A New Passion-Hand Painted Puzzle Pendants

I didn't really think it was possible but it seems to be, I've found a new pendant addiction....puzzle pendants. It all started when I was wondering what to do with 2 large puzzles we've put together over the past couple of years. I didn't want to throw them away, nor did I want to keep them so, I decided to recycle them and paint puzzle pendants.

The prep work on these is a bit time consuming as I reinforce them to give them lots of strength
and get the surface ready to accept paint.

I'm definately addicted to the process though because last night I woke up in the wee hours and found myself coming up with new designs in my mind for my next set of puzzle pendants.

They are so much fun and of course, the design is dictated by the shape of the puzzle pieces. Each and every one are unique, which lends itself to designs that are really fun. These are my first 2 and I have more to come. These are in my Ruby Lane shop: http://www.artfulcreations.rubylane.com/ . Enjoy.

Under The Trees.........

I was really inspired to paint "Under The Trees" after our trip to Mohonk a few months ago. There are so many gorgeous sitting areas there, nestled under trees, by the lake and in the woods, that I really wanted to paint one of them.

I wanted it to be a contemporary painting though.....maybe a bit whimsical at the same time. The circles are growing up from the ground and between the tree roots.

They are also growing from the tree branches in varying colors of blue and purple. The black trees and bench are set against a colorful background that reminds me of a rainbow.

Painted on gallery canvas that is 1 1/2" deep, "Under The Trees" measures 11" x 14". I Hope you've enjoyed my contemporary take on an outdoor scene. Available through my Ruby Lane shop: www.artfulcreations.rubylane.com .

New Pendant Designs - Painting Up A Storm

I hope everyones holiday was a wonderful one......I really enjoyed my time away and it enabled me to accomplish a lot of painting, both jewelry and canvas work but I missed blogging and connecting with my friends out there in blog land.

I can hardly believe the holiday season is here.....(I think I'm in denial) I feel like summer just ended yesterday. I've been painting so many new pendant designs and having a lot of fun with them.

While I've painted a couple of glass and sand dollar pendants, I've mostly been running a muck with painted wooden pendants. They remind me very much of painting on larger pieces of wood, when I was creating welcome plaques, only these of course, are small wearable miniature pieces of art.

It is a surface that allows me to get really creative and try new things I might not have tried jumping into before. Some are impressionist in style like the one above, while others are contemporary or even zen.

I've added colored necklaces to some of my pendants to coordinate with their colors. This really makes the colors pop out like the yellow contemporary garden above.

This is the character for "Eternity" and I'm calling this one a zen pendant. I've made 2 so far but hope to create more in upcoming weeks.

Some of the necklaces, like the one above, have silver or gray beads added to them to create lots of sparkle and shine and give the piece extra dimention.

These contemporary white poppies are set against a heavily textured background, a technique I was experimenting with that I will definately repeat in the future.

I hope you've enjoyed the latest round of pendant creations, I'll be back later this week to show my latest canvas painting. These pieces are on my Ruby Lane site: http://www.artfulcreations.rubylane.com/ .

Some Time Away.....

I'm taking some time off from blogging for a couple of weeks so I can concentrate on getting more artwork ready for the holidays and completing some other tasks I've been neglecting the last couple of months.

In the meantime, I thought I would leave you with some of my favorite Orchid photos. I recently discovered that 2 of the Orchids in my collection are spiking so in the upcoming weeks I should have some lovely new Orchid blooms to share with you. Until then, take care and be well.

Inspirations For Wearable Art.....

I've been busy painting more wooden and sand dollar pendants this past week, trying to stock up on art for the holidays in my Ruby Lane shop. I was looking at photos of my purple Bearded Iris collection that blooms each May and decided to create an abstract pendant on wood, using that theme. The above is my abstract purple Iris.

I'm really enjoying painting in miniature on wood, it is a great surface to work with and has endless possibilities. I'm adding silver beads on each wooden pendant necklace and I think they set off the design very nicely. I'll be looking for beads in multi-colors for the future.

A freeform puffy heart painted in magenta on a sand dollar.

I've become very inspired by dark colors these days, sometimes being the main surface color and other times this being the color of the centerpiece of the painting. I had that in mind with the above wreath pendant.

I'm enjoying the abstract paintings very much....and can I help it if I end up using a lot of my favorite colors....purple and blue.

Looking back through all my photographs over the last few years, I'm always inspired to paint from nature. Both of these pendants were created from butterfly and rose photos, with a heavy dose of imagination added into the mix.

Most of these pieces can be found on my Ruby Lane shop: www.artfulcreations.rubylane.com .

More Mohonk Nature Photos....

Time to enter the Mohonk Garden once again for more photos from our anniversary trip. I'll let you toor the garden without my narration....I think this lovely place speaks for itself!! Enjoy.

Among The Branches.....

I finished this set of paintings after I got back from my trip to Mohonk.... I wanted Among The Branches to be a piece with earthy tones and lots of different looking textures.

It is amazing all the textures and designs you can create with lots of fun and unexpected tools. For instance, my husband's old shirt made its way out of the basement again to create the swirled blue and burnt sienna background.

I have to admit that instead of going for a clean piece of shirt, I reached for the paint encrusted piece I saved from last time. It was mostly stiff as a board but somehow it worked beautifully to help me create the background.

Luckily we have many more of these old and torn shirts in the basement as we like to use them to wash the car and any other wet and messy chores that come along. Anyway, a few cut pieces of shirts will not be missed but my paintings sure enjoy and benefit from them.

This painting is available on my Ruby Lane site at: www.rubylane.com/shops/artfulcreations