Vancouver and boys and classes!

A few days ago the boys and I went to Vancouver so we could spend a few days with my hubby who is working out of atown a lot these days....and I admit I am having a hard time adjusting to running the show by myself!! I totally give my hat off to single mom's...I don't know how you do it every day! I am sure looking forward to him coming home this weekend as I am pooped! Between school, and soccer, and work, and cleaning, and more soccer.

Anyways, enough whinning I suppose. I thought I would share a few pictures of the boys I took while we were away. These are mostly to benefit the grandparents I suppose, but here ya go mom & Dad (and Uncle Russ and Grandma!)







They're getting awfully BIG aren't they!!

Another cool thing I wanted to share was the new online class that starts May 5th called House Full of Junk. Here is a photo followed and a description of it:

When you are looking for inspiration for making one-of-a-kind art, look no further than your own house!! You will be amazed by the amount of treasures (also known as JUNK!) you have been saving in drawers, basements, jewellery boxes, cabinets, and the kids' play room. I bet you have some great treasures hidden away, so this workshop will give you a unique opportunity to incorporate some of your treasures into a fabulous work of art>PS. You can always let friends and family know what you may be looking for...but careful about being too vague or you may end up with something totally unexpected!
Skill Level: All levelsTime requirement: 4-6 hours
Week 1: Pocket full of junkWeek 2: Layered in ColorWeek 3: Upstairs & DownstairsWeek 4: Stuck in the PastWeek 5: Finishing Touches
Class Fee: $55.00

Save your spot NOW!



Oh...and be sure to check out the BEST SUMMER SCHOOL EVER....can it get any better??

Believer of Impossible Dreams...

I almost forgot to share this with you, but here is another new piece I made this week:


This piece is called Believer of Impossible Dreams and it is available for purchase here

This weekend we made a surprise trip to Vancouver to be with my hubby who has been working down all week...and tomorrow morning he is off to Texas for another week away. Yes, the kids skipped school on Friday to make the 6+ hour drive. Yes, they missed soccer practice (but it was 14F there this morning, so I don't think I would have sent them anyways!! Brrrr!!) Yes, we went to the Vancouver Aquarium all morning, and then out to lunch, a quick trip to Pottery Barn (for me....sigh!), and then to a huge bookstore where I could have spent hours looking through all the cook books!! Tonight we are off to my brother-in-law's place for supper and then back to the hotel to watch a movie with the kids.

Tomorrow...the long drive back north. Yuck!

It has been interesting seeing what the kids remember about living here. It has been almost three years that we have been up north. Adam (who was only 2 1/2 when we left) wants to remember the stuff his brothers talk about....but it was all new to him! Jonah remembers weird stuff like where the gift shop was at the aquarium, and Jakob remembers lots of stuff. It was nice doing stuff without a stroller...so glad to be over that stage of our life!! lol Also more fun to have them all super-interested in everything we saw (except at Pottery Barn of course! lol)

Anyways, must go wake the hubby up from his nap.

Later!

Something to share!

I was cruising around on Amazon yesterday and was tickled to see this .

It is the first time I have seen it in print....I actually have not even gotten the proof back from the publisher yet!! Anyways, you can pre-order it now either through Amazon or directly with the publisher. I is hard to think of 2009 right now as I am still trying to get through the winter of 2007/08!!

Speaking of winter, can you believe that yesterday morning I woke up to 2" of snow and then by the afternoon my boys went to soccer practice?? Strange weather in these parts right now and I tell you...I can't WAIT for spring to come for good!

Yesterday was a sad day....one of my kitties met a sudden end to his life. He was only coming up on his third birthday this weekend, but he had lots of kidney/bladder prolems so we ended up having to put him down after his bladder ruptured due to a blockage. It all happened so fast and the boys and I are in shock. Jonah was worried he might forget what Teddy looked like, so we printed out a picture from the computer to hang on the fridge. Last night at bedtime, it broke my heart to see Jonah standing with his head rested on the picture as he was "petting the cat". Man...it still brings tears to my eyes to think of how sad he (and me!) is about the loss.

As a distraction today, I also did some housekeeping on the ADOW network .

I am pleased that I finally figured some stuff out there to customize the pages, so be sure to check it out.

Oh....gotta run and take Adam to swimming lesson. TTFN!

In the Secret Place

Last night I finished the piece that I was working on....what do you think of her??

I love how this piece came together....everything from her face, the background, her dress....and the cool tree/window/door thing that ties it all together. If only ALL of my pieces worked out this well!! Yes, I admit I do have some bombs from time to time....which promptly get painted over as quickly as possible!

Be sure to click on the image to see a larger picture and all the yummy details!!

In the Secret Place is available for purchase here

Family night in the studio....

Last night was family night at our house. We try to do this as often as we can, and for last night the biys decided to come in the studio and "do art" with me. As I stood at my easel and worked on this:

Jakob was literally at my feet doing this:

and Jonah was at the table doing this:

I love it when the kids are busy creating at the same time as me. It is a much easier way to share about our day as we individually (yet together) are happily creating something we enjoy. Communication seems to flow so easily when we work this way!!

I am also a HUGE believer in letting kids use REAL art supplies....not just the crappy stuff usually designated for kids. Poor art materials result in a poor art experience in my mind. Jakob loves the creamy consistency of my Holbien oil pastels over any ol' junky ones that come in a kid's art set (believe me....we have been given some of those and they usually end up in the trash or passed on to Salvation Army!!) Jonah has just started painting and loves the feeling of working on a canvas. I will admit I buy the ones from the dollar store (heck...I use them myself!!) because of the volume of them we are using right now as he learnes to work on them.

Anyways, here's to family night in the studio. :0)

Karyn

PS....I shoudl mention that Adam toally kicked his Dad's butt on Wii sports tonight!! Way to go Adam!!

I think I'm on a roll now....

Well, after taking a few months away from the studio (a much need break I must say) I think I am finally getting on a roll again. My husband just shakes his head and goes to bed when I get like this....I work into the wee hours of the night sometimes when the bug bites me!! Here is what I came up with last night while he was snoring:




AmaZing Grace

10 x 10 mixed media canvas

available here














SaVed By Grace

9 x 12 mixed media canvas

available here

Daily Blessings

Here is today's work of art called Daily BLessings. I am really enjoying working on these new pieces....in fact....I am going to go make another one right now!!

This one is available here in my etsy shoppe.