Technical Difficulties and New Toys...

Due to technical difficulties, also known as the demise of my printer, I was forced to end some auctions before their time was up.  Fortunately, I have a new fine art printer now and I am pleased to be able to offer prints again.  Due to the untimely end of my prior auctions, I've relisted them.  "Violet Dreams" a Gothic blue angel loosely inspired by Leonardo Da Vinci is one of them, she's up at eBay here.

Prints additionally listed this week are "Dreamer," a fairy dog napping peacefully on a sunflower, "Sunlight Sunbright" a vivid sunflower, "Red Red Rose" a deep burgundy rose bud, "The Gift" a mermaid with a present for her turtle friend, and "Gentle" my little brown bunny.  They're all here starting today and ending next Tuesday.

I am also hoping to have a new small original by Friday for NFAC, but I'm unsure if I'll make it on time for the deadline!  I'll certainly give it a try though.  The theme this month is fairies, I love fairies!

In part because I'm just glad to have a new printer and in part because I planned to anyway, I'm having a print giveaway that ends on July 30th, the information is here.

Free Print July 30th Contest Information! Open Worldwide...

Monday, July 30th at midnight is the last opportunity to enter to win the chance to win a free print of your choice from my website!  The contest is open worldwide.  To enter, comment on this post.

For additional entries, follow this blog, like my facebook page, follow me on twitter, and/or be a member of my mailing list.  For any one you will get an entry; for more entries, do more than one.  Mix and match!

For each additional entry, post an additional comment.

If you win, you may choose any available print on my website at http://www.lisarusso.com

Here are the links to the bonus entry locations:
Twitter:  http://twitter.com/#!/LisaRussoArt
Facebook:  http://www.facebook.com/pages/Art-by-Lisa-Isabella-Russo/201388569928216
My mailing list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/LisaR_art/

I will announce the winner on Tuesday the 31st!

Wordless Wednesday: A Sunflower...

Just something bright and pretty for this bright and pretty day...  I took this sunflower photograph a while back, the bouquet was a gift and I took a number of photographs of it as I often like to use flowers as my models...

To see more Wordless Wednesday links, please visit: 

http://www.wordlesswednesday.com/newhome/ 

http://blog.aquariann.com/

http://www.create-with-joy.com/

My finished white magnolia painting...

I had my doubts that I would ever call this painting finished, but I'm calling it; well, for now anyway!  It's an 18"x24" acrylic white magnolia flower painting on canvas entitled "Enchanting Light."  To see it on my website, please visit here. 

I know I skip around a lot.  Some days all I want to paint is floral art, other days, it's fairies, and so on...  I know it isn't technically correct, but I want to call myself an expressionist painter, because I am so emotively driven...  I tend to paint what I feel and when I feel it...  I know it would be better professionally to focus on one genre, but there's a whole world out there and beyond that, there's the world I imagine as well! 

I know that I'm stronger at certain subjects than with others, but at this point, I can't force myself to give up any of them...  Perhaps that will change at some point, but right now, I remain diversely driven...

Anyway, I'm joining in this week with Paint Party Friday.  To see more participants, please visit:

http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/

Wordless Wednesday: Fireworks for the 4th of July...

I actually took these pictures at Downtown Disney, and it wasn't on the Fourth of July, but I still wanted to share these fireworks here today, since by chance this Wednesday manages to land exactly on the Fourth of July.  When it comes to photography, I'm generally someone who needs to take many pictures to get a handful of good ones.  Sometimes I'm lucky and that isn't the case, but usually it is.  I took many shots in this case and these are some of my favorites, especially the last one, I think it feels almost like a space photo.  Actually, some of the ones I liked the best were ones that were failures as shots of fireworks, but looked a bit like orbs.  For today though, and my wordy "wordless" Wednesday, here are some fireworks.  I hope that however you celebrate today, it is wonderful for you...  And if this is not a day of celebration for you, I hope it is wonderful for you too!

To see more Wordless Wednesday links, please visit:
http://www.wordlesswednesday.com/newhome/
http://blog.aquariann.com/
http://www.create-with-joy.com/

Four of my favorite Impressionist paintings from LACMA...

