Star of Bethlehem

Sunset Reflected in the East

Let Your Light Shine

Happy Holy Holly Days

Today's sketch:

Digging for Kryptonite

Red Rover

Today, with very limited time, I sketched this guy.

Graphic Design + Fine Art Unite

This is a painting of mine done a few years ago called "Portland Rose". Today I added text to a jpeg of it to compliment the artwork.

What's the Story Behind Christmas Balls Anyway?

Thoughts, Ideas & Creativity

Sketch with Photoshop Lens Flare added.

Music on My Mind

Cloud #9

Awaking to the Magical

Woke up this morning to this view. My first reaction was that of a tired grown-up: "ugh". My next reaction was that of a child: "snow is pure magic".

Proclamations

Okay, pigs must have flown... I made an angel. :-)

When Pigs Fly

I wanted to sketch an angel, but honestly have never seen one... I have seen a pig, though, and the little ceramic one my daughter made years ago with wings that hangs on my wall. So I decided to make a pig with wings. It's been done before, nothing new, but he was fun... maybe someday I'll paint a real angel... probably when pigs fly.

All Dressed Up and No Place to Go!

Today's sketch:

Frosty

A simple sketch today...

Windy November Evening

totally not my style... BUT I liked it right where it was so stopped!  You can barely make out the man holding onto his hat....

Soon... very soon

My sketch today:

Longing for the Sea

Today's sketch. Can't wait to get back near the ocean!

"Tree of Life"

A facebook friend named this for me: "Tree of Life".  I based the sketch on something I heard:  "Grace stems from love. A pardon stems from justice. Both are visible on the cross."

Terry Racin'

Almost forgot to post today's sketch....

Morning Has Broken

Today's sketch - a sunrise scene in my cousin's backyard.

Transcend

For my friend Laura, a breast cancer survivor. This is what I pictured in my head when she described the scene in hers. Also, for my niece Aly who has been struggling with brain cancer, which now appears gone,  and all my other relatives and friends who have struggled with cancer and have beat it in this life, or the next.

Moon Rise & Refecting

Today is 11/11/11. An interesting date.... a time for reflection.... fall has set in and winter will be here soon. The sun has set on summer, the cool autumn moon reflects what little warmth that is left. In the arms of love, facing the same direction, all is safe and calm.

Guanajuato, Mexico for Marlene

My sister-in-law Marlene asked me to do a sketch of Guanajuato, Mexico, a place we had been to visit, and near where they live. I have photos, and know this was not an accomplishment for one afternoon.  SOOOO I pulled out Photoshop and the programs brushes, and "painted" one of my own photographs. I like the paint effect.

Sails in The Sunset

Today's sketch - a friend suggested a sailboat in a sunset.

Decked Out for the Holidays

Today I drew a snail at a friend’s request. As a surprise, I added holiday lights to his “house”. :)

"Not So Bright DC Squirrel Stocking Up on French Fries for the Winter"

Drawn from a friend's photo of a squirrel in Washington DC eating a french fry, this is #21 in my free download sketches for fans of my facebook page.

Santa Scrambles

Today's sketch is of my "grand daughter" - a cat named Scrambles. I have pictures from when she was a cute little kitten and created this. I took liberties and enlarged her head a bit and colored her eyes to match the green of the background (hers are a bit more hazel/gold...?)

If you click on it, you will get the enlarged photo.

A Sketch a Day!

I started a new thing, which has been going on for 20 days now. I thought I had mentioned it on here before, but obviously have not since I am not seeing the post... hmmm.

Everyday I am creating a new piece of artwork that I post in an album on my Sunny Pea facebook page. These are random sketches of various things, uploaded in high res and I am offering them to any fan of this page who may want to download them and use in ANY way. All for free. No copyrights.

I know there are some that do not have FB accounts, so I will do my best to post them here from now on, too. Meanwhile, here is a link to the folder that holds the free sketches (as of today, there are 20. I will post them here on my blog from now on also.):

FREE Downloadable Images in this album for fans of this page

Updates on Facebook

If you don't follow me on Facebook, I have a couple updates to share with you. For one, I have a new landing "welcome" page. Below is a link to the page, and here is a snapshot of it.
The Sunny Pea

I have also started a FREE image promotion. Everyday I am uploading a jpeg of a sketch I did that day, in the largest format Facebook allows. These are downloadable for you to use any way you possibly can think of, copyright free. I am giving my permission for you to use them any way you.  They can be found in the folder marked "FREE Downloadable Images in this album" I went through a dry period of not painting since back in June. I started the sketching daily about a week ago to get my creative juices flowing. Check out my stuff at this link: (click here), and you'll see I am getting back on track! Thanks for following me where ever you are!

Dazzled by Zazzle

I am setting up a shop on Zazzle. When I get good photos of my artwork, I will upload a few things that I will have available as prints (some full size on canvas) and other various items with my artwork printed on it. As I am discovering this outlet, I am getting excited about the possibilities!

For example, here is the first item in my store. A greeting card wishing all your dreams to come true, it is from a digital drawing title "Cleo, Daisies & Butterfly":

Cleo Daisies & Butterfly by TheSunnyPea
make a card online at zazzle

If you have suggestions or things you would like to see printed (on everything from posters to mugs) let me know!

