Celebration by Jessica Torrant In this picture you can see my wonderful collection of new canvases and tons of new brushes. I just finished working on the commission with the new brushes and uh.... what a difference. My well worn brushes, with rusted metal, paint saturated, chipping wood and mangled hair have done me good, but it's time for retirement and specific assignments (raw texture/strokes). I just busted into a package of 6 x 12 canvases I got from my cousin and my parents also got me some larger canvases, including an oval which should be fun!
The ball jar in the picture was a gift from my grandfather. All five grandkids got to pick one. They were used by my grandfather's mother and grandmother so they go way back. I'll be proudly displaying this Ball jar - don't worry, it will NOT become a water vessel for painting or even a storage for used brushes! I loooove the blue Ball jars and used them in our wedding for table bouquets so I really cherish this gift.
Now it's off to paint! I'm feeling just like I did as a kid the day after Christmas digging into all of my new art supplies that family (and Santa) gave me. Yipee! Oh! I forgot one more supply. A new batch of oil pastels. Ahhh.... so nice. My old ones were getting down to nubs. 36 new clean colors to play with. What joy!
I hope everyone had a lovely holiday! I'm recuperating after a 48 hour bonanza - wow a real night of full sleep sure felt great! My wonderful family gave me lots of fresh new art supplies (thank you!) and I'm so excited to get back to work - but today I'm taking it nice and easy and enjoying the glow of the tree and a warm cup of tea. Hope everyone had a great time and you're able to relax a bit after all of the excitement.
Earth and Sky 1
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer these questions! To make commenting/answering easier, just copy and paste the quiz into your comment.
It's raining now, but we got our first snow recently and got to see the neighborhood wild turkeys strolling through our neighbor's front yard across the street. This isn't a rare sight, but it's not often that I have my camera on hand to capture them before they mosey on.
Tonight I tried my hand at a recipe for Coq Au Vin I found on www.allrecipies.com. I love that site because you can just type in the ingredients you have on hand in the search engine. I typed in chicken breasts, carrots and onions and I happened to be intrigued by this one. Of course I was familiar with the name of the dish and when I saw the recipe called for pearl onions (which I have two bags of) I had to try it. I don't know how many of you out there enjoy these savory little onions, but I really love them just boiled, let alone roasted with other veggies and/or meat. Anyway, this is really an adaptation on the real recipie, and I tweaked things a bit given what I had on hand. I'll include how I cooked the side of potatoes as I think this was a good compliment to the main dish. COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
This is comfort food at it's best, my friends. You'll notice I'm not exact with amounts - most of this will be to YOUR taste. My husband doesn't like mushrooms so I didn't include them, but they are a traditional (and perfect) addition to this dish.
Because my art idol Mary Ann Wakeley sent me this stunning original painting! I am looking at it right now and my heart is still pounding. It is hanging in our living room where I can gaze at it from our computer desk. I can't thank you enough Mary Ann - you are a wonderful person and truly a modern master!
Please visit her Etsy shop at www.maryannwakeley.etsy.com
Stacked Up - Acrylic on recycled handmade paper
The title for this dreamy abstract actually came from my dream last night. It was probably the most lucid dream I've ever had and seemed so very real, I honestly spent the day questioning if I had just returned from some astral traveling or just a very deep REM sleep. Something clicked when I painted this today and I know I was infulenced by the lingering buzz of my dream journey.
...It's that time of year again, folks. The art I'll be creating from now until spring will be from the inside out.
(See this piece and more new paintings at www.livefunky.etsy.com).
This new acrylic painting on canvas panel has a lot of depth thanks to a layer of craft tissue paper adhered with gel medium. The rough surface picked up color dry brushed over it for a unique, misty effect.
TITLE: Sublime
ARTIST: Jessica Torrant
CREATION DATE: 2008
MEDIUM: Acrylic paint, craft tissue paper, acrylic gel medium
SURFACE: Canvas panel
SIZE: 8" x 10"
Available at www.livefunky.etsy.com
Echo - original acrylic on 8" x 10" canvas panel
Composition 7
Composition 8
Composition 9
Composition 1
Composition 2
Composition 3
The painting above reminds me of the dunes on the Cape. It wasn't intentional, but now this is my favorite because of that connection (Rob and I have a beautiful history of trips in Cape Cod - from the early years when we were dating to our wedding and honeymoon). 
This last one is very abstract but I see a view I don't get to see anymore. The land across the street from my parents used to be owned by a nursery (plants not kids! haha) and it was just open fields and meadows with little collections of various trees and shrubs that were home to many birds and other wildlife. I spent my childhood playing there and knew the land like the back of my hand. It is now mostly bulldozed and covered with tidy green lawns and what we call McMansions (they aren't all that big in comparison to some developments, but they certainly don't melt into the natural surroundings). They paved the road up to the end of the development and a loop road cuts back into the property. I recently took the drive and it was just so strange. I knew each location in my soul - that's where I went sledding by myself or with my dad, that's where I made out with my first boyfriend on a starry night, that's where I painted that painting for my grandmother when she was living with my parents in her last days. I've mostly gotten over the loss of that land, but it still stings. So, long story, but Landscape 6 reminds me of the colors in the meadow you could see all year round - purples and golds. 
Here is my latest drawing digitally colored in Illustrator. I think it speaks to connecting to my feminine side a little more lately, at least in my heart and spirit. Also, it's about surrounding myself with the pure and beautiful elements of life. There is so much hate/war/ugliness in the world that sometimes I need to close my eyes and block it all out and only think of lovely things like sunshine and rainbows. You can call it avoidance, I call it survival!
Dream a Little Dream - acrylic on 30" x 40" canvas.
Todd and the project.
Top showing the shells and rocks and the painted pasture and stone path.
The pasture with little rocks I painted to be moved around. One with a cow on either side, another with a horse. Behind that is a little fairy tower that is removable (tada! fairy wand!) with painted flowery vines and a little ribbon with this fairy figurine I had hanging around among my collection of random items. The animal rocks (and any of her added animal friends, which I'm sure she has) can hang out in the pasture or get daring and jump the fence!
The tree is another removable dowel painted brown with real branches, a photo of Todd and his daughter and a porcelain bird figurine I got in a box of teabags on top. The wood piece with the red flower on it is also removable and it has slots for her tools, or a feather, or a pretty leaf - whatever new treasure she discovers that day.
The view from above - almost finished. The wood piece with the flower turned into a brick building with a window on the side with a cat in the window. (GAH! I wish I took more pictures! There are so many details!). I should add, those stones and shells are glued on and finished, so they have a cool shine, and the stones in the back wrap around like a stone wall. Todd stained most of the wood and I just added little touches of color. The green square on the bottom has another little fence around it, and the other one is more like a platform for a little box with hand carvings that I painted in two shades of green. I wish I had a picture of that too, but hopefully I'll get some updated pics when she gets it.
Here it is, finished for the most part. The blue dowel will be getting a curtain and he also has this funky fish sculpture thing that will go in there (seen in the first pic) and two other wood objects. I painted the dowel first in this subtle gradation from dark to lighter blue and continued that with other the other elements of trim.
