SOME SPRING COLORS ...

I've done up quite a few textured Canvases and Boards and I'm enjoying working on them.  Obviously the texture adds dimension to the Painting but it also seems to bring a second personality to it too.

SANCTUARY

12 X 12 Acrylic on Textured Canvas

For more information on this piece Please Click HERE

sanctuary:  1. a place of refuge or safety  2.  a nature reserve  3. the title of this piece  :)

Enjoy your day!

HAPPY SPRING EVERYONE!

I don't know why we've been so lucky this year and I know it has not been that way for s lot of you.  We should have remnants of at least 4 feet of snow and instead we can already see the first blades of grass turning green.  My neighbor even mowed his lawn today.  I'm guessing that might even be a first around here at this time of the year.  I'm certainly not complaining.  It's been an easy winter here, and with us trying to finish our home and get moved in, it certainly made things a lot easier not having to plow through the snow to get it all done.  The lack of snow is a little worrisome because of fire potential in the forests around us come summer, but then 2 inches of rain in the last 48 hours may just help make up for that! 

One of the first things we did after moving in (and getting 'somewhat' settled :) is add to the family.  His name is Roscoe and he is an 8 year old half Australian Cattle dog and ??  He was in an unhappy situation, and when we saw the circumstances we just couldn't leave him there.  Soooo ... home he came.  He has to be the most gentle, well mannered dog I've ever met.  I think whomever had him initially took very good care of him and spent some time training him.  He fit right in and seems to be enjoying his new digs.  Dodger, our little Terrier Mix, wasn't too sure at first (it was all about the sharing) but seems to have adjusted to the fact that he is no longer an only child.  Oh ... life can be so cruel!  :(

ROSCOE  (note the tail ~ it literally looks like a raccoon tail!)

I have a deadline coming up in 4 weeks for work due to Entree Gallery up in Nordman, Idaho so have been busy working on that (along with staining and varnishing all the woodwork here in the house. :)  At least I am consistent with keeping a brush in my hands . . . !

Following are a few of the smaller pieces that I have done so far . . .

MURMURS AND WHISPERS

6 X 6" Acrylic on Canvas

I looked at this when I was done and thought "Oh ... the trees on the right look like they are talking about that tree on the left!"  Thus, the title.  :)

For more information Please click HERE

RED SKY AT NIGHT: REVERENCE

                                                            6 X 6" Acrylic on Canvas 
                                                   This one was done with a Palette Knife.
                                                For more information Please Click HERE

"I TOLD YOU . . .!"

8 x 10" Acrylic and Mixed Media Collage on Canvas

For more information Please Click HERE

I haven't worked on any jewelry for the last couple of weeks.  I want to make sure I have what I need as far as paintings go and then I'll go back to the jewelry side of my Brain.

SPRING IS NATURES WAY OF SAYING "LET'S PARTY!"

Robin Williams

WWW.CHARLEENMARTIN.COM

To see  my monthly Newsletter you can go here to read past issues and/or sign up 

                                    http://charleenmartinfineart.com/email-newsletter

THERE IS A REASON . . .

WHY YOU HAVEN'T HEARD FROM ME.  And no, I wasn't on some luxurious vacation somewhere (I only wish!).   I have been busy purging, packing, moving, unpacking and purging some more for the last 2 months. I am hoping (praying is more like it) that this is the last time I will have to do this.  I have moved so many times in my life that I used to kid that my boxes could unpack themselves and the contents knew exactly where to go.   Not so much this time.  This time they made me work for the satisfaction of seeing everything in its place, in its new home.  (And of course, not everything is in its place, in its new home yet ~ that is going to take me a while).  Maybe I am just getting old!  

This is a piece I actually got done just before all the chaos ensued. :)  

'PAST THE GREEN FIELDS, INTO THE WOODS'

This piece was done with a Palette Knife. 

