That Orbed Maiden Paint Party Friday Week 8

This week's submission to Paint Party Friday......Digital Painting of the moon I did sometime ago.

The moon was first sketched on paper and then I applied the background layers, colours and text in Dreamweaver.

Click on banner to visit other participating artists in Paint Party Friday Hosted by Kristin and Eva

Until next Friday, 

Happy Painting and a Very Lovely Mothers Day to all

Annabelle ~^..^~

Whimsical Wednesday Hosted by Danimal Week 24 (May 4 - May 10 )

Okay I think I will be submitting quite a few whimsical pieces of my art that I have done in the past so for my regular visitors....sorry for the repeats, for the new visitors, well here is week 24 submission for Whimsical Wednesday Week 24 ( May4 - May 10 ).

Click the Web of Whimsy to take you to Whimsical Wednesday hosted by Dan

My infamous moon I painted and then made a Flickr collage incorporating some of the most lovely photographs of other Flickr Members. I loved creating this Magical Whimsical Piece....magic, fantasy, the Mysterious Romantic Moon and a secret road to a fairytale land....enjoy!

Magic of the Night ~ A Study in Blue

1/ Moon and Poe www.flickr.com/photos/83323987@N00/

2,5/ Tree's memory www.flickr.com/photos/macallen/

3,4 ,11,12 / nocturne a stroll www.flickr.com/photos/madsofa/

6,7/ Scary Sky www.flickr.com/photos/amitsphotos/

8,9/ The Bubble Magician www.flickr.com/photos/tjt195/

10,13/ Blue-Tree www.flickr.com/photos/ghostbones/

Listen to the Music of the Night at pastoraldreams.blogspot.com/

Whimsical Wednesday Hosted by Danimal

Okay, I must say I am a big kid at heart! I adore treasure hunts; the kind of treasures that are of a natural kind, like hunting for the mesmerizing swirling crystal fossils I adore discovering in the wild Canadian wood and incorporating into my whimsical art work; I must be some sort of bird because I adore glittery things. Treasure hunting for old things specifically very very old books and illustrations, church sales and garage sales and flea markets anything that has a link to the ancient past. Fairytales and Legends, Religions and Mythology and Halloween. Romantic Stories and Murder mysteries, Sherlock Holmes and Mackenzie King, Fairies and Spooky Ghost Stories. Spiders and webs , Owls and glass. The ocean and its lovely treasures and stories of pirates, the deep dark forests lined in their mossy velvet greens; the secret world of the Little Folk. A fragrant midnight garden filled with magical fireflies twinkling on a delicate black canvas ; they are the tiny helpers guiding the fairies in the darkly night . The iridescent light of the magnificent Moonflower twining up an old oak reaching high up its tallest branch to a hollow knot where my fav bird , the wise old owl lives. The snugly warmth of a chair by the fire on a cool night enjoying a glass of Grand Marnier and an old book while your best friend sits comfortably near by. A lot of very old movies, gorgeous pre-Raphelite art, beautiful Victorian , British Poetry, castles and old stone churches and homes. The British Isles and Wales, Italy and Canada, the gorgeous mysterious moon and the stars; as a matter of fact the whole entire Earth and universe.....life is beautiful even in the darkest corners.

Yes, I am a big kid and I think it is one of the secrets to enjoying life. Dan has invited me to join his group Whimsical Wednesday and I think its about time we all take a little break and look for our fairytale heart  and play the game. Thanks for the invite Dan.

 Click the Weedy SeaDragon to enter the Whimsical Realm

This is my submission for this week's Whimsical Wednesday.......Annabel Lee a whimsical self-portrait caricature

I created this whimsical self portrait ....I guess I kind of looked a bit like this when I was very young or thought i did...haha! I did have gorgeous eyes when I did them up  Egyptian style..lots of eye liner..haha!

