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"Last One From The Tree"

7" x 12" acrylic on canvas

available in my Etsy Shop here

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving out there. We had a really nice few days. My Dad was in town and it was so great to be able to spend some time with him. James cooked Thanksgiving dinner and it...was...awesome!

News from the Abby Creek Etsy Shop...shipping within the U.S. is free on all artwork until December 1st. All you have to do is use Code FREESHIP when you check out. I also just relisted my painting, "Last One From The Tree" with a special holiday price.

Back soon with some great exhibit news! Have a great Monday!

Combining Still Life and Abstract

"Oranges in a White Bowl"
8" x 8" acrylic and collage on canvas
Prints available for purchase here on Imagekind.com

I'm continuing to experiment with different styles and combinations in my work. I decided to combine still life and abstract elements this time using lots of texture.

I was inspired to do this piece because of some beautiful new paper that my wonderful friend, Melissa Langer of Pugnotes bought me for my birthday. Here's the actual paper (below)...it's a very thin rice paper that's great to collage with. You can see how I used it...with the paper showing through the white bowl in the painting. Melissa gave me two other sheets with the same pattern in different colors so I'm looking forward to using those too. Thanks Melissa!

Collage Paper

Happy Friday!

"Two Pears en Rouge"

24" x 24" acrylic and collage on canvas
available for sale in my Etsy shop

Hey there! Just finished this new still life...let me know what you think!

I was going to post it earlier this week but I got a little sidelined by a sore throat and a hurt back. As you've probably heard, it's been FREEZING here in Colorado the past few days. Thanks to the icy roads, Miss Graceful here slipped walking Maisie and threw my back out. Anyway...doing much better now which is a good thing since I've hardly done any Christmas shopping at all. Every year I promise myself I will get things done earlier...but does that ever happen? Looks like James and I will juuuuuust make that shipping deadline again. Yikes!

Hope you're all doing well and that you have a very fun and festive holiday weekend! xox

Juicy Fruit

"An Apple a Day"
12" x 12" acrylic and fabric on canvas
available in my Etsy Shop here

Here's a new Still Life...apples and pears are my favorites to paint. I think I'm feeling a fruit painting frenzy coming on!

Below is a picture of my little snow baby from yesterday. This is a rare shot when her face isn't buried in the white stuff. Sweet girl!

Miss Maisie

Monday Still Life

"Red and Juicy"
7" x 12" acrylic and collage on canvas
available in my Etsy shop here

Hi everyone! Here's a new still life I just finished last Friday. It started out as sort of a wimpy pastel-y kind of thing...and ended up being quite a bit bolder than I anticipated. I rarely use dark backgrounds so this is a little different for me. Let me know what you think.

On another note...a very big THANK YOU to all of you who voted for Miss Maisie to be in the top 10 for the Mutt Lynch Label Competition. She didn't make it this time...but was so happy to be involved in the process. Congrats to all who did make it...especially to my friend, Christine Throckmorton. Her entry was amazing...I loved it!

The winner of the contest will be chosen today so stay tuned to Moira's blog for the big announcement. Good luck!

Cherries anyone?

"Cotton Candy Cherries"
5"h x 7"w
acrylic and collage on canvas
available in my Etsy shop here

Here's a new still life that I just finished today. I know it has kind of an unusual title but it really does make me think of cotton candy! I'm trying to let it flow a little more with my titles anyway...rather than just a boring 'ol "Four Cherries" or something.

I came across the blog of one of my very favorite painter's for the first time today, Kate McPhee. If you don't already know about her then you should because I think she is such a talent! Her paintings are bright and beautiful and have wonderful uplifting meaning to them. James and I purchased three of her paintings when we first moved to Boulder and we love them even more today. Check out her Etsy shop too when you get a chance.

"The Two of Cups"
Kate McPhee

Hope you're having a good Monday out there! xox

Water and Rain

"H20"
8" x 8" acrylic, collage and crayon on canvas
available in my Esty shop here

Here's my latest mixed media painting. I must be craving those lovely spring rains because this post seems to be about water in general. I took inspiration for this painting from Manon Doyle (thanks Manon!)...to use those wonderful little Caran d'Ache Neocolor crayons. I used to use them all the time in printmaking but haven't used them in my work lately. They're a blast to play with!

Now below, we have a rain jacket that I think was MADE for Miss Maisie. She could really strut her stuff in this outfit...although getting her "in" it would be a challenge. I'm so tempted to get it...but I think James would give me "a look".

Have a good Wednesday everyone!

you can buy it at Tails by the Lake

Three more mini prints...

Happy Friday to you! Got any big weekend plans? Think James and I will be doing some "spruce up the house" thingies, go hiking with Maisie and take in a movie.

