Julies retro Art page

Fishnet Stockings

2012-01-28T21:49:00.004Z

Here is a Painting I have done this week, shiny Red shoes and fishnet Stockings, The painting is done in Acrylics on a Watercolour Canvas board size 12 x 10 inches.

Jimmy Choo Gold shoes

2012-01-15T21:16:00.002Z

Jimmy Choo Designer Gold Shoe, , painted on canvas panel 14 x 11 inches

Waitress Barbie

2012-01-11T11:48:00.003Z

Here is another Barbie Painting, I did yesterday, this was great to paint with all the added details of the hat and uniform.

Converse All Star

2012-01-05T14:41:00.002Z

This is my son's favourite shoes, he has nine pairs in total in different colours and styles, here is the Classic Converse shoe.

Barbie Paintings

2012-01-01T17:05:00.004Z

Happy New Year Everyone!

Here are two more of my Paintings I have done over Christmas. Barbie again!

Pop Art Barbie

2011-12-22T16:57:00.004Z

Here is Barbie again Painted in Pop Art Style, wearing her Chanel Earrings! Hand Painted in Acrylic on a Canvas board size 8 x 10 inches.

Also this week I have Painted this Beautiful Brunette with green eyes and pink lipstick, also Painted in Acrylic on a Canvas board size 8 x 10 inches.

And this Lady is an ACEO ( 2.5 x 3.5 inches ) Painted on watercolour paper.

Chanel Earrings

2011-12-13T21:18:00.004Z

Here is my latest Chanel related painting, the lady above is Painted in Acrylic on Canvas panel size 9 x 12 inches.

Barbie wears Chanel

2011-12-12T11:49:00.002Z

Here is Barbie that I painted Yesterday, wearing gold Chanel Earrings!

Chanel Paintings

2011-12-04T16:18:00.003Z

This week I have painted 4 Paintings of Chanel Items the three matching ones above have a pale pink background colour and would look great in frames grouped together on the wall. Each painting is 10 x 12 inches.

And this painting are all three items in one painting, This one has a pale green background colour and measures 14 x 11 inches.

Pop Art

2011-11-27T23:18:00.009Z

I don't normally paint large paintings, usually only Postcard size or ACEO, But after painting the lady in bed above ( 18 x 24 inches) as a commission I really enjoyed it.

So I thought I would paint more!
Here are two Pop Art paintings size 11 x 14 inches

They are painted on canvas Panels.

And this Lady above is on canvas Size 15.5 x 19.5 inches.
I am going to try various sizes now.

Bonzo Plays cricket

2011-11-25T12:03:00.004Z

Here is a Larger Painting I have done this week of Bonzo playing Cricket!
Hand Painted on Canvas size approx 16 x 20 inches.

Framed faces

2011-11-15T08:44:00.005Z

Here are two Beautiful faces I painted yesterday!

I thought I would make them more colourful by framing them in Autumn leaves, and Beautiful butterflies.

Lipstick Paintings

2011-11-05T13:59:00.005Z

Here are some of my recent paintings of Lipsticks!

My favourite is the Chanel Lipstick.

Halloween

2011-10-31T10:25:00.001Z

Happy Halloween!

Costume Barbie

2011-10-29T13:34:00.004+01:00

Here we have to Postcard Paintings of Barbie in Costume, Which I have done as A commission.
The Painting above is Byron Lars Fenella Layla, I really enjoyed painting this one, because of all the details in the head wear.

This Barbie is of the Goddess of the Galaxy, this was great to paint also, it did take quite a few hours to do this one, but the best thing was I had chance to use my metalic silver paint.
My favourite is the first one, it is so colourful.

Beautiful Eyes

2011-10-18T17:47:00.005+01:00

Here we have more Eye's, one of my favourite Painting Subjects!

You can create beautiful eyes, from the colour of the iris,

Or the Make up and stars, like the one above.
from this three, my favourite is the brown eye at the top.

Chanel Paintings

2011-10-17T12:39:00.004+01:00

Here are some of the Paintings I did last week,of Chanel Items

Jewellery Make up ,
And of course Chanel no 5 Perfume.

Various

2011-10-08T23:39:00.005+01:00

For this weeks paintings, I have done various subjects, from the Art Deco lady above.

To These cool black shiny shoes,

This super cute cat in a pink hat.

And some great Chanel Pink Lipstick.

Shoes

2011-10-02T00:10:00.007+01:00

Most of us Women love shoes, and having plenty of them!

And now I have made Shoes one of my Painting subjects.

I Love to get the Shines on the Black shoes

And Pink shoes Wow, I would love a pair of the ones below, but way too High for me.

But a Great pleasure to paint them.

