"Village Antiques" Naive Quirky Figures in Folk Art

In the mood for some antique-hunting, but without spare mad money, I won't be doing it this weekend.

So here is my tribute to the perfect venue. I can almost smell the mustiness inside...



"Village Antiques"
20 x 16 acrylic on stretched canvas


Ah, well, it's not as if I really need anything, after all. I just want something...

Lulu Sandbar at Etsy

In a somewhat strange and rebellious mood this morning, I spotted some strange and somewhat rebellious images at Etsy. Lulu Sandbar is an artist who likes to think outside the box, so to speak. I imagine she'd be rather fun at dinner. The following are just a small selection of her work, from mixed media collage assemblage, to (non-toy) decorative dolls, to her beloved button cards - tiny pieces of vintage art, with a special emphasis on brides. She is currently inspired by the graphics, advertising and color of the 60s and 70s.

You have to admit that these are pretty impressive. Forget those bland, everyone-has-one landscape prints, and consider one or two of these in your living room. Go take a look at ALL her art - and there's a lot there - at Lulu Sandbar at Etsy. Check out her profile, too, where she refers to that word "sandbar". Lulu is a bit of a poet, I think.

Electra (who snuck over from my writing blog) won the strawberry gateau painting "On Borrowed Time" which I offered last week.

I've also donated another little picture to Jenny at the Alley Cat Rescue site. (Go visit her art blog. She loves visitors.)


Finally, I've spent the last couple of days re-doing my own website. You all take me so much for granted, looking at all the other clever artists I feature on my blog, that perhaps you don't quite remember that I also paint and have the occasional silly notion of selling my own art, too. Please take a quick look and let me know what you think.

Free Folk Painting Today! "On Borrowed Time"

I haven't painted anything new for some months. Some of you will know that's because I'm currently back in writing mode, trying to find an agent for my first book, and working on my second. No doubt the painting bug will re-emerge, but not for a while, I think.

However, I'm tired of so many of my paintings cluttering up the place. My storage space is limited, and I keep tripping over boxes of unsold pieces. In this economy, it's particularly difficult for artists to sell - they almost need to offer their work at the cost of a print, not of an original. Rather than sell my pictures at rock bottom prices at the various sites I use, or have a stall at the upcoming local spring fair (I really dislike standing behind a stall...), I've come up with something that pleases me.

Over the coming weeks, starting today, I'm giving away one of my paintings to the first person to comment and ASK for it. It sounds strange, but I can't think of anything nicer than to know that my little pictures are in the hands of folks who've been following this blog.

Here is today's freebee, entitled "On Borrowed Time." It's small at 6 inches by 6, painted in acrylic on a little stretched canvas, signed front and back, and the image wraps around the sides, so no frame is needed. There's a fair amount of texture in the cream and strawberries. This painting made me very, very hungry when I first did it.

I'll pay for the postage today. It's my little gift to you for being such a nice blogger taking advantage of this offer the first time. Who knows, perhaps you'll enjoy my work so much you'll be eager to snap one up when I DO start painting again.