Artfire Collections: Oct 29-31

• "Give Thanks....Happy Thanksgiving", curated by bayahta, includes Wild Turkey. Of course!
• "Autumnal Dreams", curated by ViridianMuse includes Red Squirrel
• "Cheetah Frenzie", curated by BackyardWildlifeHabitats includes of course, Cheetah, and lots of other cheetah themed items.
• "Magical black cats", curated by studiostitches includes Black Leopard. One interesting thing about this black leopard is that spots are faintly visible through the black coat. 

Ground Beetles Airbrush Painting

One day when I was running on the logging roads near home, I spotted some beetles in a nice uneven circle eating something which looked like the remains of a banana slug. Scattered under them were old redwood branchlets of a lovely orange hue. I snapped the photo with my little camera carried in my running pack. That was a few years ago; a few days ago I remembered the photo and decided to recreate it as a painting done with airbrush. It's about 5 by 7 inches.

I don't carve any beetles, in fact my Artfire studio is sadly lacking in insects. I do have a couple of butterflies (Monarch, Acmon Blue, and Blue) and also related to this painting have a Banana Slug.

More AF Collections! Oct. 25-26

• "It's On Sale!", curated by NightSkyJewelry includes my Koala. I have a few discontinued designs in my studio they're in the On Sale section for $30 each.
• "Rich Earth Tones", curated by AnnyMay includes my Brown Pelican.
• "Riverside Art", curated by popnicute includes my River Otter. I also make a sea otter on her back with a baby on her belly.
• "Fabulous Frogs", curated by TieDyedMonkeys includes Red-legged Frog. There are a bunch of frogs in my studio.
• "Fun Things", curated by HandmadebySheri includes Snow Leopard, one of several wild felines which I carve.
• "More Gifts For Him", curated by MoonlightEternal includes Stream of Consciousness, my Grizzly Bear and Fish sculpture. 
• "Friendly Feathered Flightless Friends", curated by ModernSpin includes my sculpture King Penguin and Chick.

Overlapping Fawns Airbrush Painting

Another airbrush painting, this one is about 5 x 7. There is still a lot to learn about painting a scene like this with the airbrush. It was interesting to overlap the fawns. Is it one fawn at two different times? A friend said it reminded her of the way deer will be eating, then hear something and suddenly look up. What do you think?

I overworked this a little too much, and am thinking of trying it again.

In my Artfire studio I don't have any fawns, but do have Buck Deer Wood Carving and Doe deer wood carvings.

Artfire Collections: Oct 20-23

Turkeys seem to be popular in Artfire Collections these autumn days! 

There are a lot of these this time, so I haven't included all the photos. But the links on the animal names will lead you so a whole series of photos of each animal. The link on the name of each Collection, goes to that collection of 12 items from different studios.

• "Back Home...", curated by AppelJarVintage "These things seem so comforting." (Wild Turkey)
• "The Wise ol' Owl", curated by OsuCowgirl "Owls have made a comeback in recent weeks. What a beautiful collection of owl items." (Barn Owl)
• "Give Thanks", curated by SunshineSight "enjoy!" (Wild Turkey)
• "Spiders and Snakes", curated by WindysDesigns (Rattlesnake)
• "American Wildlife", curated by ManateeDreams (Wild Turkey)
• "Give 'em the Bird", curated by ChristyBeckwithStudios (Mockingbird)
• "OH DEER", curated by LULUSCLOSET (Doe Deer)
• "Science Geekery", curated by ShadowDogDesigns (Ivory-billed Woodpecker)
• "Fossils", curated by BadgerBeads (Trilobite)
• "Bear With Me!", curated by ViragoCreations (Bear and Fish)
• "Gone FISHING!!", curated by KeriMae (Red Snapper on sale) 
• "I Just Want Some Bunny to Love...", curated by ChristyBeckwithStudios (Cottontail Rabbit)
• "Do You Like Ducks?", curated by GlassandWireGems (Ruddy Duck)

Bear and Fish carved wood sculpture

Fawn and Doe Airbrush Painting

Fawn and Doe Airbrush Painting
Originally uploaded by sandrahealy
Painting this was quite fun. I learned a few new techniques. At first I was going to use some old frisket film I had lying around, but it was too old and was no longer sticky. I ordered more, and anticipate more fun seeing what I can to with it. I had tried it for my animal carvings but it didn't work very well on the three dimensional shape. For this painting I used some art masking fluid, which I also use from time to time on the sculptures. This painting is 4 by 6 inches.

