New videos and online classes

Come check out all my new videos and online classes at my Typepad blog where I post usually at least a few times a week. :)

http://pauletteinsall.typepad.com

New painting ("See The Beauty") & painting in progress pics

On the new blog :)

pauletteinsall.typepad.com

Painting progress pics

Here's the state of my painting table this morning after working on the painting in the foreground yesterday. Think a cleaning is in order before I start back up today. LOL!

This is the sketch for the new painting...



And here's where it was last night when I had to stop because of a bad headache...probably from staring at this painting too long. LOL!



Blogger is still not letting me upload photos, so I'm having to grab these from my Flickr account and insert them. Think it's about time to try out Typepad.....Blogger is too buggy and my iMac blog is taking forever to load! *sigh*

Well I'm off to fix myself some lunch....and go get Aiden to finish his. Did you ever see a kid who took hours to eat his lunch???? LOL!!! That is unless I sit there and make him eat it...typical day in the Insall household. ;)

New paintings on Ebay & Etsy

Okay, I’m still recovering from thefrom the excitement of the Etsy homepage feature, but before I get started painting in the studio I wanted to let ya’ll know about my two new paintings. One is up for auction at Ebay and ends Sunday, Nov. 11th and the other is on Etsy. Please click the links below to see the pictures and inspiration stories on the listings since Blogger isn't letting me upload pics after trying for over 30 minutes now(grrrrrr!).

Click here for “Sing” painting on Ebay

Click here for “Pondering” painting on Etsy

I'm on the Etsy home page!!!

Go look before they switch out the featured home page treasury!!!! My "Hold On To Bliss" art print is on the front page!!!!!!! Doin' a happy dance..... :)

IF - Emergency

Life...Wide Open (Original available in the shop)
See shop listing for story behind the painting

This week's topic for Illustration Friday is emergency....I feel like I'm living my life in a "state of emergency" at the moment. Everything is urgent and needs to be addressed right away. I'm not the best at handling life when things get this way...I mean, I'm awful at taking care of myself....always putting others in my life first and myself last. At the end of the day, there's nothing left for me.

I know that I should take time for myself and ask for help (and thank you all for your concern and sweet, caring comments you've been leaving for me lately), but the thing is...I already suck at that, so now that things are getting so overbearing....well, I just shut down and shut myself off from everyone who lives outside of my house (even posting this here on my blog is pretty huge for me). I've been this way pretty much all my life and I don't see it changing anytime soon. And since I have a hubby that works alot and a little boy who is so super dependant on his Momma to be his playmate...that just doesn't leave time for much of anything. I've tried many times to arrange playdates with friends, but everyone is just so dang busy these days and playdates just get left by the wayside unfortunately. :(

I wish this post wasn't so melancholy, but this is just the truth about how I'm feeling and how things are playing out in my life right now. And gosh my son's birthday is coming up in about two weeks and you would think I would have at least bought a few presents by now, but no....I haven't...feeling like such an awful Momma right now. *sigh*

Okay...enough with the "o woe is me" stuff. I've got to find a way to get my life back under control before I lose my sanity! Just wish I had someone who could help me keep on track...and my hubby's just not the right type of person to do that and most of my friends either are just super busy or don't even live in the same town as me. I've tried the list thing....great idea...if I could remember to follow it! LOL! Plus I have the hardest time breaking things down into small chunks....I'm great at seeing the big picture, but breaking it down into manageable tasks...nope, that's just something that eludes me. Plus when you factor in that I get distracted easily...well let's just say all of this is not conductive to finishing tasks.

If any of you have any suggestions or ideas, I'd love to hear them....I'm open to almost anything at this point. Even toying with the idea of bringing in a professional organizer or cleaning service at this point and just biting the bullet on having to pay someone to do what I seem to be unable to.

IF - Poem

Waking Dream ~ Original painting & archival prints available in the shop

"A Waking Dream"

An original poem by Paulette Insall

She was roused from her waking dream by wings a-flutter,

the path now so clear before her,

the transformation underway,

the discovery of part of herself that had always been....

Waiting...
....to awaken
....to bloom
....to soar.

Choosing...

....to let go

....to give in

....to breathe.

Her purpose was clear, her heart.......at peace.

Quick shop update

"Follow" - Original SOLD print available in the shop

(If the print you want is already sold, please send me a convo thru Etsy or an email to see if I have another available)

♥♥♥ Story behind the original painting ♥♥♥
When you've found something that brings you great joy and fulfillment, there are always stumbling blocks that get in your way. Guess it's just the nature of life. Painting is one of the the things that gives me these feelings. We must always remember to follow the path to our dreams even when life tries to stop us.

