Snow Day!

Snow days are fabulous when you are a teacher! Friday we had fog and ice and of course snow so we were notified that there would be no school that day! Once the fog cleared, it was BEAUTIFUL out. The sky was crazy clear and the trees were covered in frost. I spent an hour roaming around taking pics of the colors. That is my idea of a great day! Enjoy your day!

Ellie

The owner of The Village Art Center in Mountain Home has a precious little granddaughter named Ellie. The elephant theme was based on Ellie's mom loving elephants as well as tie dye. Grandma loves dachsunds so the pups had to make an appearance also. I think elephants are so precious and it was really special to create this one. I've been working on some acrylic paintings lately...stay tuned.

I'm growing up!!!

Here at the Brenda Raub headquarters (my 12 x 12 bedroom made into a studio) we have gone BIG TIME! That's right folks...we have a real web site! I'm hoping to woo the New York children's book publishers into making me a full time illustrator! Send good ju ju's my way please! So, check out the site and know that I'm still learning all of the bells and whistles and hopefully one day I'll build a web site that would make Bill Gates sort of proud! Check it out at this easy to remember site...www.brendaraub.com. Love and Peace to you!

Hannah!

Every Friday I meet at our local Moxie Java for coffee with a dear friend of mine. She is an incredibly strong lady who has overcome breast cancer, divorce from her husband which ostracized her from her church, and teaching in public schools! Her days now since retiring is spent playing dolls with her granddaughter, Hannah. I cre8ed this horsey name because Hannah has a little cow gal in her.

Debbie

I've been pretty busy with commission work and this is the latest one I've cre8ed. I really love doing these and it's even a bigger bonus when I know a little of the story behind the person receiving the artwork. The gal, Debbie, is getting this piece from her sister-in-law. Debbie just happens to be a young 50-something down syndrome beauty that LOVES penguins! What an awesome present!!!

Go Fish!

I've been having fun with my cre8ive letters! I hope you've found inspiration somewhere out there too!

Daisies at Sunday Lake

A weird thing happens when someone you love passes away. You find out things you never knew before. Suddenly little things mean more than they ever did. So, when my dad passed away a couple of years ago, I found out his nickname in high school was Daisy. A little strange for a former Chief of the Air Force to have a floral name, I think. When I went back to his home town, Wakefield Michigan to visit his grave site, I walked around the hub of the little town, Sunday Lake. I took many photos because it was a beautiful day with many beautiful vistas. One shot I was excited to get was one with Daisies in the foreground with the lake in the back. I'm sure anyone else that may have gotten a shot of daisies with lakes in the background would never have gotten as satisfied as I was at that moment. I got back to Idaho and went to work on a color pencil drawing of that scene. For Christmas this year, I gave my mom the piece all framed in a beautiful custom frame with suede matting. She cried, I cried, and we hugged. Isn't that what Christmas is all about? HA!

I think it's always interesting to see an artist's interpretation of a landscape. So, now you can see the photo I took along with the art results. I encourage you to look through your photos, find a shot you like, and try to draw or paint it. You don't have to put it on a blog site for the whole world to see so there isn't any real pressure. If you DO like it, however, send me an email with the artwork attached! I'd love to see it and hey, maybe I'll even post it to my blog! Keep Cre8ing!!!!

Mom and Dad

Are we born to be artists? Is there an artist in all of us and the way we continue to cre8 is by being nurtured properly? Or does one or a couple of things along our life's path lead us to become an artist? These are all good questions that I don't think anyone knows the answer to, however, if you feel you do PLEASE leave me a comment...I'd love to hear your thoughts.

For me I think I had some sort of natural interest in working with my hands. However, I wouldn't be where I am today writing this cre8ive blog without my parents encouragement. Man oh man, when I found this picture today hidden on one of those almost extinct floppy disks it just made my day. There are so many good feelings when I look at this picture. For those of you that don't know, my dad died a couple of years ago unexpectadely. My mom is such a trooper and she keeps on working (way too much) and spoiling us kids. But both of them believed in me and my art and made me have the confidence to study it in college. They bought me endless supplies of paint, canvas, paper, pens, pencils, batteries for my electric pencil sharpener, drawing tables, easels...you name it! My parents always mentioned how much they liked my work. My dad had me paint a Christmas picture on their living room window one year. My mom gave me personal requests for work she'd like on her walls. These parents of mine aren't artists themselves. They didn't teach me how to paint, draw, or think of crazy ideas in my head. They encouraged me to be what I loved to do. That is by far the BEST gift they have ever given me. I love you mom and dad. And also, all of you that have shown me so much support in all my cre8ive ventures!!!

