Available Art

Thursday, April 28, 2011

Sunlight!

 I don't know what kind of flowers these are but they sure were a pretty yellow!  Faith picked them from our neighbors yard (with permission of course!)
Some time in the middle of the painting

close up, the glass was really fun to paint

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Jewelry by Dani Keith

Yesterday I drove out to Oak Ridge, NC with my sister in law, Rachel, and went shopping at the Keep It Local art show.  It was really cool....and is exactly what I want to do!  One day I will have a little artist haven in my own back yard!  I guess I should have started with how it was set up.  You pull up to two men in funny hats with signs that say Honk if you Love Art!  They point you to parking and then you walk down a long (but not too long) gravel driveway into the woods.   On the left is a cute home...and to be honest I can't remember it enough to describe it well, I just remembered thinking how cute it was.  On the right is a chicken coop, it made me feel right at home (my parents have chickens).  Then we walked into  an open grassy area where artists had set up their tents.  There was homemade salsa, jewlery, pottery and paintings.  Of course my favorite jewelry designer was there, Dani Keith (I did an interview with her a couple of posts ago)  I took some pictures of the jewelry I picked up :)  The earrings in my first hole I got last week when I stopped by her home but I got the heart, in the top of my ear, at the show and the ring too!  Pretty soon I'll be covered in her jewelry!  Her art makes me happy~

Monday, April 18, 2011

Dogwood before the Storm!

Last week I got the chance to paint outside while my daughter played.  I painted my neighbor's dogwood tree.  I had totally forgotten that I painted it last year until I had finished this one.  I guess I'm more drawn to it than I realized! I'm glad I got the painting done though because a couple of days later we had a terrible storm. I live in North Carolina and there was lots of tornadic activity this past Saturday. (I painted this on Thursday) I don't know if "tornadic" is an actual word but I heard the weather girl say it and I thought it was funny so I'm using it too!  The poor dogwood lost all its blooms!  Now its really sad.  So I'm raising my glass, or in this case paintbrush, to the dogwood!  It is available for purchase but I haven't listed it on etsy yet because its still wet. It is 8x10 oil on panel. Just email me at ambercauley@yahoo.com if your interested.
Dogwood before the Storm

My cutie posing with her momma's painting


Last year's painting of the dogwood, Hazy Days, Sold

Tuesday, April 12, 2011

2 Pansies In A Glass

I love pansies!  I grabbed these two off of my hanging basket.  I got the basket for $.25 because it was on the sick plant rack.  They sure did perk up purty!  This is a 4x4 oil painting on panel and you can find it here

Monday, April 11, 2011

Happy Early Halloween!

The other night we went to my nephew's soccer game.  Before we left Brian grated potatoes so that he could make hashbrowns when we got home.  Little did we know they would turn black!  I think I know what we'll be having for Halloween this year...yuck!  They tasted the same it was just hard to get past that funky black color!

Saturday, April 9, 2011

Scored a cute piece of work today!

This card was pasted onto the back of the frame


I went yard saleing with  my mom and my 4 year old today.  Can I just say that I LOVE GOING TO YARD SALES!  Today I got lots of good stuff for cheap including an original 4x4 oil painting.  It was in a really dark brown frame that I didn't think went with it at all, so I painted it white and it really brightens it up!  It had $2 on it I offered $1 but she countered with $1.50.  Her reason was it was a wedding gift from a friend and she really felt guilty selling it. Of course at that point I'm thinking you feel guilty selling it for $1 but $2 was ok? lol.  She was really nice though, and I'm glad I got a back story on it.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Interview with an Artist: Dani Keith

here is one of my heart necklace and i will get one of here comes the sun!!
Floating Free Form Heart Available Here!
This week I'm starting something new!  I will be interviewing one of my favorite artists.  My first interview is with Dani Keith of Dani Keith Designs.  First of all let me tell you how we met.  It was a dark and stormy night....just kidding, it was January and I was at my first Handmade Triad meeting.  Handmade Triad is a group that I found on etsy made up of people who make all kinds of neat things.  She sat beside of me and her cute hubby sat beside her.  After the meeting I found her on Facebook and we've been chatting it up ever since.  Dani was nice enough to let me ask her some questions and if you have any questions please feel free to ask in the comments, shes super sweet and I can almost betcha she'll answer them! ;)

How long have you been making jewelry?

