Butterfly...restoration part 1

I picked up my butterfly this past weekend, she has a lot of damage from being in the garden all spring and summer.  I am glad I outbid everyone.  I would be mortified to have someone pay several hundred dollars for her and find out after the fact that she is damaged.  I wonder how the other butterfly winners feel about the damage on their butterflies?  We looked at a lot of the butterflies waiting to be picked up and most had moderate damage. 

The base on mine has the most damage as she was located in a mostly shady area with lots of humidity and moist soil.  I haven't decided if that part is worth restoring - maybe I will just bury the metal pole that the butterfly sits on in the ground?  Too soon to tell.

The butterfly needs some TLC.  The seal I put on did not weather well.  I'll need to carefully sand and seal with a boat type of lacquer/sealant.  I haven't determined what if any other restoration on her is needed.

Regardless, I'm happy to restore her and give her a grand spot in my yard.

I won my HSVBG Butterfly!

Call me silly but I couldn't resist the chance of owning the butterfly I painted for the Huntsville Botanical Garden earlier this year. 

The garden set up an online auction for all of the butterflies and it has been open for about 30 days now.  Maybe I should have bid on someone else's butterfly, or let my monarch slip through my fingers but I just wanted her back.  That's the thing with creating a piece of art...sometimes the piece speaks to your soul and you just can't let it go.

Regardless I am happy to say my butterfly will be returning home and she will be a permanent piece in my own art collection :)

August Post

I'm at a loss for words this month.  So many other everyday tasks and projects going on.  I find inspiration for art everywhere but haven't set aside time to actually "Art It Up".  Soon though, very soon.

The heat is on...

and Miss Cheryl is hibernating in the comfort of her air conditioned home -lol.  I DO NOT do HOT and it is mui caliente' in the south.  Heat indexes reaching from 105 -112 ARE YOU KIDDING ME???!!!

I am up to my eyeballs in home projects that are taking up my time so I haven't had anything to post for some time.  If I do find myself in the artroom creating something worthy of a post I'll get it on here.

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer!

On the path of enlightenment...

As an emerging artist it occurs to me that I have never analyzed WHY I do what I do!!!

One of the most important things an artist should have is an "Artist Statement".  A personal statement - the WHY's & WHAT's about me and my art vision.

At first I thought this was going to be easy, but it isn't.  It is so much more personal than just saying "I create because I've always been creative".  It is about my youth, adolescence, 9 to 5, and mothering years. It's about where I've been and where I am going.

Art to me is an old friend.  The friend that you can sit comfortably in silence with, watch a movie with or even dance with.  A friend with whom you can reveal your most intimate secrets, a friend who knows and loves every part of who you are be it the dreamer, the child, the nurturer and the vulnerable.