6 X 6  Acrylic on wood panel.   

For more information on this piece Please Click HERE 

I am back in my Studio!!   We did downsize so my Studio space is a lot smaller now.  (Actually, it's rather nice ~ everything is at my fingertips, and for the moment, all organized!) That was one of my problems though  ... trying to decide what I would and wouldn't actually keep.  As a Mixed Media Artist I always feel like I'm going to need EVERYTHING.  I am trying to simplify my life so not EVERYTHING was going to make the move.  But ... more things made the move than can fit into my Studio so more purging was (and still is!) necessary.  

PISTACHIO

I decided to start off by doing a new Jewelry piece.   The green makes me think of spring.  Must be wishful thinking!  Although I do have to say, we have enjoyed a VERY mild winter.  Since this is our first one up here in this area we know we got lucky.  Last year at this time there was several feet of snow on the ground.  This year ... nothing.  I can see snow on the distant mountains (higher) but the ones surrounding us are totally bare.  

For more information on this Piece Please click HERE

  Since we downsized we do still have a fairly good sized storage unit full of furniture and 'stuff' to go through but now that we are in the house we can take our time with that.  I should be able to get back into a routine now that most of the unpacking is done.  

For fun I will include a photo of one of the many 'unusual'  :)  things we did in the house. This first photo is one of our Kitchen cabinets.  As you can probably tell, it is a stainless steel toolbox/workbench.  It may have initially been designed for the men in our lives but I will tell you it makes the greatest kitchen cabinet!!  

There is a door on the right that you can't see where I can store my pots but notice how many drawers it has.  When do you ever have enough kitchen drawers? And, they are on ball bearings so they pull out sooo easily.  :)  And since they are made to hold heavy tools weight is not an issue.

This is a view inside several of the drawers ...

They are perfect depth for things like silverware, spices, pot lids, baking pans, etc. etc.  Anyway, thought I'd share that with you.  Obviously this wouldn't be for everyone but I really love it.   In fact, I bought a different version for my studio to hold all my paints, brushes and the like.  I'll see if I can get a photo of that for next time.

Now I have to start working on my monthly Newsletter, which is also 2 months behind.  :(

til next time ...

Charleen

"I love deadlines.  I love the whooshing noise they make as they go by."

                                                           Douglas Adams  (The Salmon of Doubt)

www.charleenmartin.com

FROM THE STUDIO of CHARLEEN MARTIN

IT'S THAT TIME OF YEAR . . .

Decorations and Dreams

Santa and Cookies

Gift Wrap and Cards

Parties and big Family Dinners

Anticipation and Sharing

and a shear craziness to the whole thing!

But ... as crazy as it all may get it still is a Wonderful time of the year.  We just have to remember to stop, take a deep breathe, and remember the importance of the Season.  No matter what our beliefs, there are a lot of extra Smiles out there at this time of the year so be sure to take advantage of them!  :)  (I write this as partly a reminder to myself ! :/ )

Besides continuing to work on our home (the move-in date keeps getting 'moved' farther and farther out)  :(  I'm trying to work on getting ready for an April deadline for a Gallery Opening.  That may seem a ways out but sometime around the end of January/beginning of February we will (hopefully) be moving and I know, once in, there will be massive amounts of work to be done in the house.  It's going to be an ongoing process for a while so it will be taking up a lot of my time.

Below is one of my pieces recently done.  It's part of my 'The Backside of Life' Series.

                        THE BACKSIDE OF LIFE:  

BUT. . .  IS SHE REALLY LISTENING?

12 X 16" Mixed Media Collage on Wood Panel

To see more about this Piece Please Click HERE

This one is Mixed Media also (Ink and Acrylic) but no Collage . . .

'BEHIND EVERY GREAT MAN . . .'

6 X 6" Acrylic and Ink on Wood Panel

  I've been wanting to do Cardinals for a while so this was a fun piece to do.  To see more about 'Behind Every Great Man ...'  Please Click HERE

And this one is only Acrylic on Canvas . . .

THE PATRIOT

6 x 6 x 1 1/2"Acrylic on Canvas

To see more about 'The Patriot'  Please Click HERE

And, one Necklace to add this time . . .

