Parts of Art

          I’ve always been a lover of paint and paint palettes. I vividly remember the excitement I felt opening that rectangular tin filled with round cakes of watercolor paint in elementary school. I was hooked! From that point on, I have wanted to explore and express within the inviting purity of paint.          In 1988 I had a beach side shop where I hand painted women's clothing. I was using acrylic paint in abundance. One morning I had cleaned my palette off, and had peeled a large colorful piece of variegated and textured acrylic paint from it.  Some friends of mine came into the shop (actually it was my minister and his wife). During our brief conversation, I showed them the peeled up paint and said, “This is too pretty to throw away, but I don’t know what to do with it.” The husband said, “Oh, you should cut it up and make it into jewelry!” We all laughed about it. It was like "Yeah right, I should try ...

 Patterns is part of my "Of the Woods" miniseries. I combine paint, papers, ink, wax resist, linocut printing, fabric, colored pencils and canvas.  My aim is to combine these various materials to express life in its untamed tangle of exuberant growth. I want to offer a place of solace where, like the tallest trees, one can reach up to the heavens. Patterns is mounted on illustration board; the final size is 8” x 10”. This piece and many more will be available  at the Broad Ripple Art Fair,  May 14th and 15th in Indianapolis, IN

                                               Here's the latest art on the easel "Of the Woods  mini- series" and by mini series I mean 8 x 10"each.       I combine paint, papers, ink, wax resist, linocut printing, fabric, colored pencils and canvas. My aim is to combine these various materials to express life in its untamed tangle of exuberant growth. I want to offer a visual place of solace where,  like the tallest  trees,  one can reach up  to the heavens. These pieces and more are  in my shop here

I am super excited to announce my very own series of  Original Hand Painted Art Cards. Note cards and more are available  on my  Etsy store here   For the rest of the story and to see a video of the entire process of the making of hand painted art cards: Instagram at parts.of_art These hand painted art cards measure 4” x 6” and are painted on white card stock. The card is first folded, painted, and printed with paint using hand carved linocut stamps, inspired from the pages of my illustrated journal.  Each card is an original acrylic painting, and is left blank inside. The card will arrive with envelope in a protective plastic sleeve.  

 Suddenly it's Autumn! Here's what that means to me:  Filling up my illustrated journal with sketches and paintings from my gardens Getting new art supplies watching the leaves as they  dance and flutter to the ground and attempting to capture it in watercolor Starting a fire in the woodstove next to my watercolor table and setting my coffee on top and last but not least, offering workshops in my art studio for fall and winter. Click here for the calendar Mask up and come make art!

Yes, it’s an Indiana thing.  And in my salsa garden, the time is now. This is a recent entry in my illustrated garden journal.  And here’s tonight’s dinner:  Green Tomatoes paintings are available at my shop  here              

Want to learn how to paint right from the garden? Watch here as a garden grows on watercolor paper right before your eyes!  We have some classes and workshops coming up soon.  Stay tuned right here  for our class schedule.

Beautiful Day for Coneflowers  is my latest watercolor/acrylic painting.  It is available at my shop Sandyartparts.etsy.com

    I have always believed that people love to see behind the scenes in the artist studio. It’s like looking behind the curtain and seeing what goes on backstage, to see how the art is crafted, what tools and materials are used, and how the artist thinks.        To this end, I am thrilled to unveil a new video that tells my story of the origins of Parts of Art.  A big shout out to the producer and videographer   @Moguefilms .                                           Here are some of the pieces seen on the video.                                              Want to see more?                                     ...

According to Bustanoby’s Color Manual, copyright 1939, which in my book is, hands down, no contest, THE authority of color:  "It is a deep blue. Compound of cobalt and alumina.  In admixture with white, cobalt Blue yields Sky Blue tints.   Cobalt itself is a tough, steel- gray metallic element similar to nickel, valued for the blue pigment it forms. A high percentage of the  world’s supply comes from a district near the town of Cobalt, in Ontario, Canada.” “ Dinky Bird” by Maxfield Parrish, 1904. Via   Wikimedia Commons  {{PD-US}}      Cobalt blue is sometimes called  Parrish blue  because artist Maxfield Parrish used it to create his distinct, intensely blue skyscapes.       Cobalt salts were first used to decorate ancient Chinese pottery with brilliant blue designs. Other ancient civilizations discovered the artistic potential of cobalt without knowing what metal they were using. One study don...

        This week I got some unfortunate news about a show I was so excited about and honored to have been invited to. The show promoters had to made the difficult decision to postpone the show from May to August 1 & 2. Now they want to know if we, the artists, want to still participate on the new date or get our booth fee refunded.               At first I thought, of course I’ll still participate! After all,  it took me so many unsuccessful attempts to get into that show, and by now I have produced and framed many art pieces. It was clearly an answered prayer for me to get in that show!       Then I looked at the calendar and realized that anot her show is on that same weekend.  Will it be this or will it be that?      It’s a show I did last year; a really good one for me. Dang it. I’d hate to miss out on that show! The other factor I have to consider is t...

       Until further notice I am away from the jewelry work table and into the woods. And by that I mean full tilt immersed in the series I started last year, entitled “Of the Woods”.  Here’s a little preview of my time in the woods.        My goal all along has been to show in the category of Mixed Media Collage for the 2020 art fair season. Of course it’s only January of 2020, and way too cold to even think about being in shows. However, that being said, NOW is the time to prepare for those shows.      To be in line for  juried art fairs means having four or five professional jury images, a carefully written artist statement, and a booth shot that shows the body of work as it will appear under the customary white tent at a show.      That brings me to my latest accomplishment, the booth image.  Because I am entering a new category, I needed a new booth image that shows my serie...

Okay folks, I know I recently declared that I am done with jewelry making until further notice.   Famous last words!   I just hit a great after Christmas sale on beads, and they WANT to be made into some amazing new upcycled pieces of wearable art.  Then yesterday I pulled some delicious dried paint off the artist palette. Yeah, I can’t help it. It’s too hard to resist!                                                                       I mean come on!! Aren’t they all just too good to wait?!      So to celebrate the New Year and give all of us some time to play and make art in the studio, I am excited to announce a special event at a special price: Upcycled Treasure Workshop   It promises to  be a super fun time filled with ideas an...

       So it turns out as I suspected. I got into a show that was clearly NOT a juried art festival. It was a two-day arts, crafts, and wine festival, complete with the usual   plethora of made-in-China crafts and commercial vendors. Ok, so I should have known better. I mean, I pretty much knew what I was getting into when I signed up and sent in my money. So why did I do it when I knew better? The reason is simple and valid: my son and daughter-in-law live right across the street, and I want to spend time with them.    So, no big surprise that my well heeled ladies did not attend this particular venue.   I had to make a decision what to do with my head. How to make the best of it when a show is not the best fit?   Here's some ideas:  Work on inventory. I use the time to go through my inventory of wearable upcycled art and tweek, re-do, and otherwise artfully alter. It's always needful and profitable.  Plus, people li...