I sketched Annabel Lee and then created the rest in Dreamweaver. I always adored butterflies, an obsession of mine since I was 11 years old when I first watched "The Collector". I loved the story, the acting and directing, England and the Ancient Roman catacomb belonging to the tudor home. I loved the feel of serenity and peace in the open country space the main character bought with his winnings and always dreamed of owning such a gorgeous forgotten solitary place....a lovely sanctuary. And the music....Maurice Jarre.......Doctor Zhivago......simply entrancing!

 I was born under the Pisces sign and of course everything to do with the sea is in my heart. Flowers, fragrant flowers, birds and old lace and Poe's poem all have much to do with who I am .....an incurable romantic....and loving it....reason for the crown..... Queen of Romance! The name of the portrait is Annabel Lee because my birth name happens to be Anna and hubby nicked named me Annabelle when I first met him ; he knew how much I adored Edgar Allen Poe's poem of the same name....slightly different in spelling. So here it is...a bit of Whimsy.

FAIRY'S Home In the Woods Paint Party Friday Week 7

This week's Paint Party Friday Week 7 submission is of a Fairy Door and Home done on 

Shelf Mushroom ~ Artist Conk  in wood- burning ( Pyrography ) and paint.

Lost the hydro last night.....Boy are we spoilt!!! My daughter was bored and decided to have a bit of fun playing with wax....Encaustic wax could be her calling...lol. Anyway, needless to say I was unable to complete the painting but needed some advise so it all worked out in the end.

Candle in the Night ....Romantic and mesmerizing, a beauty all their own

A Spider Web Window for a Fairy's Home in the Wood

Steps not sure how to give them more depth......? I also was thinking of adding a few bricks here and there to give the walls to the home some character and dimension..... maybe a little kitty sleeping by the doorstep would be a cute touch. Any suggestions are welcomed.

Love Lives Here

A Tree Knot Home for a Little Feathered Friend

My take on a Birch Tree Trunk

Fairy's Home in the Woods

Until next week Happy Painting

Update.....completed Fairy Home   " WildWood "

Annabelle >^..^<

Whooo's...... Afraid of the Dark? Paint Party Friday Week 6

First I must announce the demise of Deep Dark Sea......I just couldn't continue on it.....so many layers and where I wanted to go from there wouldn't have allowed me to do so, so I ditched it in the garbage on thursday with my daughter's blessing. I will  try my vision another time. So on to the new painting project..........

I had this Florentine Gothic gold leaf frame for some time now and thought about using it for a religious theme but guess what, I changed my mind.

I once again used my wood burning tool to sketch the design out on the old wooden frame and then painted in Weeps the owl under a full moon with water colour paints, acrylic and ink. Since the frame had some damage I needed to touch up some places where the gold leaf had worn down;luckily I had some gold leaf stored away just waiting to be used. I guess it waited far  too long for when I went to open the jar it wouldn't budge. I ended up having my husband drill holes into the top so I could use it. I have three more similar jars of varying leaf colours with the same problem. Oh well, I did say last week not to purge art supplies or leave them too long unattended so this was bound to happen. Good thing they are still good to use, very surprised.

So , here is my submission for this week's Paint Party Friday Week 6 .....

" Weeps .....is Afraid of the Dark "

Until next Paint Party Friday..... Happy Easter and have a great weekend.

Oh and many thanks to all who left me all the lovely comments last week....I did read them : )

Annabelle

The Hobbit Inspired Home ~ Paint Part Friday Week 5 ~ April 15th 2011

I'm submitting this Artist Conk illustration for this week's Paint Party Friday Meet ~ Week 5.

This art piece was an ideal piece to work with while sitting by the living room window pondering on the days that had unfolded. Unfortunately April 11/2011 will be one date I will always remember as a dark and dreary day that woke me in the early morning hours foreboding me something bad was to come . My mom had to admit her partner of 16 years in hospital, his cancer vengefully returned.The prognosis.....not very much time.

To continue on the the Dark Sea was out of the question; I just couldn't and so I decided to work on something I had more control over, actually any sort of art or blogging and such was quite difficult this week. Today my hubby goes in for eye surgery and then maybe we as a family might get a chance for some quite time and enjoy the Spring weather. So for now this is it....Hope you like it.

