I survived Christmas!

Christmas is now over and now all of the excitement leading up to it is over. December was a much busier month than I had anticipated. Unfortunately once again I was left with very little time to work on my art aside from the two commissions that I had completed. With the New Year brings new promises, hopes and goals. I plan on implementing each and every one of them.

I hope that everyone had an excellent, safe and happy Holiday and I look forward to what the New Year ahead will bring!

Celebrating the Holdiays at Logan's Meadow....

Well Christmas will be upon us faster than I expected. To celebrate Logan's Meadow will be offering many deals right through to the New Year. To launch the holiday Season I am offering FREE SHIPPING on all pieces purchased either directly through my shop on Etsy or my Ebay Auctions. Visit my hompage http://www.logansmeadow.com for more details. So please, make sure you bookmark the site and check back often!

Happy Green

Well it's been quite awhile. With the holidays approaching and a continous pileup of extra tasks at work I have been too exhausted emotionally and physically to paint. Tonight I sat down and literally forced myself to finish a piece I started weeks ago while I watched tonight's episode of House. Simple. Cute. Not challenging whatsoever, but I'm happy with it. Happy Green....ha ha. Kinda grows on you. I'm not working for most of this week so I'm hoping to sit down some more with my paintbrush in hand and create a few more little pieces like this.

More youtube and Logan's Meadow

Wow! I can't believe I forgot to post about this ages ago. My apologies for my oversight. A few weeks back I decided it was time to get back to youtube and do another compilation using my artwork to help promote my work. I hope you enjoy!

Shrouded Blue

This is another piece created in the last few days. I have just listed it tonight on Ebay. I honestly have no clue whatsoever where in my mind this piece came. Maybe it's me letting go a little of the confusion and anxiety my sleep issues have given me. If this is the case, I'll definitely need to let it go. Until then I am just happy to have created this piece using those feelings as I'm really happy with it. I don't often "do" portraits or detailed paintings of faces, but I'm glad that I painted this one.


Shrouded Blue Auction Here

Thanks for looking!

A little bit of fire....

The following are two pieces that I created recently and that are currently for auction on Ebay. You can view the auctions by clicking the text below each image. I came up with the ideas for the pieces while driving home about a three weeks ago but a recent bout of ongoing insomnia blocked my creativity something fierce. The blockage has cleared however and I have begun creating again.


Fading Fire Auction Here


Receding Fire Auction Here

Thank you for looking!

Starlit

Yesterday my husband, the kids and I went to have a great visit with family and didn't leave until after nightfall. We had a gorgeous drive home with an amazing view of the night time sky. From that this new piece was inspired.



Starlit

***Update October/07*** This piece has been sold.

Autumn Triad

Well I've started to embrace the fact that summer has come to an end and that autumn is now upon us. Not that I really have a choice, but rather than live in denial until the first drops of.....well, let's not go there shall we? brrrrr!

Anyhow, being surrounded by the beautiful, bold colours that autumn brings with it I felt inspired to create what I'm sure will be one of many leafy pieces. Here's my first one created in 4 x 6 inch OSWOA format.



Autumn Triad

This piece will be put up for auction tomorrow night. Thanks for looking!

Familiar Comfort update.....

The 4 x 6 inch Halloween inspired Familiar Comfort is now up for auction for the second time. My apologies for not having posted the link earlier.

Click Here to view the running auction. The link is also accessible through my Auctions tab on the Logan's Meadow website

www.logansmeadow.com

Thanks for looking!

Schools in......

Well today my eldest started her first day of Junior Kindergarten so naturally my mind has been obsessed with thoughts of my daughter and school.

One of my daughter's favorite outdoor activities is hop-scotch....well as close to hopscoth as a four year old can get. In any case I started sketching and I now have in my posession on of my most favorite watercolours I have ever made. I really enjoyed creating this piece and I look forward to it's debut in my saleable collection. I'm not sure if I could sell the original but I am definitely going to research releasing a limited edition of prints.....



It is a 4 x 6 inch OSWOA created with watercolour paints on 140 lb watercolour paper, titled appropriately; "Hop To It" This piece gave me yet another opportunity to experiment using masking techniques....I love this stuff!

Thanks for looking!

Better late than never......

Familiar Comfort is now up for auction through my eBay auctions....

You can see the auction by clicking: Here

I apologise for the delay with posting the auction link for Familiar Comfort, however once again my life took a turn for the hectic. My eldest is starting kindergarten tommorrow and life has pretty much surrounded the upcoming day. I am so proud of my little artiste!

