"Keep Your Eye on the Ball" SOLD

"Keep Your Eye on the Ball"

8 x 8in oil on museum quality panel

$400

Eddie says I don't look near as old upside down.

I think he may actually have a good point. 

 Gravity does have a way of doing it's work

but I am not sharing that tidbit with Mr. Ed.

I simply told him that all black and white cats will eventually go gray---where else did he think that gray cats come from??

Let Mr. Hot Stuff ponder on that one;))

In Other News:

For those of you interested, the 2013 Calendars are coming!  I will be posting a link shortly to pre-order for delivery by Christmas (I only order a limited amount, so ordering early is a good idea:)

To Subscribe to Dreama's Art , Click Here:))

Art, Humor and Inspiration--In Your Inbox!

Pin It

"Chillaxin'" SOLD

"Chillaxin'"

12 x 12in oil on museum quality panel

$600

If you need tips on how to relax, Eddie's your man.

He prides himself on having achieved the Grand Master status;))

His pointers include:

1. Which time of the day is best for "chillaxing"
2. How to select the right place for this activity
3. What to do if someone interrupts the "chillaxing"

I saw his notes and figured I would save you the time involved in emailing him for his tips--

be prepared to be underwhelmed....

1. Which time of day is best?  Morning, noon, evening---not night--that time is reserved for prowling around the house and annoying those who have been working morning, noon and evening.
2. How to select the right place for this activity?  Measure carefully which areas of the home are used and needed most frequently.  Laser printers, sinks, and beds with the today's outfit spread out on it are all excellent choices.
3. What to do if someone interrupts the "chillaxing"?  Begin with a huge yawn, then get up like you are going to leave but instead reposition your body and begin vigorously grooming yourself to help "carpet" the place you are in.  If all else fails, fake coughing up a fur ball.  Works every time.

Remember, this is why we are friends. It's my job to spare you from people like Eddie;))

P.S.  Eddie has been saying that he wants a virus. 

I think what he means is he wants to go viral.  Share this post, help a friend---a happy Eddie means I can  get some work done today while he's checking his stats;))

To Subscribe to Dreama's Art , Click Here:))

Art, Humor and Inspiration--In Your Inbox!

Pin It

"Purrfection" SOLD

"Purrfection"

8 x 8in oil on museum quality panel

$400

You have heard, "never look a gift horse in the mouth".

I have a new one for you.

Never ask Eddie to help name your painting.

Especially if it's one of him;)

In Other News:

My trip to Italy is looming large!  I will be flying out Saturday, complete with paints, lap top and no Eds.  Yee--haw!  Twelve Ed(s)-Free days.  All I can say is....POOR PHYLLIS.  You might want to drop her some cheese in the mail--I think there may be some emotional eating happening in my absence....

Like any good tourist, I will be mailing postcards. 

Like any self-respecting artiste' they will be hand-painted;))

If you like the sounds of that and think you would like to receive one, then plan on stopping by each day to share some pasta and lemoncello with me and leave a comment.  

Or if you really like the idea and want to makes sure you don't miss a day of the fun...be sure and subscribe by clicking here:))

And for the week ahead--JuNk drAWer FriDAy will be back on ....this Friday:))  

If you like it you can share it, pin it, Facebook it.  

If you hate it you can email it to those who annoy you most. 

It's an equal opportunity post;))

P.S. If you'd like to paint with me, you can check my workshops by clicking here:)

To Subscribe to Dreama's Art , Click Here:))

Art, Humor and Inspiration--In Your Inbox!

Pin It

"Help Wanted" SOLD

"Help Wanted"

12 x 12in oil on museum quality panel

$600

Well, if you wondered how long the "getting in touch with his feminine side" would last, let your wonderment stop here.

Eddie has taken to just cramming the flowers in anything, willy-nilly, and then calls for Phyllis to help "tweet" it.  

I think he means tweak it, but.... does it really matter??

One giant sunflower.

One very small mouse.

Help Wanted.

Please Note:  This is No.24 in the "Eddie and Phyllis" Series.  To view others in this series, click here:))

P.S.  Just out--"Letters from Dreama", my monthly newsletter.  If you missed it you can catch it by clicking here:)!

P.S.S. Stay in the loop.  Original watercolor postcards painted while I am in Italy will be given away daily here on my blog--and mailed to the winner from Italy!

Make sure you subscribe below:)) The fun starts next week!!!

   

To Subscribe to Dreama's Art , Click Here:))

Art, Humor and Inspiration--In Your Inbox!

