A Sister Act

Those Prim and Whimsy girls...Carolyn, a Jersey Girl and her sister Sara started working together in 1985.
Now 25 years later we've decided to stop doing local art/craft shows and sell exclusively on Etsy. So today I spent several hours getting the shoppe set up and tomorrow I'll start listing our Ghouls Jewels made exclusively for Halloween.
I spent a week doing the designs and my sister spent a day cutting them out of recycled wood from the inside of vintage cigar boxes. We're very into upcycled, recycled and repurposed items. And this wood has a distinct distressed appearance just perfect for the folk art designs I painted on them.
Tomorrow I'll be sure to add a link to the shoppe and post a few of my favorite necklaces. We're going to be working hard to promote this shoppe because at our age we don't want to get a job. After all women of a certain age need to keep working at what they do best!

TURNING CORNERS-Part 2

Here are the rest of the girls in the family. I wanted to keep sketching all night but the area where I was working only had lighting over the counters. The center table is under the skylight and it turned into night before I had a chance to stop playing. But tomorrow is another day. Hope you enjoy meeting the rest of the family.


While I was on a roll I decided to add some family members. So I grabbed that big ole white bristle brush again and some forest green paint to outline her. Hey...remember I said no rules were the rules in this game. This is really hard work breaking out of my mold!


Here's the sister. Dressed in her Sunday best. I used a bunch of flower punch outs that I'd been keeping in a drawer. Seemed that the smaller ones were perfect for her dress. I don't usually paint this big OR this bold. I'm loving this whole experiment. Can't wait to do more. But first I've got to finish up the rest of the family...see some of them below.


This is the first little baby that joined the family. I think she'll be holding a balloon or maybe a kite


These faces just keep appearing. How cute is she?


These little sweetums will be finished sometime this weekend. I am having so much fun 'just doing art'. I imagine though that as always I will be selling them because that's what I do. I can probably stop being a perfectionist but I doubt that I'll ever be happy making art for art's sake. I've made my living for almost 40 years as a professional artist...I really DON'T want to get a 'real' job..those are soul-sucking things!

TURNING CORNERS

I've had a creative block that has refused to move. It's like my Muse went MIA and left me in a dark void. This has been going on for months and I've despaired all summer that she might never return to full time duty. I can't see the road ahead and I despair daily at my lack of creativity.

I knew how I wanted to paint but not how to go about quieting that voice in my head that has always said "it's not good enough, you're not good enough". So today I decided to unblock once and for all. But to go about it I needed to use supplies that didn't matter.


Messy but ready to be put to good use.


Bristol paper, paper palette, kids tempera paint, some big brushes.

Getting down with the paint. Gee, I think this might be fun!


I grabbed that big white bristle chinese sumi-e brush and quickly sketched a girl and cat.


I dug around for a folder of old handmade papers. Might as well put them to some use. I've been saving them for a 'special' piece...this is it!


Adding some collage elements


I've been adding crayons, paint and collage elements at this point. She's starting to speak to me!


Adding a piece of commercial scrapbook paper. My feet are getting tired of standing but this is really a lot of fun!


Papers added and background painted in. Sloppy but freeing. Cat needs some work.


I can't believe I did it. I've painted for years but I've never PAINTED this way before. No thought if it would be good enough to sell I was able to just paint and lose myself in the work. Tomorrow I'll show the whole family that decided to join her.

I haven't been this excited about my work in years. I painted freely, loosely and happily. Welcome home my dear Muse. Please don't ever take an extended vacation any time soon...PLEASE