Bear Hollow Creations

Hydrangeas in an Orange Vase

2012-01-09T19:22:00.001-06:00

Wow! A bold splash of color can perk up any room and "Hydrangeas in an Orange Vase" has tons of color.

The juxtaposition of colors directly across from each other on the color wheel give this painting a big WOW factor. Does your mother-in-law's house depress you every time you walk through the door (and I'm just kidding about all of this) then this painting would be the perfect gift for her since it will bring a smile to your face and brighten your day every time you see it.

Here it is in my kitchen. (Yes. I hand-painted polka-dots on the walls.) It looks great here, but will look good on your walls too.

Here's a close-up so you can see the brush work.

Check it out in my Etsy shop.

This painting in Lyndel's Etsy shop

Winter Refuge

2012-01-05T14:13:00.001-06:00

I started this painting MANY months ago - from what I can tell looking at pictures on my phone it was between a big snow in December or January and the time I planted potatoes. So... maybe February?

Here's how this painting began.

This was my inspiration photo. Yes. That's MY backyard. I know you're jealous. haha

The painting sat like that for a very long time. Then I added the barn.

Later I added the pond and then this week decided the barn needed to be a little cabin in the woods providing shelter from the winter storm.

You can't see them - not very well anyway - in the photo above, but there is a pair of cardinals in the tree.

If you like this painting enough to have it in your own home, you can buy it. It's in my Etsy shop

Winter Refuge

I asked my friends on FaceBook for name suggestions. There were a lot of wonderful names suggested.
Thanks to everyone that suggested a name. I suppose if you buy it you can call it whatever you want. lol

Country Cabin?

Cabin fever.

First snow

Over the river and through the woods

I can't think of a name ... but I LOVE it! I would love to live there! "A touch of Haven" ... I don't know ... think of sometime with Haven in it.

‎'Peace'. That's what I think when I look at it. Very nice.

Winter Solace

‎"Winter Haven"

Cozy in Winter

Winter Sky

I like peace too .. Or serenity

Little House in the Big Woods. LOL!

‎"In the Bleak Mid-Winter, frosty winds may blow"?

Our Winter Rest

Winter's refuge.

‎"Refuge."

Doesn't matter to me what you name it.... I LOVE it!!!!

Quiet and Peaceful--Winter Joy. It is a beautiful picture, Bro Lyndel.

I like Winter's Refuge listed above. Love the painting! It almost tells a story.

what about "Frozen refuge for a warm soul"?

‎"Frosty Morn" Nice picture...

Winter Oasis

‎''Florida Bound''

Home of Dreams.

The Shack. Is that taken?:)

taking from Laura Ingalls Wilder... "Little House in the Big Woods"

Winter's Chill ?

How We Did the Art Class - for Missions

2011-08-20T10:26:00.000-05:00

August 7 I taught a painting class. I posted about it on my church blog, but thought I should post about it here on my art blog.

There are some places around here that do this sort of thing all the time. That's where we got the idea. Only since this was a church deal to raise some money for a mission team going to Portugal the money goes to missions rather than the teacher.

I had LOTS of fun teaching and I have heard from several of them saying they want us to do this all of the time.

Here's how it worked.

I painted a picture to use as a model and to help advertise. It's 16x20 gallery wrapped canvas painted with acrylic paint. I didn't use my nice thick acrylic paints because I wanted to use the same paint they would be using (and it had already been purchased by someone else for another project). I was still pleased with how it turned out.

20 people signed up for the class.

We met on a Sunday afternoon at 4:00.

Each person had a set of brushes, a canvas with the outline of a vase and table and a foam plate to use as a pallet. I showed them how much paint to get of each color.

Then I walked them through each step of the painting - demonstrating on a canvas and walking around giving them ideas of what they should be doing.

You'll see from the slide show how even though we were painting the same thing, each painting is different. Very cool.

Here is the painting I ended up with. The flowers are bigger than on the original. It was kind of difficult to paint and walk around commenting on everyone else's paintings.

The Secret of Vivid Color

2011-07-20T10:23:00.000-05:00

Vivid Color. There's not really a "secret" to it. There is a simple way to figure out how to get a big POP in color in your paintings. Look at a color wheel. Using colors that are across the wheel from each other add excitement, pizazz, drama and interest to your painting. In some paintings you'll want a lot of color splash and vibrancy so you'll have many places on the canvas where colors opposite each other on the wheel are right next to each other. If you want a painting that is calmer, more peaceful and relaxing then you'll keep your big contrasting colors away from each other or use them in smaller doses.

Colors opposite each other on the color wheel add the most exciting contrast when they are next to each other in your painting.

I just painted "Hydrangeas in an Orange Vase" this week. It will be a model for a group of mostly non-painters who will all get together for a painting "lesson." I wanted a painting with a lot of "woohoo here we go" in the color, so you'll notice that the background is violet and yellow (opposites on the wheel) and the blue flowers are contrasted with the orange vase (also right across the wheel from each other.)

There are places around here - and possibly around the country, but I don't know about other places - where you go and spend a couple of hours painting. The instructor gives directions and demonstrates for the attendees step by step instructions where they can create a painting that is very similar to the sample.

On August 7, at 4:00 at Hilldale's Family Life Center, I'll be teaching those who come how to paint a picture that will end up looking a whole lot like this painting.

If you want a calmer version of this same painting you can do that too. You'll just need to use colors in the background that are close to each other on the wheel. The vase could be a different shade of blue or maybe a purple or green (close to blue on the wheel.) You'll still have a beautiful painting it just won't make your eyes pop out like this one does.

Neglected Blog

2011-04-06T13:41:00.000-05:00

Oh wow! I just saw that my last post here was a year ago! It's been very difficult to post because I haven't had an Internet connection at home and haven't wanted to take work time to post something.

We now have Internet at home, thanks to AT&T and a DSL line. I hope it works OK. I've never really heard rave reviews about DSL but of course it's the cable people who talk bad about DSL. All I know is it can't be worse than DISH Internet where if a fluffy cloud goes by you lose your signal. (That may be a slight exaggeration but it really is a bad way to get Internet.)

So over the next few days I hope to catch up a little on my "art" blogging. I suppose another good idea would be to create some new art to put on here. The art I've been doing lately is walls at home. I guess that will be my next post.

New Piano Keys ACEOs

2010-04-21T06:51:00.000-05:00

This is the third set of Piano Keys ACEOs that I've made.

I do the background differently each time, but the concept and the process has been the same.

They are fun to make and people like to collect them, so I made another set last weekend.

Keys 1

If you aren't sure what an ACEO is look at this earlier post What to Do with an ACEO

Keys 2

You can find them in my Etsy shop. My Bear Hollow Creations Shop

I'll be putting all six of them up there over the next few days.

(My Internet is rather slow at home since I have DISH satelite as my provider.)

The Road to Emmaus

2010-04-11T21:55:00.001-05:00

"Just paint it yourself!" (Keep reading to see how you can get a print of this painting.)

The title of this year's Passion Play was "The Road to Emmaus." It's the story of two men traveling from Jerusalem to a town seven miles away called Emmaus on the day of Christ's resurrection. As they are traveling Jesus joins them and the three of them walk to Emmaus.

My Administrative Assistant at church and our Publications Assistant spent a lot of time before our Passion Play looking for just the right graphic to use for advertising and for our program cover. I looked at some of the art sites too.

One of the pictures that we liked was a painting. It was close, but not quite what I wanted. So Donna, my Administrative Assistant said, "Just paint it yourself."

So I took an idea from the painting and then chnged it up to how I wanted it to look. Here's what I ended up with. It is a 9x12 acrylic painting on archival quality canvas.

As the men came to Emmaus it was getting close to time for the evening meal. The painting shows this not only from the setting sun, but from them men almost stepping off the edge of the paintint. They are almost to their destination.

For centuries painters Jesus Christ and then also "saints" were with a halo around them so you could tell who was who. (Or is that who was whom?)

Anyway, I didn't want to paint an actual halo, but you see how the sun light is shining around the head of the man in the middle - who is Jesus.

Julie did a great job turning it into tickets, advertising posters and the cover of the program. (She always does a fantastic job.)

The picture is hanging up in my office.

One of the ladies in the choir told me that I should make prints and sign and number them. Several others said they wanted a print too, so this next week we are going to print some on a nice heavy paper and I will sign and number them.