Pin It

"The Softer Side of Ed" SOLD

"The Softer Side of Ed"

12 x 12in oil on museum quality panel

$600

Well, no one is more surprised than me. 

 Eddie Bill has taken up flower arranging.

Says he wants to "get in touch" with his feminine side....

Say What??

My personal thoughts on this?

Well, it could be a legitimate interest.  

He always has had an uncanny ability to show up at just the wrong right time when a still life is being arranged to paint from, poking his nose in the flowers and chewing on errant rose buds.

I could almost, almost buy into it.

Except  for one nagging detail.

Phyllis has been packing in books and magazines left and right, all with tips on how to reduce stress.

Me thinks Eddie Pierre may be the real reason behind Eddie Bill's sudden interest in floral arranging.
What with flying tail attacks, being pounced on while sleeping and an ongoing shortage of  favorite food due to someone's growing appetite...Big Ed is feeling the heat.

All I have to say is .....

Welcome to my world Ed, welcome to my world;)

Wanna come paint with me?  You can check my workshop schedule by clicking here:))

To Subscribe to Dreama's Art , Click Here:))

Art, Humor and Inspiration--In Your Inbox!

Pin It

"Heaven S(c)ent" SOLD

"Heaven S(c)ent"

8 x 8in oil on museum quality panel

$350

As much as I kvetch about the little guy, truth is....when he strikes a pose like this...he kind of squeezes my heart:))

We RELISH so many of the same things--

a good nap 

sunshine 

and the absolutely DIVINE scent of real, old fashioned roses.  

The scent of a rose plus one furry gentleman named Eddie, both, on a day like to day, are s(c)ent from heaven:)!

In Other News:

With angels at my window

And a great place to sit and think

it becomes pretty apparent that it's going to be a great workshop in Cary, NC:))

Cary, NC Oil Painting Workshop begins Monday at  Chambers Arts!

I'll keep you posted on the details of meeting 18 wonderful artists Mon-Wed and then a second set of 18 amazing painters Fri-Sun.  A wonderful week of art in the making!!

P.S. For obvious reasons, please do not share this post with Eddie. 

A little power in the in the wrong paws can be a dangerous thing.  

Selah.

(pause and calmly think on that:)

2013 Workshop Schedule/Click Here

Pin It

"Extra! Extra! Read All About It!!"

Some folks wonder why I travel such great distances to teach.  Leaving home and hearth for days on end, on the road, sleeping in strange beds, hanging out in airports all alone---when I could in fact just teach local and let folks travel to me.

 Obviously........they haven''t met Eddie.

 Teaching away is how I how I manage to hang onto what bit of sanity I have left after living with the likes of Eddie Bill.

As if there wasn't an ample amount of bad attitude to go around, the "Eddie Pierre/who's yo daddy" debate did not enhance  Eddie's winning disposition....can you say multiple hissy fits?

But finally, in late breaking news today

So I may have just been dumped from the frying pan into the fire.  Eddie Pierre is coming to Paris-- to live with Eddie Bill---for the summer??
And Eddie Bill is going to tutor young Eddie Pierre???  Mentor him in how to be a stud muffin??
Badboy 101?  Show him the ropes?


Egads!!!  Early reports of Eddie Pierre are disconcerting to say the least.  He's the largest in the family of six and is already eating out of the big cat bowl, ordering others around and generally acting like a know it all.

And I don't care what the papers say---he not only looks like Eddie Bill---he ACTS like him

Eddie Pierre

Eddie Bill

I know...hard to tell them apart.  I think I'm gonna have to file for cat support.  

I don't see any other way around it.  

In Other News:

Eddie is working  on his first feature film.  Catman and Robin.

Here he is in costume...

I'm sorta afraid to ask who's playing Robin...

Yeah, like I said--- Folks wonder why I travel out to paint so much.

Obviously

 they haven't met Eddie.

Live in Antartica? Want me to come and teach?

No problem.

A girl does what a girl's gotta do.

Pin It

"Pink, White and Ed" SOLD

"Pink, White and Ed"

8 x 8in oil on museum quality panel

$350

Bad boy Ed has been quite contemplative of late.  

One could almost think it is the softer, more mellow side of Ed.  

Almost.

There's the  unfinished business of one Eddie Pierre

part  Parisian, part Kentuckian, 

half a moustache

Full Blooded Trouble

Contemplative and plotting can look pretty similar

....kind of like Eddie Bill and Eddie Pierre.

The plot thinnens......

P.S.  My Nashville Workshop is in full swing at the Nossi College of Art and Design:))  Beautiful art accumulating as we speak:))!
P.S.S.  Any American Pickers fans out there??  I am gonna do my best to visit their store while I am here in Music City:))  Stay Tuned!

