SHE WALKS AMONG STARS (VIRGO CONSTELLATION)
Another star themed collage on a 9 X 12 canvas board. This one is torn papers and tissue with onion skin and roots. There are accents added of a small bird feather, as well as the shell of a bird's egg found outside. The main images are constellation maps. I finished Miss Virgo with an old earring, tinsel, and a star jewel. I painted here and there with mica watercolors to brighten the images and give the piece a really vibrant look.

SAGITTARIUS ON GUARD
Ok, this was a real pain in the rear to do. It was my first time to do a gel transfer, so I did not know exactly what to expect or do. But NOW I do. Anyway, I finally finished this after working on it most of the day. I started making the transfer last night from a copy of the archer. I used a hair dryer to speed up the process, but I figured out that I only needed to use thin layers of gel medium (note to self).

I prepped my 8 X 10 board canvas, (which had once been a color wheel project for Design II class) with torn red tissue paper, which gave it a lot of texture. Then I put my constellation map on top of that. Next came layers of star tissue paper and handmade paper and waxed paper. Then I put the gel transfer on top. Then came more torn handmade paper, star tissue, and onion skin. I used acrylic paint to highlight areas on the archer that were not prominent enough to suit me and to make his face and hair more to my liking, because I wanted him to have long hair, which he did not, so I gave him some.

Finally, I added some vibrant mica watercolors and stamps, star jewels, an old earring, and some old gold tinsel to finish him off. I thought this was going to be a total disaster and fully expected to throw it in the trash. However, I stuck it out and I think I'm satisfied with Mr. Sag.

STARSTREAM SURFIN'
9 X 12 mixed media collage on canvas board with foam core attachment. Constellation maps of Sagittarius, layers of tissue, onion skin, magazine clipping, mica water color, vintage postcard image, faux pearls, star jewels, and tinsel. The moon is a broken earring from the eighties, the star is from a string of Christmas decorations.

SEEK YOUR FORTUNES

This time it's an 8 X 8 board canvas piece. I used two vintage photos, one of a child in a fairy costume, and one of a woman in a cape to get myself a gypsy woman with wings. I layered tissue paper over scrapbook paper, using magazine clippings and onion skin bits here and there. I also layered in crumpled waxed paper. I used mica water colors along the way. Sprinkled in some vintage postage stamps, a piece of sealing wax and a star. I cut the text from an old poster that is a replica of the poster that announced the opening of the Union Pacific Platte Valley Railroad Route. What? No glitter on this one? I don't know, I just don't think this one needs it.

MARRIAGE OF DESIGN & ART
Here' a 9 X 12 collage on a canvas board. This one came together nicely. The name for it came right from the newsprint page I used for the background. It was perfect. Mica watercolors make the background over the newsprint, with tissue paper layered over. A vintage photo of this lavishly outfitted lady makes a wonderful centerpiece for the Mardi Gras inspired colors. These colors look great with the image, and old gold tinsel completes the look. I like this one!

LIVE AGAIN
Here's another blend of digital and traditional art. The angel and cemetery scene are a manipulated photo I took in the Jewish cemetery in Vicksburg. The theme of the collage is inspired by my long-time friend, Melonie Todd, who has been talking a lot about dry bones of late. So I used the photo manip of the cemetery scene with a nature theme and vibrant colors, along with the words "I will make you live again" for the collage. It is placed on top of pages from the Holy Bible, and given washes of mica water color, and stamps of mica watercolor, with the liberal sprinkling of purple glitter, just because!

MONMOUTH GARDEN ANGEL
Here's another collage with a photo manipulation. The angel figure is from a photo I took at Monmouth Plantation in Natchez, MS. I used Photoshop to alter the photo and then did my artwork with it. I used a copy of a page from the old Bible again, as well as the mica watercolors, stamps and magazine clippings. Purple glitter is being used liberally around here these days.

ONE
You can't stop this artist! I'm making the best of the summer off this time. Not gonna sit around and do nothing all summer and be bored! So, here's another collage on an 8 X 10 canvas board.

I copied a couple of pages from Revelation out of a very old Bible. I digitally manipulated a photo I took at the old Jewish cemetery in Vicksburg to use in the collage. I used the Bible pages for the background. I washed the background with mica watercolor. I clipped the photo and used the part I wanted with the angel grave marker. I clipped up an old poster to get the "one" letters. The butterfly wings come from a magazine, as usual. I used little mirrors for a halo effect, and a little cross from my junk store stash. Stencils using mica watercolor. Oh, and there's purple glitter on there - cuz that's how I roll sistas, bruthas!