Revised website is done!

(click on image above)

I finally have revised my mish-mashed website to a cleaner look. I will be adding purchasing links for many of the pieces later. This is a sampling of work I have done over the years. Unfortunately, much of my graphic design work is missing, but what I show kinda gives a bit of an idea of what I can do. 

New ...

New logo... new blog design...

I had grown attached to the old logo I'd created, the one with the goose and the fish in an M.C. Escher style, but it was time for a change. The old logo tied in the elements of Sunapee, NH - sky and water ("sunapee" means goose lake in the words of the Algonquian Indian), but I no longer live in Sunapee and it does not actually portray that I am an artist.  I designed it with the idea of one day opening a true art gallery in Sunapee, one in which more artists than just myself would be involved, and though I am still in the Lake Sunapee region and it is not out of the question, I decided I needed something a bit more universal and not regional.

My new logo, using the name I still have registered with the state, reflects an individual artist with a sunny disposition. Hopefully I can live up to it!

Now to work on my website.

What I am working on right now....

I've been working on this painting for the past week or so.  I still have work to do on it, but since I haven't posted anything recently, I decided to share my progress so far.  I neglected to take pics along the way so have nothing before this point to show you.

Spring in New Hampshire 

(click to enlarge)

ACEO Prints!

I just discovered something new that has been around for a few years now.  There is a new fad going on of people are collecting artist trading cards (like baseball cards).  People are collecting them and putting them in sleeves, trading them and framing them as larger works of fine art.  If you Google ACEO (Art Cards Editions and Originals) you can read all about them.  Search on ebay and / or ETSY, you will find samples and more information.  Some ACEOs are handmade, some are limited edition prints.  All are 2 1/2 x 3 1/2" - the same size as baseball trading cards.

I have decided to offer ACEO limited edition prints of my trademark turtles "Why do I always choose the wrong road?" from my 2009 painting on Etsy.  I will limit the prints to 50 and start by offering one at a time.  Each will be signed and numbered on the back. Let me know what you think!   As of this posting #01 is available!!

www.etsy.com/shop/TheSunnyPea

SORRY - the link to my shop was not listed correctly.  It is fixed now!

The Oregonian Coast

22 x 28" Oil

There is nothing like sitting at the water's edge, listening to the ocean rush in and crash upon the rocks... the feel of the cool crisp air, the smell of the sea.  My hope is that you experience that atmosphere in this 22 x 28" oil painting on stretched canvas. The great Pacific Ocean on the central coast of Oregon, ever changing the rocks that it hews with time, yet ever remaining the same in its immense beauty.

I adore the new Holbein Duo Aqua Oil paints I got from my son-in-law Greg for Christmas!  I can again paint in oils, but without the smell and toxic mess.  The paints melt like butter and are high in pigments so I barely had to use any.  They also can mix with my acrylics.  I am in heaven!  Not to mention the beautiful coastline!

People often ask me how long it takes me to paint a painting.  I usually answer a day or two, not really paying attention to time, but getting lost in the process.  The truth is, the time I paint does not take into account the days of planning I do in advance.

I have learned, composition and planning are key to a successful painting.  There was a time my husband Terry used to tease me that my paintings took forever and were an inch thick before I got done.  This was when I would jump in, without direction and decide as I went how the painting was going to be.  Now, before I place one drop of paint on the canvas, I have the whole thing planned out in my mind's eye, sketched elsewhere - usually on my computer - measured, photographs manipulated in Photoshop, colors adjusted.  Using the computer as a visual aid has vastly improved my work and I get all the details planned before I even wet a brush.

So how long does a painting really take me?  As long as it takes...

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This original oil painting is now available on Etsy for $750:  http://www.etsy.com/listing/68280624/oregonian-coast
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Small unframed, unmatted 5 x 7"
(4 1/2 x 6 1/2 image size on 5 1/2 x 8 1/2"archival paper)
signed giclee prints of this painting are also available.
These are printed with fade resistant inks to last up to 150 years:
$15 (plus s/h):

You can also email me at:  clj711@gmail.com

Majestic Elk

I graduated HS in Elk River, MN, yet never saw a live elk.  Now where we live they are prolific and I see them everywhere!  Usually late at night, standing along side the road, they watch as cars go by.

I drew this quick sketch in honor of them.  It is a digital sketch.  It is also, going full circle, in honor of all my fellow "Elks" from Elk River, MN, many of which I have just recently in the past couple years become reacquainted with.

A couple of the elk's antler points are broken, this is the way they were in the reference photo I used and I decided to leave them that way.  It shows a hardship he has faced, and represents what each of us face daily.  Some of us have scars that show, some hidden, but we all have them.  Yet, look how beautiful an animal he still is.

Frosty Beach Grass and Driftwood

24 x 36"

There is something magical about walking along the beach, an exercise usually done in warmer weather, and walking amongst frozen frosty beach grass and driftwood covered with white crystals in the cool of winter.  The living and the dead of nature, brought together in a fascinating dance of winter splendor.  Both exciting and calming at the same time, this scene is on the shores of Bay Center, WA.