Cute Coloring

Hey everyone...

This coloring page of mine is going to be in the December issue of "The Coloring Studio". WOHOO.

If you want my coloring pages just sign up to Keep In Touch and I'll send them along monthly.

 

 

I am wishing your way an amazing and beautiful weekend full of warm breezes, restful sleep

and not too many leaves falling!

Enjoy yourselves and see you here next week I hope XO

Florada

You saw her a bit on Tuesday...here's a clearer peek.  I think her name will be 'Florada'

 

 

I already have her colour palate blaring out loudly in my head & I can't wait to get started.

Sneak Peek

I love hats...they make me happy...

...And, they are also inspiring my one of my newest little series, here's sneak peek...

...I think their gonna be super duper cute.

Stay tuned for I should be able to show you a petal topped lady pretty soon.

I must admit to just not feeling up to much in the studio the last week,

a creative block suddenly popped up but I just went with it and wasn't too hard on myself

for we've had so much on our plates the last month:

a death in the family, a rough time with Ella Luna going crippled,

stressful vehicle shopping, a health scare & lots of migraines to contend with ...

But, these little sweeties came to me whiles I was 'blocked' so I guess it wasn't entirely fruitless, ha ha...

What are all of your guys working on in the studios or elsewhere this week?

XO Mandy

Inspiring Roo

I get such a kick out of our Roo-Boo...

...we are on a mission to get a photo of him when he rolls over & sleeps flat on his back but this side-ways nap is all we've managed to snap a photo of...he's elusive & sneaky that way...it's like trying to catch a good shot of a rabbit yawning, which they do alot but the camera never seems near by when they do, ha ha.

 He's inspired a new series...(I know, for someone who started out so reluctant to do any series work at all, I have so many series on the go now, ha ha)...these will be acrylic washes on birch...I am hoping they'll turn out sweet, simple, & soft like our Roo...

Have a superbly fantastic day everyone...

"Being Happy Doesn't Mean Everything Is Perfect.  It Means That You've Decided To Look Beyond The Imperfections"....loving this quote right now...

XO M & Some Very Inspiring Bunnies...

p.s. End Of This Week Will Be Another Giveaway. 

Feeling Alittle Blue...

I don't feel like working this week so please kindly excuse to lack of new work! I've been catching up emails, organizing computer files and sketching but mostly I've mostly been huddled up with a)my honey b)my bunnies c)The 1st and 2nd Twilight books which I can't put down! and d)some BigFish computer games which tells you my brain needs a break because I hardly ever play video games, ha ha! But I think I just needed a bit of a break after a good 2 solid very busy months on the exhibition work and I think my blue mood started late last week when we had to go pick up Hazel's ashes...picking up ashes for any lost loved one would throw anyone for a loop I think...it's just hard to even lift that box and think that it's some form of our beautiful Puddy-Pie in there...oh it's hard on my already soft heart...and than today I came across the very last photo I took of Hazel, by accident, I was photographing some necklaces on the window bench and suddenly as I clicked Hazel stuck her gorgues little face in the shot, ha ha...she was always doing things like that...oh how I miss her...and I just had to share this precious last shot because I am starting to learn that my blogging community appreciates my tender heart and my life and journey with our beautiful bunnies... I don't think it helped either that my fancy tail goldfish 'Bali' who graced me with his orangy sparkly loveliness for over 9 years passed away slowly and finally last week...RIP Bali, you were an awesome little fish....see I even get attatched to my goldfish! Now I only have 1, Tigger...who I feel bad for and wonder now if he's lonely in there all by himself!

I know the answer to get out of this mood and its to dive into work so I am off onto a new series...this one is a series of birds, I am excited to see how they turn out, they'll be mixed medias on floating boards, there going to be 8 'normal' ones and 4 or 5 birdies with hats. The originals will hopefully be ready in time for me to hang in my AOM space for the fast approaching holiday season!...I think abunch of evenings working on these near a roaring fire with the beloved remaining babies is called for right now indeed....

Hugs to all of my fellow tender hearted bloggers...Have a cozy fall day...it's freezing here! and if I stay in my studio too long I can't move my fingers!!!

New Sketched Bunnies I Love & A Tattoo Plan

So it's no secret to anyone whose been following my blog/work for even a short amount of time that I love love love to draw rabbits...they are one of my favourite things and I plan to be drawing even more of them in the future since I have plans in the works for another solo exhibition but this time it would be all on rabbits...I can't wait! Anyhow, a few of my new pieces for this Octobers solo exhibition does include rabbits (of course) and I just had to share these 2 little guys I sketched out for one of these pieces...I just love them...

I've always wanted to get a tattoo and recently I had an epiphany of what and when I would finally get said tattoo...I want it to start on the left side of my breast area, it will be a zipper opening up and out of that will be a stream of rabbits...well 8 rabbits and 2 skinny pigs...portraits of all our babies...but if they were done in this style, with stars etc drawn in as well, well I think that would just be incredible. I told myself I will get this tattoo when all of our babies have left us, which needless to say won't be for some time yet...but when that has happened, when our house is painfully empty, we told ourselves that we'd travel again. So whiles we're galavanting around the world in years to come, I'll have them with me there in ink as well as in heart...and than when we're ready to settle in at home again and perhaps get another beautiful group...those guys can be added later. That's the current plan and I feel very comfortable and excited with the ideal so that tells me its most likely a plan that will indeed come true.

