Art by Debbie Saenz

Cloud Study

 

Cloud Study

 Acrylic on Canvas

9 x 12 inches

Debbie Saenz © 2013

I don't know about you, but I love to gaze at the sky. It's easy to get lost in the amazing beauty of days when the sky is clear blue or when filled with fluffy white clouds. I especially get excited when I'm privileged to get a glimpse of a beautiful glowing sunset. I can only think of our amazing Creator! 

Next time you're outside, don't take the sky or granted, notice its breathtaking beauty, and let it carry your thoughts to the One who created it!  

The heavens declare the glory of God;

the skys proclaim the work of His hands. Psalm 19:1

As for our home, we are still waiting for it to sell...we're beginning to wonder if His plan is for us to stay put; at least for now. I love our home and I would be delighted if we stayed...one thing is for sure, keeping our home "show ready" is really quite stessful! This too shall drift away like a floating cloud :)

 

Sunflower Burst - On My Easel

 

 Sunflower Burst

(work in progress)

 Acrylic on Canvas

16 x 16 inches

Debbie Saenz © 2013 

Ok, yes, I know, I've been the world's worst blogger lately....eeks! Well, I've had a pretty full plate the last few months. So much is going on...and it's hard to believe spring is right around the corner! 

I know excuses aren't necessary, but her goes a few...

• was a very busy elf just before Christmas, lots of Etsy orders to fill and of course, all the handmade gifts I made for my family.
• Family in town for the holidays, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Years. Family is always the best part!
• The BIG announcement from my hubby that we needed to sell our home :( Can you guess what that meant? Oh yes, weeks of de-cluttering, organizing, touch up painting and little fixes. Then the fun part of staging our home and the the stressful part of keeping it perfect for showings. 
• Sprinkled throughout all this was Plaid projects, Etsy orders, and a few baby prayer blankets I sewed for my pregnant sisters at church. 

And all that is just a few of the many things that have kept me from updating my blog. Hopefully I'll get back on track...time will tell :)

And now,back to my painting.......

I've been finding a little time to experiment with my palette knife. I really like the looseness of it and all the vivid colors I've incorporated. I'm almost done with this one and will certainly be doing some more palette knife painting. I'm loving it. 

I'll be back real soon to show you more new paintings :)

Joshua 24 - The Progression of a New Work

After playing around with several ideas in my sketch book, this was the idea I came up with for Joshua 24:15. As for me and my house we shall serve the Lord. 

I collaged the background with lots of text, hymnal pages, and handwritten prayers. I love scripture to peek through lots of layers. When that was done, I drew my subject.

and added texture, and more texture

It's coming along

After some more detail work and quite a bit of shading of the hands, I added the verse which I hand painted and distressed to add to the grungy look I wanted.

And it's done!...and now available in my Etsy Shoppe.

I was inspired to make this piece since this was the summer for weddings. I wanted a unique personalized gift to give as gifts. So, I decided to mount the prints on wood and hand stamp the family name onto a plate of copper and nail it into the wood over the door. I also adhered a skeleton key on the door. I just love the rustic look. Well, it was a hit! All the new families that received it loved it. You can see images of a sample in my Etsy Shoppe (Link below).

My prayer is that this art piece would be a constant reminder to serve the LORD by serving each other and others everyday. I think we all need this reminder! I know I do, daily! I hung the original in our home near our front door. 

This item is now available in my  Etsy Shoppe.

I'm so excited because I'm almost ready to reveal my new series of paintings...coming soon :)

 

I'm joining my friend Jennifer In The Studio for Sneak Peak Friday...

hop on over to see what others are up to :)

Lots to Share...

I can't believe it's been this long since I've been around here to write. It's not for lack of anything to share, that's for sure. In fact, I've been so busy I've had to lay my blog aside for a while. 

• I've been designing lots of projects for Plaid. (Bummer! I can't show you those until after Plaid publishes them). 
• We had a wonderful visit with my mom.
• I had my first ever art show with a friend of mine who was so sweet to share half of her booth with me. 
• I have new paintings getting ready to make their way into my Etsy Shoppe. Soon, soon, soon!
• And of course, a little travel with my hubby with some, as always, jewelry making on the road :)
• I've been trying lots of new, much more healthy recipes and less processed foods. 
• Oh yea, and everything else in between!

My nephew ordered this for his girlfriend. This is her first year away in college and yes, she's missing her little pup Max. That was sweet of Jonathan to think of this for her. 

