Edgar Allen Poe Raven and Little Chickadee Art !

I love trawling through second hand and charity shops, and recently found this tattered old vintage music book dated 1901.

The book was falling apart, but I have a weakness for old books of any kind, so took it home to see if I could salvage something and use it for art.

I felt that the pages, laden with music notes, would make a perfect backdrop for a little bird painting.

I decided to experiment using a stencil, so as to create a similar artwork many times. Because one of my favourite birds here in midwest America is the chickadee, this is the bird I chose.

They are such cheeky, busy little creatures, but also have the most adorable lilting song and gorgeous markings with the little black cap and beady, bright eyes.

I’m doing many versions, including a stylized one, and a more natural one – depending on the layout and type of music notes.

I’m putting them into these just-as-cute frames, and they are for sale in my online shop: LizaPaizis.com

They have been very popular in the galleries, so much so that I’ve explored doing another type of bird: The Raven, and what better backdrop than Edgar Allen Poe’s dark narrative poem of the same name?

Using a base outline giglee print of my raven sketch over an excerpt of the poem, I paint an original artwork of Raven, Moon and Flowers. Again, each one is different, and comes in a budget frame, available in my Shop.

This, and the Chick-a-Dee art, would make wonderful gifts for bird lovers, or an Edgar Allen Poe aficionado!

A Beautiful Poem by Mary Elizabeth Frye

Do not stand at my grave and weep
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow.
I am the diamond glints on snow.
I am the sunlight on ripened grain.
I am the gentle autumn rain.
When you awaken in the morning’s hush
I am the swift uplifting rush
Of quiet birds in circled flight.
I am the soft stars that shine at night.
Do not stand at my grave and cry;
I am not there. I did not die.

~ Mary Elizabeth Frye ~

 

Know what makes You laugh…

 Know what makes you laugh and keep those things close to you.

Know who likes to share laughter and keep them close

to your heart.

~ Kuthumi ~

Wishing Everyone a truly blessed and happy New Year !

~ revisited from 2016 ~

My Garden Fairy ~ the inspiration of nature, creativity and art

One of my biggest joys is spending time in my beloved garden. I talk to the flowers, trees, birds, bees and other animals that visit, but there is another little spirit that resides here that is harder to see…

This whimsical fairy was created with watercolours and dried pressed flowers that I picked from my garden: petunia, lilly, rose and pansy petals amongst others. I also included mulberry ink from our beautiful old mulberry tree’s bountiful supply.

You can see the remarkable detail of the petals’ veins in the prints.

She sits amongst the mushrooms and flowers, keeping watch on all the elements that grow in this magical realm.

She is part of an exhibit at The Left Bank Shop & Gallery in my hometown of McGregor, Iowa. The exhibit, “Local Inspiration” features work of selected gallery artists interpreting local themes. She is for sale there, or you can buy a gorgeous archival reproduction print here on my website Liza Paizis.com/Fairies

 

Thank you for visiting, and have a magical day !

 

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Know what makes you laugh…

 Know what makes you laugh and keep those things close to you.

Know who likes to share laughter and keep them close

to your heart.

~ Kuthumi ~

Wishing Everyone a truly blessed and happy New Year !

Autumn Poetry & Inspiration

The morns are meeker than they were,
The nuts are getting brown;
The berry’s cheek is plumper,
The rose is out of town.

The maple wears a gayer scarf,
The field a scarlet gown.

Lest I should be old-fashioned,
I’ll put a trinket on.

~ The Inspired Emily Dickenson ~

Autumn Angel & Fairy Art and Moth Art Deco necklace © LizaPaizis.com

A little mermaid and a barn owl original pewter designs

I have created many original and whimsical jewelry pieces from the lost wax casting method, and here are two new ones!

As described in my previous post  I carve the originals from wax and get them cast into precious metal. Here we have a beautiful barn owl totem charm, and also an exquisitely detailed mermaid. The mermaid is actually double sided – there is a different mermaid on each side of the charm.

This has been my most detailed small wax carving to date, and it was such a joy to do as I always love anything to do with mermaids . This mermaid is available as different items in my online shop including a lovely keychain with seahorse and shell, a pendant necklace and a wonderful pair of earrings – perfect gifts for a mermaid lover!

The owl is my interpretation of a barn owl, and this totem animal jewellery is available as a keyring, pendant, pin, earrings and even a ring. You can also find these exclusive pieces and wonderful owl gifts in my shop.

Both the mermaid and the owl, like all of my original jewellery items are cast in lead-free pewter, but can also be custom made into copper,and silver. These are unique, original creations.

This is the Owl cast in beautiful red bronze, for a special beaded necklace I am creating with semi-precious gemstones, Czech glass beads and pearls…

     Owl pewter pendant necklace

I’ll be creating more owl and mermaid art next year – I just cannot seem to get enough of either of them as a subject matter, as they really resonate with my imagination and creativity – so keep an eye out!

Miniature original watercolor paintings

For some time now I’ve been creating these cute little original miniature watercolor paintings, previously outlined in this post.

         Burmese Cat original miniature painting

 

     Little Cardinal  miniature painting               

Using pigment colored pencils and ink pens, tube watercolor (I use Rembrandt & Van Gogh watercolors) and a combination of beautiful handmade mulberry bark paper and rough textured watercolour paper, I create them with little to no preliminary sketching – it keeps the process spontaneous!

      Fairy Queen miniature painting

Each little painting measures 1 3/4 x 1 3/4 inches, and I put them in a little matt, perfect for gift giving! I love painting cats, flowers and owls especially, but have also done dragonflies, unicorns and fairies.

                       Unicorn original miniature painting

They are exclusively for sale at Outside the Lines Gallery in Dubuque, Iowa ~ a lovely gallery filled with very unique and local art. If you would like a custom order for any of my unique and original paintings, please contact me on my website contact page or check out my originals for sale here.

Thanks for visiting!

       Sleepy Owl miniature painting

Gorgeous Lizard and Cat bracelet cast in pewter from my original design

I love lizards, and this bracelet was one I just had to make from an original design of mine. It is cast in lead-free pewter and has a beautiful curve that sits snug on the wrist. It’s inspired by the sinuous designs of Art Nouveau jewellery, which drew so much on Nature’s creations.

It has chain on both sides that allow for shortening or lengthening, and is finished with a little silver finding.

A perfect jewelry gift for any other lizard or gecko lover ! It’s available for sale in my online shop here and the price includes free shipping.

I have also transformed my cat design into a bracelet for cat lovers :

…you can buy it on Etsy here !

A Silver Cat picture, and a little Dog portrait

I have completed two new works for an exhibition titled “It’s Raining Cats, Dogs and Cows”

at my wonderful local art gallery The McGregor Marquette Centre for the Arts.

“Silver Cat”

This is Pewter Repousse or embossing, a lovely form of art which I learned in my home country of South Africa. It is a very popular craft there, and I immediately took to it, as I love working with pewter in any form. I have made many jewellery pieces  cast in pewter from my original wax carvings, it is considered a semi-precious metal, and it very mouldable, shiny and has a gorgeous feel to it.

This piece measures about 9 x 7 inches, and it’s basically a form of relief modelling with this soft metal, pushing out from the back as well as the front to give shape and detail.

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“Simon”

This is the completed Dachshund watercolor and ink painting shown in my earlier post. It is available for sale as an archival giclee print here.

I loved to use gentle line work in the sky reminiscent of Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” , with naive art style motifs to match the gorgeous frame I found especially for it. Both of these original framed pieces are for sale – please contact me if you are interested!