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

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