I really ran a muck since my last post, I finished another jewelry box. This one I will be listing in my ETSY shop.
The star of this box is a butterfly that is perched on top of some burgandy, pink and yellow flowers.
This box opens to reveal a fabric lining, just as the brides box did. Rather then a curved horizontal cut, this one has a beautifully done straight cut. I have to thank Corinne for the beauty of these cuts because if she didn't do such a wonderful job with that part of it, it wouldn't look good no matter what subject matter was painted on it. Here you can see a close up of the hinge area.
I painted the whole box light pink, green & white, then built my design from there. The funny part way, I meant to leave it like the brides box that I painted, with the bottom half of the egg left its natural color. This however is where your best planned ideas go wrong. I was a bit sloppy with applying color to the top of the box, I really ended up having quite a bit of paint on the bottom half. I thought, hey no problem, I'll just wash it off and clean the bottom half up. Well, what a surprise, water, baby wipes, alcohol not even Goo Gone (which gets everything off any surface by the way) would work on this box. Turns out the shell is that heavily textured that, once you get too much paint on it, forget it, it's not coming off. This is where you have to be flexible in art and go with the flow. So, I decided that the whole box should be painted that base color, and so it was.
I also carried the design from the top half, to below the opening of the box on the bottom half. I really feel the design flows a lot better that way rather then forcing it to stay in one area. I really struggled with this box too....who knows why but it took me forever to get drawn out just the way I wanted it to be. Once it was though, I was able to dive right in and paint. From there on in it went pretty fast.
**I've decided that around mid month, each month, I'm going to be doing an "In The Spotlight" post on my blog. Here I will be featuring an artist whose work I love and greatly admire. I've got a long list of all different kinds of artists and craftspeople I plan on asking so I hope it will be a very varied display of work. I'll be posting my first artist next week so stay tuned. I hope you will all enjoy discovering some new and beautiful art work.
I really ran a muck since my last post, I finished another jewelry box. This one I will be listing in my ETSY shop.
The star of this box is a butterfly that is perched on top of some burgandy, pink and yellow flowers.
This box opens to reveal a fabric lining, just as the brides box did. Rather then a curved horizontal cut, this one has a beautifully done straight cut. I have to thank Corinne for the beauty of these cuts because if she didn't do such a wonderful job with that part of it, it wouldn't look good no matter what subject matter was painted on it. Here you can see a close up of the hinge area.
I painted the whole box light pink, green & white, then built my design from there. The funny part way, I meant to leave it like the brides box that I painted, with the bottom half of the egg left its natural color. This however is where your best planned ideas go wrong. I was a bit sloppy with applying color to the top of the box, I really ended up having quite a bit of paint on the bottom half. I thought, hey no problem, I'll just wash it off and clean the bottom half up. Well, what a surprise, water, baby wipes, alcohol not even Goo Gone (which gets everything off any surface by the way) would work on this box. Turns out the shell is that heavily textured that, once you get too much paint on it, forget it, it's not coming off. This is where you have to be flexible in art and go with the flow. So, I decided that the whole box should be painted that base color, and so it was.
I also carried the design from the top half, to below the opening of the box on the bottom half. I really feel the design flows a lot better that way rather then forcing it to stay in one area. I really struggled with this box too....who knows why but it took me forever to get drawn out just the way I wanted it to be. Once it was though, I was able to dive right in and paint. From there on in it went pretty fast.
**I've decided that around mid month, each month, I'm going to be doing an "In The Spotlight" post on my blog. Here I will be featuring an artist whose work I love and greatly admire. I've got a long list of all different kinds of artists and craftspeople I plan on asking so I hope it will be a very varied display of work. I'll be posting my first artist next week so stay tuned. I hope you will all enjoy discovering some new and beautiful art work.
23 comments:
Ruth...the egg is absolutely beautiful!
Priscilla
That jewelry box is absolutely beautiful! Just gorgeous!!!
Gorgeous as usual Ruth!! I love the way you paint
JO
Beautiful work! Looking forward to seeing some of your featured artists as well!
blessings,
kari & kijsa
I echo that sentiment, it is absolutely beautiful!
Thanks Ladies, glad you liked the jewelry box...As I mentioned, it sure gave me a hard time but all seemed to turn out well in the end, which I guess is all that matters.
Nice to meet you Kari & Kijsa, I'm off to visit your blog now.
Another lovely piece! Nice work!
Ruth, another beautiful job! I liked the fact that you ended up painting the whole egg with the base coat. And I love the butterfly. Looking forward to your featured artist post each month too. I saw a black squirrel when we were in the Northwoods of Wisconsin this summer and I have seen white squirrels in the little town of Brevard in the mountains of North Carolina. I wish the gray squirrels we have here would stay out of my pansies. LOL Have a great day.
That is beautiful, Ruth! The surface layer almost looks like an abalone shell. It glows!
Hi Stephanie, Lynn & Linda..thanks, glad you liked the newest jewelry box.
It's so funny Lynn, I never meant to paint the whole box like that but, turned out to be one of those things that I think really did work out for the best in this case.
Another lovely jewel box..it is Gorgeous!
You do such beautiful work!
Cat
Beautiful Ruth! Is that what is called a "happy accident"? :) The egg looks seamless this way...very lovely!
Ruth these are truly gorgeous. You do such beautiful work! I finally got around to answering your awesome scrap booking question on my blog. Thanks so much for asking, and your comments. xoxo
Thanks Cat, Suzanne & Betty Jo. That is funny that everyone likes the box painted on both halves. I happy art accident.
You do such absolutely beautiful work! I love this one!
Thanks IT, for the lovely compliment. I wish you all the best with your new ETSY shop.
Hi Ruth,
I am amazed by how much you have accomplished since my last visit. I love your butterfly jewelry box - it is exquisite. The butterfly is so cute. What a wonderful treasure.
Your Bride Box will make a wonderful keepsake for a new Bride. I am in awe of your painting ability!
Thanks Kate. Funny, sometimes I feel like I really drag my feet with things or else, I have a string of days in a row where I don't accomplish much because I'm not in the artistic zone. Glad to see that maybe I really am getting things done. : )
Amazing that you can get such a lustrous pearlescent look to the paint. You did such a wonderful job designing and painting the egg. Must be difficult to paint on a curving surface?
Ruth, this is just beautiful. You truly do amazing work.
Thanks Toni, glad you like the butterfly jewelry box.
Ki, to answer your question...while sometimes it can be a challenge to paint on a smaller and curved surface, the most challenging factor with the Emu egg surface is the wonderful texture that it has. While I love the texture and think it adds so much to the look and feel of the egg, it is harder to paint on. Especially when I'm in the drawing on of the design phase, getting detail is difficult with such a heavily textured area.
Oh so pretty! You do such lovely detail Ruth!
Thanks so much Jenny.
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