Friday 30 December 2011

Wearable Owl Art Collection 2012

I'm pleased to announce that these handmade accessories and collectibles of my owl paintings will be made available in my store in Jan 2012 :D Each image is preserved under a clear magnifying glass bubble dome and mounted securely onto antique style jewelry. Only limited quantities available for this collection.



These beautiful ornate brooches measure about 2.25 by 1.75 inches, the owls look like miniature paintings in these frames. Pin them on your jackets or cardigans for that extra unique flair!






The glass domes on these bronze toned rings measure about 1 inch wide. They are not too small to go unnoticed, just the perfect size to strike a conversation piece. The rings have adjustable romantic filigree style bands to accomodate most ring sizes.




Like the rings, the glass domes on these bronze toned bobby pins measure 1 inch wide. Wear them on weekends with your girlfriends or whenever you feel you need a mood lift!

Necklaces? Very soon once I'm able to find the right chains for the bezels :D

Thursday 29 December 2011

Catching A Fleeting Moment Artworks Now Available




All the artworks from Catching A Fleeting Moment will be made available at my etsy shop from 31st December 2011 onwards. All artworks come together with their respective frames as shown in the photos, more close up shots are available for viewing here on this blog.  Here's a New Year's gift from me to thank you for taking the time to stop by my blog:

 USE COUPON CODE : FLEETING2012
TO ENJOY 15% DISCOUNT ( NOW - 15TH JAN 2012) ON ALL MERCHANDISE WHEN YOU CHECK OUT YOUR SHOPPING CART.

Feel most welcome to ask any questions! :D


Monday 26 December 2011

Owl Art - Autumn Woodland Rhapsody ( Mixed Media Assemblage Collage Art)

Here's the 12th and also the final artwork of my "Catching A Fleeting Moment" collection, Autumn Woodland Rhapsody.




There has always been this mental photograph in my head, it's me sitting on a thick carpet of autumn leaves which have fallen from the tree I am sitting under. I am reading a storybook aloud to a gathering of woodland creatures who have decided to stop foraging the forest floor for a while, we are sitting in a circle on a pinic mat with baskets of fruits, bread, biscuits and some tea. What a lovely autumn afternoon we are having! :D




I feel emotionally charged by the rich colors of autumn. This red plumish colored autumn leaves provide a perfect background for this piece. The owl was painted with a warm tones of blues and browns, embellished with white pearls around the eyes and the wings with green and turquoise rhinestone gems.




There's such antique-ish charm about these brass stampings that I simply have to have them in my art, found a bear cub, some tiny bunnies, a squirrel, a fox and a pair of birds. Was so excited when I found these tree branch buttons, each of them came from a different tree. There's the cherry tree, apricot tree, alder tree, pear tree, thorn tree, catkin tree and hazelnut tree. These buttons are very smooth and have been protected by natural tung oil.





The borders have been layered with shreds of autumn themed fabric, yarn threads and floral lace. Lightly frayed fabric florals are added to add some shabby charm.






This artwork measures 11.5 x 9.5 inches. When framed, it measures 14 x 12 inches.


Sunday 25 December 2011

Owl Art - The Way He Makes Me Feel (Mixed Media Assemblage Collage Art)

Here's the 11th artwork of my "Catching A Fleeting Moment" collection, The Way He Makes Me Feel.



My husband may not be a sweet talker, does not shower me with gifts and can be quite forgetful at times. In spite of these, he still overwhelms me with his goodness and makes me feel I'm worth his time and affections. On days when we are at home (both of us work from home), he prepares our 3 meals and in between he will be at work on his gigantic canvases. Sometimes, the meals come with carved flowers from thick vegetable stems or heart-shaped sunny side ups.The list is long but there's a recent event that really moved me. On the eve of our flood evacuation to Hua Hin Beach, he was very quiet, we were pretty stressed by the mega flood that was coming our way. He then asked for my sunglasses and said he would want to try to repair it, he knew I would need it during our stay at the beach. Precious. Cherished. Nourished.