Kiss Make up Girls

2011-09-15T16:47:00.001+01:00

This week I have been busy doing the six ladies above as a commission , I was asked to paint six girls wearing the make up of the Band Kiss.

Lichtenstein girls

2011-09-04T21:42:00.004+01:00

Here are three paintings I have done this week of Lichtenstein Style Pop Art Girls.

I Know the lady in bed above is a Roy Lichtenstein.

The other two I found in Vintage comics, I love painting them!

Summer Sunshine

2011-08-21T17:55:00.003+01:00

Here Are two paintings I have done this week, very sunny paintings!

Old Terraced street

2011-08-15T15:57:00.005+01:00

Something a little different this week, I thought I would paint a typical street scene from how I remember as a child! Painting is an ACEO

Beautiful comic girls

2011-07-22T22:40:00.005+01:00

Here are three more Beautiful comic girls!

All three are 2.5 x 3.5 inches.

Pretty Faces

2011-07-19T09:33:00.004+01:00

Here are two paintings that I have done this week!

Two Pretty Faces.

Bonzo on the Beach

2011-07-05T21:59:00.004+01:00

Here are some more "Bonzo" Paintings I have done recently!

Here he is with all the ladies!

And making a noise in this one, My favourite is the Top one with the Parasol, so cute!

'Still Life'

2011-06-26T21:43:00.004+01:00

This week I wanted a change, so I decided to paint some Still Life Paintings, I am not a great fan of painting Flowers, in fact I hate painting Flowers, but I was quite pleased with how these colourful Pansies turned out, so I may be tempted to paint more.

I also like sewing, so I made a still life out of a simple needle and thread and Thimble!

I don't like Tea, but I do like painting Teacups and Teapots, so here is a nice Steaming Hot Cup of Tea.

Cute little Paintings

2011-06-16T16:30:00.004+01:00

Here are three little cute ACEO Paintings I have done this week, A Cute Teddy bear couple on a Swing.
These adorable Vintage children on the beach, I copied from an old Postcard.

And This Cute Little Girl with her Doll.

Wonderwoman & Rhianna

2011-06-11T14:20:00.005+01:00

I Really enjoyed painting a Postcard size face , much easier than ACEOs . so here I have painted Wonder woman .

And the Pop Star Rhianna.

Jessie J

2011-06-10T12:46:00.003+01:00

This week I had been asked by a friend to paint Jessie J, for her daughter, here she is, Painted in Acrylics on a postcard and placed in a cream mount ready for framing.

Fantasy faces

2011-06-02T16:47:00.005+01:00

As I love to paint glamorous Ladies faces, I decided this week to take their make up, a step further, and add more, like the one above with the Unicorn.

A few little decorations to their cheeks!

To make them look even Prettier , My Favourite is the one above with the little Love hearts.

Three Beauties

2011-05-29T23:12:00.004+01:00

Three beauties I have done this week Wonder woman above.

And Bettie Page

and this Famous picture of Halle Berry.

Classic Citroen & Jaguar Paintings

2011-05-27T23:14:00.004+01:00

Here we have two Fantastic Oil paintings that my Husband Painted. Quite different than my style of paintings My Husband paints in Oils, and he loves painting old cars, Especially Rusty cars like the 2cv above.

And this old Jaguar caught in a shower of rain.

Comic Girl Postcards

2011-05-22T16:11:00.002+01:00

I have done a lot of paintings this week, including these two Comic girls.

I decide to paint them in Postcard size instead of ACEO and it was nice to paint bigger for a change.

Sweet Treats

2011-05-21T22:24:00.005+01:00

I have painted these colourful sweet treats this week a Coconut Cocktail!

A Lovely Cherry Cupcake.

And this Chocolate Muffin with pink icing.

Pop Art Girls

2011-05-18T15:21:00.006+01:00

These are four Pop Art Paintings I have done, this week so far.

I Tried to get inspiration from Magazines and Ads for Make up to make my Ladies stand out.

I have always love Pop Art, and I am trying to make my own style.
Painting Make up on them is Great, makes them more interesting!

Eyes see you

2011-05-12T16:12:00.000+01:00

Here are two close up paintings of eyes that I have painted recently!

I love painting eyes , especially blue eyes.

Diana Dors

2011-05-10T09:40:00.004+01:00

Here is my Latest Celebrity Painting, The Beautiful Diana Dors.

Cupcakes

2011-05-08T21:38:00.004+01:00

Here we have some yummy cupcakes!

Another of my favourite painting subjects.

William & Kate

2011-05-05T14:58:00.004+01:00

I Really Enjoyed Watching the Royal Wedding, and that is why I decided to paint the happy Couple!
The First Painting I did of William & Kate both together, (see my last post) I found really difficult, and as it was an ACEO Painting, (2.5 x 3.5 inches), so It is Really hard work, to try and paint Such tiny detail, into a Painting so small.
And if I am honest, I am not totally happy with the End Result.