We've been on a mission to see as many movies as we can before the Academy Awards although we've made a pretty wimpy attempt so far! We've only seen "Milk", "The Wrestler" and "Revolutionary Road". They're all fantastic movies though....the "Wrestler" being my favorite. We're thinking of seeing "The Reader" next...any opinions about that one?

I just added these three mini prints below to my Etsy Shop. I've got a new dog painting in the works too...so hopefully will be able to show you that early next week.

"Red Door"

"Glass of Milk"

"Egg"

And one more thing!...the little treasure below is something I bought for myself this week on Etsy. If you haven't seen Vintage By Crystal's Shop...you've got to check it out. She makes the most amazing little cotton spun creatures. I just love them!

Spun Cotton Vintage Style White Rabbit Figure
Vintage By Crystal

New painting and a silly dog

"Last One From the Tree"
7" x 12" acrylic on canvas
available in my Etsy Shop here

Happy dance!...finally finished a new still life. This one took me awhile to complete. I changed the background several times until I was happy with it. I thought I was finished yesterday...but when James looked at it and said, "Hey, your new still life is really coming along."...I decided I'd better put a little more elbow grease into it. He always seems to be right too, dang it!

It was a beautiful, sunny day here. Maisie wanted to put a smile on your face...and let you know that spring is on it's way. Here's the little Diva herself...

Maisie stylin' in her Maui Jim sunglasses

New mini prints!

"Blue Bowl with Strawberries" print

"Oranges on Blue Plate" print

Good Monday mornin' to ya!

I've just launched some new "mini prints" of my original paintings in my Etsy shop. Being that our economy is NOT real spanky right now...I thought making some smaller, more affordable prints for $10.00 would be a nice idea. These are all 5" x 7" Open Editions, printed on archival watercolor paper with archival pigment inks. I'll be adding more this week. If there are any of my other originals you would like to have a small print of...just let me know.

Wine Label by Cyrus Mejia

By the way...if you like wine, you might think about buying your Valentine a good bottle of "Vicktory Dog" red at DogLoversWineClub.com. This California-based winery is honoring each of the 22 Pit Bulls that were rescued from Michael Vick's home. The wine labels were created by Artist, Cyrus Mejia who was one of the founders of Best Friends Animal Society. "A portion of the proceeds will be donated to Best Friends Animal Society for campaigns to help strengthen laws against and penalties for dog fighting, and for campaigns against legislation to ban specific breeds of dogs."

Thanks for all your well wishes on developing the new website! xox

Plug it in!

"Espresso Plug"
6.75" x 8" oil pastel on paper
2004

Happy New Year everyone! It feels good to be back after the holiday break. My new motto for this month as illustrated by the above painting is "Plug it in!" I'm going to embrace 2009 with lots of energy and mucho creative spirit!

Actually, "Espresso Plug" came to mind as a good image for my post today because it's featured on EBSQ's site as the Art of the Day today. In case you're not familiar with EBSQ...it's a great place for Artists to meet, learn and showcase their work. I've been a member since 2003 and have gained some great insight from the experience. Here is some info about the group in case you're interested in joining.

Hope you're all doing well. I plan to catch up on your blogs this week to see what amazing things you're doing already this year.

Back soon...Maisie says hi! xox

Get thyself to EBAY!

"Pair of Pears"

7" x 12" ~ Acrylic and collage on canvas

Available in my Etsy shop here

Here's a new painting I just finished today titled "Pair of Pears". I never get tired of painting pears, the shapes and colors are always so enticing. Besides the fact that I get to eat them afterwards!

Remember to get on over to Ebay asap and bid on our "Dog's Rule" art book! There are only two and a half days left to bid. Your money will go to such a wonderful cause...and you'll receive an incredible book full of original dog paintings. What a great gift for any dog lover in your life!

Salt and PeppA

"Salt and Pepper"
7" x 8" acrylic on canvas
available in my Etsy Shop here

This is a new still life that I finally completed last Friday. I had actually started it before we moved...but then it sat on my drawing board for quite some time looking very sad and lonely. I decided last week that it was time to give it some attention so I hunkered down with my paint brushes and finished it. Yay!


Here's a last shot of some beautiful Fall leaves blanketing our backyard. The next day we had a pretty big wind storm so most of the leaves are gone now. I miss them already and the beauty they graced us with the past few weeks. Maisie will miss them too; romping through them and having me throw big handfuls over her. She loved that...it made her do a happy dance.

Back tomorrow with another new Christmas card!

Chocolate Milk Anyone?

"Chocolate Milk"
8" x 8" acrylic and collage on canvas
available for purchase in my Etsy Shop here

This is a painting I just finished today in my "Milk" series? Not sure I will really continue with this series (a big series of two now)...but I will probably do a few more variations. Call me strange, but I find painting a glass of milk very soothing and somewhat nourishing. You can find my first milk painting if you look on the Other Art page of my website, second row...fifth painting.