These are a few of my three dimensional natural canvas artist tree conks or shelf mushrooms I gathered in the wood some time ago for use in painting, pyrography, etching and sculpting fairy homes.

Usually when these are harvested you must give them a drying period of a minimum of two months.These have been dried for some years now. Then I applied gesso and sketched my design in pencil before using the wood burning tool.

Last week I decided I wanted to try my hand at creating a fairy's door on the natural canvas using a wood burning gun ( pyrography) .

As I was designing the door my daughter said it reminded her of Bilbo Baggin's home in the Shire

from "Lord of the Rings". After viewing some pics I realized she was right but my windows were not complete circles , the door's knob wasn't in the middle of the door and I had placed a spiral rhinestone window at the top of the door with a tiny silver heart beneath it; either way I think it could pass for both a Fae's or Hobbit's home....what do you think?

I placed a daffodil in a pot by the door; Hobbit's are partial to green and yellow and to us humans Daffodils are a symbol of Spring and Hope.

I'm not sure if I'll paint the illustration; I'll leave that decision to the end of the week and get some feed back from the Paint Party Friday participants. If I do paint it, I think I'll use pen and inks.

All I have left to do now is add a lantern to the top left of the door where there is a natural hole.Then I will seal the work with a matte varnish in front and a gloss on the back. This particular Artist Conk stays erect naturally so I don't have to support it in any way. Looks quite magical on a book shelf or mantel.

The more I ponder on weather or not to paint it the more I prefer the way it is...natural like found in a wood???

Like trees the rings on the shelf mushroom tells their age.

Just remembered as I was writing this post that I had gathered a entire box full of these mushrooms  but hubby cleaned up the garage and got tried of seeing them lying around so out to the compost they went, now I would like to gather a few more....lesson learned......should never purge art supplies and get to them in a fair amount of time....years are not acceptable....haha!!

p.s. Other visitors are also welcome to give their feed back on weather or not to paint the mushroom.

Check this article out....A really gorgeous Hobbit home:)

http://www.home-designing.com/2009/09/house-that-looks-like-hobbits-home-from-lotr

Until next time try this religion.....Kindness :)

Annabelle

Deep Dark Sea Paint Party Friday ~ Week 4

Somewhere lost in a deep dark sea......surrounded only by the glimmer of the moon's beams washing upon the peaks of the turning waves.

I would like to take this opportunity to excuse myself for not being in attendance last Paint Party Friday....sometimes the nasty beasts of life need to be confronted and cast away and all our energies are called upon to help in the battle. Even looking for some refuge from the storm with some art therapy does not always work, especially so when one such as I lack all of the required knowledge in creating a painting.

Well, I' not going to keep this a secret, I failed miserably!!!

Maybe my subject wasn't an easy one although at the time I thought it was....the sea, yes, the sea.

It tricked me into thinking I could create a beautiful seascape....no such luck!

I'm embarresed to say I must of tried painting the sea 30 some times and right after each perfect wave I would mess up and back to the sink to wash away my mistakes and try again only to waste more paint ; luckily, I used cheap brands. Yes and the color changed drastically.....talk about looking into my soul these past few weeks....eek.....very down.

Anyway..... on the bright side of things,

The good that came out of this experience is that I discovered many techniques such as using alcohol, salt and feathers on wet paint and that I must do some reading on the art form, practice some more and be more patient and maybe not be so stressed before tackling the Deep Dark Sea.....or should I say the Deep Blue Sea?

So here is where I am at the moment............hehe .....same as before kind of.....lol!

And my shimmering waves.....Seriously need help!

Until next Paint Party Friday.....Happy Painting , I'll be in the lab.

Annabelle :(

p.s. Will be checking in on all the participating painters in the morning...picking up my mom from the airport tonight.

