110th SALE GIVEAWAY!!!!

Instead of belatedly celebrating my 100th sale and seeming as though I just never got around to it in time, I decided to celebrate (prematurely) my 110th Etsy sale by giving away some free artwork. I just like it better that way. Don't question, just enter to win the damn prize, ok? heh. Actually, there are TWO prize choices. When you win, you may pick either the adorable "Lovebirds" OR the slightly ambiguous "Lucy and Larry". The choice is yours. To enter, simply go browse around my Etsy store (take your time, darling) and tell me in a comment on this blog post:

A) Which item in my store is your FAVORITE.
B) Whether you would prefer to win "The Lovebirds" or "Lucy and Larry".

For an ADDITIONAL entry, also include:

C) The oddest nursery rhyme you can come up with. I just happen to like nursery rhymes...

I shall randomly draw the winner on Monday, the 27th of April, because that happens to be convenient for me. hee.

Good luck all!

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.

Vintage doodles and Other Miss-Takes...

So here's the latest Miss-Takes and my new Pinstripes, you can click on the images for more info, I'm having such a blast with these vintage-inspired images! I can't...put down...the pen....*scribble-scribble-scribble*

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

I guess I'm as forgetful as I am well meaning...

I really MEANT to take a picture of this inkblot before I started working on it in black ink...it's just that I was waiting for it to dry while watching Monty Python's Flying Circus (on VHS, by the way!) and somewhere between Spam and a semi-nude pasty white man in lingerie, I got distracted. Anyway, here's the start, the next 2 blots have been properly scanned beforehand. anyone see where this might be going? I'm not really sure myself...

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...

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!

Human and Animal Animals .........

Ok, I just have to take a minute to mention this seller I met on Etsy. His sculptures are cool, beautiful, UNIQUE, odd and inexpensive. Plus, they have cool names. His pieces are grouped into lovely categories like "Human Animals" "Animal Animals", "Human Substitute Animals" and the ever popular "Human and Animal Animals". heh.

His store is at http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6143875 and he has no clue how good he is. The photo is of "John, Paul, Jingo, Sage and Rye" and is an awesome deal at $30.00. Visit him, see what kind of "animal" suits you....

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".

crawling out of my cozy cave i find...

I have a horrific sore throat this morning. Bleagh. Time for a giant cup of echinacea tea with a big 'ol teaspoon of honey. I think I will still list something new today for sale on Etsy. Because I'm just that stubborn...

As I'm watching the sun creep over the hills here I am SO thankful we live in natural surroundings. The quality of light reminds me of a walk along the Canal Saint Martin though...*sigh* I did love Paris...