"Saint Hermenegildo" by Corrado Giaquinto

I am working on a large (to me) painting trying to improve my skills.  I decided to copy a piece I saw when my museum had an exhibit called "Heart of Spain" several years ago.  I fell in love with "Saint Hermenegildo" by Corrado Giaquinto.  I have been studying the works of the old masters and when I read that all of them would copy other artists' works when they were starting out, I decided to do the same.  If it's good enough for the masters then I should follow in their footsteps, relatively speaking, of course.  There is someone that has been giving me inspiration, I am having so much fun!

Stage 1 - Roughed in the major areas, always checking placement

Stage 2 - Start filling in major blocks of color

Stage 3 - Adding more blocks of color

Stage 3 - Close up

Art Show 11 November 2010 at Gallery House, Alexandria, Louisiana

Gallery House is having their Fall "Louisiana Artists Show" on 11 November 2010.  I finished these two angels and am submitting them along with the queen series I completed.  The one in red/green is "Seek Ye First" and the white/gold is "Peace I Leave With You".

They are both done in acrylics, pens, 16x20 inches.  I wrote out my feelings and experiences with angels on the wings of the "Peace..." and a favorite song on "Seek...".  Therapeutic and fun at the same time, what a concept!

I have a couple more angels to finish and will upload them when they are completed.   I love deadlines!

Back to Houston... Marathon News

Well, shuckins, it looks like we are heading back to MD Anderson in the next day or two. AC is producing "blasts" which are an indicator the cancer is back. His labs last week showed 6% and the labs today are at 24%. He feels lousy, poor thing. I am trying to remain chipper, but it is like a huge dark cloud hanging over us.

I tried to spend some time painting yesterday and today, but just can't seem to keep a thought in my head and find myself staring at the canvas like a moron. I did get an email from AC's nephew-in-law in Houston that he is running a marathon in January and is going to be running in AC's name and he set up a website for donations and to keep folks up to date with his training:

http://www.active.com/donate/llshoustonmarathon/4unclebuck

We were so touched! To think that someone thought of that... would I have been so kind? I would like to think so, but... it is an incredible gift to see people react to AC's illness in a manner like that. It would be so easy to just wallow in self-pity, but to know that there are people getting involved, trying to do anything that will help, just makes me cry. Big time. Wow.

I think I will bite the bullet and watch HGTV with AC tonight. I can't stand watching other people work on their homes when I could be doing something, preferably art, but I want to snuggle with my honey and just hide from the world for a couple of hours, even if it's just watching someone else paint. A bedroom. Or a bathroom. An awful color that lacks imagination. *grin*

Rolodex Art

Besides painting crows all day long and moderating my sites, I have fallen in love with trading rolodex cards on ATCsForALL.com . The fact that this kind of trade is "useful" helps me justify my new addiction. I am exchanging names and addresses of members of the site, so when we trade art, I already have an original 3x5 inch piece of their art style. I love that - here are some I have made:

I bought a new tray holder for my rolos because the round one kept getting hung up with all the fibers and chunky stuff. Of course, that meant I had to alter it! So I did. I used a bunch of layers of acrylics with tons of varnish so it would look like it had been made of ceramic. I am pleased with how it turned out. It sits next to my monitor so I can see it 24/7.

I love my rolos!

Ode To Blogging

You know what? I am thoroughly enjoying getting back into the blog routine. As I attack this site with renewed interest, I am reading others' blogs as I add them to my list and it is fascinating, fun, and the art has been terrific. For the last couple of days I have read how to cook, who was juried into a show, who loves the color purple more than anyone I know, who is trying a new art technique and the list goes on. I consider these blogs a great way to get to know people on a more personal level, people I have "known" for 2 years now and would happily fly to meet them for a 'slumber party artfest' if given the chance. Talk about having your cake and eat it, too!
Ahh... life is good when you have friends.

My Crows Art Opportunity...

I have an opportunity that doesn't come along every day...

I got a call from the gallery owner that has my work here in my city (Glenda at Gallery House) and she said an agent/rep walked in, walked straight to my 'crow series' paintings and told her to call me. He wants me to submit larger pieces, at least 24x30 or 30x40 inch (since mine were smaller), and he would take them in to review and see if the company would represent me. They sell giclee's on canvas of the artists' works that average $800-2,300 a piece. I recognized a couple of the names of some of the artists because we were all members of CAG (Contemporary Artist's Guild) at the same time.

