Art Studio Work

Today is GREEN DAY! I bet you didn’t know! Well, it is self-declared, but Green Day it is. Of course it would be on a complimentary background, right? Of interest would be my lion magnets and a couple Artist Trading Cards. The delicious sea monster was made by one of our boys.  Love! Often when I paint I’ll tape down some nice sizes of watercolor paper to get crisp white borders and lay down colors to make cards, postcards and bookmarks. And... tools of the trade, por supuesto! And how is your Green Day going? 

If you like my lion magnets, check out my website at colorcatstudios101.etsy.com. They’re for sale there along with other magnets of my paintings, including tigers, bears, wolves, owls and raccoons.

Abstracts and Flowers

Here I have a pair of almost-abstract florals which I laid down in layers of transparent glazing. Seems fitting to me to celebrate SUMMERTIME!!! 12”x12” each!

They sure seem celebratory to me! And... I love how you can see through one layer to another, like Tiffany’s stained glass.

An Artist’s Desk

An artist can take cleaning her desk to an entirely new level.  Scrape, scrape, scrape.  As an acrylic artist I usually just wipe it away or level it off when I’m done working.  Over time the layers get so thick I can pull them off pretty easily.  If I ever get to a point where I’m really tired or uninspired I’ll clean off some of the layers.  Gives me some productive thinking time. What do you do when you need time to think?

Private Art Lessons

Thursdays are my private lesson days.  We cover all those lovely things that artists deal with every day like line, value, stump use, contrast. Generally in my privates we get about as much done as in a month of classes, and they’re fun! If you’re interested in private art lessons, message me and we can talk. 

My email address is @colorcatstudios@gmail.com.

Red Panda Painting Process

Here’s a little peek into my process.  First, measuring, proportions and sketches.  Always. Lots. Then, drawing into the canvas and slowly working my way around, again and again until it finally comes into its own. This one’s gone but I take commissions. I’m also wondering if I make magnets and posters if people would buy them?

An Artist’s Self Portrait

As an artist, I consider my body another canvas upon which to work, and what I wear often reflects who I am.  A self portrait. Because it’s easy for me to get a little crazy, I sometimes wear black to tame it down a bit. 

Here my leather and pearl necklace remind me of the nice time Noah and I had at the science museum. The crazy leaf scarf came from a great trip Gary and I took to Florida. My Packman earring I got at the Mall of America in St. Paul (biggest mall in the States) and the feather earring connects me to our daughter, who wears its mate. The gold band is from my dad who found it metal detecting - very special. My black bracelet was at a dollar bin at Goodwill, where we love to kick around for good deals. You would notice the many-stoned ring - that’s my paternal grandma’s mother’s ring.  She had NINE kids!! The mother’s ring has may purple and green stones; I got the topaz (the big one) because it has purple and green and blue in it and matches my grandma’s ring so beautifully.  Plus, I love anything big and sparkly.

If you look closely, you will see the big gouge in my left arm - a reminder of my melanoma and how precious life is - a gift from God. I don’t mind the scar as it reminds me of this. One more detail in this self-portrait - I got caught in the rain today, so I cut off the top so you wouldn’t see my frizzy wet hair! 

Does what you wear reflect you?

Oh... and... here’s more of my self portrait - I do my best to surround myself with flowers inside and outside the house.

And the best flowers of all, peonies.  Yummy!

Now my self-portrait is much more complete. :)

Berry Wreath Painting

My work this morning was listing this tiny little jewel on my website. Painted in layers of transparent glazing, the colors peek through one another and you feel as if you can gaze deeply into it.  Very difficult to photograph because of its shine, it looks something like this! I love berries and all things growing! You can find what inspired me, more pics and purchasing details at 

colorcatstudios101.etsy.com. On my website you can find purchase information, lots more photos and also what inspired me!

I put in so many pictures because each one is different.  Very difficult to photograph, and in differing lights it looks different.

I would say the one below is truest to the natural colors of the painting.  It is very deep and layered, and you feel as if you can see into the depths when you look at it in person.

Oh my goodness, I love this tiny little piece!

Red Panda Painting

In order for people to understand what size canvas I’m working on, I like to have a shot taken with me holding it. Here it is! Now you can tell what size it is (24x36) and see that I wear super goofy hairstyles when I work at home.  NPR, you have your ‘driveway moments, and so do I.

Also note my lovely long green hair growing out of that head planter.  Pretty fantastic, huh? When I planted those two little plants, they were six inch sticking-up hair. :)

Red Panda Painting Commission

This adorable little fellow is coming out to meet the world tonight, barely dry.  Someone hired me to paint a red panda and wanted me to include some teal, which was really easy since they’re complimentary colors. I think he is ADORABLE. When she came to see him she said, ‘He’s even cuter in person!’ That’s what they always say; it looks bigger, brighter and ‘realer’ than photos ever could. I do commissions of pretty much any subject requested. Check out  my website, colorcatstudios101.etsy.com, and if you like my style, tell me what you’d like me to paint for YOU!

This fine fellow is 24x36”.

An Artist’s Palette

Palette of the Day. My work for today is with this palette and an entirely new set of colors. What’s your work today?

Honestly, though, although I don’t paint a whole lot of abstracts, I love the abstract qualities of my palette and really love looking and the colors, layers and values.  I think it’s beautiful in its own right.  Sometimes I’m sorry to cover it up and start anew.