So I decided to paint the Couple again, but I have done two paintings, one of Kate and one of William, facing each other, to make a nice 2 Piece Set.

The Royal Wedding

2011-05-02T14:10:00.003+01:00

Congratulations to William & Kate! I hope you like my ACEO painting of them.

Children on the Beach

2011-05-01T22:41:00.004+01:00

Here are some Children by the sea, I have painted Recently !

Its easy to get lots of light and shade into Sunny paintings.

And always lots of colour!
These paintings are all 2.5 x 3.5 inches.

Illustration girls

2011-04-28T08:34:00.006+01:00

Here are more Illustrated Girls, close up!

One of my favourite subjects to paint

My favourite is the Girl with Blue eyes!

Happy Easter

2011-04-24T09:28:00.004+01:00

Here are two Cute paintings I have done relating to Easter.

Lady Gaga & Katie Parry

2011-04-23T11:56:00.004+01:00

Here are two of my latest Celebrity Paintings, Lady Gaga.

And Katie Parry!

Illustration Paintings

2011-04-15T16:14:00.007+01:00

I have managed to get a lot of paintings done this week! My favourites being these four Illustration type paintings.

I Love to get as much detail as I can, and lots of shine on the lips and eyes.
And of course on the red cherry below .

All four paintings are ACEOs.

More Celebs

2011-04-14T22:06:00.003+01:00

Two more Celebrities I have painted this week, Michael Jackson.

And another painting of Elizabeth Taylor!

Celebrity Faces

2011-04-11T16:24:00.004+01:00

I have started off this week with some Celebrity close ups, I really enjoyed painting Rihanna above!

And that famous Pout of Angelina Jolie!

Unseen Bonzo Dog

2011-04-10T13:08:00.005+01:00

I Like paint two or three Bonzo Paintings every week, I usually copy George Studdy's postcards, I recreate them with my own Edge , different colours and Slightly different Backgrounds Etc!

And Occasionally I paint my own Bonzo's, These are two I have painted this week! Great for Bonzo fans, who will not have seen these two before.

Barbie 2

2011-04-06T16:42:00.006+01:00

These are my latest Barbie doll paintings I have done!

This is a Brunette Barbie that I was asked to Paint.

I love to paint Barbie and paint her at least once a week, so check back to see my new paintings.

Kylie

2011-04-04T21:46:00.004+01:00

Thought I would start the new week with another Celebrity painting!
Here is a close up of Kylie Minogue with a big smile.

Elizabeth Taylor

2011-03-30T16:23:00.003+01:00

When I decided to paint Bridget Bardot, Sadly Elizabeth Taylor died, so I thought I would paint her too, this is a close up of Elizabeth when she was younger, she has Amazing blue eyes!

Bridget Bardot

2011-03-25T11:21:00.004Z

This week I have painted 2 ACEO Painting's of Bridget Bardot

She was so Beautiful when she was younger!

comic girls

2011-03-24T15:55:00.004Z

Here I have painted two more Comic girls!
They are always in tears!
These two paintings are ACEOs , I copied them from some vintage Comics.

Bonzo 2

2011-03-18T14:09:00.005Z

Here are some of the most Recent Bonzo paintings that I have done Recently!

Here he is petrified of diving in the sea.

I love this one of him dreaming of lying in the hot bath!

And he is always getting into trouble!

All my Bonzo paintings are painted on a Postcard! Great for collecting.
If you love Bonzo I Hand paint three or four a week, and sell them in my Ebay shop, starting at only £5.99 .... Thank you for looking:~}

" Barbie"

2011-03-11T15:41:00.006Z

Here are six paintings of Barbie that I have painted recently, My personal favourite is the last one I did, the one above!
I Love Barbie, and she is a delight to paint, as she is so beautiful, and has many different styles.

Here she is in Pink again!
And this is a favourite too as Its like Pop Art.

I do find it difficult to paint hair though!
Thanks for looking at my collection of Barbie's, I will be painting more soon, and hopefully they will get better!

Lipstick Ladies

2011-03-02T21:04:00.004Z

Here are two paintings that I have done this week, ACEO size.
Pretty Ladies applying Lipstick!

Comic Girls

2011-02-24T16:18:00.006Z

I Have painted more Comic girls this week I love the different expressions on their faces, the one above is my favourite the blonde girl crying.

You don't see many happy girls in comics if they are not crying they are applying make up or brushing their hair.
Here is another girl in tears, must be over a man:~}

' Eyes'

2011-02-17T20:59:00.005Z

Here we have some close up Paintings of Ladies Eyes that I have done recently .

