paintings – Page 3 – Karla's Cottage

A lesson learned in the past, that I am remembering as I set up my Good Juju booth

antiques/junking, collections, Good JuJu, paintings, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / June 1, 2022

Hmmm, now I am wondering why I spent so much time remaking my wall, when you don’t even see it. Yep, this spot is FULL.

Adding the “porch” awning allowed me to really overfill. I love that structure that Rich built for me, even if it got buried and is now hidden.

One reason that I am excited to join the Good Juju venue, is that while it is full of wonderful antiquities and awesome junk, there are also handmade items and lots of artwork.

All of my favorite things, so right up my alley!

I’ll be having hand painted furniture, vintage paper collage, old stuff, painted signs and canvases, and some jewelry.

These necklaces are my “Recycled Charms”, pendants made of bits of jewelry I have collected over the years.

This side of the door holds sterling silver with genuine stones.

If all goes well, this can be a place where I can indulge my creative whims.

While I am kinda rusty on the antique mall biz, and it’s been a while since I had a booth, I did set up my garage as a shop during Birdsong events, so I stayed, somewhat in the commerce world.

I’m hoping I’m just a little rusty, not completely out of it.

No matter how long I’ve been away, there is one rule that will never leave me- I will NOT willy nilly buy things just because I think they will sell. I’ll only offer goods in my booth that I would want for myself, in my own home, and stay with my own sense of style.

For one thing, you never know what you’ll get stuck with, so I have things I like just in case they do end up at my own home later on. My house is furnished right now with leftovers that did not sell.

Also, with a small spot, I need to be able to coordinate the items and have a flow. Although I do have to admit, that I’ve packed so much into this little corner that the flow could look more like a log jam, huh?

I feel like everything I add to the spot should give me a little tug, one that says, “Hey, don’t sell that! Think how great it would look on my living room wall! Or in the studio! Or hey- I can make something with that!”

Please wish me luck, it might take me a while to find my niche at this mall. For now, I’m throwing all my faves into the spot and seeing how it goes.

A new look for the office

cottage, dogs, family, paintings, redos

By Karla Nathan / January 24, 2022

We finished the transformation of Rich’s office. Well, almost. We need a different sofa.

And for right now, the little nook that he is using as a computer area is just a board screwed to the wall, not a desk or table.

The rest of the room is all done, and everyone is enjoying the pool/ping pong table.

Most of the workout equipment is in the spot where all of the file cabinets and desks used to be.

The treadmill is behind the seating area, facing the tv, and there is room for an exercise bike next to it.

The walls are freshly painted and patched.

I filled the knotholes in the barn wood window sills with turquoise chips and clear coated the wood. After years of sunshine pouring in, they were cracking and dull.

We added new blinds and lighting, my son replaced the flooring.

The newly framed “ancestor” pictures hang below a sign pulled from the wreckage of the gas station Rich’s grandfather owned.

Some of these family photos were updated and reframed. I still need to get a few others up there. I think I have room for four more, a smaller one on each side of the bottom and top rows.

I have wanted that carpet gone for years, and am very pleased with the new, cleaned up version of the room! All of the hard parts are done, now I get to go furniture shopping for a new couch.

A pet portrait

dogs, paintings

By Karla Nathan / December 7, 2021

This is a sweet girl that I painted for a friend.

I have enjoyed doing more paintings this fall and hope to continue the trend into the new year.

Pink Roses Galore

flowers, Painting with thread, paintings

By Karla Nathan / November 4, 2021

I’ve been on a pink roses kick. This one was done this week.
(The rose on the left side, second row down needs work, huh? A bit wonky)

Here is a close up. I like the layers and depth in this one. It’s a little different than the others I painted before my trip.

This shirt got an embroidered rose. But not pink!

I didn’t get a final picture before giving it away, this is a “during” photo. You can see the drawing, done in water washable marker, but as I work on these things, I don’t always follow my sketches, so it turned out a bit different.

I can’t remember if I showed you some of the other paintings.

As you can tell, they all kinda look alike. I showed one to Kia and she said, “Didn’t you just paint that one last week?”

Rock Chalk

paintings

By Karla Nathan / August 2, 2021

Years and years ago, I painted a couple of “Jayhawks on Parade” as part of a fundraiser involving the local collage mascot. Here is one of them, a peacock. Mugs, books, shirts and other stuff were sold with the pictures of the birds too. This is a coffee cup I’d give to my MIL, that was recently returned when she moved into a healthcare facility. This mug gave me a big smile. I’d done the painting part and participated in the mosaic with good friends.

A whole box of stuff came back, including a painting I will not show that makes me want to apologize to anyone I’d gifted artwork to in the past.

Oh my.

Somethings you just don’t want to revisit, do you? At the time, I must’ve liked it, but with hindsight, I realize it was a mistake.

Much as a lot of things from the 80s for me! Let’s not talk about that big headed perm. Some things, like that badly done watercolor should stay in the past.

Summer Style

cottage, paintings

By Karla Nathan / July 14, 2021

We may live far from the ocean here in the middle of Kansas, but I still need some beachy-ness in my surroundings.

This carnival glass bowl was picked up for $3 on an antiquing jaunt with pals. It felt very oceany to me, so I filled it with shells and a matching candle. Everything sat a bit too wonky, so I removed it all and added moss inside before arranging the shells again.

That helped.

Of course, I didn’t do a before photo of this junky, old tray I had. It had been used to hold kid’s supplies in the studio and was splattered a lot of different colors. So, I painted it white, then drizzled on some beach tones and swirled them about. While the paint was still wet, I sprinkled in some sand and a little hint of glitter.

