4 x 4 in.
Here’s my last minute IF submission for the topic of "visitors". I know this blue bird visitor is a descendent of Big Bird...that’s gotta be where those legs come from ;) I’m not sure where the scarf came from. It’s certainly not inspired by the weather here in Los Angeles today. It’s so HOT, I can barely breathe and my paints are drying up almost instantly.
(psst...this is a sneak peek to one of the daily paintings that will be available in the upcoming online sale.)
happy creative thursday everyone!

10 x 10 in.
a commission that just "flew away" to its wonderful new home.

5 x 7 in.
Creative Thursday is busy!! Well, it’s always a bit busy over here, but this time in particular it is especially busy. Due to the upcoming show and a number of commissions, I will be handling the daily paintings a little differently over the next couple of weeks.

Instead of posting them every day, I’m trying something new. I will be posting them all together for sale at the exact same time, on an upcoming Creative Thursday. My daily painting subscriber email list will be notified as soon as they go up, to get "first view". And then I will announce it here on the blog. (If you want to see them during the first view, just sign up on the email list to right.)

The exact day of the online sale will be announced shortly, stay tuned.

I’m still here and will still be blogging, and I’m sure I won’t be able to resist sharing some sneak peeks of the daily paintings here...before the sale day!

*Edit* 8/28 I did decide to add this fellow as a print over at Etsy

"the gang’s all here", now available as a large print here at Etsy
After repeated requests for larger versions of the prints, I’ve decided to listen to you and make LARGE prints :)
Each one is 19" x 13". The image is centered with a white border for framing.
I’m just starting with one to begin with of "the gang’s all here". I have to say, I’m so happy with how it turned out. To see each character in such detail, and all together. They look wonderful. I’m completely inspired to paint an original in a large size of the whole gang, so stay tuned.

My blonde is back!! And I’m back!! (from my mini holiday and from being a person without my blonde)

My (acting) agent and I made a little attempt with a "red hair" look for me, and while I could pull it off technically, I did not feel myself at all. It’s so funny how attached we become to our "identities" especially associated with our hair, and especially the color. Although, it’s not just us, as I think Sean thought his girlfriend had gone missing for a few months.

The beauty in all of the color attempts, is that the little bit of red that was left, now mixed in with the blonde makes for a really nice warm, golden color that I love. So, there. What do I tell you all the time? "it always works out". End of story.

I’m also happy to announce that technical difficulties are gone, and my daily paintings 2007 web page is back. Whew!

Now, back to business. End of story :)

6 x 6 in.
This is how I was greeted this morning. "good morning blossom!". Be careful what you say around me, because it might just become a painting ;)

And on a completely different note, boy do I need to work on "achieving some harmony" because today I lost my ENTIRE daily paintings web page. Yup, going, going, GONE!!! Is Mercury in Retrograde or something?
Anyway, if you want to buy any of the 2007 daily paintings, listed before today, just send me an email. Hopefully it will be back up and running in at least a day or so. Oh, well ~ so are the ways of technology sometimes.
*Edit* 8/27 the blossom is now available as a print here at *Edit* 8/20, you can now purchase them as a print at the Etsy. And my daily painting gallery is back!
(original is sold)

There’s not much to say about this photo, other than it makes me laugh really hard every time I see it. (lots of silliness with self-portraits and the ol' digital camera)
These last 6 weeks have turned out to be filled with a bunch of little get away trips of the "summer sort". And they have been so much fun!
You see I’m sneaky that way, bet you didn’t even know I was "gone". But that’s because the place I’m staying, Northern CA, and the people I’m staying with bring me such joy and inspiration that I can’t help but create while I’m here, every time.
Hope you’re having some fun "holiday" time this summer too :)

6 x 6 in.
Aren’t we all trying to achieve, even the tiniest bit of harmony? You can see that the one little fellow to the right there....ummm, he’s a bit skeptical.
click here to buy original