Aiden's been sick with a cold for over a week now and on Monday night came down with a really bad ear infection that kept everyone up all night. :(

I did manage to update the shop even with tending to my sick little one. Just gonna post quick pics/descriptions. One of the originals sold today before I could get over here to update ya'll. If you want to see more, please visit the shop. :) Thanks! xo

"Listen" ~ Original available in the shop SOLD print available soon in the shop

♥♥♥ Story behind the painting ♥♥♥
Lately I've had some people in my life say things to make me doubt myself and this path I've chosen (or that has chosen me, depending on the way you look at it). This painting was created as a reminder to myself to listen to my heart and to God no matter what others say.

"Within Reach" - Original SOLD print available in the shop

♥♥♥ Story behind the painting ♥♥♥
Your dreams are within reach...you just have to put the effort into what you want and let God take care of the rest. The hearts represent the want of love in our lives....love from a mate, family, friends. The stars represent our dreams....what ever you want in life that brings you a sense of joy, peace, comfort, and contentment. The reason why they are dangling on strings is because many times these things are right in front of us, you just have to reach for them.

Show some love...

I've been wanting to snag a treasury forever so I could promote some of my favorite fellow artists over on Etsy....and today it finally happened! YEA!!!

Please go show these artists some love by clicking and viewing their art and leaving some comments....fyi, it expires in two days. Thanks!!! xo

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=2034

My wish

It's been a busy week and it's only half way over with lots more to come. I actually have barely managed to leave this house this week except for to Aiden's speech class on Monday and to the post office yesterday.

Today has been spent working on pictures to send to a zine (I was asked to contribute to a really cool zine all about altered art and faerie inspired things...more on that soon ;). The past few days have been filled with updating the shop with new paintings and prints, cleaning the studio (a neverending process it seems), and getting all my glass supplies moved into my living room for people to look through. I've decided it's time to scale down my glass inventory and tools since I don't have much time to get out into my garage glass studio these days. Painting is something I can do inside the house with Aiden running around...although it's hard and he's pretty distracting...but making beads out in the garage is pretty much impossible at the moment. So if you live in the Portland, Oregon area and are a lampworker or fuser in need of more glass ;), shoot me an email.

The first painting shown in this post is the finished painting from this post and this post. I've titled it "My Wish" and it's part of this week's shop update. I have another painting that I'm shooting pictures of during various stages, but I think this time I'd like to wait until the painting is finshed before posting the progress pics. That way you can see on painting from start to finish all on one post. Since sometime it takes me weeks to get one finished (because of how sometimes I don't get in as much studio time as I'd like) and then the posts about the progress are just too far apart on here. So bear with me as I figure things out. It'll be worth it...I promise! :D

Well, I'd better get back to my day...still gotta make a run to the bank and make another stab at getting the house out of chaos mode...wish me luck! I wish you all a wonderful day and a chance to make a little time for yourself today....sit down with a nice cup of tea or an iced coffee or get into your studio and make something fun...something I'm going to try my best to do today. :)

Etsy show report

Thanks to everyone who braved the rain and came out to the show! We were all soggy and cold, but we managed to hang in there until about 3pm. At that point, we all decided to pack it up and call it a day. It was just too wet and cold and after being out there since around 7am that morning....well we were just all chilled to the bone.

They're talking about doing it again in August maybe, so stay tuned for more info on that. If you missed me at the show, I was all the way at the south end of the vendor area.

Today's gonna be a busy day....planning on putting up some prints and notecards in the shop starting today and more throughout this week....and I've got people coming over this week for an open studio sale. More later...

Hold on to bliss

"Hold On To Bliss" original painting...available on Etsy

Sorry for the quickie post....I just have so many things to do before my show on Saturday...and now Aiden has come down sick (poor guy), so it's looking like he won't be able to go to his one day a week of daycare tomorrow. So that means I have even less time to get things done. Gonna be a super busy day for me...hoping to actually make it into the studio later today to finish up the painting from the other night's session in the studio (see yesterday's videoblog post).

