More new Stuff!

I decided the other day on a whim to add some new stuff to my painting vest...

above is the front, the white roses at the top are the original design, everything else is new. Here's a close up of the little bird, I used some black glitter paint to help him show off.

Then I painted zebras on the back. This is loosely based on my design featured in the e-zine, The Stroking Edge, a couple of years ago. (unfortunately it doesn't seem to be around any more)

And I finished the tiger with some watercolor and more scratching.

Tiger scratch board with watercolor, 5x7 inches

Tiger is for sale, coming soon to Hill Street Mall.

Paint Party Friday

Yay! Paint Party Friday! Lots of things to do today, including getting ready for Artisans at the Arboretum tomorrow. For my PPF friends, please also see my post from Wed, while it's not about painting, I think you will really enjoy it! And now for the painting part, I picked up a pack of 3 small scratch boards (5x7 inches) awhile back. I haven't done a scratch board in probably 20 years and just wanted to fool around with it, especially with doing some color on it. So I started one last night and here is what it looks like this morning.

Tiger 5x7 scratch board, work in progress

Sorry for the glare, just couldn't seem to find the right spot when I was taking the picture, either glare or a bad shadow.

Rosco!

Well, Rosco is finished and ready to go to Hoofin' It.

Rosco 12x12 inches, acrylic on paper

A Rare Treat

I did not have to go to my regular job today, after working 8 days straight I have a day off. So I decided to just relax and have fun. I was inspired to drive up to Pioneer Pass, in the Pinal Mountains, near Globe, Arizona. This is just a few miles from where I live. And it turned out to be the most awesome day!

I saw so many wonderful things! First I stopped under the little bridge and enjoyed to sound of the water trickling down.

And there was this tiny little frog, only about an inch and a half long.

And a lizard sunning himself on a rock.

Then there is the huge boulder by the bridge, with this blooming cactus growing from a crack in the rock.

And a pretty yellow flower growing by the stream.

As far as people go I had the whole picnic area all to myself for several hours, but there were many things to keep me company, like this huge butterfly!

And these little birds, not sure what kind they are but they are about the size of English sparrows

There were several deer

Some pretty orange flowers

Thistles and butterflies

I took a walk and just soaked up the smell of the woods and the sigh of the wind high in the treetops. And then the best part happened! An animal jumped out and ran across the road in front of me into the trees on the other side.

Can you guess what he is? Have you ever seen one before?

Look at his long tail and strong claws. He looks a little shaggy, perhaps he is shedding his winter coat.

Look, he can even climb trees! Did you guess he is a coatimundi? If you did then you are right! Coatimundi's are related to raccoons and eat both plants and animals. I hadn't seen one in the wild before but the Forest Ranger I talked to later said there are a lot of them around the picnic area. So that was my most awesome, wonderful day off! How was your day?

Rosco

I have been working on a pet portrait for my friends over at Hoofin' It Feed & Tack. Their lovable Great Dane, Rosco is just so awesome, I've been wanting to paint him for a long time. I'm not quite done with this, I think I've got his muzzle too wide or something. I won't have time to get back at it before Monday, though.

Rosco 12x12 acrylic on paper, work in progress

Pet Portraits

I love painting animals of all kinds, which probably accounts for part of my fascination with painting them on rocks. I do paint custom pet portraits, on paper, stone, or canvas. Pet Portraits start at $35 and up, depending on size, materials and complexity. Here are two examples.

Tuxedo Kitten 8x10 inches, acrylic on canvas

Bella 5x7 inches, acrylic on paper

An easy way to order your Pet Portrait is to email me you best photos along with an idea of what you would like, paper, canvas or stone and the size. Then I can reply with your quote and if I will need additional photos. For stone portraits it is always helpful to have photos from all sides of the animal as well as a sharp close up of the face. Once we have agreed to all the details I will send  you an invoice for a 50% deposit, with the balance due on delivery and your approval.

Decorative Painting is Ancient

Man has always decorated his surroundings with painting, carvings, weavings, ect. Here is a cool bit of a fresco from Pompeii, I did a similar mural with birds and ivy in a home. I just didn't have a good camera at the time so don't have a good photo of it.
http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/92.11.10

puppies!

Some cute puppies came to visit me while I was at Boom Town; you can be sure they are going to be on rocks soon!

Miami Boom Town Spree

Well, Boom Town is over for this year. The Volunteers did a great job keeping everyone safe and the grounds clean, Thank You! Big John was our DJ and gave us a huge variety of music to listen to all weekend, plus there was live music on Saturday night.