6 x 6 in.
If you can, I can.
Here’s Lila and Lola, sisters and friends.
*Edit* 8/20, you can now purchase them as a print at the Etsy Shop
(original is sold)

one of the 60 winning Etsy Posters curated by fiveforty Alright, let’s just say that it’s hard for me to brag. In fact I don’t even like the sound of the word "brag". It sounds like someone who can only talk about themselves and all their accomplishments. And who likes to spend time with people who are solely focused on themselves all the time without any appreciaton, support and respect for what other’s are doing ? This is all probably why I have an aversion to sharing something I’ve accomplished to those outside of my closest circle. I know to some of you it might seem like I’m overthinking this, but well, that’s who I am, quite a bit of a thinker. I like to "figure" things out and have since I was a kid. Here’s the point I’m trying to make. As an artist and particularly a podcaster and a blogger, I’ve had to learn to get over the feeling of wanting to keep my accomplishments on the down low, because you know, I love learning about great things that are happening to my friends, and fellow internet colleagues and artists. And if I don’t, I know that I’m just afraid it won’t happen for me, (....a subject for a podcast). But I’m learning, it can all happen for each and every one of us. And since I love hearing about what other’s are doing, I have to know that other’s love hearing about what’s happening for me. It’s inspiring. It gives us something to grow towards and it gives us a chance to celebrate the greatness that is going on in the world for all these individuals, a subject that is all too often neglected in our present media aka "the news". Ok, back to my point. When something exciting happens, I want to share it without worrying how it will be received. And usually I do share it these days. Today, I wanted to add these thoughts to the sharing. As artisans in particular, it is OK to be proud of what you do, to relish in every achievement, big or small and most of all to be absolutely proud of the courage it takes to share your creations with the world in whatever medium you choose. That is a BIG accomplishment, every single time. Hey! I want to telly you, I’m PROUD of all you!!!!! I’m also proud of me, as I learned yesterday, that out of the 901 entries of the poster contest that Etsy held last month, 60 winners were chosen and my art was listed in 4 different posters!! And out of the top 1000 artists that were chosen repeatedly (out of what is it 30,000 artisans on ETSY?) I was listed as number 22. For a girl who’s paintings were denied 2 years ago, at gallery co-op I was a member of, that is a SUPER BIG deal. Because, here’s the thing. If I had let that initial rejection, my first attempt at showing my paintings publicly by the way, stop me in my tracks, all these people who enjoy my paintings, including you who visit this blog, may have never seen my work. (knowing me that probably would not have happened - as when I get rejected it usually lights the "Oh yeah! I’ll show you!" fire in my belly) But, it could’ve gone that way and I know people where that has happened. So my other point. Let this be an example of what can happen if you don’t let yourself be stopped at all, ever by what anyone else thinks of your creations. And my final point, I say this a lot, but I don’t care if I repeat myself on this subject, "MY ENDLESS THANKS" to ALL of you who offer support and encouragement of me and my creations in the form of comments, emails, purchases, kind blog posts, including me in your poster choices, gingercatpress, fiveforty, siiri, and kierrala and most of all friendship. And to these friends, Cathy, Chanin, Outi, Melissa and Mavis who were in the gallery co-op with me, who often fought for my work, and encouraged me to keep painting and creating even in the face of rejection and minimal sales. Thank you! And to Seanie, who’s been by my side the whole time, especially when I cried almost the entire plane ride back from Italy, not knowing what I was "supposed to do with my life". Just one more really cool thing. Cathy and Melissa joined me as two of the artists that were also included in the 60 winners. In fact Melissa’s painting is right next to mine in the poster shown above. I love that! Melissa was yet another artist who was rejected by a gallery here in L.A. (she talks about it on her podcast). Nobody else knows what’s right for you and your creations, only you know, at whatever level of the game you’re playing....just remember that.

another winner curated by kierrala

You gotta love this. I was recently invited to participate in a very special art project. Caroline has been commissioning different artists to paint their rendition of her cat Milo in his Polo ~ inspired by the photo below. I’m the 6th artist out of 10 that will be included for her wall of Milo. I just think a wall of art with the same subject, painted in different styles is such a fun concept. I’ve asked Caroline to send some photos of her growing art collection. I can’t wait to see all the paintings together! It was a treat to be invited to join the project and to paint this little cutie pie. And I have to say, I am REALLY enjoying doing these commissions, more so than I expected. As I never set out to be a "portrait" painter, it is always a tiny bit stressful to paint a commission and hope that I have captured the essence of the animal or person I’m painting, even when I’m painting "in my own style". But so far so good and I have 2 more I’m working on now that I’ll share soon.

