Garden, Roxy, & Art/Handmade stuff as Gifts

Hi peeps. This is a painting(s) I made recently titled "Garden." Not only did ROXY win my Sanrio Prize Pack, I also made her this painting. (And it was a surprise too!) I met her quite a while back on a message board/website and right away I knew she was pretty cool. We chatted about art quite often. Then when I made my blog, she was one of the first people to follow (though she is anonymous)...but she does leave her name when she comments-that helps. :)

Anyhow, she always gave me such nice comments about my art and asked many questions about it...and I LOVED that. She's one of the few peeps I know that seems genuinely interested in my art...{and ART in general-she knows what she's talking about!}. She also has a pretty good idea to what I'm trying to express with my art. (Though a lot of the times, I'm really just painting from my gut-is that possible?-and not thinking too deeply into it. But usually after her comments, I'm like "Hm, she's sorta right about that!")

So it was funny that she won the prize pack because she asked a while back if I would give her a postcard of my art for her b-day. Like I said, I don't get "commissions" (not that I've ever charged anyone for a painting, except at my one & only art show)...so I was very flattered that she asked me this. (What's the saying...flattery will get you everywhere! No, that's not really true here.) I just wanted to make her something for always being so sweet! And to let her know I appreciate her comments & to give her an early b-day gift.
^_^

So I got to work on this painting when I saw she was probably gonna be the winner of the prize pack. As I said in the post for the winner, she was only .25 cents off, so I knew it was gonna be her. And I did have a couple ideas for this painting...

I usually work with bigger canvas...16 x 20 atleast. And working with an 8 x 10 piece wasn't working, (EVE paints BIG!)...so I decided to break this piece in 2. Roxy told me some of her fave colors (she didn't know what I was gonna do...but I think she had a lil' bit of an idea)...and so I used them-blue (sky), purple (lilac), and green...

I also asked her "Butterfly or Flower?" She chose Butterfly. But I decided to use ALL my glue-on sparkly pieces instead cuz it seemed to "work" with the whole piece coming together...

So it ended up being like this. If you put it side by side, it matches up...and you can turn it inwards also (as I've tried to show above). However you'd like to display it really.

And there's things done on purpose. (Which progressed as I kept thinking what is the concpet here?) Like the flower being in three pieces (which I cut up)...butterfly two pieces...and dragonfly one. And the flower being in the green, dragonfly being in the blue, and hm...it's up to YOU to wonder why the butterfly is placed in purple in the middle-in half. Hmm....

Roxy said she really liked it and I'm SO glad. She even sent me a pic of her holding it, that made me smile! (And I never even seen a pic of her before today either!...and we've been chatting for quite a while!)...but she didn't want me to use it, & that's o.k. I understand cuz I am so unphotogenic in stuff (unless I take it or can change it). Just don't like cameras/video cameras/etc...!!! Booo...;}

Also...

...Roxy told me a lil' while back (when I posted this pic above when it was in-the-making) that I should just finish it up and give it to my therapist-whom it was being made for (and Roxy GOT what I was tring to say w/it too). I was weary on it at 1st 'cause I didn't think I could do anything else to make it better imo. But I took her advice and finished it the same couple of days I did hers. {Please click HERE to see the in-the-making piece that left me stumped on where to go next.}

The dragonfly helped a lot-1st off, it now covers up the glue spot that looked awful before. That dragonfly was the missing link to this piece...so I think it came out alright. I don't have a name for it yet but I don't think it needs one really. I'll see how I'll feel before I see her again. And that'll be next week. Hope she likes it!

My therapist is SO great, I couldn't ask for a more helpful & cooler one. And she has lots of art done by patients all over her walls...and she knows I like to paint. So she will be getting something from me to add to her wall, finally. (Oh & this is a smaller piece but it worked this time around.) Only took me a year to get on this...mainly because of what I will say below...

Only until recently did I start making art for people. I thought giving my art as a gift was weird for one MAIN reason...and that is-will this person like it? They can tell me everything they would like incorporated into a piece...and I can know their 'style' of stuff they like but in the end, it's still taking a BIG chance. Yet I know that whomever the person is (friend or family) that they would appreciate anything I'd make 'em.

I also appreciate any kind of art/handmade gift a friend/family member would give me because it's always the thought that counts, right!?! And usually those are the cooler gifts to get anyways. This has been true with my very talented & thoughtful friends Jennylee and Juno.

Darn, it's late...I gotta be ready to rock for the Kills concert tomorrow night...I mean TONIGHT. So I must get my beauty sleep, ha ha. Take care everyone & happy start-of-the-weekend. So glad it's here, it's been such a long week for me.
Adios for now curious ones.~