Creative Dawn

So, last fall my friends and fellow Parrotheads honored me with the request to paint a Chuppah for their wedding.  "Yes of course I would love too" I said.  "What is a Chuppah?"   Basically, it is the canopy under which the wedding ceremony is performed and symbolizes the home.   This was a daunting task for me for a few reasons, one because it was for there special day and two because painting on fabric like silk was new to me.  The only requirements were dolphins needed to be included and the colors.  For months I thought about what to do and finally, this past spring an idea came to me.  I drew up the designs and sent them to the couple.  Yeah!  They approved!  OK, now how to paint on silk...yeah for you tube.  Found a great tutorial and went to work gathering the supplies needed.  I can do this!  Uh-Oh...just totally ruined that piece of silk.  :(  Better get more.  With just a few w...

Got this little side table for a few dollars at a thrift store.  The top was really badly worn, but once painted it looks great!  The legs are easy to remove so painting them was a snap.  Each one is painted differently.  Not sure where I am going to put this, but it is just so fun!  Used painters tape to make the checkered pattern and a dinner plate for the circle. In another trip to the thrift store, I found this great wine rack for 4.99.  The only part that I painted was the top.  My favorite types of wine in fun lettering.  LOVE my new wine rack and it holds a lot too!  One other thing, the top is removable and works as a serving tray.

For whatever reason, I got the idea to paint some pictures of vegetables. I had a bunch of canvases collecting dust, so why not do something with them. These are the results.  They are all 11 X 14 except the red onion which is 9 X 12 .

Summer time means sitting outside and enjoying the weather.  Especially in Minnesota when you put up with the long winter, sunshine and warmth are highly anticipated.  We really enjoy spending time on the patio with some good beers and great music.    This table was purchased for 5.00 at a garage sale last summer and is what we use to put our garage radio/CD player on.   Being stuck inside a lot this year due to extreme weather conditions inspired me to paint the table.  After painting the top black, I just started randomly adding favorite musicians to the table.  

I am sooo excited about this table!  It cost 3.99 at the Goodwill and now it is an incredible work of art.  There a few before and after pictures as well as in progress.  Let's call it a mosaic of painted designs.  What I really love about the table is that the sides are collapsible so that it can be used for many different purposes and it's on wheels too!

Hello!  It's been a while since I last posted.  You know, work, life and everything gets in the way sometimes.  For the first time in a very long time I participated in a craft show.  It was so boring and very uneventful.  I made 15.00...BUMMER!  No one was busy unfortunately so we just chatted and checked out each others wares.  Christmas is once again upon us.  Many gifts have been created this season and here is the one for my smart and awesome niece Ashley.  She is a college freshman and still wants my artwork for gifts.  LOVE IT!  While I may not be monetarily blessed, I am blessed with wonderful people in my life which is so much more important.  

Here is another Adirondack chair, but this time the request was golf themed.  It turned out good I think.  The arms are supposed to represent actual holes at a local course.  It was fun and challenging to do something other than tropical.  A family member asked for this one for a charity golf benefit.  Hopefully it will raise a lot of money for Cancer research.   Update:  Over $400.00 for charity!!!  Woo Hoo!

I don't know if other artists experience this, but sometimes as I am drifting off to sleep, pictures or designs appear in my brain.  That is where the inspiration for this painting comes from.  I got up and grabbed a sheet of paper and pen and scribbled down what I saw in my head.  I have no clue why this came to my mind.  What is interesting is that I am not Catholic or Muslim, but the woman resembles someone that could be represented in either religion.  Normally I don't name my works of art, but this one just popped in my head.  Ah...the mind of a creative person is always a wonder to me.  

After a recent trip to Goodwill I got quite a few wooden plaque type items, so my options were open as far as 'canvases' for my ideas.   You need to be able to look past what the item is to truly be creative.  Souvenir spoon racks and wooden calendars are perfect once you remove the display parts.  Lately I just want to paint everything I can get my creative little hands on.  Luckily inspiration is overflowing right now too!  This is a cool idea and would also make a great gift for any cook/baker out there.  We all have our go to recipes but usually need a quick reminder about quantities and cook time.  Why not paint the recipe basics and hang them in a convenient spot in the kitchen?  The one on the right painting is just a pretty design created from a spoon display.

