Artist Renee Mak

Ocean Blue and the Cup Cake Parade by LolaBird Ride the wave the wave of blue but leave your footprints  in the sand. Follow the clouds, follow thru stay true to your heart, it knows what to do. Flow with the pink, sharp and brite but leave out the glitter for your Friday nite. Use it freely... without care, sprinkle a trail on the back stair so you can find your way home, in case you're alone. The cup cake parade might shock you a bit... but don't worry keep the candles lit the frosting and glitter will make you smile and forget your troubles... just for a while. {All artwork protected under copyright laws and remain the sole property of artist Renee Mak 2012}

This week has been a busy one... with three classes including one fabulous 5 hour mixed media painting workshop! In most of my classes I do a live demo to help those total visual learners.  This workshop is no exception and these details are just parts of a new 36" x 36" painting I started. I'm finishing it either today or tomorrow and am so excited to see how it turns out! Of course the biggest perk of teaching is the budding artists  I get to meet and create with.  This course is being shared with the lovely Miss Lynn of "When Depressed, Apply Wet Paint" . Her work is fabulous and I hope she'll share her finished  piece on her blog or allow me to share it on mine! I'm also linking up today with the lovely and talented ladies over at Paint Party Friday ! Check out the link and discover talent you never knew existed!!! I'll be painting today... hope you'll do the same. Have a fabulous Fr...

It's that time once again... Paint Party Friday and Sneak Peek Friday!  I love both of these groups because I get to see what other fabulous artists from all over the place have been painting this week! Today I'm sharing a painting that's been finished for a while but has just been photographed proper... This piece is a 36"x36" mixed media acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas.   It was originally part of my "After the Blues" series I blogged about here .  At the time,  I only finished three of the four paintings in time for the show and had this one left... unfinished. I set it aside knowing that some day I would just know what it needed. And that's exactly what happened.  One day, I saw brightly colored abstract flowers growing wildly!  Standing straight up as if shouting... "look at us!" So I painted it like I saw it and here it is. And the full meaning didn't even occur to me until just now. The original series, After the Blues, symbo...

Doodles~ Week Three! Part One... Part one of Stylized Faces was to create a colorful mixed media background. The lesson started by taking a blank piece of Strathmore Series 400 Mixed Media Paper and markers and writing a few words on the page.  It could be anything... and won't really show in the end. I wrote CREATE  LIVE  LOVE.  Then several other marks  with markers was added. After that I added paint with a brush over the entire surface, using several similar colors.  Paint and glazing gel was used to  color over the words without entirely blocking them out. Everyday items, like bubble wrap, a medicine bottle and a plastic lid where then used to stamp a complimentary color onto the painting. I also used the back of a Starbucks coffee sleeve and a handmade flower stamp to add interest and layers. This process continued until I added several more layers and felt the piece was ready for step two... a styli...

Paint Party Friday!!! This is my first time taking part in Paint Party Friday!   Paint Party Friday is a fun blog where creative types post what they're working on or what they have finished. To show them some super heartfelt love, I decided to  showcase several of the Hearts from paintings I've done in the past! All of these Hearts are just details of larger mixed media paintings. Some of the paintings have sold and some have yet to find their  permanent home. Most of these images have been made into prints, cards or journals  and some have even been used in other mixed media projects! All of my Hearts express my love for life... the love I share with my children... and the greatest Love of all, that guides me each and every day! Hope you enjoyed these little Hearts and join in Paint Party Friday too! xoxo

I love to paint on rainy days... Something about a rainy day makes me want to paint.  I love how quiet the world seems as the rain falls... as if there's nothing to do but stay in and create on canvas. To communicate through color... and try new things with paint, crayon and stencils. To let thoughts and ideas flow out onto the canvas while hiding in plain sight. Using fabulous found objects, like a vintage doily, to create interest and  draw the viewer to look closer. And create small paintings within larger paintings... These are some of the reasons I love to paint, on rainy days or any days! What do you like most about painting... or rainy days... or both! {All photos above are taken from original, in progress mixed media paintings by artist Renee Mak and are protected by copyright 2011}

Today I want to share the artist   Mindy Lacefield and her fabulous art! I've followed her on Etsy, called Tim's Sally ,  for quite a while and in the process, found her blog .   She's sold over 2000 items on etsy and has everything from original paintings, prints, t-shirts, magnets, ornaments, digital art and much more! She's a mixed media artist who uses texture, bright colors and whimsey to  bring her subjects to life.  I love her paint strokes and innocent charm each  painting holds.  I'd really love to take one of her  workshops , which you can get on her website or at a retreat, such as artfest . She's even written and illustrated a book called " hinkle's hunch " Really looks like a cute book... and very inspirational since  putting a book together has long been on my to do list! Tell me what you like best about her work!