Dollar Store Find...A ColourArte Project

I used Primary Elements Artist Pigments, Primary Elements Clear Gloss Medium, and Radiant Gels Dimensional Paint from ColourArte products to paint feathers on electronic device covers, officially called "Tablet Sleeves."  

Click here to view the this free tutorial (and others) on the ColourArte Blog.

Click here for the YouTube Tutorial Video

 The covers are foam lined and I purchased them for $1.00 each at my local dollar store. Obviously they are intended for an Ipad or other tablet, but can be used for much more.  

Think: Photos, sketchpads, pencils, watercolors, books, travel receipts, etc.

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Meet Oklahoma Artist, Amanda Bradway

Began July 2015's First Friday Art Crawl at Zarrow in Tulsa, Oklahoma with an Oklahoma Impressionism Show, food, wine,  live music, and festivities.

Linda Ann Smith and Amanda Bradway at First Friday Art Crawl, July, 2015

Then down the street a couple of doors at 108Contemporary met Oklahoma City artist, Amanda Bradway.  LOVE LOVE LOVE what she does! 

Detail-Rites of Passage

Detail-Rites of Passage

Detail-Rites of Passage

Detail-Rites of Passage

Rites of Passage is one of Bradway's very impressive mixed media worksl

It was First Friday Art Crawl in Tulsa again last night and what a wonderful treat!  Checked in first at Zarrow to see an Oklahoma Impressionism show complete with food, wine, festivities, and music.

Into the Storm by Amanda Bradway

Angela Bradway discussing art with an interested patron.

Jewelry by Angela Bradway

Even had fashions to remember her works

Miami Tribe Powwow

I had a great time at the outdoor art show at the Miami Tribe Powwow in Miami, Oklahoma this weekend.  And for those of you who are not from Oklahoma...it is not pronounced like the city in Florida.  Here both the city and the tribe, Miami, is pronounced: my-yam-muh.

 I meant to take pictures but was very busy most of the time and I only managed to get the one above.  I sold this turtle drawing to a happy customer!  

I met folks from several tribes, states, and countries who came to Miami just for this event!  Everyone seemed so happy and it lifted my spirits that were a little low at the beginning of the event!!!

I'm thrilled to report that the children I met at the show were amazing.  They were well-behaved, appreciative of the art, slow to touch, and delightful conversationalists. 

Tabby, who had the sweetest spirit, and Cheyenne, the Miami princess, helped me unload my art from the car. Later Tabby braided my hair and shared some family history...Did you know that in the Miami tribe there are no cousins?  They consider each other sisters.

David was the grandson of one of the vendors,   Sorry to say that I did not make it over to her booth to tell her what a wonderful impression he made.  He was about 13 and shows promise for becoming an artist some day.   This handsome boy was kind, considerate, and smart! He even offered to find supplies for me along the riverbank! 

  One particular six year old,  Joslyn, watched me beading the wire end of my Fancy Feathers.  She was very patient and quiet...and then softly said, "I would like to make one of those."  There was such tenderness in that little voice.  I let her bead one of my paper feather creations, and her great grandmother decided to buy it for her.  It was not my intention to make a sale by showing the child how to place beads on a wire, but that act brought the sale of two more older children in the family who wanted to bead their own paper Fancy Feathers....all sweet beautiful kids.  

And I am not sure, but I think the lady who came up and bought 5 Fancy Feathers from my table was also a relative.  It pays to be nice to children!  

But be nice to them because they are our future, not for a sale!

Birdhouse Follow-Up

Remember the Steampunk Birdhouse that I made to donate to Habitat for Humanity's Silent Auction?  Just as a reminder, here is my donation:

Time Flies Steampunk by Linda Ann Smitth

The auction was a very successful fundraiser.  I want to share the variety that artists submitted for this worthy cause.  So take a look!

Crocheted Birdhouse by Tonya Smith

Handmade Clay by Misty Hendrix

Longbranch Saloon by Jerry Carlson

Swirls by Tana Washington

Spread Your Wings with Copper Roof by Tonya Smith

Flower Power with button roof by JoAnn DeShong

Climbing Flowers by Paula Hefley

S E Eagle by Kim Foster

Copper Flowers by Josh Bell

Whimsical Cats by JoAnn DeShong

Woodland by Jeff Polaseh

OU by Mary Horsechief

Trailing Flowers by E J Berry

Sequoyah by Mary Horsechief

Wood Nips by Jerry Carlson

Flowery Night Light by Virginia Stroud

Greedy Birds by Cat Lamb

I did not capture the name of this artist but it is a beautiful woodburned  Native American style birdhouse with a hummingbird on front.