                      

I went back to the gallery the next day to talk with Glenda personally and get more info on this agent. (You can never have too many details, right?) It turns out he stopped in front of my wall, said "hmmm" a lot, then when she asked what he thought, he said "I like the painted pieces a lot, but I don't like the other "stuff" on them (my altered pieces glued to the canvas). She told him I was playing around with altered art and he replied "well, I like this style (the crows) and her illustrative style (my pen & ink & watercolors) and I can sell her work like these (the crows) if she would just stick to it". Um............... I don't have to be told twice! lol 

I guess this means I have finally found my niche. The crow series were some of the quickest pieces I have ever done ('God' took 7 months) and I was in such a state of frantic bliss when painting them, if you know what I mean? Is this my big break?
 
 I have started working on the paintings already and am really enjoying myself. I love slapping paint on the canvases and just letting my muse take over. Edit to Add: I just found out from the gallery owner that my "3 Crows" just sold! Woot!!!!

Life Has Been Busy With A Diagnosis of Leukemia

Life has been busy!
My husband was diagnosed with (CML) Leukemia in April '08 and to say it has been life altering would be an understatement. For 3 solid months I was never in my studio, just taking care of him as best I could, living at MD Anderson and traveling back and forth. My forum friends were a real comfort to me during this really hard time, sending RAK's, phoning me to find out how we were doing, and generally keeping in touch. It made a world of difference in my world. Because I was never online, I had no idea what was going on, so they were my link to the outside world. Inky, PurpleRealm, Jean, Seraphic, ArteDar and Adriayna kept me updated or just called to give a hug over the phone, and that was a good thing. My close friends at home have been great, too, calling or emailing to see if we need anything, not wanting to be in the way or interrupt us. I need that hand reaching out to remind me not to hibernate so long in my studio. I get on the computer or start a painting and hours go by and I need to start thinking about making dinner. I am as shocked as anyone that knows me, I am cooking? I know, right? Of course I fry too much, but that is what I am better at... He is on what I call Super Drug #2 which is more specific to his type of leukemia and seems to be working on a chromosome level. We still travel to MD Anderson on a regular basis but he has started going back to work for meetings a couple of days a week when his stamina enables him to go. Life is nearly back to normal. Well, more like life is calm.

I had been consumed with helping set up and manage/moderate my new site that I am a co-owner of. The old ATC trading site that I was a moderator on was closed very suddenly by the owner, so a few of us scrambled to get another one set up. It took hard work, little sleep, countless hours and devotion of the old mods (and some new ones) to get the new place up and running. We managed to keep folks in communication in a Flickr group while we were setting it up, and now we have over 1,000 members! The name = ATCsForALL.com. We trade ATC's, altered art, Inchies, Chunky Book pages, postcards, recipe cards, rolodex cards, journal and altered books, you name it, we trade and swap it! I trade art at another juried ATC site that is mainly hand-drawn-painted called IllustratedATCs. The artists there are spectacular, and many of the artists on my list of fav's are there. Check it out!

The Start of Our Life-Changing Journey

21 April 2008, a day I will never forget.

My husband A. C. was diagnosed with CML (Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia) on Monday, 21 April 2008 by our dear friend, Trevor From, M.D.  A. C. hadn't felt well for several weeks thinking it must be a bad case of the flu.   After traveling to Houston for Mimi and Scott's new baby's baptism and his only getting worse by the minute, I insisted he see our friend and A. C. called the office and was seen very quickly.

Trevor saw him, drew blood, then shortly diagnosed him. What a shock! We sat there in disbelief.  He said that was all he could tell us, it was not his specialty, and asked A. C. which oncologist he wanted to take care of him.   I think that is when it hit me over the head, hard. Oncologist?  What? A cancer doctor?   Are you kidding me?  This isn't happening... just kept running through my head.

Trevor immediately admitted him to A. C.'s own hospital, Rapides Regional Medical Center, where he underwent tests for several days.  A. C. started swelling up, his legs, his stomach, his arms, everything just got huge.  They said his spleen was 3 times its normal size, his blood pressure was getting higher and he would not eat much of anything.  It turns out, he doesn't remember much of anything, either.  He acted coherant, but 10 minutes later he wouldn't remember a conversation he had just had.

