The Male Nude

The Male Nude, Pastel and Oil on Paper, 9x12

This is painted on watercolor paper with pastel and oil paint. I think the texture shows nicely! You can find this on my Etsy shop, too.

Paintin' Pretty - New Collage Work

Cherry Sundae, Mixed Media and Acrylic Collage

I wanted to work large, and here's a big piece - 36" x 48." Yes, it says mixed media, and a run-down of the specifics look like this:

• Acrylic Paint
• Pastel
• Charcoal
• Enamel
• Gel Medium
• Acrylic Collage Application

...and lots of sanding to reveal the layers beneath. Everything's varnished to protect the looser mediums like the pastel and charcoal.

Take a closer look in my Etsy shop (you can browse more works there, too!).

For the Birds

A few months ago while driving north past open fields I spotted a flock of crows. In the middle of that flock was one white crow, something I'd never heard of or seen before! I was so inspired to paint a series of birds, but it has taken me til just recently to add a group of white birds to the collection. Here's one:

Golden Badge, 10x10 on 1.5" Canvas

Let Pastel Take a Turn

"Summertime" Pastel on blue paper

Let the blue be the midtones - I love these contrasts. Seen here in my Etsy shop: "Summertime" drawings of women

After the Kiss

This is one of the first paintings I sold online. It's now available as a print (Here's the link to my "Prints" page on Etsy: CGallaFineArt, Prints) and I think it will always be a favorite of mine. These little watercolors have always been my best sellers.

Oil Painting on Paper, "Cloaked"

Cloaked, Oil on Paper

Let me show you something (well, two things) I like to do. One is painting the figure, and the second is creating oil paintings on paper. Here's one, called "Cloaked,"  is an oil painting on watercolor paper that I took from a sketch of a live pose. The title evolved from the appearance of an aura around the shoulders and arms.

I'm happy with the way it turned out, but then painting on these papers is such a great way to mix it up a little bit.

This painting is for sale in my ArtFire Shop.

ArtFire: Who knew?

I'm going to stop in midstream here to tell you about the best-known secret of online artists and handmade craftspersons. 

As a relatively long time seller on ArtFire, I've only recently begun to take them up on their fabulous offerings, and now that they're leaving their beta stage, well, here's what I found out. I'll explain  in a moment, but first go read this, http://www.artfire.com/groupdeal come back, and we'll hit the highlights.

Hmmm...Let's see, what else can I tell you? Oh, yeah, this is the BEST DEAL EVER since I've been an ArtFire member. Here's why:

• It's cheap! Where else can you get unlimited listings to sell your artwork or handmade items for less than $6.00 a month with :
• No listing fees
• No final value fees
• The option to create collections of your work to post on blogs, in Facebook and in other social media
• A wonderful, friendly community of fellow artisans and "I'm on your side" admin staff
• A blog page
• A customizable studio 

Don't take my word for it. Go read up on it, make your comparisons, check out their admin posts. And...PS: This will be the best win-win since online selling began.