Portrait of a beach babe

I recently finished painting this custom portrait

of a little girl sitting on the shore of Lake Michigan that was

cut into thirds, and adhered to 3 natural wood blocks.  The portrait triptych is now ready to be shipped to a happy mom who sent me this message after seeing an image of the finished portrait ~ "It's beautiful! I'm so excited! We are up at our lake house now and I feel like I should pose my son tomorrow on the beach so he's not left out! It's great and I can't wait to receive it! Thanks again.. "

Yea!  I'm always a little nervous when painting a custom portrait so it's wonderful to receive positive feedback from a delighted recipient!  I wonder if all artists feel this way when creating custom pieces, or if it's just me?!  What do you think?

Mommy and Me - Original Painting on Canvas

I just finished this sweet custom painting on canvas

and thought I'd show the painting in progress.

The Original Photograph of a Mother and Daughter

The Painting Process...

Step 1)  Paint a light tan sand color over the entire canvas  

Step 2)  While paint is still wet, paint light blue over top of the tan

Step 3)  Add a little teal blue to the water and a rolling white wave to the shore line

Step 4)  Dabbing in green paint for the trees and working a little green into the water

Step 5)  Mix in a darker green to the tree line - add a mixture of dk. green, teal and white to create the waves

Step 6)  Paint the two figures - the boat - and add a little brown throughout the painting

Mommy and Me

The finished piece of art - signed and glazed.

Acrylic on 5 x 7 inch canvas.

A small little canvas perfect for Mother's Day!

If you'd like more information - simply click here:  Magic Markings Art

Brand New Painting

Inspired by two different artists ~
the photography of George Hoyningen-Huene
and a painting by one of my favorite artists, Kenton Nelson.



The photograph by George Hoyningen-Huene
for Vogue 1929.


Kenton Nelson's Painting for The New Yorker June 2000


And my combination of the two ~
The Diver
Acrylic painting on 8 x 10 x 1.5 inch
gallery wrap canvas.

Winter Olympics = Thoughts of Summer and Productivity.

Since I can't watch t.v. without doing something - because if
my mind and hands aren't busy I'm asleep within minutes -
the 2010 Winter Olympics have proved to be a very productive time for me.
I have a bunch of new paintings to show for my "couch potato"
creating time. Here are a few Olympic inspired, summer themed paintings ~ which I have recently listed in my Etsy store ~


Sunrise Surf Session
Acrylic on 11" x 14" Canvas

Spring Break
Hand Painted ACEO - Acrylic on Canvas
2.5" x 3.5"

Beach Babes on Parade
Hand Painted Vintage Photo Collage on Canvas
5" x 7"

Ocean Swimmer
Hand Painted Vintage Photo Collage on Canvas
5" x 7"

Hope you enjoyed a preview of my "Handmade Winter Olympics" ~
thanks to the inspiration of all the real athletes!

MacKenzie Child's Addict

I admit, I am addicted to MacKenzie Childs tableware, and decor. Their whimsical patterns and shapes appeal to the artist in me. If price were no problem, I would furnish my house with items from their store. Unfortunately, this is just a dream. But ~ with a little creativity, some paint, and a paint brush I have used their patterns to decorate various items in my home.

Our stove - which we need to replace~ but I'm not ready to part with just yet.

Our dishwasher ~ which runs just fine ~ knock on wood.

The window treatments in our front room ~ which I created to go along with our colorful Christmas theme ~ then decided to keep up year-round.

Recently I've been playing around with handmade pottery tea sets in the whimsical style of MacKenzie Childs. Here are a few of my finished pieces. I think they turned out quite cute.


Tea Pot
1.5 x 1"

Sugar bowl and Creamer Set

Sugar Bowl - 1x1"
Creamer - 2x1.5"

Pitcher and Tea Cups

Pitcher - 1.75"x1.5"
Tea cups - 1.5"x1"

Celebration Cake and Cake Stand

Cake - 1.5"x1"
Cake Stand - 1.5"x1.75"

If you love the whimsical look of MacKenzie Childs, stop back by - I'm sure I'll be painting more!