Halloween Ride

"Night Ride"

What a thrill it would be to ride across the full moon above the city on Halloween! At least this witch has some Halloween spirit with her jack-o-lantern and her black cat to share it with! This is my latest original Halloween art card up for grabs on eBay! Click here to check it out! Dreaming of fall days from Florida!

Let the Halloween Mischief Begin!

"Halloween Mischief"

Although it is still wintry and cold outside, I have planned a year of exciting events and art opportunities celebrating Halloween! Foremost is more painting!! This original mixed media linoleum block print is now available on eBay, and it involves quite a process.
     If you are wondering how a "print" can also be an "original," I'll explain.
     I draw the image and then transfer it to a piece of linoleum. Then, I hand cut the image using tools that scoop out the semi-rigid linoleum. I actually carve out the positive, or the white areas. Using a brayer, I spread ink all over the linoleum and then press it onto watercolor paper. It takes a few days for the ink to dry, and then I'm ready to paint and pencil.
     Each print has to be inked, so no two are exactly alike. Most importantly, I hand paint and embellish each, so the originality of each is enhanced even more!

     I love the glowing affects the linoleum block print process provides. Watch for more of these unique pieces as the days progress to Halloween and for exciting announcements of new art events!

Halloween Watercolors Begin!

It's a new year, and I am already starting to work on Halloween paintings. It's quite appropriate too, being that there is a full moon tonight! Looking forward to some new teaching projects and lots of holiday inspired art in 2014!

More Halloween Art Ready to Find a New Home!

Click on images for larger view. 

It is already mid October and the Halloween folk art shows around the country have come and gone. But there is still time to get a one-of-a-kind piece to add to your Halloween display if you didn't get an opportunity to go. 

Vintage-Style Spun Cotton Cat & Jack Now Available

I have created Jack the pumpkin man who thought he would try his hand at one of the Book of Night Spells. He accidentally super-sized the cat, which not only startled him, but also surprised the cat!

Both have bodies of spun cotton. Jack's head is sculpted paper clay. His clothes are hand made and dyed for a vintage look. All have been handmade and hand painted by me, including the tiny book of spells and pumpkin treat bucket. Jack and his cat are firmly adhered to a paper mâché hand-painted candy box. All measures almost 15" tall and about 10" wide.

I am offering it on my blog for $150, plus $6.95 shipping.

• • •

I have another piece available on eBay, just click here.  If you know my art, then you know I can't resist adding recycled  and vintage elements to my pieces. This paper mâché moon and spun cotton witch with bats sit on a black candle stick. I had a lot of fun with this one!

I will leave you with a photo of me and two other artists from Spirits in Sanford Halloween Folk Art Show, in Sanford, Fl, where we met with collectors during a costume party. What fun we had! Halloween is really almost here! Email me if you have any questions. Happy fall!

Spun Cotton Witches Sail on the Moon

I love the old spun cotton ornaments of the Victorian age, and so I have been creating some of these little treasures with my own twist. I painted a vintage-style witch's face in watercolors and now use it as the face on my spun cotton witch. This is a sneak peak of a piece I will have available at the upcoming Halloween and Vine folk art show in Petaluma, CA, Saturday, Sept. 28. 

I will have other spun cotton pieces available also at Spirits in Sanford, a Halloween folk art show in north Florida's town of Sanford. The fun part about that show is the Friday night costume party and preview where you dress up, enjoy champagne and appetizers and mingle with the artists to preview and purchase art before the show on Saturday. The cost is $20, and allows you to come back on Saturday to shop some more. You do need to RSVP though. It really puts you in the Halloween spirit to be surrounded by the fabulous Halloween art and having everyone dressed in costume.

It's feeling like fall here in North Florida, where the ancient oak trees are starting to shed their leaves. I hope fall approaches where you live too! 

