Sitting Pretty Monarch Butterfly

Another month has slipped by and I'm not really sure where all the time went. I've been working on some new canvases and making some changes in my marketing as well. The above is entitled "Sitting Pretty" and is a monarch butterfly painted against an abstract background. I'm in the process of painting some spring and summer themes at the moment and hope to finish up with those soon.

I love painting butterflies, all kinds of course but my favorites are the Monarchs. I find myself drawn to them again and again and somehow, they always seem to end up on my canvas.

All year I review butterfly photos that I've taken in the spring and summer to decide which beauties to paint. If you love to paint nature subjects, I highly recommend running around with your camera to capture your favorites on film, they will provide you with inspiration all year long.

A Little Autumn Whimsy......

My latest vintage ceiling tin was created by request, for a very special reason but more on that in the month of Oct.

I was asked to create a piece that not only said "autumn" but had a touch of Halloween to it as well. I had a couple of ideas in mind for this piece but quickly narrowed it down once I knew the feeling the tin needed to convey. I really wanted this piece to be all about whimsy, hence the name "Autumn Whimsy" Anyway, with that in mind, I knew I had to use my little Chickadee friend and this time, I decided that he should be perched on a lovely orange pumpkin. For a pinch of whimsy, I added a little witch's hat to his head.

For the background I wanted to create almost a grainy effect if I possibly could so I tried out a few different techniques to see if I could achieve that idea.

The leaves I wanted to make almost foil like in appearance, almost as if they are made of delicate colored foil that could crumble in your hand if you are not careful.

The autumn twigs were painted in on one of the very last steps and I think, connect the dots of this theme very well.

This piece and some home decor products made from the image, will soon be listed on my ETSY site.... http://www.artfulcreations.etsy.com/ .