monday, monday

I have a few things to share with you this morning... I'll start with the most exciting......

I've been chosen as this weeks ForestFaery Feature on the wonderful Taylor Lynn's blog!!!!!!!!
There are simply not enough exclamation marks to convey how excited I am about this... I'm a big fan of Dreams of Fae so it's very flattering to be featured. She did such a great job so you should definitely check it out (and her Etsy shop) and follow her, if you aren't already :) Thanks again, Taylor Lynn!

Now for some painting pictures....
I think I'm finished with the gray and purple painting I posted pictures of a few days ago... but I may still add something else to it. For now though, I'm calling it done. It was inspired by grapes and my newly found obsession with every shade of the color purple. It's 30" x 40" x 1.5" and I painted a clear glaze over the purple to make it shine and added an acrylic paste to the white to give it texture, although it's difficult to see in the photo. I'm not putting it on my etsy shop yet though. I'm saving it for The Wine Gallery next month.

The next painting is one I started yesterday afternoon. I had originally planned on painting the birdhouses but I bought this canvas last weekend and it was just sitting in the spare room, all wrapped in plastic and just begging to be painted. I couldn't resist... I'm a sucker for the smell of the wood the canvas is stretched over, the aroma is so crisp and strong when the plastic is first peeled off. I wish I could bottle it! Anyway, I wanted to do a painting similar to the gray/purple one, but with different colors. I don't use a lot of black in my paintings (other than for outlining) so I decided to take a small step outside my box and experiment.

It's not finished but it's coming along quite nicely. I think I'm going to add a quote in white hand drawn letters, I just haven't decided which one. I really like the Jimi Hendrix quote I posted a few days ago, but a friend sent me this quote the other day and I love it...

I also posted a few pictures of paintings on my personal fb page yesterday and had quite a few comments on them. I even had a former co-worker in Wisconsin say she might be interested in a custom painting for her daughter's room... so hopefully I have more projects to keep my hands busy in the near future!

Yesterday I made some yummy Kale Chips (I read about them on Tia's blog, Two Birds on a Wire).

The recipe is super simple and they're delicious! Even my very carnivorous bf loved them! Now I have another recipe to add to my vegetarian collection... which btw, the vegetarian eating is going really well! My bf even made me tofu last night while he made himself chicken... and then he made grilled squash and zucchini, while I made quinoa for the first time... yum!! I should have taken a picture because the plate with pretty and colorful! I always have my camera handy but often forget about it, so that's on my needs-to-improve list :)

Okay, now I'm off to finish my coffee... I've got a new week of homework and exams to prepare for. Including dealing with a bunch off close-minded people in my english class who think art is boring and a waste of time, so I have my work cut out for me in preparing a persuasive essay to try to convince them otherwise. Hope you are all starting your week off on a positive note!