Jackie Dives Collage at Etsy

Jackie Dives is multi-talented, dipping her toes into everything from acting to running art galleries in glorious Vancouver. She is highly creative and diverse in her interests - hence her current involvement with collage work.  Recognizing her restlessness when it comes to her passions, one can only wonder what she'll be working on in a couple of years.

These collages, not too complicated, but carefully considered, are mounted on solid wood bases or canvas panels, and are a tiny indication of her mind set. Mind set? Hang on. She really doesn't have one. She hops from subject to subject, oddly marrying the most unlikely images to produce quirky and collectable pieces. You have to take a look at her store because there are so many items, and I couldn't make up my mind which pieces to feature today.

Okay, I suspect Jackie is a bit of a nut-case. I, and - I'm guessing - those of you who enjoy visiting my little blog, wouldn't have her any other way. The world could use a lot more Jackies.

See the rest of her collage work (for now, at least) and certainly read her profile at Jackie Dive's shop at Etsy, Divesin. She certainly does.

Walking Quail at Etsy - Fairy Tale Art

I'm feeling a bit skittish today. I'm preparing for a big move, away from country isolation and the sweet sound of late-night Canadian trains, to warmer climes, where my cats can chase lizards. And so these paintings of artist, Walking Quail at Etsy (don't you just love it?), aka Terry Blair, are suitably light, frivolous, and essentially child-like. She'd be a perfect children's book illustrator. You know I have a weakness for this kind of work.

Because the state where she lives has a different kind of light, the colors in Terry's paintings are different, too. My own work from Australia was equally different from the ones I did here in Ontario. It's the position of that old sun.

I like all of these, but that goat would look particularly fine in a posh frame over the fireplace, if you have one, and especially if you're a Capricorn.  Interesting use of color and impressionist strokes here, cheekily punctuated by those tiny daisies. 

Check out more of Terry's work at Walking Quail's Trail at Etsy.  I have no other gossip about the artist, other than she loves animals and fairies. Well, as if we needed telling. Anyone can see that.

Selene's Painting a Day at Etsy - Dreamlike, beautiful images.

Selene is a magical and romantic painter who is accomplished in both oils and acrylics. With such variety in her work, it must be a constant novelty for her when she reaches for a fresh canvas. What will emerge today?  From dramatic mystical scenes, to fairy-like creatures, she captures the imagination, and has me thinking gentle, other-world thoughts as I study them. Dream a while with Selene, with these beautiful images.

You must read her profile at Selene's Daily Paint studio at Etsy. She'll lift you up and leave you smiling. Here's another painter who can write! She's probably musical, too...

Alan Moore Folk Art at Etsy

Well, here we are again, at the start of a brand New Year and Decade. Time to dust off earlier resolves and approach everything we do with enthusiastic optimism.

Alan Moore is an optimist. I know this just by looking at his art. Bright, joyfully colored, his paintings on recycled materials are cheerful and innocent. Who else would think of multi-hued alligators as subject matter?

Alan makes these comments at his shop:

"99% of what I create on is from recycled and salvaged stuff. Reused salvaged fence art from my older collections. I didn't sell the some of my fence art pieces so I chopped them up and reused them. Original art on sheet metal from the ole farm on Serenity Lane. I finish all my art with a fairly shiny coat of polycrylic stuff so it’s brighter-also for protection and durability.

Call it earth friendly if you want. Some of the paint I use is recycled too. I sign all the work on the back because I think names on the front of art are sometimes obnoxious. I choose to let my art tell who created it, not my signature. Also my handwriting is horrible."

Take a look at Alan Moore's shop at Etsy. Read his profile and his descriptions of the images.  He sounds like a thoughtful and interesting guy.

Oh, and Alan - have a happy birthday on Sunday! My timing with this feature was excellent, I think.

Happy, happy New Year, everyone! Don't make too many demands on yourself. Take it easy. Slip into this new decade with realistic goals, and just chip away at them, like a sculptor at a new block of stone that hides wonder within. Who knows what might emerge?