I may put one of the prints up in my Etsy shop. For our church members and my facebook fans I'm not going to set a price. I am just going to ask for a donation to our music/worship ministry. We'll use the money to go toward fancy new lights or other equipment we might need or want for next year's Passion Play.

Leave me a message on my facebook art page (or see me in choir Wednesday night) if you'd like one of the prints. If you're not already a fan notice the link right over there on the rightof this page and click on it to become a fan. How easy is that?

Stained-glass Crosses

2010-01-28T11:36:00.000-06:00

We had a great time in my stained-glass class making little panels of a cross.

There are several steps in creating a stained-glass piece. There are also many tools required.

First, you choose the pattern, copy it, and cut out one of the copies to use as a pattern.

After tracing around the pattern onto your glass, you cut the glass with a glass cutter.

You leave a little space for the lead, so cut your glass INSIDE the line you drew. Each piece of glass needs to be the EXACT size of the pattern. Too big and it won't fit. It will push the other pieces out too far or just won't go in at all. Too small and you'll have a gap in your finished piece.

You put your glass together on a board that has two boards on top at a right angle. You use these boards to push against as you put the pieces of glass in place. The pattern is there so you know where everything goes.

The outside of the panel is zinc. Lead stretches and is very soft, so it doesn't make a good border. We cut the zinc channels at a 45 degree angel.

Here is a piece with most of the glass in place. The nails are there to hold it together until after the solder is added. You put them in as you go along then move them when you are ready to put another piece in. This is especially important with curved pieces (in a different pattern) because they move around a lot when you put new pieces in.

Here you can see that piece number 12 is the only one not in. We number the pieces so we are sure they go in the correct place. This is more important in a larger piece but is still helpful even in a small panel like these.

After all the lead and pieces of glass are in you put some flux on each joint. 'The joints are where the lead meets up against another piece of lead. The solder won't stick to the lead unless you put flux on it. There's some sort of chemical reaction that you can google if you really need to know more about how that works.

The soldering irons are REALLY hot, so make sure you only touch the handle. You use just enough solder to cover the joint. Go straight down and straight up for a pretty solder joint. DON'T Paint it on. Down and up - that's it. We wear masks because it's really not good to breath the flux fumes. For that matter, the lead is rather hazardous too! Please don't eat it.

After all of your joints are soldered you remove your nails, flip the piece over and do the same thing to the other side.

After soldering it's good to wash off the flux just to make sure it doesn't keep reacting with the lead and make ugly spots. This may not be as necessary because when the piece is cleaned a little later that may take care of it, but this makes sure all the flux is gone.

The next step is called "mudding." The "mud" is actually window glazing like you would use on an old wooden window sash around the glass. The mud makes the window air-tight and water-tight and keeps the glass from rattling around in the lead.

I'm not sure what "whiting" is, but it cleans up the glass and makes it shine beautifully and it dries up the mud. You sprinkle it on the glass then scrub it with a brush.

A final brushing off with a soft cloth and you have your finished window.

BEAUTIFUL!

You can see more of the finished crosses from my class on my facebook page.

Lyndel's Bear Hollow Creations - facebook page

Fellow Artist's Blogs

2010-01-25T21:11:00.002-06:00

You may have noticed a list of blogs over there on the right side of my blog. These are blogs from fellow artists who are a part of the VAST team on Etsy. VAST stands for Visual Artist Street Team. You'll find some great art and art information as well as some nice personal information about a lot of great artists by following the links. They are sorted by who posted last. Come back often and check the links to see the latest from the VAST team.

A Test Post

2010-01-23T20:08:00.002-06:00

I edited the html in my template to try to add a follow me on Twitter button. This is a test post to see if it worked.

Facebook Fans and Twitter

2010-01-23T16:18:00.003-06:00

A few weeks ago I remade my facebook page for Bear Hollow Creations. It's pretty exciting to see that I have 305 fans!

Today I made a tiny url and I picked out the end part myself so it fits my page

http://tinyurl.com/bhc-fbpage

I hope to pick up a few page fans by posting it here.

You can also follow me on Twitter.

http://twitter.com/LyndelLittleton

I need to find out how to make those little buttons to put on your posts. Anyone know how?

Free Day at the Frist

2010-01-14T10:01:00.003-06:00

Free Community Day at the Frist
Mon, Jan 18. Frist Center for the Visual Arts. 919 Broadway. 244-3340. 10 am - 5:30 pm. Free day at the Frist in honor of Martin Luther King Day! Click here for a list of exhibits on display.

If you live in or near Nashville you should take advantage of this great offer and take your family or friends with you and enjoy some great art.

"Georgia O'Keeffe and Her Times" and "Thomas Hart Benton in story and song" are two of the exhibits right now.

Ebay follow up

2009-12-31T10:27:00.003-06:00

I didn't sell the Ebay painting for as much as I have sold other paintings, but it was fun watching the bidding. And I picked up a sale in person so I won't have to pay Ebay or Etsy fees.

I'm not sure I picked up any bidders that weren't people I already knew either, so I'm not sure if I'll do much more on Ebay. There are so many THOUSANDS of paintings on Ebay it's difficult to know how you get your painting noticed. I guess you have to get the word out on Facebook and get some bidding going that way. That's how it happened this time.

If I do another Ebay sale I'll let you all know. hahaha.

Trying Out Ebay

2009-11-18T21:47:00.006-06:00

I've noticed how many of the fine people who sell things on Etsy (http://www.bearhollowcreations.etsy.com/) call Ebay "fee-bay." Ebay charges for everything. They charge to list, charge to add an extra line in the title, charge for all kinds of things.

I also know that some people do very well selling things on Ebay. I'm not sure art is one of those "hot" categories where the bidding is wild and crazy and people are making tons of money.

I noticed that Ebay now lets you list - hmmm, I think - five items a month without a fee. Of course there is a fee if you sell your item and it is a higher fee than Etsy. But I thought it might be fun to put a painting on Ebay and to advertise it through Twitter and Facebook.

So I put this painting I did for the First Annual Autumn Challenge on Facebook.

It is designed to fit in a 11x14 mat, but it larger than that if someone wanted to make a custom mat that was larger. It is watercolor on 300 lb. paper.

It is an original painting - not a print.

The soft muted water colors bring a gentle reminder of the beauty of Autumn leaves. I'm selling it without a mat or frame so you can coordinate them with your homes decor. This picture has it framed in a 11x14 mat.

Here is a close up of my signature. You can see a little more of the detail here.

The bidding on Ebay ends Friday, so if you like it you better go bid. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220511942158&_trkparms=tab%3DSelling

Repurposing and Goodwill

2009-11-13T09:52:00.008-06:00

I like going to Goodwill. It helps others and I find some nice bargains. http://www.goodwill.org/

When we first moved into our new home I needed some bookshelves. I found some at Goodwill!

I also found this. It's the top to a china cabinet.

I pictured it as a really nice bookshelf.

I added some feet that I bought at Lowes. Here are the feet waiting to be stained.

Here it is with it's new legs. Later I realized it needed two more in the front.

It needed a top for it since the top was open.

First I used a router to make a lip for a top to sit on. I later decided it had to have more support than that and I added some cross beams.

I cut a template from cardboard and then traced it onto some plywood then cut it out with a jigsaw.

A nice sturdy top.

Then put a mosaic made from cut stained-glass on the top. It has some roses and some violins.

I'm very pleased with how my $60 purchase at Goodwill is now a $1,000 glass bookcase!

(and yes, I know the flowers in the vase need help. Those were bought to check the color.)

Cows Don't Like their Picture Taken

2009-08-24T10:15:00.009-05:00

Every evening – an hour or so before sunset – the cows come down the hill, drawn by some unseen force to eat grass that perhaps looks a little more delicious in the late afternoon hours.

“Ah! A great photo opportunity” I thought to myself.

I first took a picture from my upstairs window. I didn’t like the pole in it and the camera wasn’t sure how to take the screen into account when it was trying to focus. So I slipped on my shoes and headed out to get closer to the cows.

I first tried my zoom lens. With the sun getting lower in the sky the light wasn’t very good for a zoom. So back to the house I went and traded out the lens.

Now it was getting a little darker and with the shorter lens I had to get closer to the cows. They didn’t seem to mind and were probably wondering what I was doing. They watched as I got closer – curious as to why a stranger would find them interesting.

