covered in array of tiny beads and scraps of leather and wire trimmings I am beyond pleased with my new bag and a night well spent creating!
2014 what a year! This year has been truly wonderful, my biggest fan and motivator proposed earlier this month and I'm so excited to spend the rest of my life with him. He's helped to keep me on track in my goals and to believe in myself. I feel like my art is evolving and I'm thrilled with the work I've done and the projects to come. I've been getting more involved with the local art scene and getting to know and enjoy some of my fellow artists. The Holiday season is always a busy fun time full of paint and creative ideas! Stay tuned for whats to come! Cheers!
I've had the opportunity to hang some of my work at The Staggering Ox in Billings, Mt. These guys have amazing tin can sandwiches and some awesome taste in art ;) Go check them out and see some original art in person!
I painted this belly dancer during my senior year of high school. This is the year I discovered how much a background can add to a painting. I love the movement and and poise of this piece. It will always be dear to my heart.
water color flowers
I've been exclusively using acrylic paints for over 10 years now. Not because I have anything against the other mediums, I just really love the way acrylic paint feels under my brush! I've been really trying to expand my work, learn different mediums and grow in my art this year. I received these beautiful flowers from my sweet love and wanted to save them, I've had my watercolor set sitting around waiting for some idea to pop into my head, then it was quite obvious. I'm excited to work with watercolors again, proud of myself for not getting too frustrated and ready to practice more and more. As the years pass I hope to have a whole series in our home of the beautiful flowers I've received and as a timeline of progress as I continue to improve my work.
click the image to visit Zazzle and check out all of my Montana products!
I'm incredibly proud to have been born and raised Montana. One of the many projects I'm into is my Montana hats! I've compiled some of my original paintings into a design within the state outline. The design is available on a variety of products but the most popular thus far is the hat. Please check them out on Zazzle and get some Mt pride or just to support this beautiful state!