It was only when on about the 3rd day (I don't remember details like dates very well during this time) my rector, Fr. Fred insisted I talk with the oncologist about moving him to MD Anderson in Houston.  I assumed docs would do the next step on their own without prompting.  I talked to A. C.'s COO Cheryl Wilson and an RN that I adore, Beverly Lowentritt, who counseled me and said they would set up a conversation for me with the oncologist. Apparently they talked to him at length, he walked in and said "I think we need to transfer him to MD Anderson".

That next Friday they transported A. C. by ambulance, he was too sick and swollen with edema to fly on his back in a fixed-wing aircraft (plane or helicopter) so a dear friend, Bulldog (John) went with him because I had to stay and wait for my daughter Shannon and my sister Carolyn to arrive at the airport that afternoon and evening.

Here is what I have been doing lately (this is the original post, I have added the details of A.C.'s illness at a later date):

I started my own Etsy shop where I make and sell Acrylic Stamps - it is a blast! I either use my own drawings or vintage photographs from my hubby's side of the family - there are a ton of them. I have made several sales. Check it out - www.LisaBuchanan.Etsy.com



The little girl is my grandmother, circa 1893 when she was 3 years.

I also sell note cards of my work and just started selling Art Pins that I make. I joined an Art Pin swap and fell in love - I could not stop making them, I was hooked!

Journal - Fabric Honey's - Fabric Journal Cover

"FABRIC HONEYS"
Fabric Journal Cover
I joined a new Round Robin for Fabric Journals. Our name for our specific group is "Fabric Honeys". We limited our sizes to 8x8 inches and have folks from as far away as England and Australia. My cover consists of fabric that is sewn in a picture and has felt interiors with buttonholes to attach each separate page's fabric ties. This is all so new to me! I haven't sewn in years, but I am loving (nearly) every minute!



"Sign In Page"
Fabric Journal
This is the page where all the different Artist's sign their name, much like a Table Of Contents. I used Fabric Paper and printed this out on my computer. I love this stuff! It is so cool - I plan on printing out tons of images on it.






"Title Page"
Fabric Journal
I used the Fabric Paper again to print out the clip art I found of an old treadle sewing machine. It is perfect for this page. I used ribbon to cover all my sewing machine mistakes, such as uneven bobbin tension, etc. I admit, it's been a while since I have sewn and it shows!









"Kitty"
Fabric Journal
Collection of vwozniak at ATCards.com
My first official page for this group. I had a blast making this. It presented a lot of challenges, like working with pom-pom ribbon! It was very time consuming, but that was only because I didn't know what the heck I was doing! The girls in the group have been so helpful, answering all my questions and even gave me directions on how to use the glued-paper-backing stuff so you are literally glueing the pieces using an iron before you start all the sewing. Who knew? I didn't!!




"Stop and Smell The Roses"
Fabric Journal
Collection of Adriayna at ATCards.com
Adriayna's journal was round, which was a real challenge. She had included some vintage buttons to add to our pages for her journal. I loved sewing this page. I printed the winged cuties on fabric paper, cut them out, then adhered them with iron-on fusible backing, then attached all the other elements. Isn't it cute?




"Flower Babies"
Fabric Journal
Collection of Pippin at ATCards.com
I used the same technique with this page for Pippin. Printed out the images on fabric paper, fused them, then added stitching to all the elements to make sure they stayed attached.






"Cutie"
Fabric Journal
Collection of Barefootchef at ATCards.com
I had some lace that once adorned my daughter's nightgown when she was little, so I decided to use it to trim up this adorable face.









"Artfest Slumber Party January 2007"
Fabric Journal
Collection of Seraphic at ATCards.com
I had a slumber party dedicated to art and a couple of my online friends came and stayed a long weekend at my house - Seraphic, ArteDar, and Sopranospirit. For 4 days all we did was paint, play, eat, got a little sleep, altered items, painted some more, spilled micro-beads, went shopping at Hobby Lobby, ate crawfish, pizza, slept a little more, ate bienets (sp?), and created until it was time for them to catch their planes. We talked by video chat with PurpleRealm, who lives in Perth, Australia every night so she could feel like she was participating. It was a hoot!

