Kokomo Encaustic on Panel

Encaustic on Panel, Framed
10"x 24"
(3) 8"x10", (3) 10"x12" framed
$125

To purchase this work, please visit my Etsy Store.

Have a great weekend! The hubby and I are off to a wedding in NYC for one of our best friends. See you on Tuesday!

Subtlety Encaustic on Canvas

Encaustic on Canvas
24"x36"x1.5"
$300

To purchase this work, please visit my Etsy Store.

Cali Dreaming Encaustic on Canvas

Encaustic on Gallery Wrapped Canvas
24"x36"x1.5"
$300

To purchase this work, please visit my Etsy Store.

Envy Encaustic on Panel

Encaustic on Panel, Framed
10"x24"
(3) 8"x10", (3) 10"x12" framed
$125

To purchase this beatiful painting, please visit my Etsy Store.

Building Blocks 3 Encaustic on Canvas

Encastic on Canvas
24"x40"
(2) 20"x24"
$325

To purchase this huge painting, please visit my Etsy Store.

Dots Encaustic on Panel

Encaustic on Panel, Framed
10"x24"
(3) 8"x10", (3) 10"x12" framed
$125

To purchase this painting, please visit my Etsy Store.

Rings on the Table

Encaustic on Panel, Framed
10"x24"
(3) 8"x10", (3) 10"x12" framed
$125

This fun piece of art can be purchased through my Etsy Store.

I love this painting. When I was making it, I had the brown down on the panels, and (in case you hadn't noticed) I very much enjoy working with brown/turquoise combinations. Well, I was kind of experimenting with making circles in encaustic (not the easiest thing to do). I put the first one down and was reminded of being a little girl, and my mother saying "Use a coaster! You'll put rings on the table and ruin it!" Just gave me a little chuckle.

Building Blocks 2 Encaustic on Canvas

Encaustic on Gallery Wrapped Canvas
24"x30"x1.5"
$250

To purchase this work, please visit my Etsy Store.

Building Blocks Encaustic on Canvas

Encaustic on Gallery Wrapped Canvas
20"x40"
(2) 20"x20"
$275

To purchase this beautiful painting, please visit my Etsy Store.

Pulp Art Encaustic on Panel

Encaustic on Panel, Framed
12"x48"
(4) 12"x12", (4) 14"x14" framed
$260

To purchase this work, please visit my Etsy Store.

Beginning with "Wild West" I have really focused on trying to push my encaustic work in a little bit of a new direction. Don't get me wrong, I am still doing my swirly, organic type paintings that look like some kind of areal view of the Earth. But as I am doing larger and larger pieces, I have run into some limitations as to being able to get the ethereal and organic shapes that look so lovely on smaller pieces.

I really focusing on building lots and lots of layers to achieve a depth and minute detail that is very interesting to the eye. I'm also working very much on making my color palettes more subtle. Personally, the vivid colors I have been using are my favorites. Don't worry, I'm not giving those up either, it is more that I am trying to push myself artistically to try new things.

One thing I am SO excited about - I just discovered the magnetic lasso tool in Photoshop. AMAZING! Because of that one amazing little tool, and with some layering stuff, I was able to FINALLY get an indoor view that I am now happy with for my Etsy listings. So excited! I just really feel that this new picture looks so much more professional than the one I had been using. Time to edit more photos, and keep on checking the Etsy store - I probably have about five more things I will be listing in there this weekend!

Harvest Encaustic on Panel

Encaustic on Panel, Framed
10"x24"
(3) 8"x10", (3) 10"x12"
$125

To purchase this work, please visit my Etsy Store.

Ack! My face hurts. I woke up yesterday morning and apparently it is that season again. I jumped straight into some kind of sinus infection, do not pass go, do not collect $200. Usually I have a little bit of a warning, some kind of buildup. Maybe because it rained yesterday it just made my allergies that much worse. I got some canvases gessoed yesterday, but I don't know how much painting I will be able to get done today. Paint fumes probably aren't going to help me out a whole lot. Sigh.

I had a discussion with Beth yesterday about how no paint is actually good for you. She was a chemistry major for much of college before she changed her major to art (kind of like me who graduated with a finance degree... and am now a full time artist???). So Beth actually has studied a fair amount about paint's chemical composition. I did not know that acrylic paints are actually almost as bad for you, or worse, if ingested. Part of their flow agent is formaldehyde. Scary, eh? She told me stories about her many pet fish that lost their lives after she painted rooms with laytex acrylic (indoor house) paint and didn't move their tank from the room beforehand. This also explains why I was starting to get lightheaded after gessoing canvases for several hours.