Enchanted

ENCHANTED     Mixed Media on Canvas

A new box of goodies from the magical land of  ColourArte.com   appeared on my porch yesterday.
I think my Fairy Paint Mother delivered it!

 Most of you are probably aware that I am one of the very first members of the ColourArte design team.  (And very proud of that!)  :-)

Yesterday was my first experience with powdered pigments that I mix myself to make my paints.  Once I started, it was so difficult to quit.  You can mix Primary Elements with any water soluable liquid to turn it into a liquid paint form.  I played with water for a bit to make watercolors.

 Just so happens that I had some Mod Podge on my studio desk when these arrived.   So I spent the rest of the day, into the night experiementing with Primary Elements, Mod Podge, and water.  This composition "magically" appeared over an old canvas that I did not like and painted under.  I think I will keep it now!

As I painted I kept thinking, I should take some photos as I go, but I could not break myself from its mystic spell long enough to do so.

Needless to say, Primary Elements will become one of my staples in the studio, and I haven't even touched the surface of what they can do.

Oh my goodness.....I LOVE these pigments...so shimmery, and I can control the intensity!

Second Love

My dear friend, Candy Schuringa and her husband, own a lovely antique shop in Dewey, Oklahoma, called Second Love.  I visited her shop this week and found  gorgeous well-displayed high-end antiques.  Everything was beautiful, and I was thrilled to find the most gorgeous art dolls!  She has other Pepper Hume dolls in the shop, but I fell in love with this one!

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Isn't she beautiful?

I did a little online research and found a photo of Pepper Hume with this doll.  You can see it  here

http://www.dollworx.com/

The RUSTY TRIO OF 2014

One of my passions in art is to incorporate found objects. I confess that my affection for rust has found a huge space in my very overcrowded studio, but a select few have morphed into art works...

BUFFALO ROAMED

Ironically, this car hood  found on Rt. 66 is the ONLY found object that I have claimed and knew from the moment I saw it what I planned to do with it.  My immediate response to this hood cast aside on the road was how carelessly that people discard such items on our beautiful countryside. This is my statement that we should not find such debris, and that we would be better served to find our Oklahoma wildlife along these roadsides.

Here it is on my dinig table, where I spent five hours cleaning it.  

And here it is a few weeks later propped against the back of my pickup, ready to go to a Native American art show.

BEDTIME STORY

I found this child-sized bed headboard in a countryside creek bed.  A bed in a bed? Why do people dump their garbage in creeks...that has never made sense to me!

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Here it is finished with a snarling, salivating wolf.  A twofold purpose:  My wolf is angry about the litter and this is a reminder to be careful of the stories we tell our children when we tuck them into bed.  (Big bad wolf....now go to sleep, Junior.)

HORSE POWER

Perhaps some heavy roadway equipment ran over this item???  I found  this flattened rusty bucket on Highway 20  near Claremore, OK, the home of a very famous Oklahoman, Will Rogers.   It was clearly labeled "Butt Can" in white letters on both sides.  Such irony!...that this item was used to keep people from littering their cigarette butts, but later it became litter itself.  I'm sure if we could consult Will that he would have a humorous line about that!

I pondered and debateded about the rough surfaces on this found object and how I could incorporate them with wildlife...I thought about painting a spider its web,  a turtle, an eagle...

  Nothing seemed right until one of my fellow artists mentioned that this reminded him of an old feed bucket.  Frrom that moment on I couldn't see anything on this rusty can except a horse.  The rounded bottom of the can made a nice Native American shield which I painted with colors of  the Keetoowah Cherokee flag and embellished it with beadwork, jute, leather and feathers.  Feathers on the sheild came from an exotic animal rescue reserve.  My cousin provided the horsehair  from her three beautiful animals.  Thanks, Donna!

ZALLER ART SOCIETY

The three works above are currently displayed with ZALLER ART SOCIETY's fine art exhibit at the Student Union Gallery,  Tulsa Connunity College Southeast Campus,  through Jan.29, 2015, along with some of my other Native American influenced artwork.   My fellow artists are very talented...Great show...go see!