Altered Tin - Mardi Gras Altered Tin

Altered Tin:

"Mardi Gras"
Altered Tin
I joined a swap at ATCards.com for Altered Tins. I had so much fun! Darlene Mariano was my inspiration. She taught me how to rust them and said that I should just envision what I would like to be surprised with finding inside. Living in the Mardi Gras state makes that easy!

Altered Tins

Altered Tins:

"By The Sea"
Altered Tin
Top and Inside View
I love taking a plain tin, rust and paint it, then turn it into something else. This one called out to me to be vintage with goodies inside that might have been found at the beach.

Journal Spreads - My Angel, Tuscany Landscape and Woodland Fair Journal Spreads

Journal Spreads

"My Angel" Circle Journal Page
I loved painting this for Magpie. It is done in acrylics and was a true joy. I based this off an image in my head of what my personal guardian angel might look like. It went so quickly, I was almost sorry it was over.


"Tuscany Landscape" Circle Journal Page
This 8x8 inch piece was done in acrylics for Seraphic at ATCards.com. I had several pictures from my trip to Italy with friends a couple of years ago. It was hard to pick which image to paint. Their scenery is so incredible!


"Woodland Fairy"
The theme of the journal was "Fantasy". It is 8x8 inches, done in acrylics after a children's book illustration for Amerasu at ATCards.com.


"Woodland Fairy" Circle Journal Spread
This is the descriptive part of the spread on the left side.

Altered Book - Geisha, Secret Door, Celtic Birds, Cockatoos and Castle Journal Spreads

"Geisha" Altered Book Spread
Mixed Media
This was a fun spread to work on using PearlEx powders, clip art and to try my hand at folding without smooshing it too badly! Done for Carol Schmidt at ATCards.com.


"Secret Door To Where?" Altered Book Spread
Painted in acrylics and Prismacolor Markers.
This was done for Adriayna's Theme "Doorways and Passages" at ATCards.com.
Naturally one doorway led to another...

"Secret Door To Where? - 2nd Spread" Altered Book Spread
Painted in acrylics and Prismacolor Markers.
This was the 2nd spread for Adriayna's Theme "Doorways and Passages" at ATCards.com


"Celtic Birds" Journal Page
Painted in acrylics, taken after a stained glass window, 8x8 inches, for Flashviv at ATCards.com


"Cockatoos" Journal Page
Painted in acrylics, taken after a stained glass window, 8x8 inches, for Flashviv at ATCards.com


"Castle" Journal Page
Painted in acrylics, 8x8 inches, for Frobel at ATCards.com

Journal - Sisters In Art Cover of Journal

"Sisters In Art" - Circle Journal Group
This is the cover of a circle journal I made using collaged elements - vintage photographs, stamping, written names of the members of the circle journal group. I added beads and fibers to the ribbons holding the book together in the binding. Tabs separate the page protectors that hold the artwork from each of the artists. Inside are directions for the theme of the book, room for each artist's signature and a little ''about themselves" and holders for the Artist Trading Cards they make to go in the book.

Journal - Art From The Heart Journal Cover

"Art From the Heart"
Journal Cover
I made this journal from thick fiberboard and added tabs to separate the pages. The cover is collaged with vintage letters and postcards and stamps. I stamped the title of the journal circle group I am involved in. We pass our books to each other every month and at the end of the year, we will have a 2-page spread from everyone in our group. I joined several of these circles - they are very addicting. You get nice sized art from folks all over the world - what's not to like?

Domino - Vintage Woman Domino Necklace

"Vintage Woman"
Sharpies on Domino - necklace
Collection of Ronnel Swetlick

Domino - Stormy Sky Domino Necklace

Domino - Stormy Sky

"Stormy Sky"
Sharpies on Domino - necklace

Domino - Renoir Altered Domino Necklace

Domino - Renoir

"Renoir"
Sharpies on Domino - necklace

Domino - Munch Girl Domino Necklace

"Munch Girl"
Sharpies on Domino - necklace
Collection of Jennifer Burns

Domino - Cabin In The Woods Domino Necklace

''Cabin In The Woods''
Sharpies on Domino - necklace

ATC - Landscape

ATC Landscape:

ATC - 'Landscape #1'
This is an ATC I made using acrylic paint. I wanted to see if I could paint 'tiny'. It is really just a quick study...