THE FISHQUEEN
The Fishqueen pines for her true sailor love...

Another 8 X 10 mixed media collage on canvas board. Used the newspaper background with mica watercolors again. The female image is from an old postcard, and the cod fish are from a page I created in Illustrator and cut out. The vintage photo is of my daddy when he was a teenager working on a fishing boat. I think he's probably 15 or 16 here. Yep, that's 1958 on the date. Mom and dad started out YOUNG. That's more of the old tinsel there too, and a lovely pearl jewel from the junk store for The Fishqueen. Sponge stamped accents with mica watercolor, and butterfly wings from a magazine. The star is terra cotta, and the sea shell came from the sea :-)

DA KING

Well, I just can't seem to stop. Here's another 8 X 8 on canvas board. I really like the text and newspaper background with the mica watercolor on top. I'm going to keep experimenting with it and see what more effects I can come up with. This one looks like fish skin to me. Since I have a Mississippi theme going, and this one also covers musical roots, I think I might try writers next. Anyway, the studio is still a huge mess. I mean yikes!

THE CRYSTAL SKULL
One more. I think I may be about to burn out with this one. I don't really like it. Another 8 X 10. I like the background, but overall don't like the finished product. I used the text from a story I am in progress of writing. I used a skull image from a painting I did and I don't really like how it fits into the collage. But here 'tis.

Mica watercolors on fancy linen paper, with copied tarot card and magazine clippings. Also used stamps with mica watercolor. Yeh, there's a little purple glitter on there too, cuz that's just how I roll. It looks better if you click the photo for a full view. Yeehaw.

CROOKED LETTER-HUMPBACK BLUES

Here's another mixed media collage on an 8 X 10 canvas board. I used newsprint from a local publication with local events on it. I adhered the newsprint with gel medium, then used some to block areas so I could watercolor the paper with mica colors. I printed Mr. Johnson from the internet onto a piece of card stock and cut him out, then gave him butterfly wings. I used mica watercolor on sponge stamps and blotted them to make hazy designs here and there. Next I cut out Mr. Crow and put a crown on him, then I let a little moth light on Mr. Robinson's shoulder down in the corner. All this makes a nice mixed media piece with plenty of local color, and lots of bright artistic color.

VINTAGE PAPER DOLL COLLAGE
8 X 8 mixed media collage on canvas board. Consists of old paper doll found on internet and printed on cardstock, magazine clipping of rose and butterfly wings, old thimble, button, old broken earring from junk shop, and two colors of glitter for shine. Background is painted in acrylics on top of black gesso.

BLUE BUTTERFLY
I liked the prior butterfly piece a lot, so I tried another. This one is also an 8 X 10 on a board canvas. I clipped the butterfly from a magazine spread along with the flowers. I used black gesso and acrylic paints for the background. The lock and keys came from the junk store in Raymond and the mirror bits are Katrina trash. I added some colored glitter for shine. The frame is one I had laying around that looked pretty good for it.

CHIEF NANZETTA'S LINIMENT
Another mixed media project from this weekend. This one is 8 X 10 on a canvas board. I used black gesso, then painted the canvas black and mottled it with yellow ochre and black. Butterflies are clipped from a magazine. The chunk of mirror is Katrina trash, and the rest of the stuff is old jewelry and bits from the junk store in Raymond. The brass ring reminds me of the carousel at Balboa Park in San Diego. Threw a little tinsel on there for some shine. Even the frame is a junker, but I love how it goes perfectly with the piece. The Liniment flyer was rescued from the trash by my spouse, who got it from the frame shop where he works. They'd been laying around there forever. I have a few more, don't know if this stuff was for real or not.

TIME
First mixed media project in a while. 8 X 8 board canvas painted with acrylic. Broken antique doll, broken jewelry, poem I wrote and fixed up in Illustrator, crows clipped from magazines, other junk, plastered on with gel medium. Still a tad wet when I took the photo.

I call this "Time" as in "Time ain't yo' friend." Obviously.

Laura, Dave & Eugenia

SOUTH MISSISSIPPI ART ASSN. QUICK DRAW - JANUARY 25TH
My friend Laura talked me into doing the Quick Draw this year. She and Eugenia did it last year and had a lot of fun for a good cause, so I worked really hard to get all my school work done as well as all my projects together for Hearts Against AIDS, and managed to make it to Hattiesburg for the event.