Update on Enchanted Profile.....

The acrylic paint aceo is now up for auction through ebay.

Click Here

to visit the auction. Thank you for looking!

Getting a little spookier...

and September has only just begun!

Here's my next piece in preperation of the Halloween art rush on eBay. This piece was created using coloured pencils in OSWOA format.


Familiar Comfort

This theme is working well for me and I have a few more ideas....particularly to revisit my original cat series. However I am really wating to sit down and paint some particular scenes from my recent camping trip. So many ideas to get out of my head, yet such limited time to sit down and get them out.

New Auction.......

Hostas is now up for auction. This is my first auction in about two weeks if not more. I hope you'll come to visit my auction and hopefully bid on this beautiful vivid piece.

Hostas watercolour ACEO

Feeling Spooky.......

Well I've finally picked up my paintbrush again. I wouldn't quite say that I am at a creative block at the moment so much as I have far too many ideas to sit down and focus enough to create one really great piece so I haven't tried. The aceo group that I visit felt that a challenge was in order to help inspire the artists that visit. We've done this in the past and it has worked amazing. Well it has worked again and while I'm not feeling very Halloween-ish I do think that this is exactly what I had to do to get moving again.

And it doesn't hurt that I'm quite happy with the piece. It is titled "Enchanted Profile" and it is created in aceo format using acrylic paints on watercolour paper. I will be listing it either this weekend or early next week.

Oh my!!! Has it really been that long???

Wow, how the time flies, especially in the summer time. Today my family and I have just returned from a weeklong camping trip at Six Mile Lake in Ontario. I had the opportunity to visit many picturesque and breathtaking scenery that I am dying to sit and paint. Hopefullly I will have some new work to show you in the coming days.

Masking....hostas

Well this weekend I decided to conduct my first "experiment" in masking with watercolour paints. The painted look to the leaves of the Hosts provided the perfect opportunity. I'm very pleased with the results and may even list it. I'll be sure to post a link with this entry once I have.

Masking with watercolours can be a little tricky but I find the definition it allows the lighter colours by ensuring they are painted last is a bonus to me. You needn't worry about the darker and lighter washes overstepping their boundaries and for the most part the colour stays put.


Hostas

Simply Fae

While this one is much like the others in that it is yet another ACEO created using coloured pencils....this little fae is quite different. I love the attention to detail that I can easily provide with this medium.


Simply Fae

You can find her for auction on eBay by clicking on the picture (a new window will pop up) Thanks for looking!

More adventures in coloured pencil....

I've managed to create another piece tonight and I'm happy with it. Up until now I had only created my cats using watercolour pencil and I am equeally pleased with the effect using colour pencils. I hope you enjoy it.


Moonlit

Re-discovering a fun way to colour.....

This weekend has marked the end of my three week dry spell. I went to a local supplies store and gave in to my inner child and bought some pencil crayons. Mind you I haven't used them since High-School, but I am extremely happy with the results. I think I'm a little addicted though, as I can't stop creating! Three pieces in just 24 hours. Although that was quite easy as they are all 2.5 inch x 3.5 inch ACEO pieces. There is just so much vividness to the colour and the best part is they can be put down and I don't have to worry about my media drying up on me as paints tend to do. The links leading to each pieces auction listing are directly below each piece. Thank you for looking!


Magical Bond
Ebay auction listing here - 7 days only


Tree Top View
Ebay listing here - 7 days only


In The Garden

Mischief

Not much has been going on in the creative front regarding painting lately. However I did manage to complete my larger piece earlier this week. It's a 11" x 14" piece painted with Acrylic paints on canvas board.



I've titled this piece "Mischief". The jury is still out as to wether or not she has managed to get into the cage.

I haven't listed this piece yet but I do hope to soon. I still have to plan out the shipping method and price. Stay tuned and I'll be sure to post as soon as I have it figured out.

Update on the world of Logan's Meadow

Hello everyone!

A little update for those interested. I am currently on vacation from my full time job, and will be returning to the "working world" next week. I have been trying to keep up with my art in this time. You would think that with all this extra time at home I would have been cranking out the art. While I haven't produced an immense volume of new pieces, this extra time has afforded me the focus to start a much larger piece than I normally attempt.

