I used to do this for money and awards. Now I just do it for fun. Beadwork

Those are cool, Gina! And what a fantastic way to repurpose, Chip!

Thanks!

Very beautiful, so intricate!

Decided to set a goal for myself this week, to finish as many unfinished paintings as able. I have a bad habit of not finishing my work if it isn't done in a few sittings (I kind of lose the excitement for it).

So far, I've finished two:

'Hollyhocks and Honeybees' (colored pencil)

Intending this one to be one in a small series. I want to do a few different square plant and bee themed pieced in colored pencil. This was also the first time I tried using solvent with oil-based pencils. Very happy with the result!

'Peruvian Lily' (pastel)

Also very happy with this one. It reminded me how much I used to enjoy working with pastel. Intending on working with them more often now.

Beautiful, love the HH and bees. Ah, to be talented!

I agree, both are excellent

Thank you!
I'm quite pleased with the results. And I usually don't like my own artwork.

Beautiful work!!

These are lovely!

Gorgeous, TK!

I've been making these lately. They're hair charms. I think I may have actually kind of made this up lol. They attach to either the elastic band of a ponytail holder, or to an ornate bun cage and hang down in a cascade over your ponytail.

The one with the rabbit is especially for tomorrow, Alban Eiler, the Spring Equinox. The others have different themes. I've used clay charms, old jewelry findings, carved bone, and am working on some others using crystals and other things

I can definitely see the hair charms being in demand! Cool.

That's fantastic, Gina. I have no doubt people would really like them.

I only make them for myself but I get a lot of compliments on them

that talent-! definitely a money making side hustle with the hair charms. I'd love to have one or two. especially the rabbit. Wonderful craftmanship.

Macrocentra said: Thank you!
I'm quite pleased with the results. And I usually don't like my own artwork.

I know what you mean; I've thrown a lot of my drawings away! But yours are of professional work!! Clearly you put your heart and soul into those! Excellent!!

TomatoNut95 said: I know what you mean; I've thrown a lot of my drawings away! But yours are of professional work!! Clearly you put your heart and soul into those! Excellent!!

Aw... thank you. That means a lot.

I have an oil seascape in progress that I think I'm going to scrap. Finishing it feels like a waste of paint if I'm honest. Just really not loving it. The only shop in the area that sold those paints went out of business too, so the only option I can find is to order from Amazon or a shop in Alberta that I like. But as much as the AB shop typically has good prices, they charge a fortune for those particular paints. So think I need to reserve them for something else. I've never been a landscape/seascape painter anyways. Just not my style. I tried it for something different. I do have another oil of love-in-a-mist flowers and hawk moths. Think I'd rather devote the time to that one. Though I think I need to paint over what I did on that one too. Flowers just weren't working out.

TK, I too sometimes really dislike my own artwork. I always start comparing it to other things- it's not realistic enough; not vibrant enough; not eye catching, etc.
But yours are wonderful. I showed the pictures to other family and they said your artwork is beautiful, especially how realistic you made the colored pencil drawing look.
How long did it take you to do the bee one?

...but have you looked @ them upside-down yet, Anne, TK, Abigail? Or asked yourself if it is already finished and you just didn't know it yet? Maybe it's abstract and the unfinished part should be something totally different - different subject, diff medium, or cut off the unfinished part . Whatever comes to mind. It doesn't have to be a square or rectangle, or finish in the original direction it was going.

In my artistic endeavors, I've often changed my mind about what I was making as it went along. Especially when cross-stitching. I've edited many patterns to suit my preference by adding or removing elements, altering the colors, and/or added embellishments like beads, ribbon, sequins, seashells, metallic threads, decorative knots, fringes...