Lady of the Evening

Just in time for Christmas...
New art paintings on sale at Etsy

A Give Away!

I thought I would tell you about a newly discovered blog I found. My friend LuLu is having a great give away at coastalsistersnews.blogspot.com. I've been following her blog for the past month and it is divine! She has the best give aways!!! Go visit her blog now and sign up to follow her.....You will Love it!

Acrylic Abstract

 

Do you believe in accidents can become art? That is what this is.  I squirted gesso on a canvas and then had a phone call and forgot that I had left it without spreading it out. About 2 hours later I came back and saw the design. To me it look kind of asian or oriental so I colored the lumps in black and loved it. So of course I just went with it and painted the background in a red acrylic. Then I used Tim Holtz distress ink for the edges and painted the sides black. You can buy it framed like the 2nd picture at Redbubble.com. If anyone is interested in the original go to my Etsy store. Thanks for stopping by!

Christmas T-Shirt For Sale

Gifts for everyone!!!!

Just click here:
Redfish Artwork cafepress

You can buy Aprons, Cards, T-shirts and much more!

There is something for everyone!

Featured on Redbubble.com

I am so excited to be featured on the Redbubble.com website. "My little princes" is being featured in the "Art and Stories made for Children" group. I love free publicity!

Redbubble.com has the highest quality of products I have ever seen. You can buy greeting cards, poster, framed art, t-shirts and more. If you have never visited the site you must go to see the wonderful artist and photographers. It has something for everyone. Christmas is coming and you might find a gift for someone there...visit Redbubble.com now!

It is a small world!

I can not believe how small this world is really getting thanks to the internet, blogs, and Facebook. I have taken a few class on the internet and found so many friends, then you see them on a blog you are following and now it seems I am finding them on Facebook. But here is the thing, so many of them know *my friends* as we are being inter-twined through our interest in the art world.  Take a look at my the blogs I am following and see who you know, it really is amazing.

I just finished another art piece from a class I have mentioned before, Suzi Blu - Les Petit Dolls.  If you have not visited her site, I highly recommend you check it out. There is a variety of classes and all of them are great. I am so hooked. I have dolls coming out of my ears now. As I get them done I put them aside for projects I can do at a later date. This is my latest project I just finished and I am sure there will be many more to come and will be selling them on Etsy soon. Hope you stop by to see them.

Art and Mixed Media

Vickie Scarlett-Fisher is an Artist in Tampa, Fl.

in reference to: Art in Tampa (view on Google Sidewiki)

Happy Halloween

           HAPPY HALLOWEEN !!
Another project on wood. I used color pencil, acrylic paint, collage and ribbon.

I am a Grandma!!

I am a new, first time grandma!!! She is a doll. 

Since I am taking a class from Suzi Blu, Petite Dolls, I decided to try and imagine what my new g-baby will look like in a couple of months.

I was unhappy with the text showing through her pink hat but my teacher, Suzi, says that is what I want...to show layers and the love that was put into it. I would really love your feedback.

I am just not sure if it is done yet. I will put it a side and come back to it some other day.

Don't you just love babies?!?!

Autumn, Change of Seasons

I think I am catching on to this new technique I have learned. This is on wood, then painted, collage, then painted again, stamped, paint, glued, added buttons, waxed, and another coat of paint. So many layers....and much love put into it. This was another fun project. I have 2 more projects going and will post them as I get them done. The biggest problem is I ran out of wax!! Left one is the finished piece with the wax finish.

New Art Workshop

Class is Petit Dolls by Suzie Blu

1. We are learning how to draw dolls, petite style! Yes, I feel like I am young again and playing with paper dolls. We first learn how to draw the face, different looks and different actions or positions. Suzie critiques you as you go and the feed back is great. She explains the little tricks and gives you encouragement too. Shading and then coloring is the next step with color pencils.

