Staycation.

Exciting new original art coming to Red Banana's Etsy shop soon!

Secret Garden 12x24 mixed media on canvas.

Have a question about a purchase or commission? Email me.

A mixed media page I created in Seth Apter's altered book with the Inner Works Collaborative.

My old studio.

Good Monday afternoon. I hope you had a thoroughly enjoyable weekend. It's Simcoe day here (long weekend for many) so it's a quiet in the city. I have decided to do the cleaning and washing today but I'm doing it in vacation mode. That means taking it easy and having little breaks between the loads of laundry and other cleaning. Reading on the balcony with lunch was a treat.

"Fresh" has closed at Arts on Queen and I mailed out a commission this past Friday. I'm bursting with ideas for new paintings, and new art for my Etsy shop. I'm amazed that August is upon us already-how fast did it come around?

So I just wanted to let you know that I'll be taking a week or two away from blogging but I'll be back soon with some exciting news. Stay tuned.

Thoughts for a Monday.

Thanks to all that made it out to my opening at Arts on Queen on Saturday. It was great to see you and chat about my work. Here are a few shots I took before it got too busy. For those those that couldn't join me, my paintings will be up until July 31st.

So here we are, another Monday upon us. The unpacking of boxes is taking much longer than I expected and has me frustrated. Don't get me wrong, I'm very grateful for the fact that we were able to purchase this beautiful "dream" condo. I'm very fortunate for sure, but the moving and all that comes with it really did a number on my head. All kinds of emotions have been popping up from out of no where it seems. I guess that's why those reality television shows are so popular. You know the ones where people are forced to part with their mountains of stuff and clean and organize their lives. The cameras follow them through the process and you can watch them cry and scream in frustration, issues and emotions buried years before coming to the surface. For me it's more of that feeling you got as a child the day after Christmas. The toys have all been unwrapped and played with and there's an emptiness in the pit of your stomach. Now What???

I feel like that. I've been concentrating on two major events for the last few months and now they're over. The move is over. My show is hung, reception over. Now what??? I suppose I feel like every other "creative" out there and I'll be spending the next little while figuring out what's next with my painting. A new series, the next show, pimping my poor neglegted shop. Embarking on a new adventure is exciting and a little stressful too. For now I'll just continue to unpack. I'm just about done setting up the studio although I'm not sure if I'm ready to share a photo just yet. Soon, I promise.

A Gift of Art.

Chartreuse 6x6 mixed media on board

click here to purchase

Purple Twilight 6x6 mixed media on board

click here to purchase

Mother's day is fast approaching. Did you know giving mom original art is a great idea. My favorite Mother's day gifts were always the pictures, paintings and hand made cards (made with love) I received over the years. I have a few original mixed media paintings left in my Etsy shop. They make lovely gifts. Free shipping to Canada and the U.S.

Last Day for Spring Color Week.

"Winter Berries" 6x6 Mixed Media
Click Here to Purchase.

Here we are, it's Friday already. How fast did this week go by? I've had fun all this week playing along with Poppytalk and showing you mixed media originals from my shop. Today's color is blue. Robins egg blue and I've picked "Winter Berries" as it really has the feel of an early spring day.

This weekend will really feel like spring as we "spring ahead" to daylight savings time. I don't know about you but I'm really looking forward to the extra daylight. Hope you have a great weekend.

Thursday is Purple for Poppytalk's Spring Color Week.

"Purple Twilight" 6x6 Mixed Media
Click Here to Purchase.

Today is purple day for Poppytalk's spring color week. "Purple Twilight" is the newest mixed media painting in my shop. I painted this specifically for spring color week. All shades of purple are perfect for spring. Makes me think of lavender or freshly painted Easter eggs. This would make a great gift for Mother's day.

Playing along with Poppytalk-Today is Yellow.

Brooklyn Bridge 6x6 Mixed Media
SOLD Thank you!

Wednesday is yellow if you've been following along with Poppytalk's spring color week as I have. All of my picks for this weeks theme are available in my Etsy shop. Spring is the perfect time to spruce up your surroundings with original, affordable art. These mixed media minis also make great gifts.

Tuesday is Chartreuse.