The gist of the Quick Draw is that you bring all your creative stuff with you, and you have one hour after they sound a really squeaky sounding horn to finish an art project. After that hour is up they sound the funky horn again, then you have 15 minutes to frame the piece before it is auctioned off live. It's fun and challenging and you get to meet some nice folks. I sat with Laura in front of me, and between Eugenia, and Kym Garraway, who painted a huge painting of a Madonna and Child with a lamb that was lovely, all while chatting and giggling, and shaking her bootay occasionally to the calypso drum beat played live by a local fellow. AMAZING.

The piece below is my finished project for the Quick Draw. I did a similar one for Hearts Against AIDS. Both of these events benefit AIDS charities. The pieces I did this year are made primarily from found items collected in Gulfport, MS near Thornton Avenue and Beach Boulevard after Hurricane Katrina.

SOUTHERN FAVE
This is my last painting for my Painting 1 class. Next semester I will have a special studio for painting with Ms. Atkinson since I could not fit in her regular painting class due to demands of my graphic design major. When I told her I would not be coming to the Art Department next semester she offered the special studio idea and I was thrilled!

I think this piece is my favorite painting of the entire semester; okra and purple onions on a white pedestal table laid sideways. That okra had been laying around awhile, and that onion on the left had been laying around awhile too, and it had a nice sprout on it. I'd been thinking it would make a nice painting subject when by chance they had gotten laid together and I noticed the colors looked really nice together. Finally, to my delight, it was set out for us on the last day! I think it was mostly for the lack of anything else being available, but how nice!

9 X 12 oil on masonite board.

GRANNY'S VASE PAINTED IN OILS
So here's my Granny's blue vase painted in oils along with Ms. Sally's vintage glass pieces. I did this one on a 20 X 24 masonite board. It turned out good, though I am not crazy about the composition. Not a lot to work with, just a few pieces of glass sitting on a white pedestal, so given that, I think it turned out pretty ok.

VINTAGE GLASS
Here's my final project for drawing II class. It's a pastel drawing on a piece of 16 X 20 black mat board. The still life is mostly vintage glass. That piece on the left is a vase that my grandmother has had for as long as I can remember, which she gave to me recently. The orange vessel belongs to my classmate, Ms. Sally Walton, and it belonged to her mother. The clear piece is just a piece that belongs the art department. I've also done a painting of these two beauties in oil along with a vintage yellow glass canister. The painting is still at school drying; I'll post that one later.

TROUT TWO WAYS
Unfortunate is the fish that makes it to my art class. Here's some more dead fish, this time trout, painted on their first day in painting class in oil on a 12 X 16 masonite board. The next morning their little bleeding carcasses were laid out for my drawing class, where I drew them with charcoal onto 14 X 17 Canson paper. How sweet of them to give their lives to art! Look! The little one is kinda smiling...

YAWN
Wandering Jew vine in a blue glass vase in the foreground. Curly willow in the jar in the background. Charcoal on Canson paper. Weird composition. Sorta unfinished. I'll call it the Three Day Migraine composition, since this is migraine art. This was one of those days when when that nagging ethical side of me that I get from my Daddy got the better of me, and I got up and went to school anyway. My head hurt like heck, I was in a fog all morning, could not draw for $hit, and my brain was receiving messages in arrears. I should have stayed in bed. I think everyone would have been better off. I can be pretty freaky when my head ain't right.

HAPPY FALL Y'ALL
Here's a pumpkin still life I did yesterday in drawing class. It's charcoal on a 16 X 20 goldenrod colored mat board.

MORE TEA?
Here's the teapot again, with tea and citrus fruit. This time it's in charcoal and white pastel on a piece of 16 X 20 pale blue mat board. I hope the teapot is put away next week. I'm ready for something new.

THAT SEVENTIES ART
My mom and dad were cleaning out the attic for a garage sale this week, and they found this old piece of junk. Signed and dated by me in 1978. I remember doing this in my high school art class. It's tempera paint on Crescent art board. My husband saw this and loved it with all it's colors and what I call "dod-doo" on it. It's paint is worn off in places and has character with the doo-doo spots I reckon. He liked it so much that he took it to have it framed today. Hahahahah! I suppose it is a pretty complicated piece with all the interlocking geometric shapes. Heady stuff for a teenager in the seventies. Whoa...It's thirty years old.

