Owlette Owan

Hi everyone, just hopping in today to show you a new creation.  I cut out some owl shapes from kiln dried pine quite a few weeks ago, I did about 10 of them & I had a ball designing each little character to be completely different from the next...and just last week I got around to painting the first little guy...

This series is called "Owlettes" and this little guys name is "Owan"...

I did this piece in acyclic and coloured pencil on gessoed pine.

 I am not sure yet if I'll bring the originals of this series to the gallery, to the City Streets Sale or put them up for adoption in my Etsy shop but until I decide I did just put a print version of him in my Etsy shop...

Thanks sooo much to everyone for the lovely birthday wishes, I had the best day and am feeling very very loved, lucky and completely spoiled in the studio today:D

See you all Saturday with Novembers giveaway. 

Have a wonderful day.  XO M & The Messy Buns.

New Painting "Avian #5"

As promised here is the last painting of the Avian series, Avian #5. This was my very first ever series and I am quite happy with how they turned out. Creating the same character over and over, in the same colour etc was challenging but a good experience.

I am ready to move onto a new series now but I will come back in a day or two with some shots of all the Avian paintings together. The latest one is still drying in the sunshine upstairs and I don't want to mess up it's final coating in my haste to take the photos! which would be my normal protocol!

The last two days I've been working in my upstairs studio which I share with Jin and Hazel...who in the last 2 blissfully sunny days have kept me great company and quite amused by how they happily spend the whole day sunning themselves on their window bench...getting up just long enough to stretch; yawn; eat the banana I've just served and then they smartly turn around to sun the other sides of their beautiful glossy coats, ha ha.

Until the next post, be well, be inspired and be creative. XO Mandy.

New Painting 'Avian 4" & Birthday Wishes

As promised last week, I have a new painting to show you. The 4th little painting on wood in my Avian series.

I am very pleased with it and they are all looking so lovely together. The golds and silvers in the paintings come through abit more in the scans than in these photographs. I will put the originals up for sale shortly after the whole series is complete. Whether it will be on my new website, at my Etsy shop or somewhere else, I've still yet to determine.

Today is a speacil day...it's my dad's birthday....HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAD, my big and strong dad is 58 years young. We'll be seeing you later on this evening dad...

Thanks for stopping in and until tomorrow, by joyful, be inspired and be creative.

A New Painting

Just popping in to show you this new little painting I finished up last week. It is the first in a series of 5 which I am calling 'The Avian' Series.

It is acrylic and coloured pencil on a 5" x5" pine block with sides and back painted black. They will go for sale once all 5 are completed.

Even though I don't 100% agree with it...I plan to spend alot of time this year on series work. I do not have any series work really in my portfolio and I think I will only benefit from doing so. Already I have a couple series planned...this Avian series of 5 (and possibly more later on) will be my stepping stone.

Until the next post, be well and Happy Creating. Kufilaw, (meaning 'Take Care') Mandy Saile of Bijou's Whimsy.

A New Furniture Project

I love painting old furniture...I don't do it too often because they can be time consuming projects, but when I do get to it, I really get into it and the thought always pops into my head that "Yep, I could do this for a living...this and paint carousel horses..." ha ha. It completely lets me diverge and break from my usual work but still feels very creative and therefore freeing. I saw this lovely old writing desk at a thrift shop for no more than $20. Without question my honey helped me load it up into the car and we brought it home only to sit in a corner for a few years with not real purpose and looking pretty hideous (but I bought it because I knew the shape and style was lovely).

Jonathan helped me immensely by spending 3 hours on it before it passed off into my hands. He worked off the old cracked and bubbled veneer on all sides, cut new pieces for the backing, reinforcing weak areas, completely rebuilt the legs, filled any cracks and holes and sanded it beautifully so I had a nice smooth surface to refinish. I forgot to take a shot of it before Jon worked on it unfortunately...but here it is looking much better than before...

And voila...here it is after 7 or 8 hours of my hard but fun work...

A lovely and new and unique desk for our den which is decorated with blacks, reds and golds...I am very pleased with the outcome and was happy to surprise Jonathan with the finished project when he arrived home from work. Now Jon wants to go thrift store hunting for more furniture for me to paint, ha ha...he says this every time I finish a piece.

Thanks for your help babe, it would no doubt look quite as sharp without all the fine tuning you put in. As for everyone else, I hope I've inspired you to break out the paints and varnish and perhaps tackle some ugly or tired piece of yours and have fun and breathe new life into it. Happy Creating and perhaps old furniture hunting.

