Thinking in Color

2012-01-19T16:41:00.003-07:00

More Goodies

2010-06-03T15:49:00.003-06:00

Here's my M2M boys dragon necklace:

And my Patriotic Kitty:

DillyDally's New York Launch- LOTs of Goodies!

2010-05-28T08:49:00.005-06:00

DillyDally is having a New York Launch and I have made some cute jewelry to match a few of the sets from our amazing designers. Here are a few.

Search DillyDally on ebay to find these listings!!

Yummy Cupcakes

2010-05-08T15:00:00.001-06:00

This set isn't listed yet. I made 2 sets, one for purchase and one to keep, because I like it so much!! Aren't those little cupcakes cute??!!

Bow Give-away!!

2010-04-23T21:38:00.002-06:00

Becca's Boutique Bows has a give away going on over at Courageous Mother! Becca's Bows are my FAVORITE!!! I have quite a few here!!! The winner gets 6 basic bows!! Chizzeck it out!! I will be entering! :o)

Give Away At Courageous Mother's Blog

2010-04-14T10:58:00.003-06:00

I have a give away going on over at courageousmother.blogspot.com. It is a matching mommy daughter Spring fringe bracelet set. I just love the color combination of yellows, light lime greens and bright turquoises!! It's super easy to enter- just go to my etsy shop and look around, and post a comment on Courageous Mother about which item in my shop you like best. Make sure she has a way to get ahold of you- either email or through your blog.

Been Busy, Busy, Busy!

2009-11-18T11:43:00.004-07:00

It's been a while since my last post, but here is what I have going on. I have a massive blowout listing up on ebay with 10 of my most popular designs- 6 necklaces, and 4 matching bracelets. You can see the listing here.

New Incarnations of Old Favorites

2009-09-03T16:35:00.002-06:00

I brought back the Mac'n'Cheese and Gummy Bears bracelets that did so well for me on etsy, but this time they are for the Ebay boutique crowd. Check 'em out!!

And a new Halloween necklace for the boys:

FORBELLA Charity Listings

2009-08-12T22:34:00.006-06:00

I have a couple things up for the ForBella launch this week. All of the proceeds go toward this cutie's cancer treatments, so bid 'em high!!

2009-08-04T09:44:00.001-06:00

Here are a couple of gems:

Back to School Sneak

2009-07-22T11:30:00.008-06:00

The crayon necklace is already listed, but the others are all going up for the Boutique MAX launch in a couple of days.

The latest

2009-07-01T14:05:00.005-06:00

Here are my new designs this week. If you like these come on in and see the matching clothing and bows. I heart my ebay friends. :o)

Elfi Marionette

2009-06-12T17:17:00.003-06:00

What can I say? It's an Elfi and a marionette. Enough said!!

Oh So Fancy!!

2009-06-11T13:41:00.004-06:00

I just got 2 F@ncy N@ncy listings up. The first is a pink and purple necklace with the original book as a mini book charm, and the second is a jewelry set with both a necklace and bracelet. It has 3 of the books and a silver and crystal charm. It is made to match a really cute set made by mamigirlboutique.

2009-05-29T14:21:00.004-06:00

This boy's shark necklace is made to match Ewers*Truly's adorable set. I made the charm bracelet for the VendeMia Bird and Bees launch, and the necklace has hand felted beads on it. It is for the Haute Couture for Kids's Annual Runway launch. TOO CUTE!!

Beachy

2009-05-11T09:12:00.005-06:00

These are my latest designs, and I just can't seem to be able to keep the Sea Creatures one in stock (which I LOVE). LOL. It is M2M Euro*girl's adorable Sea Creatures set. With how well this is selling I'm really looking forward to the Fairycakes debut launch that is coming up on Friday. I have 2 fairy totes and a whole bunch of jewelry I'll be listing!!

I just got this flowers jewelry set listed this morning too. We will see how it goes!! :o) The matching outfit is by Piatillys, and it is really cute!!!