By now the sun was even lower so I hurried closer to get a couple of pictures. The cows tried to act uninterested, but when I got close they all had to look. Maybe they thought I would have a lump of sugar in my pocket. Oh wait. That’s horses. (This is all new stuff for a city boy.)

So I got all focused and ready to take the picture. Well… my camera decided it was dark and the flash popped up.

Click.
FLASH!
Mooooooo!

You can tell they are looking right at me with the flash in their eyes.

And off they ran. I don’t think cows like camera flashes. I thought I had started a stampede! Oh no! They’re going to crash through the fence and trample women and children and cause widespread ruin and destruction!

That’s what I feared anyway. Notice how far away they are in this picture taken just a few moments after the first picture.

For all of you who live in the country or who love the country I have a new watercolor ACEO you might be interested in. It is the standard 2.5” x 3.5” painted on 140 lb. cold press watercolor paper. It is mounted on a playing card to make it nice a sturdy. You can find it in my Etsy shop.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=29793753

China Cabinet Inspiration

2009-08-10T09:03:00.008-05:00

Inspiration and Beautiful art can be found in places other than on canvas hanging on the wall.

Introduction:
I have totally neglected my art blog all summer. It has been a busy summer searching for a new house, finding one, that offer falling through, thinking we had sold our house, that falling through, then finding the perfect house and figuring out how we can get into it and have our son and his family move into our house while he tries to sell his house in OKC. It's been very confusing and time consuming and draining and has used up all of my creative time.

Beauty can happen anywhere:
This morning I cleaned the glass to our china cabinet that has been in storage for a year and arranged china and crystal in the cabinet. I probably spent 40 minutes on my cleaning/arranging project.

You may be thinking that putting china and vases and bowls and candlesticks in a china cabinet should take about 10 minutes and then you can move on to more important things in life. But this is where the "art" kicked in. A good painter or home staging designer or stained-glass artist will compose a piece or arrange a room where your eye wonders through the painting or room or glass piece and is drawn into the painting, pausing here and there, keeping your interest... Good composition is what makes a painting one you want to look at again and again. Decorators carry the theme of a color throughout a room just like a nice painting. Beautiful stained-glass pieces are more than pretty glass in the sunlight, they have movement in line and color.

I guess now I need to go home and take a picture of my china cabinet to put on here.

Results:
A beautiful arrangement of dishes, candlesticks, bowls and more in my new dining room.

Now I've got the old artist juices going and I'm ready to get some paint and canvas out. Of course I'll still be distracted by the new house since every wall is boring beige. I have many days of work to do with all of those giant sheet rock canvases!
But I really need to get some new things in my Etsy shop and I need to start blogging again, so I won't do all of the walls all at once.

Now it's your turn:
I hope you find some inspiration today and more importantly, I hope you create some beauty today. Go work on your bookshelf or china cabinet.

Mountain Lake

2009-05-29T16:45:00.005-05:00

Here is another original watercolor ACEO that I painted after my trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains in North Carolina. It's titled "Mountain Lake."

Mountain Lake

After spending a week in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina I had to do some painting.

This water color ACEO captures the beauty and the vastness of the mountains in a tiny space.At 2.5" x 3.5" this miniature painting is the standard ACEO size. It is painted on acid free, professional grade 140 lb. cold press water color paper. It was mounted on a playing card for sturdiness.

Initialled on the front and signed on the back, this original painting will be a great addition to your miniature painting collection (or a great start to the fun of collecting ACEOs).

You can find it in my Etsy shop.

Mountain Lake

http://www.bearhollowcreations.etsy.com/

The Blue Ridge Mountains

2009-05-25T14:42:00.006-05:00

I spent a week recently - well, OK, it was last week, but I was trying to sound all fancy. Anyway, last week I was in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. I was there for the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference. It was a wonderfully inspiring week.

I wished all week that I would have had some paints and canvas with me. The scenery is breathtaking.

Now that I'm home, I've painted the first (of probably several) paintings of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is a watercolor ACEO. It's in my Etsy shop.

http://tinyurl.com/ppzjdw

If you attended the BRMCWC and need this lovely little painting as a souvenir, mention the BRMCWC in your Etsy convo and I'll take 15% off of the price.

New Piano Keys ACEOs

2009-04-15T21:36:00.005-05:00

This is my second set of musical/piano keys ACEOs. They are perfect gifts for your piano teacher, piano students or anyone who loves music.

You can see them in my Etsy shop.

BearHollowCreations Etsy shop

If you are new to ACEOs, check out this post.
What to do with an ACEo

The first set was a big hit and I sold all of them in a very short time. You can see them here.
Musical ACEOs

The background on these piano keys ACEOs is many layers of acrylic paint applied with a pallet knife. This gives the paintings a lot of texture and interest. Each was painted on canvapaper then adhered to a playing card for stability. Each is signed on the back and numbered.
Number 1 of 8

I only have the first two listed right now. I'll add more tomorrow. Number 2 of 8

This one, number 6 of 8, was the one Jordanka chose as her prize for winning the What's in a Name? contest here on Bear Hollow Creations blog. Check out Jordanka's blog here
BearHollowCreations Etsy shop

Dancing Light

2009-04-08T08:05:00.004-05:00

Just listed in my Etsy shop http://www.bearhollowcreations.etsy.com/

Here's a link to it http://tinyurl.com/d8ctnk

An abstract painting that will make you want to dance! Vibrant colors make a beautiful backdrop for a dancing wave of light. This large 30"x40" original acrylic painting will brighten any room and make you want to dance too. Perfect behind your sofa or as a great focal piece in any room you want to liven up.The studio edges are painted black so the piece is ready to hang without a frame.This is an original painting, copyrighted by me, all rights reserved. Please keep in mind that computer monitors show color a bit differently. I make every effort to show true colors, but cannot control those differences. I do ship internationally.Your purchase is risk free! You have 7 days to return your painting if you are not pleased with it.

Thanks to everyone who played my "name the art" game. Several of you mentioned "light" or referenced it and several mentioned "dancing," so I went with Jordanka's suggestions of "dancing light." I'll send an ACEO out to her.

What's In a Name? - A Contest

2009-03-28T16:05:00.008-05:00

A little contest from Bear Hollow Creations. YOU could win a prize!

I don't know if paintings have to have names. There are of course the obvious names like "Mona Lisa" named after the person in the painting, or "Stormy Seas" names after the subject.

But what kind of names do you give an abstract painting? One person's feelings and/or reaction to an abstract painting may be totally different from another person. In that case - for instance - an all red painting might be called "Firestorm" by one person and "Little Red Riding Hood's Hood" by someone else.

All that said...

Here's my latest abstract painting. It came about sort of by accident, but I really like how it ended up.

So I'm curious as to what YOU would name this piece if it was up to you. If I choose your name I'll send you one of my new abstract musical ACEOs. Click here for more info on ACEOs.

http://bearhollowcreations.blogspot.com/2009/02/what-to-do-with-and-aceo.html

An Artist Is Born - Johnny

2009-03-26T12:48:00.002-05:00

The Family Art Project was last Saturday. I'll be posting pictures of it - a few at a time - over the next week. David Brockman came to take pictures. He - as always - did a great job and I have a bunch to share with you.

I want to begin by telling you about Johnny.

Isn't he cute?

Here's a note from his mother (who painted with him).

We had a great time today. Johnny is so excited about his painting. We had to stop at Sam's on the way back to Kentucky, and Johhny got to talking to a lady in line behind us, and he asked her if she wanted to come see his painting he did. She said yes, and followed us out to the truck. He explained everything to her. She said she would like a really little one of his farm paintings, so this evening, he is painting a little picture to send to her. My in-laws also want a little one for their new sunroom. I think you may have created a little painting monster.

I asked her if she cared if I shared her story about him and she replied.

Please do share the story. He sure has been. His Sunday School teacher came up to me after church and asked if Johnny painted something. He was telling everyone. And this morning he woke up and was describing the painting to all his stuffed animals ( the painting is hanging in his room)

Abstract Treble Clef

2009-03-22T22:48:00.004-05:00

I just listed this painting in my Etsy shop. http://www.bearhollowcreations.etsy.com/

Treble Clef

Here's the description as worded in my Etsy shop:

This acrylic painting has the beautiful look of watercolor. It is approximately 9 x 12 and will look great with a mat that has an opening of 8 1/2 x 11 1/2. The treble clef and other lines were first drawn on canvas with oil pastels and then the soft acrylic colors were painted on top.Perfect for the music lover in your life or to add some soft color to your favorite room.

