New ideas

So this obviously didn't work out too well for me. It's been 3 months since I've posted anything. Sorry guys. But I dropped by really quick to give a quick update. I'm in the process of adding a new line of products in my shop and I thought I'd share a few pictures.  I decided to add birdcage veils and hair flowers to my list of items. Here are a few pics for you. (Thanks for my lovely sister for being my model)

Sunshine!

I don't know about where everyone else lives, but around here it has been raining non-stop for weeks now. But today the sun is shining! In a previous post I wrote about wanting to paint outside in the sunshine and I finally got to do that today! It is so beautiful out and a very calm breeze so I had no problems holding on to my painting board. :)

This is the piece I was working on today. I finally finished her.  She will be going into my portfolio with the shoe painting I showed you before.

Rainy weekend

I have had an interesting weekend. Unfortunately I have not had time to finish any more paintings because this weekend was about spending time with my husband. He took some time off from work to rest up for his power-lifting meet. Now if you have no idea what that is, just picture a lot of really big men lifting A LOT of weight. It's much more complicating than that....but I assume my readers aren't too interested in the details of a testosterone filled sporting event. :)

His meet was on Sunday so he took Friday and Saturday off to get ready for it. Now I don't know about where you guys live, but we have had some nasty cold and very rainy weather over the last few days. Currently my jeep is on the fritz so the only other vehicle we have is Adam's motorcycle....I'm sure you get where I'm going with this. We had a few places to go that we had been planning on going that day since we don't often have a whole Saturday together, so we were determined not to let the rain deter us from accomplishing these plans. So on Saturday, while Adam was snoozing, I was watching the radar like a hawk trying to be the weatherman that I'm not, and find out when the breaks in the rain would  be. And what do you know....it worked! I woke him up and told we had an hour to get out and get home.....it was a chilly ride, but a dry one! I was very excited. And then later that night we decided to go to IHOP because Adam has been craving their chicken and waffles....so I jumped back into my weatherman role...and I was right again. :) We stayed dry and had a blast. Although everyone looked at us like we were completely insane as we walked into IHOP with our helmets and gear.  But we got our hot coffee and were good to go.

So that was my Saturday. Come Sunday we were up at 6:00 am to leave for Adam's meet in Sandwich, IL. We were there ALL day. Don't get me wrong, I had fun. But it was a very long day. We didn't get back until 8:30 that night. Now luckily Adam's friend went along so he drove us in his car and we didn't have to take the bike.

Wow, I wrote a lot only to explain why I haven't gotten any painting done this weekend. If I haven't lost you already I'm happy to tell you that I'm planning on painting today (after the house gets some seriously needed cleaning) and I'll post another painting by tomorrow. :)

Today's work

My original goal for today was to paint outside because the sun was shining so bright and I just wanted to be out in it.  But the screen door that was hanked out of my hand because of the strong wind sent an image of my drawing board being blown across the yard...thus I changed my mind and worked inside. But I did get to spend a little bit of time outside babying my seedlings for my garden. But then the wind blew them over...so I had to bring them back inside. So my plans for spending time outside today just didn't work out too well for me.

I was very productive though so it all worked out well in the end. I finished a piece I have been working on for awhile for my portfolio. I'm trying to build a portfolio to try my hand at getting some of my work licensed. I have no idea if they will like or want my work but it can't hurt to try. :) So this is the piece I finished for it today.

A little of my work

I thought it would help you get to know me if you see a little bit of my work. I'm an artist who likes a variety of mediums and styles. I can never settle on one specific area to work on, which some would say is a mistake, but I can't help myself. But for today I will show you some of my fashion styled work, which is what I sell in my shop. www.designsbymonicamarie.etsy.com  Later on I will show you some more of my fine art pieces.

This is Annie. I fell in love with her the first time I painted her. I sold the original acrylic but I continue to paint her in different poses and outfits.

This is another acrylic. She is still for sale in my etsy shop.  This was one of my first paintings where I started to add a bit of flirty attitude into my girls. :)

Here is an example of one of my pen and ink and watercolors. Using these mediums together allows me to get the kind of detail that I find difficult to achieve with the acrylics. 

Here is a beautiful bride! I love to paint brides in their gowns. I love photography and have even photographed a few weddings myself, but there is something about capturing a bride in a painting that is beautiful to me.

Entering the unknown...

This is a first for me.  I've never been one to share my thoughts with everyone. I've always tended to keep to myself and let everyone else do the talking (or writing :) However, as the first year anniversary of my shop on etsy approaches, I thought this would be a great step for me to take. It will be a way for me to share my creations as well as the process I go through to develop them.  I've been mulling this over for a while now, and when I mentioned it to my sister she got so excited about the idea that I decided to take the jump and start my own blog.
So to start with I will just tell you a little bit about myself. I'm 26 years old and married to the love of my life. We are currently renting a little house in Bradley, IL. My husband works a full time job and I am currently searching for a full time job. But in the mean time I work on my paintings and my etsy shop to try and bring in a little extra cash to help out.
This blog will not only be about my paintings. I love anything to do with crafts and art, so I will be including anything that catches my fancy. I don't claim to be a writer so hopefully my blogs will not be too dull.  And, please, don't tell me if they are too dull or I'll probably drop this idea all together.  ;)
Thanks in advance for your time and patience. God Bless.