EMALIE'S RED HOUSE

New art! Oh I had soooo much fun doing this piece! I used an 18 x 24 canvas with square coasters applied for texture and then painted the entire piece black. You can't see the coasters unless you looks close but it's enough to peek your interest when you are looking close. I have been wanting to to try painting on black allowing the dark background to show through. It was challenging for me..but delightfully enjoyable. I worked at keeping it graphically bold and bright.. intense like the tropics.

This is inspired from my granddaughter Emalie's dream while we were on Oahu for Stephanie's surgery. The morning we visited Stephanie after her surgery, Emalie crawled up into Stephanie's bed and began telling her about the red house with yellow flowers.She went on and on, and we all agreed she had a dream and wanted to tell her mom. Emalie never mentioned any of this to the rest of us that morning, not until she saw her mama. That so spoke to a part of my heart, I knew I had to do a painting about Emalie's red house. Even a little toddler can be touched by a dream! How magical!

I want to point out the girl's dress: it is actual fabric that I bought at a wonderful funky little shop in Kapaa on Kauai. A way cool little fabric shop that had tons of fat quarters for sale. I could of bought a suitcase full! I love fat quarters and add them to my art stock whenever I see some

good funky pieces.

So Aloha Emalie... I love you!

ta

ART-O-LICIOUS GROUPING

LOTS OF GOOD VIBRATIONS SITTING IN MY STUDIO THIS MORNING! Whenever I compile a stack of work, I feel like a mother gathering her babies around for a family photo! I should of jumped into the photo but I am still in my jammies and hair standing on end... since it's early morning... camera shy.. but very proud and happy and grateful that I have a nice selection to hang. taaa-daaaa!

I am truly happy that I got so much done in a timely manner. YES! Because rushing is terribly maddening for me when I am creating, though I am a fairly fast creator. Some of my artist friends take a lot of time when they do their art. If I linger too long on a piece, my mind takes over and the creative juices drain away! So allowing my playful self to "play" makes the work go quickly and smoothly. I have learned when I get into the mind trips on a piece of art, I lay the work aside and save it for another day. Experience tells me I would be wasting my time and wouldn't be happy with the outcome.

When I look at this grouping, I think my most favorite piece is the 3rd one from the left.. top row. I titled that one "SELF" and I love it most because it's such a personal statement from my soul. It is always interesting to see what will sell.. you just never, never know. And I think that's part of the fun.

And now I can jump into some more ART that I want to do for ME! Well, truly it's all for me..because it's the journey not the destination. And also time to restock my eco pond. Lot's of energy poured out, and now it's time for me to absorb some stuff for self. Back to my daily journaling, soul soaking and just being good myself. I am so often pushed to be all, do all for everyone, everything around me, and I get shoved to the back of the list. Common I think for many of us. But it's good to recognize the garden needs some tending, some extra love and care, so that more will blossom.

Sun is shining and it's a beautiful day. My power thought for the day?

I AM AT PEACE.

ta

A JUMBLE OF FUN

Here's a group of bracelets and necklaces that I will be taking to the Wild Women Art Show. I make a series of jewelry that I call Upcycle Art.
With various beads gleaned from old jewelry I then added small bits of fabric and some embellished scrabble tiles. It's all very funky and colorfully jumbly. It makes you really happy when you wear these fun pieces.

I am still creating more art, mostly for the gift shop now. Have my gallery pieces done. Will have to tag and price and do my inventory sheet.
It is a lot of work. I don't think most people (unless you are an artist) realize the effort that goes into these art shows. We even hang our own work. And there is always the burden of pricing your work. The gallery takes their cut - in our case 30% so that has to be included in the pricing. But, it is so exciting when the sales happen. You feel so honored that someone loves your work and pays money for it!!!

I have always tried to price my art for the masses. Especially in our small mountain town, and even more so in today's economy. I have butted heads with some artists who price their work for a lot more than I do. They have expressed their objections to my pricing and it really steps on my toes. My belief is it is really none of their business what I price my work at. I mean this would be price fixing if all artists joined in their pricing! I would rather see my work sell and be out in the world being enjoyed than setting in my studio collecting dust with high price tags. And I have been complimented by a lot of my patrons that they really appreciate my reasonable pricing!
Thank you! I love that my art goes to thankful people. Isn't that part of the joy with ART? So I continue to do my thing and ignore some of the party poopers. It will be interesting to see if the pricing of some of these high end artists comes down with this show with the present economy pressing down on us.

