write your own story

7" x 10" journal page

And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise. The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt. ~Sylvia Plath

write your own story
make your own choices
fill in the blanks to your life
gain confidence in your own creativity
be bold
pursue your dreams
here's your chance
take it

Believe it or not, I painted most of this journal page with a paper towel. I was too lazy to grab my brushes so I just started blobbing the paint on the paper towel.....lol. I need to make a video on how not to paint. hee, hee

Thanks for the nice comments about the transfer video. It was much appreciated.

fill your heart with art

-manon

image transfer demo

A few months ago I did a post in image transfers. It was a little confusing so I decided to do a little video. I hope I explained it a little better this time.

I used watercolor paper for this demo. It was coated with gesso and left it to dry before the transfer. Canvas and board will also work.
Oh..... I forgot to explain that most magazine pictures transfer well also.



These videos drive me crazy. Here are a few of my bloopers



fill your heart with art and image transfers

-manon

come hang out at my studio

Come on in. Hang with me!

I had a relaxing day in my studio yesterday. I enjoy those days. Did a little of this and that. Listened to my Ipod and even when it's bright out I like to light my candles. Love, love candles.



This is a piece I've just started. I will paint the background before I put the smalti in.



A stack of wood ready to be primed for the next big project...lol.



These are the best little pastels..... they are Portfolio watersoluble pastels ....I like to use them on everything.



I finished a little heart for a giveaway coming in August.

Low key kind of day..... good day to visit.

fill your heart with art

-manon

i'm listening

7" x 10" journal page

“Every artist dips his brush in his own soul, and paints his own nature into his pictures.”
-henry ward beecher

So many times in my life I didn't listen to my intuition...... my soul. I ignored it. It's funny when your gut tells you one thing and you choose to go in the opposite direction. Not anymore.... I've been making changes. I'm learning to trust my soul...... i'm listening. It tells me that it's okay to weep, to open my heart, to love hard and embrace all the possibilities.

fill you heart and your soul with art

-manon

my business cards

R. Garriott recently wrote a great post on the art business card. She also discussed how to get affordable cards in another post. Terrific info for those looking for new cards.

Today I thought I'd show you some of my brand new cards.



As an artist I love to change up my cards and with most companies it's not so easy to do. I've been using Moo for over a year now. For $21.95 I can order 50 cards with 50 different images. Ok.... that may be a little pricey but the more you order the better the price. I can't tell you what it's like to look at these cards...hee, hee. It's like giving away a little painting every time someone asks for my business card.

The quality is exceptional and the ordering process is a breeze.

downside.... most people want more than one.... oh well! The last person I handed a card to wanted five...lol.



These are the MiniCards. $19.95 for 100 with the option to choose 100 different images. Yup... you read it right. They are so darn cute and you can add six lines of text on the back.




The back of my cards.

fill your heart with art

-manon

painting mixed with mosaic

awakening
12" x 16" mixed media painting with mosaic

“Life is not a journey to the grave with intentions of arriving safely in a pretty well-preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out and loudly proclaiming ... WOW! What a ride!
-author unknown but honestly.... I think I wrote it..lol

I had a plan..... a really good plan I might add. The plan was to do this painting with a light feel. I wanted to make if feel airy. I'm so cracking up right now because that intention crashed and burned really quickly. I LOVE color.... bold color! Can't deny it. It is what it is. When I started panting the background it was done with very light colors. I realized that it just wasn't going to work especially since I was adding mosaic smalti to the mix.



I used smalti which is traditional handmade glass tesserae from Italy. Because they generally have an uneven surface when used in mosaics you do not always have to grout. This was best suited for my purposes because I had a painting in the background . Grout would have made a huge mess of things.



I chose a gold smalti. Some of the glass looks gold while others have a greenish color to them. It's really hard to see the effect but it turned out ok. I was pretty tame with it so I think I'll push it even further the next time.

fill your heart with art

-manon

contemplation

An art aims, above all, at producing something beautiful which affects not our feelings but the organ of pure contemplation, our imagination.
-eduard hanslick

I've spent a lot of time contemplating things this week. I've been thinking about maybe changing my business name and whether I should even have a website. I'm not one of those that can easily update my website so I rely on a company. It's a pain because it costs a ton every time I want to add photos and it gets stale pretty fast. I feel that my blog gets so much more traffic and is ever changing. I need to figure out if only having a blog is a smart idea. What do you think?
If you're interested read this post by Trish Jones on blog vs. website.

Been thinking a lot about this piece. This is the work that the little mosaic will go on. We'll see if it works...lol. I decided to start with the face but I'm not really sure if she'll stay this way.



This is what the texture looks like before I paint it.



You'll never guess what the mosaic part of this work will be? Yes, yes.... another heart. I left the heart section clean with just coating of glue because the glass will be laid in this section.

My friend Lynne Hoppe is equally taken with hearts. I just told her that we should start an exhibit called..... obsession: two artists one vision. ; )

fill your heart with art

-manon

new painting and a place to bark fundraiser

9" x 12" mixed media painting on canvas

Silently, one by one, in the infinite meadows of heaven,
Blossomed the lovely stars, the forget-me-nots of the angels.
~Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, "Evangeline"

Does anyone believe in angels? Not really sure but I think I do. You sometimes hear people say that there's someone watching over you and I'd really never thought about it until a few years ago. I had two circumstances in my life that were potentially devastating. When the first one went down there didn't seem to be any light at the end of the tunnel. In my dreams one night, a young man touched my shoulder and told me everything was going to be alright. It was so vivid to me. I woke up with a feeling that a weight had been lifted and eventually things turned out amazingly well.