Halloween Time with Pen and Ink

I love using pen and ink to create these small illustrations. On this one I decided to use colored pencil instead of watercolors. They do create a very vibrant hue, when coupled with the black lines of the india ink. It is the standard art card size of 2-1/2" x 3-1/2" and is now available on eBay. Halloween is approaching!

Witches and Bats Float from the Great Pumpkin Cauldron!

Witches and bats, ghosts and cats are bubbling up in the great pumpkin cauldron! I am working on more linoleum block prints, with each one being carefully hand painted with watercolors and then tinted with other media. I love the striking colors of fall, and they are even more pronounced in my latest lino cuts. I will have several originals at upcoming Halloween folk art shows. Stop by and say hello!

Sept. 28 • Petaluma, CA

http://www.HalloweenandVine.com

Oct. 5 • Sanford, FL

http://www.SpiritsinSanford.com

"Never Met a Pumpkin I didn't Like"

Sharpening up my drawing skills for a season of Halloween illustrations and paintings. I've been playing with linoleum block prints and love the texture they add to a piece. But for now, my micron pen is getting lots of good use!

Pumpkins Soon Will Abound!

The recent full moon in all its splendor makes me think of the months to come. Pumpkins, black cats, spooky houses and then the big day...Halloween! Still working into the wee hours in my studio on paintings, sculptures and all manner of holiday fun. Hope to see you at one of my upcoming folk art shows! Yay...fall is almost here!

Imagine Halloween Night

"Halloween Night"

Original 9"x12" Acrylic Painting on Canvas Panel

As you know, I love painting with watercolors. But I got the itch to pick up my acrylic paints and create a Halloween scene similar to one I painted some years ago.
     This is how I imagine Halloween out in the country during a more innocent time. (Although, the headless horseman and a couple of wolves are heading this way, so maybe not so innocent!) Anyway, I'm going to continue to paint some of these off and on in between my watercolors. Let me know what you think! 
     "Halloween Night" is an original painting on a 9"x12" canvas panel and signed by me. It comes unframed, so you can easily pop it into a frame of your choice purchased at your local craft store. It's being featured on the EHAG Emporium tonight, May 31, at 9 pm eastern. Use the secure paypal button below to add it to your collection. First come, first served! And don't forget to check out all the other talented EHAG artists featured on the Emporium!

 ~ SOLD ~

Happy Halloween!

Watch for Hooting Halloween Puffballs

Our new neighborhood has lots of tall oaks and is surrounded by a wooded preserve. So it's no surprise wild life is abundant here. Still, I was awe-struck to see not just one, but two, fluffly baby owls living in our trees.

I had heard the typical WHOO-WHOO, WHOO-WHOO while I was outside a few times, but I couldn't find them. Finally, some neighbors told me where to look and sure enough, two baby great-horned owls were just above in the trees! I was able to get a few pictures with my zoom lens. This is just what I need to get me in the Halloween spirit as the hot days of summer begin to descend upon our beachside town. Now I'm off to work on some Halloween watercolors and paper mache. Happy spring-time Halloween!

Come Along for a Video Tour of My New Studio!

Drum roll please....my first studio tour is on video! Watch as I unveil the final transformation of my new studio. It's my first video effort, so I'm hoping the critics circle will be kind! ;)

The door is wide open, so please come in! 

Celebrate 365: My Kind of Magazine!

I am so pleased to be in the Fall 2011 double issue of Celebrate 365 magazine. It's a wonderful publication coming out four times a year, and it offers collectors a bevy of holiday art created by talented artisans. To order the magazine or subscribe, click here. My work appears on three pages:

My curious eye ornament was featured. I've had so many fans say that these ornaments are delectably creepy, because the eye follows you around the room. It's perfect for your Halloween tree and I have one left in my etsy shop here.  

In addition, one of my Halloween recycled collages made the pages of the magazine. "The Witching Hour" is made from recycled construction lumber and a page from an old National Geographic - yes, the page makes up the background. The wood makes the perfect substrate for these two gothic looking witchlings and adds weight to the piece. The witches collage has sold, but I do have one similar for all you Edgar Allen Poe fans! It too is in my etsy shop here. 

