Mermaid! That’s what I named this one! This little painting makes me want to go swimming. See ya later. I’ve got a date with the pool. In the meantime, you can find this on my website, www.colorcatstudios101.etsy.com.
www.colorcatstudios101.etsy.comA pretty little piece at a pretty little price, just right for that special gift.
‘Look at the little beauty I purchased from Cindy Hanenburg Johnson! Josie and I fell in love with it as did my grandson Andres! The colors sing to me and that Chinese lantern looks so bright, it’s lit. So happy we finally own one of your artworks. ❤️’. That’s what my friend, an AMAZING artist himself, said. As for me, I feel privileged that they wanted one of my pieces! This is one of my series of three Chinese lantern paintings. Love it! So glad it went to a good home.
This little beauty is just so much fun in its waves of cool, watery colors. It reminds me of swimming and the water flowing around myself in rivulets. I feel cool just looking at it! In the center I put most of the iridescents which blend gloriously with the other colors as they reach outward. Oh, I LOVE this one of a kind piece!
I painted it on a 6”x6” cradled wood support, and let the paint flow over the edges so even the sides look like art. Note: this is an extremely thick layer of acrylics. What do you do if it gets dusty? Take a damp cloth to it. That’s all! The surface is impermeable. Wired and ready for hanging. Www.colorcatstudios101.etsy.com.
www.colorcatstudios101.etsy.com
An heirloom for $60.00!
People ask ‘How long did that painting take?’ Here’s an essential part of my process that never shows. I choose my paints very carefully for any piece and a lot of planning goes into it that no one knows about. Mixing colors, matching colors, working out compliments, mixing, finding opaques and transparents. It’s here where I wrestle with problems so that once brush meets canvas there are no mistakes. It may look sloppy and messy now, but that gets all worked out so that HOPEFULLY the final will be brilliant. Also, these notes are important because years later I can refer to them for repairs or for posterity.
For this commissioned work I am making sure the new piece will not necessarily mimic but at least match the two other pieces I’ve done for these people. You can find lots of my art at www.colorcatstudios101.etsy.com
It would be pretty cool if paint came out of the tube like this. Actually, this luckless tube happened to be under some kind of paint pouring piece I was working on. When I’m doing pours, all else absolutely fades away. If YOU, for instance, were under one of my paint pours, you’d look like this tube!
Come on over! I need someone to catch paint drips! ðŸ¤
Now THESE are great faces! We’re studying da Vinci and learning about expression. I am absolutely LOVING some of the drawings my students came up with copying Leonardo’s monstrosities. Aren’t they fabulous?
Time for a PARTAY! Named ‘Breezy,’ I gave it lots of movement to make you feel like there IS a party! The reds and oranges are so bright they just about jump off the canvas at you and make you feel like celebrating.
One of three in my Chinese lantern series, its mate just sold. Shown here is the man that bought it, an accomplished artist himself.
This one’s available on my website. You would note I pictured it with my little footsies so you could understand its dimensions. 🙂.
This closeup shows some of the cool textures. Love it!
Check these out on my website,
www.colorcatstudios101.etsy.com
and make YOUR home feel like a party!
Here’s looking at you. ‘Those eyes!’ That’s what most people say when they see this big cat. I achieved that effect by painting extremely thin layers of colors on top of a bed of gold so they really DO shine!
I’ve painted lions, tigers, bears (oh, my!) raccoons, wolves and dogs, definitely time to throw a cat into the mix. Here are some pictures of my painting, entitled ‘Smile,’ which has a Cheshire Cat attitude and a BIG attitude at that since the painting is 24”x30”! Painted with golds, bronzes and a deep grey paint loaded with pulverized mica, it glows in all kinds of ways (and is hard to photograph). I’ve got several photos in different lighting so you can see what happens as a good portion of this painting is reflective.
You can find it at www.colorcatstudios101.etsy.com. For sale to a good home - a pet you don’t even have to feed! $800.00 for this beautiful painting which is heirloom quality in every way.
www.colorcatstudios101.etsy.com
There is nothing happenstance about my classes. Art is like any other subject; if you want to be good at it you have to STUDY and WORK! Just like math or science you start at the beginning and build skill upon skill through many years of work. Art doesn’t just ‘happen.’ Sometimes people will ask me how long it took me to paint a painting. My reply will often be something like, ‘Oh, a lifetime.’ Here is just a small part of my preparation for this week’s classes.
Wouldn’t YOU like to get lovely packages in the mail filled with cool original art? It’s possible! Easy shopping and fun surprises as well. You never know what kind of thank you gift I’m going to stuff into your package. Now’s the time to start your Christmas shopping and you can get cool stuff in the mail AND get ahead of your gift-giving plans. 🙂. Always a good thing. Www.colorcatstudios101.etsy.com.
www.colorcatstudios101.etsy.com
And... if you happen to enjoy postage stamps, you never know what combination you’re going to get. As a child I avidly collected stamps, actually well into my 20s. I learned the political geography of the entire world because it was FUN and fascinating through the collecting of stamps. It took me until I was an adult for me to realize that I was actually just collecting pictures. Pictures! What a surprise and how out of character for me, haha! Even today I still go to the post office and stand in line to get the cool stamps with which to grace your packages. :)
SOLD! ‘Here’s Looking at You.’ This piece is ink and watercolor, two of my favorite mediums to combine. I like the discipline of the ink and the loose lay down of the watercolor; a marriage made in heaven if you ask me! When I work like this I like to use a heavy paper - this is a heavy cotton rag. You can’t see the deckled edges, but they’re there. When you do get a nice piece like this, frame it on top of a mat so that you can see the nice edges. Another one gone!
