FREE and Just In Time for EASTER

I know that I am just a little bit excited about my newest Etsy Listing that I'm calling a Funny, Punny Bunny bookmark! I mean this week alone I have sold a total of 58 bookmarks in my sheep and cow design and that just blows me away. I purchased a new Scotch Pro Thermal Laminator, a Fiskars 12 Surecut Deluxe Paper Trimmer , and 4.5 x6.5 (5 mil) lamination pouches that are just perfect for this job.

In fact, I am so excited about bookmarks right now that I decided I was going to give a few away for free. All you have to do is follow the link to my Etsy Shop for this listing that I have linked below, favorite my shop and leave me a comment about seeing this on my blog on or before 4/1/18. That is all you have to do to be included in the drawing to receive a free bookmark. Now that wasn't so hard and in perfect time for Easter!

Funny Punny Bunny Boomarks

Paper Mache Carrots Are Classified as a Sculpture...RIGHT?

Have I mentioned before that I absolutely LOVE being an artist.  I have to reminding myself that being in my studio painting is just like work and if I want to succeed in supplementing our retirement income I need to stay busy creating.

I of course prefer fine art and today much of my time was spent doing more of what I would consider crafts but it was still fun and it did involve my paintbrush and paper mache is a form of sculpture.  So there you have it.  

Several weeks ago I had purchased this very large rabbit from a Ross Dress for Less Store to use as part of my entryway spring display.  A can of Kono Brown  Glossy spray paint was all that was needed to him transformed him into the largest chocolate bunny I've ever seen.  He REALLY looks like he made of solid chocolate now.  This was so simple and yet so adorable, I decided to spray paint a couple of wooden eggs I had stowed away in the studio and give them a simple painted design.  

I then got the creative idea that I needed to add a few carrots to complete my decorations.  I looked around at Michaels and Walmart and not a fake vegetable on the shelf to be found.  I decided would take matters into my own hands and get MESSY with some paper mache!  

Here I am applying strips of flour paste soaked newspaper to my carrot base made of sticks and tin foil.  I did buy the foliage and attach it to the stick using floral tape.

When I managed to get all 4 carrots finished I then took them outside and hung them up in my tree to dry.  

The following day I decided that another coat of paper mache was necessary and so I repeated the process for each carrot.  I probably could have added several more coats to smooth out some of the more bumpy areas but I was getting pretty tired of all the mess I was making in my kitchen.  Two layers was going to have to be sufficient.

True to my opening paragraph, there was actually painting going on with a real paint brush in the studio today.  I think it is time to change my palette paper don't you?   

As usually you can see that I have been a rather busy artist this week.  I gathered up a number of items that all needed a coat of varnish applied.  This actually included 3 cowbells and 2 small cow paintings shown below that I didn't remember about until after I had taken this picture.  I guess when you look at them all together I've been kind of preoccupied with cows of late.

Those three cowbells in the picture happen to already be sold.  Next week I'm going to paint a cowbell a day so that I can get in front of the demand because as I am typing this blog right now I have someone asking to buy one on Facebook.  These little cows are very popular!

These little paintings are really cute too and are painted on 8 x 8 wooden panels.  I call them Nose Licker 1 and Nose Licker 2.  I plan on taking them to the Boulder City Art Gallery at the end of the month if I haven't sold them before hand.

Nose Licker 1

Nose Licker 2

Here you can see my carrots hanging out to dry for the last time.  The varnish really takes very little time to dry but because they were wet all over, hanging was really the best drying option.

All in all I like my end results and am happy that I decided to take the time to make my own decorations.  Even though the photo is just a little bit dark here you can see just how lovely all the pieces go together.

