Hand Painted Cowboy Ornaments With a Twist

I bought a couple of wooden gingerbread man ornaments to paint but realized I was not inspired at all - I find the typical gingerbread man a bit soulless with their eyeball-less eyes. I tried adding interesting eyes but it still wasn't working for me. 

So I looked at the outline shape of him and instantly saw a cowboy hat in his head and arms! His bowtie fit perfectly on the hat. Well, then I saw a handlebar mustache and these guys magically appeared. I gave one away as a gift but you can find the other one on Etsy.  

Have a Yee Haw New Year!

Hand Painted Birdhouse Ornaments

I painted a couple birdhouse ornaments as gifts this year. This one "flew" all the way to Minnesota to a longtime friend.

 

This second one was for my brother who is a mailman. I put his address on the mailbox and the initials of him and his wife in the heart.

 

 

Merry Christmas!!

 

Have a beautiful day with your loved ones, and a joyful New Year!

More Hand Painted Ornaments

These ornaments were all gifts and have been received so I can now post them!  Hand painted on wood with acrylics. I have others available in my Etsy Store if you'd like to take a look.  Have a beautiful Christmas!!

Naughty Kitty Christmas Tree Ornaments

I love these naughty kitties!  When I was painting the trees, they seemed so boring and plain. I thought to myself, what would liven them up? Well, cats of course! Cats make everything better, don't they? These are wooden ornaments painted with acrylics, about 4x6" and available in my Etsy Store if interested.  Happy Holidays!!

Hand Painted Bird Ornaments

 

It's that time of year again when I start making ornaments! Each year I make a series of ornaments using a medium I haven't used before.  In the past, I've made ornaments with  drawings, mosaics, felt, cross stitch, crochet, polymer clay, and embroidery. This year I am painting wooden ornaments with acrylics. Here is my first group of sweet little birds. I'm just finishing some Christmas trees that I will post next. You can find them all in my Etsy Store - they make great stocking stuffers!

 

Holiday Special on My Book!

Attention mosaic lovers, cat lovers, children's book lovers, Christmas lovers, art lovers! My book The Night Before Christmas is available for $10 through the month of December, so now is the time to buy several copies as you are saving more than 40%! I will also include a couple of printed art cards in your order. If you reside in the U.S. you will also receive free shipping, so how can you say no to that? :)  
Available at www.cbmosaics.com/book
 

 
 

The Wonderful Oil Paintings of Ron Guthrie

 

These beautiful oil paintings are by my friend, Ron Guthrie. I met him at one of the group shows we were both participating in through our local artists' guild in 2008. You know that feeling when you see someone and you’re drawn to them because you know they’re a kind person and you just want to be around them? That’s what happened to me. I immediately thought, “I want to meet this guy” so I walked up to him and introduced myself.
 
  

Since then I’ve come to know him just as he appeared to me that day: kind, energetic, happy, funny, welcoming, someone who makes you feel good about yourself. Someone I utterly  adore. 

These are some of my favorite paintings of his. I love the feeling of space and openness, the softness and delicateness, the light and shadows. I want to be in these quiet, beautiful places enjoying the warmth and peace, don’t you? 

If you are thinking about art as a gift, maybe even for yourself, and you love what you see, please visit his web site or his blog to see more. I love his pen and ink drawings, too.  Aren't they wonderful?

 

Millefiori in my Etsy Shop!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChristineBrallier

If you create mosaic art, glass fusions or jewelry, you may be interested in my newly re-opened Etsy Shop where I have added more than 200 listings of the highest quality and most beautiful glass millefiori from Murano, Italy, as well as glass fusions, beads, and other wonderfully fun materials!

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ChristineBrallier

 

You will also find my original art - paintings, drawings, stained glass mosaics, and hand embroidery, plus my children's book, The Night Before Christmas, and all of my printed art cards.  Visit my shop here - I hope you find something you like!



 

Pink Cat Art

 

 

Two pink kitties, 2x3" made with brush pen markers.  Here they are framed!

 

 

Yellow Cat, Blue Cat

New little acrylic painting on wood.  It is 5" in diameter and 3/4" in thickness. I LOVE the edging of the bark on this! If you're interested in purchasing it, you can find it here!

 

 

Public Art - Painted Piano, Lots of Cats!

I was chosen to be one of 12 artists to participate in Pianos on State, an interactive musical experience that takes place in Santa Barbara during Arts and Humanities Month in October. Pianos are painted by local artists and are then displayed at various locations on State Street for impromptu playing as well as scheduled performances.

The eighth annual installment runs from October 2nd - 16th, 2017. My piano is located in front of The Red Piano at 519 State Street. Let me know if you see it! The design was inspired by my love of both cats and music, which includes musical terms and notations attributed to the various cats. You can watch me talking about it in this YouTube video. The title of my piano is Giocoso, which means fun and joyful, the theme of the piano and my life!



The "f" symbol is forte and means loud. Therefore "ffff" is very, very, very loud! The symbol next to his claws means "double sharp." 

 

 

Stentato is a musical direction to play loud or boisterous. The symbols underneath are crescendos, to gradually get louder.

 

Dolce means sweet, 'cause just look at them!

 

The musical phrase is from the song "Everybody Wants to Be a Cat."

Scherzando means joking, lighthearted or playful.

I wrote "Coda" on its tail which literally means tail.

Calando is on the left of the resting cat and means a gradual decrease in tempo and volume. The symbols around it are a whole rest, a quarter rest and an eighth rest.

On the right of the resting cat is a series of p's, or pianissississimo...very, very, very soft. And the mark at the end is decrescendo, to get softer.

The "p" stands for piano and means soft. 

Misterioso is mysterous. The symbol next to the cat's tail is a Coda, which literally means tail! 

The pattern below the keys is made up of little sideways "s" symbols which are musical "turns" and glissando which surrounds the center segno.

I put fermatas on either end of the keys.

Giocoso is the title of my piano and it means fun and joyful. At the end of Giocoso is a symbol telling you to go back to the beginning and repeat over and over again, so basically have a fun and joyful life.