Family Art Project Update

2009-03-06T14:34:00.001-06:00

We have room for four more families in our Family Art Project. The only reason for this is because I ordered material from my favorite art supplier http://www.dickblick.com/ and everything came in three days! Very impressive. (If you are interested in ordering art supplies or art books click on the one of the ads on this blog.

Our Children's Pastor, Tim Muñoz, is so excited about this project that he talked me into letting him advertise it one more Sunday. So I'll order again Monday, but THAT WILL BE IT. If you want to join us it will be on a first come, first served, basis.

Here's a picture of one of the canvases. I put a hymnal (the red book there) there in front of it so you could tell how BIG these are. It's going to be sooooo awesome working on these paintings - as families - and then seeing the finished results.

Nothing Says "Spring" Like Tulips!

2009-02-18T12:29:00.001-06:00

This is a copy of a post I just put on the VAST blog.

This beautiful little leaded glass panel will brighten up not just a window, but your entire room - maybe the whole house! When the sun shines through it is simply gorgeous! A camera can't capture the beauty of sunshine through stained glass.

Opalescent and cathedral glasses were used. This piece is put together with lead and soldered joints - not copper foil. The edge is zinc. There are hooks for hanging it in a sunny window. All you need is a tiny bit of chain from your favorite discount store. It is approximately 10" x 14"

See it in my Etsy shop.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=613378

Here is a closeup of the leaves so you can see the beautiful glass and the solder joints.

See my other art in my Etsy shop http://www.bearhollowcreations.etsy.com/ or read about art on my blog http://www.bearhollowcreations.blogspot.com/

The Family Art Project - March 21

2009-02-10T15:59:00.003-06:00

You know I can't help myself. I'm always looking for something new and creative and either musical or artsy to do. So I've come up with something that I know will be a lot of fun.

I'm calling it "The Family Art Project."

If you live in Clarksville, TN (or near by) this is the perfect opportunity for your family. I'm offering this fun time together as a family at Hilldale Baptist Church in Clarksville.

Now before you start thinking how cute it would be for the families with 6 year olds in them to paint something together, this project is perfect for families with youth, empty-nesters, and Sr. Adult couples as well as families with elementary aged children - basically any family.

Click on the picture for a larger version of this poster. (Makes it easier to read!)

We'll begin with some fun activities that will show each family a little bit about their family personality. Then we'll talk just a little about color and form and some of those kinds of artistic things. Then we'll break out the paints and brushes!

I'll have some step-by-step instructions that will guide each family in making a beautiful piece of art that will be a cooperative effort by everyone. Each family will be proud to hang this one-of-a-kind painting over their sofa or in the family room or - well, just about any place where there is room for a 30 x 40 painting.

I do have to charge for this - to buy canvases and paint. The cost will be only $40 - cheaper than a night at the movies and a whole lot more fun and you'll end up with something that will last forever. It's also my hope that you'll learn a little bit about each member of your family and make some great memories.

Call the church office if you need more information.

Take the Quiz

2009-02-10T07:30:00.007-06:00

Here's a little art quiz for you. How are these two paintings alike? There are ten points possible. You get points for each correct guess, so think of several ways that they are alike.

Treble Clef

Untitled (so far) Suggestions?

Here are some of the answers I thought of and how many points you get for each.

Someone said, "What do you get if you win?"

Glory. That's always worth something.

If you said:

They are both by Lyndel Littleton you get 1 pt for guessing something probably obvious (since it is my art blog).

They are both beautiful - 2 pts for brown nosing and also being correct. :)

They are both abstract - only 1 pt for guessing something reallly obvious.

They are both painted with acrylic paint - 2 pts since the top one looks like it could be water color.

They are both painted with brushes - you lose 2 pts. The bottom one was painted with a pallete knife.

They are both in Lyndel's Etsy shop www.bearhollowcreations.etsy.com - zero points. They aren't there now but will probably end up there.

They were painted with the same paints - 4 pts! Good call. Here are the paints I used for both paintings. Go back and look again. Cool, huh? You can spend a ton of money buying all kinds of tubes of paint to get lots of different colors, or you can just get the basic primary colors plus white and mix your own!

Basics by Liquitex - Cadmium Red Deep Hue, Cobalt Blue Hue, Cadmium Yellow Medium Hue, Hooker's Green Hue Permanent, and Titanium White. I really like this paint. It's nice and thick and creamy and mixes beautifully.

Now go to the poll over there on the side and enter how many points you got. You can leave a comment if you want to share your opinion about the quiz or the answers and points. You may have thought of something else and want to get credit.

What to Do with and ACEO

2009-02-09T10:22:00.001-06:00

I originally posted this on the VAST blog www.vastgallery.blogspot.com but thought more of you who follow my blog would see it here.

I often have people ask, "What is an ACEO and what do you do with them?

ACEOs (Artist Cards Editions and Originals) are collectable art 2.5" x 3.5" - that's the short answer. You can get a long answer later. Here's a link to a previous post about ACEOs witha little longer explanation. http://bearhollowcreations.blogspot.com/2008/09/aceos.html

So what do you do with them?

Some people put them in albums like baseball cards and try to collect them either with a certain theme or from their favorite artists or they try to get them from artists in every state in the USA or from as many different countries as possible.

Other people use them as accent art on a table or hanging on the wall.

The VAST team has many wonderful artist creating wonderful ACEOs.

Here are some examples. (sorry, these are clickable) You can also scroll down through our VAST blog and fin lots of great ACEOs.

Here are some ideas of how you can display them. Pick up a frame for a 2.5 x 3.5 picture and set them out.

Visit VAST Etsy shops and begin your collection of beautiful affordable art to brighten your home or workspace - today!

A New Set of Musical ACEOs

2009-02-07T13:56:00.007-06:00

YEAH! I've finally had some time to do some painting.

Here's something fun I just completed - a set of matching (sorta) ACEOs.

Here's how I made them.

I began by painting an abstract painting. I've just purchased a book about painting abstracts. You can read about it here. Painting Abstracts

Then I painted some long curved piano keyboards. My wife thought it looked really cool, but I had other plans for it.

I then mounted playing cards (which I do for all of my ACEOs) on the back of the painting not being too concerned about where exactly they ended up.

After that, I cut them all out.

I think they ended up looking really great! I think they would make a perfect gift for a musician in your life.

You'll be able to find these in my Etsy shop http://www.bearhollowcreations.etsy.com/

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=20765533

Painting Abstracts

2009-02-06T11:24:00.007-06:00

I'm trying something new!

I bought a book called "Painting Abstracts - ideas, projects and techniques" by Rolina van Vliet (C) Search Press 2008. I really like it. I'm sure I will mostly paint "realistic" paintings, but I think the concepts and the freedom of expression found in abstract painting will enhance my other paintings as I incorporate them into new works.

I called my lovely wife and said, "I'm reading my new book and trying out the suggested exercises. The book said not to worry about making art - that we are practicing, not producing art yet."

To which my wife replied, "how will you know when you've made art?"

"I don't know!" was my answer.

Here's my first exercise. It is acrylic paint on Canva-paper put on with a palette knife rather than brushes.

Is it art? Hmmmm, maybe. Feel free to leave a comment and give me your thoughts.

Oh, here's what the back cover of the book says,

"Clear, challenging and inspiring, this book contains instructions for 65 abstract painting that you can get to wok on straightaway, with no previous experience. All the basic information relating to picture elements, composition, theme and design is provided at the start of the book, together with an exploration of the meaning of abstract painting, and its importance as a means of self-expression and creativity.

Rather than providing step-by-step instructions, each of the exercises consists of information on method, materials, technique, composition, imagery and structure, which will direct you to the finished piece while at the same time encouraging your creativity."

That's a lot ot promise, but it looks like it will deliver.

Two Fish ACEO

2009-01-30T16:39:00.001-06:00

I finally did a little painting. It's been a long time. I'm really enjoying painting ACEOs right now because I can paint one when I don't have much time - which seems to be ALWAYS right now.

I painted two. The first one is a prize. I offered a prize for the 20,000th hit on my worship blog (which happened months ago) and since I knew that the lady who was my 20,000th person liked art - she bought one of my ACEOs - I decided her prize would be a painting.

