T R Gates Art

One of the programs I use for my digital art is Corel Painter. This past December I decided it was time to upgrade from version X to 12. Ok, not so much as decided as had to since my Painter X was destroyed in a flood. I chose the right time since the program was on deep sale.

I can say that so far I'm definitely not disappointed in version 12. 

That's not to say that Painter X was bad. Just look at this painting I created on it in 2008.

Magical Moonlight by Tracey R Gates

Sharing with a Friend

After a hiatus that ended up being much longer than expected, I'm returning to my love of creating art. So, look for more artsy blogs to continue.

I've also decided to enter my art in a few contests. One of which is being hosted by Thalo Magazine  through Facebook. Winner gets their art on the cover of their magazine, $250 cash and $250 in artist supplies.

The entering period is over. Now we're onto the second phase: Public voting. Third phase will be voted on by a panel of judges.

I've entered the painting at the top of this post, entitled, "Sharing with a Friend". It's of a fairy sitting on a mushroom and sharing a sunflower seed with a curious black capped chickadee. 
To vote for it go to http://apps.facebook.com/promotionshq/contests/180443/voteable_entries/41269713 . You can vote once daily until January 31, 2012.

Thank you to all who vote. And don't forget to check out Thalo Magazine for artist tips, articles, and job listings.

On Christmas 2010, I finally joined the e-reader evolution. After realizing we didn't have any more room for my book obsession (and a proper nudge from me), my husband bought me a 3rd generation Kindle with a 6" screen.

I love it!

But I didn't want it scratched, or dropped, or ruined in any way. So, I looked for a Kindle cover at our local stores. Big disappointment. The covers were made of either flimsy plastic, or badly sewn, or zippered too tightly. All of which were priced high ($40 or more for crappy material). Except for the zippered one, the rest of the covers had no belt, buckle, snap, magnet, or anything else to keep the cover closed with the Kindle inside. Online covers were better. Most mass produced, or sold out.

Being crafty and liking handmade better, I decided to make my own. My first attempt:

 Dark green leather with a black green leather on the inside. This has elastic on the inside to hold the Kindle in place, padded interior, and a belt/buckle closure. All of this was hand sewn. This one is mine, of course!

I've made a few more on request, but didn't get photos before they went off to their new owners. One was a nice metallic teal with a black spine. But here are a couple more I've made. Both of which will be soon available at my Etsy shop at http://pixieled.etsy.com.

 
I'm experimenting with journal making. This one is made from dyed 9/10 oz veg. tanned leather with a thin lining.

I used a Craftaid stencil for this one, carving and stamping in the dragon. Then dying, painting and sealing the design. The hinges were made with antiqued concho screws and dyed green veg. tanned leather.

The over all size is 6" x 9" with a 5 1/2" x 7 1/2" blank writing area. All of which is tied together with a suede lace, which can be untied to add more paper. 

I'm back after a long hiatus. So many things happening around here since last I posted. Among them, we were able to send our oldest daughter to Europe for the American Music Abroad program, I gained a new son (in-law) and am about to become a grandma around my birthday this year. Wow! How time flies!


As for crafting, I've found a passion for leather crafting. I made my husband a hand carved belt for Christmas and my oldest daughter a leather journal with a photo of her and her husband on each lined page. They were big hits. I'll show photos later.


Today, I posted new earrings on my Etsy site. I found an adorable solution to the left over leather scraps that were piling up.

Cute, huh? Made from vegetable tanned leather, of which I molded and hand painted to resemble real tiger, stargazer and white lilies and added wire and seed beads to make them more realistic looking. They come in 1/2" and 3/4" diameter sizes.


Here's an example of how they look in different sizes.







I'm selling them at $23  (+ shipping) for the 1/2" earrings and $25 (+ shipping) for the 3/4" earrings. These are pierced earrings, but I can make the 3/4" as clip-ons upon request. Just "convo" me at http://pixieled.etsy.com

Trace

I decided to spend some of my birthday money on professional illustration board in order to test it with watercolors. I bought 5 sheets of Strathmore 500 lightweight illustration board and 5 sheets of Canon 300 illustration board.

I have to say I love the Strathmore. It has a nice feel, doesn't warp, and took the paint and techniques I use well. The Canon was ok. It's thicker than the other, harder to cut on my paper cutter, took colors well, but not great for watercolors. At least if I plan to do any of the rougher techniques. The paper peeled as I was trying to remove some color. It'll be fine for drawings and acrylic though.

The two bird paintings in this post were created on the Strathmore.

This is one of many new trading card sized paintings I'll be doing with the subject, Wildlife in My Backyard. I tried to bring out the details of the gold markings of this dazzling bird. Similar to the few that build a nest over our back door every Spring.

The original painting is up for sale HERE for a limited time.

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