Ready to Cowgirl Up?

I've been busy lately puttering around in my Zazzle store, learning how much I did NOT know. Hopefully soon it will be organized.

In the meantime, after having joined a health support group with some like-minded online friends, I created a new motivational card from my ink and watercolor illustration. It was fun!

I left the side front blank (just place holding words that are removed) , so it could be customized, either with a person's  name, or a special greeting.

 Here's a peek:

Anyone interested can pop in to my Zazzle store here (please excuse the disorganization; it's still under construction!) and visit my Cowgirl.

Have an artful day,

Retta

How To "RePurpose" Your Art!

These days we are all learning to reuse, recycle, repurpose stuff. Well, hows about our art?? I don't mean just the usual, like cards, prints, posters, etc; all the fun stuff that online print-on-demand places can create with your image.

I'm talking about ways that I can simply enjoy the image again, in a different format. And since I LOVE quotes, I enjoy making my own little motivational posters.

I think of good quotes as distilled wisdom. Um... notice I said good quotes. ;-)

It's easy to do. If you don't have Photoshop, which is where I play with mine, you can go to free places that do it automatically for you, in a set format, such as This Place.

Here is my latest... please to enjoy.

Happy poster making,

Retta

Virtual Paintout 3: Vevie Goes to Chile!

Hola! 

This month Vevie (rhymes with Stevie) got to practice her Spanish. We "traveled" to Valparaiso, Chile via Google Street View, with the Virtual Paintout gang.  

Here is my finished painting, with the making-of details to follow (Can click on any pics to enlarge; I kept them small here, to keep the page from loading like a snail):

"Beacons in the Moonlight"

Punta Angeles Lighthouse 

Valparaiso, Chile

9 x 12 acrylics 

on wrapped canvas

Last month I promised I would explain why I am including a moon in each painting of this series. For me, it carries a spiritual significance. The moon is beautiful and glows in the night sky. But on it's own, it would be dark. It's actually just a reflector of the light from the Sun. 

I am a Moon. My God is the Sun. He lights me up, filling my life with love, joy and peace. Oh, I still have my share of struggles in life, with lots of stuff yet to learn. But through it all, that love relationship with Jesus gives me hope and joy. And I would love to learn how to infuse my art with that joy!

Here then, is the making of Beacons in the Moonlight (there are actually 3 sources of beacons... can you guess?)

This is the original Google Street View 

image I used for my inspiration:

Once again I played with ideas in Photoshop, 

then printed it out as a mock-up to work from:

Textured gesso onto the canvas,

then line drawing:

Red Napthol Lt underpainting,

then Mars Black over line

drawing with brush:

 Starting the block-in of

the sky and ocean:

Continued block-in of lower

half; started clouds, moon,

lighthouse, etc:

Finished sky, ocean 

and lighthouse beacon;

then added the trees in 

front; continuing details:

And a couple of close ups 

for those of you who, like me, 

enjoy seeing the details:

And so, the finished painting:

My plan is to create one painting each month for a year from Google Street View, then have a local show. In the meantime, I am slowly learning how to offer images of them (prints, greeting cards, etc) in my teensy Zazzle store. I might even get caught up there soon, LOL! 

This was my third painting venture with the Virtual Paintout  gang (HERE). 

And it was so much fun! Each month our leader, artist Bill Guffey,  picks a new spot somewhere in the world and we all "go" there and choose our own spot to paint. You are welcome to join us! Visit the Virtual Paintout blog for all the details. 

Happy painting,

Retta

"Send forth your light and your truth, 

let them guide me." 

Ps 43:3

Bicycling Kitties & Making Art With Personal Meaning

Sometimes we make art that looks light and fun, yet it actually came from a deep place of meaning for us. This illustration I did a few years ago is a good example of that. 

I had read a book by Dr Phil McGraw, The Ultimate Weight Solution. What he wrote resonated with me, and helped me make many changes in my life. One thing it did was to help me see that I really WAS responsible for my own choices, and had the power to be the captain of my own life. 

Dr Phil has a good-ol-boy Texas way of talking and writing... very colorful, lots of word pictures. And as I read, I started imagining illustrations to go with the book. Alas... this is the only one I actually made. The original was done with ink and watercolors.

(can click to enlarge)

Did you notice that I've since 

dropped the "kat" from Retta? :-)

I appreciated the truth in the quote underneath the cat: 

"When you begin to see that your particular weight struggles may have little to do with anything outside yourself, your power to change is enormous... Start recognizing that you actively influence positive events in your life. Start pedaling on your own personal power."

The truth in those sentences apply not only to health, but to my art as well. I am pursuing my dreams... pedaling on my own personal power. And that DOES feel empowering!

Here cropped out the image of the cat in Photoshop, squaring the edges with the clone tool. I plan to include it in my future Zazzle shop, for use in cards or posters or whatever people would like to use it for.

Happy meaningful painting,

Retta

Bedazzled by Zazzle

I finally did it... something I've been thinking about for years. I designed my own Christmas cards and had them printed up by Zazzle. 

I am sooo excited by the results!

Here is my original design, done with Sharpies and colored pencils:

Next year, I hope to have my very own Zazzle store up and running, and can offer cards (and other stuff) for sale. Yep, that's part of the "Bold and Adventurous New Year"!

Happy painting,

Retta

=^..^=