~~~MERRY CHRISTMAS ~~~

Here is this year's hand-made Christmas card with my paper-folded and embellished peace dove and Rick's beautiful astro photo of the Soul nebula with the amazing angel lifting her wings on high. There's a lot of beautiful, mystical even, objects out there in the night sky.

Taken from Rick's backyard observatory. Here's a link to Rick's blog where you can see larger better versions of the angel. They are the top few photos in his blog, scroll down on his blog to see a very large version with a clear angel.

http://ricksastropics.blogspot.com

Artist's Hand-made CHRISTMAS CARD TRADE:
I made 5 extra cards and if you are an artist who makes their own cards, I'd love to trade with you. I'm a greeting card maven and love to receive and get them. I know, I know, they are an expensive anachronism, but I keep them all! I have a trunk full of greeting cards. And I keep the hand-made artist cards in a special scrap book, so they are going to a good home where they will be appreciated year after year for the works of art that they really are. Just drop me a note here or leave a comment below and we'll work out the details with addresses.

We wish all creatures in the universe a

Very PEACEFUL New Year,

Annie

 

"Closed for the Season"


 

Left behind nest in my naked trumpet vines.
Interesting note... this particular bird nest looks like it was constructed with the green scrubby stuff from scrubber sponges (see below). Birds - the ultimate recyclers. Anybody have any idea what type of birds made this? It's made with mud, twigs and bits of fabric and string. I'm guessing robin. Inquiring minds want to know.

"Scooter's Eyes"



World's sweetest cat.


You've seen lots of photographs here lately and not much fine art. I'm working on it. There are two challenges coming up on EBSQ that I plan to enter so I'm working away, scurrying, carving, inking, collaging, gluing, scurry, scurry, photographing, scanning, scurrying....

Later gater,
Annie

 

William says to have a Happy Halloweenie. Which is the real cat, which is the fake? I'm not sure because both of their eyes look alike - round yellow orbs with black centers. I did a little photoshopping on William's eyes, they actually have a lot more warmth but were whited out during photography and I didn't do a bang-up job on editing them.

I'll be back with more art soon, most notably a beaded bracelet that I'm putting the finishing touches on, and art from other artists that I've recently acquired.

Have a great Hollow Weenie!

Annie

 

Yes, English ivy really does bloom!
I've let some English ivy grow wild and overtake an old crab apple tree in my yard. I've been told many times by lots of well-meaning folk that "You should have that old tree taken out." But then I think, what great shelter and habitat it is adding for hummingbirds, bees, butterflies, dragonflies, toads and all sorts of other wild beasties. Yes, sometimes I've eaten my words in the land of lawn maintenance, but on this particular tree, I've held out for years and so far, it hasn't caused a downside (yet).

The ivy has draped down and over the branches for Michigan's version of Spanish moss, and it looks beautiful. The only time I ever see these amazing round blooms is on the portions of the ivy that drape over the branches and up the trunk. I never see these on the ivy that stays flat and close to the ground. If these photos inspire you, then use them to make your art. I've thrown in a free bee shot for you to use also. It would be nice if you gave photo or inspiration credit to anniefancy or Annie M-M, it would make my day :)  

Happy art-making.

Here's a shot looking upward into the tree branches. There are hundreds of these round "blooms".
 

Here's a closer shot....




Look at all that habitat.....





And here's a freebie little bee, drunk on the scent of these funky musky blooms:



What have you been working on?
 

Doesn't this box of art supplies look like a treasure chest!! Wheeeee! I almost knocked over the Fed Ex guy getting to that package. NOW..... I'll continue the cactus bloom that I'd given up on (see below) with good heavy-bodied Liquitex acrylic paint. Two new things I'm trying - a sample of "Aquaboard" and "Clayboard". Have any artists out there used either of these? I'd like to know your result if you would kindly comment below :) 

Since I've only used acrylics to add highlights to my watercolors, I didn't realize it was the "heavy" bodied paints that I wanted to buy, not the "light" body. Who'd a thunk?  I checked my old acrylic tubes and they didn't say anything about the body type. But they are ancient, gotta admit. The new cheapie paints that I'd used on my initial cactus blossom painting must have been the light body.

Some new paintings in the works as we speak - two little girls with their kittens, a woman having her hair done in a beauty parlor, a Victorian granny sitting in a chair, a dragon on a rock. I'll post all of them when they're completed, they're about half done. 

The artistic Word o' the Day will be changing to an Illustrator's Word o' the Day, because that is what my words inspire, telling a story with paint = illustration. There is a long on-going debate about what the difference is between art and illustration. It's a fine line, but generally illustration tells a story or illustrates a point. 

Here's another word....

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Illustrator's Word o' the Day:   Secretum secretorum = secret of secrets


Think Halloween. I just read these words in a book about an ancient manuscript and they brought to mind all sorts of creepy-in-a-good-way images for Halloween. A dusty tome in a middle ages monastery....... H. P. Lovecraft.....  the DaVinci Code......

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What are YOU working on? Leave a comment, I'd like to hear from you

"Verdigris" 3.5" x 3.5" $30 
Acrylic painting with metallic inks by Annie



This is a mini plant painting that I did with GOOD paint. Whew, what a change from the cactus painting (below) that I did with cheap-o paint. When you use good paint, it's like the paint does all the work for you. With cheap-o paint, it's a constant struggle. You'd think I would have learned my lesson after all these years.... cheap-o paint = bad results; good paint = good results. I've also posted (below) the cactus painting at the point where I abandoned it. Who knows, maybe someday I'll go back and try to salvage it someday, because I really did like it. But at this point in a painting, I'm usually bored with the subject and ready to move on. That's why mistake paintings seldom get salvaged. I might transfer it to watercolor paper which I know will turn out good :) 

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Word o' the Day...

"snafu" - a glitch, a mistake. Some words have an almost visual quality. It's an old word, from WWII. Don't look it up on Wiki unless you want to read some foul language that goes along with it. Come on, now, illustrators - I know you can "paint funny" with this word.