So this is doll one. I have drawn quite a few dolls and they just keep getting better. But since this is my first one, I thought I would show the process that we are going to do in this class. My next step is to cut her out and decide on background colors.  Just to let you know, besides learning how to draw the dolls, we are going to collage for the background, paint and finally a wax coating.

2.  Here is the background for this doll.  It is on a wood board, then I used ink, old paper and scrap paper, then paint it very lightly with a cream color.
Since this doll is such a Diva, I decided to put a label at the bottom to let everyone know she is an Italian, cold as ice, Diva. There is also some text that is showing and the title is "Lady Grace's Mistake".  I am trying to build a story also.  But with the little bit that is showing it is up to you to use your imagination...what was Lady Grace's Mistake? Cold as Ice?

3.  Then I glued her on...what do you think so far? Stay tune for more!

4. The finished product! I put more paint, stamps, collage, stars, more paint and then wax over it all.  It looks so cool in person because of all the layers and the wax gives it such a nice finish.

Altered Book Class

I have a fellow artist and friend, Leslie Venable, that will be teaching a class at KC Willis' Studio Retreat in Longmont, Colorado - February 4 - 6, 2010, with beautiful views of the mountains.  It is an Altered Book class, "Bound Reliquaries",  and these books are gorgeous!!! To learn more about the classes, visit KC Willis site at: http://studioretreats.ning.com/page/visiting-artists-classes . The class is limited to 10 people so sign up before it fills up.  When the first 5 sign up there will be a drawing and one of those lucky artists will receive the class at 50% off the class price...that's right one half the cost of an already splendidly priced workshop!  :)  But hey it doesn't stop there....when the next and final 5 sign up another drawing will be held and one of those lucky artists will receive the same 50% off discount off of the class!!!!!   Be sure to visit her site because KC Willis will be having more workshops through out the year.

Art and Soul Retreat

I just signed up for the "Art and Soul Retreat" for May 2010, that will be held in Hampton, Virgina. You might think this is crazy to sign up now but this retreat is huge. Some classes sell out in the first 24 hr after they post that registration is open. Well, registration is now open! It is so much fun and you learn so much and I think the best thing is that you are surrounded by other artist and crafters.  If you are interested this is what it is all about:

Art & Soul is a paper, fabric, jewelry and fiber arts art retreat taught by internationally recognized instructors. We are thrilled to bring such a wide variety of skills and artistic talent together for a 6th year!

Choose from dozens of mixed media workshops taught by internationally recognized instructors—designed to energize your creative spirit and reveal the secrets of your soul.

Work and play with a multitude of media—from thrift store finds to
tempered glass, vintage photos to polymer clay, beeswax to horsehair, fabrics to water colors and more….

Crackle, quilt, bead, chart, fold, mold, carve, paint, collage, weave, sew and more….
Create a tiara, a shrine, a journal, a vision, a necklace, a masterpiece, a pillow, a shadow box, a memory, a quest and more….

2010 Events

   Las Vegas !!    February 21-24, 2010
Registration is now open

Hampton, VA  -  May 20-24, 2010
Registration begins September 13, 2009

http://www.artandsoulretreat.com/

Check it out now....sign up now!!!

Work in progress

It's the Labor Day weekend so I sat down this evening and painted something that was a little different. I sketched this out but my hand at the top end of the pencil like a child might do. Then I painted gesso over it to make it a little scary looking. Now I am putting color in so I have some definition and hollow the eyes out a little more.  I am not sure how this is going to finish out, scary or just different. Stay tune to see the out come.
                                                             #1 - The beginning

#2 - Just a little different. Changed the shape of her face and put more color in.

#3 - Is she done????
       Anyone have some feedback????


Well, I have decided I like her so much that I am going to use some techniques that I have learned from my journal group, SoulJournaling which is a yahoo group. Sarah Whitmire teaches this group and has a few classes you can do for free. Sarah has been published several times in the Somerset Magazines. I have learned so much from this group. Please stop by and see what we are doing in this group....you will love it.
Visit us at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/SoulJournaling/


So stay tune with this project. It is going from a thin piece of paper that I was just playing around on to a cool picture that will be put on board next.  Stay tune.......