The second time this happened was about five years later. This young man with dark curly hair came to me once more. He looked at me and smiled and delivered the same message as before. Right then it occurred to me that this man was my brother. My brother had died when he was three and I was a year old. I never knew him but I'll tell you flat out that I knew this angel was Daniel..... I felt it so deep inside. I'd never dreamt of him before and have not seen him since. He was here to give me a message...... he was my angel.

This painting was a commission piece for a woman that lost her mother. She wanted an angel. I hope she likes it because I know this painting is definitely out there....lol!


For the second year in a row Jill Beninato has hosted a project to support A Place to Bark. Jill has done a ton of work to put out a zine to raise funds for A Place to Bark which is a non profit animal rescue established and run by Bernie Berlin. Thank you so very much Jill!


zine cover by Jill Beninato

The zine is all color and 43 pages. It is professionally printed by Lulu Printing and all proceeds are going to A Place to Bark. 21 artists were invloved including "moi". Help support a great cause!

Lulu is the place to purchase it.


fill your heart with art

-manon

about renee

window to the soul
12"x 12" mixed media painting

Renee is my fellow Canadian, blogger and friend. I met her in blogland a few months back. She has stage 4 inflammatory breast cancer but that hasn't gotten her down.Renee tells us stories of her life, her big family and her treatments. She makes us laugh and at times makes us cry. She is an extremely strong, positive woman who I greatly admire.

The other day Renee left a comment on my blog about one of my paintings. She loved the heart and she thought it would make a great painting. I agreed. So I made a heart painting but not with a door this time.... one with a window because Renee is constantly showing us the window to her soul.

I'm sending this to my friend Renee because she inspired it. If I'm down about something I just think of her and realize that I have this one life..... and dammit..... I'm going to live it balls out just like her! Thank you Renee!

Check out her blog.... you'll love it!

fill your heart with art

-manon

textured journal page

7" x 10" mixed media journal page

Last week my good friend, Laura, gave me the nicest compliment. After showing her my journals she told me that she wished that all my my friends in blogland could see them live because they looked so much better in person. Wow! Thanks Laura!

The thing about the journal pages is that there's so much texture it doesn't show up that well when I photograph them. I'm so camera challenged..... lol! I like to believe I know what I'm doing but truth be told I know zip. Just believe me when i tell you that those pages are full of stuff.



I'm sometimes slow to realize things. I saw this roller on someone's Youtube video, (sorry.... can't remember who). I was painting all my edges with a brush until I discovered this little baby. OMG.... it's so perfect..... works like a dream on those edges. I picked up a bunch of them at the craft store. Well worth it!



fill your heart with art and rollers to paint your edges

-manon

anticipating love's sweet arrival

anticipating love's sweet arrival
18" x 36" mixed media painting on canvas

I took the long way on this painting but I believe I've arrived. I still need to fix the moon..... ya.... it's not the sun..... but overall it's finished. I'm so very glad that I deep sixed those flowers.



Trying to get a decent photograph of this was a nightmare. It's too big for me to get the lighting right. OK... I know some of you must think that this is hilarious considering I have no lighting and no skills at taking a decent picture but I tried. lol



When I was growing up, Canada had some pretty great home grown talent. Leonard Cohen, Neil Young, Sarah Mclaughlin, and Bare Naked Ladies are just a few. I was a teenager in the eighties and Bryan Adams was the big thing. Yup.... he was so pop but we loved him anyway.

I've found a live version of his song Heaven, which is my personal favorite Bryan Adams song...hee, hee. He's performing it with a young man named Charlie Siem, who is a very gifted violinist.



fill your heart with art

-manon

The Bella Sinclair Award

It is my honor to receive a new award from my friend Ces. Ces's award is dedicated to Bella Sinclair, a brilliant artist and friend. She continually inspires us all. The Bella Sinclair award honors friendship, sisterhood, sharing and caring.

Thank you Ces.... girlfriend!! I look forward to stopping by your blog each day. You are an incredible lady!

There are so many of you that I'd like to pass this along to but I'll do a few today.....

Here's to sisterhood!

Sheila Tajima Besides being so very kind to all she comes in contact with..... she's one of the hardest workers out there. Sheila leaves the nicest comments on people's blogs.

Melissa Langer was one of the first people to leave a comment on my blog and we've been friends ever since. Another hard worker...... I don't think she sleeps. When she's not creating art she's creating bears and hats for the needy in Africa. WOW!

Nancy Medina makes the world more beautiful with her fabulous paintings. I'm always in awe of those flowers.

Lynne Hoppe is my mixed media sister. Terrific artist and person. Every time I see her prayer flags I want to cry.

Kelley MacDonald laughs at the stupid comments I post on her blog. She entertains me with stories of her new puppy and wows me with her work. We could seriously hang out at her next wine party.

R Garriott shares her techniques and tips for all and on top of that she's crazy talented!

Happy 4th everyone!

fill your heart with art

-manon

unlocking the door

7" x 10" mixed media journal page

“Our senses are indeed our doors and windows on this world, in a very real sense the key to the unlocking of meaning and the wellspring of creativity.”
jean houston

Obviously I was just a little frustrated with my painting on Tuesday so I just left it for a day. This morning I decided to work on a journal page and like magic I believe I know what to do with it now. I've unlocked the door and I'm about to walk through. Mmm... it's a wonderful thought for the day.... unlock the door. Perfect.

Listening to the live version of in a little while! Man...I love this song!

Have a great Fourth everyone!

OMG..... I'm totally laughing my butt off because I just realized that the woman in my journal page looks like Michael Jackson! Hee, hee

fill your heart with art

-manon