" First flight" sold

Here is my latest ACEO. She's an uncertain fairy embarking on her first ever flight. I have used acrylics on heavy watercolour card, with Oriental collage papers and tiny printers sequins. I am very pleased with how she has turned out. When the coats of protective varnish are dry, I will list her in my folksy shop, maybe tomorrow, many thanks, have a lovely new years eve! Sue x

Frida Kahlo in peach aceo. sold

This is my latest Frida Kahlo aceo. She has a dress and hair flowers made of exotic oriental collage papers and a sequin necklace. I have covered her in a couple of layers of varnish for protection. I have to admit she did sell straight away in my folksy shop, but I'll be making a new batch as soon as I've done the vacuuming!! Next time I will blog about the frida's before I list them, to give everyone a chance if they want to buy x
There are a few aceo's left in my folksy shop..

http://www.mochalulu.folksy.com/

ACEO addiction!

Well, I sold four out of six of the aceo's I listed the other day, but now can't stop creating them!
I'm on a Frida Kahlo run at the moment, so here's a few more. These are all in my folksy shop as I'm a bit worried about the slowness of sales in my etsy, so I'll have to see how things go in the new year, catch y'all later!! Sue x
http://www.mochalulu.folksy.com/

Original ACEO minature paintings

There seems to be a great interest in ACEO's at the moment. ACEO stands for Art cards, editions and originals, which always measure 2.5 inches x 3.5 inches. These are a great way to collect mini art from a great many artists in a very affordable way. I have made a little set of six aceo's so far and they are gradually being listed in my folksy shop. I've started with some Frida Kahlo original paintings, which I've been chomping at the bit to get started on all week! As I am writing this, they are swiftly selling out, but I still want to show them off. They are very colourful and cute and I can't wait to do some more. Happy holidays everyone x www.mochalulu.folksy.com

Vintage style photos

I have been taking photos for a few years now. I only had my 1st camera fairly recently. Now that I have mastered photoshop, I can also manipulate my images to get the intimate nostalgic mood, which I admire in some other photographers work.
Here's a taster compilation of what I've been up to.
I'd love to sell them as glossy prints, so I may open a folksy photography shop!
They can be bought in Redbubble at the moment.

New purple mini prints!

It's been hard to find the time lately to start new paintings, life has taken me over for a while. I should get back on track over the Christmas holidays though and get on with new work.
Luckily I can enjoy the fun of mixing and blending the works I have already created, in photoshop, to make new works in a digital format. Purple is a very popular colour, so I decided to create these mini prints and call them "Purple night sky".
These are for sale in my folksy and etsy shops. Thanks for looking, Oh, I will also be creating new art jewellery in the new year, can't wait, happy Christmas to you all ♥

Christmas card designs

Months ago I knew I should be getting my shop ready for Christmas, but for some reason, this year has flown past and so much is happening in my life at the moment, it's hard to keep up! More about all that later!

Now that my photoshop skills are stronger than ever, I spent a Sunday morning a couple of weeks ago, using Art I already have to make some pretty festive cards. Snow flakes and some Christmassy wording was added for the right effect.

I had the finished works printed at Moo and I'm really happy with the results.
I think they look fab and I've sold one pack in my Folksy shop already, yay!

The cards are lovely quality and come with a plain white envelope and individual cello sleeves. Then I tie a loose ribbon around the pack. These are in my Etsy and Folksy shops now. Many thanks for viewing, Sue x

"SOLD", yay!!

I am so pleased to have at last sold a few of my original artworks. Prints are of course a great and affordable way to collect an Artists work, but they are no comparison to the real thing!

I am pleased to show you the three sweet canvases and a small painting on paper sold recently.
So it's farewell to...
"In the night sky"
"Dawn tree"
"Cherry tree cottage", and
"Yellow birdy".

Many thanks for viewing. Look out in around a week for my christmas card post ♥

"Scare Crow!"

I took this unsettling shot in Cornwall recently. I have passed by this cottage many times and was taken aback to find the chilling site of a dead crow hanging menacingly above the gate. I guess it's one way to frighten the crows away if they're causing a nuisance. The view looking up is spookily reminiscent of the gallows. It seems an appropriate shot to show you, the night before Halloween!

