Monday Etsy Love: Vintage Glass Bracelet

I've always loved this combination of bright, raw red and soft turquoise. I still havn't found an opportunity to use it in my work, but I will enjoy this bracelet by WildWomenJewelry for now:

...that colour combination just makes me so happy. :)

Saturday Sketch: Portrait of Ms. Rabbit

Portrait of Ms. Rabbit

It is the year of the rabbit, and I wanted to do a sketch to feature this very lovely, fluffy creature. I will be featuring a rabbit in an upcoming work - it's in my 'to paint' part of my mind.

I had my own rabbit growing up: his name was Twix, and he was most wonderful. When I went to school I couldn't keep him anymore, so I gave him to a little boy. I honestly think that he thought he was one of the cats...

..and yes, I realize that I wrote rabbit as 'rabit' in the picture - I guess I was just so engaged in the sketch :)

My Creative Space

This week in my creative space, I finished my oil painting, Bleeding Hearts:


I'm pretty happy how it turned out. Now it just has to dry, have a protective coat painted over it, and it'll be ready for anyone who wants it - if you are interested, best to contact me to reserve it.

I've also been playing around with my palette knife with my watercolours - interesting combination, yes.


You can see more creative spaces here.

Watercolour Wednesday: Midnight Thrush

Midnight Thrush - 6.5 x 8" watercolor (on larger paper)

A little bird exploring a starlit evening.


I've been trying to work with painted backgrounds in watercolour. Here I was going for a more 'artistic' edge, to give the painting more style.

Original is for sale on Etsy.

Monday Etsy Love: Whale Screenprint

I cannot fathom how large animals in the ocean are. Take for instance the whale: so immensely large, but at the same time: it's so much more graceful than many land creatures.


This hand pulled print, Whale by printsbyamandajames on Etsy, has such immaculate detail. I could not imagine the amount of time and effort it took to create the texture that they achieved.

Saturday Sketch: Fortune Cookie Romance

Fortune Cookie Romance

I have dedicated Saturdays to sketches with hopes that it will be easier to keep this up with a whole week to sketch. *fingers crossed*

Weekly Wrap Up!

It's been a pretty grueling week.

1. I wrote my CAMRT National Certification exam. Pending that I pass, I am officially done school. Within 4 weeks I will get my results back, and will hopefully be able to add MRT(R)- medical radiation technologist - to the end of my name.

2. When my results arrive, I won't be around to receive them just yet. I will be in the Dominican for their scheduled arrival date. After my exam this week, I started making my 'trip to do' lists. And have started to get back into my workout routine to get beach ready.

3. Major clean of the upstairs and main floor. All that's left is basement floor - ie. my studio lol - which doesn't have any windows, and hence no natural light - my studio / working photos aren't so nice any more :(

4. I've been painting like a maniac this week. All the ideas that I've been having and recording while studying are finally allowed to come out.

5. Nothing. That's right - with no exam, and major early week issues out of the way, my mind is finally at a relaxed state of zen.

Although this week was pretty packed, busier weeks are ahead of me while I apply to jobs and go through the interview process.

Watercolour Wednesday: Fiction Project Inspiration

Stargazing - 4x6" watercolour

I have been working with ideas for my contribution to The Fiction Project. I guess that I am just too anxious to wait for my book to arrive for me to start. After thinking about ideas, I realized that I had to use a cow for my main character - having grown up on a dairy farm and working with them for most of my childhood. My character will be a calf (baby cow), so it will have to loose the udder from this rendition, but that's okay.

I have already sketched out main ideas, and very simplified page layouts. According to my 'research' on the sketchbook type that I will be receiving, it will be 80 pages long. I'm taking the 'children's book' approach - so that is way to long for that. But that's okay! I will have the main story, and then after will be mini snippets, poems and such.

I'm still not telling what topic I choose...but I'm sure most are able to narrow it down. ;)

Monday Etsy Love: White Seashell

As some know, in February I'm going on a trip down south. Lately I have been drawn to beach / ocean themed items on Etsy.


This print, White Seashell by MagicIsland, just sets my mind in that lazy, beachy, sunbathing mood. I just can't wait until my exam is done (3 more days!), and then I can focus on getting ready for this trip and all it's goodness.

The Fiction Project

If you had read my previous post from the other day, you would have known that I was rambling on about the opportunity to illustrate a book, but how impossible that would be and so on and so forth.


Well, as I was still checking out the Sketchbook Project (which my friend Amanda - Ulixis - participated in, and is sending in her submission), I discovered that there is a sister project, called The Fiction Project. It is similar to the sketchbook project, in that you're given a Moleskin book to create a piece of work based on a predetermined theme.

The greatest of this project: I can tell a story, and illustrate it in the comfort of a sketch book! Now, I regard the comfort of a sketch book in that - sketchbooks are full of surprises, and nothing is ever certain. And so, the story does not have to follow a traditional flow at all.

