"Lilac Fairy Bathed in Moonlight" Painting Sessions

"Midnight Melody" ACEO Painting Session

"The Wind in my Fur" Painting Sessions

New Men's Line of Jewelry

Since I made the switch from the polymer clay pendants to these glass & metal ones, one issue has been providing pendants for men.  The circles are a nice big size and could work but I decided to start a new shape for them in rectangles.  These are also fine for women.

I thought about continuing the previous cord option (where I tie the adjustable knots) but then decided to go with ball chains so these hang dog-tag style.  The chains are available on the other pendants too.  I'll probably add them as an option & replace the tied cords all together but that's a lot of editing and I have so many new ones to add.

New painting, Cats on a Spring Night

Here is one of my most recent paintings, Cats on a Spring Night:

 This subject was a suggestion from someone who had, as you can guess, an orange tabby and a long-haired black cat.  I'm always happy to get suggestions.  Although I have an extensive "to do" list of painting ideas, I often cast about myself when I'm in between paintings, like now.

 In addition to providing the print options, I'm also trying to include the pendant on the same page:

I have gotten so lazy about posting to my blog.  My apologies.  You know how it is...everyone offers that little Tweet or FB button and it's so easy to click that.  I will try to catch up...

Exciting News...Buy my Jewelry on Amazon!

Yes it's true!  You can now use your Amazon gift cards and points to buy my jewelry on Amazon.  I will be fulfilling the orders so you'll still get the personal touch :-).

I am filling up my shop as quickly as possible.  I currently have something over 100 different pendants in stock (and new ones all the time).

It's quite a milestone.  Amazon restricts the number of jewelry sellers and you have to go through a couple rounds of review.  It's an honor to be included.

New Pendant

 New pendant, Shinto Lantern at Dusk.  I kept the first one of these I made.  Goes beautifully with gray, olive green, orange or even basic black:

New Pendant Style, 1" Square

New Pendant Style

The Harvest Crows pendant is part of a new line of pendants in 1" squares.  Two crows, or ravens, watching the sun set as autumn leaves dance in the air. The sky is in shades of yellow, deepening to amber.  Offered as a handmade pendant from my original painting.

New pendant, "Dreaming of a Raven"

New pendant...Dreaming of a Raven A raven gazes at a lovely lilac point Siamese cat. Both are illumined by the full moon as bright autumn leaves dance in the night sky, which is in shades of muted plum and purple. This visionary landscape is part of the Dreamscapes series, which combines my original paintings with digital enhancements. The grunge texture and imperfections give the images a weathered, timeless feel.

Took the new camera to Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park (California, Santa Cruz Mountains). It was a cold day, but sunny. The camera did really well with the light rays, I thought:

New Jewelry Line = Big Savings!

Recently, I developed a chemical sensitivity to uncured resin and can no longer make the polymer clay/resin pendants.  I am switching over to a new line of jewelry using glass cabochons. 

While I'm busy doing that, I'm greatly motivated to clear out the old line of jewelry.  Most of it is either on sale or up for auction on eBay.  I have a couple accounts there, my eBay store or artbylaurali

New Print - 'Ginkgo Leaves on Gray Stones'


First official one from my new camera.  Took the photo out in my backyard from leaves I gathered on a walk.  Altered it a bit (also new to PhotoShop Elements 10--used one of the new texture effects on the stones).

I got a new camera! A Samsung NX100. Just got it out of the box, put it together, snapped a couple pictures and installed the software. Haven't downloaded the pics yet.

Once I get used to using it (this is my first not-strictly pointandshoot), I'll have to revisit everywhere to take new photos ;-).

I got it primarily to get better images of my paintings for prints but I'd also like to see how the photos compare and maybe do more with altered photos. Love the grunge/dark art style. I experimented a bit with it, combining elements from my paintings & texture layers, but I'm sure I can do much more with these photos as a base.

Catch a Falling Leaf sold and is off to its new home but prints are still available.

New pendant...Winter Peace

Winter Peace Pendant The full moon illuminates two red cardinal birds on snow-covered tree branches, arcing to form a peace sign. Snowflakes dance in the blue night sky.  The image of my original artwork was first baked onto a white polymer clay disk, set in a silver-plated circle, then sealed with hand-poured resin.

A black ribbon necklace is included so the piece is ready to wear. These have an extender chain that adjusts from approximately 18" - 21", closing with a lobster claw clasp. If you would like a longer length, an adjustable knotted cord may be substituted for no additional charge that will fit most sizes, typically 22" - 26" (these are adjusted by sliding the knots and don't have a metal clasp--a great unisex option).

Got in the larger circle pendant trays. I'd already printed out a bunch of images. I have 7 ready to be made into pendants.  I'll be remaking these two (that sold) in the larger size:

Two new jewelry sets from the sea

New jewelry set of The Gift of a Red Rose:

And a jewelry set of The Coming Light:

New handmade necklace (I'm keeping this one :-)).

Necklace I created for my upcoming birthday.  The image is from one of my favorite paintings that sold quite a few years ago now.  The pendant is also available from my website, or, if you would like a beaded one similar to this, email me.

Went to see the Monarch butterflies today at the sanctuary at Natural Bridges State Park in Santa Cruz, California.  They have a lovely, swampy area with eucalyptus trees where the butterflies stop to rest on their migration.  This year, the day was particularly nice (some years, it's been overcast and cold so the butterflies weren't active).  A couple photos from the day...