Speaking of cre8ive ventures...my next art show is February 9th from 6-9 at Carmela Winery. It is a beautiful venue with lots of wine, live jazz, and amazing art for sale. If you plan on eating dinner there you will also get your admission ($20) waived! Believe me, even if you do pay the $20 it is sooo worth it! Lots of free wine to sample, lots of delicious food to munch on, and the art and music is superb! I'd love to see all of my regulars as well as a new face or two! Have a good night! I've got to get to sleep to handle all of those crazy teenagers tomorrow. :)

Couch Painting

So, I cre8ed an actual "couch" painting. My husband likes to put his boat in at
Cottonwood and this is my rendition of that dock site.
It was a lot of fun to do something that I haven't done in awhile. I'm usually doing such small details with color pencil that this was a mini cre8ive vaca for me. Enjoy and have a good week. I go back to work tomorrow morning so it's time to hit the hay.

This is my house

Lucky for me, my husband builds houses. It's great because I can have that process as a cre8ive outlet! He has a blog site also. Check it out to get helpful information about building and remodeling! raubinc@blogspot.com


Well! Here's that handsome builder now!

Unique gift ideas

I did a name for a little gal that isn't even born yet...Haylie. Her mom likes giraffes and the best freind commissioned me to do the future Haylie's name. Isn't that the best idea for a shower gift? I'm sure the new mommie will be sooo surprised and happy. My friend at the local frame shop LOVES giraffes and thought this was the best one I've done so far. It was a lot of fun but so is all of the other ones I get to do! Thank you for the support Peeps!

It's been awhile since I did this one but I still love it. Zoey liked bugs so the step mom commissioned me to do this one. In real life it looked really good. The reproduction wasn't that great. But, you can get the general idea still.

If you need a one-of-a kind gift for someone, you can email me and I can create one for you! Each letter takes me about 3 hours to create. You'll get your artwork professionally framed in about 3 to 4 weeks! Framed sizes are typically 7" x 19".

IDEAS: Some older people might not like their first name but would rather have their last name created. Others might like a favorite word created: Like Enjoy, Wander, Rest, Relax, or Namaste.

Peace!

More art to show...

I love to do cre8ive letters! This a sample of my latest alphabet called Smile.

Don't you think these letters would be fun in a dentist's office?

Jadyn is a little fiesty girly girl, so I thought cute little girl devils dressing up in fun fashions, spending time with her dog, and smelling the flowers would be appropriate. This also has glitter on it but glitter doesn't show too well when reproduced. Hopfully, Jadyn and her parents will love her illustrated name! It was a blast to do it.

Here's a detail of a couple of the letters. You can tell there is glitter in the fairy's dust and the gals princess dress.

I hope 2008 is doing GREAT for all of you art lovers out there!!! Thanks for checking back in.

A Sunny New Year!

Happy 2008! It's officially that time of year when you have to try to make 7's into 8's. I'm a pro since I'm prone to making a lot of boo boos! Since I've been on break from my FT job I've been fairly productive in my studio. Proof is in the puddin'. You're reading it...an art blog. My NY's resolutions are more like goals that I THINK I can achieve rather than wishes about my pant size. Mostly, they are about art and what I would like to achieve each year. I'm on a 10 year plan to become a free-lance illustrator. That means I'll retire as a FT art teacher and then illustrate for children's books, greeting cards, scrap book companies, etc. So, in order to get closer to that goal, I had to go WORLD WIDE BABY! This blog is step 1. (well, after doing kick butt artwork of course!) Eventually, I'll have a real web site, a good scanner, mass post cards with a mass mailing list. But today and tomorrow, I'm still discovering what I REALLY like to do and what the public are willing to spend their hard earned dimes on. THAT is a good question! So, when you like something you see on my blog site...let me know. Of course, the ultimate compliment is an offer to purchase!

These 3-d suns have been selling well! They are pretty fun to make but I'm ready to move onto another form. Stay tuned for the next cre8ion!

Color Pencil of Rylee

Can you say sugar rush? Yummy!!!! This was fun to Cre8! I want to do a whole alphabet but each letter takes something like 3 to 4 hours to do! And then there are the calories to worry about...good thing my personal chef, Roberto has a killer sweet tooth!

IT's NYE! GoOD ByE 2007! HeLLo 2008! TiME to Cre8!

This is a letter I did for a little gal named Rylee that likes SWEETS! I used colored pencils and then when I was done...I ate the treats! What a great way to Cre8!