New Boutique Group

2009-04-02T23:24:00.004-06:00

I just signed on t o a new boutique group called the Fairycakes. We don't debut until May, but we already have lots of adorable designs in the works!! In the meantime here's a design that is getting lots of attention!!

2009-03-26T11:06:00.004-06:00

This hand painted wooden tote is one ebay right now. I really like how it turned out. The box I made it from is shaped like a book. Kinda clever, huh?

I Heart this one.

2009-03-17T13:54:00.001-06:00

My latest bracelet is one of my favorites. Gotta love Seussy stuff!!

Check THIS Out!!

2009-02-26T15:01:00.004-07:00

I just listed this on ebay this morning. Over the top, isn't it? I got a few raised eyebrows and confused looks when I tried to explain my idea for this tote, but here it is finished, and I love it. :o)

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&Item=130290277159&Category=15629

Still Working

2009-02-24T12:48:00.004-07:00

I'm still selling. I'm still creating. I've got my CPSIA loophole, and I'm going to use it. So, here is a sample of what I've been up to:

I (still) need to get my baby's room decorated, so this is one of a set of paintings I'm working on. I'm making 3 more that will be in Rothko style, but with the print that is on her comforter in the rectangles. We'll see how that goes. :o)

2009-01-22T16:06:00.005-07:00

Join the boutiquers of ebay and etsy before February 10, 2009 and purchase the last of the boutique kids items that will be available to US customers in our last Hoorah!! We are having a launch from January 27th through February 9th to show everyone what this law is taking away. Starting Jan 27th search "Boutique Felony"or click on the link below to see some of the fantastic items that will become illegal on Feb. 10, or search "PiperAlley" to find my items.

http://shop.ebay.com/?_from=R40&_trksid=m38.l1313&_nkw=boutique+felony&_sacat=See-All-Categories

CPSIA- The Gov't Hates Kids (Hey- It worked for Kanye)

2009-01-08T14:52:00.004-07:00

Well, I have been devastatingly worried about potentially having to turn away those of you who like my kids jewelry and totes because of a new law that takes effect Feb. 10. Basically, in August President Bush signed into law H.R. 4040 (written VERY quickly by Congress) which is now called the Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act or CPSIA for short, which is intended to eliminate lead and phthalates from childrens products (awesome), BUT it is written so ridiculously that it will put the majority of boutiquers, thrift stores, consignment shops, small kids shops, etc. out of business because of the extremely strict testing requirements that are to be done on every unique item for those of us who make one-of-a-kind items, and per batch for larger manufacturures. I'm not talking about not being able to pass the tests with flying colors but about not being able to afford the rigourous testing which would cost me at least $300.00 to test each $10.00 bracelet (which would be dissolved in acid during the test). Now does that make any sense at all? The CPSC won't talk to us without treating us like we don't matter. They obviously don't know how big etsy.com has gotten!!! Moms don't like buying things from China anymore, but they're pushing handmade items out of the market so you will HAVE to buy from China. Seriously???!!! I thought there had to be more gray matter up there on Capitol Hill, but obviously I was wrong.

Here are some other articles that can describe this issue better than I can:

The gov't site where you can read the law:
http://www.cpsc.gov/ABOUT/Cpsia/cpsia.HTML

http://www.cafemom.com/journals/read.php?post_id=1320853

http://nationalbankruptcyday.com/

Glen Beck talking about how stupid this law is:
http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/196/19911/

Magritte- Art for the Analytical Mind

2008-11-07T10:16:00.006-07:00

I was never a big fan of his style of painting, but I can certainly respect the thought that goes into this art. Pretty cool, I'd say, especially when you consider the titles. This one is called "The Human Condition." So, what does it mean?

Or consider this one called "The Son of Man." An allusion to the Creation story and its effect on us perhaps?