Have a great day ya'll! :) xo

Update from the studio...first videoblog post

Just wanted to update everyone who's been watching the webcam on the progress of my latest painting...sorry I look and sound so beat...I was exhausted. I'll try not to film my videos so late at night from now on. :)

Decorate yourself! Wearable miniature art

Now available on my Etsy

Brand new offering...2-sided 1-1/2" x 1-1/2" pendants. Wearable art featuring a miniature art print of my original mixed media collage painting "Time Flies...Hold On". Now you can decorate yourself with my art and not just your walls. ;)

Thanks everyone who's been tuning into the studio webcam! I'm really enjoying sharing more of my process with you guys in real time. If there's anything you could suggest that might improve things (other than the quality of the video...that's beyond my control since I don't have a high-end webcam and the live feed is being hosted by someone else). Sometimes I have the mic on so ya'll can hear what music I'm listening to in the studio...but before Aiden is in bed for the night, it's mostly him you're hearing I'd imagine. So during the day/early evening, I've been muting the mic...I know you guys probably don't want to hear him coming up to me every 15 minutes saying "Momma I need you", "Momma I want a snack", "Momma, Momma, Momma"...well, you get the idea. ;) -- So any ideas? I'd love some feedback.

Well I've got 3 new paintings finished, but I really need to get into the studio and paint...I still haven't managed to do that yet and I want to have at least 3 more paintings done before the show on Saturday...better get my booty movin'! LOL! I'll try my best to post again later today or tomorrow and share the newest paintings. Until then...have a good one!

Studio webcam wrap up ~ finished painting

Just a little video I shot of the piece I finished up this evening while I grabbed a few hours in the studio after putting Aiden to bed...thanks so much to all of you for tuning in and spying on me. ;) This painting is smaller than my others...approx. 4"x6"...hopefully I will have it up on Etsy this week. I will be taking most everything down on Friday evening for my show on Saturday, so if you've been eyeing a piece you might want to go snag it now...it may or may not be back in the shop next week.

I'll be in the studio most nights this week trying to get more new painting done for the show, so be sure to tune in for more. :)

New studio webcam

Things are still super crazy around here at the moment...getting ready for my show next weekend...but I'm taking a quick break from painting to let ya'll know I've got my webcam running in the studio today. It's something I've been wanting to do for like forever and I finally figured it out! Yea! So if you wanna see me in action, then just cruise on over to my website to the new webcam page. :)

Click here to watch me painting in my studio
every Friday 10am-5pm Pacific Time

Studio day & estate sale booty ;)

First off, let me just say thank you all so very very much for all the wonderful comments you've been leaving!!! It just makes my day to hear how much ya'll love what I'm doing. I can't express how much it means to me. Thank you from the bottom of my heart!

Now I know you're probably itching to see the progress I've made on my new painting....but alas, as I suspected would happen, I was unable to get any further than picking and cutting out collage elements this week...you know how life always has a way of keeping us from doing everything we want to do. ;) There's just never enough time in the day.

Well thankfully today is studio day, so I have an entire day to play with paint! Yea! Unfortunately on the way home from dropping Aiden off, I got a little sidetracked.....realized I hadn't made it to the grocery store all week and we were out or almost out of alot of basic things...then of course on the way home there was a huge sign for an estate sale....and you just know I had to stop! ;)

Good thing I did because I found most wonderful bird field guide from 1923 with the sweetest illustrations *sigh*...also a small antique Bible from 1878 with the most lovely patina on the little pages...and a sweet little book of love poetry with Victorian illustrations...but of course I couldn't stop there...oh no...I just kept looking and looking in hopes of finding another treasure....then it happened...I spotted an entire gallon size ziplock bag of vintage seam binding & rick rack (most of them unopened, yeah I know, crazy huh) and right along side was another bag filled to the brim with vintage buttons (alot of them made in Italy) still on their original cards!!!!! AHHHHHHH!!! Well you know I had to get that too!!!!!!!! :D I'm not much of a sewer, but I have this thing for vintage rick rack and buttons....not sure where I picked it up....but it's an addiction that I have to find a use for or I'm gonna be drowning in buttons and trims before long. Once I paw through them, I may just have to see if any of ya'll want to take the rest off my hands....otherwise my hubby may kill me! ;)

Growing up in Alabama, yard/estate sales were a huge thing on Saturdays...at least in my family. I remember many a Saturday morning scoping out all the good ones with my Mom when I was a kid. I always loved those Saturdays...and here in the Portland area, they have the things on Fridays and Sundays too!!!!! Yard/estate sale season is just getting started here and there's usually tons of them all the way through about September. Now if I can just get my hubby to look after Aiden on Saturday mornings....then I'd be all set. ;)

Well if I don't get myself in gear, I'll never get any painting done today. LOL! Hoping to finish up the new painting today and maybe even start on a couple more smaller ones. Depending on how much progress I make, I may just post a pic in the morning before I head off to meet some friends for a fun artsy afternoon (more on that when I get back ;) I'll try to remember to take some pics this time). Have a fabulous Friday ya'll!