This kittens with tiaras fabric is kind of apt for the feeling that my husband makes me feel. I deliberately stained the fabric with tea in a sporadic manner rather than tea dyeing the entire piece, just to remind myself how he embraces my obvious imperfections. Like all the others, the owl's eyes are embellished with white pearls and the wings with sparkling milky white rhinestone gems.



The borders are mounted with vintage music paper shreds, fanciful yarn, fabric hydrangeas with rhinestones,romantic butterflies and colorful precious looking gem buttons.








This artwork measures 12 x 12 inches and 15 x 15 inches when framed.



Friday 23 December 2011

Owl Art - Living In A Lavender Sachet (Mixed Media Assemblage Collage Art)

Here's the 10th piece of my "Catching A Fleeting Moment" collection, Living In A Lavender Sachet.



Before I take a sip of my homemade morning coffee, I will close my eyes and inhale the sweet coffee aroma deep into my lungs, this immediately puts a smile on my day. During bath time, I will repeat the same routine with my body shampoo before lathering and rinsing. Perhaps, it's my way of allowing the smells and scents of the day stimulate the senses, adding a happy dimension to the day.  Hence, I feel scent ought to be a constant companion throughout the day especially when I work and sleep. I choose Lavender, no other scent comes close to this one :D. It's no wonder why sometimes I feel like I am living inside a sachet of dried lavender and I love it for its' calming and relaxing effects.


Dried lavender with frozen charlotte doll




The owl was painted on a light blue vintage fabric of white and purple flowers, her eyes are embellished with soft pink pearls and milky white rhinestone gems add sweet sparkling charm to her wings.





This whole lavender sanctuary was created with many fabric yoyos, I love the homely comfy charm that they possess. The yoyos were mounted on layers of lace. Apparently, there was another lavender loving owl, a pin brooch from my personal owl collectibles. Lavender chiffon roses to add the airy fairy effect to this artwork.








This artwork measures 8 x 10 inches and 12 x 14 inches when framed.



Owl Art - The Frozen Seconds (Mixed Media Assemblage Collage Art)

Here's the 9th piece of my "Catching A Fleeting Moment" collection, The Frozen Seconds.



I wish time could stop in its' tracks for just for a few seconds, let me experience the sound of total silence, let me stroke the wings of a butterfly resting on a flower, let me admire the shapes of the passing clouds a little longer, let me memorize the silly grin on my dog's face ....let me hold a moment before it's no more.


The owl was painted on a slightly distressed vintage love song music sheet. Her eyes embellished with light purple pearls and her wings with milky white rhinestone gems. I used torn strips of decorative papers to create a shabby chic border. Fabric flowers, vintage inspired clock and key charms, buttons, creamy lace and butterfly appliques with rhinestone gems were layered and mounted onto the border.










This artwork measures 8 x 8 inches and 10 x 10 inches when framed.



Thursday 22 December 2011

Owl Art - Dolly Affair (Original Mixed Media Assemblage Collage Art)

Here's the 8th piece of my "Catching A Fleeting Moment" collection, Dolly Affair.




Of late, I'm drawn to old vintage photographs of little girls and their dolls, such is the attraction to them that I now have a collection of such photos which I purchased on the internet. Perhaps, it's because I feel all warm and fuzzy at the sight of these girls beaming with smiles with their dolls. It was only much later that I figured it was possible that at a deeper level, I wanted to be a memory keeper of their once upon a time treasured relationships with their dolls, such moments were deemed too precious to be forgotten. Most of these little girls had doll buggies and prams, they would take their dolls out for a walk, acting like little mummies. This photo below is my favorite, she looked like she was going to to bring baby along with her to the market.




I chose a sweet girly wallpaper-look fabric, tea-dyed it to give it a warm nostalgic feel. Painted the owl all cuddled up, obviously she's feeling warm and fuzzy surrounded by her favorite dolls :D The owl's eyes are embellished with white pearls and her feathers with rose-pink rhinestone gems.