I Love to get as much detail as possible in the Iris, and colour in the Make up shades.

All three paintings are ACEO size.

Valentines Day

2011-02-14T14:59:00.005Z

Happy Valentines Day!

Here are three paintings I did a while back, I Thought they were quite appropriate for today.

The Mickey Mouse holding the heart shaped Balloons is a Postcard size Painting.
And the Luscious Lips Paintings are ACEO's.

More Ladies!

2011-02-12T15:04:00.007Z

More of my Favourite Subjects to paint. This weeks paintings Ladies from the past!

Vintage Comics are a great place to find these ladies above.

And I like to concentrate on making their eyes beautiful and really stand out!

Owl Paintings

2011-02-05T13:59:00.004Z

I Love painting Animals and the Owl above Dr Hoot is the latest painting that I have done this week.

And these two little fella's I did a couple of weeks ago!

All three are ACEO's, The top one is my favourite, I loved painting the eyes.

Pop Art

2011-02-03T18:12:00.005Z

I am a big fan of Pop Art, it is so striking I painted this image of a loving couple that I found in a comic, It took me a while to paint it, it's not quite as easy as it looks, but I was really happy with
the results.

And the famous Wonder Woman! I will paint more Pop Art, I love using bright colours.

Cute Dressed Animals

2011-01-27T16:13:00.005Z

Here are three Paintings I have done this week, I love painting anything cute, and these cute animals Dressed in clothing are a Great subject to Paint!

I Like to use a Colourful background to make my subject stand out.

I found this cute little Mouse on a greetings card, and I couldn't Resist Painting it.
It is quite difficult and time consuming to get so much detail in such a small painting, and tiring on the eye's too.
All Three Paintings are ACEO's size 3.5 x 2.5 inches

" Bonzo's "

2011-01-22T11:33:00.006Z

I have been painting lots of Bonzo paintings recently! I love Bonzo he's so cute.

I paint about three a week, as I have a regular buyer who must have a large collection of them by now.

There are so many postcards that George Studdy illustrated, so I always have plenty to recreate. It's fun just to look out for new ones that I haven't seen before.

And sometimes I like to create my own featuring Bonzo in a made up scene, if I get a good idea for one of these scenes I really enjoy doing them.

Lovely Ladies

2011-01-16T21:56:00.004Z

Three more lovely ladies I have painted this week, all ACEOs, I love the eyes on the one above.
And another striking Pop Art girl.
And a lady in Shades, I think it is easier to paint eyes than it was to paint these Sunglasses.

Little girls on the Beach

2011-01-12T21:03:00.004Z

Two paintings I have also done this week are these two little girls on the Beach!

I Love painting Children! and A beach scene is great because you can get plenty light and shade, and lovely bright colours.

More Pretty ladies

2011-01-08T17:16:00.006Z

These are my ladies that I have painted this week, firstly a lovely Art Deco lady in a Black and Lilac hat, I much prefer to paint a lovely hat, than to have to paint hair.

And then here we have a Barbie doll image, I think Barbie always looks beautiful, and it is nice to paint her in a comic book style.
And the Lady above I painted from an old Vintage black and white ad for gloves, like the lady in the last post that I did, it is great to chose a colour or two and bring the image to life.
And I just love Pop Art, the lovely colours with the black outline, always look striking.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-02T17:40:00.006Z

Happy New Year to Everyone, I hope you have all had a great Christmas!
These are my first three paintings that I have done this year, The Art Deco lady below was an old ad in black and white, so I brought it to life with plenty of colour, this one is an ACEO.

And this is a Postcard size painting of another Art Deco image.

And this last one is also an ACEO, great to get bright colours on a black background.

Art Deco Ladies

2010-12-31T00:12:00.005Z

I just Love the Art Deco period when ladies wore very Stylish Cloche hats.
These three ladies I have painted recently are all ACEOs.
Love the pouts!

Cat Paintings

2010-12-26T19:56:00.003Z

Cat's are another of my favourite subjects to paint, Especially cute one's like the one above!
And also dressed Cats so you can get a lot of details in the painting.

Art Deco Ladies

2010-12-19T19:33:00.005Z

I Love the Art Deco Era, and the Ladies always looked so Stylish!
Here are Three Ladies that I have painted This Week.
The Top and bottom one are Postcard size, and the one in the middle is an ACEO!

Cute Christmas Mice

2010-12-13T16:41:00.002Z

I Love to paint sweet critters like these two Christmas mice, The one above A cute Mouse posts his Christmas cards in the snow.
And this little one is keeping warm indoors snuggled up in a knitted Christmas Stocking:~}

Christmas Paintings

2010-12-05T16:22:00.009Z

This week I have done these colourful Christmas paintings, Vintage Decorations, pretty baubles.
And a close up of Santa!

