Goodbye, my very first vintage collage

Hi all,
About a month ago, I hung my collages at a local salon.
Since then, I have talked to the owner of the shop and she has just had great responses to my collages but no sells yet.
But, yesterday I received an email from her saying "Congratulations, you have sold one of your collages!"
So I went in and lo and behold one of my collages (the one that had won me a first place ribbon at the fair), sold to one of her customers!
This has just thrilled me beyond measure!
I've sold my creations at art fairs, and auctions etc. in the past, but this was my first venture in hanging a collection of my collages in a shop setting.
So, it was pretty scary and a vulnerable position to be in.
I mean, wonder if people look at my art and hate it? or criticize it?
But, then there was also excitement and pride on being able to share my art with the public too.
And hoping they would say good things about it, and hey maybe I would even sell a piece.
And it happened!

This collage was my very first venture into collage making.
I wanted to create a series of art that used vintage materials but also had some kind of message with it, so I came upon the idea of using quotes by women along with collage elements.
I had found this wonderful quote by Emily Dickinson " Unable are the loved to die, for love is immortality", which just touched my heart so deeply and I had also found this wonderful vintage postcard in black and white that just seemed to fit the whole feel of the piece and viola! my very first vintage collage came into being!
And now it has found a new home....
So, farewell my lovely collage, and I hope that your new owner will enjoy and be inspired by you as much as I have enjoyed and been inspired by creating you.


Talk to you soon,
deborah

My latest Paris creation!

Hi all,
Here's my latest Paris creation.
I just can't seem to get enough of all things french, lol.

Last night on the telly a quick shot of someone strolling through
Paris with the Eiffel tower in the background just made me gasp with envy!
I know some people think I'm a little obsessed with this gorgeous city (well, I am, lol). But, there could be worse obsessions, right?
Someday I will go back again (for a fourth time) and I know without a doubt I will be as enamored as all the times previous.
My advice to you all, if you ever get a chance to go to Paris, even if it's a quick trip, please go!!
It will fill your senses and your heart full of romance, awe, hope and so much more that I can't even put into words!
So, with that word of advice, here's a few more Paris photos!

Talk to you soon,
deborah

Hi all, Here are a few more photos from my Paris trip.

The top left photo is the view from inside the entry way of the Louvre, isn't that a great view?
And the other two photos are from inside the Louvre.
On the day before our return home, we decided to go hang out in the Louvre for one last time and as we entered the huge Ruebens hall we came upon this young man painting a reproduction of one of the paintings! We were sooo enthralled with the whole idea that someone was even allowed to do this, that we just stood for quite awhile obeserving him! I don't think he even noticed we were there. He was so intent with every stroke he put on that canvas, he was definetely in the "artists zone".
I could kick myself though because I didn't get a photo of the Ruebens masterpiece that he was copying!
As we proceeded on our way into the other rooms we would see even more artists copying the masters but all the rest of them had "no photos" signs on their easels.
So we just looked and ohhhed and ahhhhed over their talent.

Can you imagine having an opportunity to paint in the Louvre, amongst all the great masterpieces? It would totally be an honor.
Of course, we felt totally honored too, as we
gazed upon each painting and sculpture. A true adventure and an experience we will never forget.

talk to you soon,
deborah

You're invited to my virtual tea party!

Hello, to you all.
I am officially inviting all you blogger friends to my virtual tea party!
Come join me for a fun event filled with whimsy and laughter.
I will be sending out party favors to all of you, so if you would like to join me
all you have to do is leave me a comment, letting me know what your fav
tea is (mine is french vanilla) .
I'll then add you to my list of invites.
I will officially launch the tea after thanksgiving.

Hope to see you all at my tea party, it just wouldn't be fun without you!
deborah

PS. Don't forget to RSVP

Last Paris shabby chic winner!

Congratulations to:
theseasonalcottage !!!!
The seasonalcottage has a wonderful shop on etsy, full of items that will inspire you to create beautiful art creations of your own and also don't miss out on their other shop on etsy simplyfrenchdesigns.
If you are looking for gorgeous jewelry, french inspired ribbon or collage materials then these two shops are the place for you to visit.


I can't believe that my Paris Shabby Chic giveaway has come to an end!
Over these last 6 months I have so enjoyed creating collages for this giveaway and hope that all the recipients have enjoyed receiving them.
And for those who entered, thank you so much for all of your lovely comments while this whole giveaway adventure was happening.

My next blog adventure is a virtual tea party!
I will be giving out real party favors to whoever would like to join us for tea and there will be a
grand finale gift at the end of the party.
I'll be blogging about it all in a few days so stay tuned for more info.

Here's a few more of my Paris photos, hope you have been enjoying them as much as I enjoyed taking them!

talk to you soon,
deborah

More Paris......