Stacks of Goodness and Joy & Missing My Thodan

For a couple hours every weekend, we've been cutting and sanding wood like crazy. Here is a stack which I am allowing to acclimatize to the inside temperature's of the house, which is important to avoid any unseen problems later when it's too late because the wood or board is covered with a lovely painting! Pine blocks and Russian Birch is currently my favourite to work on, especially with acrylic paints and coloured pencil. I walk into the studio and see this beautiful stack and it fills me with joy and excitement. It's important to have a good stack of substrates to get me through the winter. As our winters commonly go between -30 to -40, and with a garage that has no heating...well you can see why we've been frantically getting these stacks of wood prepared and brought into the house. I think I have enough but if we get another blast of warm weather I think I'll take advantage of that and make perhaps another pile or two just to make sure...hmmm perhaps I am being overly ambitious but better that than not, right? ha ha!

Here is another view of my lovelies:D ha ha....

...and as the wood acclimatizes, I have this stack of ready made canvases ready to keep me occupied and happy as well.

If any of you live in a part of the world with such extreme seasonal changes as ours, you'll appreciate all the work and time that goes into preparing for each...

Also today, I can't not mention my Thodan, today will be one whole year that he's been gone and I miss him terribly. Though my heart aches for him abit every single today...today knowing it's been a full year makes the ache stronger....so little one, if your out there somewhere...I miss you and I love you forever...

That's about it for today. Have a good one and be extra kind to loved ones, to strangers and even more so to all animals. Till tommorow.

On a side note: I am so anxious to see the results of the election. It's been so interesting to follow and well if I could vote, it would be for Obama...I hope the U.S. gets it right...tonight I'll certainly be tuned into the news. I also can't wait to see Religulous, we tune in whenever Bill Maher is on tv and he's just fantastic to listen to. Anyhow...to any of my U.S. readers, good luck with the voting, hope the lines aren't too long.

A New Illustration "Stay Now" and Good News about Roo

Good Monday everyone. Well I write you in a completely exhausted manner but I am excited to show you a new picture and I am excited to share the news that Roo has pulled through a scary bout of g.i. stasis. It was an excruciating weekend full of worry and well over 72 hours maneuvered on less than 8 hours of sleep total. Long story short, we are still watching him closely but it looks as though he is out of the woods, thank goodness. I don't know what Jon or I or Roo's partner Ella-Luna would have done if he didn't make it through this. So with that good news shared. Let me share a new illustration "Stay Now"...

It is coloured pencil, with some ink and white acrylic paint, with some red rhinestones distributed sparsely throughout the image and painted wooden 'nubs' which I secured along all the edges of the piece. It is approx. 20" x 8" and I am not quite sure yet if it will be for sale, I'll let you know shortly, but I don't think it will be. There are very few images that I refuse to sell but some just hit home and are to special to part with, I think this may be one of those. This piece is a personal one...well what pieces do I do that aren't personal on some level, I suppose that is redundant to point out! But this one is about my German grandparents. It is called "Stay Now' and illustrates my child-like feelings of not wanting to let them go. My wonderful and lovely grandma passed on a few years ago and as most of you know, my grandfather just a couple months ago. Despite the fact that I hardly saw my grandparents because of the distance, they and Germany are deeply ingrained in me. And even though they are gone I still feel them strongly in me and this image speaks of that...a special place where we can go and spend time together...in some magical place where our hearts and beautiful memories are the key...just a little baby bird hugging her grandpa or grandma and just saying 'stay now...just abit longer, just abit more time...we still have too...stay now...stay now...". So Karl and Katie Saile, my grandparents...this image is dedicated to you. Today I also want to send out a special thank you to my dear friends, Judit, Julie and my mom who kept calling and asking how our Roo was, that means to the world to us...even though we weren't always answering the phone! I also want to send out special thoughts and extra strength to our beloved friends whom have just lost a father and father-in-law, a seemingly 'quiet' man who lived a remarkable life. To the ones he leaves behind, my heart goes out to. See you tomorrow and Happy Creating...I am off to not create at this moment but to bunny gaze and at the present and after the last few days, that feels like about the only thing I want to do at the moment...just be with my furry little family.

New Painting "Rainbow Swish"

"Rainbow Swish", acyclic on wood, 11.5" x 9" x 1.5"
The original will be available for purchase soon through my new website.
A print of this painting will available shortly on Etsy.

My post is abit late today, but better late than never is my positive attitude for today. On this extremely gloomy and humid day, distant thunder can be heard slowly approaching, the clouds seem bloated with rain and even the mosquitoes and bees seem heavy in flight with less hum, I wanted to do something extra bright and fun...so I give you my painting for today "Rainbow Swish".

I adore painting on wood, I have for as long as I can remember. I like to cut all of the wood about a year in advance and give it a good chance to dry up properly inside the house but today I fear that my wood supply is getting low and I am anxious to get into the garage and cut more to stock up again.

I am off to watch some "Lost' episodes with my sweetheart and with some cups of hot cocoa, as the rabbits snooze peacefully, I bid you a good evening, take care and happy creating.