And as I just love painting Mice, these cute Snow Mice!

And this cutie mouse with a Huge Snowflake.
All four paintings are ACEOs.

Cute Mermaids

2010-11-03T12:44:00.003Z

This week I was asked to paint a Mermaid by one of my Ebay customers, so I have painted a few this week including these two little cuties, The one above is a Postcard Painting.
And this one is an ACEO .

GIVEAWAY WIN A CALENDAR!

Don,t forget you have the chance to win a Calendar made from one of my paintings, (see older Post) free to enter Closing date 30th November, and as there are no entries yet you have a good chance of winning! Good Luck:~}

Cute Calendar

2010-10-23T17:44:00.004+01:00

I made this cute Calendar today for my Cousin who has Recently had a Baby Girl, The painting I used and took a print off is an ACEO Painting!

ACEO Vintage Ladies

2010-10-19T14:22:00.004+01:00

This Week have painted these Art Deco style Ladies, ACEO size, I love to paint Vintage Glamour Girls, as They always look Stylish and Beautiful!

I Usually copy images of other Artists Paintings, and Occasionally copy from Photos of real Ladies, But I am now Trying to draw and paint my own, Which I have done with these three Girls!
I want to develop my own Style, and hopefully they will get better with more practice.

Don't Forget anyone who would like to win a Calendar for 2011, featuring a print from one of my paintings see last post, and good luck!

WIN a Calendar Competition

2010-10-13T21:31:00.004+01:00

As Christmas is getting closer, and "It will be here before we know it!" I Thought for a bit of fun I would run a Competition to win this cute little Calender.
All you have to do to enter is to just leave a comment to this Post,
Closing date will be 30th November. And for everyone who leaves a comment your names will be put in a bag, and Drawn on the 1st of December, When the Winner will be announced.
The Winner can of course choose any of my other paintings to be made into the Calender, if they prefer.
Good luck to Everyone, and why not tell your friends to join in :~}

Today's postcards

2010-10-07T17:21:00.003+01:00

These are the two paintings that I have done today, First this cute little boy in Scottish uniform, another one of Mabel Lucie Attwell lovely illustrations that I have used to make this colourful painting.
And this one, a cute little mouse lighting a candle, I couldn't resist !

More Gollies

2010-10-05T17:46:00.002+01:00

I really enjoy painting these children with their Golliwogs so here are two more!
Both these paintings are Postcard size.

Gollys

2010-10-03T14:31:00.003+01:00

This week I have painted these two postcard paintings from vintage postcards of children with their Golliwogs , I have added a coloured background to make then stand out.
This one with the little girl sewing Golly's trousers was originally done by Mabel Lucie Attwell, she was brilliant at illustrating these cute postcards.
as we are now in the month of October, I just had to paint Bonzo dressed up for Halloween.

Retro Cuties

2010-09-29T13:15:00.004+01:00

I love painting cute images, especially from the vintage years, the above painting I copied from an old postcard, it is in the style like the Illustrator Mabel Lucie Attwell, who is one of my favourite artists, I also like Beatrice Mallet, but I am not sure who painted this one! These images are usually pale and I bit faded, so I love to bring them back to life with vibrant colour.
This image is an ACEO painting.

I also love the cute big eyed sixties and seventies style cuties like this ACEO above, My husband hates them, he thinks i'm mad, cos I think they are adorable and a pleasure to paint.

Todays work

2010-09-12T14:47:00.003+01:00

Here is the work that I have done today, Firstly I loved this photo of a lady in chequered sunglasses, and bright pink lipstick, it was a pleasure to paint it up close, this is an ACEO painting!

And another Retro Postcard painting of the lovely Miss Piggy with Kermit, "Classic"

Retro Art

2010-09-11T12:48:00.005+01:00

These are some of the paintings that I have done this week.
Firstly Bonzo again one of my own creation of ''Bonzo'' enjoying the rain.

Then here we have Betty Boop in a Champagne glass!

The painting above is a pretty lady that I copied from a 1970s postcard.

And Lastly the Golliwog painting, I found this image and I just had to paint it, I think it was in a Enid Blyton book from the sixty's or Seventy's, I love finding these kind of images, and recreating them.

Golly & Noddy

2010-09-05T21:52:00.004+01:00

Another of my favourite vintage toys Golly with Noddy and his Red and Yellow car!
Just one of the paintings that I have done today, I love bringing old toys back to life.

Latest Paintings

2010-09-03T15:24:00.003+01:00

These are three of the paintings that I have done this week, Firstly close up detail of a beautiful blue eye, with reflections.