The man that purchased this painting actually has no place for it right now but is working toward a move and a new place within two years. He is at this time collecting art with which to fill his home when he gets it set up. :). Sounds like a good plan to me!
Sold! My Door Knocker Lion. I painted these heavily saturated watercolors on a super heavy, smooth watercolor paper which insured this gorgeous lay-down. Once finished, I drew my lion in first lightly in pencil, then went over it in pen; not that I would ever make any mistakes, but ya never know! ;). It probably wouldn’t have mattered anyway, because if you DO make any mistakes on this type of paper, there’s no erasing anyway!
My lion painting was inspired by Narnia, the show we put on. I was in charge of sets and also played in the orchestra for the shows. I wish I could find the files but I’d have to dig deep to find the Wardrobe I painted. It was lovely and sported a door-knocker lion as well as all kinds of lovely things in fake, painterly bas relief.
Here’s a closeup. I couldn’t have been happier with the way this turned out.
And another... when you use super nice (expensive) watercolor paper, this is the kind of gradation of colors you can expect. Since this was inspired by Narnia, I used highlights on this painting the same way I did in the show.
I’m so glad this painting sold to someone I love very much. May she get as much enjoyment out of him as I have.
Come on out THIS Saturday, September 14 to the Market Street Fine Arts Fair and find me at my booth! I will be located by the North Passageway in front of the Sunglasses Hut and CRU Wine Bar. Entry is free; come out and meet all the artists and get some shopping done. I’ll be looking for you!
This is my very last batch of paint pour abstracts that I took to the frame shop to have hanging wires attached. Do you have a favorite? These will be at my booth in the Market Street Art Fair THIS Saturday! As you can see by the fluorescent tube light reflections they are now SUPER glossy, sporting their thick coats of resin. The framers promised to have them by Thursday - cutting it close - yikes! You would note that the bottom right is the one with the leaf. It blew into my work without my knowledge and by the time I noticed it was too late. Now, it’s part of the artwork! These beauties pack a really glorious punch for a really good price - from $45.00 to $95.00.
Here are some of the many pieces I’ll be selling at the Market Street Art Fair NEXT Saturday, September 14.
Note that the tiger is a poster; I have small posters of some of my animal paintings even though the paintings are sold.
I’ll also have tons of stickers and magnets, LOTS of coasters (which are still curing) and most of all, original paintings!
It’s impossible to get a shot of this guy, who is 24”x30” - VERY STRONG PAINTING! He’s on a bed of gold. :)
I’ll have a TON of paint pours. I’m working on wiring them and letting all the coasters I made cure.
Hope to see you there! Many of these are on my website; if you don’t want a piece to go to someone else, you can buy it there and pick it up at the faire. Www.colorcatstudios101.etsy.com.
This acrylic pour is just so beautiful, and the colors so rich I think I could eat it. Some of the colors remind me of a creamsicle and next to those peaches all I can think to name it is ‘Luscious.’ If you could see it in person and see the depth and breadth of all these colors glowing it up together I bet you’d think so too!
I created this on an 8” x 8” square cradled birch and the colors flow over the edges to make even the sides look like art. I also signed it on the side because I didn’t want to disturb the beautiful flow of colors. Rich, high-quality acrylics make this an archival, non-fading heirloom. At $60.00, that’s quite a bargain and a great one of a kind gift!
Note: this is an extremely thick layer of acrylics. What do you do if it gets dusty? Take a damp cloth to it. That’s all! The surface is impermeable.
You can find more pictures of this painting and more information at my website, www.colorcatstudios101.etsy.com. Come and find me and knock out a few Christmas gifts with pleasure from your own home!
Wonderful People,
I do my best to refrain from comments that I am going to make here, but sometimes these things just need to be said. Here we go.
How many of you would like to own a seriously beautiful piece of original art? How many hours might it have taken the artist to create it? Fifty? Sixty? This is not uncommon.
All right, let's see... what is a living wage? $10.00/hour? Not really, but let's use it. Ten dollars times sixty = $600.00. Would you be willing to pay $600.00 for a beautiful piece of art? My guess is that many of you would not.
Now it gets personal. And honestly, I think this is the first time I've ever spoken about this among non-artists. Artists understand. Believe me.
When people look at my art, they enjoy it, take photos of it and use it that way, which is not legal, and is actually stealing from me. They also frequently comment to me that they wish it wasn't so expensive.