Honestly, it never really occurred to me that gesso and acrylic paint give off fumes of any kind. They are so touted by the industry as being "healthier" for you. I don't sand the gesso on my canvas, so I've never worried about it. But I must say, I never get lightheaded when I use oils as long as I use Linquin and keep the top on my Turpenoid.

In any case, I have more or less determined that by the time I reach 35 I will most likely be senile or just have totally cooked my brain Ozzy Osbourne style from all the painting I am doing. (Although that man is totally the poster boy for not doing drugs. Kind of sad how anti-establishment he used to be and generally hardcore... now he can barely speak. And I digress...)

Revelry Encaustic on Panel Framed

Encaustic on Panel, Framed
10"x24"
(3) 8"x10", (3) 10"x12" framed
$125

To purchase this work, please visit my Etsy Store.

Wild West Encaustic on Canvas

Encaustic on Gallery Wrapped Canvas
20"x48"
(3) 20"x16"
$ 340

To purchase this beautiful abstract painting, please visit my Etsy Store.

The Great Wave Encaustic on Canvas

Encaustic on Gallery Wrapped Canvas
24"x60" <--- HUGE
(3) 24"x20" Canvases
$450

To purchase this work, please visit my Etsy Store.

All that Jazz Encaustic on Panel

Encaustic on Panel, Framed
12"x48"
(4) 12"x12", (4) 14"x14" framed
$260

To purchase these four beautiful paintings, please visit my Etsy Store.

My First Etsy Treasury

I got my first Treasury! It was quite the adrenaline rush waiting for the clock to wind down to grab one in time. Well now I know that I can do it - but I also know that getting a Treasury is a 2 hour process too. Phew! Lots of fun, hope it helps visual artists get some much needed exposure on Etsy. Help me out and click!

Lily Pond Encaustic on Panel

Encaustic on Panel, Framed
10"x24"
(3) 8"x10", (3)10"x12" framed
$100

To purchase this beautiful abstract art, please visit my Etsy Store.

If you're in Texas, make sure to stay dry! I'm not worried about TS Edouard simply because we are so far inland, but there could be some wind and tornado issues. Nothing worth evacuating for since we are in the 500 year flood plain. Thankfully we will be getting some rain, it has been so dry here. Seems like the only time we get rain is when one of these tropical storms or hurricanes come through.

BS Art Studio website is FINALLY finished. I am so excited about how it turned out. Of course there are some small things to tweak, but all in all it looks pretty awesome. I think I still want to have a page of links, and another page about encaustic, but for right now, it looks pretty good, so I am excited! Take a gander at that site here: www.bsartstudios.com

I've very much been enjoying doing this blog, but I've also been wanting to explore other aspects of being an artist and being a part of the Etsy community. So, I've started a second blog, on my BS Art Studio website, and it's called Sail Away. I'm using this blog to focus on promoting fellow Etsy members, and to also educate both sellers and buyers about handmade items. Many people believe that because something is handmade, you shouldn't have to pay much for the item. I would like to show buyers the thought process behind pricing and why it is better to buy handmade items rather than something mass produced in a sweatshop in a third-world country. In any case, this is going to be fun!

Lazy River Encaustic on Panel

Encaustic on Panel, Framed
10" x 24"
(3) 8"x10", (3) 10"x12" framed
$125

To purchase this colorful painting, please visit my Etsy Store, BS Art Studio.

Jade Dreams Encaustic on Panel

Encaustic on Panel, Framed
10" x 24"
(3) 8"x10", (3) 10" x 12" framed
$125

To purchase this work, please visit my Etsy Store.

Whew, I am exhausted. Even my hair hurts. No seriously. It does. White Linen Night was fun, but it was HOT. I believe the heat index when I was setting up was around 110 degrees, and I'm not joking. We've had one day of rain since we got back from the wedding, so I do not believe that I have sweat that much in a very long time. Joe got worried because I started getting a little distant, so he kept handing me water. I think the heat was getting to me. That and not eating. But regardless, I learned a TON about doing festivals and such. It was a great dress rehearsal. Now I know what to look for in a show, and especially how to better prepare. I thought I was organized, only to figure out that I was actually very disorganized. Funny, eh? Lots of life lessons, now I have to sell some more so that I can do more festivals!

Seaspray Encaustic on Panel

Encaustic on Panel, Framed
10" x 24"
(3) 8" x 10", (3) 10" x 12" framed
$125

To purchase this work, please visit my Etsy Store.