It was not easy to find miniature dolls with stuffings so these 10 dolls of vintage inspired design were custom made from fray treated fabric and were stuffed with polyfil polyester. Each measures about 2 inches tall. I added antique gold ribbon bow stampings, pearly hearts (they remind of me little girls' toy jewelry) and pastel resin flowers.








This artwork measures about 8 x 10 inches and 10 x 12 inches when framed.



Wednesday 21 December 2011

Owl Art - Renoir's Summer 1880 (Original Mixed Media Assemblage Collage Art)

Here's the 7th piece of my "Catching A Fleeting Moment" collection, Renoir's Summer 1880.



If I could live for a moment in a master's painting, I would choose Pierre Auguste Renoir's Luncheon Of The Boating Party :D He portrayed 14 Parisians from diverse backgrounds enjoying a summer Sunday at Chatou, the Maison Fournaise along the Seine River. It was not just a group portrait, it was a scene, a moment in modern life that Renoir wanted to express through this painting.



Susan Vreeland's New York Times Best Seller, Luncheon Of The Boating Party is a vivid novel of what went on behind the scene of this materpiece. Through the author, I was being transported to the summer of 1880 where Renoir organized the setting and his models to pose for him over several Sundays and it was here that he met his future wife, Aline :D I would have loved to be the silent observer of the happenings while Renoir worked passionately on his canvas.There was an interview with Susan Vreeland at the last part of the book  and she expressed it so aptly that I couldn't agree more. When asked why she chose Renoir's Luncheon Of The Boating Party as a subject for a novel, here's her reply:

Besides being the central masterpiece of the art movement that changed the look of art forever, it represents the qualities of the French soul: joyous friendship, appreciation of beauty, verve, and the intoxication with life. It invites us to ask ourselves: How can one live a life so filled with beauty and so rich with pleasure?............what is the painting about? In part, it's about the tantalizing riches of the senses. It evokes sensuous experiences beyond the visual: the feel of the breeze on the skin, evidenced by the fluttering scallops on the awning and sailboats making their way upstream; the frangrance of the fruit that fills the nose; the taste of wine that enlivens the palate; the feel of one's surroundings - one woman's fingers in a dog's fur, the sun on another one's back; the sound of songs sung by boaters as they row past, and by the models to each other. They are sucking pleasure out of everything, valuing the last taste in the glass and the colors surrounding them, noticing the look in soneone's eyes and engaging in spirited exchange.

One looks at the painting and envies for an instant the characters' capacity to fill themselves with pleasure, to grasp the fleeting present and hold it as one might hold a bird before letting it go. The painting is imbued with this encouragement to notice the delicious details in life, to value the moment, and to each other. Seen in the press of high-speed living, it seduces us and urges us to stop and look and listen and taste and feel - and ultimately, appreciate. At its' best moments that's what fine art can do if we let it work on us."



This Blue French Letter fabric by Tracie Lyn Huskampm printed by Windham Fabrics is used as the background with the owl painted with bright summery colors. The owl's eyes are embellished with white pearls and her wings with sparkling gold rhinestone gems.



One of the major highlight of this piece is a miniature dollhouse framed painting of Renoir's Luncheon Of The Boating Party, measures about 2.75 by 2.25 inches. Found these petite glass Czech intaglio cabochons of sailboats which I mounted on vintage blue buttons, love the way they seem to sit nicely on the buttons.






Felt the need to include a vintage watch face here because Renoir was determined to complete this painting before the summer lights came to an end, time was of essence. At the bottom right corner is a yellow brass artist's palette, I added some paint onto the palette. Other border embellishments included wooden butterflies, french colored ribbon, antique metal buttons, rhinestone buttons,an antique gold stamping of the side profile of a lady (I wanted her to represent Aline, the woman with the puppy who eventually became Renoir's wife) and orange red poppy fabric flowers, those were the flowers found on Aline's hat :D



This artwork measures about 12 x 10 inches and 14 x 12 inches when framed.