I mounted a print of Max  on a piece of wood and added Text to make it special. 

This was a little surprise I made Jonathan to give his girlfriend. I hand stamped a little Max tag and Mod Podged a small picture of Max onto a wood heart and made a keychain. Oh so cute!

It was such a treat to have my mom work in the studio with me. I was able to keep her hands very busy while enjoying her company. She was a huge help in getting ready for my upcoming show... and there was lots to do!  Thanks mom! xo

And then, of course, we had to visit the Yellow Daisy Festival. My daugher and hubby came along too. My mom and I were remembering last year when we went, it was 2 days after I got home from the hospital after having thyroid surgery. I was not in pain this year, but one thing we learned, it's no fun trying to enjoy an outside art featival in the rain! We left very soggy. Ugh!! 

The day finally came for the Suwanee Day Art Festival. I was sad my mom had already gone back home to FL and was not able to be here for my first art show. 

I have new items (You can see some here if you look really close) to list in my Etsy Shoppe. Stay posted and I'll try not to make it a habit of vanishing from Blogsphere for so long next time; and if you are wondering, yes Mod Podge Monday will resume :)

I'm currently working on:

a series of paintings...my goal? 12 paintings by the end of October! so far, 4 down and 8 to go.

I'll show you one at a time as soon as I photographed them. 

 

Mod Podge Monday: A Very Special Gift...Personalized Painting!

This very special art piece was a gift I made for Jasmine, my precious granddaughter. Mod Podge was a key ingredient, but the main ingredient was love! There's lots of layers and it's all mounted on a piece of wood with Mod Podge, of course.

Jasmine Faith Walton, our beautiful granddaughter was baptized while we were in FL. The best part was that my hubby, pop-pop, had the privilege of performing the Baptism ceremony. Very Special!  

I made this little charm bracelet for Jasmine to wear on her special day. 

God Bless you Jasmine Faith!

ps. I sell these personalized paintings in my Etsy Shoppe. I can paint any name and add any text you wish!

My New Studio: Revealed

This is an exciting day!

after a ton of hard work,

I can finally say,

it's finished!

Well, everything except my studio easel which is currently in FL at my mother-in-law's house. It will happily travel back home to Atlanta with us next month after our family visit in FL.

We moved my studio from the small bedroom upstairs down to the more spacious bedroom in our basement. Click here  to see what the space used to look like.

Now, enjoy these pictures of my new space...YEA!!

The bathroom is located behind the door on the right. Aww! water to wash my brushes. Maybe I'll take better care of them now? Before, they would sit in water way too long...

The closet is behind the doors on the right is loaded with lots of supplies!

My easel will sit in the corner area between the two windows. I have a large piece of heavy canvas to lay under it to protect the carpet from paint spills and splatters that are bound to happen :)

I added two sets of small eye hooks into the side of the window moldings then strung some picture hanging wire across to create a place to hang my inspiration images and ideas. Before, they always ended up in a pile of papers and were eventually forgotten. No more, now they'll be in plain sight. 

My corner to sit, relax, and pour over my magazines and books. A great place for my quiet time too!

I am so blessed to have this awesome space and a wonderful and supportive hubby who has been such a trouper through this whole project. I had no idea just how much time and work it was going to take when I first began. 

Some of the projects I tackled in the last few weeks:

• painted the entire room and bathroom
• moved loads of stuff two stories down
• built a custom shelf to hold some of my paints
• painted and distressed 7 pieces of furniture (and then Mod Podged 3 of them)
• upholstered 3 chairs
• made curtains
• organized everything 

....hmmm, I'm sure I'm forgetting something!

My goal was to finish before today because my hubby and I will be out of town all week, in KY, then back home for a short time before we head to FL, then CA, then FL again, and finally back home to GA. Whew! And after all of that, I'll be more than ready to pick up my paint brush! My journal will be bursting with ideas by that time, I'm sure :)

Linking up with my friend Jennifer at Studio JRU:

My New Studio: Before and After Chair

 

Well, I didn't cross off everything on my to-do list this week, but here is one of the three chairs I have been working on for my new studio.

This chair was on the side of the road waiting for trash pick-up before I rescued it! And it was UGLY and very dirty, a hideous pink and full of mildew! She waited patiently in our garage for almost as long as the black desk I recently revamped. And yup, hubby threatened to rid of this one too :( 

But, her day came...and she got a lovely make over :) New paint and even a seat. Now she can reside in the house with the rest of us.

