Hospital Update/ Starfish Last of the grouping

Last of the designs for the hospital project of signage & whiteboards as far as I know. I just sent this piece in for approval. If accepted, then this project will be complete, and I will at some point put all of the designs together for a complete review. I still have to work on resizing the pieces as they all must conform to an exact size, and I've found that the camera distorts the actual size. A job for another day.

New images for the Art4Critters have been added and sold. So far we have sold all of the originals that I have painted for this project with 100% of the monies going to the individual sanctuaries and rescues. This particular piece is going to benefit Animal Dreams. It is up for sale on Ebay now. Ghost Kitty is a tiny Aceo for those of you who love to collect them. A perfect way to help out the "critters" and collect some original art.

For perfect Father's Day gifts or just a gift for yourself, don't forget my fabulous collection of designs on Tee Shirts and many other gift items. My Shop & my Website

Life...is what happens

...to us while we're busy making plans. :) Since I was here a few weeks ago, a very close friend of ours has had a stroke, a bleed into his brain, and he is at this time unable to communicate with any of us in a way that makes sense... He also has permanently lost at least half of his sight. Sometimes these events make one slow down and realize what is really important in life.

Prayers accepted for Bill...

Oh, to be 3 ..... The littlest Artist

Last week our oldest son flew in to surprise me for my upcoming birthday with his baby girl, our youngest grandchild. We had a supreme surprise with lots of good times, going to the ocean, the pool and the park for her to play. What a wonderful visit. Just perfect timing and the joy of youth to lift our spirits. We are so appreciative of his time and work to make this happen. Soooo, life is what happens to us while we're busy making plans.. :)

Now, back to the project for the hospital. I am currently working on the last design, and will post it in here once it is complete. When all is done and squared away, I will have a page/link somewhere with all 7 of the pieces together. The last piece I am designing is a Starfish.

I posted a Sphynx Cat last week for my weekly Art4Critters donation piece... which SOLD with 100% of the money going to Animal Dreams, a group that deals with cats in the Berkshires.

Today I have added a new Aceo to be sold for the same group, Animal Dreams. This piece is a small Aceo of a Flamingo.

New Art 4 Critters Piece / An Aceo a week

We've been brainstorming in ourArt4Critters group for ways to raise more money for our various rescues. I decided that I would paint one ACEO a week and put it up for sale on Ebay. I will be donating 100% of the sale of the small painting to whatever animal charity I list it for. This weeks piece is Persian Bleu. She can be found at:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=230473950434

Hospital Update/ Flamingos Are Finished

The Original Whimzical Version

The Flamingos are finished and I have created the next design of Pelicans for the hospital from a piece I had done earlier. Attaching the flamingos here. For the hospital use, I have added a yellow sky background to work with their color scheme, and a blue base, but I prefer them this way, clean and clear. When this project is complete, I will post all 7 designs in their final colors and shapes.

Thanks for following along.... Jo

Aceo A Week for Art 4 Critters~ Week 4

100 % of the sale of this Aceo will go to Fieldhaven Rescue for cats. This is a Maine Coon Kitty, named ColeCoon All-American Pride, owned by his Mom, Carm Cole, who has her own BLOG where you can find out all about Maine Coon Cats. They are a beautiful breed, and Carm has a houseful. If you like Maine Coon Cats, or you'd like to help a Cat Rescue, please consider bidding on Maine Coon Kitty 1... There will be more to follow. We appreciate your support. So far you are making this project a sucess in all the listings thus far have sold and 100% of the monies is going to help these smaller rescue organizations. Thank You for your continued support...

Auction Link: Maine Coon Kitty 1

New Piece for Hospital Project

I have a good start on the next piece in the series for the hospital. This piece is of another Fl. animal, always popular with tourists. The Flamingo. I am still designing as I design as I work. I see that I need more differentiation in the two birds, but I'm sharing a bit of the working process by including this partially completed new piece.

Thanks for looking... Peek at my website if you haven't already.