I'm really proud of my work, and careful to use only the best materials. I want it to last, not to fade as so many do, and be preserved archivally into the next generations. Just curious, have any of you looked at the price of art materials lately? I drop twenty bucks on a tube of paint without the blink of an eye. Lots of the art you DO buy was made by a machine with cheap paint that will fade to tan in about ten years.
So, what you are asking, in essence, is for me to invest thirty or forty hours on a piece, invest a great deal in materials, and sell it to you for a low, low price. That makes my living wage about $1.28 per hour.
I am a professional artist. I'm very proud of my work. But it can be discouraging when the work doesn't sell. People love to support me by telling me how much they love my work, but that does not compensate for the hours I spend alone creating art when I need to be, say, taking care of my family and home or enjoying free time.
If you want to support an artist, support an artist by buying his or her work! Now THAT'S what I call encouragement! Please don't say, 'Oh, I love this - you should do a whole series on that!' The deal is, if I've created one piece that you really like, it means I really like it too, and would LOVE to do an entire series on it. But what goes unsaid is that I can't continue to create without the financial support of others.
Something else that goes unsaid is that when you see a painting of mine that you like, there has been untold cerebral work, sketching, and research before I put brush to canvas, not to mention a lifetime of study, work and practice. And it may possibly mean that there are a number of paintings behind that one that failed as I struggled to bring it forth.
There have been so many times I have been discouraged and wanted to quit. Trust me, being an artist is often a difficult thing. Did you know that a successful artist's goal is supposed to be 'Paint for three months of the year, sell for nine months of the year.' I can't even IMAGINE what it would be like to have people buy my paintings at a pace where I could spend more time painting. Wow.
So please, don't balk when you see an artist's high price. See the work of art for what it is. Art. Something beautiful that was lovingly and thoughtfully created and is perfectly unique. Buy it. And appreciate it for what it is, for the rest of your life and the lives of your children and grandchildren to come.
This one I named ‘Dragons of the Earth.’ Oh my goodness, it’s one of my very favorites. I wish I could do more like it but alas, that could never happen. The reds and golds are a standout and the golds mix with the emerald greens to make them positively luminous.
I painted it on 9”x12” cradled birch. Signed on the side and ready to hang. Highest quality paints will not fade and will bless you with an heirloom. And at $95.00, that is a BARGAIN!
So pretty! You can find lots more pictures and information on my website. You can buy it tonight at www.colorcatstudios101.etsy.com or take your chances and come to Market Street Fine Art Fair September 14.
This was my morning layout to get resin on all these pieces. It was an adventure, to be sure. I learned a few things - 1. An assistant is a must (thanks, Noah and Melody)! 2. If you work with resin in 100 degree heat, the exothermic reaction will kick into high gear and the resin will burn your hand (even through gloves,) and 3. Whilst getting your hand burned turn off the blowtorch so you don’t start a secondary fire. This said, I am READY to continue the work EARLY in the supposed cool of the morning and have made up my mind to never do this with my art classes. I like my students to have adventures, but not quite THIS much adventure! Watch here and my website in the coming days for all these lovely coasters, and a couple small paintings, to be added. :)
You see one of the pictures I took for size comparison is with Dave’s Killer Bread. We ALL know how good that stuff is - it’s art! So, art next to art. 🙂
This beautiful baby is a nice 16x20 and will make a strong impact wherever you put it. I had difficulty photographing it to show the golds and the glowing layers without getting reflections. It looks good in pictures but it pretty stunning in person and looks like a happy celebration as the bleeds and swirls pull you in.
Created with the highest quality archival paints on sturdy, 1 1/2” deep cradled birch. The colors will not fade and you will be able to pass it down as an heirloom. Signed on the side because it was just too beautiful to disturb anything by front signing. Find it at www.colorcatstudios101.etsy.com at a bargain price of $300.00! Oh happy day!
www.colorcatstudios101.etsy.com. You’ll find lots more infor and photos there as well. :)
Start now and get a jump on Christmas so you can enjoy the season. I love this pretty painting!
To me the colors seem rich and modern. My little friend likes it too.
The lily pops out at me and glows in its iridescents and silvers. The way the colors flow around each other pulls my eyes around the painting as I follow the ways the paints move and blend together. Such a beauty!
This is an acrylic pour over 8”x8” cradled birch. I used the highest quality archival paints which will not fade with time. That and the sturdy frame will make it an heirloom! Wired and ready to hang. Signed on the side.
The website is:
www.colorcatstudios101.etsy.com and there you can find many more pictures of this painting along with lots of information including the price, which is a MERE $60.00! Check me out!I named this one ‘Loving.’ Even Mr. Giraffe loves it and he KNOWS. 9x12” on cradled birch.
You can find detailed information about this awesome paint pour and more pictures on my website, www.colorcatstudios101.etsy.com.
www.colorcatstudios101.etsy.com
Oh my goodness, the way the colors moved is just incredible!!! And so bright and beautiful. The golds and pearlescents really make it shine!
As you can see, I let the paint drip off all edges to make it one piece of art, and signed on the side.
You’ll find lots more pictures on my website. Isn’t this one just so much fun?
This one will make a very special gift for that very special person. If you like it, get it fast because I’m certain to never be able to do one like THIS again!!