Chartreuse 6x6 Mixed Media
Click Here to Purchase

Continuing with Poppytalk's spring color week. Today's color is green. Not a regular shade of green but a bright spring green, chartreuse. It's one of my favorite colors these days. It's just so bright and cheerful. I've updated Red Banana's shop on Etsy. That's my little shop where you can find all of my mixed media minis. And be sure to check out Poppytalk all week to get a big dose of spring color.

Turquoise is the color for 2010.

SweetheartSinner Creations
Japanese Geisha Girl

Knee Deep Originals
Turquoise Dreams

Kerry Beary
Cha Cha Ltd. Edition Print

It's official. The Pantone color for 2010 is Turquoise. You can read Pantone's official release here. I'm so happy about this as turquoise really is one of my favorite colors. It's a blue green combo that I find very cheerful and reminds me of a tropical paradise. To honor turquoise, I searched by color on Etsy and found the above shops. Check them out.

Back to Business and the Sale Continues.

Spring Blossoms
Sold, Thank you

Joy
click here to purchase

Asian Inspired
click here to purchase

Today it's back to business. I've been in the studio organizing and cleaning my workspace most of the morning. This is the perfect time of year to purge the mountains of stuff that have accumulated on my work table. I've been bringing my calendar up to date, writing emails and connecting with galleries, and I even managed to start two new paintings. This afternoon will be spent working in my sketchbooks bringing new ideas for paintings to life as well as updating my website.

The 50% off sale continues in Red Banana's Etsy shop until the end of the month. This is the absolute last chance to grab my original paintings at these prices as at the end of the month I'll be taking them out of the shop for good.

Exciting changes are in the making. Stay tuned!

Winter Sale

Winter Berries 6x6 Mixed Media on Panel
Click Here to Purchase

Hiver/Winter 6x6 Mixed Media on Panel
Click Here to Purchase

Winter Fun 6x6 Mixed Media on Panel.
Sold. Thank you.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas. We finally have some of the white stuff and very cold temps. It certainly got me out of my bah humbug mood I've been experiencing of late. There's nothing like a blast of cold and snow to make me think of getting my lists together and preparing for the holidays. And here's a gentle reminder that I have plenty of original affordable art for your gift giving. Take advantage of my free shipping to Canada and the U.S. but I'd say don't delay to make sure your purchases arrive on time.

Black Friday Cyber Monday and a Holiday Sale in My Etsy Shop

Martini
Click here to purchase

There's a sale going on in my shop right now. I've made my already affordable art even more affordable. Selected paintings have been reduced by 50%. New items will be listed daily and shipping is free to Canada and the United States. Make your holiday shopping easy and enjoyable this year. And as I've been known to say "original art makes a great gift!"

The Pulse The State of the Art and Secret Sunday

If you're a regular reader of my blog then you know that I've been involved in a number of "out of the Box" venues this year. As well as my gallery work, I've been delving into mixed media quite a bit. I've been working with Inner Works on an altered books collaborative which is now winding down and we are each to receive our own books back. My book "Gifts from the Sea" will have pages altered by very talented Seth, Jill, Supria, Roxanne, and Veronica. It's through Inner Works that I got to know Seth, although I was well aware of his blog and his involvement with all things mixed media for quite awhile. So when I heard that Seth was working on the fourth edition of the Pulse - The State of the Art, I jumped right in and wanted to be a part of this online resource.

The Pulse - The State of the Art is a survey in words and pictures of the online artist community. This fourth edition has over 200 artists participating. Stay tuned for The Pulse coming soon to The Altered Page. In edition to The Pulse, Seth has created Secret Sunday on his blog the Altered Page. Every Sunday your favorite artists will reveal a secret technique, a secret product, a secret source, a little known website, a hidden shop, an inspiration, just about anything. Bravo to Seth for organizing such a large number of creatives in this event. I'm really looking forward to reading what all the participating artists have to say.

My Etsy Faves Part 4

Mya's Eyes Boutique
Kusudama Ball Christmas Ornament Origami

Yellowgoat
A Perfect Match Matchbox Necklace Silver Edition

Mana Moon Studios
Truth Be Told

Bluebird Lane
Shabby French Tags with Crown

Nahanibluette
La Torur Eiffel Paris Set of Six Gift Tags

Please enjoy my Etsy Fave Shops Part 4. These shops have loads of fun items perfect for gift giving and gift wrapping. Now go shopping!

