The Back Story

Tuesday, March 27, 2018

Folk Art Kitties

I had fun painting these cats on
blocks of wood on a previous post
and decided to paint some more. 

After drawing some cat patterns on wood,
my husband kindly cut them out for
me on our scroll saw and I got to work. 



I haven't signed this one yet
because I'm not sure if I'm finished. 


This one is definitely done
and ready to be varnished. 


I have them it a few different
sizes, so they'll be fun to work on. 

In the meantime I've got a larger
project looming before me that
I'll blog on in a future post. 

For now, it's back to work.

Hoping you're having a 
wonderful week so far!

Terri

Monday, March 19, 2018

ART~ Receiving, Creating, Mailing~ Love it all!

This sweet little trio arrived
in the mail over the weekend.

I'd participated in my first
Altered Art Ladies ATC swap
a few weeks ago.  It's been
such a fun experience. 

Steph did an exemplary job
hosting and I'm very grateful to her. 

She plans on hosting some more swaps
periodically during the year
if you'd like to check out her
inspiring blog here. 


I finished another skull
painting over the weekend. 

It gave my mind a bit of rest
after finishing my skyline paintings. 


Speaking of my skyline paintings,
I sold both of them! 

Thanking the Lord
for that blessing! 

If you'd like to see what
they looked like while they
were still works in progress,
you can see them here. 



My husband and I spent 
some time this weekend getting
them all protected and packaged
up for delivery to their new home
in Chicago. 

I was born in Chicago (as were my parents), 
and spent the first 21 years of my life there. 

It'll always have a special place in my heart. 

That's why I called them "Sweet Home Chicago". 

Hoping you have a wonderful week! 

Terri





Monday, March 12, 2018

Folk Art Chicago Skyline WIPS

 A dear relative of mine asked
me if I could paint a 
picture of the Chicago skyline
in my folk art style for her. 

I told her I'd be happy
to give it whirl, and she could
decide (under no obligation)
if it's what she had in mind. 

This has been an EXTREMELY
tough challenge for me
over the past couple of weeks. 

It's not a subject that
would ever pop into my head if I was 
sitting around one day wondering
what to paint. 

I gravitate toward "fluffy" (cats, animals,
flowers, etc. . .), or "funky" (skulls, collage, 
Mexican inspired pieces, etc. . .). 

I ended up painting two scenes.

This first one is at daybreak
with a more realistic configuration
of the actual buildings. 


The next one is a night time scene where I 
took some key buildings and lined them up
side by side. 



I'm so grateful for the opportunity
to stretch and grow and step
out of my comfort zone. 

I messaged her with these pictures and
thanked her for the gift of "growing"
through this experience. 

There's still a bit of polishing to do on both
of them, but this is the gist and I've set
them aside for now. 

What's my first piece I chose
to work on after this mental challenge?

It's a wood butterfly my husband put
together for me (cue the Smurf theme song here). 

Wishing you all a satisfyingly productive week!

Terri <3




Friday, March 2, 2018

New Skull Series

I'm working on a new painting
that's rather stressful and
decided to paint some more
skulls as a brief diversion from that. 

These almost seem
to paint themselves, and
the fun thing about them
is that they seem to 
be morphing a bit. 

I like seeing their evolution.

In fact, I'm looking at one
of the original skulls I painted
(it's hanging in my art room)
and thinking about how
much I want to sand and repaint it. 

That'll have to wait for later. 

These are the four I completed
this week. 






I've finished 8 so far and my
new goal is 12. 

Some people may find them
scary, but they make me smile.

Thanks for stopping by. 

Hoping you have a wonderful weekend!