ABETZI

This is not a brand new Piece but I realized I had never put it online until recently.  :/  It's one that I particularly like because the color of the 'Yellow Turquoise' (which is actually more to the green side) is really striking.

To see more about this Piece Please Click HERE

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

til next time . . .

Charleen

'Anyone that believes that men are the equal to women has never seen a man trying to wrap a Christmas present.'  ~  Anonymous

FROM THE IDAHO STUDIO of CHARLEEN MARTIN

NOVEMBER ... DECEMBER... AND THEN ...

Can you believe we will be writing 2015 in just another month?!  I can't.  I'm still ignoring the fact that Thanksgiving is tomorrow!  I should be 'in the kitchen' preparing things that I am suppose to be bringing to my daughters for dinner tomorrow and and yet, here I am, pretending I still have a week or so to go!

We have been so busy dealing with the house (in case you have missed it before, we are building a new home and it has been one fiasco after another!)  and all of the mis-adventures that have gone along with that, that the time has just flown by.  I will receive my first Christmas card on Friday.  It will be from my Sister in Florida.  I don't know how she does it, but every year hers is the first card we receive and it ALWAYS comes the day after Thanksgiving!  I'm not even acknowledging Thanksgiving yet so you can imagine where I am on Christmas. Three months away or so??

I have managed to get some time in the studio but I have to admit it has not all been productive.  A lot of looking at blank canvases only to have them yell "What?!  Do I even have to come up with the ideas for you??!!"  Not good.  I keep thinking that once we are in the house (was suppose to be October~ now 'maybe' February) things will calm down and I will be able to concentrate  more on my work.  Of course then, there will still be a lot of painting, re-arranging , etc. etc. to be done.  If I could, I would clone myself, but knowing me, we'd argue as to who gave the orders and nothing would get done!   :/

I did get the three Necklaces below done . . .

FIRE IN THE HEART                                               MOROCCO

FOR MORE INFORMATION

You can Click HERE for 'Fire in the Heart '                You can Click HERE for 'Morocco'

AUTUMN CREEK

Please Click HERE for more information

'JUST ONE A DAY'

This is just a small 4 x 4" that I did (along with a few others) that went to a Christmas Show at the Moses Lake Museum and Art Gallery.  It's on my Website HERE

DOWN AT COPPER CREEK

This is a 5 x 7" Acrylic on Wood Panel.  

For more information on this Piece Please Click HERE

Since this is so close to Thanksgiving, and these Blogs sometimes sit in a que for a while, you may not receive this until after Thanksgiving.  And besides, you will probably have much better things to do tomorrow anyway than read this Blog (!) I hope you had a Wonderful Day and 

My Very Best Wishes for a Safe and Healthy Holiday Season

                                                                              Charleen

FROM THE IDAHO STUDIO of CHARLEEN MARTIN

"WHADDA YA LOOKIN' AT . . .?

  

WHERE DID YOU THINK THE TERM COWLICK CAME FROM ?"

Like my Rooster in my last Blog, this is another small 4 x 4" Acrylic and Ink on Wood Panel.  This was a fun piece to do ~ he is all personality.  This comes with its own metal stand for Display.  For more information on this little guy Please HERE 

For some reason, when I did manage to get into the Studio it was mostly a month of animals.  I spent a lot of time up at our property again where we are building our house/cabin so time was, once again, limited in the Studio.  I didn't get to my Jewelry side of the Studio at all this month.  I hope to get that corrected by next week!  :/

FLIGHT

10 x 10 Mixed Media Collage on Textured Wood Panel

I did the background for a Still Life, put it aside for a few weeks and when I came back to it I decided it needed an extra 'oomph' so I added the splash of Turquoise.  I loved the effect but at that point all I could see was a Bird ~ the Still Life was no longer an option!  :/  

For more information on 'Flight'  Please Click HERE

But, I did get this one Fall Piece done  . . .