I plan on making money this summer from this show. Expect it!

have a gorgeous day.. the sun is SHINING!!!!! after a week of rain. Though the garden is gleaming green and lush with all that nuturing rain.

ta

NEW ON ETSY

NEW!!! I just listed this set of greeting cards on Etsy
http://www.lindadrake.etsy.com/
I will be putting these three originals in our upcoming local Wild Women Art Show but wanted to create a fun 3 card pack with these images. They are blank cards and would fit any occasion of your choice: a great selection to have on hand!

I am working on getting my art all in line for Wild Women. We also have a good little gift shop and I am planning on bringing a lot for that as well.

Art selling now is challenging but I still believe that it's possible. Plus I think it keeps us on our toes for notching up the quality. Creating better art will make it all the more desirable!

I have been pushing myself to work on painting faces. I seem to struggle with the highlights but have been dutifully working on my techniques.
It's all fun and I thoroughly love every minute of it. And I will continue to work on portraits so look for some more showing up in my work.

ta for now

SHARON'S CHALLENGE

This is a wonderful sketch from Sharon Tomlinson that she posted on her blog --http://allnorahsart.blogspot.com/ I discovered her in one of my art magazines, followed to her blog and have been a fan of hers for awhile now. Take the time to look at her work. She is magical and her work is evolving beautifully.

So she challenged us to be inspired by this sketch. I had a canvas sitting all poised and ready so I decided to go for it. I had used the paper coasters to prep the canvas giving it nice texture. I filled in the inner sections between the coasters to create an even center leaving some edges uneven. Then I added paint and torn paper to create an interesting texture.

After sketching my take on the idea, I began to work on the painting. I am not certain if it is done, so will sit with it for awhile. The coasters turned into the perfect base for the girl's top and she then told me she had just come from swimming in the pond and discovered this magical place in the woods.

thank you Sharon for the inspiration. I hope to see more of her readers take her challenge.

And yes... very fun.

ta

HOPE

This is a self portrait of sorts.. About my feelings about my Self. There is a beautiful song titled "The Color of Roses" by Beth Nielsen Chapman. The line I love most says: "Life gives us magic and life brings us tragedy Everyone suffers some loss Still we have faith in it Childlike hope." The first time I heard those words in Beth's song, I burst out crying. It was shortly after my dad's death.

Sometimes in the night, I dream of straining to overcome some obstacle. We all have those dreams. Nothing is going right, we feel weighed down with the hurtles ahead. I know when I have those kinds of dreams, I am stressing about something. My dreams tell me to pay attention.

But when the sun comes up the next morning, as it always does, I feel the hope rise within me and I reach for a sense of calm and knowing that all will be well. You can't see the writing with this photo, but I used Beth's words on the door. This is my mantra that I hold onto within my own being. I used the symbol of the house to represent my own Soul. Things can come and go and my windows to the world show me life's mystery. But I know I reside within my own sanctuary. My knowing protects me and keeps my house in order.

So here's to HOPE. Always hold tight. Ta

note: I found this "canvas" in a dumpster.. I was driving around the back of some business buildings with my husband, and spotted it sticking out of the trash. I stopped, backed up and jumped out to pull it out. I realized it was the wooden seat to an old bar stool. My husband snickered at me, but I was tickled to find a "canvas" perfect for painting on. Upcycled Art, saving the planet one discarded piece of trash at a time! YES! The closeup shows the multiple layers I used. The background has various papers collaged then painted over. I painted her face and for her hair I used torn fabric and dictionary page strips. I also collaged thread into her hair. The colors of the closeup are truer than the photo.

OH MY!

These are some of my ah-ha mobiles I have been working on for the Wild Women show. I have a few more to finish. They are fun, colorful and have good messages of awareness. They are light enough to simply tack to the ceiling and I am hoping they will sell well. I like the organic element of the twigs to tie in with the birds. Think I will add small hang tags that say
AH-HA's by Linda Drake

Today I woke up feeling so much more invigorated. I have been dragging butt for a few days. Not sure what was up.. bug of some sorts
or maybe allergies? I have never had allergies but it is pollen season. But today!!!!! I am back to my perky self. So I have lots to tackle today.. orders & some new art for Lunar I need to work on. But this morning, I did make time for my own art. My music playing, my birds singing, the sunshine pouring in, Marley chewing on something he shouldn't, it's all so delicious to be in my studio doing my art. Makes for a lovely soul enriching way to start my day. I think we have to have some butt draggin' days. It makes for more appreciation for the up days, don't you think?