Pin It

"Free Eddie" SOLD

"Free Eddie"

12 x 12in oil on museum quality panel

Auction Style Format

Fund Raiser (Click to Bid) for PAWS Animal Shelter 

Go big or go home.
That is all I have heard from Eddie this week.
I was going to do my usual 8 x 8in size of him for the fund raiser but
one would think this was his idea by the way he's been acting and not from the mind of Phyllis to save his furry butt from Santa's wrath.

Never mind the "Fine Print" attitude we all endured when he signed away his modeling fees--now that he is getting all the glory for "helping the little people"--- he has been flaunting his fur around the house for days, padding back and forth, trying out different "staging" scenarios for the portrait.  And slinging out the go big or go home mantra.

When I informed him I was bigger than him and I was already home.....he intimated that he had been having digestive problems of late and that a hair ball or two might just turn up somewhere really unpleasant.

What can I say...I caved.

So there you have it. 
A 12 x 12 of Eddie the Cat, free of modeling fees and hairballs. 
Hence the title, Free Eddie

The auction will go for 7 days and ends on Valentine's Day at 9 PM EST.  All proceeds from the auction style sale will be donated to the Paris Animal Shelter (P.A.W.S.)

Please Note:  It is worth mentioning that Eddie himself was adopted from an animal shelter (click here for story) .  Please know that like most TV weight loss commercials, Eddie does not represent typical results....THANK GOODNESS:)))  There are wonderful animals adopted out every day from shelters everywhere and this money will help keep that act of love in motion:))

Click to Bid Pin It

"Eddie's Chair" SOLD

"Eddie's Chair"

12 x 12in oil on museum quality panel

$550

Eddie is a cat of many possessions.  Most have been purchased by me and discarded by him.  

It seems to be based loosely on how much I am hoping he will like it.

There was the sheepskin rug that he fairly levitated over when I tried to place him on it.

Discarded.

Then there was the $50 drinking fountain for cats with a filter because he wouldn't drink out of his water bowl.

Discarded.

 (He's been known to take a sip or two from a commode, but heaven forbid he drink from a filtered fountain....)

And of course I had to get him the motorized mouse with spinning fish on a line.

Discarded.

I could go on, but you get the drift.

Thankfully, I never intended for him to use the above chair.

I just needed an excuse to buy a  chair in periwinkle blue.

So I told myself, "This is for Eddie!"

I was so pleased when he, of course, said "No."

The geraniums love it:)))

P.S.  Confession.  I am pretty much crazy about Caribbean blue, the color by Old Holland oil paints.

I have a problem, I admit.
I fear now I have spread it to other unsuspecting artists by talking it up in my store, at my workshops,  AND the 12 Step Oil Painters Anonymous group that I belong to.
I went online to Dick Blick to get my fix and look at what I found.

I fear I may have single-handedly cause a shortage.

I feel bad, but I think I can make it.

I have two tubes to last 'til Feb 13

If you see any painters out panhandling with a sign on their neck that says

"Will work for Caribbean Blue"  just look away.

It's an ugly world we live in.....

:))

Pin It

"Don't Think Outside the Box"

We all have boxes.  Boxes can be useful, as demonstrated here by Eddie.

As we grow, our boxes stay with us, but usually don't grow.

Eddie demonstrates the big thing in a little box problem 

I don't know about you, but my thinking becomes constrained in this box style of living.  I keep trying to make ideas work inside the box that I have been living (and growing) in.  Without even realizing that I am doing it, I try to take new inspirations and cram them into old school thinking---and for reasons as obvious as Eddie's over sized butt trying to situate itself in that little black box, it doesn't work too well.

I came across a new idea that I fell in love with and wanted to share with you, pertaining to, of course, THE BOX.

What we need is a complete revolution.  Not just a timid move of "thinking outside the box"--heck, that's for pussies (sorry Ed) 

How about, 

you and I, 

GET RID OF THE DANG BOX!

Now THAT'S an idea we can live and grow with:))))

                          Eddie demonstrates the JOY of a boxless existence....

Please Note:  Boxed thinking is so familiar, we may not realize we are inhibiting our own dreams with this.  What boxes do you have on your shelf?

Mine have included the

1) I am too old and started way to late box

2) People expect me to do this and will be disappointed if I don't box

3) My religion would never approve of this box

4) My idea is different than everyone else's, therefore it MUST be wrong box

5) This is too easy and feels way to natural so it must be wrong since it isn't grueling hard box

Well, garbage day is Wednesday around here.  If you happen to be in the neighborhood don't be surprised if you see  the lid on my "Herbie" flopping in the breeze due to all the boxes spilling out of it.

