Halloween Pets ACEO

Two New Hand Painted
Halloween ACEO's
Painted with acrylics on
246 lb. acrylic paper


This little lab knows a good thing when she
sees it...free bones from the neighbors just for
wearing a cute little hat?...ah, isn't life grand!


And what could be better than being
a little black cat on Halloween Eve?
Being a little black cat with a cute party hat!

You can go to my etsy shop to visit these sweet
pet paintings: Magic Markings Art.com

Women Who Art ~ Painting Class

Week Two
And the real fun begins ~
Painting the canvas!


Painting in negative space with in
an impressionistic style.


Like daughter - Painting negative space with
dots and dabs of green paint.


It's all about ~
Getting comfortable with the paints and color.
I do believe she got it!


Watching the image emerge as paint is added
into the negative space.


Catching up with the rest of the ladies....
graphing the image.

They came......
They laughed..
They arted......

Halloween ACEO's - Art Cards Editions and Originals

Introducing My Newest
Series of Original ACEO's

In Celebration of the
HALLOWEEN SEASON...

Little Characters ~
All Dressed up in their Holiday Finest,
and ready to party ~



As the Full Moon rises,
the little blue field mouse grabs his invitation
and scurries across the pumpkin patch
to gather together with friends.


Hearing the call of his buddies,
the little Ghost arises,
puts on his finest bow tie and party hat,
and prepares for the evening festivities.


Not wanting to miss the fun,
the little black bat wipes the sleep from his eyes,
adjusts his hat, and flies over
to join in the twilight celebration.


From her perch on the fence,
Miss Kitty, the official Holiday Princess,
welcomes her guests to the Halloween Party.

While Mama Ghoul, fresh from the
hair dresser, puts on her favorite
cape and party dress.

Never one to miss a party,
mummy boy hides behind his blue mask
and practices his latest dance moves.

and last, but not least,
the little blue spider,
spins out a special Halloween message,
"Don't forget to brush your teeth!"

Hand Painted with Acrylic Paint

on 2.5" x 3.5" 246 lb. Linen Canvas

available in my etsy shop:
MagicMarkingsArt.etsy.com

Halloween ACEO

A day of Production

My day started bright and early -
up at 6:10AM to get my daughter off to school -
then right to work producing a new series of Halloween ACEO"s

(Art Cards, Editions, and Originals)

The characters for this series of Halloween ACEO's
are reproductions of illustrations I created last year for
the children's book ~ "Over in the Graveyard".

With my cup of coffee close by ~
I selected the characters I wanted to reproduce ~
hand painted them with acrylic paint ~ Used my trusty
paper cutter to cut linen canvas to 3.5" x 2.5"~
drew and painted the background scene for a few images.
As the paint dried, I took time out for a long walk
with a good friend, then got back to work ~ adhering characters
to the painted art cards.

Time out to pick my daughter up from school ~
for a private art lesson ~
for dinner preparation ~
for feeding my family ~

then back to work ~ with a little bit of white wine ~
a few more characters ~ more drawing - painting -
and adhering.

Tomorrow will consist of taking pictures of this series ~
posting them here and on my etsy site. But for now ~
I'm calling it a day.
Sweet Dreams.

Women who Art

After teaching art to elementary and junior high school students for the past eleven years, I decided the time was prime for teaching an adult art class. Today was our first class. ~ As you can see from the pictures, this is going to be one creatively focused group.

Each art student chose a subject matter to paint ~ cut from a magazine, downloaded off the internet, photographed from a still life scene, or copied from my own file of art work ~ their chosen image was scanned and printed into an 8" x 10" size ~ then measured and graphed into one inch squares. (I do believe there was one complaint registered about having to mix art with math, but they quickly got over that hurdle!)


Following this, they graphed their 16" x 20" canvas into two inch squares.

Then got to work - sketching the image -


square by square


onto their canvas.

As this group of ladies will prove
over the next few weeks -
you're never to young to start arting!

"Over in the Barnyard" - A sneak Peak

I'm in a frenzy to finish up illustrations for
a Thanksgiving Rhyming Story for Children. This is the second in a series of
Holiday Rhyming Stories I'm illustrating in collaboration with pre-school teacher and writer, Isabel Valentini.

Here's a little Peak at the illustration for Page One.



Those of you who live in the Charlottesville, Va. area might recognize the charming barn in my illustration. The image comes from an 1800's barn ~ "The Barn Swallow". Restored, by Mary Ann Burk and Janice Arone eight years ago, as a venue to show and sell their pottery.
Last fall, after explaining my mission, I was given permission to wander around and photograph the barn and the beautiful piece of property on which it sits. Wow, what an awesome find! Those pictures bring my illustrations, and Isabel's words to life. I can't wait to show you more ~ but for now ~ it's back to the drawing board.

