More new paintings

Urban Abstract - Acrylic on 7" x 10" canvas

Intention - Acrylic on 8" x 8" canvas.

The Awakening - Acrylic on 8" x 8" canvas.


Happy Memorial Day! Hope everyone has a safe and fun weekend!

Painting up a Storm

It's been beautiful here and I've been painting up a storm the last two days. I'll let the art speak for itself....



Orange Sun - Acrylic on 16 x 20 canvas

Hovering Circles - Acrylic on 16 x 20 canvas

John's Lament - Acrylic on unstretched 8 x 10 canvas

Blast of Inspiration - Acrylic on 16 x 20 canvas

Abstract Landscape - Acrylic on 8 x 8 unstretched canvas.



I'd also like to thank Erik at Etsy Art for featuring livefunky! http://etsyart.blogspot.com/

New Commission

This painting is a recreation of a smaller mixed media piece I made earlier this year translated in acrylic onto a 20" x 24" gallery wrapped canvas.

365 Sketch - Day 7

We All Wonder - original ink drawing on paper
Available in my Etsy shop

365 Sketch - Day 6 - May 21, 2008

This drawing is available for purchase in my Etsy shop - www.livefunky.etsy.com.

Check it out!

Check out my interview with the fabulous Martha Marshall (aka colorpoetry on Etsy) at www.lookseesaw.blogspot.com!

365 Sketch - Day 4 - May 19, 2008

365 Sketch - Day 4 - May 19, 2008 , originally uploaded by livefunky.

I take that back - Finished.

Patchwork Bliss
Acrylic on 30" x 40" canvas
Available in my Etsy Shop - HERE

Ok. I got my wish for more sun and looking at this painting with fresh eyes I knew - I'm done. If I added just one more block of color, I'd *need* to add a whole new layer. I'd end up losing some of those first layers that are still present in places, and those are some of my favorite "moments" in the painting. So - finis!

I also took a drive out to West Hartford to Jerry's Artarama to get a bunch of new supplies. Since most of the people that read this blog are fellow artists, y'all KNOW how great it feels to get a batch of supplies! It's kind of.... delicious. That feeling plus a cup of coffee (I'm usually a tea drinker so coffee to me = ZING!) has me in a pumped up and sort of spazzy mood. Ready to rock more canvas with my lovely new set of paint. I've got a commission to begin, and that is going to be a lot of fun. I estimated production time to take about 2-3 weeks, but I have a feeling it will be a matter of days. I'm just really excited to jump into this one. Speaking of.... the sun is out and I'm going to go paint! Have a great day....

JT

Almost Finished

This is a new painting I've been working on the last couple of days. I've been working outside and today it decided to drizzle, then rain enough that I had to call it quits. I could have moved back into the studio, but there's other work to be done today, so this is it for now. I need a sunshine to take a fresh look at it, then add just a FEW more elements (you'd better hold me to that, I have a tendency to overwork my paintings!). This is a large acrylic painting on canvas stretched flat on a board (designed to be shipped rolled and stretched by the buyer's framer). It was primed in black gesso which is something I've never tried before and I was very pleased with how it affected my process.

I'm crossing my fingers for a sunny day tomorrow, but we're caught in a long rainy spell here in New England. Hopefully I'll have some good shots of this painting completed soon!

may17 - 365 sketch

may17 - 365 sketch, originally uploaded by livefunky.

Peace, please.

Illustration by Jessica Torrant.

This new design is now available on a t-shirt at www.zazzle.com/artjct*

Let's Try That Again

365 Sketch - Day 1 - May 16, 2008, originally uploaded by livefunky.

I decided to do 365 Sketch again, only this time the moment is right and I'm really ready to go for it! This piece is an ink and sharpie drawing on a recycled paper bag.

Change of Heart

Mixed media on 8" x 10" matboard.
Available at www.livefunky.etsy.com

It was another productive day today. More art papers and I photographed this collage I made yesterday. This is my favorite piece right now. One of the materials I used was cut up pieces of the thick layers of dried acrylic paint I peel off of my palette.

As quoted from my Etsy listing...

"One of my little artsy joys is to peel away the dried layers of plastic like acrylic paint from one of my palettes (a glass pie plate and a frisbee!). I never knew what to do with it besides enjoy the feeling of the chunky texture on one side and admire the accidental beauty of swirls of color on the slick, shiny backside. Now that I've been on this recycling kick regarding my art, I am loving the effect of depth that this raw material creates on an otherwise two dimensional piece. I think you'll be seeing more of these "chunks" in my work in the future. No more tossing out ANYTHING! It all can be reused and manipulated to create new work :) "

Chipping away at the materials I already have has been a fun and gratifying challenge. I've been doing a lot of thinking about living green and what that means to an artist, or I should say, to me as an artist. I don't know where these thoughts will lead me in the long run, but I'm just working with ideas and projects in the moment and not worrying about grand implications. Will I stop working on canvas? Probably not, but you never know. Maybe I'll switch to stretching recycled fabric. Or painting on odd found surfaces. I won't make any promises, I just know what I feel right now is a good feeling and I'm going to try and keep this train of creative energy cruising as long as I can.

On a more personal note, this was my husband's first week working day shift! Our prayers were answered, and it's a real change for both of us - all for the best. Tonight we ate dinner together and I literally cried with joy. Jazz in the background, the sun setting, my love sitting across from me sharing a good meal - that's it. That's what I've been praying for all these years and I feel so lucky that someone was listening...

This evening all I can think and feel is LIFE IS GOOD.

Multi Purpose Art Paper

Tis the season for some serious creative energy! I've been a busy bee over here, and I worked on a few more collages as well as these handpainted art papers.

This is all inspired by the desire to find a purpose for every saved piece of art on paper I've collected over the years. Little drawings are great for my collages, but there are some paintings that are just such duds, they deserved to be painted over completely. Instead of painting over the surface with a new fine art painting (because I'd like to focus on canvas for my fine art work), I've been cutting these paintings up into 4" x 6" pieces (more sizes coming soon) and painting simple designs on them to be used as a supply for all sorts of art and craft projects. By working fast and recycling my materials, I'm able to keep the cost down and offer these original, one of a kind works of art at a very reasonable price. Great for scrapbooking, making greeting cards, decoupage - you name it!

Check them out in my Etsy shop - www.livefunky.etsy.com

New Collages on Etsy

Past Meets Present, originally uploaded by livefunky.

Through the years I have saved almost every sketch or painting on paper I've ever made and stored them in big tupperware bins. Some are works that never really worked out, or they are partially incomplete, some have some mark of damage - a corner bent, or a smudge/stain. For a variety of reasons, these artworks never made it to the "stage" on their own right. But instead of them hiding away in a storage unit, I decided to try and give them "new life" in the form of collage.

Check out this collage and others in my Etsy shop at www.livefunky.etsy.com!

Art Rocks!

Check out my new shop section for handpainted rocks. I'm starting with some that I painted a couple years ago, and I'd like to make some new ones soon. As a special promotion, I'm offering free shipping worldwide for the next week *until May 14th*
ART ROCKS ON ETSY