Romancing The Stone - Eddy Grant (HQ Audio)

Romancing the Stone

Romancing the Stone 

A Treasure Chest , a Stone Heart ~ keeper of love notes, a tiny Crystal Fossil heart in hand and Iron Man's Heart surrounded by precious crystal fossil stones. 



: ) : ) : ) TREASURE HUNTING : ) : ) : )

ROMANCING THE STONE........SPRING HAS ARRIVED ALTHOUGH CHILLY AND WET THE SNOW HAS ALMOST VANISHED FOR ANOTHER FEW MONTHS...HAHA! I HOPE....

IT IS A TIME FOR GROWTH AND RENEWAL, A TIME FOR VENTURING OUTDOORS ENJOYING ALL THAT MOTHER NATURE HAS TO OFFER, AND FOR DISCOVERING TREASURES!


NOT TOO LONG AGO HUBBY AND THE KIDS BOUGHT ME TWO METAL DETECTORS FOR MY BIRTHDAY , MY LITTLE ASSISTANTS IN SEARCHING FOR TREASURE.


IN THE CANADIAN WILDWOOD, IN A WORLD BEYOND THE WOOD THERE LIES QUIET AND WAITING A ZILLION EARTHLY STARS TWINKLING BENEATH A WARM SPRING SUN SOAKING IN ITS RAYS, THEIR SWIRLY CRYSTAL PATTERNED DRESS MAGICALLY GLISTENING AND SPARKLING IN THE MOSSY GROUND THEY LAY.




WHEN I HAD FIRST DISCOVERED THE MOTHER LOAD A FEW YEARS BACK WHILE HIKING IN THE WOOD I WONDERED WHAT ON EARTH I WAS GOING TO DO WITH SUCH SMALL CRYSTAL TREASURES BUT THEN IT WASN'T LONG BEFORE MY MIND FILLED WITH IDEAS.


THEN ONE DAY I DISCOVERED A PERFECT ROCK WITH A BEAUTIFUL CRYSTAL FOSSIL INSIDE BUT IT WASN'T ANY ORDINARY FOSSIL THAT I HAD GATHERED BEFORE , THIS ONE WAS IN A SHAPE OF A HEART.

I WAS THRILLED AND MAGICALLY I WAS POSSESSED TO CREATE SOMETHING VERY UNIQUE ......WHY NOT CREATE A TREE, A SYMBOL OF LIFE AND PLACE THE ROOTS OF THE TREE OVER THE CRYSTAL HEART; IT WOULD CERTAINLY BE MOST MAGICAL AND WHERE MAGIC RESIDES FARIES ARE NEAR BY......IT WOULD BE A FAIRY'S TREE!

WELL, THERE COMES A TIME WHEN ONE MUST PART WITH SOMETHING THEY LOVE BUT KNOWING THEY WILL BE LOVED BY ANOTHER IS EVEN MORE SPECIAL ; I SURELY WILL MISS THE FAIRY'S TREE .

LAST WEEK "THE FOUNTAIN" FAIRY'S TREE FOUND A NEW FRIEND, AND NOW IS ON ITS WAY TO A FAR OFF LAND . I'M SURE ITS NEW HOME WILL BE MOST MAGICAL A PLACE TO CALL IT'S VERY OWN AND IT'S NEW COMPANION WILL BE ENTRANCED BY IT'S NATURAL BEAUTY HAS I HAVE BEEN THESE PAST YEARS.....WISHING YOU MANY FAIRY DREAMS SHEILA : )


SO WHAT DOES ONE DO WHEN THEY PART WITH AN OLD FRIEND , WELL THEY FIND MORE FRIENDS, NOT TO TAKE THEIR PLACE BUT TO FILL THE VOID IN THEIR HEART, FOR THE HEART IS KNOWN TO HAVE INFINITE ROOM.