Since it was hit 20,000 I tried to think of something with that number and the old show 20,000 leagues under the sea came to mind, so I painted this little ACEO.

Notice the 20,000 near the bottom.

I liked it so much I painted another and now it is in my Etsy shop.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=20419815

Two Blue Flowers Listed Again

2009-01-29T21:16:00.001-06:00

I've listed something new in my Etsy shop.
Two Blue Flowers

I actually made it many years ago. It was out being enjoyed by someone, but I recently got it back. Now it is available for someone else to enjoy. If you would like more information on purchasing this piece go to my Etsy shop http://www.bearhollowcreations.etsy.com/

Stained glass Featured

2009-01-21T21:31:00.002-06:00

One of my stained glass pieces was chosen to be included in a "treasury" on Etsy. A treasury is a set of handmade items on Etsy that someone really liked and then they list them together for people to look at. Here's the link.
http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=40431
The treasury only lasts for a few days, so hurry over to see it.

Painting with Hannah and Benjamin

2008-12-30T22:47:00.002-06:00

We had Christmas - meaning opening presents and staying the night and eating Christmas yummy food - with Christy and Daniel and Hannah and Benjamin the Friday night before Christmas.
Saturday we painted.

I've Been Painting

2008-12-09T15:53:00.002-06:00

I haven't been painting anything to put in my Etsy shop (www.bearhollowcreations.etsy.com). I've been painting sets for our church's Christmas program. We'll have three performances with about 1500-2000 people attending. (that's a total, not each night)

You can see the completed set here.

http://hilldaleworship.blogspot.com/2008/12/set-is-finished-yeah.html

2008-12-04T07:12:00.003-06:00

One of my little miniature paintings is in a challenge. Several artists and crafters entered one holiday item at http://www.newmonthlychallenge.blogspot.com/ I don't remember what the prize is for the winner, but the glory of winning is always good for me! :)

I entered "Star Over Bethlehem."

It's part of my Christmas ACEO series.

You can go to http://www.newmonthlychallenge.blogspot.com/ and check out the other entries and then you can vote for mine. Haha, no, you can vote for whichever one you want. But as of this writing, a chunky Lego bracelet is winning. Hmmmmm.

Really Big Art

2008-11-26T21:51:00.005-06:00

I'm creating some very large paintings. Our Christmas production this year goes back through time, so to create the scene changes I'm making a giant "book" where we can turn the "pages" and change scenes. It will be incorporated into a larger set. I'll put pictures of everything up.

Each scene is painted on two 4' x 8' pieces of luan. Luan is very, very thin plywood used mainly for door facing. http://www.insidewoodworking.com/lumber/luanplywood.html

I'm using wall paint for two reasons. 1. Between me and the church I have a lot of colors to choose from. 2. It's free.

Would wall paint be considered acrylic?

Here's the start of my first painting.

Of course I took a picture of myself. You can see where the church will be.

The church filled in some and no snow yet.

Here is the finished scene. It is supposed to be Austria back when Silent Night was written. I found a picture of a church in Austria. Hmmm, it's on my church computer, but I'll put it here too so you can compare.

I think I'll repaint the church doors. Since they are the color of the ground it looks like a hole in the picture. I'll make them a darker brown.

Here's the original picture.

Cardinal in the Pine Tree

2008-11-15T14:34:00.004-06:00

A new ACEO miniature painting. It's part of my Christmas series.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17365233

See the others in the series here.

christmas-aceos

Christmas ACEOs

2008-11-07T20:34:00.002-06:00

In honor of the VAST Christmas sale I painted some ACEOs. They are acrylic on canva-paper mounted on a playing card.

You can check out the VAST sell on the VAST blog http://vastgallery.blogspot.com/

One has a rather traditional look.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=17052173

One has kind of a pop art look - I guess that's how you would describe it.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_2&listing_id=17052411

And one is abstract.

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?ref=vl_other_2&listing_id=17052584

They are already marked down 20% like all of the Christmas items in my shop.
http://www.bearhollowcreations.etsy.com/

I've Been Tagged

2008-10-28T09:57:00.003-05:00

I was tagged by one of my VAST colleagues from Hawaii Schar Freeman

It's a fun way for our VAST team to get to know each other and to promote our blogs.

Now I am to follow these points:
1. Link to your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by including links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they have been tagged by leaving a comment on their blogs.

OK, so here are 7 things about me.

1. I married my Jr. High/Sr. High sweetheart 3 days before my 19th birthday. We've been married now for 32 years! I have two married children and 6 grandchildren!

2. I sing, play the violin and piano and write music for handbells, instruments, choirs, etc. In 1995 I was Jeffer's Handbell Supply's "Composer of the Year" for my arrangement of Brethren. It has been recorded on many CDs. It is the background music on this web site http://www.riverbells.org/handbellhistory.htm

3. I grew up in a Worship Pastor's home and am a Worship Pastor (in the old days we said, "Minister of Music") so I have lived in Oklahoma, Texas, Missouri, Colorado and now have lived in Tennessee for 20 years.

4. My organist at my last church called me "The Christmas King" because I did such wonderful Christmas services week after week through December.

5. I've always loved art but just started painting 2 years ago after taking a class at Joann's.

6. I learned to do stained glass over twenty years ago when I lived in Colorado. I was at a big stressful church and needed something creative to do that wasn't music or church. :)

7. I used to be a card carrying member of Clowns of America International. Still like to do clowning. see "Jingles" pics here

And here are 7 people I've tagged - or will tag today (I follow their blogs too.)

Jean Levert HoodTexas Hill Country Painter

Matt Talbert Paintings

Kae1Crafts & Kae1Supplies

MYSTIC SILKS

Diane Clancy's Art Blog

Kauai Artist presents Painting Paradise

Kathy Martin Studio

Stained-glass Christmas Sale

2008-10-14T18:44:00.004-05:00

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=616363

Giant Christmas Sale!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=616393

All of the Christmas stained-glass items in my Etsy shop http://www.bearhollowcreations.etsy.com/ are 20% off from now until November 1. Don't let them get away!

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=616272

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=616242

Painting Pumpkins

2008-10-10T15:13:00.004-05:00

Elmers makes a really cool paint brush for kids. The paint is in the brush. You squeeze the brush a little and the paint somes out at the bristles.

The grandbabies had a great time painting!

Forest Fire in a Treasury

2008-09-28T21:30:00.005-05:00

Thank to Kae for creating a beautiful treasury on Etsy using art from the VAST street team. She included my Forest Fire painting.

Click here to see the treasury.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=11683&show_panel=true

Click here to see Kae's art blog.

http://kae1crafts.blogspot.com/

Things I Learned from Barney - Mixing Colors

2008-09-26T07:23:00.004-05:00

My grandchildren love to watch Barney the Dinosaur. Barney and the children sing lots of songs and in the process learn a lot of really cool things. My 2 1/2 year old granddaughter - because of Barney - knows that when you mix blue and yellow you get green.

Sing this to the tune of If You're Happy and You Know It, Clap Your Hands

If you mix blue and yellow you get green.

When you mix the two you'll see

A new color magically.

If you mix blue and yellow you get green.

Then there are verses about red and yellow, and blue and red.

This - mixing colors -is something that I found to be a lot of fun. And it has saved me a lot of money.

I just recently bought some acrylic paint. I had only painted with oil and watercolor before this. I bought some good quality paints and therefore couldn't buy a lot of colors and still fill my car up with gas. So I bought these Liquitex paints:

Cadmium Red Deep Hue, Cobalt Blue Hue, Cadmium Yellow Medium Hue, Hooker's Green Hue Permanent, and Titanium White. I really like this paint. It's nice and thick and creamy and mixes beautifully.

I'll write more later about exactly how to mix tons of colors and shades, (right now I need to get to work) but I wanted you to see these ACEOs. All of the colors you see on these four little paintings were made with the five colors you see above.

So let me encourage you - if you're just starting out - to buy a few colors of paint (primary colors and white) and learn to mix your own colors. You'll understand more about color and save money in the process!

SOLD - Amber Waves of Grain

2008-09-25T08:28:00.004-05:00

I'm always excited and a little surprised - I guess I shouldn't be surprised - when one of my pieces of art sells. I hadn't checked my home e-mail yesterday, (it was Wednesday. I was busy) but when I opened it up this morning I had a notice from Etsy www.etsy.com that "Amber Waves of Grain" sold. How fun is that?

