New Whimsical Candlesticks

Here are my newest beauties!  I really love the colors on these.  And I enjoy painting the whimsical patterns.  It's very soothing.

I like to paint while I watch TV.  I say watch but I really mean listen.  I concentrate on painting and only look up when something interesting happens.  It's amazing how little there is on TV that's interesting enough to draw my attention!

I have developed a work flow for my painting.
Step One:  Stare at object to be painted for hours trying to get an idea of which way I want to go
Step Two:  Pick out a couple of patterns I want to include for sure
Step Three:  Pick out my color scheme
Step Four:  Get to painting!
Step Five:  Fix anything I don't like

Originally I intended to go with a Christmas theme in blues and either gold or silver.  But I never could decide on a shade of blue.  So I ended up with green, tomato red and a custom mixed gold.  I have some other candlesticks that may end up a wintry blue.  Maybe I just have to stare at them a bit longer!
Sharon

Available at http://www.etsy.com/shop/sharonstrouddesigns

#whimsicalart, #whimsical, #paintedfurniture, #aliceinwonderland, #wonderland,

A New Whimsical Jewelry Box

Here's my latest creation!  I really enjoyed painting this one.  Actually I've had this box for a year and just got around to working on it.  I've been concentrating so much on the scrapbooks my painting has kind of taken the back burner.  It seems to be good for my creative juices to alternate between scrapbooking and painting.  Keeps me from getting burned out.

I really love the detail on this piece.  I will admit I resorted to wearing my magnifying glasses a few times!

I normally don't paint anything on the back.  But I decided to add a bit of pretty detail and besides that it makes a great place to sign my work!


I finished this jewelry box over the weekend while I was snowed in.  At least one thing good came from that snowstorm.  On a sad note my beautiful guppies were casualties of the storm.

We lost power on Saturday and the temperature drop stressed the fancy guppies.  I never realized they were so fragile.  The guppy tank is in my studio which is the coldest room in the house.  The power was only out for 3 hours but it was mighty cold outside and hubby was having some issues getting the generator started.  I wasn't worried about the turtle tank as it sits in the den right next to the gas fireplace which I had blazing nicely.

When the power came on I thought everything was fine.  The water temp had dropped down in the 60's but warmed back up quickly.  But the very next day my newest guppy which I just got last week wasn't looking so happy.  When I looked closely I could see that he had the dreaded ick.  I then had to brave the icy roads to get some ick medicine from the pet store.  I started treating them right away but it didn't help.  Alas within 3 days all the fish were dead.  Poor little things.

OK enough of the sadness.  On a happier note this jewelry box sold the very first day.  I had to quickly take photos before I sent it off.  A lucky lady received this for her wedding anniversary.  Another satisfied customer!

I have two more jewelry boxes to paint.  Hopefully I can get started on them this weekend.  Right now I have two whimsical candlesticks and a scrapbook to photo and list.  I think need a longer weekend.

Sharon

#whimsical art, #whimsical painting, #jewelrybox, #sharonstrouddesigns

Back To Work After The Holidays

I took most of December off as far as creating new pieces.  I didn't really want to stop working on projects but I knew that it would be best to just enjoy the season and come back refreshed in the new year.  So I've got a couple of projects I'm just finishing up.

The first one is a whimsical trinket box clock.  This one is actually a reclaimed clock.  I wish I had taken photos of the original.  It was quite cheesy!  I really like the way it turned out and it was so much fun to paint.

It's listed on my website as well as my Etsy Store.  I call it Whimsical Trinket Box Clock.  Inventive, I know!

I have another jewelry box in the works and it's 90 percent finished.  As I'm waiting for the blizzard of the century (not!) I intend to wrap it up today.  My plan is to get into the studio, crank up the space heater under my desk and work like a madwoman!

Stay warm wherever you are,
Sharon