Pollack vs. Rothko

2008-11-02T23:59:00.006-07:00

So I was having a conversation with a friend who detests Pollack's art but loves Rothko's. So I told him why and was met with an immediate, "GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" I guess that means I was right. Muahaha. I think Pollack is simply about dancing with paint on a stick and seeing what happens, so it's about a lack of structure, and Rothko has a formula- something that you can wrap your brain around. They're both about emotion through color, but one is emotion within reason and the other is just about letting emotion take over. I think that's the kicker- it's hard to just let it all go.

CRAZY BUSY

2008-11-02T23:55:00.003-07:00

I have been TERRIBLE at keeping up with this whole blog thing. My business is keeping me extremely busy and I apologize to those of you who check in only to see that I haven't written anything in MONTHS!!! I'll be better. :)

Alchemy

2008-07-07T08:59:00.012-06:00

Rustygirlwmu,

Here is a picture of
the triptych I can make
for you. It would be oil
on canvas and the
edges are painted so it
doesn't need frames.
If you like my style I can
do something completely
custom to your
specifications if you like.
Let me know!
Sophie

Want to see what else I've been up to?

2008-05-15T09:07:00.005-06:00

I've been making jewelry and selling them on ebay and etsy.com. My etsy store is sophiesbeads.etsy.com. I have my best stuff there. It's a new and fun way to use my artistic talent. I'm using my hands to sculpt, which I have always enjoyed, but this site is still going to primarily show my paintings.

Almost done

2008-05-15T09:03:00.002-06:00

Last night I finished up the Eiffel Tower painting. Now I just need to paint the edges of the canvas and let it all dry. My guess is it will probably take up to 3 weeks to get completely dry.

Getting closer

2008-05-11T14:28:00.004-06:00

I was able to get more of the Eiffel Tower painting done today. Here it is. It is more detailed than the cityscape painting, but keep in mind it is on a large canvas, so it looks more detailed than it really is. This picture is only a fraction of the actual size. Click on the picture to see it better.

Ready to finish

2008-05-03T19:38:00.002-06:00

The Eiffel Tower painting's background is finally dry, so it's ready to get finished. Once it is, though, it will take a couple weeks to dry again. Black seems to be the color that takes the most time to dry. Hopefully I'll have it ready to post a picture in the next couple days.

Progress

2008-04-16T21:52:00.003-06:00

I started painting the Eiffel Tower painting and I am loving the colors! I'm going to let it dry before I start painting the tower itself. That way it'll have a more dry-brush look to it like on the bridge in the cityscape painting. The second picture is a closer up view to show the brush-strokes. I am being really impatient about getting the tower on there. I keep having to remind myself that it'll look better if I wait.

New Eiffel Tower Sketch

2008-04-14T10:27:00.003-06:00

This is the new sketch for the Eiffel Tower painting. Over the next couple days I'll have it out where I can see it often so that I can identify the mistakes and adjust the lines until I feel I have it ready to paint. What do you think Matt & Cierra?

(Very) Preliminary Sketch

2008-04-04T16:19:00.006-06:00

So this is the pencil sketch of the Eiffel Tower, just to get the placement right. Architecture can be tricky because the perspective and proportions need to be perfect or it just won't look right. One thing I noticed is that my new computer monitor is wide-screened, so it is stretching everything horizontally by about 18%. Looking at the picture Matt and Cierra posted on my monitor it looked great, but when I printed it out it looked wrong to me. It seemed to be too skinny, like someone had skewed it to make it look taller. Basically, I am working off of the way it looks to me on my wide-screen monitor because I think it looks better, like you're actually there under the Eiffel Tower. That will mean, though, that if you have a wide-screen monitor the picture might look too wide. So the first picture is for you if you have a normal screen and the second one is for a widescreen. What do you think, Cierra? Would you like it to be taller and skinnier? If so would a 24x36 be too large?

