Contemporary Abstract Pendants

I've been trying to catch up on work in the studio these days and have finally been able to create a few more art pendants. I guess I've been on an abstract kick, these two pendants are abstracts painted and fused onto glass.

I also really enjoy shopping for my jewelry creations.....these new and elegant satin rope cords just arrived in the mail the other day.

I have a contemporary garden painting on 3 gallery canvases that I've been wanting to finish as well. I'm at the point where it is basically done, all that remains for me to do is finish up the last few details and then paint the sides. What is the hold up you might ask?? Well, it is just one of those things, sometimes when I put something down for a while, I just don't feel like picking it up again right away. Today I told myself that I really have to though because at some point you realize that if you have to dust a painting (because it has been sitting so long in the same spot) it is time to do something about it and get it finished.

So that is where I'm at in the land of artwork these days and that is my next goal, to get that painting done and up in my shop. http://www.artfulcreations.etsy.com/

A New Passion-Hand Painted Puzzle Pendants

I didn't really think it was possible but it seems to be, I've found a new pendant addiction....puzzle pendants. It all started when I was wondering what to do with 2 large puzzles we've put together over the past couple of years. I didn't want to throw them away, nor did I want to keep them so, I decided to recycle them and paint puzzle pendants.

The prep work on these is a bit time consuming as I reinforce them to give them lots of strength
and get the surface ready to accept paint.

I'm definately addicted to the process though because last night I woke up in the wee hours and found myself coming up with new designs in my mind for my next set of puzzle pendants.

They are so much fun and of course, the design is dictated by the shape of the puzzle pieces. Each and every one are unique, which lends itself to designs that are really fun. These are my first 2 and I have more to come. These are in my Ruby Lane shop: http://www.artfulcreations.rubylane.com/ . Enjoy.

New Pendant Designs - Painting Up A Storm

I hope everyones holiday was a wonderful one......I really enjoyed my time away and it enabled me to accomplish a lot of painting, both jewelry and canvas work but I missed blogging and connecting with my friends out there in blog land.

I can hardly believe the holiday season is here.....(I think I'm in denial) I feel like summer just ended yesterday. I've been painting so many new pendant designs and having a lot of fun with them.

While I've painted a couple of glass and sand dollar pendants, I've mostly been running a muck with painted wooden pendants. They remind me very much of painting on larger pieces of wood, when I was creating welcome plaques, only these of course, are small wearable miniature pieces of art.

It is a surface that allows me to get really creative and try new things I might not have tried jumping into before. Some are impressionist in style like the one above, while others are contemporary or even zen.

I've added colored necklaces to some of my pendants to coordinate with their colors. This really makes the colors pop out like the yellow contemporary garden above.

This is the character for "Eternity" and I'm calling this one a zen pendant. I've made 2 so far but hope to create more in upcoming weeks.

Some of the necklaces, like the one above, have silver or gray beads added to them to create lots of sparkle and shine and give the piece extra dimention.

These contemporary white poppies are set against a heavily textured background, a technique I was experimenting with that I will definately repeat in the future.

I hope you've enjoyed the latest round of pendant creations, I'll be back later this week to show my latest canvas painting. These pieces are on my ETSY site: http://www.artfulcreations.etsy.com/ .

Inspirations For Wearable Art.....

I've been busy painting more wooden and sand dollar pendants this past week, trying to stock up on art for the holidays in my Ruby Lane shop. I was looking at photos of my purple Bearded Iris collection that blooms each May and decided to create an abstract pendant on wood, using that theme. The above is my abstract purple Iris.

I'm really enjoying painting in miniature on wood, it is a great surface to work with and has endless possibilities. I'm adding silver beads on each wooden pendant necklace and I think they set off the design very nicely. I'll be looking for beads in multi-colors for the future.

A freeform puffy heart painted in magenta on a sand dollar.

I've become very inspired by dark colors these days, sometimes being the main surface color and other times this being the color of the centerpiece of the painting. I had that in mind with the above wreath pendant.

I'm enjoying the abstract paintings very much....and can I help it if I end up using a lot of my favorite colors....purple and blue.