here's to perky tata

LILACS FOR STEPHANIE

These are for my daughter Stephanie. Living in Hawaii and even surrounded by all the tropical splendor there, she longs for the spring lilacs. I remember when I lived there, I too, missed these beautiful sweet blooms. We have six huge bushes, nearly trees really, some white and some lavender. In the morning when I go out early to get the paper, the smell of those lilacs envelops me. It's breath taking..
I missed peaches when I lived in Hawaii years ago. I had the mangoes and papayas of course, but those wonderful Colorado local peaches, I would just drool for. You could buy peaches, but they were just pitiful compared to the really fresh local kind.
I love summer most of all. The fresh produce, the abundance of flowers, the lovely warm weather; it's all heavenly. We are sleeping with our windows wide open which I love. All the wonderful fresh air.
So here's to Stephanie... sorry I can't post the wonderful sweet smell along with the picture.
Best I can do for you.
hugs

MANGO TREE

WISH I HAD A MANGO TREE IN MY BACKYARD

While you are looking at my new art, take a moment to scroll down and find the song Mango Tree and click on it. This will be the perfect background music for you to listen to while you read about my mango tree art.

This was so much fun to create. She is a tropical mama complete with mango seed wings. I found this mango seed pod washed up on the shore in Hawaii. Only the outer shell was left and it was still in one piece. I gently pried the pod apart and used these as her mango seed wings! Her body is driftwood from the same beach. And her breasts are puka shells. Puka in Hawaiian means hole. These little shells wash up on the beaches...little remnants of shells round and with the small puka (hole) in the center. Perfect for stringing into necklaces, etc. Her legs and feet are from an old rusty bicycle chain. Her head is a worn piece of coral from the beach with a scrabble tile embellished with an eye and shells on each side. I used fabric for the ground and tree with painted mangoes.

I was inspired by the Mango Tree song when I did this. I think mangoes are such a beautiful fruit. The colors of the skin vary which is so luring and tempting to paint. The smell of a fresh mangoes are so delicious and the juice drips down your chin as you bite into this wonderful tropical fruit. Yes, I would love to have a mango tree in my backyard. And a papaya tree as well. YUMMY!!!!

Hope your day is filled with lots of juicy surprises, maybe even in your own backyard.

ta

EMPOWERED

No matter what happens, she knows she can withstand the tides that come. Even in a storm,
she has learned to stand tall and ride out the
high surf. In time, the waves settle down and she comes out into the sunshine feeling empowered.

I so admire strong women. We all know them, they seem to take life in stride, and no matter what happens, they walk with strength. Every forward, ever hopeful.

This assemblage started with a flatten can I found with circles printed in the perfect place for a woman's breasts. So I knew this would be an art piece about a strong woman, run over in life, but still persevering. I decided she would be in the ocean because I think of the ocean as a giver of life; a symbol of our journey through life. The buttons create her path along the beach and the waves are crashing around her. But she stands firm and determined. Her eye fixed on the path ahead. Hard to see in the photo, but I used a whale's eye under the glass- the all knowing and all seeing eye of wisdom. The words say: "With every wave, she became stronger".

I love this piece, and I love the message. I wish I could empower all women to remain strong no matter what life blasts them.

ta

LOVE GROWS HERE

With my garden calling me to come out and play, I am thinking of all the flowers that I am so anxious to plant. So here comes my garden muse
stepping in to remind me she is patiently waiting for me and the warm rocky mountain weather to descend on us. We get so itchy to plant this time of year, but experience tells us to wait till the end of May. It's really tough because it's so warm and lovely out and the threat of a hard frost seems so remote. But just when you test this, your tender new plants will get zapped. So patience is called for.

Her wings are terra cotta shards from a broken flower pot and the old water faucet handle with an old door handle plaque makes the angel complete with her whimsical glass slippers. The stems of the flowers are cut strips from an old rusty measuring tape.

It is always such FUN doing assemblage in mixed media. Re-purposing found objects has always been a real source of joy for me. It's magic when you slip into some creative playtime. I have done this kind of art before, but usually the old rusty finds are incorporated with earth tone colors. This time I used old with colorful colors and I like the results. Bright colors are so cheery and cheery is good now.