4 x 4 in.
From seals to hedgehogs, how’s that for variety? No particular inspiration for this one, other than I find hedgehogs to be some of the cutest of the tiny animals and I’m attempting to capture the cuteness here :)
wishing you a happy creative thursday! I’m off to get my haircut and my blonde put back in -Yay!
(on a side note, my header has gone missing, so thanks to those of you who let me know ~ some file corruption happening, but we’re working on it ~ cannot be a headerless blog, oh no!)

One of my wonderful customers, and fellow daily painter (you should definitely check out her paintings ~ beautiful!!!), Debbie Miller sent over a photo of where my pandas print now reside, in her son Teddy’s room. It looks great in that black frame too. As I’ve mentioned before, I love seeing where my art lives. And isn’t this room just the best, down to the panda on the skateboard? It reminds me of my bed when I was little. I collected stuffed animals, (hmm....maybe this is why so many animal paintings) and I had them arranged on my bed in a very particular order. It took me about 15 minutes to make my bed every morning. And at night, I would arrange them all around my head to "protect" me while I was sleeping.

5 x 5 in.
Yup, went surfing again early this morning. And I saw my newest friend, the seal. I’ve decided to name him Floyd and this is his portrait.
click here to buy original

5 x 5 in.
My first little seal. I don’t why I have never thought to paint one before? Here’s what inspired it. We went surfing at 6:30 am on Sunday morning, I saw dolphin, (I LOVE seeing them!!) and I spotted a little seal that was having fun observing all the surfers. Honestly, there is nothing quite like being in the ocean, especially that early in the morning.
click here to buy original

"orange leaves" 5.5" x 7" and "green leaves" 5.5" x 7"

As I mentioned in the last post, I was happily obsessed with gocco printer again on my Saturday. These are actually two separate prints, but I designed them to be "one tree" if you hang them together (I imagine them as a tree transitioning from summer to fall). I think I originally had 10 of each of these, but I put them together before they were completely dry so now 6 of each of them are available. Sean’s niece recently asked me if I ever make mistakes, and the answer to that would be a big "YES" ~ and I followed that answer with, "but that’s how you learn! not to mention sometimes "mistakes" make for really interesting art." (you know, I always like to put a positive spin on things) ;)

And this little fellow, well he’s just cute!

"wishing and hoping" 5.5" x 7"

You can find the new gocco prints right here, at the usual place, the Etsy Shop.

"all together now"

I’m super excited to join forces with the lovely Elizabeth, owner of Twig, an online boutique with amazing clothing for both women and children, unique toys and an eclectic mix of home accessories. And you can now purchase a Creative Thursday print, shown above with Oscar, Fern and Lola, exclusively at Twig. You can buy yours right here.

*Edit* 8/18 I forgot to mention, there are only 10 of these and as of this weekend, there are 3 left! Also, a special thank you to Decor8, Bloesem and Cool Mom Picks for spreading the word!!
*Edit* 8/22 They are all sold out! But...Elizabeth and I are working another collaboration soon, so stay tuned.

Little cutie pie, partridge will be right here in the Etsy Shop, at 11 am PST.

"will there be any other bunnies there?"
6 x 6 in.

...and more good news! I’m so happy to announce that I am one of the artists showing in the Enormous Tiny Art Show II at Nahcotta in New Hampshire this upcoming September. It’s an honor to be included among such great company. That’s what I’ve been busy working on this week, as September is fast approaching.

Hello little Sammy!
Melissa and Ian’s beautiful baby boy, arrived July 9. I had my first chance to meet him last week, and he is precious ~ not to mention he was born to two of the best, happiest, proudest parents ever! Congratulations Melissa and Ian!