I love the pattern in this material and I can't wait to use this chair with my new studio desk.

I've finished two other chairs as well...look for them real soon, also for the curtains that are in progress, Yea!! At least the idea anway. I've decided to use burlap with a band of colorful materials pieced together along the bottom. Will see...execution is tomorrow:) And I'll show you when they're up!

My New Studio: Paint Shelf is Finished!...and my new friend!

My new art studio is starting to take shape. It's amazing just how much stuff came out of my old studio, the little bedroom upstairs. Now, I'm in the process of reorganizing and giving everything a new home. And that's no small job!

One of my projects was to build a shelf to hold my paints. I wanted it to have lots of shelves, but not too deep. So, I made it myself, and really, I should have built two! 

My other paints will have to be stored in bins. That works anyway since those are paints I don't use too often....like outdoor paints, enamal paints, etc.

It started out with a pile of lumber. The funny thing was I was able to build it in less time it took me to paint it! 

Here's the unfinished shelf before I gave it three coats of paint, distressed it, and then coated it with finishing wax for a nice sheen.

Lots of my paints are practically empty, but I like to use every drop. I cut open the bottle with a razor knife when I can't get more out and then use my brush to lap up the remaining paint that sticks to the sides...which actually it a lot of paint that would otherwise be waisted in the garbage can. 

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Right now, I should be at home working on organizing my studio, but, yes, I had the opportunity to travel with my hubby again. I would be silly to give up that opportunity. Being an empty nester is not so bad afterall! So, I'm back in Charlotte NC after being in Columbia SC yesterday. 

At this very moment, while I'm writing this post, I'm sitting in a really cute little artsy cafe called The Common Market in the SouthEnd of Charlotte. I'm taking a lunch break after soaking up loads of inspiration at local art galleries. Ahh what a blast!!

I just met local artist, John Hairston, who brought in his huge canvas and tub of paints. He set up just 3 feet to my left. So after chatting with him a while I thought I would share his artwork with you here. 

He's getting ready for a solo show called 1962 The Age of Marvels, "Heros Aren't Hard to Find". You can learn more about him on his website,  All City Studios.

 

This is the flyer that hangs on the window The Common Market.

It was fun watching John finish this piece for his upcoming show. I won't be in Charlotte to see his show, but it was neat to meet John and see him in action!

Well, now I'm off to visit a few little antique shops down the street. You never know what might be found for a mixed media piece! I'm gonna go see...

 

Mod Podge Monday: Spice Rack Before & After

I seem to be picking up lots of spice racks in my Yard Sale ventures and visits to Goodwill stores ( I must have about 5). I finished one of them with my trusty Mod Podge and Scrapbook paper scraps. 

Don't you see what this dated and very ugly spice rack could be? I do!

Mod Podge to the rescue....and a little paint! It's been transformed into a cute little storage space to hang on the wall next to my work table. 

Fully loaded and ready to go! It helps keep my work table clutter free...well, I try! 

Next time you see and an old unwanted spice rack for sale, think of what it could be. Oh there are lots of possibilities! Not only for paints, but  how about sewing supplies, or even make-up!

My New Studio: An Awesome Find

After hunting for just the right piece for my new studio to help hold some of my art supplies, I found this amazing armoire. My hubby and I were perusing local thrift shops and ended up  in a little antique store. 

The minute I saw this vintage armoire, I knew I had found just what I was looking for. 

I feel especially thrilled to have this piece of furniture after talking to the owner. She said it was in her sons room and held all his little cloths. She shared that her sister-in-law was the artist who painted the front. 

I have lots of vision for this piece of furniture. It's going to be perfect!

I just love the key hole. It adds so much character and tells it's age...I think somewhere around 100 years old?

Here's the artwork on one of the doors. I hate to do this, but, sadly, I will be painting over this part. I'm thinking chalkboard paint on the doors. 

Sorry Natalie...I'm sure it was painted with lots of love and enjoyed for many years, but it's about ready to get a new life. 

I've already given my new armoire a good cleaning and it's now, after a few alterations, it's ready to be the star of my new studio, which looks amazing now that it's all painted! I'll show you when I do the final reveal. For now, I still have lots of work to do....

This lumber will become the new shelf to hold all my paints. Yup! lots of work yet to do...I'll keep you posted!