" Sunflower dawn "

This is one of three small paintings created earlier in the year, on our June trip to Cornwall.
I've used acrylics on 140lb watercolour paper and added some collage. The mixed media painting has come out very vibrant and cheery. I have listed this in my folksy shop and will be sad to let go of it! Many thanks for viewing ♥

Cornish Angels

During our stay in the Cornish countryside, I managed to paint two new pictures. The whole holiday seemed to feel very much like a spiritual awakening, or it could just be a mid life crisis in my case! In any case I had to get some angels out of my system and painted "Angel with owl" and "Angel with robin". They're acrylics on paper. I just received prints of these in the post, which I'm very pleased with. The prints are available to purchase from my etsy and folksy shops. They can also be bought framed or as cards from redbubble. Many thanks for viewing ♥

Clovelly Kitten

I can't resist showing you this sweet white kitten with blue eyes. Mr. T and I were almost at the bottom the the winding cobbled streets of Clovelly and saw the kitty peeking through a cottage window. The sound of women chatting and joyfully laughing could be heard from inside.

Angel Donkey

During our stay in North Devon, Mr. T and I visited Clovelly, a picturesque village tumbling down the hillside into the pretty harbour. In historical times, donkeys were used to carry provisions along the narrow steep streets. The donkeys are still there, but now they enjoy a more leisurely lifestyle, being looked after by their kind groom and having a gentle stroll in the upper part of the village. Here are a few of them in their stables courtyard. I was inspired to paint a mini canvas in homage to the hard working past of the the donkeys of Clovelly. It's available to buy in my Etsy shop. Many thanks for visiting my blog ♥

" The Paintings from Peppercombe"

Mr. Tony and I have just returned from a lovely two week holiday, split between Devon and Cornwall, my favorite places on earth to find creative inspiration! We drove down in the Mini cooper S, wheeee!!
Our first week was spent in the Peppercombe valley, north Devon. Bridge cottage is a tiny pink thatched cottage, beautifully kept by the Landmark trust, not forgetting their house keeper, Patricia! The pretty winding lane meanders through ancient woodland and finally down to pebbly Peppercombe beach. Our evenings were spent barbecuing supper in the sunny garden, then listening to the hooting of owls as darkness fell, truly enchanting. I've added these lovely photos of the cottage, lane and views from the nearby costal path.
I was inspired to paint a collection of tiny 4" x 4" canvases during our stay and came up with Angels, Hacienda churches and a sweet donkey. These will all be available in my Etsy shop over the next few days.

"In the night sky"

Here's another of my sweet 4" x 4" original mini canvases. This one is of course called, "In the night sky". I painted it last weekend and it's listed for sale in my folksy shop. I'm really enjoying making collages at the moment. I'm waiting for some crackle glaze to arrive in the post, so I can get on with my new projects. When I return from my Cornish holiday, I must make an effort to try and sell work via a gallery or maybe gift shops, otherwise I will have a house full of canvases!!

"Cherry tree cottage"

I think I painted this sweet picture because I secretly want to live there!! I definitely want to live in a cottage in Cornwall anyway!! Luckily I have a great secret place to stay and I'm off in a couple of weeks. Will show you some picturesque photos when I return.
So, I managed to finish this tiny 4" x 4" collage and list it in my etsy shop. I'm not sure how my small originals will go, but they are so much more beautiful than a print, even though the prints are lovely in their own right.

Girl with a patchwork dress

I don't have a name for this girl yet, but the painting is called "Patchwork dress".
She's one of my series of small collage canvases 6" x 8" which all have a black painted boarder and look great alone or grouped together.

Her sweet dress is made up from oriental collage papers. I added a hair flower and a sweet baby button to her pocket. The painting is for sale in my folksy shop.
I will be adding some new work to both my shops today. Thanks for looking ♥

Tiny originals

I've been working on some tiny 10cm square canvases this week. As you can see I haven't quite finished the one with a tree. They have been pure fun to make, decoupaging papers, buttons and lace etc!
I felt the need to work on something small and simple, rather than a large complex canvas. When they're finished, I can't wait to put them in my folksy and etsy shops. They would be a fab Xmas gift idea x

"Rowan" girl with antlers.