Since I seem to be running a theme of Oscar at the moment, I had to share this with you. I was recently asked if my art could be used as a tatoo design. I said sure! I’ve seen Ashley’s art turned into tatoos a couple of times now (this one’s pretty amazing), and I was still surprised when someone contacted me about using one of my images. As it turns out, they chose little Oscar and I think he turned out mighty cute. It’s quite an honor when someone likes your art enough to permanently put it on their body.

owl gocco with original illustration available here at Etsy

Hi Nannette! I’m so glad you asked about the gocco printer. For those of you who aren’t familiar with it, I completely forgot to explain it. The link above will give you more detailed information. But, basically it is a little screenprinting machine that was originally developed in Japan. It allows artists to make an original drawing, and re-create it as a print. What’s so fun about it, is that it involves more hand work, versus using the computer for everything. I imagine that as we rely more and more on the digital world, the pendulum swings back inspiring a trend to create more by hand.
I learned about the gocco from some of my favorite artists who make everything from prins to tea towels to t-shirts with the gocco! I’m working on tees next, by the way. Very exciting.
Now, I’m a bit confused about the "state" of the gocco. Apparently it has been discontinued, but I’ve recently seen a new printing product released, so if anyone out there knows the status of the gocco, let me know! I do know that you can still buy the printer and the supplies online.

I hope it will continue to be produced, because it is so much fun to use, and who doesn’t love the name ~ especially when you’ve gone loco for gocco?!

Thanks for the fun post today Jan. And thanks Holly for including Oscar in your fresh Etsy finds!

Also, I’m releasing the original tree paintings for sale this week, one every day via my daily painting subscriber list. You can find them here.

oscar among flowers, gocco print, 5.5 x 7.5 in.

My first bit of good news, couldn’t wait. I’ve decided to start making gocco prints to add to the collection. Oh, my! I had no idea how fun it is. Almost my entire Saturday has been dedicated to the gocco, ink, paper, prints everywhere ~ an entirely new obsession.
I chose the oh so sweet Oscar as my first candidate for the gocco. He’s a limited edition of 24 and you can find him right here in the Etsy Shop.
I hope you enjoy this little fellow.

and here he is framed in the IKEA ribba

4 x 4 in.

I’m still inspired by yesterday’s podcast topic and right after painting the first set of birds who love color, this image popped into my head. So as you can see here, I had to explore "birds who love color" even further, with the newest of my bird characters.
I just love this one! I’ve listed them as a print over at the Etsy Shop.

happy weekend everyone! (I have lots of good news to share with you next week)

(click here to buy original)

4 x 4 in.
...flock together :)

Holly and Rachel, this one’s for you! And Rachel, per your suggestion (listen to the podcast to hear the suggestion)...Today, Rachel, Holly and I recorded a really fun podcast, a "color conversation" (coming later this evening!) So, today’s painting was inspired by the three of us and our favorite colors today, pink, orange and turquoise.
(original is sold)

photo by Holly Becker

A podcast with 3! Interior Design Consultant and Decor8 Blogger, Holly Becker interviews fellow blogger and Color Consultant of Hue Consulting Rachel Perls, and Me, Marisa, a former Interior Designer turned Artist and Creative Thursday blogger. Today we’re talking about COLOR!

click above to listen now

This is a long one, about 55 minutes. And believe me when I tell you it was a bit technically challenging :) ~ but the indie spirits that we are ~ we pulled it together.
And, we truly hope you enjoy it.

click here to download MP3
Download Instructions
Mac Users option click and Windows users right click on link above to download the file.

Links that connect with this podcast
Tricia Guild
Pattern, by Tricia Guild
Inspiration, by Tricia Guild
Melissa Moss
Christine Mason Miller
Outi
All of Rachel’s Color Posts over at Decor8

Details of "Wolf" and "Lewis"

Just released today, I have new paintings available at Velocity!

6 x 6 in.
(click here to buy original)