Coloring Page: Little Bird

     When times get hard and things get stressful, there's nothing like a little art therapy.  I don't know about you, but a little coloring usually does the trick for me.  Last night, I drew this bird for you so feel free to print out a copy and curl up with a box of crayons or the media of your choice.  Hope it helps!  Have a good day and stay safe out there, my friends!

Stay Home Online Art Show

     These are some strange times we're living in.  No one's been here before and we don't always know what to do or how to help the situation.  Our public events have been postponed or cancelled and that includes the art shows and craft fairs artists like us would be involved in about now.  Well, since we all can't be together, I thought this could be the next best thing.  Thanks to everyone who sent me images and supported this little project.  I hope it brightens your day.  So put on your formal wear or your finest jammies, pour yourself a glass of wine, and enjoy the show!

Christine Cassatt-Salva"Untitled"
Painted wooden bowl
2020
$50 (paypal.me/ChristineSalva)

Carol Fielding
"Dragonfly"
Acrylic
2020
(https://fineartamerica.com/profiles/carol-fielding)

Mia Sky
"Day 3"
Digital media
2014

Mia Sky
"Day 4"
Digital media
2014

Mia Sky
"Day 67"
Digital media
2013

Mia Sky
"Day 92"
Digital media
2012

Julie Gocal
"Harley"
Acrylic
2020

Lani Harmon
"Untitled"
Mixed media
2020

Lani Harmon
"Untitled"
Mixed media
2020

Lani Harmon
"Untitled"
Mixed media
2020

Lani Harmon
"Untitled"
Mixed media
2020

Sam Perry
"Civita di Bagnoregio, Italy"
Acrylic
2019
NFS

Sam Perry
"Leda and the Swan"
Acrylic
2019
NFS

Cathryn Stranahan
"Any Road Will Take You There"
Acrylic
2020

Cathryn Stranahan
"Goose Sitting"
Acrylic on canvas panel
2020

     Thanks for coming and supporting the arts!

God bless.

Celtic Inspired Paintings

     For the past eight years or so, I've painted a series of small acrylic paintings featuring some Celtic/ Book of Kells- inspired creatures and people.  As a person of Irish descent, the colorful designs and illustrations always spoke to me and I sought to give them new life with bright vivid colors and my own spin on the designs of birds, hounds, and more.  They're pretty fun to do, but also quite labor-intensive.  Depending on the size and complexity of the design, they can take anywhere from a couple weeks to even a few months to complete!  Birds are my favorite to do because of the feathers.  The bird pictured above is painted with acrylic on stretched canvas measuring 4x4 inches and is titled "Nollaig."  Nollaig is an Irish name meaning Christmas and the painting features some bright red and green designs.  

     I call this one "St. Matthew's Angel" and it's the only person I've painted I think.  I've done paintings depicting all four symbols of the four Evangelists including "St. Johns Eagle," "St. John's Eagle 2," "St. Luke's Ox," and "St. Mark's Lion."  While some have sold, I'm still looking for homes for the others and have been trying to add them to my Etsy shop weekly.  If you would like to see what's available, you can head over to my shop at ravenmaidcreative.etsy.com or click on the link in my banner.  Thanks for stopping by today!  If you have a minute, comment below and just say hello!

2020 Vision Board

     Hi, friends!  Hope 2020 is treating you well so far.  Make any new resolutions?  If so, how are they holding up nearly a month in?  It can be easy to start the year off with ambitious new goals only to lose sight of them in the midst of everything else that comes along.  This year, I decided to try something different.  At our most recent meeting for the Rising Tide Society (Tuesdays Together,) we talked about vision boards and how they can help you visualize and keep your goals in mind.  There are plenty of articles and videos about vision boards that can probably explain better than I can, but I wanted to show you my (current) version. 
     First off, this digital vision board doubles as the desktop wallpaper on my laptop.  I've left some blank space on the right for my folders, etc. and some space along the bottom for my dock.  The great thing is I can easily go into Photoshop and change things around as necessary.  You can see my colors match my logo.  The images remind me why I do what I do (faith, family, and to hopefully fund future mission trips) and some goals I have.  Some of those goals include passing the CPP exam and becoming a PPA Certified Professional Photographer and traveling more.  This year, I also hope to produce more quality work for my portfolio instead of a bunch of smaller projects.  What about you?  Have you ever made a vision board?  If so, do you have any tips to share?