A Fresh Start

Here we are at the start of a new year.
The Christmas season went by way to fast but that's how it is when paint right up to the last minute. My ornaments sold very well, it's so nice to know that people like your work and want to display it in their homes. But with Christmas behind me now is the time to clean my studio and get ready to paint for the spring and summer season. I've emptied out the closet and all the drawers in here and gone through everything to organize it. It's amazing the things you'll find when you do that, surfaces you forgot you bought last winter and all the odds and ends I use for different projects. I go through all my bottles of paint to make sure I have a full stock of what I'll need when I get back to painting. There are those few go to colors that I seem to use on almost every project I paint, sometimes I get into a rut have to make myself step out of my comfort zone and dust off a few colors and incorporate them into a design.
I have a color mix chart now and that comes in very handy because it never fails you'll start to work on a design and sure enough you'll be out of a color of maybe not have it at all, that color mixing chart has saved me from making a run to the store more then once and where I live there is no craft store down on the corner.

One thing I'm working on is making my own color chart. I have some old business cards that I'm not using anymore so I'm painting the colors on the cards, I use the color straight from the bottle then I mix the color just as I would use it to highlight and paint that on one end of the the card the other end I use what I would normally shade that color with. Once the paint is dry I write the color name and highlight and shade color on the back of the card. You can store these cards in the clear baseball card protectors and keep them in a folder or you can use a hole punch and put them on a ring to keep on your work table and another thing if you have to mix a certain color for something, paint that on a card and write what you used on the back so you can refer back to it at a later date. This sounds like a lot of work but it goes pretty quick and comes in very handy if you are painting with a friend and they want to know what you mixed to get the color.
I'm finding it get harder to remember what I've mixed after a few months. You can even make a note of the project you used the color for. It's kinda like painting post-it- notes...LOL and believe me I need all the help I can get when it's time to remember something. During these dreary winter days get out some colors and brighten things up for a while, color is good for the soul.

I'm also working on the web site for the Craft Guild Shop it's starting to come together, only a few more things to do and we'll have a online store.
Check us out on Facebook don't forget to "Like" us. Or you can go to our site to meet the members and see what they make, www.craftguildshop.com .

 Happy painting.

Tis the Season

If you have been following my blog the last few years you know that Christmas time is my favorite time to paint, and painting has filled every day the last few months.
I've painted so much that it seems life has passed by in a blur. Some times you have to take a break and go out and reconnect with the rest of the world. So last night all of the members of the Craft Guild Shop got together for their annual Christmas diner.There was lots of good food and conversation. The shop looks so nice with all the lights and decorated trees filled with ornaments that several of us make, all though the trees are not as full of ornaments as they were and that's a good thing, that means people are buying them.
On my way home I took the time to check out all the homes decorated with the beautiful lights of the season, here's what the house at the end of my street looks like...

 So my point is don't let the best season of the year pass you by without taking some time for yourself and enjoying all the beautiful sites around your neighborhood.
Now back to my painting projects, my buddy Hans is a wood worker and he always has some small leftover pieces of wood so now I'm using his scraps that he cuts for me to make word blocks. They have been fun to play with here's one of many sets for the winter season....

                                    

 This year folks are watching every penny trying to make ends meet and there might not be as much money for Christmas shopping so why not paint something to give to some on your gift list. Get out your brushes and see what you have laying around the house that you can paint up cute as can be. It doesn't mater if you paint ,sew, scrapbook whatever your passion is use it to make your gifts this year. 

Until next time happy painting.

My Web Site ~ www.joycespaintnplace.weebly.com

Another Thanksgiving has come and gone, I hope that you had a wonderful holiday and have many blessings to count. It's been a beautiful weekend sunny and warm, usually by the time Thanksgiving rolls around the temps have dropped and it's cold, but this time it's been sunny and warm most of the weekend. 
Friday evening there was the annual Tree Lighting on the Square in Leonardtown, Md., 

The Craft Guild Shop participated in this event, they had a table set up and over 500 kids stopped by during the evening to make Christmas ornaments, everyone had a good time.
We have decorated the shop for Christmas we have trees up and lights are sparkling all over the shop. I love the lights of the season.


Here's my new ornament for this year...


























The background is a very dark green with just a simple pretty poinsettia.
I've been painting lots of ornaments to sell this year. I sold several at the craft show last weekend, so I've been restocking the shop and I've added some to my new web site. Yes, I have a web site now... www.joycespaintnplace.weebly.com
as I'm getting ornaments restocked I'm adding them on the site for sale, stop by and check them out.
Well now that Thanksgiving is over it's time to plan for the most special season of all Christmas, time to get out those brushes and paint something for a gift or to decorate your home.
Until next time happy painting.

Halloween

It feels more like Thanksgiving then Halloween with snow over parts of the country but that's how Mother Nature has decided to celebrate this season. I sure hope this isn't a preview of what winter has in store for us. Thankfully we didn't get anything but rain in Southern Maryland.
I've been busy painting away on ornaments and lately I've been doing small signs with cute saying like "Never underestimate the power of a hissie fit" And " I'm sick of reality I want a fairy Godmother" These are some of the things that I'll be selling at the Craft Guild Shop and at my next craft show. I did a show a few weeks ago at the fairgrounds with the Guild, we participated  in the Oyster Festival. We had a nice crowd turn out and people were in the mood to shop.
Also I'm selling my ornaments at a local gift shop Lola Belle Co. it's a pretty little shop that's all decorated for Christmas and ready to kick off the holiday season. We hope that everyone will come out to the local shops and support the artisans in your communities.
The Craft Guild shop has a new glass studio now, glass artists Ardith Young has set up a work space and is working at the shop three days a week.
I've been working to put together a new web site for the Guild and there you will be able to meet the artists as I'm going to do a small showcase piece on the site for each member. Check out the new site http://craftguildshop.weebly.com .

