Replacement paintings and a whole lot more

I painted duplicates of the things I sold that I showed in my last blog post.  Here is what I did.  The first photo is another "Fruit and Flowers" painting.  I had to add more fruit and more flowers to it because the frame I used is larger then the original which is now hanging in a home in CA.

Next I did the lighthouse and blue jay domino train stations along with another pink rose cancer awareness train station.  I took the original to the Vicksburg Gallery so decided to do another to show at the Three Rivers Artist Guild Holiday show. 

I wanted to have a number of train stations for the holiday show so I did 9 more for a total of 12.

I did a hummingbird pattern that  was popular in Tucson and I liked it so much I painted a slightly larger version on a wooden plate.

I did two more designs that I have sold many times in the past.  One is the Indian Maiden pattern and the other is a Patchwork Horse.

I then did some cute lovebird owls that I have done a couple of times before and a carousal horse which is a new pattern.

I have only did flamingos and a peacock once in the past on train stations so thought I'd do them again.

The last two are both new to train stations.  One is my "Lovely Lighthouse" and the other "Peek-a-boo Kitty"

 
When I lived in Tucson my domino train stations were my most popular item.  I sold 100's of them. We lived in a retirement community and it seemed everyone played Mexican Train Dominos.  I always put a hanger on the back so that when you are not using it in a game it could be hung on the wall as a decoration. In fact some people who do not play the game bought them as a wall hanging.  I am selling them here in MI but not in the same numbers as in Tucson.  I occasionally get an online order from someone who saw them at a friend's house.  I wish I had kept count of how many of them that I have sold over the years.  I do know that that number would be many 100's!  I sold every one that I painted except for a few I have gifted to family and one that I kept for myself. 

If you wonder how I started painting these here is the story:
 I got the idea for making them from my friend Frances who had a larger version of one she bought online.  It had a domino shaped hole cut in the middle for the " lead" number domino  and was painted with a simple design. She suggested I might want to paint a few to sell.  When I asked my son Mark if he could cut me some he asked if he could make them slightly smaller so that they could fit in a flat rate box and that he not cut the hole so that I could paint a picture on them instead of just a decorative boarder.  I agreed and the rest is history.  Little did we know how many he would cut and how many I would sell.  I'm thankful to Frances for getting me started on painting something that has given joy to so many people.

I sold one more painting last week.  It is my most recent "Magnolia" painting.  I probably have done 4 or 5 of these paintings which have all sold.  Time to do another one.  Here is the one that I just sold.

I set up for the holiday show this coming weekend.  I will show pictures in my next blog post.

New Craft items

Where does the time go?  I am in panic mode.  I just realized I have less than two weeks until I have to set up my booth for the Three Rivers Artist Guild Holiday Show.  I have been trying to get smaller items done which I accomplished except that some of then sold from home before I had a chance to show them.  Also, I had to take some of the items I had planned display at the holiday show to the Vicksburg Cultural Arts Center.  They are having a big fund raiser auction this coming weekend so I decided I should have some new items at the gallery.  I promised I would leave them through the holiday season.  That means I have to spend much time in my studio this week and next painting for the holiday show. 

Here are photos of my latest work.  I completed two domino train stations.  A lighthouse and a blue jay. 

We had out of town company over the weekend and one of my guests bought both of these items for Christmas gifts.  That means I'll have to paint new ones with the same pattern.  I may do two of the lighthouse as they seem to be popular around here.  I also sold a painting I did a few weeks ago to someone who saw it here on my blog.  She is from CA and was a previous customer.  The painting is "Fruit and Flowers".  I am working on a new version and should finish it today.  Here is the one that I sold.

I did a lighthouse painting on a 9" wooden plate so at least I can show this one at the holiday show.

I did one more project since my last blog post.  This is something that I have wanted to do for years.  As you know, my husband Roger makes stained glass windows.  Over the years I have not allowed him to throw away any scrap glass because I wanted to try doing mosaics.  The problem is I just never got around to it because I really wasn't sure how to do it.  I mentioned this to one of the art guild members who does mosaics and she invited me to come to her house with a few others to learn the process.  This is my first mosaic piece which I will keep for myself.  Now that I know the basics I will play around with it when I have time.  Here is my very first mosaic piece.

I better get off of the computer and get to work.  I don't have anything on the schedule for today except to paint.  I may take a break later this afternoon to go to Health Trax.  I hope to get there at least 4 times a week.  We were able to take a mile walk almost everyday during the summer but now that cold weather is here we made the decision to join the fitness center.  I spend too much time sitting and painting so must get some exercise every day and going to the gym is the best way to do that.