BoGo in Red Banana's Shop.

I'm having a special event in my Etsy shop this weekend. BoGo or Buy One Get One!! Anyone who purchases a painting from my shop will receive one of the watercolor paintings above as a free gift from me. Each watercolor painting is an original painting (done by myself) and is matted in a soft white mat board. They measure 8"x10" and fit a standard 8x10 frame. You can even choose which one you'd like by letting me know in an Etsy convo or an email. Perfect to give as a gift or to keep for yourself. This event will expire at midnight (EST) Sunday November 22, or while quantities (the 5 shown above) last.

My Etsy Faves Part 3

Half Dozen
By The Altered Page

LUXE Collection Smoke and Blush
By Nest Pretty Things

Small Porcelain Bud Vase
By Stepanka Ceramics

Small Woven Metal Cross
By Art by Dawn Hunt

Mainly White
by Lucy Jewel Seaglass

Hi There. Hope you enjoyed a great weekend. It's time for my 3rd instalment of My Etsy Faves. Here are photos of my favorites, but please explore each shop further. We have some very talented artists here.

It's Friday, Yay!

Winter Sun 6x6 Mixed media on panel
Sold Thank you.

Yay for Fridays!!! Today is an art filled one. I went to see Art Off the Lot this morning. This is an artist represented exhibition of over 75 artists in Toronto this weekend. I found it to be a good mix of emerging and a few mid career artists. You can see the participating artists here. The show runs until 6 pm this Sunday so if you're in Toronto it's worth checking out.

Tonight I'll be attending the reception for Pathways at Profeti Disarmati Gallery in Kensington Market. This show was curated by my friend and artist Lynn Kelly.

It will be an art filled weekend as well as I'm finishing off four separeate projects and making a delivery to a gallery. Thank you again to Simply Hue for including me in the Artists Spotlight this week. And thanks to all that left comments on my work. It's really great getting feedback fom all of you. Whatever you have planned for your weekend, I hope it's a great one.

Artists Spotlight Day 4

A special Thank You goes out to Vicki Dvorak of Simply Hue blog. She has included me in today's artist spotlight. Five diverse artists featured over five days. You can check all the featured artists out right here.

Shop Update, New Mixed Media Paintings.

Just popping in to say that my shop will be updated with 6 new mixed media paintings this Friday Oct 30. All 6 paintings will be up by noon eastern time. These paintings are a continuation of the series I have in the shop right now. They are 6x6, mixed media on panel. I've incorporated my digital photography, collage, graphite, PITT artist pen, acrylic paint, gloss medium. As these are done on a hard panel they look great simply displayed on a bookshelf or mantel, but they can also be popped into a frame. Just in time for holiday gift giving. And you know I've always thought original art makes a great gift.

Monday Already?

Islands 36x60 Acrylic on Canvas

Click here to Purchase

Good Monday! How was your weekend? Mine was a flurry of activity. The usual weekend chores with a whole lot of work thrown in. I finished up a few larger paintings, and even delivered 3 paintings including "Islands" to Canvas Gallery.

Last week in my blog reading frenzy I came across Simply Hue. A delightful blog with lots of color. Vicki is an artist and color consultant and her blog is a wonderful reflection of this. She even has an Etsy shop Simply Hue Designs featuring her lovely photography. I just love the retro feel to her photographs. I'm happy to say that I and Red Banana (my Etsy shop) is one of 15 artists that will be featured in Simply Hue's Artist Spotlight, in the first week of November. Click here to see Vicki's post and the list of artists.

For now it's in to the studio I go, as I'm madly working on new mixed media paintings that will soon go in my shop. I'll keep you posted!

New in My Shop.

Stillness 10x8 Acrylic on board
Click here to purchase

It's been very busy here in my studio. Last week "to do" lists were getting the better of me, But today was great. Eight items on my list for today with six items already crossed off. I'll see if I can get to the other two later in the evening. New paintings are being listed almost daily in RedBanana's Shop (my Etsy shop) and there's plenty of affordable art available for gift giving. New mixed media paintings coming soon.