Must use "real" camera...

I've been using my cell phone to take pix of my work. While I'm getting a reflection...I see that much of my subtle detail is lost, making my works look less defined than they are in real life. I do have some where it's more obvious as that's how I wanted it to look, on these works I was going for a softer effect, sadly it seems to be lost in the photographing.

Imagination

Yes, it's me as a butterfly. :-) Jewels on the wings, layers of paint and final layer of background color is Olivine pigment glaze.

Sampler

I was trying out different "types" of mermaids. Seahorse, Eel, Butterfly (yes, I know there are no butterflies under the sea.....), etc. I was an experiment w/different body types.

Letters

I have a treasure collection of cards and letters from my dear friends over the years. I LOVE to see ALL of my stuff. I truly do. I decided the best way to do that and honor the items was to turn them into art. I tore and cut up many items and used them as background. Yes, I like to think that's me...any time you see a brown-skinned woman w/brown eyes and a beauty mark above her lip...it's me. Ok, in reality, I'm a "bit" fuller in figure, but in my mind's eye, this is an EXACT likeness! HAHAHAH I did myself on #140 watercolor paper...drawn painted, glazed...my eyes are a blend of pigments w/glaze. I finished it off w/a found art rusty hinge on my dress.

3 Faces

Well, I made what I thought was a pretty good likeness of 3 generations of women in my family. My mother is offended that she looks old and mad...she's 81...what did she expect? and frankly, I thought I was generous w/the facial expression. Steffanie thinks she looks like an alien. I thought about trimming the side of the face a bit...but then hey, this is how I felt when I was doing it! I'm on the left, Steffanie in the middle and mother on the right. The background has about 5 or 6 layers, then some tissue that I had stamped on added using Golden's soft gel...I was able to scrunch the tissue getting a textured look. The faces are raised by using cut pieces of sponge to mount them onto the canvas.

Recent Work

Moving right along...

I'm going to mount a large pearl in the hand that appears to be waving. I have laid down the first layer of paint on the cheesecloth. I want to texturize the tail more than just w/color.

moving right along

I don't know what it is lately, but all my women are bald. HAHAHHAH Will post more progress. I have her nearly completed, below her is done w/cheesecloth & reg Golden's gel. I think I want her on a rock when all is said and done. I'll also glaze her tail. As of late last night, the sky is lightly Derwent Kingfisher Blue Watercolor Penciled in, but not totally done.

watercolor pencil mermaid in progress

A while back, I had the privelege of being part of a 4 woman exhibit in Chicago. This violin was my main piece. It's covered w/beautiful images that I downloaded as angel art. I also made mermaids using polymer clay. One of them I could not get her face to come out right, so I made her w/just the body sticking out. hahaha The one on the upper left w/a vintage rhinestone shoe clip across her chest has my daughter's face on it. There's a tiny mermaid on the lower right that I was trying to capture in the picture, it has my youngest grandaughter's face, and originally yellow butterfly wings. Since they were real, they deteriorated off, but I'll be replacing them as soon as I can figure out how to keep them natural but preserved.

Mermaid Violin