I have been designing for 2.5 years and full time for 6 months.

What exactly is a metal smith?

As a metalsmith i forge and manipulate non-ferous metals(silver, copper & gold) into jewelry by using heat

I know you're a romantic and it really translates in your jewelry was that a 
conscious choice?

I am a lover of love and always have been...my art has always been from a place of happy, so I guess my voice as an artist has always been decidedly romantic.

Do you have any advice for people thinking about becoming a metal smith? 

I am 95% self taught, so I would tell aspiring metalsmith's to learn all they can from online and books and when they feel like they need to connect their brain with their hands invest in a really great in person class...it also never hurts to find a mentor.  

If you only had a split second to grab a tool from your studio which one would you pick? 

My torch (and a handful of metal)

What is your very favorite piece that you've made?

Each piece of mine is still pretty near and dear to my heart, it sounds weird, but when it finds the right person, I am always a little sad to see it go....but my absolute favorite is "here comes the sun" it is one of my first pieces that I created in mixed metals.

How did you know that it was time to start making jewelry full time?

I always had milestones that I had set in my head, once this many pieces sold, once I was in this many venues, etc...but in the end I just knew it was the right time...I am someone who has a plan a-z so once I felt comfortable with my contingencies the rest was like breathing (and none of it possible without the support of my husband)

Where do you come up with your design ideas?

I am drawn to color and texture...I see things around me and I start to either construct or deconstruct them into pieces...and then there is a lot of time spent at my bench exploring happy accidents.
Lets get to know you!

Whats your favorite movie?  Love Actually

Your favorite color?  dani pink!

If you were a superhero who would you be?  shhhh I am a superhero in training, name to be determined

If you could live anywhere were would it be? Wherever my David is, that is my home

You can find Dani on her website http://danikeithdesigns.com/ 

I hope that you enjoy Dani's  work and had fun getting to know her!
here you go...thanks again!
Here Comes the Sun, one of Dani's favorite creations

Monday, April 4, 2011

First Friday Pictures

This is the few from my booth.  There were 2 other booths to the left but they packed up and left because the wind was so brutal.  I can't say that I blame them, been there and done that!

I tried a new display.  I used pvc chicken wire and zip tied it to my tent.  Then I attached a couple of framed pieces (I stopped with frames because I didn't want the tent to blow away and break all the frames in the process) 

Here is my most awesome booth ;) Brian is the cutie in the background.  I have to say that my booth was not very neat and tidy like normal.  I forgot one of my tablecloths and we had to tie the stripped table cloth so it would stay in place!  That of course left me with no where to put my luggage, as seen on the left.


I got a super cute new display for my bookmarks.  It spins but I had to weight it down with books so it wouldn't keep blowing over, and the books would let it turn.  Next time though! 

I hung most of my work with paper clips and clamps.  This was the first time I tried this and I really liked how it worked.  Most of the artwork was in frames but I took it out just to be safe.

I added a couple of new hearts.  They are 5x5 watercolor hearts.  I really like the blue one.


Another view from my tent. Poor Anitra, notice her tent top is gone!  It totally flew away, she caught it but instead of taking chances with it flying away again she just left the top off.  Shes got some really neat jewelry check her out here
Just in case you were wondering how things looked on Friday, I took a few pictures. :)  Next time I'll try to remember to take some pictures after it gets dark.  In case you are wondering why everything was soooo flat it was because it was so stinkin' windy that nothing would stay set up!  It was a lot of fun though and I really enjoyed having Brian there to help.  I also scored a fantastic pair of earrings by dk designs!  I'll post a picture later when I remember to take a picture....and my hair is washed!