Bowser’s Emporium Unlimited

Bowser’s Emporium Unlimited can be found on Facebook! Shares and likes appreciated. Merry Christmas!

 

Christmas Paintings

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas at Bowser’s!

It’s almost Christmas!

Well, not really but it’s almost time to start thinking about Christmas!

Next Friday is the traditional Black Friday of the shopping season. But, I have never been much of a Black Friday Shopper (BFS)—not much of a shopper at all, really. Because whether they like it or are indifferent—most people in my world get some kind of art-related gifts. My new and experimental art, my old artwork that caught someone’s eye, art from fellow artists, art supplies, art lessons, trips to art museums, and occasionally advice on where and how to hang their artwork.

Several people have ordered pallet and canvas paintings in the last few weeks because they liked something I have posted on FB.

So I thought why not put together a post showing some of my paintings from classes we have had in the last year. Plus a few Santas because really, who doesn’t love Santa!

There is even a deer head for the guys.

So if you want a hand painted, unique, piece of artwork for someone special on your Christmas list just PM me and I will give you to prices and contact information.

Prices are reasonable, 

Likes and shares appreciated, And a Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Adorable Pet Portraits

A couple of adorable puppy portraits ready for Christmas

Someone will unwrap a special present from under the tree come Christmas morning! Good memories and sweet friendships.

King Charles Spaniel mix.

Here is a sketch of a terrier I started last summer.

And a sweet pug with soulful eyes!

I have had such a good time doing these portraits commissioned in the summer. They are acrylic on canvas.

Back to the easel for four more commissions for Christmas. 

If you are interested in unique portrait of you furry friend contact my me by email or my FB page and together we will make a special memory.

Follow me on Facebook at Bowsers Emporium Unlimited-likes are always welcome!

or petsbyhollis@gmail.com

Everyone needs a Pig on the Wall

Oil on Canvas paintings of very trendy farm animals!
These are all original paintings you won't find in any store.

Oil on Canvas 20"x20" $130.00

Farm Animals have always had a wonderful draw for me. When I was little I drew pictures of my perfect farm which was full of all kinds of animals--some real, some not so much. Once I drew a whole series of animals on my imaginary farm--they were all black and white! Spotted goats, black and white polka dot pigs, pinto ponies, Holstein cows, and even a little salt and pepper king snake--all black and white! To tell the truth I still think about that farm, but it is still in my imagination--probably the best place for it to be. 

We have two shows coming up in September and I know there are a lot of people out there who love farm animals as much as I do. 

Bowser's Emporium Unlimited is Getting Ready for MO Junk!

The end of school is around the corner-only a few weeks until the end of my sixteenth year of teaching art! There are many new adventures in the immediate future--we are busier than ever.
So many pieces of old, good furniture and specialty items that need a little TLC. Pinterest in saying that one of the items that is trending now is the side or occasional table. Something that adds charm and interest without breaking the bank or requiring a major decorating overhaul. I love repurposing and painting little tables!!

The first annual MO Junk Show is also in a few weeks. We are trying to organize our inventory and finish some of the projects started over the fall and winter months. Lots of sanding, painting base coats and then adding the unique hand-painted images that come out of my head and heart.

The show is May 19th and 20th, 2017 in Booneville Missouri. The organizers have worked hard to make sure as many people as possible know about the event and have a good time!

The weather should be lovely and the fairgrounds are spacious.
We will load the little trailer and head out for a great weekend of  "junkin" and meeting great people who love to refinish, repurpose, and just love old things.
Here are a few photos of some items we will be bringing. Enjoy looking and please comment in the space below--I love feed back.
Like and share my Facebook page--Bowser's Emporium Unlimited, too! Thanks!

Saving Old Photographs

It is very hard to throw away old photos and so very hard to display old photographs that are so damaged as to be terribly unattractive on a wall. Over time and neglect, paper images deteriorate and slip away.

Here is one I am working on---there is still work to be done but I am happy with this initial phase.

The original was rendered in pastels over a hundred years ago in Columbia Missouri, so I used pastels to create the same look. Her face needs to be widened out and softened. She will eventually be in an antique oval frame.

This is a watercolor of my Great-Grandmother and my Grandfather. It is my goal in the first days of my retirement to document our family history in watercolor and prose. Sounds like a whole series of post on this blog.

This stone building is Daniel Boone's home in Defiance Missouri 

http://www.sccmo.org/1701/The-Historic-Daniel-Boone-Home-at-Linden

The lady on the bench is a relative who sailed from England on the Mauritania at the turn of the century.

Stay tuned for more updates on the progress of these and other projects! And feel free to comment!