I have ordered my Moleskin cahier sketchbook, and will be eagerly awaiting it's arrival in my mailbox. Until then, I will be brainstorming ideas of sorts around my topic - which I will disclose once I've actually begun work on my little project. :o)

It is still open, and tons of topics are available! So, if you think you're up to the challenge: go and sign up right now!

My Sketchbook

My sketchbook most definitely does not get the love that it deserves. Simple put: it is lonely and probably in some sort of life-ending agony over a broken heart. Sometimes it sits and sits without a single mark in it - and my sketching skills dwindle more and more with that.


Sketchbooks have been 'popular' so to speak lately (I know, they're always popular...I just mean lots of people have been blogging about it this week). My friend at Ulixis is just about to post her pages from the Sketchbook Project. As well, Indiefixx wrote about an online sketchbook-course - which appears to emphasis, that working in a sketchbook doesn't mean that you only have to work in muted pencil shades: you can have as much colour and creativity as you please!

Lately, I've only been using my sketchbook to plan more complicated paintings (some paintings I just go with the flow and see where I end up - about a 25% failure rate to that technique, but still definitely lots of fun). I haven't really been using it to explore, and experiment. I have a really nice one too (and a not so nice one for really quick-ugly sketches). My really nice one has thicker textured paper so that it will take to paint better - perfect for a watercolor artist like myself, if only I would use it.

So I thought, that maybe I would create my own sort of sketchbook challenge. Once a day is way to much for someone like me, whose mind wanders enough to forget about the simplest things (I can't even post once a day on my blog lol). But maybe I'll try once a week? We will have to see how it goes. I cannot promise anything. And this post cannot count as my first one, since that sketch above was done ages ago - I just wanted a picture lol. And it probably won't start this week, since I have my provincial exam that's days away and I'm completely engaged in study (yes, totally engaged and totally on my computer dabbling away and not with my books - opps). Soon - that's when I will try to attempt this - soon. :)

Children's Books

...I'm not sure if it's just the urge to procrastinate itching through my viens, but I really want to illustrate a children's book. The only problem: I have no story.


I just think that the process of illustrating a book would allow me to develop my painting skills better and provide an ultimate challenge. Although it would be sincerely time consuming. Committement to finish such a project would be my largest challenge of course - I have many 'little projects' which are yet to be completed, and some which never do.

I thought that I might share some of my incomplete pieces that you have not seen, and some older ones of the illustration sort. Some are almost 10 years old, but are definitely part of my learning process. A lot of them I created with the intent of learning how to use a new medium - for example: using ink with my watercolor work, or playing around with masking medium.


I'm also in a phase of exploring new styles (see my Angieinoil blog for a experimental piece that I'm working on in oil). I have been looking online at different artists, just exploring different types and forms of art.


I think it is important to look back sometimes, to see how one is growing as an artist. And I find it fun to dig through old things :)

Warm Wishes

I hope everyone had a splendid holiday season! Mine was excellent. I first had Christmas with James, and then went up to see my family for the holidays (James couldn't come since he had to work - he's a paramedic :)... that's right, my new place has an awesome fireplace ahah - major upgrade from my tiny old apartment


For the first time, I had my own tree. Well, it was my roommates and my tree that James and I decorated. And it was quite the lovely tree. We even had Rudolph ornaments! :D


For Christmas I treated James to a Wii - complete with some games and an extra remote (so I can play too, of course lol). And - well...he 'won' for the best present: he got me a trip to the DOMINICAN REPUBLIC!! EEEEeee! I have never been out of the country, or even flown - so it'll be so exciting and SO much fun!

I also got to decorate my parents tree as well! Now, there aren't any gifts under the tree because my parents - as silly as it seems - still waits until we're all in bed (or atleast upstairs) before they put them out. Still gives you that 'running downstairs' excitement. And, of course I was too sleepy in the morning to get my camera before all the Christmas Day business began.


My parents got us some 'family board games' - so I spent a chunk of my time visiting playing Cranium and the 'John Deere' game. It was a lot of fun!

This little deer ornament here, I've had for forever. Ever since I can remember, it's been put on the tree :) My oldest brother has a little solider.

And then, New Years Eve was spent with wonderful friends (and I got to rock it in my zebra print sequin shirt - yes, awesome, I know!)

All in all, it was a very good holiday season, and I hope everyone else had a great one as well.

I would also like to take this time to thank everyone who participated in the Boxing Day sale!! Thank you all so much!! I was worried with all my studying, and not being able to maintain an online presence that my shop would suffer in January and February (and then bills would come...), but the sale was such a success, that I'm able to put some money aside in case things don't do well these two months...and then hopefully come March when I get my test results I'll be employed as a Medical Radiation Technologist :D

Phew! Long post!!