Whimzicals

"May the brush paint your day with beautiful colors"… Jo

April 4th- LOOKING 4 CAT, DOG & other ANIMAL PHOTOS

I have a request. I am looking for CLOSEUP clear Photos to paint and draw from for my project to help raise funds for Art 4 Critters. ~my project. If you have any images that you'd care to share, I'd love to have them. I cannot promise that I will draw every image I receive... please keep in mind that I need very clear and close up images. I would appreciate your help and images, and I'll give you a credit if I use your image. I am looking for Cats, Dogs, Birds, Horses, wildlife and almost any animals that you have, or can take photos of. If you have images to share with me, please Email me at this link and put ANIMAL PHOTO in the subject line, so I can easily locate it. I would really appreciate it. mail to: artistinsun@cfl.rr.com

You never know... one day one of your animals may be on one of my greeting cards. Take a chance with me. It's for a good cause, 100% donation goes to Animal Rescues at Art4Critters.

Thanks so much... Jo

April 1- Hospital Project Continued...

The Seahorse Piece for the hospital is finished. The colors match up to the color the hospital requested perfectly just in case you're wondering about some of my color choice. The paint chip I had to work from was a misty grey green.

Spring seems to have sprung, at least here in Florida. People are outside again, working on lawns, planting new flowers and smiling because the sun is shinning after such a long cold winter. I had a fight with a snake today, another sign that spring is here. I almost walked on him as he was laying on top of my back steps when I went out with the dogs, and I'm always bare foot. The dogs played attack, until I could put them back in the house, and at that point he was trying to go in the house with them. Luckily for me, he didn't make it inside. I proceeded to chase him off with a broom, and in my lifetime, I've never seen such an aggressive snake. No matter how far I chased him with the broom and or threw him if I could, he actually leapt off the ground and kept lunging back at me. I finally got him all the way to the waters edge and hoped he'd swim away, but all he did was keep an eye on me, even when I'd walked far away. One of my neighbors who was apparently watching through her binoculars said this snake probably has a nest under my steps. Oh Joy... I have narrowed the species down to a non venomous breed and I hope it stays somewhere else.. I normally would have a photo at this point, but it was a long fight, and I was spent by the time I got him into the pond.

New Art 4 Critters Project/ An Aceo a week

We've been brainstorming in our Art4Critters group for ways to raise more money for our various rescues. I decided that I would paint one ACEO a week and put it up for sale on Ebay (for now). I will be donating 100% of the sale of the small painting to whatever animal charity I list it for. This is the first one of 52 weeks. I'm hoping to sell one most weeks, so that by the end of the 52 week year, I will have added some quality cash flow to our different shelters. With your help, all things are possible. Spread the word.

This is Lolita. Lolita is a 4 year old, feisty, tiny girl - whippet size. She showers on the affection with much exuberance!
She can be found (if still available) at Greyhound Friends For Life.

SOLD

This painting can be found in my Ebay store. To find more Ebay listings for Art4Critters, Search Ebay A4C .

I will not always be doing a painting/drawing of an animal that is available for adoption, but I do enjoy doing that from time to time. I hope you enjoy following along with our new project for Art4Critters. Please join my blog to follow along, or follow me on Twitter. I'd love to have you.

March 25 - Hospital Project - Seahorse

Hello & Welcome to my blog. It's good to see you.

WIP - Work in Progress

I am currently working on a project for a large hospital in Florida. They will be using some of my Whimzicals(tm) Artwork for signage in both the hallways and also in rooms. I will be putting a brief WIP (work in progress) of each piece as I create it, since many of you ask about my pieces and how I create them. I start out pretty basic, with little idea of shapes or colors until I begin to lay in color.. As I add color, I am better able to decide how the next area/section will play against the first area, and so it goes until I'm satisfied. Sometimes with my method, I will lose a piece. Colors don't work, shapes don't work,... and then I must begin again, but if I take my time, walk away, return later... etc,. I am usually able to see what I feel will work best. As for the design part,...layout.. I put in one piece or section at a time, then I keep re-working it until I'm satisfied with both shapes and inter-action. I am asked very often about the use of resist or frisket. I do not use them. Luckily my hand is still steady enough to paint around my whites, so all white areas are simply left.... they are not frisket-ed. Would love to hear your thoughts and input. Thanks everyone... especially my new twitter pals...

Please follow me on Twitter

:) Jo

Sketch at it's third layer of paint decisions

After painting the first Seahorse in the misty

greens, I decided to warm up the second one.

This is part of my decision making process.. Looking

and deciding as I work..letting it rest, and then moving on.