This is "Rowan". My new painting of a girl with antlers.
I think she has turned out very pretty and is my celebration of Autumn.
Yes we are on the edge of the British summer when the wind picks up and the leaves slowly begin to fall.

I have wanted to paint a girl with antlers for quite a while and am very satisfied to have fulfilled my aim.

The original is a mixed media painting in acrylics on canvas board, with gold spray paint, collage papers and printers sequins. I still have most of my original paintings as I am yet to attempt to try to sell them!

Rowan is for sale as an 8" x 10" print and shortly to be listed in my etsy and folksy shops.
Many thanks for reading ♥

Fairy magic

Many many years ago I painted these sweet fairies. One is called "Foxglove fairy" and the other, "Dragonfly fairy". I used to display them in my living room. One day a friend was studying the paintings and pointed out that the foxglove fairy was bending low, with low held arms, as I was heavily pregnant with my daughter when I created the painting. The dragonfly fairy has an open outstretched lightness about her, indicating that my daughter was now born and all heaviness had been lifted.
It's an interesting concept! I still own the slightly grubby paintings, but sadly have not been able to put prints up for sale, as the definition will not photograph well. I'll have another try at some point! Many thanks for viewing ♥

"Shady Hazy Meadow"

When I painted "Hazy Meadow" a few months ago, I personally thought it was one of my weaker artworks. It seemed a bit too simple, with its dandelion clocks billowing in the breeze. I was proved wrong though, as it is looking to be my best selling 8"x10" Matt print.
I thought it would be good to see what the work looked like in other shades, to go with different room decors. So here it is in Scarlet and lilac. I'm giving it a try in my shops. The original yellow tones print is still there in my etsy and folksy shops.

"Kitchen garden" mini prints

These are my lovely new mini prints. I'm really pleased with the way they've turned out.
I painted the originals several years ago, when my style was slightly different, although you can see my love of colours! The original paintings are acrylic on canvas and I sold four of them straight away to a local gallery. The gala apples painting was made a while later and I just keep it in my kitchen for now.
My inspiration came from the work of the late William Scott, who's still life paintings I admire. They look like a scene in a Provencal farmhouse. Foolishly I only ordered one set, so have listed them in my folksy shop. However, they will soon be coming to my etsy shop too. I think they would cheer up any breakfast room or kitchen. Thanks for reading my ramblings ♥

mini moo card magic!

I have been so busy lately with my shops that I have decided not to promote as much.
My blog is my favorite place to share my art and thoughts, so I'll be sticking with this, rather than tweeting and hanging out on facebook. I was so pleased to see two more sales in my new etsy shop today. I do hope it takes off as well as the folksy shop. My art studio, (dining table!) has been set up and ready for new paintings for a week now, but no work has been started!!
I have been working on reviving some older paintings, ready to show them for sale as prints, which I'm really looking forward to sharing with you soon. For now though, I have to show off these beautiful mini cards by moo, which I can hardly bear to part with!

Painting tutorial

Artists all have their own way of planning their painting, to get a pleasing result and I'm no exception. I have developed my own formula which I find works for me.
First, I do a few rough sketches of my idea. Then I meticulously plan the main characters and get the sizing correct. This is especially important for me as most of my work is illustrative and figurative. So I plan the main characters facial features and draw them up on tracing paper, until I'm happy. In this case, I'm showing my wisteria tree. The first bit of actual painting is of the background, which I layer up using acrylic paint, then build up with home made stamps, such as bubble wrap and raised wallpaper. I usually end with spraying paint through lace. I then use carbon paper to transfer my main figures onto the background. These are always very basic, as the complex details will then be painted in. If I'm using collage papers, I add them as I go along where I feel it's appropriate. If I'm selling the art as prints, which I always do, I then photograph it and store the images in the computer. Et voila!!!