A box free life.

Yeah, that's what I'm talkin' about:))))))

News Just In--Two spots have  opened up in my March workshop at Whidbey Island, WA.  If you have been thinking you wanna come paint with me---this is the perfect time--I am full up in my workshops for 2012 with the exception of two spots in Jacksonville, FL in Oct.  For more info, just click here!

Pin It

"A Little Bit of Paris in France?"

"Tranquility"

18 x 18in oil on museum quality panel

SOLD

As much as I love painting France and Italy--it's especially sweet when one leaves here to head to France:))  

Only the painting is on its way there.  

Me?  I'm stuck here with you know who.

"You Know Who"

Thankfully, I have a whole slew of artists coming to paint with me Thursday at my Lexington, Kentucky workshop which means 

I need one of you to catsit Eddie.

Wow!  Did I hear someone volunteer???

Darn, I guess those voices really are just all in my head....

I have finished putting together my 2012 calender.  Eddie is disgruntled because he didn't make it as the centerfold:)) 

Colors of the Heart 2012 Calender/ $24.95 plus S/H

I may have to do one of just him but I haven't decided.  He is such a brat and his agent is extremely tough to negotiate with, so the jury is still out on it.

In other news, the digital version of The Artist's Toolbox is  ready to be released--with just a click you can have instant access to all the good info inside.  It is a book written expressly for those of you who are just beginning to think about marketing your art and not quite sure where to start or what to do first--and perhaps the most important ingredient--:)) lots of motivation included to get you moving:))   I have pared down the vast array of information out there to what I have found to be the most direct, simple way to get started.

It's priced right at just under twenty bucks:))  Look for it this week on this blog:))

  My last workshop of 2011 is almost here--and that is hard to believe! 

I'm already dreaming of 2012 and what I can get into for my workshops:)))

Lot's of opportunities to meet great people

Lot's of opportunity to let Phyllis manage Eddie on her own.

Life is good:)) 

View Dreama's Workshops of 2012
Shop Dreama's Art Supply Store
See Available Paintings Pin It

"To All the Cats Ed's Loved Before" SOLD

"To All the Cats Ed's Loved Before"

8 x 8in oil on museum quality panel

$350

Eddie has been singing all day.  I probably should just stop there and let you ponder on that for a bit.

But then you need the lyrics to get the full effect.

"To all the Cats I've loved before"

Guess what comes  with a cat who has had several lives??  A lot of past cats to sing about. 
Then there's the problem of   Eddie's voice.....

He ain't no Julio  Iglesias

Anyhoo, he was so full of himself,  belting out his tune, I figured I might as well capture him at his romantic best (?)

Eddie has offered to send a tape of himself singing to the purchaser of this painting.
I have declined the offer for you to save the experience of that awkward moment.....

Please Note:  This is No. 10 in the "Catalicious Series".  To see the rest of the collection, click here.

In Other News:
I often get questions about what books I can recommend, what brushes I like to use and even what music  I like to listen to when I paint. 
So I decided to create a little store with some of my favorite studio things in it.  You can have a peek by clicking here:)) Pin It

"Gated Beauty" SOLD

"Gated Beauty"

8 x 8in oil on museum quality panel

$350

 Roses showing bare restraint, corralled but not hidden, by gates of blue and buildings old.

Perhaps more impacting because we didn't expect to find them,

 in this place,

on that street,

by the tumbled down house,

on an absented farm. 

Isn't that precisely the beauty of the journey,

The not knowing what hidden delights lie ahead,

down any old road we happen to find ourselves on:) 

(Course it never hurts when the road is in France.....)!

 

And in other news--out of all the winners reading this (yes, I'm talkin' to you) there are three winners whose names have been drawn to receive their choice of one of my books. 

Emails have been sent out---better check your mail:))

Eddie and I are so excited we can scarcely stand it!

Eddie says if you didn't win, not to worry.

It's the yin and yang of life...

P.S.  sometimes Eddie worries me. 

 P.S.S.actually most times Eddie worries me.

Pin It

"Everybody Dance--It's Friday!!"

Sometimes

You Just Need to Cut Loose

 And Dance!

And if you can't dance, at least watch someone who knows how.

And no,

I don't mean Eddie:))

(Even though he owns a grass skirt

And thinks he belongs in the black and white movies)

Be prepared to be highly entertained:)))))))))))

If the video is not showing in this post, just click here!

today, love the life you've been given:))

Pin It