Typically, I can’t keep anything displayed on this coffee table because Sugarwings takes over that area in the living room and she fills the space up with her own assortment of doodads and accessories. But she is visiting her dad for a few weeks, so I went for it and sat out my tray of pretties.

There are multiple layers of varnish over my swirly paint, so later on when the teen returns and I lose my window of decorating time, the tray can actually be functional to use in the kitchen.

A little bit of painting

dogs, Goldendoodle Puppies, paintings

By Karla Nathan / June 12, 2021

While the cuddle bugs have kept me very busy, I still have managed to do a few creative moves. I spent time pour painting again, and tried something very different. I enjoyed crafting this circle of women so much, I think I could repeat the theme with winged fairies in pastel colors too.

I’ve been doing puppy portraits too.

And I turned some pours into landscapes. Although this one looks alien.

This one is soothing.

And here is a masterpiece! Although, I haven’t sat it out yet, 8 of the 9 pups were spoken for by the time I got the sign ready. I used this sign on a door in my yard for Sugar’s first litter and sold most of the pups this way.

It needed repainted a bit because of changes and touched up from storing it, but was a minor task to fix up. Now, I need to set it outside and see if I sell that last, sweet boy.

Painting a cement floor entryway

cottage, dogs, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), how-to projects, Kitchen remodel, paintings

By Karla Nathan / June 2, 2021

Years ago, I covered my steps in mosaic, on a whim. Not much planning went into it, and very little skill. My dad was ill, I was waiting to hear his diagnosis, and needed a big project where my fingers were busy, but my mind could wander. I didn’t have a design or the right supplies on hand, I just used what I had, and then had to make runs for more marbles and squares to complete what I’d started.

My dad was a lifelong gardener, and I think the abstract vine pattern just sorta formed itself while thinking of him.

Luckily, it hasn’t fallen apart, at least not too much. Even though it wasn’t done correctly. There are a few tiny cracks in some tiles, and a couple marbles popped out, and were glued back in.
The 100+ year old cement floor by it also had some issues. The paint on it had started to peel.

So I thoroughly scrubbed the floor and while I was at it, I went after the steps with a brush and vinegar and got the tiles to sparkle again. Then, I added a big scoop of plaster of Paris into some exterior latex paint and repainted the floor.

That gives the paint some “tooth” help it adhere to the cement.

I hope that it works, because I got carried away and started to paint vines on the floor to coordinate with the steps. That won’t be an easy patch job if the paint wears off, it will need a total redo.

We are not able to use rugs on the floor here because of this critter, Dorothy happily tinkles on any rug she sees, thinking I generously supplied her with a pee pad.

My design makes this into kind of a painted, pee proof rug.

Yep, I know it’s pretty busy. Especially when you add in the hand painted roses on the wall. But it is a very small space and not visible from the rest of the house.

(by the way, there is only a small window of time when the hooks are not layered four deep in jackets, backpacks, hats, leashes and more, I just did spring cleaning and the re-piling up has not yet begun)

After the vines dried, I brushed on a brown glaze and wiped it off, let that dry and coated the floor with semi gloss Polycrylic. I’d rather have used a stronger topcoat but I was worried about the odor and my baby puppies. So, I stayed with water based.

Fingers crossed that the paint lasts a few years!

Puppy Portraits

dogs, Goldendoodle Puppies, paintings

By Karla Nathan / May 30, 2021

Last year, when Honey had 8, look-a-like pups, I did diagrams of them so I could learn their markings and try to figure out how to tell them apart.
The diagrams were used for watercolor paintings and I ended up putting them into their puppy books. I didn’t have time to do Sugar’s litter then because, well, 16 pups kept me hopping.

All 16 got baby books, and I am doing that again for the latest litter. I also thought it would be nice to paint the little guys, but 9 pups is still quite a few to do, so I found a shortcut, with my friend, Beth’s help.

When I did the previous paintings, I’d posted a picture of one of the drawings on Instagram. Beth saved the photo and printed multiples for me on watercolor paper. Ta-dah! What a great shortcut! I was able to start painting the drawings with help from photos I’d taken of the dog’s markings.

I used acrylics instead of watercolor, so I could make adjustments and cover up lines when needed to change the pup’s appearance a bit. Basically, they look a lot as tiny babies, but there are more differences than just color and markings. This little black one has a more narrow face and was thinner.

Four done, five to go. It is nice to have the drawings on my art table, ready to work on when I get a chance. It’s a slight cheat, but hey, it’s a copy of my own drawing, so not a big cheat, right?

I’ll leave you with some of the latest pictures of my babies. We still have four boys available if you are looking for a new family member.

Part two, old art pictures

paintings

By Karla Nathan / May 20, 2021

While flipping through my scrapbook of old artwork, I came across some pieces from years ago that I thought I’d share. There were even some of the actual originals in the book like this one. It was a sketch for a series of hand painted tee shirts I did for Silver Dollar City. I should take it out and pop it into a frame.

These are all pictures taken of the album, so the quality isn’t great.

Mostly, I painted a lot of flowers, especially iris.

But there was an assortment of subjects in the book.

Even a few not so great portraits.

And some meaningful ones.

It’s funny how few I remember doing, or know what happened to.

Recently a friend posted this photo of a painting she got from me ages ago. It was so nice to see and to hear that she still had it hanging.

Then, another friend posted this one. It felt good to see them.