I spent the long weekend working on a new painting pattern set. While I have had this idea in my head for quite a while now, I had to just bring myself to do it. I don’t know why I am always so timid about jumping into a new project. There is sometimes a fear that it won’t come out like I envisioned it in my head. You would think that after all of these years of designing that I would be over those fears and have more confidence than that. But that isn’t always the case.
I find that I am drawn to the soft, pale blue tones of winter. Every year around this time when I am designing projects, I tend to gravitate to the same tonal color palette. When I am asked what my favorite color is, I usually respond with something in the ‘blue-green’ family, such as turquoise or teal. But for winter artwork, I love to use muted tones of blues and grays. Cool tones to represent the quiet calm of winter. I suppose it is all connected to mood.
The bunny snowflake that I showed last week is an example of this. I loved the way that turned out so much that I wanted to create a set of winter birds with similar colors. While I have other ideas for a set (or several) of polar animals in similar tonal settings, I also wanted to show a set of birds. Unlike the animals that tend to blend in with their backgrounds, these birds offer a striking contrast to their surroundings. I thought this would make some lovely ornaments and marry the elements of the subtle, soft backgrounds with the vivid subjects of each piece. Below is my result:
You can order the ornaments from me here: SLDPK130. Of course, these don’t have to be made into ornaments. I think that they would be lovely on any type of framed surface. The simple backgrounds are easy to extend into just about any shape, and they would also look nice in other media such as colored pencil or even watercolors for those who are adventurous.
I haven’t quite completed them yet. I still have the final embellishments to add on to them and the final touches. These last steps will make them truly special, I think. I hope they are received well. I will show them tomorrow after they are complete.
I need to re-paint them now for the pattern packet. This way I can take step-by-step photos of the process so that I can better teach the technique that I use. It is really simple when broken down into steps, and very forgiving. I hope to have the packets available by the weekend.
We spent our Monday doing errands. Unlike the USA, Canada did not have a holiday yesterday. We had to go to Yarmouth and shop and stock up on things. That took just about the entire day and I didn’t accomplish much work-wise.
My kitty Richard had a small setback over the weekend, too. That kind of threw me for a loop, as it put my nerves on edge again. Once again, our vet came through and after a good discussion with him, I came to realize that I need to prepare myself for good days and not so good days with Richard. It is part of what afflicts him. I can’t fall apart every time he has a setback and just need to know how to work with things to get him back to a good place. As with most things in life, it isn’t all black and white. Much of what we will experience will be somewhere in the gray areas. The goal is keeping him comfortable and happy and having the remainder of his life as good as possible. I was happy to see him doing lots of “cat things” when we returned home. He was active and playing and acting more like himself. His little 'hiccup’ has passed he is back to his calm and happy place. We hope it stays that way.
Again I want to thank everyone for your kind notes, comments and even gifts regarding my kitties. As pet lovers, you understand the huge amount of stress and distraction that we have when our fur babies are ill. I appreciate everyone’s patience, and I promise that I am trying my best to get back on my feet again and find my way back to my “pink cloud” way of life. I enjoy the role of being an optimist. Sometimes we need to 'act happy’ to 'be happy’. I am giving it my all.
With that said, it is up to the shop for me today to cut orders. I will then finish up my embellishments on these mittens and then re-paint them for the pattern packets. I think that by breaking them down into simple steps, any of you can do them. :)
I hope you agree.
Have a beautiful and creative Tuesday!
via Tumblr http://davidpires578.tumblr.com/post/155992221004
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