Look for the Magic in what Others Disregard

Take the time to look for the magic in what others disregard . Whether it's people standing on street corners, children acting out, or even the things others have tossed aside. Magic is just beneath the surface waiting to be noticed.

"Look for the Magic in what Others Disregard"

This is an 5.5"x7.5" piece in my art journal. Prints available on request.

(Printed image will be slightly cropped for printing purposes.) 

All works are copyrighted and all rights are reserved by the artist.

My original paintings are available in my online gallery.

Prints of many of my paintings are available in my Etsy shop. 

Let me know if you're interested in prints of my paintings.

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She's Got our Back

I can't help but feel that a little fairy magic might be just what our world needs.

"She's Got our Back"

For every purchase a print of a print of this painting I'll donate $5 to the ACLU...
because they also have our back. 

The original painting is available for purchase here.

Most of my paintings are for sale and I welcome commissions.

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This painting was inspired by the work of Tamara LaPorte.

The Littlest Mermaid

I love this sweet trio. Everything about them is magical.

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Most of my paintings are for sale and I welcome commissions.

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This painting is part of a year-long online art class (instructor Tamara LaPorte).

"With Wand" Part 4"

Me: "Don't have a cow about it."

Little guy: "What does that even mean?"


What?!?! The youth of today don't know what that means? I considered referring him to the urban dictionary site, but I'm sooooo glad I checked it before telling him to look there. I nearly had a cow when I read what that site said.


All of this might mean that I'm officially getting old.

I finished this painting. It was a great learning experience. It was originally a much bigger piece of paper, but I trimmed it to 12x9. 

"With Wand"

I painted her dress two shades of blue.

I added some purple and darker blue as well.
And before the final version I painted her wand
and per ponytail holders as well as giving the
top of her dress a lacy effect.

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"With Wand" Part 3

I received a text this morning.


"I see an elf at the bus stop! Is that your little guy?"


Well, of course it was! My little guy wore his elf costume to school all week long. So awesome!!!



I continued working on my painting. With each stroke I can see her personality emerging.

I gave her pupils and a sparkle in her eyes. I also
outlined her irises and her upper lids.

I painted her hair black. For some reason
this took a really, really long time. I guess
I wanted to make super sure that I stayed in
the lines. The shine is from the flash. Her
hair is a solid black.

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Most of my paintings are for sale and I welcome commissions.

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"With Wand" Part 2

Last night when I was walking my dog, Hazel, a fellow passed me on his bicycle, got a little bit ahead of us, and made an attempt at a jump. Well, he ended up flipping all kinds of ways, mostly sideways. He turned and looked at us right away and took a deep bow. Hazel and I caught up to him and asked if he was OK. He was fine, though perhaps a little humiliated. I told him not to sweat it and that it reminded me of the time when I tried jumping something and flipped in front of a whole crowd at the state capitol building. And I suggested that maybe he might want to start wearing a helmet. I'm such a mom nag.

I continued working on this painting. It's so fun watching her come to life.

I used a wet paintbrush to smooth out the marks.

I added some brown marks...

...and smoothed them with a wet paintbrush.

I used white acrylic to highlight parts of her
face and added some color to her lips.

I added more definition to her mouth and
painted her eyes blue. She's coming to life!

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Most of my paintings are for sale and I welcome commissions.

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"With Wand" Part 1

Elf outfit update...yes, the kid wore his elf outfit to school again today. I wish I'd been that comfortable in my skin when I was seventeen. Not that I was meek or anything. Rather than wearing a whimsical elf outfit, however, I was shaving my head, sporting combat boots, and tempting fate each day with the school dress code (I was only sent home once). A bit of a difference I suppose.


I started working on a practice piece for the class I'm taking. We're going to do several of them working on different skin tones and shadowing. This one is caucasian.

I sketched out the character. Note that my pencil
eraser is pretty much gone. The length of my pencil,
however, is still substantial. Guess this means I
make more "mistakes" than accurate marks. :-)

I used watercolor pencils to lay down some
color. I took a wet brush to the color and
evened it out. I also changed her skirt
and added a wand.

I added a layer of color with water soluble crayons.

Click here to view my gallery.

Most of my paintings are for sale and I welcome commissions.

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I'd love to hear from you...feel free to leave me a comment