Here are the posts where you can see the other ACEOs ACEOs explained here in my "America the Beautiful" series.

http://bearhollowcreations.blogspot.com/2008/09/america-beautiful.html

http://bearhollowcreations.blogspot.com/2008/09/america-aceos-continued.html

Forest Fire!

2008-09-24T10:16:00.004-05:00

The second piece of art in my Sycamore Art series is titled "Forest Fire!" (If you missed the first painting, click here Sycamore Art ) That link will also show the sycamore trees.

I started with an old piece of plywood that I had used in making some stained-glass pieces. I chose this piece of wood partly for the great texture - which shows beautifully through the layers of paint - but also because I wanted my Sycamore Art series to be environmentally friendly by not only using the bark, but by recycling an old piece of wood and making something beautiful out of it.
I gessoed the board - I have no idea if that's how you spell that - and then painted it brown before painting layers of reds and oranges with a touch of yellow here and there.

I then picked out some pieces of sycamore bark that looked either like flames or like they had been burned into interesting shapes and mounted them on the painting. I didn't do anything to the bark except mount it and protect it with a coat of varnish. These are the shapes I found them in.

It was very difficult to photograph this work because it has such a shiny finish. No matter what angle or amount of light I used I would get a really bad glare either at the top or across the middle. A side angle seemed to show the color well without getting a glare.

I took a couple of pictures outside hoping the bright light - yet in the shade - would allow me to photograph it without the glare. I also took a picture of it under the tree that the bark came from.
You can see this new painting in my Etsy shop
http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15545663

This painting will definitely be a topic of conversation no matter where you hang it.

In an Etsy VAST Treasury

2008-09-22T21:10:00.003-05:00

(Notice that the title of this post is clickable!)

Wow! Look at this! My Shining Sea ACEO has been included in a tresury on Etsy. That means someone liked it and it fit in with a theme she had in mind and so now when people go to the treasuries to see what items are being featured, they'll see my painting.

There are some other GORGEOUS paintings in this treasury. I think Mystic Silks "Fickle Winds" may be my favorite. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6866440

Check out the treasury! http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list_west.php?room_id=26710

America ACEOs Continued

2008-09-20T16:32:00.005-05:00

Here are two more ACEOs from my new series

America the Beautiful.

If you missed the first two you can see them here

http://bearhollowcreations.blogspot.com/2008/09/america-beautiful.html

An explanation of ACEOs can be found here

ACEOs

Amber Waves of Grain

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15426880

Shining Sea

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15427189

You can find them in my Etsy shop

http://www.bearhollowcreations.etsy.com/

Feel free to collect the whole set. :-)

We won't think you're being selfish.

America the Beautiful

2008-09-19T12:28:00.004-05:00

I've started a series of ACEOs ACEOs explained here called America the Beautiful.

I'll end up with an ACEO for each phrase of the first verse (at least), but I wanted to go ahead and post the first two that I have finished.

O beautiful for spacious skies...

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15392365

For purple mountain majesties...

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15392626

These original miniature paintings are the standard 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 ACEO size. They were painted with acrylic paint on Canva-Paper then mounted to a playing card.

You can click on the link just below each picture to see it in my shop,

or you can go directly to my Etsy shop by clicking here: www.bearhollowcreations.etsy.com

ACEOs

2008-09-19T10:55:00.006-05:00

I've started a new series of ACEOs - "America the Beautiful".

Before I talk about these little paintings in particular, let me explain ACEOs for some who may have never heard of such things. (I guess I'll put the America the Beautiful ACEOs in another post.)

ACEO is an abreviation for Art Cards Editions and Originals. Here is a good explanation I found at Associated Content.

"ACEOs are collectible little pieces of art. An ACEO is always two and one-half inches by three and one-half inches. That is the size of a standard sports trading card. The rule about size is the ONLY rule in the ACEO world. An ACEO can be created in any medium the artist desires: paint, colored pencils, ink, etc. There are even ACEOs made from wood, clay, fabric, and metal.

ACEOs are tiny art works that can be matted and framed to hang on the wall. Many people display their ACEO collections in the same kind of plastic sheets and albums that sports card collectors use. You might slip an ACEO into a greeting card as an extra surprise for a birthday, anniversary, or Christmas. ACEOs sell on Ebay for anywhere from ninety-nine cents to over one hundred dollars or more!"

Hahaha! So, if you want to save the Ebay fees and trouble, just send me a hundred dollars and I'll send you one of my ACEOs!

The pictures in this post are of watercolor ACEOs I made last year. They were painted on watercolor papaer and then mounted to a playing card. I sold a few of them. These are still in my Etsy shop http://www.bearhollowcreations.etsy.com/

Better Blacks

2008-09-17T10:41:00.003-05:00

Better black? "Black is black" I suppose many would say. "And besides, a tube of black paint came in the set of paints I bought."

It's true, black right out of the tube is definitely black, but you'll find that a mixed black gives a beautiful depth and is much more interesting to the eye.

The easiest way to mix black is to take two colors opposite each other on the color wheel and mix them together: green/red, blue/orange, purple/yellow. As you mix, you may first get a shade of brown. That's how I mixed brown for my violin painting http://bearhollowcreations.blogspot.com/2008/09/mixing-brown.html But you'll notice on that painting that there are parts of the body of the violin that are dark and could become black with a little more of the blue added.

In this painting I used my favorite color combination for making black - red and green. I used alizarin crimson and veridian. Actually, I first painted the entire canvas with inexpensive black acrylic. This way I didn't have to worry about any white shining through the background. I then painted the entire background with liquin paint thinner. The liquin allowed me to cover all the background quickly and without using a lot of thick paint. (I wanted the calla lilies to be thick and didn't want them to have to compete with the texture of the background.)

I took my red and green and barely mixed them. I didn't want to lose all of the red or green. Using a criss-cross painting motion, I painted the background with my red/green mix. I don't think you can tell from this photograph, but the red and green can be seen here and there in the background. That's what gives the background some interest and some depth. I think I threw in a little blue here and there too. Not that you really see it, but I really love blue and think everything should have at least a little touch of blue.

So the next time your piece calls for black, see if a mixed black will do the job. You'll be very pleased with the results.

Sycamore Art

2008-09-13T18:29:00.007-05:00

Bear Hollow is filled with trees: tulip poplar, redbuds, oaks, maples, elms, black walnuts... and giant beautiful sycamores. In late July through August the sycamore trees shed their bark. It peels off in beautiful shapes.

I've always wanted to do something - art wise - with these beautiful pieces of bark.

I have a few old planks of barn wood out next to my pole barn. I decided that the rustic wood would make a great backdrop for the sycamore bark. I had thought of mounting the bark on canvas, but it is very strong and tries to curl back up as it dries. I don't think it would stay on the canvas, or would curl and pucker the canvas.

So I took a plank, laid the piece of bark on it that I wanted to use (to know how long to cut the board) and took out the trusty circular saw. Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

I used water color for my paint. I wanted it to just color the wood - not really cover it. I ended up needing to use a lot and I didn't use much water on later layers because when it was watery it just soaked into the wood and didn't leave much color behind.

Here's my first piece using a piece of sycamore bark. I called it Sycamore Lightning. You can see it in my Etsy shop here - http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=15203409

Stress cracks from the bark trying to curl back up the way it was on a branch and the grain of the barn wood give a rustic feel while the contemporary abstract background lends a sophistication that will compliment any decor.

The piece is approximately 32 1/4" x 9 1/2". (It curves a little making the top a little smaller. It is old barn wood after all.) The edges are painted black to give a framed look. It is finished with a clear coat of varnish to protect the paint and the wood.

Mixing Brown

2008-09-11T09:36:00.007-05:00

When I painted this painting of my violin I had to experiment quite a bit to find the correct color of brown. I wanted the painting to be very close - if not exact - to the real color of the wood.

Now I've seen many fun paintings of violins in purple or blue or whatever, but for this piece I wanted the real wood color. Violins come in many shades of brown. For that matter, brown comes in many colors. Is that the right word? (shades?, tints?, hues?) You know... some browns have gold in them, some have red or yellow or blue.

My first try was just to take some burnt umber and lighten it a bit. Yuck. So I tried burnt umber with yellow, burnt sienna with blue, lots of different combinations.