Then there is this little beauty above, Miss Maisie Rose. What could she be standing in? If you guessed snow...you be right! It's been snowing here in Boulder today. They say if you don't like the weather in Boulder...you should just wait a minute because it takes about that long for it to change. That's good...because that's about how much patience I usually have for things. HA!

Pay It Forward!

I was fortunate enough to win a beautiful painting from Jonna on her recent "Pay It Forward" post. So...to keep the spirit of Pay It Forward going...the first three people that post a comment on my blog today will win an original painting of mine. The three below are acrylic paintings on paper...one which I will send to YOU, mounted and matted and ready to frame. All you have to do in return is to post a Pay It Forward to three people on your blog as well. Keep the good juju rolling and the spirit of giving alive!

"Fiesta Cup"

"Egg"

"EH Tomato"

Power and Pots

MinaLeeStudio.com

This is my favorite birthday card...from my friend, Kathleen. It cracks me up! Of course, you get a lot of this kind of thing when you turn 50...along with black balloons, age jokes up the ying yang and my favorite quote..."well, it's better than the alternative!". Oh geez! I think I liked Sandy's comment..."it's nifty being fifty, it's divine to be so fine". Thanks Sandy...you got it!

I've had (still workin' it) a really nice birthday and I wanted to thank each and every one of you for your wonderful birthday wishes. They warmed my heart and made my day!

I've also been spending a lot of time this week trying to fix my website. Seems that whenever I update something in Net Objects...something else goes haywire in the way of links. As I was going through lots of my files...I came across many of my oil pastels that I used to do before using acrylics. The paintings below are two of my favorites.

I'm currently working on a Cat drawing, a Dog painting and an Abstract painting...so hope to show you those very soon!

"Blue Pots"
8" x 9" oil pastel on paper

"Santa Fe Pots"

10.5" x 13" oil pastel on paper

Have a fun weekend!

Sweet Dog and a New Painting

"Orange Juice"
8" x 10" acrylic and collage on canvas
available on Etsy here

Here's another painting I managed to squeeze in between Maisie patrol. As you know...we went to the Vet last Friday for her one month x-ray. Unfortunately, her toe is not healing as fast as we hoped so she has to wear the cast for another month. Ugg! James and I were pretty upset for our girl when we heard the verdict...but we just have to be patient and hopefully time will go by fast. Yeah right...did I hear someone say MOLASSES!?

I think the photo below of Maisie is so sweet with her paw resting on the cast. You can also see her beautiful eyes so well. She's such a perdy girl.

"Maisie Rose with a big bad toe"

Friday Art

"Golden Apple"
6" x 6" acrylic and collage on canvas
available on Etsy here

I just finished this painting using more of Ro Bruhn's beautiful paper for the collage base. I should call it the "Ro Series" to give credit to the wonderful Artist who has graciously let me use her gorgeous paper. Thank you again, Ro!

I visited Rebecca Collin's blog today and read a post she recently did on "Who are your Mentors". It inspired me to write something about mine (thanks Becca!). I had two amazing Professors of Art at Dominican University in San Rafael, California where I received my BFA. One was Edythe Bresnahan and the other, Foad Satterfield. They taught me so many things about being an Artist and I am forever thankful for their dedication and talent. They made me think seriously about a full-time career in art and gave me the confidence to pursue it. They are both incredible Artists in their own right and you can see some of their work (Edythe)here and (Foad)here. Now...who are YOUR mentors?

Have a great weekend! Send good juju to Maisie's toe...it's x-ray day!

A little bit 'a butter

"Butter"
6" x 7" acrylic on canvas
available here at my Etsy Shop

Ahhh, my love for butter is never ending. Add a little bread...and what more could you ask for. One of the best food combinations ever invented!

So I have a question for you. If you had only four days to fly somewhere for a little r&r...where would it be? James and I want to head out for a little getaway before the end of the year...but it can only be a short trip this time. We don't want to spend much time in route...just want to get somewhere quickly where we can rest and rejuvenate and eat lots of things with butter. If you have any favorite destinations...please spill!

And I feel a TGIF coming on...:)

Perdy Pear

"Red Pear"
6" x 7" acrylic and collage on canvas
available in my Etsy Shop

Just finished this perdy pear last night. There's an abundance of lovely little pears in the stores right now...so many different colors and shapes. Uh oh...I feel a pear painting frenzy coming on!
Hey Ro...I used yet another one of your incredible papers in this one. I love them!

And when you have a moment...pop on over to Michele Maule's blog. Besides the fact that she just got a new Boston Terrier puppy (cutie pie!)...she's an amazing Artist. Her mixed media paintings incorporating graphite, paint, handmade gesso, collage and wax are just beautiful. Really nice work, Michele!

"Little Bottles" 3" x 3" by Michele Maule

paint, collage, beeswax, graphite and gesso on panel