Cute little table transformation

Thanks to the Eilene and Melanie at Trezhers gift shop in Sacramento California, I had this cute little table to transform. I have had it here at the house for quite a while because I hadn't formed a vision of the project in my head (usually a prerequisite for my creative process.) Well, a few weeks ago, I worked it all out in my mind and started to bring my idea to life. I took photos as I went so you can see the steps I went through to make it whimsically cute. :)

Before picture and all I've done is sanded it. 

You can tell that it was chippy, but not in a good way. :)

Here it is with it's little legs in the air as I started covering it with  Kilz

with another layer of kilz

And another!

I carefully painted a layer of solid color on each part and then went over that with some cool metallic paint. 

All finished

New Installation for Laura and LaBelle Mariposa

Here I am at Studio 41 in Oakhurst California with Joelle Leder setting up an installation for the next two months! I'm so thrilled to be a part of Joelle's vision of a beautiful place full of art and wonderful finds.  I'll be teaching a class there on February 28th. The details are yet to be worked out, but I'll share it here. :)

So, you may be asking... "Now what?" Well, I'll tell you! I'm gonna paint some new beautiful art! LaBelle Mariposa is taking off and I'm having a ball! This is so exciting! To have a mandate to do what you want to do anyway!

Oh, and there's the art car. I think I'm in love again. With a Lincoln town car! Who would've thought that? Well, we'll see. If it's not the one, I'll know. 

Blessings all!

-Laura

Living a LaBelle Mariposa life

Cypress Sunset painting created for a original art pendant.

I came up with the name of my business, LaBelle Mariposa, because it brings together two languages to say the beautiful butterfly. Butterflies represent transformation, flight, beauty, living for the moment, and so many other things. Monarchs pass their knowledge on to generations who complete a journey that their ancestors have made for countless generations. This communicates tradition. In so many ways, the monarch, and butterflies in general, are a special symbol of rebirth, transformation, and grace. So, living a LaBelle Mariposa life is embracing personal transformation, finding our purpose, and living each day to the fullest. 

Lately, I've been so blessed to have so many of my dreams coming into reality. Today, Jim and I will travel to Monetery to visit Cheryl Watt Pottery & Gallery on Cannery Row so that I can drop off more art. Then, tomorrow, we'll attend an opening at the gallery! Also, today, I will get to spend time working with a dear friend on her own personal journey before I purchase the vehicle that will be my art car to promote LaBelle Mariposa!

So, today, I am feeling very blessed and happy to be living my transformed LaBelle Mariposa life!

Wellness Sanctuary and Spa

I'm so excited to be a part of Wellness Sanctuary and Spa in Placerville, CA. Joaquin Fioresi asked me to bring some of my art to his place connected to the Carey House Hotel and my work fits in with the vibe of the place perfectly. I posted an image of the painting I did for Joaquin and Jen already. Here's a pic of Joaquin and I at the spa yesterday. 

Joaquin Fioresi and Laura Pallatin of LaBelle Mariposa.

You can see some of my work behind us. I am offering my work at the spa at a special price so if you're interested in adding one of my paintings to your collection, this is a great time. I promise that I wont be offering my work for sale at this price again.

I will be making signs for the Wellness Center soon, too, and will be posting pictures of the signs in process and finished.

Fanciful Gnomes for the Garden

Because I was not willing to risk my precious gnome, Gerome, being kidnapped from my front yard, I created a motley crew of gnomes to keep an eye on things out there. My friend, Kim Mayhew, made Gerome for me. He's wonderfully spooky-cool! Here's a pic of Gerome in my living room:

 

 My little collection of gnomes came from Harbor Freight. They were super cheap and started out pretty plain looking: 

There's nothing wrong with them... they're just not that fun. And the one on the right looks... okay... strange! 

So I painted them and added some glitter and bling from the thrift store, and I think they are WAY more fun!!!

Introducing the garden crew: 

Henry DeGnome by Laura Pallatin of LaBelle Mariposa

 Lupe DeGnome Laura Pallatin of LaBelle Mariposa

Pierre DeGnome by Laura Pallatin of LaBelle Mariposa

Wellness Sanctuary and Spa artwork gift

Heart Chakra tree by Laura Pallatin of LaBelle Mariposa

I am so excited to be part of Joaquin Fioresi's new endeavor called "Wellness Sanctuary and Spa" in downtown Placerville, CA. As a business warming gift, I created a painting for his space. I love it! I was sitting with Joaquin in his healing space and opened myself for inspiration to create a piece of art for the room. The Heart Chakra Tree is the image that came up in my imagination and now exists in the real world for all to see. I hope that Joaquin and Jen enjoy the piece and have incredible success with their venture.

Joaquin has invited me to display and offer my art work for purchase at his place and I am just so pleased! I look forward to creating inspirational projects including Joaquin's music in the near future.

Christmas Eve Eve 2012

Some of the dolls and teddy bears we've collected through the years taken up residence on the hutch for the holiday.

2012 has been an interesting year. Some good, some not-so-good. But, I guess that can be said of most years. I am excited to be moving into 2013. Glad we all didn't die on the 21st... And generally happy about the plans I have for the coming year.

I had fun decorating for Christmas this year, so I thought I'd share my humble (and a bit silly) decorating with you all. I hope you have a wonderful Christmas and share my anticipation and excitement about 2013.

our family Christmas tree and stockings

my antique dress form (Eleanor) all dressed up for Christmas posing with a painting from a local El Dorado County artist

Gracie our Aussie comfortably waiting for the big day.

I've been focusing my artistic eye on my home and my own personal style of late. Since I've had so much fun playing with clothes, I thought I'd start a little "fashion blog" about my own adventures in finding clothes that work for a curvy, middle aged gal. Please check out my new blog, Fun With Oufits. I'll still be posting all my art and other fun projects here, I just thought that clothing is enough different that I should explore the topic in another space. I hope to see you there! :)
Blessings,
Laura 

From art to pendant

Recently, while my mom (Maralee Lowder) and I had a booth at the Butterfly Festival in Mariposa, Calilfornia, I met a lovely photographer/jewelry maker named Joelle Leder. We immediately formed a mutual admiration society as I love her photography and handmade jewelry, and Joelle loved my art and pendants. Joelle has been successfully selling her work at art and craft fairs for over ten years and, thankfully, she was more than willing to share tips and tricks for being successful at shows. Soon after the show, Joelle asked me to consider creating a line of pendants that complimented her "beachy" jewelry. I love the ocean and jumped at the idea to create art that brings to mind the casual and laid-back feeling of the beach.

I started with this sea start painting...

Sea Star Painting for LaBelle Mariposa pendant

Once I'd completed the painting which is 12 by 12 in size, I photographed it and re-sized it using Photoshop. Painting something bigger and shrinking it down for a pendant is such a fun process. All of the details are so cute and crisp when shrunk down from a large size to an itty bitty piece of art. :)

There are several factors that influence the final product when printing the images. Therefore, I usually have to do a few test-prints before I get the final image that I want for the pendant.



I'm very happy with the final result of this image...

I love the dimension and the shading. In real life, it looks like you could run your finger along the side and feel the starfish. :) Now I'm working on a sand dollar, and next will come a painting that represents Manhattan Beach, CA. I'll share photos of those paintings as they come along.

Sea Star Pendant

Blessings,
Laura P.