With the insistance of my husband (my greatest fan), I have started my first 11 x 14 inch piece in acrylic....well my first piece I will attempt to sell. I have made great progress with the piece but I have found one downfall other than time restrictions that the larger works bring with them. I am so detail oriented that I am spending a LOT of time on that one piece. Last year at this time, I would have probably made at least half a dozen ACEO sized pieces. Well, I think in the long run, this will definitely pay off for itself. I am enjoying the larger workspace. Hopefully by the end of the week I can post a preview of the new work.

Stay tuned!

New Bamboo

Well, tonight the obligations weren't as much so I was able to sit down and paint again. Although it is very similar to the last piece I posted I'm happy with it. The colours aren't quite as "bold" as the previous, but the I think the softer use of colours compliments it quite nicely.



It has been titled "Delicate Bamboo" and has been sold.

Fluttering Bamboo

The creative bug hit me again today and I was able to sit down, uninterupted and paint what was in my head. Sometimes the oddest combination of objects come into my mind, but somehow they work. I am especially happy with this piece, which makes me hesitant to sell it. I have a larger piece in mind to compliment it eventually.



The title for this piece is Bamboo Butterfly and has been sold.

(maintenance) Links have been updated.....

Throughout this blog I have been making it so that if you click on the picture you are taken to my auction pages.

A lot of the auctions have either ended or sold, so the links have been updated to either to my webstore if the piece. If the piece has been sold I will be sure to update that information within the post. Please feel free to comment on this post if I have missed anything as I would greatly appreciate the heads up!

Thank you :)

Loving the sunsets!!!

The creativy is flowing a little better lately. Now it's just a matter of finding the time to sit down a create. It's funny how if it isn't one thing, it's another.

Here's my newest piece it's an ACEO card that I have titled as Setting Sun



***update June 12*** This piece has sold to a private collector

I've really enjoyed creating the sunset themed pieces. I find the orange/red tones to be particularly relaxing to work with.

Her Sunset....

My newest work created in OSWOA format - measures 4 x 6 inches using watercolour paints. I love sunsets and for some reason I needed to paint one today. I will be auctioning this piece on June 6th in the evening for a one week period on eBay.

Click on the picture and you will be taken directly to the auction.

Just a little update.....

The posting has been slow as has the creativity. I've been home for the last four days and I've started each day waiting for inspiration to hit. Well it finally did today. Hopefully I'll have it finished to show everyone later on tonight.

That's the thing. Inspiration tends to come and go rather quickly with me. I have to grab it when the urge hits. Rarely has a piece turned out to my satisfaction if I put it down for a day or to and return to it. It usually has to be within a day of starting it. It's an odd approach but it seems to work for me.

So I'll leave my thoughts at that. Come back a little later on and hopefully I will have something to show you :)

Lilac; my newest cat

After a bit of a painting drought....I have come up with a new cat that I have put up for auction on eBay. I'm hoping that this little one will be enough to help ignite the creativity again.



This particular piece is an ACEO created with watercolour pencils on 140 lb weight watercolour paper. If you click on the picture, a new window will open up displaying the auction. Thanks for looking!

***Update***
This piece is currently for sale in my Etsy Shop

Logan's Meadow has a homepage!!!!

That's right! Logan's Meadow now has it's own homepage!!!! I'm very excited to launch my own site and look forward to sharing all of my work with you. You can browse the site by either clicking the above banner, or the link at the right hand side of this page. I hope you like it!

Coming soon......

Well, for the last year I've been thinking and thinking and plotting and thinking....

In the last weekend I have finally made up my mind and started work on what will be my website. It has been, so far, a rather bumpy road. But bumpy helps you learn and stretch your skill-set. So far I've been lucky and have had the help of some friends in overcoming these hurdles that have come up. Two pages down, three or four to go........

Adventures with canvas...

Today while my son was napping and my daughter was playing with her vsmile, I got the chance to paint...



For a long time I have pretty much not bothered with landscapes. However, my trip on Mother's Day to the McMichael art gallery and some encouragement from my friends awokened a love for it. I think this phase will last a good while yet.

ACEO babes YouTube debut!

I've written about my fellow babes before. I absolutely admire the work these talented women create and I was honoured to put this together for them. So please sit back, relax and enjoy!

Charcoal meets Watercolour

My newest piece I plan on listing this weekend on eBay. The charcoal works great in contrast to the softer watercolours. I'm hoping to experiment more combining the two mediums, it was a great experience. My last few pieces were quite a bit "darker" so the fusion of colour into the charcoal medium was a welcome change.