Painting progress - part 2

Well this is where the painting was when I started on it today. I didn't get too much further since I only had about an hour by the time I got into my studio...got the collage elements picked out and cut out though. If I have the energy after I put Aiden to bed, I might glue them down...depending on how wiped out I feel.

It's pretty hard to see in the pictures, but the painting has lots of texture...even in the woman's face. I just love how it adds so much interest and character to her. I still have a few finishing touches to do on the face, but her face is about 90% done I'd say.

Now all that's left is to put in the collage elements, add a little more paint and ink to incorportate them into the piece and she'll be finished. I'll post another progress pic of her once I get a little further, which hopefully will be tomorrow evening or sometime on Thursday.

Well it's Aiden's bedtime, so Momma has to go help him get ready for bed. G'nite ya'll. Have a good one!

New painting in progress

Something I've always enjoyed is getting peeks into the process of an artist....seeing a work progress through it's various stages. So I've decided it's something I'd like to do here on a regular basis. :)

Do you remember these pieces? Well, I'm currently working on the last one from this grouping and hope to finish it up today...or at least sometime tomorrow. These two pics show where it was about halfway through my workday on Friday. I'll post another pic later today or tomorrow with where I got it to by the end of the day Friday (I need to take a pic of it before I get started back on it today first).

Well, I'd better get a move on if I'm gonna get any further with this piece before I have to leave to pic up Aiden at preschool. So stay tuned for more...and be sure to click on the pictures for a larger view. :)

Flickr faves & personal symbols

1. May 14th, 2. Ready to go!, 3. Sparkle, 4. Magic, 5. Untitled, 6. Fragile. Please do not crush., 7. more dandelion fun, 8. danelion, 9. Untitled, 10. Fragile, 11. breathe, 12. gone, 13. soar, 14. Image1, 15. Image2, 16. As if it were watercolours, 17. DSCF3163, 18. Jane Eyre inspired, 19. beware, beware, 20. 1900's girl, 21. da berdz, 22. Island, 23. The dead of butterfly, 24. 'Miss Gradenko' (Work in Progress), 25. xinmina and bird

I've been feeling a little out of it today, so I thought I'd surf around on Flickr tonight and see who's posted new stuff...then I realized I haven't shared any of my faves for a while. So while creating this fave mosaic I realized it defintely has a theme...do you see it?

Now....something my hubby keeps asking me is why all my paintings and drawings are of women. Why not paint some abstracts or landscapes...just something to mix it up. Every time he asks, the answer is the same....I paint what is in my soul, what has meaning to me...and that for me is faces...and the reason why those faces are always women are because my work comes from what I'm feeling or going though at the time...a visual diary, if you will...of something that is personal to me. Which brings to mind a certain song from Anna Nalick that I've been listening to over and over again and there's one verse in particular that always strikes a chord with me every time I hear it...the last verse of the song "Breathe (2am)"

2 AM and I'm still awake, writing a song
If I get it all down on paper, it's no longer inside of me,
Threatening the life it belongs to
And I feel like I'm naked in front of the crowd
Cause these words are my diary, screaming out loud
And I know that you'll use them, however you want to

So.....back to my Flickr faves...you don't have to look closely to see the main theme in what I'm drawn to the most...faces, of course...but there are also birds, butterflies, flowers, things from the sea...these things keep popping up in my art. They have become personal symbols for me...each of them symbolizes something that has happened in my life in the past year...things that I'm still going through and struggling with even now--

What do you feel are your personal symbols?

Open your heart

"Open" original painting...now available on Etsy

The less you open your heart to others, the more your heart suffers.
~ Deepak Chopra

A very dear precious friend of mine is going through some tough times right now and when I saw this quote this afternoon, I thought of her. It also rings true in my own life as well. We do suffer more when we close our selves off from others, from that much needed connection that I think we as women need. Even if when we open our heart we get burned....whether it was our own fault or not...we suffer an even greater amount when we close ourselves off from others. So if you have people in your life who are reaching out to you...embrace them...open your heart to them....your life will all the more richer for it.

Time Flies....Happy Mother's Day

"Time Flies...Hold On" fine art print...now available on Etsy

But meanwhile time flies; it flies never to be regained. ~Virgil

Yet another year has flown by.....where does the time go? This is something I've been giving alot of thought to lately. As the years fly by and my little boy grows older, I'm reminded that I'll never get this time back and that I need to savor and cherish every moment. Especially today, Mother's Day, I'm reminded of this. I hope you take some time today to cherish your little ones (or big ones) and thank God for every moment he blesses us with. Have a wonderful Mother's Day everyone!