THE TREASURES I SEEK ARE NOT GOLD AND SILVER AND PRECIOUS STONES , PERHAPS BURIED IN A CHEST IN A SECRET HIDING PLACE ALTHOUGH THAT WOULD VERY LOVELY AND HELP WITH MONEY MATTERS BUT THESE TREASURES ARE SOMETHING VERY DIFFERENT, SOMETHING QUIET UNIQUE ....... PREHISTORIC FOSSILS DATING BACK 443-490 MILLION YEARS ; BRYOZOANS FROM THE ORDOVICIAN PERIOD. NO THEY'RE NOT THE GORGEOUS GREEN EMERALD STONE OF "ROMANCING THE STONE" BUT NO MATTER THEIR MONETARY VALUE THEY ARE JUST THAT, A BEAUTIFUL PRECIOUS STONE.

WHEN I SOLD "THE FOUNTAIN" TO THE NEW OWNER AND SPOKE ABOUT SOME HEARTS I HAD FOUND ALONG MY HIKES I THOUGHT ABOUT MAKING A POST ABOUT HEART SHAPED ROCKS , FOSSIL STONES AND SUCH BUT THEN LATE LAST NIGHT MY DAUGHTER M WAS LISTENING TO EDDY GRANT'S SONG TO THE MOVIE "ROMANCING THE STONE" . I THEN REALIZED I HAVE BEEN ROMANCING THE STONE ......FOREVER .....FROM THAT VERY FIRST DAY I DISCOVERED IT IN THE CANADIAN WILDWOOD , NEVER TO RECOVER FROM IT'S TRANCE INDUCING DRUG; I MUST SAY, CONTENT TO BE IN IT'S HOLD!



I'm humbled by Nature's beauty...each and every creation an intricate work.

The magnificence of each unique pattern in a single rock.

The swirls always get me, surprising me every time with their eternal beauty

An Iron Angel's Wing I bought a few years back from an artist in Merrickville.....She said it brought her good karma, I suppose it has for me as well for I have since become obsessively enamoured by spiders and webs and fossil art and filled with ideas in ways of incorporating them into my work.

This is my infamous Treasure Chest I made with small tiny fossils with "I Love You" decoupaged on an inside wall and a decoupaged heart in a glass bubble within. On the outside a gold crucifix and crystals were encrusted, something I thought would spark a little thought of Pirate's Treasure.And last year while walking the railway tracks with Grace one early morning I discovered this Iron Heart, I call it "Iron Man's Heart". 'It's not often that I find hearts created by Nature, actually quite rare and this Iron Heart is manmade....by accident I believe. In a way I suppose it is created by nature for after all we are a part of it so I guess it counts. 

Iron Man's Heart.....Imagine , I found this heart on a track going nowhere( it has been shut down).....Curious and so very, very strange ....Wonder how it got there and what it belonged to......Isn't Life Strange?   This Heart if I were to sell it, which I'm not, is certainly an item that most appropriately suits my " Cabinet of Curiosities". 

The Lid to the Treasure Chest held by Fossil Swirls always stays open for Love is never left out. 

A Glass Bubble Holds a Red, Red Heart Within....Love is a Treasure!

 A Closer look at the top of the Treasure Chest with the encrusted crucifix and crystals....Look closely and you will spot some Gold Doubloons....Pirate's Treasure....actually vintage buttons.

THE MERMAID'S GROTTO

And my Heart of Stone comprised of many crystal fossils with a touch here and there of crystal, a key and clip earrings which can hold if one wishes, secret love notes instead of ears....haha.

Amber and Rust and Clear Glass Crystals rest upon the Stone Heart, though once cold is now warm especially so under the sun's hot glow.

So these are my Treasures, Treasures Belonging to God , To Earth, To Us.

The art is only an imitation of Life.

Hope you liked this post.

I will be bringing you more of my adventures in the WildWood, in the World Beyond the Wood with more discoveries to unfold. Some of these pieces , like the Treasure Chest and Heart of Stone will shortly be available for purchase in my new Etsy store "Hush Sweet Charlotte".

Until next time , many magical twinkling crystal swirling dreams to you. 

Annabelle ~^..^~