Tree Limb, Flowers and Butterflies Panel Mural
21 Feb 2012 1 Comment
in Paintings Tags: tree limb, butterflies, flowers, birds, spring, mural, kids, children, nursery, wal decor
Does this remind you of spring? I painted this pretty wall painting in acrylics on canvas for my granddaughters room. It’s a mural they can take with them if they move to another place. She loves butterflies, flowers and birds.
I plan to paint some more of these with different themes for kids rooms and have them available for sale. If you would like one of these in a special theme or picture please email me at ArtsyUs@gmail.com The cost for this size would be $175.00 plus tax and shipping and handling (if needed). The size and panels can be adjusted.
Note: The “ArtsyUs” watermark on these pictures are for web viewing only, not on the original painting.
Mangrove Morning
28 Sep 2011 1 Comment
in Paintings Tags: crane, Florida, Ft.Lauderdale, mangrove, morning, New River, river, water bird
First, I sketched out my lines and then painted white mask on the areas that I wanted to remain white and on the mangrove roots.
The picture was a little too plain, so I wanted to include a water bird we see around here all the time. As reference, I looked up a picture on the internet for a white crane. They are so pretty and graceful. I like the peacefulness of the bird in contrast to the tangleness of the roots behind him.
I painted in the sky and reflection in the water with wet on wet, using windsor yellow and orange and reds. Then I let it dry.
Then I painted in the greens of the trees and in the water.
After putting most of my background, I let it dry completely and then rubbed off the mask. This is where I really spent a lot of time sharpening and painting in the details. Here is the finished product.
First Step Into the Unknown – Rule Of Thirds
09 Aug 2011 2 Comments
in Paintings Tags: beach, Florida, girl, ocean, sand, toddler
I painted this picture of my granddaughter’s first step into an unknown world,… the ocean! It was a beautiful sunny day, the ocean was very calm and the tide was low: A perfect scenario for a little toddler’s first beach experience.
I used the compositional rule of thirds to compose this painting. The rule of thirds dictates that you divide your frame/canvas into 9 equal parts – horizontally, two lines, making 3 equal parts and then vertically, making 3 equal parts, like a tic-tac-toe grid. Then, you a line your main subject, or focal point of interest on one of the intersecting points on the grid. In this case, the little girl, my focal point, is a lined at the lower right point and line. This gives your picture more interest. Remember to never a line your main subject in the dead center of the picture. Keep this in mind with your photographs as the same rule applies! Have fun and keep practicing this rule!
Photographic Happenings Of The Danley Wedding
25 May 2011 2 Comments
in Craft Idea, Photography Tags: bouquet, centerpiece, glass, roses, wedding
While attending my niece’s wedding recently, I looked for special artistic pictures to take, while all the focus was on the bride and groom. Here are my favorites:
My mother-in-law and my niece and I made all the flower bouquets the afternoon before. We had a great time putting them together. The centerpieces for reception included these simple but pretty water-filled glass bowls with floating flowers.

This was a cute idea: Little Tea Cups filled with candy and a picture of the bride and groom- Used for centerpieces and for wedding favors.
As the work crew began to clean up afterwards, they put all the centerpieces on a table. I loved how the light was bouncing around all the glass and water.
Next time you are at a wedding, look for those special photographic happenings. You will be surprised at how many there are!
Boy Fishing With Dog-Watercolor steps
27 Apr 2011 Leave a Comment
in Paintings, Uncategorized Tags: boy, coconut trees, dock, dog, fishing, Florida, Fort Lauderdale, New River, pier
Assaulted with all the turmoil and unrest broadcasted in the news lately, I escaped into a quiet place while painting this peaceful scene of a little boy ( I picture my son when he was little.) and my dog, Sammy. I used a photograph that I took a couple years ago of a place along the New River in Fort Lauderdale, across a marina there. I loved the large graceful coconut trees in the picture.
The paper is 22″ x 30″ cold press Arches natural white paper. Here is the progression of this painting:

First I sketched in the main lines and then painted on white mask (liquid frisket) on the areas I wanted to maintain white and light.
After wetting the paper, I used olive green with various other colors to get the lights and darks.

Rubbed off the mask from the dock and trees and then applied it again to the highlighted areas. Then worked on sharpening and details.
Here is where it took some time to paint in the negative areas – the darks. I painted in the dock using burnt umber with other colors for darks and lights. The little boy was fun as he was created from a fun memory of a trip to the keys with my Mom (Mima), Dad (Papo) and the kids, fishing the old-fashioned way – with just a spool of nylon string and a hook with bait. Papo was the only one who caught anything! But, it was fun all the same.
At the end, I removed the remaining mask and then sharpened those areas. Then I used watercolor pencils for added highlights.
I loved my escape to old Florida and this quite place. I’m taken there each time I look at the finished painting. I hope this post was able to take you there as well for a little while!
Blessings!
Turning A Stained Shirt Into An Artsy One!
16 Mar 2011 1 Comment
in Craft Idea Tags: blouse, fabric paint, floral design, shirts, stain
I don’t know about you, but every time I buy a new white blouse, it doesn’t last very long. It always gets a stain on it. So, I decided to try something out. I had a bag of fabric paint in my artsy closet and a couple of pictures of flowers from my back yard. I thought… let me try to paint a floral on the shirt. It couldn’t hurt! I used a paint brush at first and let it dry. I did put some water – next time I won’t use so much as the colors did diffuse into one another – like a watercolor painting.
Then I put in details using the tubes. I used black to define it more. I think it turned out pretty good. At least I can still wear the shirts for fun, artsy events.
I’m willing to paint something on your stained blouses. Just email me – Let’s talk!
Key West – A step into history!
09 Mar 2011 Leave a Comment
in Photography, Rossvally/Historical Tags: civil war, Fort Zachary Taylor, Key West, pier, sailboat, sea battle
We had a wonderful time in Key West at the Living history event at Fort Zachary Taylor, named after the U.S. President in 1850. The fort was occupied by the Federal forces during the Civil War and was used mainly to block any Confederate ships from coming through with supplies for the army. The city of Key West was under Confederate rule during that time. It’s an interesting place to visit as they have all the big old canons and old buildings. We felt like we stepped back in time as we dressed in our Civil War outfits and mingled with the other re-enactment groups. They also staged a sea battle with 3 schooners running a blockade. It was a lot of fun. Later we walked around town. I loved the beautiful water and colorful streets of Key West. Here are my favorite shots of that weekend.
Mossy Oaks – Just love them!
08 Feb 2011 Leave a Comment
in Photography Tags: Florida, lantern, moss, oak, old-fashioned, sunrise, sunset, toys, trees, vintage
Peter and I were doing some ministry just east of the Tampa area a few weeks ago. We stayed with some friends who have a large yard full of old majestic mossy oaks. I was so glad I had my camera with me! Here are some of my favorite pictures!
There was a chain link fence in my way, so I rested the camera lens (canon 55.0-250.0 mm) through the open link and put the timer on so as to keep it as still as possible. The aperture was f/11.0 and ISO 400.
I used the same lens for this to zoom in and also used the timer. The aperture was f/5.6 to focus on the moss alone and ISO 200.
For the morning shoot, Peter and I found some old-fashioned toys in the porch. We had fun staging this shot. I used a 28.0-80.0 mm lens, f/11.0 so that all the toys would be in focus, ISO 200 and put the camera on a tripod and set the timer. Because of all the trees the light was low.
Always bring your camera! You never know what great pictures are waiting for you just around the corner! Have fun!












