New Prints and Feeling Abit Emotional

Today I am happy to introduce two new prints which will be added to The Shop this afternoon. "Cosmic Flyer", which is a print from an original coloured pencil, done in 2000. And "Act of Believing" which is a coloured pencil I did specifically for my greeting card line.

As I've been reading many blog posts the past couple of weeks, and I am witnessing a communal and temporary shift in many artists creative drive. It seems that many of our delightful and excited plans which we conjured up at the beginning of September have on some level fizzled out. Why has this happened? I don't know, but I do find it really interesting that it's happening to so many creatives from all walks of life, all over the world. It seems that everyone is pulling inwards to reflect on themselves and their journeys. Some people are feeling tired, some disconnected, some have the need to tune into the themselves more and to tune everyone else out, some admit to entering their own little 'bubble' for an undetermined amount of time. Some of us will bounce back into the flow of things more quickly and other will need more time...the process of figuring out 'what's next' and collecting our confidences is a different process for every single artist. So I am glad to know I am not alone in my up and down moods this past month. I have to admit to feeling very emotional and somewhat drained as I look towards and re-assess future plans and goals. I find myself often in a reflective mood, more so than usual... I am reflecting on past happenings to try to understand 'more' and to grow from both the things I can understand but also those that I can't make sense of. In truth, it's just been a very difficult past year in many ways, some things to personal to mention here and some which have been presented to my readers since the inception of this blog; like the passing of our sweet Noo and her difficult but brave battle with cancer; The sickness and passing of my dear heart and buddy, my skinny pig Thodan; there have been some major family 'rifts'; beloved grandparents leaving this world and their absences altering things more than expected; creative struggles; physical struggles; friends battling for their lives and some of them losing; these are just a few to mention, so yeah it's been a rough past year. Yesterday seemed to hit a peak. As I was working away on my computer, fixing up some more prints to add to the Etsy shop, there was a knock at the door. There sitting and waiting for me was a big box and I didn't know at first who it was from...then my heart raced as I realized it was from my Aunt Sandy in Germany. She had packaged up some of my grandfather's things for me. All things that my grandpa had made with his own two hands...treasures...things that are beyond price...things that fill my eyes with tears because I am just so proud of the artistic talent my grandpa had and I am just so sad that his hands won't make anything anymore. I will in time show you some of the treasures but right now, for some reason I can't explain, I have this need just to hold them all close and secret...like a special little conversation or secret just between the two of us. So today, as I admittedly feel emotional just like so many other out there right now, I really would love to show you something very special to me, something equally as wonderful to me as my grandpa's treasures and art which just arrived. And because this blogs main focus is to offer not only my authentic voice and journey but also my visual inspirations, I'd really love to show you this...this beautiful pot holder that was my grandma's.... The photo doesn't show the beautiful and perfect hand stitching, or the shiny little beads sewn in, nor the delicate lace...but it is one of my most favorite and cherished things in our home now...because it hung in my grandma's kitchen, as it now proudly does in ours and it is the only thing I have from my Grandma. My uncle (who's lovely partner, Ute, made it) sent it to my parents and my parents decided to gift it to me knowing how much it would mean to me. Mom and Dad Thank You. Another treasure and new artistic inspirations of mine which I haven't shown anyone yet is an amazing set of prints that my dad brought back from Germany for me. I felt speechless when he gifted me with these...I think the set has a total of 14 beautifully sketched vistas and spots, all around my grandparents village and town. Jonathan & I will make up frames as soon as possible so we can hang them in the upstairs hallway. This particular drawing, which the artist expertly and most beautifully rendered is of my grandparents house...where I visited when I was 14 years old and where my German heritage and family and history all became deeply and forever ingrained in a part of who I am. I know it must seem funny to most of you...that a set of drawings could be all that to one person, but they are...it's my obsessive and passionate personality that allows me to feel this deeply over a set of sketches and I love that. When one says things can't bring happiness...well I have to strongly disagree....these 'things' that have come to me in the last week or so mean so so much...and they do indeed bring me happiness and memories and well everything good...they make our home that much cozier, they are reminders that life is short, that perhaps the key is in leading a simple life, that we need to find our own comforts and joys and hold dear to them, and that our loved ones are precious. To shift gears now...In other news & in short...I am happy to learn that The Little Shop, which carries a selection of my art cards and prints now has a blog. So that's about all for today, thanks for listening to me...I hope you enjoy the new prints and I hope this entry helps to remind you to turn right around after reading this and call someone you love but haven't talked to in awhile...or to just embrace yourself more kindly and gently...as for me...I am going to sit down and write some letters (which means I get to have abit of fun buying stickers!)...give the bunnies a few more snuggles and my honey a few more kisses than normal. Have an excellent weekend and Take Care.

New Sketch and a Portrait

Good Morning All. It's another brilliantly blue day and only -26 I believe with the windchill. I guess I'll have to bundle up later this afternoon when I walk to the cafe for a client meeting. I am just not a morning person but I am making an effort to get into my studio abit earlier now so that I can get my blogging done.

I thought I would share a new sketch with you. This is just a quick life drawing of Hazel and Jin, sitting in their beloved house. The two are sisters (Noo's sister's) and are thick are thieves. It's been a long journey to get them to trust me, but I am slowly seeing some progress which is heart warming.

Also today, let me show you another recent portrait I did of my parents late dog Tassie. This one is done completely in pastel. She was a beautiful dog to draw.

That is all for today, short but sweet. Once again your comments are welcome. Cheers All.