Very Last Minute Gift Ideas

If you're like me, you find yourself just a few days before Christmas or a birthday and you realize you forgot someone... then you run to the nearest big box store and grab something off the shelf... not very imaginative or thoughtful, is it?

So... why not buy something from an artist? Even if it's a more affordable print, it's still something you are not going to find on every shelf in every town, unless the artist has gone "big time" and has licensed their art... which would be a dream come true for many of us! ;)

I'm posting some favorites of my own art, and yes, I would hang these in my home. As a matter of fact, I am having some of my matted prints picked up for me today so I can hang them this week! And the best thing? I am getting 3 prints professionally matted for around $20!!!

If you like colorful, whimsical art, please visit my shop. All art prints are currently 50% off (no coupon needed) and even the originals are very affordable!

Merry Christmas!!!
Lana

Honeysuckle Lane: Goodbye, Sweet Sam

Honeysuckle Lane: Goodbye, Sweet Sam: Saturday we had to say goodbye to one of the sweetest cats we've ever had the joy of having in our family...



{click the link to read more}

Art Print Sale!!!

 For quite a while I've wanted to start offering matted art prints... something that is ready to pop into a frame. In order to do that, I'd like to clear out all of my un-matted prints that I have in stock now.

As of today, all of my art prints are 50% off in my Lana Manis Designs Etsy shop. The prices have already been reduced from $15 each to just $7.50 each. No coupon code is needed. Just click this link to start shopping.

About the prints:

Artwork is centered on 8 1/2" x 11" 68lb. UltraPro Satin luster paper, making it easy for it to be matted and framed. Mats and frames can be purchased economically at Hobby Lobby and other art / home decor stores.

I use an Epson Artisan 1430 wide-format printer and Claria® Hi-Definition Inks to create smudge, scratch, water and fade resistant, durable prints. These inks "deliver unsurpassed image quality and superior prints that last for generations."

Each print is shipped in a protective clear sleeve with a stiff mat so it won't bend in transit.

In this blog post, I'm sharing just a few of the prints I have to offer... in my shop I have nearly 100 paintings represented in the print section!

I'd love for you to come visit... there may be something to brighten your day, or maybe something you'd like to send to a friend. You never know until you come see! :)

Enjoy!

Lana

Moving.... Back Home

As I have so adeptly proven, I can not run more than one blog at a time. So until further notice, I will be posting exclusively at Honeysuckle Lane's Simple Joys, the first blog I ever had. This blog will stay open and who knows... I may eventually learn to run more than one blog at a time and return to this one! ;-)

{new block print cards are available in my Honeysuckle Lane Etsy shop!}

Thank you to those of you that followed me over here and linked, followed, commented, and emailed me in support of my art blog!

If you are a follower of this blog, or have linked to it, I invite you to switch to Honeysuckle Lane's Simple Joys. It's been around since 2007 and has loads of posts and photos and links!

Take care & God bless,
Lana Voiles Manis
wife, mom, artist, blogger, & not-so-adept-multi-tasker

Here a Painting, There a Painting...

For a while now, I've been a bit unorganized... trying to work on so many things that I really haven't been focused. Have you ever done that? It seems like the more I try to do, the more scattered my efforts become. Rather than plowing right on through, I think I need to take a break, make a list of things I need to do (which will be endless!), refocus, and work on just a thing or two at a time. Much of what needs to be done is home related, inside and out, so my artistic endeavors will have to be put on the back burner for a while.

Before I decided to temporarily put away my paint and brushes, I tried a few colorful, whimsical florals with mountains in the background...

{look for these in my Lana Manis Designs Etsy shop here and here}

and then I just had to try miniatures. These are only 2 1/2" square!

{my miniatures with easels are only $20 each and are listed in my Etsy shop}

Over the next few weeks, maybe a couple of months, I have some paintings that I will be listing on eBay... just to try it out again. I'm not quite sure how the art market fares over there but I'm curious to see. As far as my handmade items are concerned, I haven't seriously done eBay in years. Back when I was in a few active folk art / prim groups (Simply Primitives, The Primitive Gathering, and TDIPT), we stayed pretty busy... then things slowed, Etsy moved in, groups dwindled, and many folk artists went off on their own adventures instead of staying in the co-ops.

{Fauvism inspired painting listed on eBay today - here}

So... here I go! :)
If you are so inclined, I'd love for you to visit my eBay page once in a while. I won't have many things listed for a few days, but I hope to have near a dozen art pieces up by the weekend. This is one of those instances in which I will be discounting my art... starting the auctions below my selling price... since I suppose that's what most folks expect on eBay.

Thanks for stopping by... and when you get a chance... say hello! :)

Take care and God bless,
Lana

In the Past

Just a few years back, I painted and sold several little doll portraits. I called them Petite Poppet Portraits and modeled them after the Queen Anne dolls of the 18th and 19th centuries.

This week I decided to paint more of them (8 to be exact) and gave each one a name of one of my female ancestors. You can read more about them and see more photos here.