This is one of my pretty ladies, I love painting ladies from the Past from 1920s to the 1960s.

And here we have another Bonzo painting, I am getting addicted, and this is not a copy, it is one of my own.

'' Still life''

2010-08-28T17:41:00.003+01:00

These are three paintings that I have done this week, The one above I painted from a close up of those lifelike newborn dolls, I love to get the detail in the eyes.

And this little painting is a lovely cupcake with a cherry, as I am also a cake maker/decorator, I just love to bake, paint, and of course eat these delicious cakes.

And this painting, as I love to paint as much detail as I can, I like to paint part of an image (close up), I just love Teacups, so I couldn't resist painting this!

My ''Bonzo''

2010-08-24T17:37:00.002+01:00

Well! I painted my own Bonzo Painting today,
And here he is with his retro pal Golly!

''Bonzo''

2010-08-22T17:47:00.005+01:00

Do you remember Bonzo?

I do not Remember him,
Bonzo the dog was first created in the 1920s, by illustrator George Studdy

There are lots of images and Memorabilia of him to find and collect, I have decided to paint some postcards of him, from some of the postcards that I have found, they may be a little different than the originals, as I sometimes change colours/backgrounds etc.

I really enjoy painting them, I am even thinking of putting Bonzo in some of my own scene ideas.

Boys and Girls.

2010-01-07T13:17:00.004Z

From Teddy Bear paintings to paintings that include them! I have painted these in a slightly larger format than in my usual ACEO size, so the paintings shown are done around postcard size of six inches by four.
I thought of the children that cuddle up to these bears each night and decided to paint them too. For a child a Teddy bear can be a much loved and constant companion, and the above painting shows a little one who has fallen quietly to sleep while cuddling the little bear.

Here again the bear appears in his 'natural habitat'... with a young child of course! At this young age it's sometimes hard to make out if the child is a boy or a girl, so I painted a yellow jumpsuit so it could really be either..what do you think?

When it comes to bears it's also difficult to determine which is a boy or a girl, but the clothes and activities give you a clue. This little guy is also painted at postcard size and looks quite a dandy in his sports outfit don't you think?

Teddy Bears!

2009-12-22T11:44:00.003Z

Just recently I decided to paint a series of little Bears, and I put them into activities that we all know and can identify with. When thinking about how to paint my little bears I had to take into account the international nature of the world wide web, and when depicting sports bears for example I needed to portray many different national sports!

I'm sure that my readers from the United States will easily recognise the sport of baseball from the little guy above, while the British, Australian, and Indian nations will be familiar with the Cricketer below.

Not only sports can give a flavour of the nationality of a bear, for example the lady bear below is a little Dutch milkmaid in her pretty traditional costume.

Sometimes a costume is universal, and the school uniform here represents children of all nations who study. With a little book tucked under her arm, and her pleated skirt this bear is typical of so many students!

With the winter snows upon us I just had to include a chilly scene, but even bears need to wrap up warmly in my paintings!

And finally, here in Britain we have a winter tradition of Pantomime, which is a play to entertain the children. Pantomimes are full of fantastical figures and colourful costumes, just the thing to enliven a dull winters day! The bear below is dressed as a Pirate. I don't know if there are pirates in pantomime, but if not them there should be as that costume was great fun to paint.

It's also great to think that although it's winter here in the UK, it's summer in Australia which is on the other side of the world to us. The little cricketer bear shown earlier has been sold to someone there and has set off for his new life in Australia!

I wonder where these other cute fella's will end up? If you'd like to give any of them a home then you can find them HERE.

And the winner is...

2009-12-02T00:40:00.001Z

Hi all.

Just recently I ran a little competition here on this blog. The prize was one of my original ACEO paintings, plus all stuff necessary to make it into a hand made Christmas card, or a wooden easel on which to display it.

The entries were made by leaving a comment here, and were put in a draw, and as promised the draw was made today 1st December, and the winner is.... Lynn.
I'll contact Lynn to let her know she has won, and to allow her to choose her prize.

Thanks to everyone that entered and watch out for the next competition soon.

As thoughts turn to Christmas...

2009-11-20T10:57:00.003Z

Well I've gone and done it now haven't I? I mean, once I have been tempted into the pre-Christmas spirit I just can't help getting excited, and this leads me to paint lots of snow, snowmen, and all types of festive related paintings!

In my previous post I showed a little painting of a lady Reindeer in a rather sexy outfit lol. As the old saying goes 'Behind every great man, is a Woman!' So I often wonder where all the lady Reindeer's and Snowmen (or should that be Snow-women?) are in our festive scenes? Well the little painting at the top addresses this issue.
We have all seen paintings of snowmen on our Christmas cards, well here's my latest painting...The Snowman's wife! And a very jolly lady she is too, shown here wearing her red hat and umbrella with matching bag, she is obviously enjoying the snowy winters day.