The color combination that I had the most success with in mixing a nice brown - and especially a golden brown like my violin - didn't have anything burnt in it. It was orange and blue! This makes sense since they are across from each other on the color wheel. Another combination across from each other are red and green make a nice dark brown that's almost black. When you combine colors that are across from each other on the wheel you are adding together all the colors. This combining of all the colors makes black or brown.

For my violin I started out with orange right out of the tube (I didn't mix my own orange). I then added different blues and even some purples to create the exact brown of my violin. It's been awhile, so I can't tell you exactly which blues I used in the end. I'm thinking it was phthalo blue and cobalt blue and then some purple and more orange for some of the darker areas.
You'll want to experiment to find which combination works for the particular brown you are trying to achieve, but beginning with colors across from each other on the color wheel will give you a great beginning place.

Here is the painting hanging in my office over an antique pump organ.

Water Color with Hannah and Benjamin

2008-09-06T15:22:00.003-05:00

This is Hannah and Benjamin's first time painting with watercolor. Benjamin liked putting his finger in the water and then putting it in his mouth. Grani was hoping the paint is non-toxic.

Hannah is 2 1/2. Benjamin is 18 months.

Trying Something New

2008-09-05T23:26:00.002-05:00

I've started a few new art projects. I'll explain them better in a future post. I just wanted to put something new up on this blog.

These are pics of the start of a couple of them.

Red Cross Featured

2008-08-23T21:30:00.002-05:00

My red cross has been featured on a blog. I thought you would enjoy seeing all of the beautiful "red" things there. It changes - hmmm, I think every day, so you'll have to go there now to see. If it has already been replaced I know you'll like the other things there.

http://redladyart.com/EtsyExhibit.html

A Funny Story

2008-07-24T14:00:00.001-05:00

I was searching for some devotional thoughts to start the days of our Children's Fine Arts Camp that takes place next week. I ran across this funny little story.

ART!

One semester when my brother, Peter, attended the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, an art-student friend of his asked if he could paint Peter's portrait for a class assignment. Peter agreed, and the art student painted and submitted the portrait, only to receive a C minus.
The art student approached the professor to ask why the grade was so poor. The teacher told him that the proportions in the painting were incorrect.
"The head is too big," the professor explained. "The shoulders are too wide, and the feet are enormous."
The next day, the art student brought Peter to see the professor. He took one look at my brother and said, "Okay, A minus."

Part of a Team

2008-07-17T12:37:00.002-05:00

As many of my readers know, I sell some things now and then on Etsy. What you may not know is that I am a part of some "teams" on Etsy. The teams are made up of people with similar interets in selling. I'm not the most active team member on any of the teams because my work at church keeps me very busy. I wish I had more time to paint and do glass and also more time to help promote my work and my teams. So today I have some extra time at home in front of the computer. (You can check my worship blog - www.hilldaleworship.blogspot.com - for more information on why I'm just relaxing around the house today.)

Anyway... the teams I am associated with are:
VAST - Visual Arts Street Team
CGG - Creative Glass Guild of Etsy

and most recently I've linked up with
Design Style Guide

VAST is made up of a lot of painters and other artists who make visual art work. CGG is more than just stained-glass. There are bead makers and all kinds of glass workers with this group. And the Design Style team is working on marketing our handmade products to interior designers.

There are links on my sidebar to each of these groups. I encourage you to check them out. Christmas presents, housewarming gifts, birthday presents and more are all so much more personal when you buy handmade.

Two Blue Flowers

2008-04-11T20:33:00.003-05:00

Picking Pink Tulips

2008-04-09T21:38:00.004-05:00

This beautiful stained-glass panel has been picked. It sold on Etsy yesterday. I'll be shipping it to Florida.

My Etsy shop is getting low on art. I may have to get my paints out of storage and paint a few things.

A Beautiful Set

2008-03-22T08:44:00.003-05:00

I haven't been able to create new art for quite some time. Last summer I changed churches and my new church likes really big Christmas and Easter programs. Here is the beautiful set we made for our Easter Passion Play. I can't take credit for it really. Most of it was designed years ago. But I added a few things and had to help put it together and all of that. Anyway, I suppose it's a pretty good excuse for not spending time in Bear Hollow making new windows or paintings.

I'm really missing painting. I've packed up all of my paints and brushes and have instead been painting walls so I can sell my house and move closer to my new church. I will really miss my creek and mountains here in the holler.

You can find a lot of posts about our Passion Play at http://www.hilldaleworship.blogspot.com/ if you are interested.

Watercolor Autumn Leaves

2007-08-31T21:52:00.001-05:00

Summer was crazy on Bear Hollow, so I didn't create much art - just music. I finally was able to take some time to paint. I've really missed putting a brush to paper or canvas. I didn't really do something totally new to what I have done before, I have painted watercolor leaves before - and have several ACEOs that are watercolor leaves. I really enjoy painting them. The watercolor is so fun to work with because the mix of colors is sort of in your control and a lot not in your control. So the final result is a little bit of a surprise. You can also see it on Etsy. http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=6938263
The matt isn't really blue. I'll take another picture tomorrow and replace this one (if it doesn't look blue again).

Creative Glass Guild of Etsy

2007-08-16T19:03:00.001-05:00

Check out these beautiful glass items from some friends of mine.

Fall Leaves Watercolor

2007-06-12T13:41:00.000-05:00

I don't do a lot of watercolor paintings. I usually like to have thick oil paint. However, I love painting leaves in watercolor. I like the way the watercolor runs and blends together. this painting also has some "secret ingredients" to add some interest. (I know I need to retake this picture ans try to reduce the glare.)

(close up)

Feeling Blue? - Think Hydrangeas!

2007-06-12T13:14:00.000-05:00

Nothing beats the blues better than a cheerful painting, and the bright colors in these paintings will pick you up quickly. Thanks to Jill for suggesting I show these to you.
10" x 10" (25.4 cm) oil on stretched canvas with a 1.5" gallery finished side (no frame needed).
I love to paint hydrangeas! For one thing. I get to use my favorite blues. I like putting them against the orange and yellow background because it really makes the blue shine! I also like the texture I can use. Lots of thick oil paint gives them such a neat texture. (a closeup so you can see the texture)
The painting with just hydrangeas is in my Etsy shop.
http://www.bearhollowcreations.etsy.com/

This one with my violin in it is hanging in my office. It is 18x24 oil on stretched canvas.
18x24 oil on stretched canvas

These flowers are hanging in my lovely wife's office. She loves purple flowers, I love the blue hydranges and the red roses are for love. How sweet is that?

(This entry copied from the EtsyLux blog - www.etsylux.blogspot.com )

Hydrangeas in a Green Vase

2007-06-01T18:12:00.000-05:00

This is my latest oil painting. I've had it close to finished for a very long time, but things have been rather crazy around Bear Hollow, so I haven't painted much for many weeks. I thought I had used cobalt green for the vase, but I just looked and it is thalo green. However, in this picture it doesn't look very green to me. As I've mentioned in other posts, my camera doesn't do purple and apparently it doesn't pick up this color of green very well either. The shelf isn't so black in person either. Perhaps someone should buy me a nice camera for my birthday...

This painting is 10x10 inches - oil on stretched canvas.

Handbells ACEO

2007-05-08T22:24:00.000-05:00

I needed some ATCs which is the trading version (no money is exchanged) of ACEOs. ATCs were the original idea. ACEOs were invented as ATCs to sell on Ebay. Anyway, I made some ATCs with handbells on them for a ACT trade Thursday at JoAnn's Etc. Unfortunately I realized too late that I will be out of town for the trade day and I have already promised to bring cards. So I took cards over today for my painting instructor, Jean, to trade for me. Here is a picture of some of them. They are handbells and notes ringing above the ground.

Fall Leaves ACEOs

2007-05-05T12:00:00.000-05:00

These were one painting originally. I didn't like the composition of the piece after I finished it. I tried matting it different ways to make it look better. I decided a week or so ago to cut it up and make ACEOs out of it. I like how they turned out.

My First ACEO for sale

2007-05-01T20:26:00.000-05:00

I"m trying something new. I've always liked seeing other artists' ACEOs and I've seen that other people actually buy them, so I've made some. This one is from a set of five that I made. I'll post pictures of the others later - perhaps tomorrow. They are watercolor paintings painted on watercolor paper then mounted to a playing card. I hope to not only sell these, but to attract people to my shop to buy stained-glass art and bigger paintings.

