divine bird 2009 6"x 6" mixed media

Most plywood has a "good side", and with each of my plywood paintings, I try to pick the best side on which to paint. This piece did not have good side. In fact, the side I chose to paint is actually the side I would generally shy away from, but instead of trying to fill in all the cracks and sand down all the bumps, I decided to enhance them by letting the imperfections shine through (like I say, imperfections = charm).

lemon love bird 2009 6"x 6" mixed media

I entitled this piece with love, because I LOVE my new lemony colored spray paint [I kind of want to lick it, but I know it will probably disappoint like when you try to eat flavored chapstick]. The bird in this piece is created from an illustration of A Christmas Carol, taken from a vintage book, and the flower is cut from vintage drawer lining paper.

pleasant 2009 4"x 4" mixed media

This little painting is created from acrylic and spray paint, featuring a bird made from a vintage illustration from a book.

upcycle sign birds 2009 11"x 33" mixed media

This piece is created from an upcylced sign. It was sitting outside the back door of my work, basically where we put things that are to be recylcled and thrown away. It was a shabby chicish sign (white). I asked what it was doing outside the door (because it seemed perfectly useful to me), and my boss said, "you can have it" (he must have seen it in my eyes).
It was so great; this white painted sign, in terrific condition with hangers already measured and aligned on the back. All I had to do was paint it. BUT, on a very rainy sleepy day, I began painting it. It was coming along well. The colors good, the birds perfectly shaped and painted--it was all going well...until...I went to mount the birds on the painting. I unthinkingly placed all 3 upside down. It was my mad painting skill. I had created such a nice branch in which the birds would sit, that it looked just as good upside down (maybe that's not a good thing). It wasn't until I flipped it over until I realized I had placed the birds upside down (and not on purpose like in some of my work), and had ruined the beauty of the sign being pre-hung.
So there you have it. By the way, I re-wired it, although the original hangers are there too, if one was inclined to hang it upside down.

girl on a string 2009 12"x 16" mixed media

I personally love this one. The colors and content. The bird is fashioned out of a vintage cookbook recipe and the girl from a vintage illustration from a book.

plywood bird paintings

a bit of an off day 2009 6"x 6" mixed media

The bird in this piece is made from a photograph of a festive table from a vintage cookbook.

cast off bird 2009 6"x 6" mixed media

The bird in this piece is made from a recipe (pattern) for hand-knit gloves from a vintage book.

3 little sugar birds 2006 6"x 6" mixed media

The birds in this piece are fashioned out of vintage cookbook recipes.



rick rack blue bird 2009 6"x 6" mixed media

The bird in this piece is made from the vintage paper packaging from rick rack (for sewing projects), and the background is fashioned out of the cardboard that use to line my painting workspace (mounted to plywood). The cardboard acts as history to my work--a collection of my favorite colors and materials.




under the weather bird 2009 6"x 6" mixed media

The bird in this piece is made from a vintage cookbook recipe. I thinly sprayed this plywood red, leaving some of the natural wood's attributes to seep through.

tv cathedral bird 2009 4.75"x 6" mixed media

I just completed this piece today. The postcard is a vintage European, from the late 19th/early 20th century, and the bird is created from a vintage television owner's manual (70s I think). The frame is a tacky little piece I picked up at the thriftstore, sprayed it and transformed it into an object of cool.

table and chair birds 2009 6"x 8" mixed media

These two little birds are fashioned out of a vintage card; the illustration on the card is colorful and I've been meaning to work it into projects. The background is a postcard from the late 19th/early 20th century, featuring a historical cabin in Oregon. And the frame comes from the thriftstore, was originally silver, and sprayed with my favorite Montana Gold Himalaya blue spray paint (love that stuff).

crows, what do they know? 2009 approx. 6"x 6" mixed media

I love the bird in this piece--sketchy. The copper background shimmers through the splattery blue. The crow is fashioned out of vintage cookbook paper painted black.

generosity plywood bird 2009 approx. 6"x 6" mixed media

The bird in this piece is made from a comic illustration of A Christmas Carol, and on the bird's body is a excerpt about Scrooge's new generosity. The illustration is from a vintage book.

blue monday bird 2009 approx. 6"x 6" mixed media

How does it feel? This poor little friend is fashioned out of an illustration of a European cottage from a vintage book. When I stepped back to look at this completed piece, one of my all time favorite songs came to mind--Blue Monday by New Order.



bulls eye bird 2009 approx. 6"x 6" mixed media

This bird is made from a comic from a vintage book, and if you look closely, you can see people dressed as bears--curious, and makes one wonder what the story was.

fried prawns party bird 2009 approx. 6"x 6" mixed media

The bird in this piece is created from a photo of a party table from a vintage cookbook about foreign party food to impress your guests.

3rd bird has the key 2009 8"x 10" mixed media

The birds in this piece are created from a page from a vintage cookbook that is entitled something like foreign food with flair. The key is an actual key, like that of a cheap diary, which may explain the meaning of this work. It's funny, but a piece like this is just as mysterious to me as the random viewer. Sometimes when I'm finished, I realize an unintentional story has come to fruition, although I usually don't even know what it is. This piece, for instance, evolves through color and placement--a bird here, a bird there, then a key to fill a void, and Voila! When I step back I realize, something is going on between these 3, but what?

windmill bird mini framed art 2009 4.5"x 5.5" mixed media

This little painting has a rather drab title, but for practical reasons I wanted it easily understandable for those shopping in my etsy store. It began with my love for this thrift store found vintage frame. I intended to open it and fill it with new art, but when I popped the original art out, I found it charming. It looked to be a snippet out of a vintage magazine, possibly a photo of an original, printed in a magazine. I decided to add to it instead and draw from its charm. I put it all back together and sealed up the back--ready to hang.

cathedral canary 2009 5.25"x 7.25"

This is a marriage between things I love: upcycled pieces (like the frame) + vintage (like the European 19th/20th c postcard) + my art. The upcycled element brings a tacky frame to relevance, the postcard brings character and history to the entirety of the piece and my artistic addition brings new life to once forgotten pieces. The postcard is one of many I've collected--mostly from a particular girl who went on a European holiday at the turn of the century (20th).



bon voyage blue bird 2009 6"x 8" mixed media

This piece also incorporates an upcycled frame, a vintage postcard (from Astoria Oregon) and one of my birds (fashioned out of vintage sheet music), with a background of recycled cardboard that used to line my work space, so it's basically a history of colors and materials I've used in various projects.




country cottage bird mini framed art 2009 4.5"x 5.5" mixed media

This piece is also made from a vintage frame purchased at a thrift store, adding to the art that was already inside. The bird is made from vintage sheet music.

love triangle 2009 16"x 20" mixed media

This painting features my two favorite birds sitting on a branch contemplating one another, but in this piece, a third bird has come into the mix. Why? I'm not sure. Maybe it's a relationship between the 3, or maybe it's merely because I thought it looked empty without the bird peering down.




just before the wish 2009 8"x 8" mixed media

I love wishes. Had to paint one in it's most optimistic point in time.




menage et trois 2009 16"x 12" mixed media

Again, three birds that are related no more than by aesthetics--or perhaps not? The birds are fashioned out of a story told in comic form from a vintage book for girls.