This is my most recent piece and I am kind of digging it!

But these happy flowers are currently unnamed and I want your input!
What should I name these flowers?

Please let me know your idea for a title for this artwork in the comment section below.

Make it a HAPPY day!

Art has taught and continues to teach me SO many lessons! One of the biggest lessons is the importance of persistence.

I used to tell myself that I was a good started but a terrible finisher. 

Let me explain.

I am a master at generating ideas - and I am pretty skilled at starting the implementation process. But, in the past, when things got hard - or when it was no longer "fun", I would get discouraged, put on the brakes and screech to a halt.

It’s hard to keep on keeping on. ...Especially when the task becomes challenging or is no longer fun.

But because of art, I realized that I do have the skills to be a good finisher. Art has taught me to persist.
 
When I am creating art, there is a time, with every single piece – EVERY SINGLE PIECE – that I hate what I am creating and I want to pitch it into the trash can. 

But, guess what??!!... I found that if I persist and continue on - Sometimes after taking a break – other times after redoing parts – that almost always, I end up creating something amazing!
 
I learned that EVERY THING – even things that we love – SUCK at times. The "suck" is just part of the process. And, I found that if I dramatize the "suck" – then the "suck" becomes suckier.

So when the "suck" arrives I try to simply notice it and not to make it bigger than it needs to be. I tell myself “Ok…we are here, at the 'suck'. It’s temporary. And, all it really is, is just a problem to solve. I’ve got this.”

For me, learning to push past the "suck" is how I came to understand the value of persistence.

What are your thoughts about PERSISTENCE?
​I would love to hear in the comments below.

Make it a HAPPY Day!

Whenever I am struggling to figure out what to create, or when something that I am creating is not working out, my go-to biggest inspiration is FLOWERS! I love flowers! It is impossible to see a flower and not smile! Ralph Waldo Emerson said, “The earth laughs in flowers" (and I couldn't agree more!)  So, often I find myself collaging fun, whimsical flowers!

Here are my top seven favorite flowers collages that I created (in no particular order).

Daisy
This simple flower was one of my early collages. It is made entirely from magazine clippings. I love it because deciding which petal papers to use was a fun study of color, pattern and design.

​Interestingly, this was also the first original piece of artwork that I sold.

No Rain, No Flowers
Inspired by the saying, "No Rain, No Flowers" I created this fun patch of flowers.

What I most like about this one is the quirkiness of the entire design. Putting the clouds, rain drops and puddles on both sides of the whimsical flowers, instead of merging them together, was an unusual choice for me - but I really love how it turned out. And, the bee felt like the perfect finishing touch.
The original of No Rain, No Flowers is available in my shop.

Sunflower
Again, like the "Daisy" this sunflower is made from magazine clipping with the addition of a black sharpie marker for the outline. I really appreciate the pops of the oranges and yellows against the contrasting blue.

Sunflowers have to be one of the happiest flowers! And, this sunflower always makes me smile!

Grow
These little pots and vases of plants and flowers are another favorite! I loved this creation so much that I made two other very similar pieces.

What I like most about this artwork is how I incorporated happy "secret" messages in my paper choices.
The original is Grow is available in my shop.

Choose Happy
How could you not feel at least a wee bit happier when you see these playful posies?! ...At least that was my thought when I was creating this piece.

There are a few things that makes this art one of my favorites. I love the color combination and quirkiness of the flowers. Also, while the picture does not do it justice, the background on the original is made from a bunch of different layers and is awesome. Lastly, I love the word "happy" since it was the first time I hand cut cursive letters. The entire piece came together nicely.

We Create our Own Miracles
The simplicity of this artwork make this one another favorite.

This piece was commissioned art. While I really like the daisies, the background of this one is the best part. The layers of paint, the beauty of the old wood (that I create this on) and the turquoise-ee color is what I most love about this creation!

Little Sprouts
These little sprouts make me happy and this is my husband's all time favorite! Something notable about this artwork is that most of the paper that I used to create the pots is from the inside of envelopes.

I have collaged many, many flowers since I started creating art and know that I will be creating a bunch more  - because as I often say to myself...
"When all else fails, CREATE FLOWERS!" and thus far, that has been a great mantra!

Which one is your favorite?

​Make is a HAPPY day!

PS... Prints are available of all of these flowers in my shop. Check them out here.

Over the past couple of year, I have become more familiar with a type of artwork called "Surface Design". Surface Design is artwork, that is created, often in a pattern, to be applied to a surface to enhance its appearance.

Here are some examples of artwork of this genre that I found in my house:

I don't know about you, but a design on an item is often why I buy something. In fact, the pillow shown above, was my inspiration piece for our new sunroom and so many decisions I made for that room were based on the colors and design of that pillow. Also, I wasn't planning to purchase a journal the day that I spotted the fun purple paisley pattern, but I loved the design so I decided to add it to my cart.

Is this similar for you? Does design help to guide your purchases?

After learning about Surface Design and becoming familiar with that genre I have become more and more interested in creating art that could be easily applied to various surfaces. Some of my past artwork lends itself to becoming surface design - but some of it does not. So, this week I decided to create a piece specifically with Surface Design in mind.

Since much of the artwork in this genre is a pattern, I decided to create this Funky Fun pattern.

I am kind of digging it! It's has a retro 1960s and 1970s feel. I think it could be fun on a shower curtain, or socks, or a phone case, or a scarf... The options are endless.

My next step with this piece is to scan it and make it digital so that it can be applied to surface.

Who knows, soon you might be seeing this artwork on some products!

Let me know what you think. What types of designs do you like to see on stuff you buy?

​Make it a HAPPY day!