TEA & SHRIMP PAINTING
Here is the painting of the shrimp. They finally got tossed after all the painting and drawing. Today, we just drew the tea pot, some tea bags and some citrus fruit. I did something cool with it that I'll post later. This painting is 16 X 20 oil on masonite.

SHRIMP & TEA
Here's another attempt with pastels. I did this in drawing class today. I'm also painting these shrimp in painting class, so we'll see a painting later of the shrimp and this same tea pot, etc. I love the irregular shaped brown cup that someone made in the pottery class.

I am liking pastels more. I'm slowly catching on with each drawing. I actually like this piece, though I don't think it's all that greatly executed, I'm improving, and I just like the stuff in the picture. I was dragging a bit today and seemed to have a problem with relationships for some reason. I used a piece of mat board for this one, colored a sort of goldenrod.

WINTER BIRD
Experimenting with the pastels again. I used my Rembrandt pastels with this. I do like them better than the Nupastels. This is just a small piece on black mat board. I used a wat-not bird for a model and some dried up rosemary. I did some reading on techniques and tried some out with this. Just messing around really, but he's kinda cute.

CURLY WILLOW ROOTING
Our latest still life in painting class is an unusual looking clear glass jar with some curly willow sticks rooting in it. They are really pretty, but very tall. I was lucky to get some of the leaves into the painting. Hopefully I'll be bringing a branch or two home to plant in my yard.

There's the pomegranates again. And the pumpkins. And that red pitcher I've painted and drawn umpteen times :-) Haha! 20 X 24 Oil on masonite.

STRUGGLING WITH PASTELS
I really want to work with these because they are so pretty. This is only my second attempt with these, so maybe I should not expect too much. I'm trying to get the hang of how these blend, which brand is best for me, when to rub and when not to. These are so much like paint but not as easy to correct. Hopefully some progress will be seen as I go along. I think some different paper would help, and it could be time to try the Rembrandts.

DOWN TO THE WATERLINE
20 X 24 Oil on masonite painting from class. I have been forced to paint gladiolas! Arrggggghhhhh! Painting flowers is not my favorite, but the more I do it I'm sure the better I'm going to love it. My favorite thing about this piece is the vase and the waterline. The photo does not nearly do it justice. I need a better camera.

BIG SPECKLED EGG
This craziness measures 8 X 10 on a canvas board. Still wet when I snapped the photo. Strange painting, but I needed to use the paint left on my palette so I could clean it up and have a fresh start on Monday for painting class, and this is what happened. We'll be starting our mid-term project then. I did not want to waste the paint leftover from the pear paintings, so I did this egg. I realize it looks kinda crazy, but I sort of like it at the same time. When I look at it I think dinosaurs and jungle plants, or even "kerthump!"

A PAIR OF PEAR PAINTINGS
After touching up drawings to complete my drawing class portfolio, I had nothing better to do than paint since my family deserted me for band contest, and old friends. So! I had these lovely pears from WalMart that I decided to paint. I put two on a dishrag with a speckled ceramic egg, and then I painted one alone, and really,really large. These are still wet in the photos so they look a tad shiny.

Pear Pair - 12 X 16 Oil on masonite (Saturday night)



Alone Pear - 16 X 20 Oil on masonite (Started Sunday morning and completed by 2p.m.)

WOLFE STUDIO BIRD WITH FLOWER STEMS & FRUIT
Here's my first real attempt to do something with pastels. I got out my 96 Prismacolor Nupastels that I've been saving up and took them to school for drawing class. The difference between these and the Gallery brand pastels that I'd been playing with is remarkable. Now I'm toying with breaking out that 15 set of Rembrandts.

This is no masterpiece but I think it turned out cute, 'cause it's on a pink blankie, and that Wolfe Studio bird is just a sassy little feller. I gots to get me some of those Wolfe birds. Gonna put 'em on my Christmas list.

HORSEAPPLES AND PITCHER OF FLOWERS
More of my paintings from class. The flowers I touched up this morning. The horseapples I just don't like very much, but my teacher says "It's really a beautiful painting." I don't exactly agree, however, the colors are nice and it did look good with a gold frame around it. I don't like the composition because it seems almost centered.

Both of these are 16 X 20, oil on masonite.