Artfire Collections: Oct 19

Wild Turkey Carving

Galapagos Tortoise

I'm so honored to have my artwork chosen for these lovely collections:

Nashville Warbler

• "Out of the Wood", curated by PrettyJewelryThingsStore "Wood carved items from the artisans of artfire.com. Wonderful work.A pleasure to view so much talent!" (Wild Turkey)
• "Slow and Steady...", curated by lovelythings  "In honor of my son, who drives me nuts with his galapagos tortoise face..." (Galapagos Tortoise)
• "Tweetie et al", curated by SooBoo "Yellow Birds anyone?" (Nashville Warbler and Golden Crowned Kinglet)



Golden-crowned Kinglet

• "Having the Electric Blues!", curated by StephanieRonnyeknit1bead2 "Are you?" (Lazuli Bunting

• "The Chambered Nautilus--Beautiful in Any Medium", curated by Coolstraps  (Nautilus carving) "Its webs of living gauze no more unfurl;
  Wrecked is the ship of pearl!
  And every chambered cell,
  Where its dim dreaming life was wont to dwell,
  As the frail tenant shaped his growing shell,
  Before thee lies revealed,

  

  Lazuli Bunting

  

  Nautilus

  
  Its irised ceiling rent, its sunless crypt unsealed!--Oliver Wendell Holmes"  THIS MADE THE FRONT PAGE OF ARTFIRE ON OCTOBER 21!!

Airbrush Art, another painting

I tried another airbrush painting today. This is 4" x 6".

I've searched for other artists using airbrush for fine art, but most of what I can find are more commercial applications. The subjects seem to be cars and machinery as well as fantasy and science fiction. Not a bit of nature to be found. If any of my readers know of any such airbrush art, I'd really like to know about it.

More AF Collections!

Lazuli Bunting Carving

"Wacky and Wonderful Wings", curated by susannaoriginals "A celebration of birds, some with a sense of humor, all perfect gifts for the bird lover on your list." (Lazuli Bunting)

Chickadee carving

"My Little Chickadee", curated by ShadowDogDesigns "There is just something so alluring, so "alive" about chickadees. I was watching them in the trees near by bird feeder this morning and was charmed all over again by their personalities. Hope you enjoy these beautiful creations by very talented artists!" (Black-capped Chickadee)

Bison Carving

"Things I Like", curated by HandmadebySheri "I just wondered around ArtFire to find things I liked." (American Bison)

Painting a scene with airbrush

This was an interesting experiment! Should I try more of this kind of thing? Though I've used the airbrush for painting wood carvings for years, I've never tried it for a two-dimensional scene. This is quite small, just 3.5 by 4 inches.

It started out slightly bigger, 4 x 6, but I spilled a blot of red ink off to the right and ended up cutting off that section. Also added an accidental black blot half way up the big dark tree, so tried to incorporate that in my painting.

If I do more of this I certainly will have to be more careful to not get unintended drips on it!

Artfire Collections: Oct. 13-14

Wild Turkey Carving

I'm happy to share with you some more Artfire Collections! It's such a pleasure to have my shop, SandraHealy, included. A curator chooses a dozen items, fitting a theme, from different artists, so do check out the links to them. To not clutter my blog too much, I'm just including a small photo of my item which is included in each Collection.

Barn Owl Carving

• "Gobble, gobble", curated by ldphotography. "So many turkeys , so little time. Enjoy" (Wild Turkey Wood Carving)
• "Birds of a Feather", curated by Twist21 "A collection of some of Artfire's finest feathered friends." (Barn Owl Carving)

American Crow

 "Quoth the Raven", curated by ShadowDogDesigns "Ravens . . . Crows . . . Halloween! Enjoy these beauties!" (American Crow)

Blue Tit Carving

• "Trim the Tree!", curated by SuzanneStevens  "The stores and malls and, yes, Artfire, is already decked out for Christmas festivities! Seeing this always brings back memories of trimming our family tree with a myriad of ornaments: some heirlooms, some handmade, and new heirlooms-to-be. There's an abundance of beautiful Christmas ornaments available on AF...so many that many collections could be curated on that topic alone. Here is a small sampling of many that I found to be 'favorites'." (Blue Tit Carving)



Quail Pair Carving

• "Just The Two Of Us!", curated by GoldBracelets "Good things do come in pairs. And I know a lot of us handicrafters and artisans here at ArtFire are Empty Nesters, so I found quite a few beautiful items with couples and pairs! Once again, I found quite a few new and very interesting ArtFire Artisans. I do hope you enjoy browsing their pages!" (Quail Couple Carving)

Tiger Carving

Whooping Crane

• "Tiger Tiger Rawr Rawr", curated by Swann "Rawr!! for a beloved endangered species." (Tiger Carving)
• "Birds of a Feather", curated by NightSkyJewelry "I'm owned by an adorable little budgie, and she has taught me how amazing our little feathered friends are. Tweet tweet, chirp chirp!" (Whooping Crane Carving)
  
  

Artfire Collections: Oct. 10-12

Whooping Crane

Spotted Skunk

• "Hi little skunk!", curated by geishalovessamurai: "I always wanted to have a pet skunk...the unscented version, of course. Here are some to enjoy!" Spotted Skunk.

