There has been something lurking in my mind...

something about ink and watercolor and anthropomorphs...you know how ideas for paintings and things sort of scuttle about in the squidgy corners of your mind when you are trying to sleep or listen to a radio serial from the 70's or some such thing and they grow and grow and growandgrow and GROW until....they sort of DEMAND to be made or else they take your mind hostage and you can't get the bills written out or read that nice-smelling book you found until they've had their way?

this was one of those times, so i hope you enjoy "Beatrix".

Is Beatrix showing off her naughty knees? Or is she startled to find human legs beneath her skirt? She's so hard to read...

Au Revoir.

The treasury thing...

So I got featured in this treasury, called I'VE GOT A SECRET. Also featured in this treasury, called WELL, WELL, WELLL...AND this one, about BIRDS.

I also managed to curate one, ZOLTAR SAYS...something about a dark winged bird...

Treasuries rock. Off to make art...

Miss-Construed...........My New Miss-Take.

Out of the 500 billion things I had to do today...this was the one I REALLY enjoyed. I still have roughly 300 billion things to do, but please meet Miss-Construed, my new Miss-Take. She is ink and acrylic on wood, and she's not happy. :)
If you feel inclined, you can see close-ups and such HERE.

I'm not sure where this is going, exactly, but it beats painting cardinals on mailboxes. *sigh*

Enjoy the rest of your Sunday, folks!

-Liese Marie, mailbox/house painter in a pinch

Awesome finds in broken books...

I really hit the jackpot yesterday with the torn up old books I found! One of them is just too precious to deconstruct, even though it is a mess. It is the Junior Instructor, from 1918, a homeschool book. Hilarious. The others have spurred a new batch of birdies in my etsy store. One is a book filled with Kanji, (if you know which language, PLEASE let me know!) one is a text on learning shorthand and this one is from a book about musical composition.

Off to do some more ink work and painting!

Telling Secrets...

I finished this new inkblot painting last night, and am working on another in my watercolor sketchbook. That one will be too large to scan, but I'm sure having a blast with these. I love looking at a character I've drawn and wondering if he's going to wind up reading a book or pulling a turtle's tail. You can get a better look at "Telling Secrets" HERE.

I've been roped into the Chamber of Commerce dinner tonight with the owner of the gallery I run. She HAS been nominated as business-person of the year, so let's hope she gets picked! :) Gotta run...

I Wish I could Fly...

This is an experiment for me, inspired by something I saw on the web somewhere late at night-(I really need to take notes! If I find the amazing artwork that got me thinking about trying this, I'll post the link, promise!) I made a design in watercolor paint, folded the paper to create the inkblot and then I used what I saw in it to guide my drawing in ink. This was a TON of fun, and I will definitely be doing more of these Rorschach paintings. If you love it, you can buy it HERE. :D

Psychoanalysis welcome!

If you go to sleep in the sky, you will wake up cousin to the birds...

I'm having WAY too much fun digitally coloring my drawings...

Just to be able to say, "Yes, I can do something similar with brown/green/puce instead...no problem!" I LOVE it. Hope you do too. :D

The new mixed media piece, "Rose"...buy it HERE. Now off to work with me!

The Fountain Pen...

So I grabbed this fountain pen while I was out yesterday, and I have to admit that I didn't want to go to bed last night, I was having too much fun drawing! I think I'll be needing replacement cartridges soon... :/ Here is the link for the one print I have up on Etsy. I know my store has a lot of different styles in it, but I just love experimenting!

Off to get ready for work, but I'll be thinking about coming home to play with ink...

8 ACEO'S in a handbound book!!! "Hungry Moon"

We've been slaving away for days to produce the first run of my book containing 8 frame-able ACEOs. It's called "Hungry Moon" and is now available in my Etsy store! You can find it here:

That's only $2.75 per ACEO plus a hand bound book! :D

I hope you enjoy these, they have a deliciously sick sense of humor...

I guess I finally hit on something with this cute but visually simple collage and ink piece, Amelie. I got tons of hits and a few hearts on it on Etsy, and she was featured in this treasury "Without Rhyme or Reason"
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=40631
I guess I'll just keep on trying! Today is my last day of my mini-vacation and I worked all the way through. :/ My husband had a 3:30 am wakeup, but I think now that he's off to work I'll try for another hour or so of shuteye...See you later, folks.

Insomnia and the tiny art...

So I think it is a sort of sickness. I get something into my head that I want to create and it explodes into dozens of spin-off ideas and before you know it...I'm up in the middle of the night using my exact-o knife to cut collage pieces and things and *click-click-click* I'm listing on Etsy and I have scraps of paper strewn about the living room...

I guess at least this time when my husband stumbled out into the living room squinting into the light I didn't have the blowtorch fired up....that man has some serious patience. heh. At any rate, enjoy my evening's sleepless creation, I really have to try to catch another hour or so of sleep, so much to do today! Meet Cordelia.

I gave in to the tiny art craze....

and started making ACEOs. :D I have been having an obscene amount of fun making these tiny little illustrations with collage papers and ink. I'm thinking I'll have to do more in the red since everyone seems to react to that color. I really should be painting other things right now, but I just can't stop! *runs in a circle clutching tiny scraps of paper to her chest*

I hope these are a seller!

Fevered dreams...

Just the beginning of a few days off...Trying to prioritize my artwork. Still stuck on figuring out a combination of materials that will make these characters "pop"...

time for tea... Enjoy "The New Dress".

Better a handful of dry dates and content with that, than to own the gate of peacocks and be kicked in the eye by a brooding camel...

I got the day off with my husband! Yay! We worked all day of course, but we did it TOGETHER. Kris cut me a bunch of mounting stock for my illustrations, and is almost finished knitting me a soft, silky, cranberry scarf. :D I made and posted 2 new pieces in my Etsy store, www.deadpanalley.etsy.com I also packaged and mailed out some Etsy orders and did some research online.
We went out to lunch at our favorite Chinese place and now we are listening to "Moon Over Morocco", (one of my favorite radio serials) while we work on various things.

It is incredibly windy outside but the fire is starting to make it rather cozy in here.

Life is good.

Yes, indeed.

DeadpanAlley Originals for a...song. *cough*