Two new owls: Hoot Garden and Not Afraid of the Dark

I’ve been playing around with owls to see how I could make them even cuter! Mayhaps I’m on to something….

Hoot Garden ACEO
2.5×3.5” Watercolor and colored pencil on watercolor paper.
A cute little owl perches in a very whimsical garden on a polka-dot night.
Ebay listing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/ACEO-Garden-Owl-bird-flower-whimsical-original-art-painting-cute-Medlin-EBSQ-/360436803823?pt=Art_Paintings&hash=item53ebb528ef

Not Afraid of the Dark ACEO
2.5×3.5” Watercolor and colored pencil on watercolor paper.
This little owl clutching a teddy bear insists that he is not afraid of the dark – but I think he really is!
Ebay listing: http://www.ebay.com/itm/ACEO-Afraid-Owl-bird-teddy-bear-moon-original-art-painting-cute-Medlin-EBSQ-/360436803396?pt=Art_Paintings&hash=item53ebb52744

In Zazzle news, I’ve added some new things….
Cork Coasters: http://www.zazzle.com/yarmalade/cork+coasters

The owls from last time are now on various products (“Heart Owl” and “Owlish Valentine”) such as prints, coasters, mugs and cards:
http://www.zazzle.com/yarmalade/heart+owl+gifts

It is snowing heavily yet again, here in the forest! No bird watching for me today, too cold (I’ve taken up bird watching as a hobby and am really having fun with it!). I think watching birds has been keeping me sane these days. We’ve had piles and piles of stress and struggle these days, what with the economy and all. It’s been good just to get outside among God’s creations and simply sit, watch, and listen. No pressure to figure anything out or busy noise. I hope I can go listen to the birdies again soon. Come on, weather!

That said, back to work for me.

 

EBSQ Facebook Artist of the week

So I am EBSQ Facebook Artist of the week! There is a little interview with pictures here: http://blog.ebsqart.com/2012/02/21/ebsq-facebook-artist-of-the-week-carmen-medlin/

And, a gratuitous picture of Charlie cat:

Illustration Friday: Suspense

This totally made me think of the old “Suspense!” radio dramas… so here is a little mouse couple listening to some scary stories on the radio.

 

Owl ACEOs

I felt like making some Valentine-themed owls. I really love owls, they look so cuddly and cute (though I’m sure they wouldn’t appreciate being snuggled in real life!) I should really paint them more often.

Heart Owl ACEO
2.5×3.5” Watercolor, ink, and colored pencil on watercolor paper.
Miss Barn Owl is thinking loving thoughts as hearts swirl around her on a tree branch.
Available in my Etsy Shop: http://www.etsy.com/listing/93038995/aceo-heart-owl-original-watercolor

Owlish Valentine ACEO
2.5×3.5” Watercolor, ink, and colored pencil on watercolor paper.
This little barn owl is wearing a scarf to protect himself against the cold. It is snowing hearts!
Available in my Etsy Shop: http://www.etsy.com/listing/93039041/aceo-owlish-valentine-cute-original

Also, I’ve been putting some neat stuff in my Zazzle shop lately, namely prints and coasters:

http://www.zazzle.com/yarmalade/coasters [Coasters]

http://www.zazzle.com/yarmalade/photography [Prints]

It’s a snowy evening here in the forest, and I’m hanging out in the studio with our newest addition, Charlie the cat. He’s much younger than our other cats so they pretty much hate him — especially since he’s always bouncing off the walls and they just want to nap! He’s extremely ornery. But cute. Have a lovely evening, everyone…

Illustration Friday: Prepare

 

Remembered this vector pig of mine and thought it would be a good fit!!

A boatload of greeting cards

So I’ve been working on filling out my Zazzle shop! I just put a whole bunch of greeting cards/notecards in it, with my art on them of course….

http://www.zazzle.com/yarmalade/cards+stamps

Spring Flora Fairies rubber stamps release!!

There are cute new fairy stamps of mine over at wonderful Susana’s Custom Art and Card Design!!

These adorable little flowery misses are HERE!

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In other news, I’ve finally fixed all the broken images in my blog — so all the post archives should be looking good now. Whew, that was really bugging me!

A recently commissioned landscape

Wintery Mountain

8×10″ Watercolor and colored pencil

This was near Lake Tahoe!

First painting of 2012… Be My Friend

Hi everyone! I’ve had the urge to paint a sort of idyllic farm life so…

Be My Friend

8×10” Watercolor
Emily, a little farm girl, has found a little stray cat. She feels sorry for him and wants to take him home!

Available for purchase in my Etsy Shop

In real life, we’ve adopted a little abandoned cat that some neighbors left behind… he is really very cute and feisty. Sadly our older cats are not very amused about this. Especially Kiba — they had such a dreadful fight this evening! I am not sure what to do. We’ve named the new cat Charlie, and he is gray and white. He is still very young and wants to play with everybody. I hope once he is neutered he and Kiba won’t be so much at eachother’s throats?? It is distressing! I want all of the little beasties to be happy beasties.

Last painting of 2011

Hello, all! Well I’ve got my last painting of 2011 here to show you (unless I get super inspired to finish another one before midnight tonight, heheh):

Ulysses Butterfly
Approx. 4×6″ Acrylic on unstretched canvas.

This is currently available in my Etsy Shop for purchase!

So a new year has come upon us already. Outside we are currently covered with snow here in the Black Hills. Haven’t seen tons of wildlife lately except for deer, bighorn sheep and wild turkeys. I like the turkeys, they are funny. I am hoping for a really great art year in 2012 — this past year has been very lean all around. I know I’ve been having “style challenges”, just kind of all over the map. I’m not sure how it will settle other than to keep painting! Most of all trying to remember to just paint what I love. Often financial pressures cloud me up about that, and I begin thinking about what other people might like instead of what I personally like to paint. I’m actually so mixed up about it that I am not even sure *what* I like to paint! If I must have a goal for the next year, I suppose it is to really figure out what inspires me and keeps me painting. Wish me luck and Happy New Year.