Balinese Cat at Hakone giclee print on canvas (ready to hang) for only $45!

I walked along the hills at Arastradero Open Space Preserve today. I was thinking about a boy who will never see these hills again. Who was only a few months away from coming home. Rest in peace, Lance Corporal Harry Lew.

May our children come home soon.

Special promotion this week...Get an 8x10 print of Siamese Cat in Purple Moonlight on stretched canvas, ready to hang, for only $45!

Sale today only! Enter coupon code 18REFUND for 18% off your order in my cafepress shop. In addition to the T shirts, sweatshirts, mousepads, boxes, etc., they are offering a whole bunch of new products...jewelry, gym bags, iphone cases.

New Print Options! Canvas prints, larger prints, framed prints...all sorts of options are now available at laura-iverson.artistwebsites.com. Enter coupon code BFDUYM for 10% off your order (offer good through 6/30/11--coupon may be reused up until then for multiple orders).

Went for a walk in downtown Saratoga and saw this fantastic saltbox house at the end of the street. I vintaged up the photo, like I like to do, and called it The Empty Swing:

Found some time to make pendants today. One was for a custom order but, since I had the clay out, I also made one of the new painting, Alone in the Treetops:

Poppies just starting to bloom at Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve (Mountain View, California)

Free shipping in the Great Stuff (cafepress) shop. To qualify, order $30 or more through Sunday and use code: 2DAYFREE

My furbabies/muses/companions are two today :-). Well...we celebrate it today. They were both shelter cats so we didn't get exact birthdates.

I have several canvases in progress (got some underpainting done, then couldn't decide which one to work on next). Here's Sky, again hanging out with me. She's a studio cat (even if the studio is in the dining room):

One of those occasions where I was really glad I had my camera. We were walking through Santana Row, which is an outdoor mall in San Jose (across the street from the Winchester Mystery House). I looked up and saw this second story window with this enchanting scene. I was so taken with it. I grabbed some photos, then altered them:
The Fading Scent of Lavender:

A Window Lost in Time:

Waiting in the Window:

New photo from my walk today at Windy Hill Open Space Preserve, Ancient Tree by a Stream:

Landscape in Purple and Gold:

An oak tree on a hill, beneath dramatic clouds. This California landscape, from the Eternal Wanderings series, is offered as a print on fine art paper (soft, matte finish) from an artistically enhanced photograph. The original photo was taken at Arastradero Open Space Preserve in Palo Alto. The copyright watermarks on the image do not appear on the actual print.

Oak Branches in Purple

Oak tree branches at Arastradero Open Space Preserve in Palo Alto. This California landscape, from the Eternal Wanderings series, is offered as a print on fine art paper (soft, matte finish) from an artistically enhanced photograph, in tones of purple. The copyright watermarks on the image do not appear on the actual print.

Green Shutters:

A historic house with green shutters. This California landscape, from the Eternal Wanderings series, is offered as a print on fine art paper (soft, matte finish) from an artistically enhanced photograph, in tones of sepia and green. The original photo was taken in Santa Clara. I cannot say why it appealed to me so much. The sunlight glinted a certain way and I liked the way it peaked through the pine branches. The border hearkens back to TTV (Through the Viewfinder) vintage photography. The scratches and imperfections give the piece a Victorian Gothic feel. The copyright watermarks on the image do not appear on the actual print.

Lost and Wandering:

A gnarled oak tree on a hill. This California landscape, from the Eternal Wanderings series, is offered as a print on fine art paper (soft, matte finish) from an artistically enhanced photograph, in tones of sepia and purple. The original photo was taken at Arastradero Open Space Preserve in Palo Alto. The border hearkens back to TTV (Through the Viewfinder) vintage photography. The scratches and imperfections give the piece a Victorian Gothic feel. The copyright watermarks on the image do not appear on the actual print.

Bayou Peace Tree

The full moon illuminates green Spanish moss hanging on gnarled tree branches. The tree branches have arc'd to form a peace sign. Blue dragonflies dance in the night sky, which is in shades of lavender, deepening to purple. This meditation piece, part of the Zen Mandala modern art series (visionary landscapes in a surreal Asian style), is an original acrylic painting on a gallery-wrapped stretched canvas (the 3/4" sides are finished off in purple acrylic)--no need to frame. It has been lightly varnished to protect the paint and preserve the lustrous colors. The copyright watermarks on the image do not appear on the actual painting.

New dark art photo, Welcome Home:

A lighted mausoleum beckons, beneath a luminous full moon. This cemetery photograph is in gothic shades of purple. The original photo was taken in the historic Santa Clara Mission Catholic Cemetery. This California landscape, from the Eternal Wanderings series, is offered as a print on fine art paper (soft, matte finish) from an artistically-enhanced photograph. The border hearkens back to TTV (Through the Viewfinder) vintage photography. The scratches and imperfections give the piece a Victorian Gothic feel.

New, from my original painting, Lenore in the Breaking Dawn

In her prettiest ballgown, the ghost of Lenore casts a final look at the raven, before the day breaks and she fades. The rising sun illuminates the haunted cemetery, casting light of pink, deepening to magenta. Cherry blossom petals dance among the tombstones. This Gothic fantasy landscape, inspired by the "The Raven" poem by Edgar Allan Poe, is offered as a pendant, hand crafted by the artist from my original painting. Made from polymer clay with the print baked into it, then sealed with resin, giving the image a glass-like quality and providing waterproof protection.