Claude Monet - Nympheas

I love Impressionist art.  I find myself at a loss for words to explain why it moves me so, but it does.  There is such a delicacy to the colors, yet so much movement in the application.

Claude Monet - In the Woods at Giverny: Blanche Hoschede at Her Easel with Suzanne Hoschede Reading.

Monet's water lilies are not only some of my favorite Impressionist art, they are some of my favorite art that I have ever seen.  It just fills me with joy.  There is a simplicity to the forms, but the result of that simplicity is pure genious.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir - Two Girls Reading (Jeunes filles lisant)

I can lose myself in these pieces, feeling like I am a part of the moment.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir - close up of Two Girls Reading (Jeunes filles lisant)

I have always felt a bit awkward about pulling my camera out.  These days, I try to battle past my awkwardness.  I want my experience of the art to be one with the moment while I am there, but still be able to experience the art when I am not there.

Paul Gauguin - Fruit Dish on a Garden Chair.

These images predate my resolve to try to be more comfortable taking photographs, but as awkward as I felt, I was compelled to take these shots...  I hope that you will enjoy them.

I am linking this post with Inspire Me Monday and Magical Monday

The start of a study of Durer's Madonna and various ramblings...

It occured to me that I haven't done a study in while, so I pulled out an image of Durer's Madonna.  In his image, there is also a child, but I decided to leave the baby out of my study.  I do like babies, but I don't usually like painting them!

Unfortunately with the death of my printer, this week has been more about researching printers and taking the plunge to get a new one than painting.  This is sketched in with just the barest hints of paint at this point.  The background may read as black, but in actuality it is a very dark brown.  Also, there's the section I accidently painted brown where I'd like it to be blue that I've repainted white so that when I take the cobalt blue out, it shouldn't be overpowered by the brown!

I have a lot of ideas right now about what I want to be painting, my focus is very split!  I'm trying to decide if I should push forward with so many projects at once.  Sometimes that works for me, but at other times my desire to paint everything all at once results in very little getting done on any of them...  It's hard to know if I should let my focus be split or try to force my focus into a more narrow beam...

In any case, even though there's very little painting as of yet on this little painting, it measures 5"x7", I'm still sharing it as the very beginning of a work in progress view.

I'm joining in this week with Paint Party Friday.  To see more participants, please visit:
http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/

Wordless Wednesday: Sweet Duck (not a recipe!)

To see more Wordless Wednesday links, please visit: 

http://www.wordlesswednesday.com/newhome/ 

http://blog.aquariann.com/

http://www.create-with-joy.com/

This week, because it's a bird ;), I also get to participate in World Bird Wednesday

http://pineriverreview.blogspot.com/

I took this photo at the Self Realization Center in Malibu, CA.  I tend to take a lot of photographs when I go places, but I'm surprised by how many of the ones I took there that I liked.  At the Center, they had a "quiet" section for the ducks, it was surrounded by plants and while you could peek in (quietly), I think the birds felt comfortable there.  In this photo, I was drawn to how the light was hitting that stretched out wing.   

Today is the final day to bid on Little Owl, my original barn owl painting here.  Unfortunately my fine art printer died, so I was forced to cancel my print auctions, but this original, no reserve, auction is still up!  I've ordered my new printer, I'm looking forward to giving it a try when it gets here...

Little Owl, my small barn owl original painting...

This week I completed this small barn owl painting.  It is an original acrylic painting on canvas panel.  I painted it to participate in the NFAC theme, Birds and Other Feathered Friends, on eBay.

It's here, all of the entries start at 99c, no reserve...

I haven't forgotten about my magnolia painting, but I didn't get a chance to work on it this week, hopefully next week.  I think I've figured out what it needs.

I'm joining in this week with Paint Party Friday.  To see more participants, please visit:
http://paintpartyfriday.blogspot.com/

Wordless Wednesday: The Princess and the Pea, but with cats...

To see more Wordless Wednesday links, please visit:
http://www.wordlesswednesday.com/newhome/
http://blog.aquariann.com/
http://www.create-with-joy.com/