Little Red Tin

Trash to Treasure, Recycle, Re-use.

I love tins. This was a tin that I spray painted, put a drawer handle with washers, then decorated with a piece of metal and a key. Thought it turned out pretty darn cute! I hope my friend likes it!! If you like crafts go to my other blogs: http://artsandcraftsintampa.blogspot.com/ and http://artintampa.blogspot.com/

Free IMAGE download of a Lady

Happy Birthday Woodstock!
I was doodling around and came up with this sketch of a lady. Just sign up on my blog and leave a comment and I will email you a copy (9 images on 1 sheet, each image is 3 x 1.5 inch) for you to use. I am keeping the copyright, so you can use as long as you do not sell it.




http://sites.google.com/site/redfishartwork/

Truth is in the Dawn

I have been watching the TV show "True Blood" on HBO and this is what came out on to my altered book.

It started with putting masking tape down, then a layer of gesso. I am still working with crayon watercolors. I put down yellow as my first layer then I put red on the edges then mixed the color with water. Then I put brown down and was amazed how you could still see all colors. Made a skull transfer, collage the couple and painted them with "Marvy" brush markers. This was my first time using these markers and loved how it turned out, and used painters pens for the crows. The last step was using the distress ink along the edges of the page to create on aged look.

So this was a chance to experiment with two new products....I have really enjoyed it. I think I just need to slow down on the "True Blood" marathons!

Vacation time

It was a time of rest and relaxation. I went with my husband to one of his training classes and it rained off and on. I enjoyed my morning walks but after lunch here came the rain. So I took out my watercolor crayons and started playing. If you have never played around with this, it is easy to use and


perfect to carry on your vacation. This was a box of 12, and 2 brushes and 5x7 watercolor paper. You color just like it is a crayon, then wet your brush and and start moving the watercolor around....instant watercolor.

Max says "Happy Birthday"

"Max wishes you Happy Birthday!"
I belong to another yahoo group "Paper Imagery Designs" .
This is a contest that is going on right now. You download the picture and alter it. They said it was Lori's birthday so I figured Max needed to wish her a happy birthday!

I started with my journal book. This is an old book that I altered for all my journals. I painted a light coat of gesso so the words could show through for the background. I cut the head out of the picture PID provided. I found the body, cake, balloons and hat in old magazines. I think think the head and body goes together nicely but I had to make copies on my printer in black and white and reduced the body and enlarged the head to match. I colored with crayolas, markers and ink. This type of art journaling is fun and fast. Who knows I might win the contest and get a prize!!

Just started my art jounaling

This is my art journal were I play... scribble, learn new techniques, put my favorite quotes, say what is on my mind....you get the idea. I can be as messy as I want. I found an old book. Glued some pages together to make it strong enough to paint on. You can see the print in the background. Then I claimed this book as mine and I can not be critical about any of it. I even put my soul of armor on the second page to remind me that this book is protected. I can have courage just to let go and experiment.



The next picture is a celebration and to thank all our Troops for our Independence. I found a few definitions from an old dictionary and glued them and then wrote a quote from Thomas Payne. Then I played with my new painters pens and made fireworks.

If you are interested in learning how to make your own art journal we have a group you can join on Yahoo - Soul Journaling by Sarah Whitmire. Come learn with us.

Karma Award

From Mary at http://www.maryshunt.blogspot.com/

Thank you Mary for the award!

The wording for this award is as follows . . .

The Karma Award: These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind of bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award.
I am to deliver this award to eight blogger, that is where it becomes difficult. I have found so many bloggers that have inspired me so this is the difficult part, yet one that is important so visitors who haven't heard of them might become familiar to their world.