1 Year in Stitches: 2017

I love changing my mind!! When you give up the old sorry feeling that it is not right to change your mind or that it implies you are weak and lack commitment, is when true freedom dawns! I started the journey because it looked like fun. I was indeed mesmerized by the beautiful thing brwnpaperbag posted on FB.
It looked wild and imaginative. I wanted to do that too! So I started. I worked and posted through my blog about the first two or three weeks. Even though I had the "freedom" of working without a pattern, the road became mired in second guessing myself and debilitating indecision. "It's just embroidery, for heaven sakes!" And the embroidery police are off at the quilting party.
However, as I worked and felt pressure to take out sub-par stitchery, poor color choices, and to post pictures as I am orchestrating painting classes, pet portraits, upcycling furniture and teaching K-12 art, I was not finding the joy I used to find in needle work. Sooooo, I have changed my mind and will still be a part of the group but I now have a project that eliminates thinking too much. Sometimes I just need mindless work that my hands know how to do.
Here is this week's accomplishment.

Image is the intellectual property of Amanda DeGraffenreid of www.degrafdesign.com

Week 2--1 Year in Stitches

Week 2 and a little embroidery.

Cold temperatures, ice, and school called off on Friday. It turned out not to be as bad as the weather channel said it was going to be. We did not have to leave the homestead so I was content to stay in and work on some of my projects. One of them being this week's stitches. When I started I debated whether to do a pattern or draw a design, however I did not really want another obligation or set project. So I decided to do free style--just stitch a little when the mood struck me.

This is harder than it appears. It is like the abstract paintings I

Two of my abstract painting at the Gallery

love to paint but that frustrate me to no end!! When you do a representational work of art you communicate through concrete ideas that most everyone agree upon. But when you do abstracts you have no common ground--ideas are individual. The same with going freestyle with this embroidery--not sure where to start, where to go, or where to stop!! One thing that I understand now that I didn't before, is this, sometimes I love it and sometimes I hate it!

Oh well, it is a journey with no pressure-- something I don't engage enough in.

This little dog is just for fun--because he makes me laugh!!

1 Year in Stitches:2017 My First Week

Winter's Coming
Tints of cold, of wind and ice, and colors of snow
Pale sunsets, late sunrises, brittle branches and crunching grasses
Between now and Spring my stitches will be of winter.
My preference for satin stitches takes over when my mind wanders. As it comes back to my hoop I remember a stitch from a long time ago.
When I started 1 Year of Stitches I thought I had been a voracious stitcher... in my youth and early adulthood. However, as I looked around I only found a very few pieces I had completed. Mostly small things like pillow cases. I could remember doing so much but most of it was gone. My Mother was an artist who left many works of art behind. Sifting through them to keep only what truly represented her creative self has been difficult. A piece of her needlework has made the cut. I want to add a piece of mine to the collection, as well as, my Grandmother's so someone, someday will know we were women of stitches. I am unsure as to whether this piece will be added or whether it will spark my passion to do another one more exemplary of my life. A collection of my Grandmother's pillow cases, my Mother's Christening dress she made for my daughter, and something from me will be tucked away in a muslin wrapping. Complete with a letter telling a little about the lives of 3 women.

1Year in Stitches 2017

Embroidery was a great love of mine in years passed--when I was younger and a bit more nostalgic. My Mother and Grandmother taught me some stitches and I learned a few on my own. I saw how beautiful their work was and how happy it made them to use their hands to make something lasting and individual.

I embroidered denim skirts and jackets. Tea towels and pillowcases. Doll clothes and aprons. I used patterns and I drew my own. Going to the Dime Store (Ben Franklins) to see new books and patterns, colors and hoops was a delight when I was 12. Even when my children were small I embroidered their names and small animals on their clothing. But as the children grew up and I began to teach art, my time for the pure selfish pleasure of sitting down to needle and thread was gone.

Half-heartily perusing Facebook in the wee hours of the morning I chance upon the 1 Year in Stitches Challenge.

It kind of stirred my memories of embroidery. I loved the visual on the page of the hoop filled with color and lines. Since I am on the verge of retirement I thought I might engage.

I liked the page and asked to join the group. My niece in Texas commented on the page as well. She mentioned that my Mother--her Grandmother had taught her a few stitches years ago. I offered to send her some of my Mother's embroidery paraphernalia.

And I decided to start to make some stitches for 2017. I rounded up the hoop, needles, floss, and a beautiful piece of white linen I have, admittedly been hoarding.

Sadly, I do not seem to have any pieces from my youth.

The only piece I could find was my granddaughter's Christening dress. My Mother made it for my daughter in 1977, embroidering her name on the slip. I am now embroidering my granddaughter's name above her mother's.

A name and a legacy.

 I will post on the blog my progress this year.