Watching Carrots Grow

Watching Carrots Grow

I finished up writing a poem I wrote just in the last few days to go along with one of my illustration sketches that I call "Watching Carrots Grow".  I think it turned out pretty cute and so I blogged about it yesterday on my Embrace Your Creative Side Blog.  Embrace Your Creative Side: Watching Carrots Grow:

I know I'm probably crazy to try to maintain two blogs.  I mean it's not like this blog has gone viral or anything but I found that I really needed to bring more creativity into my life and not just me painting on a canvas or drawing a cute little bunny rabbit.  I need my surroundings to reflect my creativity too.  I also need to pass on creative memories to my grandchildren and that all takes planning.  Blogging about projects and ideas will help me stay focused on what I really think is important.  So I say all that to really trying to step up my game.

Don't Forget Your Vegetables

With Spring weather arriving and the Easter Season quickly approaching, I decided I had better pull out some of my bunny sketches that I did last year and maybe add one or two new furry friends.  Now is the time to get these guys making a gallery appearance in the form of magnets, cards and small prints. Combine that fact with me working like a crazy woman trying to get all the details worked out for my March 28th solo art show "Down Country Roads", I have a pretty busy week in store.

This art and more is available on my Etsy Store. Check it out at:  https://www.etsy.com/shop/JulieTownsendStudio?ref=shop_sugg

WATCHING CARROTS GROW

By

Julie Townsend

Waiting and watching for Carrots to grow

Have you ever seen anything so painfully slow?

From the time in the spring when you place the seeds in soil

And don’t you forget to water, weed, sweat and toil

Then you jump for joy when you see that first bright leafy green

Looking like a plate decoration for some fancy cuisine

Remember with carrots the important part is growing out of sight

Deep in the ground without a single spot of light

For it’s the roots of the carrot that cause your lips to smack

Their crunchy sweetness is always a favorite snack

Patience is a virtue many will say

And you better have plenty because it takes many a day

Remember the saying “Good things come to those who wait”

Waiting you must do before that orange goodness is on your plate

There is an important lesson that you should take heed

Plant these words deep in your heart to grow just like a weed

I’ve read in the Bible that we should “fix our eyes on things unseen”

It’s not the outward appearance that makes you selfish and mean

But just like carrots that grow underground and out of our sight

It’s those invisible qualities of Love, Joy and Peace that makes you shine bright

And let’s not forget to save plenty of room

Because there is nothing so sweet when Kindness and Patience are in full bloom

Stand strong and guard the garden of your heart

The reward of that harvest will give your life a good start.

Just a Couple of Silly Wabbits!

Good Things Come to Those Who Wait- 8 x 10 colored pencil sketch

YOU SILLY WABBIT!   It is hard to think of anything as cute as a sweet little bunny rabbit.  Here are two cute little guys that are part of my "Down Country Roads Collection".  Sorry for the poor cell phone photo of my latest drawing, "Good Things Come to Those that Wait" but because I'm on the road and away from my handy flat bed scanner I have to depend on my cell phone to snap a picture of my artwork.   I was so excited yesterday when I finished this piece,  that I decided that I would use the cell phone photo for now.  

I have had the experience of having pet bunnies several times in my life and one thing that stands out to me about their behavior is that they are natural born chewing machines.  Just last week a dear friend of mine shared a story of how recently her pet bunny chewed her clothes dryer cord and nearly burnt their house down.  That's a bunny rabbit for you.  They love to chew unattended electrical cords.  

I also remember that we had to put chicken wire around the base of each of our trees in the backyard to keep them from striping the bark off and in the process killing the trees.  No shrub, flower or vegetable could stand a chance against their always moving incisors.

When you think of bunnies, you also immediately think of carrots, or at least I do.   I'm not sure that this particular vegetable is actually a favorite food over any other leafy green delicacies but the association with them is very strong.  Maybe it all started with something as iconic as a cartoon character and the phrase "What's up Doc?".

Whatever the reason, I love these carrots and how their bright colors add to my sketch compositions.  When I started drawing this little lop ear fellow I was thinking about the old saying "Good things come to those who wait" and the virtue of patience.   I could visualize this little guy patiently watching the carrots grow and that thought made me smile.  

Both of these original sketches are available along with prints, greeting cards and art magnets.  You can check out all my artwork on my website at julietownsendstudio.com.  

Don't Forget to Eat Your Vegetables