I have the ability to paint just about anything, but patterns are so fun to do.  It is relaxing to just doodle with the paint and create interesting designs.  Here are a few of my latest. This is a small cabinet that was 2.50 at the Goodwill.  It is heavy for it's size and very sturdy.  I added new knobs in addition to the fresh paint job.  Cabinet before This is the top for one of the inexpensive side tables.  It has been in my basement collecting dust until I recently decided to give it new life Sometimes scraps of wood work for a canvas.  This was free and used to stabilize a shipping box.   Now it is a brightly patterned wall hanging. This is yet another Goodwill find for next to nothing.  It was probably used to display fruit or some kind of other decorative items and was originally bright yellow.  The new pattern is fun and the color scheme works well in my living room.    ...

Wow!  I am nearing my 400th post, time to get busy blogging here.  Lately I have been paint obsessed.  Anything I can get my hands on has ended up with an artistic touch.  The bargains at Goodwill have been too good to pass up and here are the first few items that I have finished. This cute wooden dolphin was fun to paint, it has a Hawaiian tribal type of design.    This copper colored fish started out with a dated color scheme from the 80's, now it has a fun fresh coat of paint and a new life. Finally this fish was a great bargain for just a few dollars.  It is a cutting board that had seen better days.  My dilemma with this one is how to hang it, the weight could be an issue and it is about twenty inches wide and about a foot tall.  

I got this great shade for 1.99 at Savers.  The fabric was torn, but that just made it easier to tear it off.  The yarn was on clearance at Joann Fabric for .97 a skein.  I wasn't sure how must it would take to cover the shade so I bought 4.  It only took one and a half!  Now there has to be a project for the remaining yarn, oh bummer... Basically the fabric was torn off and I wrapped the entire frame with the purple fuzzy yarn.  It is a fun lampshade that is definitely a conversation piece.

What I need to do is give myself a goal so that I post more often.  I have a lot of things painted and a few other things made so it is really time!  Lately, I have been on a chair and lampshade kick.  If it's a good deal, it is difficult to pass it up!  Currently there are 3 chairs that need some updating and a few lampshades.  My brain is chugging away trying to come up with some good ideas.  Once that happens it will be blog mania for me.  Here are a few of my painting projects and believe me there are definitely more to come very soon.  Have a great day and keeps creating!  Yet another pig cutting board   Paper mache pig and cow Nothing fancy just a fun design

BEFORE AFTER On 1/27/2011, I posted a lamp that I repainted.  This is that same lamp now updated again.  Sometimes an idea comes along and it is better than the original.  This is inspired from a Pinterest posting that used old jewelry.  Well, that can get expensive so this is made from wooden beads that are painted gold.  The beads came from a thrift store and cost 3.50 for the bag.  I still have some leftover for a future project.  The beads are just glued onto the lamp and painted over with gold and pearl acrylic paint.  I got some jewel-like buttons and added them for accent.  The perfect lampshade was on another lamp in the house, so I just switched them up. How much did this cost?  The lamp was 1.49 originally, the beads 3.50, jewel buttons about 5.00.  What a bargain for a one of a kind home accent!

I have posted quite a few Adirondack chairs on this blog and will probably post many more.  The chairs are fun and the opportunity to paint them came about because my husband broke his leg in 2000.  Weird huh!  We are in a Parrothead club and went to see Jimmy Buffett at Alpine Valley in Wisconsin.  My husband had broken his leg early in the summer and he wanted me to paint it with a tropical design because we were going to see Buffett.  The then president of our Minnesota club, StMinnesomeplace, saw the cast and asked if I was able to paint some chairs.  Well, sure, why not!  Thus Dawn the Artist came to be, that is how that name was started.  I just finished the chairs that will be auctioned off at the end of March and got news that the club founder, the one who asked my to start painting chairs had passed after a battle with cancer.  Jerry was my inspiration to start painting tropical designs.  It was because of him...