In no particular order:

auntieeartha.blogspot.com
sarahwhitmire.blogspot.com
sepiaandglitter.blogspot.com
dianesartyantics.blogspot.com
jennifersblogforartists.blogspot.com
harpsinthewillows.blogspot.com
thescrappincop.blogspot.com
teeshascircus.blogspot.com

New Book for Art Journal

I am still having trouble letting go when it comes to Art Journals. I want it to look perfect, really good. That is not what art journals are about. It is a safe place to dream, doodle, and rant, trying new techniques, memories, ideas for later projects, finding something deep inside and reinvent themselves. But I can not seem to just let go. So yesterday I picked up this book "1000 Artist Journal Pages" by Dawn DeVries Sokol. This is a great book with inspiration for art journalists who want new ideas and a fresh perspective like me.

Fun with Tins

Since my Art and Soul Retreat, I have been playing around with tins. I have used spray paint, and "Sophisticated Finishes" which ages the tin to look antique. I have finished 2 tins so far and the 3rd should be done in a couple of days. Sophisticated finishes are so much fun. You can take a tourch and burn off any paint or paper that might be on the tin. Then all you do is put the finish on with a sponge or paint brush and watch it age right in front of you. There are different colors, gold, patina green bronze and blue. The 2 pictures I am showing now I used both brown and gold. I found a card, yes...I save all my cards that are given to me, that looks like my sister and me when we were small. I glued it on after the finishes were to my liking. I used distress ink to age the picture and put a a clear sealer on the can and picture. I added ribbon and lace and lined the inside with fun foam. I also added a latch so it will be easier to open. This was a fun project that is a present for my sister. A late birthday gift.

The next tin is more "Steampunk". It is aged but also has copper on top for a handle and nickle star washers for the steampunk look. I also lined the inside with foam and I use it to keep my change in for my purse. Everyone comments on it when I pull it out and that is when I tell them I am an artist. This is great way to start a conversation about art and give them a business card!!! Advertise yourself!! Promote, Promote!! I will be posting more tin on Etsy.com

Summer is almost here

Summer is almost here and I wanted to dabble in my watercolors, something I am not very good at. I painted in watercolor a picture of a woman and did not like how it turned out. I took a picture of it anyway, then I got on my computer and printed some small pictures up of her. You could not see all the mistakes in a small picture so she looked pretty good to do some projects like a collage or even my new art journal.

Then I decide to make it a black and white and really liked how she turned out. Can't wait to see how I use her.

Art Journal

I went to Art and Soul Retreat at the end of April and learned so much. I got home and organized my art area and put all my new goodies I bought. I wanted to create a project and notice I just don't have enough images, so I started searching on the internet. One thing led to another, images to blogs to magazines to the art stores to ebay. Ok, ebay was addicting! And that is a whole other story I will tell at another time.

I was reading a blog at collagedivatypepad/TrueNorth
which is a great blog for getting ideas to journal about. It was Signs and Serendipity. At the end there are suggestions on ideas and one of the ideas was to open a random book to a random page and be open to the message. Design a journal page about what you discovered. So I did just that, I opened a magazine and I found these words "The road ahead is merely a suggestion". This was a sign for what is going on in my life. Without using any pictures, I jumped in and did my first journal page.

To learn more on art journals go to www.TrueNorthArts.com

Original Paintings and Greeting Cards for sale

Etsy Buy Handmade vredfish

Art and Soul Retreat

Anyone who loves to do ARTS and CRAFTS must visit this website: ArtandSoulRetreat.com . I have signed up for the the Hampton Retreat in April. It is a whole week of classes and meeting new artist friends, and just good times. Visit the site, then join up!

The First Annual Remodernist Painters' Exhibition

I am very honored to announce that my art piece "Grave Reflections" was chosen to be in "The First Annual Remodernist Painters' Exhibition". Please come visit this great website at: http://www.theoceanseries.com/1stARPEx.html

New Paintings

This will be showing at:
Tampa Art Emporium in South Tampa,

Enter and Win

January Art Show

Tampa Artist Emporium