This will go into the line up for our local show for Wild Women.
ta

A FLOCK OF BIRDS

MORE PLEASE>>

Sometimes I am a tad excessive, but I am having lots of fun playing here. So!!! I am making a batch of these for the upcoming Wild Women Art Show. With the current weak economy, I am thinking I need to create some fun and inexpensive art. So these will be more of my hanging pieces. I have enough started here to make six of them. I think I am going to use some large stencils and do a letter on each set.. four letter words - one letter on each coaster.. then elaborate each letter. So from a distance you read VIEW then closer you see Vision Illuminates Enchantment's Wonder. I am using the inspiration for this from a set of cards I have. I love pulling cards everyday. I have 3-4 sets around various spots in the house. It's like a sip of inspiration and energy when you pull one.

So next post I should have these all done.. then I promise to move onto something new. But I refuse to quit listening to my new CD... I have been known to wear them out!!!!

tada!!!

PAINTING IN PARADISE

My daughter Stephanie posted this sweet video of Emalie painting. She LOVES to paint!!! There is nothing sweeter than watching a child create. This is my sweet little granddaughter Emalie painting outside in Hawaii.. what a lucky kid to live in paradise. Her little paint station out in the sweet tropical air and she is truly in PARADISE! Stephanie really encourages Emalie to do art whenever she wants. Always wonderful to see parents supporting creative energy in children. Yeah Stephanie!!! And look, Emalie even has some pink in her hair.. what you want to bet, Emalie got pink paint in her hair, so Stephanie swept up her hair in a quick do to get her hair out of range (hopefully) from the paint? She is just like her grandmother... I always end up with paint on my face and in my hair when I am painting monsters.

As adult artists, we strive to evolve past the "proper adult thinking" and allow our playful child to come into our art. Learning how to play again, allows us to truly let our creative muse come out uninhibited. That why it's so wonderful to have opportunities to play with our grandchildren. How blessed we are to share time with them. For those of you who have your grandchildren living close, count your blessings, because ours live too far away. sniff.

ta

MORE BIRDS AND BEADS AND SHELLS

I know, again. But I want to send this to a dear friend of mine. This might be a hard month for her, and was going to send a card. But then I decided I could make her one of my bird pieces. I like this one with the hanging twig. On the back of the bird circles, I painted flowers so if the circles turn there will be art on all sides. The strings of beads and shells just makes me happy.

I hope it does the same for her.

ta

BIRDS IN TREE

More art!!! Continuing with the fun of creating art on coasters, I used 5 coasters with more fabric collaged birds. Then they wanted to land on branches so I used a birch board for my canvas, creating lots of texture with some molding paste and acrylic paint. After deciding where the birds would go, I then painted the branches.

I also added a quote from Victor Hugo:

"Be as a bird perched on a frail branch that she feels bending beneath her, still she sings all the same knowing she has wings." I love this, it speaks to me of the necessity of knowing your own strength despite the world's challenges.

Then to add more whimsy and interest, I added the bead strings with a wooden egg covered in dictionary paper, and some feathers and twigs. Edging the sides of the birch board, I used some fabric strips just for interest from a side view.

Fun and more ways to use these free coasters in my art! ta for now

Here's a close up.

recycled art for mamas

I collect those cardboard coasters that they hand out at restaurants and bars. I love all the shapes and they are so much fun to use in my art. I started out by randomly applying masking tape to create some nice texture. Then I painted a base coat of acrylic paint. Next I cut out three bird shapes out of fabric and collaged them onto the coasters. Then the painted dictionary page wings and the words were also applied using gel medium. I then outlined the birds with a black watercolor pencil and then paint.

The edges of the coasters I highlighted using my oil pastel crayons. These are great because you can rub the pastel to blend it.. a little water will make the blending work even easier. The

polka dots next... plus the eyes and done! All it needed was the fabric strips to hang the art.

I love to create a unique greeting card that can be enjoyed as art past the original intention. And always upcycling makes it even more rewarding.

ta

APPLE BLOSSOMS

The apple tree is in full bloom.. you stand under the tree and it just buzzes with the bees gathering their harvest for honeymaking. My ART today was working in the yard. It's a cloudy, semi sprinkley kind of day. Cool to work in the yard. Lots to pull out from winter piling up.. leaves, grass, etc. Will be so nice when it's all done. Dan and I brought in 35 bags of bark mulch to layer under the fruit trees. It looks so much nicer and hopefully will last a few years.

I found a lovely garden angel today and decided she was going to grace our entry to our yard. She will stand there to bless us coming and going. I love the bird she is holding. I normally am not so gaga over a garden statue but she really grabbed me when I saw her. She just is so

peaceful and loving looking.

Okay back to more work in the garden.. a lovely way to spend the day.

ta