Eiffel Tower for Matt & Cierra

2008-04-01T22:42:00.008-06:00

I'm going to be doing a painting for Matt and Cierra of the Eiffel Tower in the style of this green cityscape painting. The plan is to do the background some shade of green, and I think it would look good to have the green be a fade rather than a flat color, almost like in a photo but more stylized, of course. Cierra, I think a 22"x28" or a 24"x30" would be a good size,

but then again I haven't been in the room you're putting it in, so what do you think?

Influences Discussion

2008-03-05T07:58:00.012-07:00

In the Pollackesque comments KP and I have been talking about my favorite artists. One whose work I absolutely love is Kandinsky. Here are a few of his works. To see more look him up in Google and you'll find a large number of his works with the Google pics. Kandinsky's work, as with any great art, changed over time. I think he was a master of color and composition with his art falling into ALMOST the full spectrum of abstraction (but not quite as abstract as Pollock.) The painting in the sidebar is about as close to Pollock as Kandinsky gets, KP, and that's why I insist you take a look at more of his work. You don't get a "my little brother could..." from it. The painting that first got me interested in Kandinsky was the circles one I have posted here. I'm not completely sure why it sucks me into it, but I love it. I think maybe my mind is trying to work the abstraction backwards to see it as bubbles, planets in orbit, dust on my eye's surface, something more tangible.

The other artist KP asked me to elaborate on is Matisse. I don't love every one of his paintings like Van Gogh's, Monet's or Kandinsky's, but his use of color is almost overwhelming, which fascinates me. It goes right to that edge then pulls back. There's so much bright color and I think he must have influenced Rothko's ideas about color and emotion because his colors are so in-your-face that you can't help but feel something. My first reaction to Matisse's work and Fauvism, the movement he was part of, was dislike. I thought it was too busy and jumped out at me too much, but I like the crazy colors now because I think I understand them better now. For example, the painting on the right uses a lot of bright colors but they are balanced out by the rectangle of black and white on the side so that the color is a lot to look at, but not so much that you have to look away. In the one on the right the greens and pink in the corners make the other colors pop and keep your eyes on the center of the piece, the woman.
Does this help?

Work in Progress

2008-02-27T15:39:00.003-07:00

I had a request for pictures of a painting as I work on it step by step. Here is a short slide show of my most recent painting showing it in progress in 3 steps.

Rothko, in response

2008-02-27T09:54:00.003-07:00

KP, yes, that frame is for the small blossoms painting. In response to your questions, I don't have anything planned yet for the large canvases, but having access to them gives me more options, and if anyone wants some really large art I can now accommodate. I've got to say I was really excited to see them!! About your Rothko question, he did indeed use really big canvases for his most famous work, like 10 feet tall. I found a good video on YouTube about Rothko, and at 5 min into it you can see the canvas sizes.

Canvases

2008-02-25T12:48:00.003-07:00

I now have access to some huge canvases. The largest is about 48"x60" and 2"deep. At some point I would like to get all of the equipment to stretch my own canvases , and then I could make them as large or small as I want, but for now I have to go with the pre-made canvases. KP, I have a barn-wood frame to go with your painting we talked about.

Pollock-esque

2008-02-23T11:44:00.003-07:00

Okay, so this is my Pollock-esque painting. I did it more for kicks than anything else. It's fun to experiment and see what you can do, right? So what do you think? Is it art or does it just look like a piece of a house painter's coveralls? I think I would like it better if I did a set of them each with different colors to be displayed as a triptych.

Splatter

2008-02-21T21:13:00.001-07:00

I wanted to see what it would look like if I just dumped the paint onto the canvas. I meant to hang this in my tv room, but I don't think it works there, so I'd be willing to sell it. It is 24"x36".

Starting up

2008-02-21T17:15:00.003-07:00

Starting this blog has been on my mind for a while now, and it's finally started. Its purpose is to be a place for discussion, sharing of ideas and, well frankly, if you see something you like and would like to buy or want to commission me to paint you something then that would be great too.