MORNING CATCH
I've spent this morning touching up some of my paintings from class. I have not been satisfied with them because they needed something, and what they needed is light. In the time allotted in class I don't get around to fully highlighting and so I brought everything home on Friday to get the highligts in and give a coat of Kamar varnish to all the ones that are presentable. Honestly, the first few are downright awful, but the last few have been ok.

So, here's the bream fish that a lady from my drawing class brought in for us a few weeks ago. Her husband caught them for us that morning. We painted them around lunch time, and Miss Ruby the cleaning lady took them home for her supper.

I have to say that everyone's fish paintings turned out really nice. I think I would not mind painting some more fish. But someone will have to be kind enough to catch them again for me, as I am not a fisher.

THE KITCHEN GUARDIAN
Here's the last project I did with Becky Barnett. It's an all white painting; every item except the angel was white. This was one of those down to the wire projects where all the students were working on it right down to the last minute before critique.

This was a difficult project since it was all white, and all the pieces in the still life are shaped really funky. That vase on the left has an especially unusual neck on it and it drove me nuts getting it correct in my sketch, as well as getting the axis correct on it. And the one on the right has a strange shape as well. I finally finished this up today by completing a small portion of the tabletop, which I had neglected to do when I turned the project in due to time running out. But, I still got an A on it :-).

I miss painting with Becky. I love the methods she taught me. I'm enjoying learning from Melanie too though. I think that variety is going to bring about an interesting style for me in the long run.

STILL LIFE WITH WOLFE RED BIRD
Finally, a decent painting from my painting class. This is a 20 X 24 oil on masonite (or hardboard as it is called today). It's a completely different style for me. I'm learning from Melanie Atkinson, a style that is completely different from what I was taught by my first painting teacher, Becky Barnett, who taught me to paint in the style of the old masters. This painting was produced quickly, in less than 5 hours, which is equivalent to two class periods.

It's taken some time, but I'm beginning to get the hang of Melanie's fast and loose technique. I have a long way to go, but I'm seeing progress enough to share now. I love the little red pottery bird, produced locally at Wolfe Fine Art Studio in Jackson.

ANGEL FROM STATUE
This is drawn from a statue made of resin or something that looks like sort of like terra cotta. Charcoal and pastel on 18 X 24 Canson paper. I don't know what I'm doing with this. The pastels are cheapies. I'm going to try my Nupastels next week and see if I fare better with them.

GEORGE
George is a skeleton that has been a fixture in the Art department at Hinds Community College for many years. He's old and he's coming apart, but we really love it when Ms. Atkinson gets him out for us to draw. Mostly she asks us to do abstract work from him. These drawings are from George, done in charcoal and soft pastel, and they are pretty much the only drawings I've done this semester that I'm satisfied at all with.

PLEIN AIR - HOT FAST AND LOOSE
This is a painting of some echinacea flowers (AKA purple cone flower) out by our shed near some rosemary. I felt like painting yesterday and wanted to paint these flowers. So I got out the Jullian easel and set up all my art stuffs by the shed along with skeeter dope, Gatorade, and a bowl full of ice water with a wash rag in it.



Despite my efforts to keep cool, I did a LOT of sweating. My aim was to capture the loveliness of the flowers and the rosemary in a loose, yet somewhat real style, without being eaten alive or passing out. I succeeded I think, in just the nick of time. My face was mighty red upon completion of this 8 X 10 piece, which I must say I put the least time ever into, but the most sweat.

BUTTERFLY PROPHETS
This is a new mixed media piece on an 8 X 10 canvas board. I used one of my original poems as the basis for the piece. The poem is about my daughter.

My dear friends the Uticacats recently sent this video to me by email. It's not every day that a favorite bluegrass band of mine teams up with a country legend to perform a favorite tune from a favorite rock band of mine. I'm totally diggin' Dolly Parton and Nickel Creek performing Collective Soul's "Shine." Check it out. It'll make you get goose bumps.

MONMOUTH ANGEL
12 x 12 mixed media on board canvas. In this one, I've used a photo of an angel statue that I took at Monmouth Plantation in Natchez when I had the pleasure of staying there a few years ago. The background consists of tissue paper and acrylic paint with glitter and star confetti. The cross is cut wood spray-painted metallic gold, then mottled with bronze acrylic paint and silver leaf. The little medallion is an aluminum St. Theresa medal that I found several of at the junk shop in Raymond. The Garden of To-morrow music sheet comes from the vintage photo sharing site.