Looking back through all my photographs over the last few years, I'm always inspired to paint from nature. Both of these pendants were created from butterfly and rose photos, with a heavy dose of imagination added into the mix.

Most of these pieces can be found on my ETST shop: http://www.artfulcreations.etsy.com/ .

Hand Painted Wooden Pendants...

My first batch of wooden art pendants are finished and ready to go.

Remember what I started with.....a batch of unfinished wooden rectangles I received a couple of weeks ago in the mail, in other words, a blank canvas.

So all those endless possibilities turned into the pieces you see here, at least the first 5 anyway.

I have a new idea I would like to try for my next batch of wooden pendants, I'm not sure this design twist will work yet but I've got to try so, I'll see how it plays out.

The pendants pictured are being added to my ETSY site: www.artfulcreations.etsy.com

I'll keep you posted on the next batch and we'll see if my little twist of an idea works out.

Inspiration In Unexpected Places....

I've been busily working in my studio since I've returned from my trip....my time at Mohonk inspired me to paint....paint.....paint and in addition to finishing a canvas painting I had in the works, I've finished several glass art pendants as well.

On top of the fact that I love to "paint small", pendants have another source of enjoyment for me, they give me ideas for canvas creations believe it or not! I have several that I've enjoyed painting so much that I want to re-create them on canvas. I love the fact that no matter what kind of painting, designing, crafting or creating you do, inspiration can come from anywhere.

So maybe that should be the thought for this week on my blog, something to keep in mind when you are creating, no matter what kind of creating you do...........don't limit your inspiration or where it comes from. Keep an open mind and you might find it comes from the most surprising places.

I guess for me, this week anyway, that means pendants!

As far as new possibilities go, look what I received in the mail last week....some lovely unfinished wooden rectangles that would be perfect for pendants. I wanted to expand what I offer my customers which right now is painted, fused glass and sand dollar pendants so I thought designing these blank wooden pieces for pendants, would be a perfect addition.

The first 5 wooden pendants just emerged from my basement this morning. No, I didn't paint them down there, they were designed and painted in my studio but they did decend into the basement for a shiny, laquer spray coating to protect the design. I just brought them upstairs a few moments ago. I'll have to show some photos of them when they are finished and ready.

In the meantime, the glass art pendants above are being added to my Ruby Lane shop:

www.rubylane.com/shops/artfulcreations

New Art Pendants......

I'm finally back again, atleast I feel that way....after 5 weeks of being under the weather with hives, a span of time I now lovingly refer to as "The hell of my life", I'm back to normal and feeling great. Feeling like myself means I'm back in the studio painting up a storm again, just starting to get things going by finishing a new contemporary multi-canvas tree-scape and starting work on more pendants. I'm trying at this point to get ready for the holiday season ahead, shocking to think it will be here before we know it. I started back to work with a custom Hummingbird pendant. This is one of my favorites, I love these beautiful birds and I love the colors of this particular pendant.

I have a lot of fun painting the abstract pieces......"Rainbow" above and "Pretty In Pink" below.

I've been having a great time experimenting with fused glass as well...."Nighttime Poppies" above is one of my favorites.

The onlyl part I have a horrible time with is the waiting period on each piece. The colors on the back and front are fused to the glass so once I create the background, I have to wait 24 hours or so before I can heat the glass. Do I always do this......No, not really, sometime I cheat and bake them ahead of schedule. I really need to force myself to wait though, as they come out better when I stick to the prescribed waiting time.

"Impressionist Garden" is above and this piece is "Blue Sky Garden" because of the blue background, it reminds me of a sunny day garden.

There are really no limits to the possibilities.....whether a garden in spring, like above or a custom order purple Thistle pendant below.

"Contemporary Tulip" and "Through The Trees" below are more paintings on sand dollars.

I hope you've enjoyed the new wearable art pendants.....everyone stay well and enjoy the lovely weather. Most of these pieces are now available on my ETSY shop at:

www.artfulcreations.etsy.com

On another note, I would like to mention my friend Barbara Jacksier, who just published a beautiful book "Waterside Cottages" and launched a brand new website and internet shop at:

http://www.watersidestyles.com/

If you have a minute, stop by and say hello and check out her brand new book and website.