And here's the rest of the family, Mr. Snowman, and yes snowman jr. - why not? lol. They are seen here posting early in a typical red British postbox.

Also wearing a red hat above is one of Santa's little helpers, this cute little guy is perhaps responsible for helping make the toys that children find on Christmas morning. Do any of you remember when we had stockings full of toys?

When I was young we used to leave our stocking out for Santa, along with a couple of mince pies should he be hungry when he arrived, and of course a carrot for Rudolf! Together with a roaring fire that image summons up so many childhood memories for me, which is why I painted the scene below exactly as I remember it.

Toys too have changed over the years. In my day they were simpler, and despite the lack of technology they were no less appealing, Too many toys now need batteries, and emit the most awful noises so early in the morning..Aaagh! Give me the simple cuddly toys of yesteryear any time.

Perhaps I'm being a bit of a humbug? After all the toys that today's children get are bound to be different than the ones that I had back in the 1960's, just as my parents used to tell of only getting an Orange, an Apple, and some nuts in their stockings!
No festive post would be complete however, without the man himself - Santa, and my final painting for today shows him on display on a miniature easel.

As I'm often asked where my paintings can be found I have provided links in the text to each of these paintings that are currently on sale. They are painted on small canvas panels measuring just 2.5 x 3.5 inches, and would make great presents! Take a look at my ebay page by clicking on any of the links above, you might find something there that you like.

Seasonal competition!

2009-11-12T15:51:00.002Z

I don't know about you, but here in the UK the seasonal advertising has begun. Whether on T.V. or in the shop windows, there is a definite Christmas theme, so I thought I'd add an early festive post too!

I've decided to run a little competition, just for fun, and the first prize will be an original ACEO painting with all the additional stuff that you need to turn it into a hand made Christmas card.
The photo above shows the complete first prize.

The painting available for this is the one displayed below which features a cute Santa bear, with a smaller baby bear on his knee. So how do you enter? Well, that's easy!
All you have to do is leave a comment on the painting below, and each person that leaves a comment will be put in a prize draw, the winner will then receive both the original artwork and the card making equipment as a prize! It's that simple!

Should there be someone out there that would rather keep the little painting for their collection, then I will include the little display easel shown above rather than the card making stuff - It's up to you!
Just to give you an idea of how these unique cards look when made to incorporate a real painting, here's a photo of one that I made already. Perhaps this is Mrs. Rudolf, what a surprise he will get when he comes home! lol.

So there you are, to get in the festive mood post your comments below, the winner will be drawn on December 1st. Good luck!

An antidote to gloomy weather.

2009-11-09T20:46:00.005Z

Here in the UK we have had very gloomy weather the last few days. Each day the cold mist has hung in the air making everything around look damp and uninviting, the evenings too are misty and cold.
During the winter months in England what better than to light a big roaring fire and, when the room is warm and cosy, to sit and paint!

The glamorous lady above is a type of painting that I like to do from time to time, larger than my usual ACEO paintings these ones are painted on canvas panels measuring around eight inches by ten.

I like to paint real 'film star' glamour, and the styles of the 1930's and 40's, both in the clothing, and the way that hair and make-up were applied, really epitomise all that is super chic.
I like to depict women dripping in diamonds, or wearing slinky ball gowns, or the kind of off the shoulder number that's sure to get a guy's attention!

Notice the poses in the selection below, see how they hold their heads, such confidence!
Looking through my paintings and seeing such vibrant young women was certainly a tonic for the dismal weather outside, and it made me want to paint another one!

Canvas or card?

2009-11-03T11:33:00.010Z

When painting in ACEO format the artist is restricted to a very small area on which to achieve good results, and to paint an entire scene measuring only 2.5 x 3.5 inches takes a steady hand!

You also need a smooth surface, as any grain can show in the finished work. Most ACEO's therefore, are painted on thin card or watercolour paper, which has a smooth surface, this allows for the finished works to be stored flat in albums. Collectors love to find new paintings to add to their collections, and quite often will have several albums full of beautiful original paintings on card.

Just recently however, I have been trying out a new format. The paintings are still in the small ACEO size, but they are painted on hand made, quality canvas panels.

On the rear of each panel is a space to put it such details as the title of the painting, the artists signature and so on. I import the individual panels from the U.S. and after painting on them they often make their way back across the Atlantic to their new owners...well travelled artwork!