***Update***
This piece is currently for sale in my Etsy Shop. Click on the picture to be taken to the listing directly

Happy Belated Mother's day!!!

Yesterday was just like any other day with the exception of our outing for the day. For Mother's Day I managed to snag a family pass from my work for free admission to the McMichael Art Gallery in Kleinburg, Ontario. The hubby was willing to go, the artwork breathtaking and the kids were eerily well behaved. We only had to remind my daughter a small number of times not to touch the walls or paintings and my 15 month old didn't fuss at all until the very end when he decided enough was enough he wanted to nap!

There were two pieces that struck me the hardest of all. One was a work by Takao Tanabe "low Tide" The simplicity in the fog and the incredible detail that created the "texture" in the pebbles along the shore took my breath away. Quite a few of his pieces left me in awe, however that one spoke to me the loudest. Try as I might I couldn't find a suitable (and affordable) repro to take home with me.

The second was a particular piece by Tom Thompson of The Group of Seven. I don't think there was an exact title other than Algonquin Park 1914. Please don't quote me on that, I'm still regretting not having written it down for reference. All of the Group's works are beautiful but this one patch with faint red line work in the center in the forest really struck me. Most likely due to it being of Algonquin Park. I fell in love with the beauty of that area when I went camping a few years ago and Tom Thompson had a tremendously gorgeous way of portraying it through his work. Unfortunately no repro of that piece either......

I guess I will have to make a return trip won't I?

Working with charcoal pencils....

A completely different media than I remembered. I really do love it, but it's so incredibly easy to overdo it. I love using the white charcoal though to highlight. Any studies I ever did in High School art class conveniently left this little beauty out so I'm glad to have discovered it! Here are my first two pieces drawn in years:


Smiling Eyes


Pale-Lit

I look forward to creating more pieces with these pencils. The technique can be quite delicate and for once I love that!

A wee bit of a dry spell......

Well not quite...late last week was the last piece I created. A really neat experiment with charcoal pencils that turned out great, except I still have yet to buy the spray to seal it so that it doesn't become ruined by smudging.

Since then though I have yet to paint/draw. I did however make a card. Although I have to admit, while I enjoy them it didn't quite quelch the artistic thirst. Inspiration is lacking at the moment though. In my personal life, I am not extremely happy outside of the home. Things aren't going quite the way I pictured them to be and I have not been doing well with it. However when do things go exactly the way one would want them to? That's reality......or so I am told. All I can do is put one foot in front of the other, embrace those I know appreciate me and stop caring about those that poison my environment, life is too short.

And hopefully this dry spell will fade away.......

It's beginning to feel a lot more like spring!

Well, the nice spring-like weather is continuing here in southern Ontario and I'm loving it! Here's a piece I created a few days back...



I've titled it Spring Blossoms. It's in ACEO format (2.5 x 3.5 inches in size) and I'm happy with it. It's been a long time since I have painted landscape type pieces in watercolours. I find it to be very soothing and a nice return to the "basics" for me.

Lately I haven't had much time to paint....well at least in the past couple days. My husband has been sick and the kids are hyper because of this gorgeous weather we've been having. Not to mention the Ring Slings I sell have picked up signalling the beginning of baby season. I'm trying to give myself at least a half hour each day to create....so far it's not going that well though. Oh well, there's always tomorrow, right?

Logan's Meadow on YouTube

I've finally launched my own video on YouTube showcasing some works from my portfolio. Let me know what you think! :)

My Geishas

My latest pieces. They are a combination of altered art and acrylic painting. While out shopping at the bookstore with my husband and kids, the idea for these pieces popped into my head and I just had to get them out!





I currently have these on auction seperately on ebay (yep, self-promotion I know, my bad, LOL) I really like these pieces and I was seriously tempted to keep them for myself!

My newest oil fairy.....

I've painted her as a commision for my aunt :)

I've decided to keep the other one as a gift for my daughter.

Not only can I paint.....

but from time to time I enjoy altered art as well!

Here are three pieces I've just completed and will be listing, one at a time through my auctions on eBay this week....up shamelss self promotion!







I'm feeling more into the spring spirit these last few days.....now if only it would stop snowing!

Too much time with blogthings.....

Very interesting....

You Are Impressionism

You think the world is quite beautiful, especially if you look at it in new and interesting ways. You tend to focus on color and movement in art. For you, seeing the big picture is much more important than recording every little detail. You can find inspiration anywhere... especially from nature.

http://www.blogthings.com/whatartmovementareyouquiz/"> What Art Movement Are You?