 

I'm also painting ice skates again here's a picture of one I just finished. I decided make them as door hangers this time. In the past I've mounted them on a base to set on a table top but I thought this would be a nice change from the normal Christmas wreath. The Christmas season is fast approaching and I hope your painting for the season. Until next time have a safe and Happy Halloween and keep those paint brushes moving.

Rain ,Rain Go To Texas, They really need you.

Seriously ? More rain ? Things were just getting somewhat back to normal after Irene came through here with a vengeance. Irene dumped way too much rain and the winds were awful. Trees are down everywhere, folks around here haven't finished cleaning up behind her and now tropical storm Lee has moved right on up the coast and the rain is coming down. The craft guild shop where I'm selling my pieces has been closed for more then a week now. There is a small run that sits right beside the shop and normally it stays within it's banks but when Irene caused a flood surge of  four to eight feet the calm quite little run turned into a rolling river. See......

The row of shops in the back is where the shop is located, it's up off the ground about four foot or so but obviously that's not high enough. The shop on the left side of the picture is an Antique Center, they had about a foot of water in there. Luckily for the craft guild no ones items were destroyed, but the shop didn't fair so well.
Everything has been moved , carpets have been removed and new tile will take the place of the old carpet. Every inch will have to be treated for mold.  And I'm sure there will be some painting going on. So until all that is finished the shop is out of commission for a few more days.

So I suppose while all that is going on and the rain is coming down painting is as good a thing to do as any. I've been painting on ornaments and I'm going to do some fall pieces. Can't wait to do some of the table runners with the pretty fall leaves that Patty Rawlinson has done and a few other things I've seen in the Paint Works magazine.
Until next time, paint something that makes you happy.
     

Summer Time

Here it is August already the summer is going by way to fast. I've been busy painting getting finished pieces done for the Craft Guild of St. Mary's as I'm Crafter of the Month for August.

How come with all the painting I've done this past year when I go to look for the pieces to display in the shop there's nothing left to show? I guess I've given away and sold more then I thought, but that's a good thing I suppose. I'm really enjoying doing the Oil Roughing, I just finished another Mary Owens design It's her Barn at Pine Knob.

Last weekend I attended the Beach Party On the Square in Leonardtown , Maryland.

Hans another member at the Craft Guild Shop and I set up a display on the square to promote the shop. It was a very HOT and HUMID day but it was nice to get out to see all the young and old coming out for some summer fun. There was lots of good food and good music everyone was having a good time. Mr. & Mrs. Claus came out to mingle with the folks on the square. Kids young and old really enjoyed seeing them and everyone was taking pictures with them.

Just a few more weeks and schools will be opening again and before you know it the holidays will be looming over us. So take some time and enjoy the last of the hot lazy summer days. And if you can find some time to work in a few hours to paint. It's never to early to start painting Christmas ornaments. The Paint Works Christmas Ornament Issue is available right now, they have some really cute patterns in this year's issue.

Until next time Happy Painting.

It's about Time

Good Grief, it's been forever since I've taken the time to come here and update what's been happening. Things have made a change in my world. My job has ended after nine years. The owner had the business up for sale for four years but in this economy no one came up with the money that it would take to purchase the business and a franchise. So he decided to close and at the age of seventy five I can understand that. But in the mean time that has left me job hunting, no fun.

But since I couldn't find a job in the area where I want to stay I decided to make one. So I'm trying to get classes going at the local Craft Guild of St. Mary's County near by. Of course that's not very easy to do in the summer months when everyone has summer time plans. But that's ok I'm setting up some painted items to sell in the shop. Hopefully people will have some interest in the classes in the fall once the weather cools down and the kids are back in school.

Anyway I'll tell you a little about the shop....It's a nice size shop with a lot of varied artist's / crafter's everything from hand made quilts , wood crafts, beautiful jewelry, watercolor artist, fabric crafts and the list goes on and on. Each month a member or artist in the community is featured as an Artist of the Month this month the artist is Pat Troiani. Pat is a watercolor artist who has some beautiful pieces for sale in the shop. If that weren't enough Pat also makes jewelry, very pretty pieces with sea glass and beads.

I have just started to get my space set up and for right now I'm doing small signs with cute saying mostly related to the summer season. With time I'm going to be painting table runners and cookbooks that will be personalized with whatever anyone would like on the front cover.

And the ornaments, can't forget the ornaments, tons of them. So you know what I'll be doing, painting and more painting. But it's what I know and they say stick with what you know and do what you love and you can't go wrong.

Now if your traveling this summer and find yourself in Southern Maryland look on your map for the small town of Leonardtown and drop by and check out the Craft Guild.

Have a Happy and Safe July 4th weekend and until next time Happy Painting.