Tosya at Etsy - A Brilliant Illustrator with a Child-like View

Illustrator Tosya is a gifted and funny girl.  She works in pen, or pencil and crayon, to create these magical pictures.  She seems to capture the child-artist that was once deep in us but that sadly got left by the wayside as we grew up. I'm happy to report that Tosya has a firm hold on that innocent view of life. These are an absolute joy.

I have a cousin who looks just like this...

And I've been to a few art gallery openings where the folks looked like this...

Rush hour crowd and a cat...

When was the last time you REALLY danced?

Or really talked?

Ah, love is in the air...

Ain't love grand?

Party Time!

I've never met a blue cat, but Tosya has, and it's just lovely.

Please see all of her wonderful illustrations at Tosya at Etsy where there are 75 items for sale.

What better way to enjoy the holiday season than with these great images? I hope they leave you smiling. Everything Tosya does is so happy! Even those rush hour pedestrians seem okay with things.

“I stopped believing in Santa Claus when I was six. Mother took me to see him in a department store and he asked for my autograph.” — Shirley Temple

Well, of course, it wasn't the real Santa, was it? Poor Shirley, not realizing she had the wrong one...

Do check out this silly video of me and my cats. You can download one with your own photographs, and it's fun.

Have a wonderful holiday, my dear blogger friends.  If you're traveling, may you all arrive safe, sound and on time, and not too stressed out. If you're staying home, pull that snuggly throw over yourself and relax on the sofa for a bit. Go ahead. You still have time before Santa arrives.

Gourds R Us at Etsy - Hilarious Critters

This crafty artist uses gourds and clay, painted and stained, to come up with some really original critters. Although I've seen painted images on gourds, I didn't know much about the gourd as an art material used with clay, so I'm thankful that Gourds R Us has conquered the technique to show us. Aren't these just the funniest-looking images you've seen in a while? The artist must be very entertaining, personally, to come up with the expressions. I'd be giggling the whole time I was working. If you can call it work. More like playtime, I think.

Check out Gourds R Us at Etsy to see more.

Have a good weekend, art lovers. I was going to suggest that you don't let Copenhagen get you down too much, but perhaps you should. I guess it's up to us now.

The First Gran Sculpture

Gran Takes BoBo for a Walk

Gran Celebrates
the Full Moon

Gran's Napping Again

I'm the featured artist today. After kicking the idea around for a while, I finally did a sculpture of Gran, the character I've painted so many times. Now three-dimensional (and what dimensions!), she is just 6.5 inch (16 cm) high. She was sculpted from polymer clay over an armature of aluminum and wire, finished with acrylic paints and then sealed.

She isn't beautiful, never was, going by my paintings of her, but she is real looking, I think.

She is looking a bit rough around the edges these days. Her first painting was done some years ago, and time is creeping up on her, although she does try. I think a few varicose veins, some more wrinkles, and a thickening body, are only to be expected, but she does have a really good lap for sitting on, like all good Grans should.

I'll make some more of these, get my sculpting hand back in shape - I haven't sculpted in years. Who knows? - Perhaps, if Gran ever looks ready for prime time, I'll offer her for sale at Etsy. What do you think? Would someone want her gracing their desk?

I enjoyed making her very much. Perhaps you'll say if you enjoyed seeing her.

Terrible weather here, although it's sunny today, but that doesn't clear the footpaths of ice and halt the winds. I have to shop tomorrow, as the cat food is getting low. I could go without, but not my babies. So tomorrow I will bundle myself up and make that small trek to the supermarket. It's a ten minute walk, nothing really, but when you take each step prepared for ice, you use far more muscles, and it's amazingly tiring.

I'm informed that a lot of you guys south of the Canadian border are naive about Toronto (and Canada, in general), and are probably wondering why I don't use a dog sled... Well - how can I put this? Do they have dog sleds in Chicago? Or Boston? We're on much the same latitude, and we also get very hot in the summer.

I chose to live in Canada. No one made me. Sometimes at this time of year I wonder where my head was - it must have been frazzled by the Australian heat. And, of course, there's always the spring to look forward to, even if it's not even winter here yet.

Have a good one, and stay warm.