As you can see from the close up of one of my paintings in the photo above, the surface texture of the canvas is apparent in the final image and this presents a challenge when painting them, as too much texture at such a small scale would ruin the image. Some paintings are much clearer than the one above, even when done on canvas, and others still, look all the better for showing the grain.
Another way these ones differ from the standard card based paintings is that, being on panel they don't sit readily in every album. It's an experiment that I have tried, and some people like them, and sadly, some don't.

The main objection from the one person that didn't like this new format was that they didn't fit in her album, and I understand how that would be frustrating! So I now paint on card for the 'traditional' collectors, so that they can continue to put them safely into albums, and on canvas for anyone else that would like to begin collecting.

"But how do I store or display the canvas panels?" I hear you say. Well the canvas panels come packaged in an individual wrapper which allows them to be viewed, then stored away safely. Another idea I had was to use one or two of these cute little easels to display your collection on, the painting could then be rotated every so often so that you actually get to see different paintings from your collection out on display from time to time.

As you can see this works for both types of painting. The two beach children shown here are painted on card which would ordinarily be stored away in an album, but they look great on the easel too!

The playful little kitten here is painted on canvas panel, and I believe such paintings make an interesting little display feature all by themselves, and when the time comes to change the display - just change the image!

Lots of fun can be had by swapping and changing items from your collection in this way, I think it's nice to share your collection with others by constantly changing the ones on view. I hope you like my idea, who knows it might catch on!

Colourful Buttons & Thread

2009-10-27T21:56:00.004Z

I Just love to paint in Vibrant colour, and I just love buttons, especially vintage one's.
They come in many shapes, sizes and textures, I remember my mum knitted me a cardigan when I was little, and it had white teddy bear shaped buttons.

I'm sure she still has them! Back then, mum's used to cut the buttons off worn out knitwear before throwing it away, and save them in a big tin.

I just couldn't resist painting the image above! I love teacups, and anything to do with needlework, so it was great to paint all the different coloured threads, and also to add a subtle colour into the white cup and saucer.

Food for thought!

2009-10-25T16:01:00.006Z

Another 'favourite subject' of mine, and a thing that attracts me to paint it again and again, is food! I like to paint all kinds of stuff, from different coloured cup cakes, or fine China tea services, to hot shining coffee pots.

I do love the way that light catches on moist strawberries don't you?
I also like the delicate quality of bone China crockery, with its fluted designs outlined in real gold.

Silver attracts me like a Magpie! I do like to paint all those shiny reflective surfaces, and nothing provides the opportunity better than silver vessels...except perhaps glass, which is another of my favourite subjects. lol.

Here (above) I have painted the sheer luxury of Vanilla ice cream topped with a chocolate sauce, while served in a silver bowl and by a smart waiter!

Or how about a broken egg? maybe this one is ready to go in the mix in order to make some more cup cakes! All of these paintings were done in the ACEO 3.5 x 2.5 inch format, so what you see here is virtually life size!

I think some may find my subjects a little unusual, but even when painting a simple broken egg I do try to endow the painting with a little charm, and anyway, if we all painted the same things that would be no fun at all! :-)

Hickory dickory dock.

2009-10-24T13:30:00.004+01:00

While thinking of the approaching winter, I was reminded of a time when I used to live in a house out in the country. Back then as the weather got colder I would often notice that I had 'visitors', in the form of tiny field mice that had come in from the cold.
There would be no sign of them in the summer months as they lived happily outside, but the temptation of a warm fire and plenty to eat proved just too much to resist in those freezing winter months!

The painting above is one of my latest, and shows an imaginary 'country mouse' that has climbed up the clock, just like in the rhyme. Of course in reality the little mice didn't wear clothes! :-)

One thing is true of both the real field mice that used to move in with me, and the little painted mouse above, and that is they were never quite alone. You see, in order to keep them from running around too much I had the help of a friend...

I have painted my old friend here, sitting patiently while watching the little mouse above!

Autumn closes in!

2009-10-23T10:43:00.004+01:00

One of the great things about painting is using the everyday things around us as subject matter. For example, here in Britain the Autumn weather is really taking hold now, and the trees and pavements are bursting with the red ochre colours of the turning leaves.
I find that the simplest subject can make a vibrant painting, like the leaves above!

Autumn, or fall as it's known in the U.S. is also a pretty wet and blustery time, and those cute little kids that I like to paint enjoying summer holidays at the beach, are in reality more likely to be wearing waterproof coats!
But each season has it's fun times, and for me Autumn means Halloween! What fun for kids to dress up, and carry their pumpkin lanterns while out playing 'trick or treat'. Here's a little painting I did on that theme which contains all the elements of the season.

As I have been asked about where my paintings are sold, so I include an ebay link here to this one which is still available! It's fun to paint different things, which is why my paintings often change from cats to fashion, from kids to animals, or from summer to winter....variety! It's the spice of life!