My Violin

2007-04-21T07:13:00.000-05:00

I really enjoyed painting this. The hardest part for me was getting the color of the violin. I tried many different ways to get brown using raw umber, burnt umber, burnt sienna and raw sienna and I tried adding other colors to those colors, but nothing looked right. I wanted the color that my violin is, not just some brown. I ended up using orange and blue! and the darker parts are orange and purple. for those of you new to mixing colors, when you use two colors that are oppostie each other on the color wheel you get brown or black, so it makes sense that I could get a brown color this way. I love the way it turned out. I've had many very nice compliments from people on flickr. You can read them here if you are interested.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/bearhollowcreations/367513867/in/set-72157594427085595/

I thought you might like to see how the painting looked in progress.

Cheryl's Flowers

2007-04-10T19:57:00.000-05:00

Cheryl wanted a painting for her office. She loves purple flowers, I love blue flowers and the red roses are for love. How sweet is that? And of course no color is more beautiful than cobalt blue so it's the perfect vase color. The yellow sets all the colors off beautifully (if I say so myself).

The camera doesn't pick up the purple very well. The purple flowers look kind of blue here, but they are a nice deep purple in person.

When I began this painting I had a red vase. You may notice how the flowers change as the painting goes along. for instance the purple flower on the lower left had a petal that wasn't connected correctly. It just wasn't right. I fixed it as I finished up the painting.

A Beautiful Set

2007-03-31T08:16:00.000-05:00

The city walls and arch and the house were designed and painted by Donna Keel. The mountain and tomb were designed and painted by me and David Sherman. Pilate's court was designed by me. It makes a great set. Performances are March 31 and April 1 at 6:30 at First Baptist Church, Joelton, Tennessee.

EtsyLux Featured Artist and Shop

2007-03-25T23:58:00.000-05:00

Check out my post on www.EtsyLux.blogspot.com
It's a great article about Kirs Shanks and her etsy shop.

Easter Treasury

2007-03-20T23:08:00.000-05:00

Celebrate Easter with some of these beautiful items. Also, check out my pre-Easter sale. Read about it here. http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=5060502
Lyndel
www.bearhollowcreations.etsy.com

A Violin Treasury

2007-03-18T15:23:00.000-05:00

I just updated my never ending treasury with a whole set of violins and other musical things. Check it out. www.bhctreasury.blogspot.com

Temporary Art

2007-03-13T22:45:00.000-05:00

Not all art is meant to last forever. The joy is in the creating! Yesterday we did chalk art on the slate by the creek. Tonight's rain will wash it away as the slate goes under water.

Calla Lilies

2007-03-03T21:47:00.000-06:00

You may have noticed this painting in the photo of my dining room wall (last post). This was my very first oil painting. We had a picture of it to go from. The class was made up of a lot of people doing various things. Three of us painted this picture. I used oils and one lady painted with water color and the other painted with acrylics. I really like the look of oil the best. At least for this painting.

I haven't figured out how to photgraph oil paintings yet. The oil is so shiny that it reflects back any light. I turn the flash off, but even bright room light makes a glare. If anyone knows the best way to photo oils let me know. The best I've done is outside on an overcast day. I'll try that later with this painting.

The background of this painting isn't really black. It is alizarin crimson and veridian green mixed together. When you see it in the light you can see bits of both colors here and there. It makes a very rich background.

My Biggest Canvasses

2007-02-28T07:27:00.000-06:00

White walls.
I would show you a picture of a white wall, but I don't have one!
When there is so much color and beauty in the world it's a shame that most walls are white or beige. A friend of mine says, "my walls aren't beige, they're doe skin". : ) I don't have the heart to tell her that "doe skin" is a fancy name for boring beige.
Our living room/sun room is a gorgeous green, the master bedroom is colonial blue with a gold stenciled decorative design, the dining room is squash with raised plaster stencil painted gold!, the kitchen is purple, the guest bedroom is blue with varnish stripes and the grandbabies' room is bright yellow! (You can see their room on an earlier post.) I hope these pictures will inspire all of you out there to pull out your paint brushes and work on your biggest canvasses.

Oh! And don't forget the ceiling! Our sun room is 25' x 25'. It took several days to paint the ceiling. People think it is wallpaper when they first see it. The deep purple stripe really sets it off.
Lyndel
http://www.bearhollowcreations.etsy.com/
Of course even decorated walls need art work. check out the Visual Arts Team Members for great artwork for your BEIGE walls. : ) http://vastgallery.blogspot.com/

The Grandbabies' Room

2007-02-24T10:06:00.000-06:00

I have 4 grandbabies and I'm not even 50! Grani made some pillowcases out of really cute material that had bugs and frogs and the frogs were playing musical inistruments. I painted the walls and chest of drawers to match. There are stars on the ceiling that glow under a black light. There are three songs on the walls (just notes, no words): "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", "I Love You a Bushel and a Peck" and Braham's "Lullaby".

Concept to Completion

2007-02-21T08:38:00.000-06:00

I found a flickr painting group called "Concept to Completion". The pictures there show a painting during it's different stages. So I am taking pictures as I go along on my current painting.
The pictures here are of a painting I did earlier this year. I only have one early shot of this painting, but I'll put it here along with the finished painting. I think it's very informative and cool to watch a painting as it is painted. I hope you all do too.
Lyndel
http://www.bearhollowcreations.etsy.com/

EtsyLux

2007-02-18T13:30:00.000-06:00

I'm a member of the EtsyLux Street Team

Here is an article I wrote for their blog along with a list of EtsyLux members.

CRAFT MASTERCLASS - LEADED GLASS

SOLDER JOINTSThe mark of a nice piece of leaded glass is the solder joints. They need to be smooth, even, and as small as possible. (They have to be big enough to cover the joint and hold the lead together, but small so they don't cover much of the lead.) The first thing you do is put flux on each joint. You take a small brush and dip it in the flux. Flux is a chemical that reacts to the lead so that the solder will adhere to it. If there is no flux the solder will roll right off of the lead.While fluxing you have your soldering iron heating up. Oh, by the way, you should wear eye protection and a mask over your mouth while you do all of this; soldering puts out fumes (don't know if they are toxic, but they sure aren't anything you'd breathe in an oxygen bar!) The eye protection is necessary because often when the hot solder hits the flux it splatters. Your opthomologist would not be happy if you came in with burns on your cornea!After you've fluxed all the joints and your iron is hot, you roll out some solder. Solder comes rolled up on a spool. It is made of tin and lead. You can get lead-free solder, but I don't think it works as well or looks as good. Touch the tip of your iron to the solder and it melts to make a small bead on the tip of your iron. Then it's straight down to the lead joint and straight back up. NO PAINTING. I've had students that like to paint with the solder. It looks terrible, with bumps and lines and smears. Straight down - straight up. Beautiful solder joint. Do this to every joint, then turn the piece over and do the other side. Here's a closeup of the leaves on my yellow tulips panel http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=613378 with some nice solder joints.

Etsylux Members
allstix
Amanda Williams Design
Bear Hollow Creations
Belle Noelle
cheekybird2
chimerablossom
clinkscalesarts
crrysstall
deandersendesigns
Experimental
jqjewelrydesigns
Kris Shanks Art
Little Red Pear
lucindac
Luxe Creations
maevew
Marc North
maxinedear
Metal Garden Factory
michela
Mona Song Designs
My Little Store
Nantuckets by Rita
Nina Klausen
orno
Pavoreal
Pebblestone Papery
rosez75
scarfitup
Shauno
sheddzar
Shy Violet
Simone Walsh
Unicorn
William Holt

FISH

2007-01-26T22:10:00.000-06:00

Here's a window I made some time ago.

It is 24 1/2 x 37 1/2
It has some really beautiful glass in it.

Christmas Sale!

2006-12-06T09:28:00.000-06:00

All of my Christmas items have been marked down!
go to www.bearhollowcreations.etsy.com and pick out something!

Water color leaves

2006-12-02T10:17:00.000-06:00

My favorite water color paintings are fall leaves.

The Bate's Barn

2006-12-02T09:40:00.000-06:00

I don't have oil paintings for sell yet. the ones I've done will be Christmas presents. I also haven't figured out the best way to photograph oil paintings. My camera seems to focus on the tree in the foreground and the rest is a little out of focus.

Glass Flowers

2006-12-02T08:50:00.000-06:00

Here are a few pieces I have for sell on Etsy. The link is www.bearhollowcreations.etsy.com