•  "Birds of a Feather...Flock to ArtFire!", curated by StephanieRonnyeknit1bead2 "Pretty birds!" Whooping Crane.
• "She\'s A Hoot!!! ", curated by bluesharkdivadesigns

  

  Barn Owl

  who says, "This Collection is dedicated to my new Friend Payton today... Because she's a real HOOT!! And she also happens to make the coolest Glass Lampwork Owl Beads and Pendants like the one featured here!" Barn Owl.
• "Come a Lizarding With Me", curated by GottDesigns who says, "Lizards have always fascinated me. They come in so many different colors and shapes. I love to watch the geckos on my patio at night."Collared Lizard.
  

  

  Collared Lizard

• "Showing the Reptiles Some Love", curated by TinaDeanDesigns.
  "The beauty of reptiles is overlooked by a vast number of people. Let's show them some love." Pond Turtle.
  

  

  Pond Turtle

Painting a Peacock

I just finished this Peacock carving. The next time I do one of these I should make a sequence showing how it is painted, but I get so into the job, that the thought never enters my mind. There are lots of steps to get all the colors in!

• I paint the dark green around all the eyes, using a bit of plastic cut to the shape to block the airbrush spray from them. Also use various shaped plastic to block spray from the wings.
• The light blue shape is sprayed through a hole cut in the plastic sheet, and the dark blue is drawn on with a marker.
• Yellow sprayed around the outside, orange inside that. 
• A bit of purple spray softens the sharp line.
• Gel markers suggest the vein and add a bit of sparkle.

You can find a carved peacock at Artfire (more photos are there also)and one will soon be added to my Etsy shop as well.

Artfire Collections: October 8-9

Wood Carvings from the shop of Sandra Healy appearing in Artfire Collections

Painted Turtle

• "Slow and Steady - Tortoises and Turtles!", curated by TimelyImpressions, who says, "Turtle love!" 



Red-headed Woodpecker

• "Warm Colors On Art Fire", curated by bluejane who says, "Enjoy this collection of various handmade in warm colors." She chose my Red-headed Woodpecker for this toasty collection.

  

  King Penguin

•  "The Royalty of Artfire", curated by madmoravian, who says "A collection of items who reference king, queen, prince, princess, duke, duchess, baron, baroness, earl, count, viscount, or marquess.

SandraHealy in Artfire Collections: Oct. 6 & 7

Here are some of my carvings which appeared in Artfire Collections.

• "Penguins of ArtFire", curated by LaDeDaCreations, features of course, cute penguins - Emperor Penguin
• "The \"Black Market\"", curated by islandkatt, features items with black - Chickadee
• "Oh deer", curated by ShinyAdornments who says "Did you know Artfire had so many deer themed items? Go Bambi. :-)" - Doe Deer 
• "Flip n Fly... Little Bat Up in the Sky", curated by CTurtlezOddznEndz who says, "At least these won't dive bomb you...." - Fruit Bat (Flying Fox) Magnet

Rescuing a Dark-eyed Junco

This Dark-eyed Junco flew into my sunroom; I really need to screen the door because it's happened twice in the last two days. It was in quite a panic, trying to fly through the window and resolutely avoiding the open door and window. But I got my hand around the little thing and took it outside. I just happened to have my camera in my pocket so was able to snap a photo before it flew away, free at last. 

Shortly after this another one, I hope it wasn't the same one, flew into my kitchen through the open door. Alas my open door policy has gone awry. That one was easy to capture against the kitchen window, then released.

I make a carving of a Dark-eyed Junco (also known as an Oregon Junco; it's a nice way to remember these birds which are so common at the bird feeder. 

This carved Junco is available to purchase here. The one in the other photo is not available!

Animal Carvings featured in Artfire Collections Oct 4-5, 2010

  Animal Farm Fun curated by WieberArt

Quail Couple

Serengeti Safari curated by BijoudeRhapsodie

African Elephant 

 Gorilla 

African Traditions

Curated by CRGDesigns | Collection Published on 10-05-2010

Przewalski's Horse

 Horse Lovers

Curated by CreatedSensibilities | Collection Published on 10-05-2010

Wild Turkey 

Lets Talk Turkey

Curated by HoneyFromTheBee | Collection Published on 10-05-2010
also this Turkey was in To the Turkeys!
Curated by StephanieRonnyeknit1bead2 | Published on 10-05-2010

Running and walking

I set out on a run this morning, along a disused logging road. An old trail, which I used to run, diverted me, but many scattered fallen branches made walking the better alternative. The few bird chirps only emphasized the still silence of the forest. I knew I was almost back to the logging road when I totally lost the trail, but kept moving on through a tangle of brush, and soon was trotting home on the road.

Carved Animals in Collections

These were recently in Artfire collections: 

Red Squirrel in the collection, "Gray Squirrel, Gray Squirrel"

Redwing Blackbird in the collection, "Fall Time Flocks"