Haunted Clothing, the red series (a post for Kara)

Weapon gown

Long Gloves

Banner Wrap

Thorn Suit

Ocean Wave Gown

Fur Cloak

Brain Gown

Twin Bird Gown

 

 

Ocean Fin Gown

It's been awhile since I last shared any of the Monster Fashion! This weekend was the annual South End Art Hop, and I was asked about this particular series. Not having it up anywhere else I decided to do a little post here.
All paintings in this group of Haunted Clothing are acrylic on 9"h x 6"w x 1"deep canvas, with accented elements on all four sides of each piece. Trying to find my photos of the sides, has me thinking it might be time for another photo shoot...But for now, enjoy!

A little Open Studio Weekend preview...

Want to do the tour? Click here for maps & directions. 

May 28 & 29, 2016 

There's quite a bit of blue in the studio these days, but it's not the blues of sadness, it's the blue of dreams. The more I read about rabbits in mythology, the more excited I'm getting about what I find that connects with this series. (One discovery is the blog Myth & Moor. Here's an excellent post which you might enjoy... I wish I could own every single piece of art that she shared there.)
I'm having a blast painting many different pieces all at once, as usual. My Inktober drawing project from last year is also getting framed, along with some other fun projects.
Can't wait to share them with visitors. You can also follow me on Instagram to see what I'm up to. 

 

Lots of bears AND foxes AND rabbits about the studio these days

details from Harlequin Rabbit (left) and Napping Fox (right)

Nice choice of accent color for the maps this year...and look! I have an ad.

A whole bunch of 8x10" panel paintings, with a little 6x6" up top

Sketching in Clay

I've been wanting to get back to my Haunted Clothing project for a while, not just on paper but working with 3D elements that are wearable.

During the "Great Studio Purge" of December 2014 (the HUGE remainder pile of which still sits blocking the studio door...) I was on the fence as to whether to keep my polymer clay.
So I compromised.
Last week, my friend Gwendolyn Evans invited me over for a day of working with polymer clay.  I went with the intention of finally making some items that could potentially be added to outfits, and Gwendolyn was happy to take all the super-bright colors of clay that I no longer needed.

Here's what I made.  For the most part I kept to white or natural colors (greys, beige, translucent) but I also mixed a weird red for the mouth and HAD to use some phosphorescent clay for the tentacles.  

Each piece is being stained with an acrylic paint glaze for a more natural look.
That white glob at the bottom is Golden Acrylics' Acrylic Glazing Medium, I cannot live without it!
Polymer clay & Acrylic ©Sweet Enemy Art 2015 

Rocky Horror, anyone?
Polymer clay & Acrylic ©Sweet Enemy Art 2015 

Antlers and Squash stems inspired most of these.
Polymer clay & Acrylic ©Sweet Enemy Art 2015 

Inspired by jawbones from a deer, this might be wearable as a pendant.
Polymer clay & Acrylic ©Sweet Enemy Art 2015  

It was a nice change of pace working directly with my hands, especially once these came out of the oven and were cool enough to handle.  The painting process really makes them come to life.

Much of it ended up being too delicate for actually wearing, but my goal is to use them for drawing references. Inspired by Beth Robinson (of Strange Dolls) I may find a way to recreate them in stronger materials.

What's up Portland?

Portland, Maine, that is.  I'm headed there for the Picnic Music & Arts festival this weekend.  Looking through the vendors I'm both excited and a wee bit worried:  Excited to be selling alongside some great-looking vendors, and worried that I am going to buy too much stuff...

Still, it's a great experience, and I'm going with local art maven Beth Robinson of Strange Dolls.  And I will be debuting my new panel paintings!

here's just a few...

Next stop, Art Hop September 6-8th at the S.P.A.C.E. Gallery, where Jess Polanshek and I will be sharing this awesome space:

Yours truly, always smirking

Hmmmm...what to do with that niche?


thanks to Polanshek for the studio pics!

Bears!

Here are a few bears I painted recently, you'll notice they're inspired by the banners I made a few months back.   They'll be going up on Etsy soon, but you can message me in the comments if you're interested in them.  Speaking of Etsy, make sure you read all the way through this post.

By the way:  in honor of today's British royal birth, I made a terrible joke on the last photo.  Sorry in advance.  

Bear and Honeybee  Acrylic on panel, 7"x5" $45

Bear with Honey Jar, Acrylic on canvas, 4" x 6" $40

Bear and Berries,  Acrylic on panel, 7"x5" $45

Bear has a Snack, Acrylic on panel, 7"x5" $45

Bear Apparent (get it?  Heir apparent!)  Yeah.
Acrylic on 4"x4" x 3/4" panel, $40

  Watermarks seen in photos are not on the actual work.   

Now then:  Do you follow me on Facebook?  Like my page and you'll see a way to browse my Etsy shop that is most rewarding (click the "My Etsy shop" icon once you're there.)  

I'm currently offering 10% off items already in the shop.

Why?  

Because my checkbook needs a stimulus so I can make more art!  

So follow this link and treat yourself!

https://www.facebook.com/SweetEnemyArt/app_259525164100619

Happy Birthday, little town 'o mine

Barred Owl Banner
©Sweet Enemy Art 2013 

Our little town celebrated it's 250th Birthday last Saturday!  Here are some of the banners I helped create as decoration up and down three of the main roads.  Over 80 banners were completed overall, with work contributed by several local artists and other volunteers.  All of it was spearheaded by artist Mary Hill, who provided guidance, materials and the use of her wonderful studio space.  I actually worked on at least 5 other banners (or 5 sides, anyways) but don't have photos of those yet.