REMEMBERING OCTOBER

10 x 10" Mixed Media Collage on Wood Panel

For more information on  'Remembering October'  Please Click HERE

Even on gray days, there is just so much Beauty around us.  Hard not to be Thankful . . .

A TALE OF TWO SEASONS . . .

Fall Colors with the silence of the Summer Gondola ride peeking from behind.  The Gondola at Silver Mountain in Kellogg, Idaho (not far from where I live) is the longest Gondola ride in North America ~ over 3 miles long.   (Your trivia for today :)   This goes right over the top of the Medical Building where my Doctor is.  

Here's another view from across the road.  Pretty how it disappears right up into the Fog.

And, just for HALLOWEEN

     

'WHAT'S OCTOBER WITHOUT THE CROW AND THE PUMPKIN?'

4 X 4" Acrylic on Wood Panel

Comes with it's own stand for Display

For more information Please Click HERE

TRICK OR TREAT!

CHARLEEN

A LITTLE OF THIS, A LITTLE OF THAT AND A FEW FALL LEAVES . . .

This is the City Park in Mullan where we are building our house (In Mullan.  Not the Park!  :).  All 1/2 block of it.  :)  Most of the Trees in the area are in the Pine family so we don't see a lot of color as the Season is changing.  That's one thing I do miss about living on the East Coast.  This time of year it's just a glorious splash of color.  Of course, in another month or so most of our trees will still be green and not dancing naked in the Falls winds . . .  :)

Things have been moving a lot faster this last month on our new home since the company that was building the outer shell of it has moved on.  That's a very good thing ~ their Time Management (or lack of) issues put us about 2 months behind where we should have been at this point.  It does mean though, that I have been spending a lot more time up at the property this month with some of our other Contractors.  Also needed to be there for some of our bigger deliveries ~ like the Refrigerator, Washer/Dryer, etc., etc. :)  These are currently sitting on our patio since we are so far behind on the inside.  The walls where they are to go are only studs at this point.  :/  So what that means, here and in the present, is that I have not gotten a lot of Studio time in the last few weeks ~ and that also means not a lot of new work to show you.  It's been difficult switching gears back and forth.  I constantly find myself, while in the Studio, thinking about what needs to be done at the house, and then while at the house, I'm thinking about the fact that I AM NOT IN THE STUDIO!  As the saying goes . . . You can't win for losing . . .  :)

Here is some of what I did manage to get done . . . 

KINSWAYA

This is predominantly a blend of Gray Feldspar and Crazy Lace Agate.  You can find more information on this piece by Clicking on the Link below:

http://charleenmartinfineart.com/works/1580824/kinswaya

A LITTLE BARNYARD ATTITUDE

This is just a little guy ~ 4 x 4" and he comes with a Black Metal, Bamboo Style Stand for Display.  Those are the Kanji Symbols for Attitude up in the left.  I did this in a combination of Ink and Acrylic (used more like watercolor)  on a white wood panel.   I have a small set-up of Acrylics I can bring with me in our RV so I was experimenting up at the property while waiting for the electricians.  :)  For more information Please Click Below:

http://charleenmartinfineart.com/works/1580289/a-little-barn-yard-attitude-14071

MOROCCAN SKY

This is a blend of Brass and Batik-ed Bone Beads that are all from Africa.  It is complimented with Buri Nut Seeds (South America) and Patikan Wood  (Phillipines).  Fastens with an easy to open/close Toggle Clasp.

http://charleenmartinfineart.com/workszoom/1580888

'IF I HEAR THAT ONE MORE TIME . . .'

5 x 7"  Acrylic on Wood Panel.   Hmmm . . . talk about attitude!  :)  He comes framed and ready to hang.

For more information on this Piece, Please Click Here:

http://charleenmartinfineart.com/workszoom/1581165

That's it for tonight.  If interested you can go to the Blog I am writing about all the escapades happening during the construction of our house.  It's been quite a ride so far!  You can find us at  www.theadventuresatcampdunmovin.blogspot.com

'Today I'll be happier than a Bird . . . with a French fry.

'til next time . . .

Charleen