Three New Hand Painted Portraits

A Day in My Studio...

Three Different Subjects +
Two Different Painting Styles =
Artistic freedom and Creative fun.


The first commission request ~
A hand painted photo collage
of three adorable children.


5" x 7"
Hand Painted Photo on Canvas
This little piece of art is going to their Nana as a Christmas gift.


The second commissioned piece ~
A good friend and her newly adopted rescue dog.


Hand Painted Pop Art Pet Portrait
8" x 10" Acrylic on Canvas
This piece is a gift from one dog loving friend to another.


And the third commissioned request ~
To combine these separate photographs of two sisters into one
hand painted photo collage on canvas.


5" x 7"
The finished art work ~
A hand painted gift for their mother's birthday ~
from her two loving daughters.

Thank you for visiting ~ I hope you enjoyed my little art show :)

A Great Big Hand Painted Happy Birthday Surprise.

This is a long story...
so grab a cup of tea, sit back, relax and enjoy.

My cousin, Nancy and I, although we vary in age by four years and lived
hours away from each other, were the best of buddies growing up. I always looked forward to my family's semi-annual trips up north, so Nancy and I could reconnect and she could share her worldly wisdom with me. Oh, the memories I have of our times together.

I remember hearing all about her new boyfriend, Ken, and year's later standing at the front of the altar ~ in my light blue bride's maids dress ~ as they exchanged their wedding vows.
Eventually ~ family, school, jobs, and distance made it difficult to maintain our youthful exuberant relationship. Although whenever we talk, the energy, laughter and memories come bubbling back to the surface.

Recently, Nancy, Ken and their beautiful children - um...young adult children (Yikes) traveled south for the day, and we were able to spend some time together on the beach - reconnecting and catching up. Later that same week, Ken e-mailed me asking if I would mind painting a portrait of their children as a surprise birthday gift for Nancy. :) I guess you can imagine my response! What an unexpected honor!


The Original Photograph of their children in front of the Brooklyn Bridge.
I love the composition, the colors, and of course,
the children - are they not gorgeous!

To create this hand painted photo on canvas,
I had the original photograph enlarged ~ in black and white ~
to fit an 18" x 24" canvas board. I hand painted the children
with acrylic paint ~ cut them out ~ hand painted the New York Scene ~
adhered the figures to the background ~

added additional paint to both the figures and the background ~

added more paint to the figures and background ~ signed the front ~
and painted on a gloss varnish to seal and protect the painting.
Ken came by today to pick up the finished piece. We were both so excited, and couldn't wait until Sunday ~ Nancy's birthday ~ the day he was giving her our gift.
Well, this evening I received a phone call, and noticed on our caller I.D. the call was coming from their home. Oh no.....what happened....did the canvas bend....did the rain ruin the painting....did the varnish stick....oh crumb I'm afraid to answer the phone!

It's Nancy!! Laughing and thanking me at the same time. :)
Ken was too excited to wait until Sunday ~
and I was too excited not to share this story and painting.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY NANCY!
THANK YOU KEN!
GOD BLESS YOU BOTH.

Pop Art Pet Portrait

~ The Original Photograph
from which came the request ~
A characterized painting that is fun, whimsical and full of color.


Princess Chelsea
Original hand painted pet portrait
Acrylic paint on an 18" x 24" canvas board.

My first request for, and my first attempt at a characterized portrait.
This sweet pup just celebrated her birthday last Wednesday ~
with those soulful eyes and crooked nose ~ I just had to give her a much deserved crown.

Cheers Chelsea.

Family Portrait Painting Class

A good friend of mine asked if I could help her come up with creative way to celebrate her husbands 50th Birthday. She wanted a private art class during which she and her children could design a special gift to give to their father. After some discussion, it was settled. A hand painted family photo collage painted by my friend and her children ~ with a little of my help and guidance .


The original family portrait - taken in Costa Rica by
Surfing Nosara

The family of artists ~ ready to paint.

Busy at work ~ painting their portraits ~

and ~ the canvas board background ~

alittle bit of help from big brother ~

Mother and daughter trading painting tips ~

And the finished piece of work.
A true keepsake given with love and creativity.

For those of you who visit or know about Wareings Gym In Virginia Beach ~
you might recognize the family. If so....shhhh....this is a surprise gift!!!