Weekend in New Orleans

I just got back from a weekend in the French Quarter in New Orleans. I had a door open with an art gallery in the Riverwalk mall and jumped on it. I took eight paintings there and am going to work on new art and send it down. The owner also invited me to come anytime and paint live in her store - something I've always wanted to do in New Orleans. I'm so excited! You can bet I'll be working on finding a way back down there in the fall to do just that.
Here are a few photos from my trip.











If you happen to be going there, look for my art in the Rougarou Trading Post.
Thanks for stopping by. Check back soon for sneak peeks from the July CupCardsToGo Kit!

~melanie~

Happy Friday and a NEW painting!

I'm heading out to the big easy next week. Beignets at Cafe Dumonde, eating dinner on the balcony watching the horse and buggy and shopping quaint shops on Magazine Street. I can't wait. The street I'm staying on is loaded with art galleries. I'll come back with so much inspiration!

This is what has kept me busy this week. It's for a collector and it's going to hang in their apartment in the French Quarter. Someone asked me if this was me in the painting (since I own a dachshund) - so I guess the secret is out, huh. (wink).





This painting, "Mardi Gras Night" is 24" x 30" - which is why it took most of the week to complete. I'm working on another doxie painting now, and when that is finished I'm getting back to paper and scissors for a different kind of fun!

Have a wonderful weekend and thanks for stopping by!

~melanie~

My Obsession with Alice

As of late, I've had an obsession with Alice. I saw the new Alice movie last month and was "enchanted" with the artistry in the film...the costumes, the color (or lack of), the characters. It was all so "artsy". I wanted to see it again the next day, but didn't. Besides stirring the artist in me, I related to Alice in a strange way. Grown up Alice was "expected" to conform to society, she was expected to dress a certain way and marry a certain man and live a certain life. I tried this mold on for the past seven months. I took a corporate job, sat at a corporate desk, and brought home a corporate paycheck. But I was dying inside. After three months the artist inside of me was screaming to get out. Yet, I was so tired at the end of the day, that I couldn't physically do anything creative. After months of prayer and patiently waiting, I finally found my way out and couldn't be happier in my spirit.

The first thing I painted on my new journey - without consciously thinking about it - was - Alice. I was inspired by a recent issue of Somerset Studios magazine - their theme throughout the magazine was Alice. I picked it up on a recent trip to Texas, and I couldn't put it down. I also was inspired by Kelly Rae Roberts. But what turned me on to Kelly Roberts was this art post by Courtney Walsh. Courtney, you have no idea how much I was screaming on the inside while sitting at the corporate America desk bored out of my mind reading this post. I guess one just doesn't know how much we can effect the lives of someone else. Thank you for being the little white rabbit for me to follow. I didn't know it at the time, but it was the beginning of a journey.

So....I came home from our trip to Six Flags and opened my box of art supplies that the UPS man delivered the week before. (Yes, I haven't even opened the box because I knew once I did, there was no turning back) I followed the techniques in Kelly Robert's book and drawing from inspiration in the books and magazines, came up with this.







My main goal in this process was to "be free". I had to let go of any of my past artistic ways and just let things happen and deal with it. I used scrapbook paper (yeah - a new found use for my stash), a Martha Stewart punch, some stickers from a kit club (the butterfly), rubber stamp and ink, along with oil sticks, and acrylic paint. The words were an afterthought - I added them after I completed the painting shown below.

Which brings on my second attempt at mixed media collage. Again, here we go with Alice.







I used older Basic Grey papers, oil sticks, acrylic paint and a $5 12x12 multi-media canvas I found on sale. Love it when that happens.

Again, my goal was to practice the mixed media collage process again. I know that there is something unique to me that hasn't surfaced yet - a new set of series, but for now, I'm sticking with Alice. As I was thinking about my obsession with Alice, I was reminded of this song that I "found" when I was a nineteen. I found a tape (it was actually an 8-track tape and yes, I had an 8-track player in my car - so you can probably pinpoint the approximate year) that had this song on it. Want to hear it? It's worth the laugh because of the hair in the video. Here goes: Living Next Door To Alice

Thanks for stopping by today. Sorry to venture from my usually papercrafting posts!


~melanie~