These are all 24"x36", and it was a good exercise to work this fast (deadline!!!!) and loose.  Thank goodness we worked this big, because once they're up twelve feet off the ground they don't look so big...

I also really enjoyed working on the black canvas (it looks blue in some of these because it was evening when I snapped the pics.)  

Not sure yet if there are plans to auction these off afterwards, or to display them elsewhere.  Still, the whole thing was a fun diversion, and I may have to make some for our house.

Fox Banner ©Sweet Enemy Art 2013

Fox Banner detail ©Sweet Enemy Art 2013

Hi There Banner ©Sweet Enemy Art 2013

Bear and Honey Banner ©Sweet Enemy Art 2013

Hiker Banner ©Sweet Enemy Art 2013

Wood Thrush Banner ©Sweet Enemy Art 2013

Headed to the Party

Phoenix Books in Essex is hosting their annual Newt Night this month, and this year they're hosting a "Peepers and Creepers" exhibit as well. 

My friends there have fond memories of my Frog in the Forest piece, so I thought I'd revisit a little piece I made around the same time.  

This idea started as a tiny little colored pencil piece on 4x6" watercolor paper.  This time around it's acrylic on a 16x20" canvas panel.  I rushed a bit at the beginning, but I'm giving myself a little more time to fine-tune it before bringing it to the shop.  Feel like I'm setting new records for myself in terms of finishing pieces!

Stage 1 painted while Monty Python's Holy Grail (and ALL the extra features) played in the background.

Stage 1, thought I was finished but my in-house critic said..."hmmm."  Back to the easel!

Stage 2 painted while Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Amelie played.  At this point, I decided it's not a good idea to try and have a subtitled movie playing while trying to paint.  Too distracting.

Stage 2:  Brightening things up a little bit.  Brought some blue-tones into his belly, not sure if that's working yet.
VERY happy with the umbrella.  Trying to get that same feeling elsewhere in the painting.

A better mushroom.  Stalk still needs work though.

Stage 3 begins this morning (though we're fast approaching noon.)  After being heavily fueled with a pile of doughnuts from our local baker ladies, a giant omlet and a big mug of Earl Grey tea, I'd better have enough energy to see this thing through.  Would like to deliver it tomorrow!

By the way:  here's the original little sketch.  I ran out of paper so his boots are cut off.  Little did I know the legs would be one of the hardest parts in re-creating him!  Trying to be at peace with the fact that the new version is exactly like the original in other ways.

Anachronistic Mash-up: Mythology & Food

Well!  This weekend and last turned out to be relatively productive.  I give you:  Sphinx, with Pizza.  

Here's where she's at right now.

The early version, feathers just roughed in

Re-working the tail and wing

SKULL PIZZA

For those of you who recall my Lizard with Sandwich, this is hopefully the second in a small series of creatures with food.


Once I've finished the Sphinx, I'll hopefully have enough steam to start the next one, so there are at least three in the series!  Now I need to visit Papa Franks' for some cheap-o-awesome Italian food, because this is making me hungry.

Recent completions and so forth

Ghost Bun and Bros ©Sweet Enemy Art  Acrylic on canvas 2012

Hello!  It has been far too long, my friends.  I've been working away on several commissions and getting distracted by life in general.  But Neil Dixon of Yankee Imaging has been getting some great images of my recently completed work, so I thought I'd share.

"This May Sting a Little" ©Sweet Enemy Art  Acrylic on canvas, 2012

Having tried taking pictures of these guys myself, I do so appreciate someone who can really work the camera.  Focus on doing what you do well, and let others do what they do well.   Well...  Yeah.

The best part of this process is loading up the image onto my screen and suddenly going "holy crap!  I painted that!"

I'm happy to report that "Ghost Bun and Bros" has made it safely to the West Coast.  "This May Sting a Little" got some very nice comments during this year's Art of Horror show and is now back home waiting for me to find some wall space.  Unless you have room?

See you again soon, once we get the camera batteries to play nice so I can show you the commissioned works-in-progress.

Brought to you by the Department of Shameless Self Promotion!

Digging through the vault (the external hard drive, that is) I found these for your viewing pleasure.  Some may be new to you, some have been posted before (but a loooong time ago!)

The bonus is that all of these are now up on Society6 as mini-prints.  Free shipping on anything in my shop* through October 14, 2012.

I've added nine new pieces since yesterday, and there may be a few more that I post there before the week is through.  So in the spirit of Shameless Self Promotion, if you want to buy something from there, it gets me that much closer to purchasing a plane ticket to Colorado for a wedding next Spring!  

Traveling Cloak, Mode de Monstre

Beatrix Rabbit

Afternoon in the Sky

**Offer excludes Framed Art Prints and Stretched Canvases.

Art Hop Preview: Tea and Butterflies

Tea and Butterflies

Acrylic on mat board

©Sweet Enemy Art 2012

Almost have a series going on here!  One aspect of the painting that I wasn't able to capture here is the iridescent gold background.  It's slightly matte overall, and the white spots on the lizard actually appear to float a bit above that.  

Art Hop Preview: Telling secrets to a Butterfly

Telling Secrets to a Butterfly*

Pencil & Acrylic on paper

©Sweet Enemy Art 2012

*my titles are always malleable, often the people who buy the painting come up with a far better one!

Art Hop Preview: Classic Dog

A fanciful compilation of some dogs I've met.  Acrylic on paper, lots of fun layers on this one!

©Sweet Enemy Art 2012