If you know someone who collects dolls, these would make sweet companion pieces to their collection.

That's it for May. Now that June is here, I have to finish up items for the Lavender Festival... it's just a few weeks away! :)

Take care and God bless,
Lana

Whatsoever Things Are Lovely...

This first painting's titled, Let Happiness Bloom. I named it this because I was so happy while painting it! I don't even attempt to paint realistically, don't think I could, but I absolutely LOVE mixing colors! I normally only use primary colors and white, burnt umber, and sometimes black. 

I love watching the colors blend, or not, seeing the brush strokes, and then hoping others see and feel what I see and feel when it's finished. I just want to share my art and help someone have a happy moment and smile when they view my art. :)

I've been retaking photos of some earlier paintings, as well. Whenever possible I use natural light to get more true to life color.

Come to the Church in the Wildwood

In the Pink

And while taking photos of paintings, I sometimes focus on the accessories to have some pretty images for things like this:

inspired by Philippians 4:8

Have a lovely, blessed day!
Lana

A Church, a few Abstract Still Lifes, and an Owl

I have really fallen behind on sharing my art and goings on in the studio. In the beginning, I wanted to post every few days and talk about my process and things I'd learned, whether through accomplishments or failures, because I believe that we learn from both.

For now, I'll just jump right in and start sharing again. Some posts may have one or two new things and another post may have half a dozen projects. At least I'll do that until I've caught up.

The first three photos (2 above and 1 below) are of a painting I recently did for my son's mother-in-law... or my daughter-in-law's mother... or better yet... my friend. When we first met (after our kids were engaged) we hit it off immediately. There was no awkwardness or tension as future in-laws. We were family and kindred spirits.

Below are some small paintings I did on Gessobord. I think I had some cad yellow and cad red left on my palette / freezer paper and instead of throwing it out, I painted the backgrounds on the three small panels.

Then I decided to paint the abstract flowers and vases.

The one below is my favorite. For some reason I love the background...

Here are two more small paintings using the same colors...

...and last but not least... the sweet white owl vase that my sister bought for me. I'm using it to hold my larger brushes. I love it!

Thanks for stopping by!

Blessings,
Lana

Happy Mother's Day

Have a blessed day!
Lana

Something Different

Sometimes I have this urge to do something creative and even if I don't have the time or the space cleared out for it... I just have to do it! I'd been studying other people's art techniques last week, watching youtube demos and tutorials, looking at brush strokes, admiring the use of color, reading art books, etc. and I got so inspired I just couldn't wait to try something different! I'm out of canvases (or so I thought) and pulled out my watercolor block to use. After brushing on a coat of gesso, I sketched a scene and started laying in the colors. I really don't know what I thought I'd do, but I kept adding thin layers until I had something I was pleased with.

I ended up with the painting at the top, but earlier it looked like this:

Maybe I should have kept it like that, but I just didn't like the way the tree was turning out.

Now that I'm seeing it again... I like it more than I did before.

I also changed a row of flowers. I use that term loosely because they resemble flowers about as much as the painting looks like a Monet or Renoir, but I had mounds / rows of lavender in mind. I guess if you stand wayyyyyy back and squint a lot, it could be a landscape with lavender in the foreground.

{compare this closeup to the painting at the top and you can see where I changed to look of the lavender.}

I had fun painting it anyway! :)

When I finished that one, I saw a canvas in the corner that I'd forgotten about and grabbed it up and started loosely painting a few stems of lavender. The canvas is 8" x 24" and is perfect for long stemmed flower paintings.

I'll do several layers, filling in more of the background and slowly defining the flowers... but not too much. I think I may try using a palette knife on it. We'll see how it turns out in a few days!

What have you been working on lately?
Any new artwork, needlework, decorating, gardening?

Have a blessed week,
Lana

Art Takes a Back Seat

Today, my art takes a back seat to nature,
for how can it compete with the art of our Creator?

Have a blessed weekend,
Lana

It's Not Too Late!

Oops! I have had a 25% OFF SALE sale going in my Etsy shops for several days and I meant to let everyone know after I emailed my newsletter list... but I forgot! But it's not too late...

The sale ends tonight at midnight. Several of you have already taken advantage of it and I thank you so much! For those of you that want to get in on it, here's what you do:

Go to any of my shops
Lana Manis Designs - original art and prints

Simple Joys Paperie - vintage book wreaths, assemblage jewelry, and love tokens

Honeysuckle Lane - folk art and recycled wool or ribbon flower pins

and when you add the items to your cart and are ready to check out, add this code just under the payment option: APRILSHOWERS2014.

It will automatically take 25% off your product total.

If by chance you do not shop on Etsy but still want something, just email me (honeysucklelane {at} hotmail.com) your choices along with your shipping address. I'll remove the items and send you a PayPal invoice. If you are outside the U.S., email me for a shipping quote.

As for everyday things here at home, we've had rain, rain, and more rain and everything is beginning to "green out"! Hopefully I'll have some pretty outdoor photos to share by the weekend.

Thanks for stopping by!

Take care and God bless,
Lana