Hi all,
I wanted to show you some of the ceiling art from the Louvre, and let me tell you that these
photos do not do them justice! I stood in awe when I saw these in person!
The exquisite detail and coloring is magnificent.
I also wanted you to see some of the stained glass from a couple of the churches we went to.
St. Chapelle and the Notre Dame.
I never even knew St. Chapelle existed until the first time I went to Paris with my hubby and someone we were having a conversation with asked us if we had gone to St. Chapelle yet and we asked where it was. The person who told us about it said it was their most favorite place in Paris and I think I might agree with them.
It is a stunning site to see all the stained glass windows in the upper room of the church. Each window represents all the books of the bible and the rosette window just boggled our eyes and minds.
Another amazing fact is that not one pane was damaged during the war!
So enjoy and be inspired.

talk to you soon,
deborah

Altered art book auction!

Hi all,

I wanted to give a little shout out to an up and coming event that is going to be held in November.

It's a charity auction with all of its proceeds going to the organization called NCCS.
Which stands for National Childrens Cancer Society.

One of my online artist friends has organized this event and I am so honored to be a part of it.
Her name is Jewel, shabbyboutique.etsy.com
and if you'd like to read more about how this idea got started and why go to
http://etsycottagestyle.blogspot.com/2008/05/reaching-out-with-love-hope-ecss-first.html
and believe me when I tell you, that this story will touch your heart, because it will!

There will be about 20 artists contributing to this book and it's going to be amazing! I've already seen a few of the pages and they are beautiful. (see a few of the pages: http://www.flickr.com/groups/902264@N20/

We were all encouraged to just create in any style that we wanted, no set boundaries, so I decided to create my pages with lots of texture. I know that children love to touch and feel things so I included lots of fuzzy and soft surfaces for them to enjoy. And my theme of" love one another" and flowers, is universal!

I also included one of my fav quotes, "In loving you, I am forever changed".
I believe that each and every person we meet has worth and changes our hearts in some way, and
my hope for this altered art book is for two things, that it brings people together to fight against this evil disease of cancer, and that it brings joy, love and peace to each and every person who comes in contact with it.

blessings to you all,
deborah

It's all about the nudes!

Hi all,
today I'm going to focus on a few of my favorite nude paintings from the Louvre.

I've been exposed (no pun intended, lol) over my lifetime as an artist to many
nude paintings, and the masterpieces in the Louvre are the best I've ever seen!

I got to see Degas, Delacroix, , Manet, Ruebens and more.

One of the main things I noticed is that most of the paintings portray women with curves, no twiggys here!

My favorite artist when it comes to painting women is Ruebens, his coloring of womens skin just totally blows my mind. Also the way he positions them in his paintings are so beautiful.

Hope you enjoyed seeing these gorgeous masterpieces and that they brought you a sense of awe like they did for me.

Talk to you soon,
deborah

Art in Paris!

Hi all,
today, it's all about the nudes!!!

Being an artist has exposed (no pun intended, lol) me to seeing many naked models over my lifetime.
Here are just a few that I got to see in person when I visited the Louvre.


Did you happen to notice that for the most part the women are all somewhat full figured?
I just adore that!

My most favorite artist for painting women is Ruebens, his coloring and style just takes my breath away.

Monets garden!

Hello all,
I must show you one of the highlights of my trip to Paris!
My artist friend and I took a day trip to Giverny, where Monet had lived
and painted his famous water lily paintings.

The drive to Giverny was soooo wonderful!
The trees were all starting to turn colors, so it was amazing and then add in the quaint picturesque villages and the Seine river winding it's way around each corner, I'm telling you it was almost more then our artists brains could take!! lol
And we hadn't even arrived at Monet's garden yet!

The interior of the house is so darling, and we could just imagine Monet and his family living their days there.
No photography is allowed in the house but we were able to take a photo out through the window looking out to the garden.

The gardens are immense, there is the first section with all the wonderful blooming flowers and then there is a separate area that overlooks all the lily ponds and the bridges. One of my favorite spots was the nasturtium garden, it was such a vivid green and looked like a page out of a fairy tale!
At one point we got out our sketch pads and sat on a near by wooden bench that overlooked the famous green bridge. It was actually kind of surreal to be sitting there, in Monets garden sketching!
A couple of tourist groups walked by and gave us looks of approval on our renditions of the scene, so that was pretty amazing!

After our garden and pond adventure, we meandered up the cobblestone street and there was this stone wall with gorgeous red leaves emerging from the cracks that totally took our breath away, so more photos!

Our last stop was at the end of the street (where our driver was awaiting our return).
We climbed the stone steps up to an old church that was in the midst of renovation and sat down and brought out our sketch books again to do a quick rendering of an old white iron gate and wall.

We really didn't want to leave this wonderful little bit of paradise, but Paris was awaiting our return, so we found our way to our hostess tour guide and with joy in our hearts and minds we waved goodbye to the little town of Giverny.

It was an experience I will never forget and will become even more special to me now whenever I gaze upon a Monet painting.

Hope you enjoyed a little bit of my adventure too.
Talk to you all soon,
deborah