Paintings in progress...a day in the studio

Well I'm busy painting in the studio today while Aiden's playing the day away at his new school, but I thought I'd take a break and share some progress pics with ya'll while I'm eating my lunch...trying to be super productive today ;). Remember those three panels I shared with you at the end of this post? Well here's how they progressed and how they were as of the end of the day last Friday....by the way, these are all 6"x12" wood panels layered with acrylics, ink, watercolor, and collage.

Now this last pic is the painting I've been working on today...it's much further along now than in this pic, but I haven't taken another picture of it just yet. It's almost finished...only have another couple of things to do and then I'll be ready to post it. So stay tuned ;)

Sweet Song

“May God give you...For every storm a rainbow, for every tear a smile, for every care a promise and a blessing in each trial. For every problem life sends, a faithful friend to share, for every sigh a sweet song and an answer for each prayer.” ~ an Irish Blessing

It took me a while, but I finally have some new art to share....and also a new Etsy shop where I'll be listing my paintings for sale PauletteInsall.etsy.com. "Sweet Song" is there now for those who want to peek. :D

A peek into my studio & local art show

Hey ya'll! I've been working every moment I get on some art for a First Friday showing my art coach is having at her studio on Friday. As you probably know, having a three year old running around doesn't leave me many "spare" moments. ;) So needless to say, I've had my plate full. I finished up the paintings I've been feverishly working on the past couple of weeks last night and dropped them off this afternoon. The show is tomorrow so if you're in the Portland Metro area, I'd love it if you stopped by. I'm including the postcard below with all the info.

*************************************

Emergence
A student show of painting, collage, & assemblage

May 4, 2007
6:00pm - 9:00pm

The Art of Your Life Studio
1210 SW Oak St., Portland

*************************************

Tomorrow I'll be spending all day in the studio painting *insert giddy little happy dance here* We're giving daycare a try one day a week so I can have uninterrupted time to work...and Aiden's really excited about going to a new school. The place we decided on is more like a day school than just daycare and he's been asking all week to go "Now, now now!!!" hee hee....kids...what 'cha gonna do? ;) So here's a peek at the pieces I have all ready to play with tomorrow. When you see them again, they'll look totally different since this is just the first few layers of paint.

Assurance of faith

I'm hoping that soon I'll be able find the words to share about my experience at Artfest, but for now they are just not coming. So many emotions I'm feeling as a result of my experience and I'm still in the process of trying to sort them out. I ask that you bear with me until I'm ready.

In the meantime, I'll continue to share new artwork. The piece in this post (titled "Assurance of Faith", mixed media collage painting on 8" x 16" stretched canvas) is one I finished today. I've been working on it off and on over the last month and I finally got the finishing touches on it this afternoon. It's a piece for a fund raising auction at my church to fund continuing education for the teachers at Aiden's preschool. It's now safely in the hands of the preschool director and I pray that it touches people at the auction tomorrow night and it gets many bids for the event.

Well I've got a busy weekend ahead of me (as usual these days)....teaching a beadmaking class, trying to get caught up around the house, and taking care of a sick little one (yes Aiden is sick again, this time with a pretty high fever poor guy). Have a great weekend ya'll and I'll check back in the first of next week, if not sooner. God bless you all!

Lots to share....

Well I just got back back yesterday from one of the most amazing experiences of my life, but I'm just too exhausted to give a play by play at the moment.....so for now I just want to say hi to all my new art friends and kindred spirits I met while I was away at Artfest the past few days. Once I've recovered, I'll share more about my experience...for now I'll just have to leave you with some original art I just listed on Etsy. To see larger pics, please click on the links or the pics to check them out on Etsy. More later...xo

After Spring Came

So Solemn

Sneak peek

I'm headed off to bed, but decided to share a little sneak peek of an art piece I've been working on this week. I know, I'm a tease aren't I? *hee hee* ;) I'll be back with a full pic as soon as have a little more time.

Today was jam packed (in a good way) and I'll be posting about the amazing visual art journaling class I took today once I can get some good pictures of what I created in class. I'm kicking myself for not taking my camera with me today, but I was so focused on what I was doing during the class, I probably wouldn't have managed to take any pics anyway.

Okay....more later ya'll! Have a great weekend and I'll see ya next week!