My booth at Miami Boom Town Spree 2011

Creative Paints 2012

All right, here it is, my project that was selected for me to teach at Creative Paints, Las Vegas in 2012.

Scrapbook daisies, as painted

Scrapbook daisies, cut, with photo inserted (my grand daughter Harmony , left and her cousin Jodi)

This is a really fun project to do, either as an actual scrapbook page or to frame and hang on the wall. Looking forward to seeing everyone in Vegas next year!

More Rocks!

I have finished up all the rocks that I am going to have out next weekend at Boom Town Spree. The rest of the week is taken up with clear seal, photo editing, cataloging, pricing and packing them.

32 strawberries

6 Easter eggs

A frog and lily pad

Panda Bear

Scorpion

yellow Lab pup

Dachshund

Come on down April 16th & 17th to Boom Town Spree, Miami, Arizona and see all my rocks in person.  My booth will be open both days, there are lots of different events going on throughout the weekend, fun for everyone!

Honored to be on the Home Page

I am honored this week to have one of my rocks featured on the home page of the Original Lin Wellford's Rock Painting group on Yahoo groups. Here he is:

rooster on stone

Today will be my last day painting rocks for next weekend. The paint has to cure for a couple of days and then I spray seal the rocks. They also have to be cataloged, photographed, inventoried, priced and packed. Thankfully it looks like our lovely warm and sunny spring weather has returned.

Weekend Work

Well, I haven't spent ALL my time painting this weekend. I did go to dinner with my mom and little sis for our birthdays (sis & I are 10 years and 1 day apart). I've also been working on bookkeeping and taxes. To give my brain a rest I went to get the mail and bought a bingo scratcher, won $2, took it back and bought another, and won $25. So a nice day overall.

Here's the basset and Himalayan cat from Friday. sorry this is a tad fuzzy....just goes to show even with atuofocus and anti shake not every picture is perfect!

basset and Himalayan

Dalmatian, yellow tiger stripe, sleeping puppy, unicorn, rooster

Grey tabby cat

Mmmmm seems like all the cats have green eyes.... The Grey tabby is a pretty big rock, about 6x8x5 inches. Would make a good door stop.

Paint Party Friday

I've found a lovely group of artists that blog and every Friday we post something, then go check in at Paint Party Friday Then we all go and look at everyone's posts. So here is mine. Lots of rock painting this week, seem to be in the flow most of the time. I finished these yesterday, except the big cat in the background, have some more work to do on him.

cat in progress, mushroom cottage, turtle, white cat, guinea pig, wolf, lady bugs, goat, cat, basset hound, foot in pink sandal

I know it doesn't show up well in this shot, but the foot has a toe ring and there are Swavorski crystals on the ring and the sandal strap.

Tuesday & Wednesday's Rocks

Well, I haven't gotten a lot of things finished the last couple of days....had to balance bank accounts, run errands and go to the regular job. But managed a few.

ladybugs

cats

Today I'm trying to get all the recent work photographed, sprayed with clear seal, then I measure, catalog and price them. Then I have to try and find time to get them up on my website. There is much more to Art as business than most people imagine!

Monday's Rocks

All right, finished a few rocks yesterday and here they are.

large turtle, a sheep, a pug, a pit bull, a Siamese cat, a Barbados sheep

This brings this batch of rocks total to 50 in 17 days. My goal was 100 good sized rocks ready for Boomtown April 15th, so it looks like I will meet or exceed that goal.

Sunday's Rocks

Ok here are the rocks that got finished yesterday

Pink dragon hatching, Siamese, black & white pig, walrus, baby shoe, martian spaceship, two little feet

And here is a much better shot of Contrada San Taddeo, my mural to go.

Contrada San Taddeo 27x36 inches, acrylic on roclon canvas, mural to go

Koi Pond 27x36 inches, acrylic on roclon canvas, floorcloth

And of course, everything is for sale. Until I have time to get them up on the website, you can always contact me by email, hysong AT cableone DOT net

New Works!

Well the regular job has kept me busy the last few days but I have got a little painting done. I also managed a quick run to the river for more rocks. I'm planning to have a booth at Boom Town Spree in Miami, April 16 & 17 so have been trying to paint as much as possible. Since rocks are my best sellers I have been concentrating on them.  So here is what I've gotten done the last couple of days.

6 toed giant foot, 3 cats, a large turtle, dachshund head, red slipper

The red slipper and the turtle are not quite finished. Behind the turtle is a large flat rock becoming a koi pond with waterlilies.