I find this interesting due to the fact that I find impressionism to be particularly challenging. I do love it though, but the mood has to strike me. I find my creativity does flow better, but releasing myself to this style is hard at times.

Or it could be that I spend too much time taking Blog Thing quizzes, LOL!

Oils, a whole different world.....

And they can be so much more difficult than watercolours! Don't get me wrong, I love using them in my work but I have to be in the right mindset to use them. I'll go through a spurt of using them in my work and then nothing for as much as a month! Well in the past week, I have brought them out again....One is a comission for my aunt and the other I will be auctioning off during ebay's next .ca promotion (unless I decide to keep it, LOL)

More artistic YouTube! Check out OSWOA on ebay :)

Well, I've talked of ACEOs being a great way to collect art and how great they are due to their small size. I will always fall back to them for that.

Another group known as OSWOA (Original Small Works Of Art) are gaining ground on ebay as well. While I may not paint as many at this size, being 4x6 inches or vice versa, they are great for paintings requiring more room and detail that the smaller size doesn't afford.

Anyhooo, on to what I was posting about, OSWOA has launched a new YouTube video highlighting the amazing work that is listed on ebay by these amazing artists. My work is tagged as loganzmeadow in the first video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Oh6gPVI4mY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5okQXGMZQ7M

Enjoy!

Readers, meet my cats.....

Well, meet my cat series....during my time painting/selling on ebay these little critters have been a series that I have been continuing.


Familiar.....my first one. Named by a fellow Babe and sold! The basic idea hasn't changed much and I truly feel that this is what is appealing about them.

Butterflies Dancing....My newest one that I have listed on eBay.

ACEO, ATC, and one cool group of Babes.....

Have you noticed the term ACEO in any of my posts yet, LOL? Well, please allow me to clarify the term a little.

ACEO stands for Art Cards, Editions and Originals. Another form they are made/sold under is ATC: Art Trading Cards. The only requirement for these cards is that they do not exceed 2.5 x 3.5 inches in size. Other than that, the sky is the limit. I've been creating on this size of a workspace for about a year now and I love it. Having to youngn's running loose at any given time leaves for little time and an even smaller attention span. This size of space allows me to get my ideas out efficiently and I'm always pretty happy with what I make.

I discovered this popular art form....which gets it's routes on eBay, attracting a large amount of collectors through a discussion forum. One by one, the Babes and I came in and posted examples of our work. From there the group has grown and the encouragement and support of these talented and amazing women has helped me re-discover an enthusiasm and passion for art that I thought was long gone. We've been there for each other, not only for our art, but as a strong force through times of need and sharing the joys in our lives.

These women are dear to me and I truly don't think I would have done what I have had it not been for them! Thank you, words do not even express the gratitude I feel.

Check this out!

I along with many other artists are part of a group known as the ATC (Artist Trading Cards) &ACEO (Artist Cards Editions and Original) Enthusiast group on ebay. This is a great way to socialize with fellow artists, share our work and get help when needed.

This group has launched it's first YouTube video featuring 15 artists and I am honoured to be a part of this. So please, sit back and enjoy the show!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJcUrsDSRwo

Well, it's official.....I have a blog!

Well, to be honest it's not my first one. However previous attempts don't count, considering they were 100% completing goofing around social blogs. So, this would make this my first, more serious, adult style blog. So please, have a look and don't be shy, say hello!

A little bit about me.....

I am a mom of two wonderful children and married to a man who wants me to be happy so much, that sometimes it's annoying.....well only for a minute. I have just recently returned back to work from one years maternity leave. During that year something incredible happened to me. The most important was the bonding with my daughter and my new son, but in addition to this my inner artist was re-awakened. I met a wonderful group of women with common interests in art and became a "ACEO babe" I now am right back into a passion that I thought I had left behind. Painting is a wonderful, therapeutic part of my life I am happy to have re-discovered. I not only paint, collage, draw again but I am having fun selling these works online through Ebay and Etsy.

I also have started creating digitally on Paintshop Pro, which in itself is completely addictive. With this program I alter photos, create sig tags for posting on various discussion boards and have even joined a cool PSP group.....PSP Divas. I also scrapbook, a passtime three years in the making.

Well, I'd keep going, but at this rate I'd be writing a novel. Have a great night everyone!