The third page of my art appears in the Late Summer portion of the double issue. Turn the magazine over and you'll find summer art, including a captain's shell box I created. You can read more about that on my mixed media blog: My Birdsong.

I hope your days leading up to a favored holiday are pleasant and colorful. Only a couple more weeks until Halloween!

Iva's Creations


PS - Head on over to my Facebook Page and hit "Like." I post works in progress, events and more there. Thank you for supporting independent artists!

Come See Me at Halloween and Vine this Weekend!

This Saturday will be filled with spooky tricks and treats as I participate in the art show Halloween and Vine in Petaluma, CA. I'm so excited to be a part of this show that only features art celebrating October 31! I've been working on new paper mache witches and black cats, in addition to watercolors and mixed media works. Come by and say hello, and then enjoy the celebration of Halloween! 

Who lives in Black Cat Cottage?

A lonely cottage in the woods is home to three black cats and who? It's Halloween and the moon is full, as a witch flies across the October sky followed so many bats. This is an original 5x8" watercolor mounted on black matboard now available on eBay.  

More watercolors are to come as I prepare for Tinsel and Treasures, Saturday, Sept. 10, and my newest show Halloween and Vine, Saturday, Sept. 24! I'm so elated to be part of this all Halloween folk art show in Petaluma. Head to the website to see all the other fabulous Halloween artists I will be joining! 

Also, don't miss the EHAG Emporium debut tonight! Lots of fabulous Halloween art up for grabs by my fellow artisans. Hurry to get the best selection!

Ain't No Bones About It

Summer is in full swing, although you wouldn't know it by our daytime temperatures. With a high of 75 to 80 degrees just outside San Francisco, I'm enjoying the cool summer breezes while I dream of fall. My Halloween watercolors are in full swing, while I list a few on eBay. The one pictured is more illustrative and whimsical than my usual, but I was in a JOL-ly mood when I painted it! ;0) It's listed on eBay now, and you can click here to head on over.

I've also started on some large paper mache pumpkins, witches and ghosts. Getting back to the medium is so enjoyable, especially when I can work outdoors. I hope you are enjoying the weather where you are and the creative spirit is with you!

Gearing Up for the EHAG Emporium March 31

 

Only a few days away and the EHAG Emporium will once again open it's cyber doors to all who adore original Halloween art. I will have an offering or two for the unveiling, so watch for more sneak peeks here and on the Emporium blog. Don't miss it, March 31, 9 pm Eastern.

Find A Haunting Cast of Characters at Glitterfest Spring

 

Mr. Jack will be taking his wares to the Santa Ana Elks Lodge and Glitterfest this Saturday, where he will be peddling this and that. He will be camped out with me at the spring folk art show, from 10 am - 4 pm. In addition to a happy Halloween cast of characters, I will be accompanied by a number of Easter-inspired folk, from fairies to Sir Rabbit. Look for Mr. Jack the Peddler Man and me March 19, among the many other talented artisans. 

See you soon!

Vintage-Style Witching Hour Doll Appearing on EHAG Emporium

 

 "Witching Hour"

It's the end of the month which means it's time for Halloween mischief on the EHAG Emporium blog! On the last day of the month, the Emporium unveils new Halloween art offered for sale by EHAG members. (In case you didn't know, EHAG is an acronym for the Eclectic Halloween Artists Group comprised of some of the most talented Halloween artists around!)

My submission for the February EHAG Emporium is the "Witching Hour," a vintage-style witch tucked neatly inside a paper mache witch's shoe. She has a China doll head and is wearing a shimmery dark bronze dress with millinery netting over her skirt. She is firmly secured inside a paper mache shoe, which I hand pressed from my vintage chocolate mold. The whimsical piece is embellished with Dresden, black glass glitter, gold bullion, vintage crepe paper and the image of an old clock face. Measures about 8" tall.

One of a kind!

 SOLD