New work - finished!

Mosaics take a long time. So everytime I finish one I do a little happy dance. This Portrait of Kate was made with stained glass. My first time using stained glass. I love it! More stained glass work to come:)

In progress.

New work, in progress

I've been working on a new piece with material that I've never used before - stained glass:)
The upside to working with stained glass is that it comes in so many beautiful/stunning colours plus it's very easy to cut and grind.
The down side to working with stained glass (actually there is no down side) the problem is that I've been cutting such small pieces - when I grind them I have to get really close to the grinder, resulting in some pretty messed up fingers and nails:(

For the love of mosaics I'm soldiering on (lol)...
P.S. Katie is officially my Muse:)

Princess Kate

Mosaic Portrait, Princess Kate, March 2016. 

My Process, in 10 easy steps

1. Find a Muse.

2. Draw an outline

3. Paint a plan.

4. Cut lots of glass tiles. 

5. Over think where to stick glass tiles down. 

6. Cut more glass tiles.

7. Cut some fingers.  

8. Stick more glass tiles down.

9. Add bandaids on the shopping list.

10. Finish, smile, start thinking about the next one:)

William♡

Makes you wanna take a nap:)

The Owl Project, panel #6...

Today I'm working on the background of panel #6, Yellow Owl. Yeah! it's the last panel.
When done they'll be photographed for another related project. Stay tuned...
Side Bar: William is always in my studio, keeping me company, on the floor or in the bed. Kate, on the other hand, is a roamer.

Today's Winter Wonderland

Today's walk was beautiful and thankfully not as cold as it's been. William and Kate were very busy in search of the elusive Canadian Field Mouse. They caught one once...it was ugly:(

The Owl Project, panel #5...

It was a crazy cold long weekend (-26° on Saturday) which made it very easy to spend a lot of time, in my studio, working on my Owl Project. I started the background of panel #5, Purple Owl, and am hoping to finish it and move on to my last panel, Yellow Owl, by the end of the week?
FYI, it's easy to work all day when the company comes and goes:)

The Owl Project, panel #4...

1. Working on the 3rd panel, Green Owl, of my Owl Project.
2. Three panels are now finished (Blue Owl, Red Owl and Green Owl) with 3 to go.
3. Today I'm working on the 4th panel, Orange Owl...
Shhh...Will and Kate are very busy.

The Owl Project...

I'm still busy with my Owl Project, panel #2 (Red Owl). The mosaicing on this part (the background) is very tedious and boring work, so it's always nice to have company while I'm at it, especially when it's this crew:)

Back to work...

Back to working on my owls. William and Kate always know what to do on a snowy, cold day:)

Welcome.

Makes me smile.

Summer Walks

Yesterday's walk was lovely with the wild flowers in full bloom. I think both dogs were smiling:)

Symmetry Love

Thank you William and Kate, for understanding the importance of symmetry.

Another wet and dreary day

This is what William and Kate like to do on wet and dreary days:)
More is going on then meets the eye...William is most likely sleeping with one eye open in anticipation of Kate making a move on the bone (the remains of a deer antler) that he's coveting.

Sunday Smile

Am I anthropomorphising or do these two look like long lost lovers?:)

Another Urn makeover

It has been more then 2 years since we said goodbye to our girl Rita (October 28, 1996 - August 4, 2011). We still think about her a lot.
I finally got around to finishing/making over her urn. I primed and painted it a soft yellow (the colour Rita would be if she were a colour) then added various yellow and white porcelain roses (the white ones were hand made by me). Like Bob's urn, Rita's urn is now worthy of the dog she was:)

It's all in the eyes

Kate has lovely eyes - soulful.

I'm in the early stages of planning a new piece (drawings first) where the eyes of the subject matter will play an important roll. Kate's eyes are a great reference.

Pirate, waiting at 189 Shaw Street, Toronto

This morning, on the second day of my workshop, I ran across the street (from Artscape Youngplace) to get a coffee. It was one of those moments when I was glad that I had my camera.
That's Pirate, waiting for his person at 189 Shaw Street, in Toronto:)

Snow Day!

The walk...

 ...after the walk.

Snow days make for the best walks.

Winter Wonderland Walk Part ll