The Continuing Saga of... (cue music) AN ARTIST’S DESK

Between each project I clean my desk and clear off all the stuff.  Okay, not ALL the stuff, but a goodly portion! Then I lay out the tools of my trade with a surgeon’s precision, albeit not that sterile, for the next great work. The brushes laid out here indicate I’m working small, which means I’m either painting a small project or working on a BIG project and getting close to being finished. Generally when I work big, I keep to big brushes for as long as possible and switch to the smaller brushes when they start to feel unwieldy. I think this keeps my work looking fresh and more immediate. And yes, I am getting close to the end of a big project.  Can’t show you yet because it’s a commission.  Dream about a painting you’d like to have and ask! I work within everyone’s budget. My email address is colorcatstudios@gmail.com.

Teaching Homeschool Art Classes

It’s not Teeny Tiny Art Time, it’s Teeny Tiny Words Time! But I have so much to say! This is a teeny tiny synopsis of one of my class schedules. I’m offering seven classes for the school year. Although two of them are already filled, there’s room in the others.  These are classes during the day for homeschoolers; I teach all day Mondays and Tuesdays through the school year.

For info on schedules and supplies and probably more than you want to know about me, go to two websites:  

www.hisclasses.org

www.ttcclasses.com

There is so much more I could say; we really learn a lot.  Alongside all this, we do a massive sweep of art history.

The Traveling Artist

This floor.... you know, most of us don’t recognize the artistry that goes into the everyday products that surround us. I was captivated by these tiles and they inspire me in all kinds of ways. Yes, that rolling suitcase is paint-splattered and I think it is downright awesome.

Newest Floral - Just Finished!

Here’s my newest floral in all its bright colors.  At 12” square, it’s sure to cheer. This painting is for sale on my website, and you can also find lots of detailed photos.  Only $50.00 for this little stunner. 

colorcatstudios101.etsy.com

Don’t you just love the layers? In this tiny piece I’ve got a crayon resist done with watercolors and acrylics, a paint marker (and pencil under it all,) and then those lovely Golden fluid acrylics on top to balance it all out and brighten everything.  Such a fun piece!

Can There Ever Be Enough Flowers?

Here’s a cutaway of a floral I just finished and absolutely love.  Tonight I’ll post the painting in its entirety.  This pretty little thing has an abundance of layers in mixed media. I did a wax crayon resist with watercolors and acrylics, used pencil and paint pens and gave some pops of serious colors with some glorious Golden fluid acrylics.

Carved Woodblock

This is a woodblock I carved into a chrysanthemum.  I used it to make prints and suppose I made about 100 before I retired it.  As for ME, I want to retire my printing blocks before they start to crack and split as I consider them things of beauty in themselves. You can never get them entirely clean after each use, and I consider the leftover paint hiding in the cracks part of our history together, this block and me.  

Although technically it’s a tool, I consider it a piece of art in its own right and love it for itself.  It really is a beautiful thing, isn’t it? I have it resting on a shelf to happy it up for me each morning.  Here’s a side view, with the little indentations carved for handles.

Finished Bloodhound Painting, Really!

This is a painting of a very old bloodhound I just finished. His name is Blue and I think he’s pretty stinking adorable. I’m not sure I’d want him slobbering on my carpet, but I would definitely want him hanging on my wall!  There are some very slight differences between my previous post and this one - can you find them?  The changes I made are minute... ;)

Do you have pets you’d like me to paint?  Let me know!

Bloodhound Painting

Just finished this picture of my friends’ old bloodhound, Blue.  I wanted to name him Slobber Dog, but I think we’ll stick with Blue. :). Hope they love their new pet! Yes, you can commission me for your animals.

Here I am holding it.  The clue is if I’m holding a painting in front of my face, it means I’ve been in studio and haven’t done hair or makeup.  Now you know my secret!

The following post will show the finished bloodhound; this is almost done but has minute details...

Sketching on a Plane

This is what an artist does when on a plane.  I look forward to being forced to sit down and make plans to get stuff done as I’m really terrible at sitting... EVER.  I copied this from a Vogue magazine.  A four hour flight is good for a couple drawings and a good read. No movies for this girl!

A Creative’s Summer Gardening

If you feel something wonderfully warm, if you hear something stretch within itself, it’s my squash. ❤️ ❤️ 

In the North we grew so much squash everyone would come to church with grocery bags full of the stuff. We would look at each others’ bags and try to give it away to someone, anyone!  This is the first time in 19 years, since we’ve lived down here, that I’ve been able to grow squash.

We shall see if it can stretch itself into yummyhood before squirrel, opossum, coon, humidity, mysterious phenomenon or Act of God takes it out. We shall see.  Artists are forever optimists.

Oh, the beauty with which God has surrounded us! Thank you, Lord!!

Outside My Doorstep

Just listed this little 12”square beauty.  I named it ‘Outside My Doorstep.’ The plant that inspired this really IS outside our doorstep, and welcomes us home with its cheery little persona. This painting will do the same, and with its tiny size can warm and cheer even the smallest space.  The depth and colors will draw you back again and again. Check out for purchase. 

colorcatstudios101.etsy.com

I posted two ‘identical’ pictures so you could see the variation in color a little better. It’s hard to trust a camera, or the lighting or time of day.

Here’s a nice closeup to let you peer in a bit better.  Bright and cheery.