Barn Owl painted on a Wooden Heart

I love these little hearts, they are great to paint on and look pretty hanging up, I have a few around my home, they hang from a door handle in the lounge, the wardrobe door in the bedroom and from a wall light fitting in the conservatory, I can change them around depending on my mood or change of decor.

This little owl was painted for my Folksy Shop, he sits inside a cabinet at the moment, covered with tissue in a little box. If you want him then pop over to My Folksy Shop

Pop over to my Folksy Shop if you'd like to see more of my items for sale or you can get in touch with me via the 'contact' button in my Folksy Store.

Click the link to take you to   Handcrafted by Picto on Folksy

Jan X

Moonlight Silhoulette of a Unicorn and Other Animals

Following on from my Sunrise Silhouette painting I thought I'd do a Moonlight selection, once again using the sketches and artwork I already have as inspiration,

I've already done a few star and moon gazey paintings, here is a selection that I used as a starting point, there are a couple of  Aceo's of a hare and a fox, a framed picture of a moon gazing hare and a unicorn on canvas.

For this Moon Light series I wanted the colours to be a bit more dramatic so like my previous Sun series I painted the center the palest colour, in this case, white.






 I then gradually went darker as I went outwards with the edges a very dark blue, almost black but not quite as I needed the black lines of the trees to show up. I love painting the Unicorn, you can see the process of choosing the silhouette in my previous post

I painted the hearts in the same way and chose the Wolf, the Fox and the Hare for the center, the back of these hearts are painted blue with silver hearts.

The Unicorn plaque has a 'D' fixing on the back for hanging up or why not prop it on a shelf or desk using a little easel or plate display stand.

You can find all these items in my Handcrafted by Picto Folksy Shop

Thank you for checking out my blog

Jan x 
I'm going to link this post over on the Folksy Forum and Twitter for #FolksyFriday

Woodland Silhouettes and Forest Creatures

I've been having a play and experiment with silhouettes and as I have already got lots of photographs and sketches I decided to work with what I had.

I trawled through my photo's for background colour inspiration.I liked the orange and yellow sunrise.

Sunrise or Sunset, you decide

 

Unicorn on Canvas

I chose a prancing unicorn painting as my first subject matter, I've used this image in a few of my paintings and everyone loves Unicorns don't they?





I played around with PhotoScape.org to get different looks, I liked the black unicorn and thought it would stand out nicely against the orange background.
(PhotoScape is photo editing software and you can get it as a free download), I can't get my head around PhotoShop and PhotoScape is easy as well as free, so that's a bonus.

A selection of silhouettes

I went through my stash of wood and decided on a rectangle and some wooden hearts. I started with the background using orange and yellow. These colours work well for either a sunset or a sunrise.

Work in Progress

On the rectangle I painted trees up the sides following the arch shape of the sky, they help to frame the unicorn and add some interest.

Unicorn Work in Progress

For the hearts I thought other woodland creatures would carry on the theme.

Woodland Hearts

 

Woodland Hanging Hearts

I added a 'D' hook to the back of the wood so it can easily be hung up from a hook or nail or it could be put on a little desk easel or propped on a shelf.

Unicorn Silhouette

I have loved working with these colours, they are so bright and cheerful.

Prancing Unicorn

I think I'll pop these into my Jan Ryan Art Etsy Shop if for any reason you can't see them you can always message me via my shops or my Handcrafted by Picto Facebook page.  

That's all from me for now

Jan x

Hare Gazing & Hare Leaping Paintings on Hearts

I was having a rummage through my 'stash' and found a few Hanging Heart blanks, mmmm so what should I use them for? I asked myself...... yes, I often talk to myself, I suspect you do too. The Hubster says it's because I'm usually the only person to understand my own ramblings!! 
So I thunked and I thought and decided it was time I painted a few more Hares. I haven't done any for a while.

A Leaping Hare & The Snow Moon

The Hare is closely associated with the moon, particularly the full moon, it's a connection found in Celtic and Druid mythology as well as folktales from all around the world.  Did you know that the Snow moon or Full Snow moon is a traditional name for the full moon that occurs in February in North America? No I didn't know either but I saw it on my FB page and checked it out. I thought this was a fitting image for one of the hearts.

Hare Gazing at the Moon

I live in a rural area and lucky enough to see hares running through the fields, it's believed to be a favorite animal and 'attendant spirit' of the Celts. It represents love, fertility and growth and is associated with the Moon, Easter, death, redemption and resurrection. So I really should paint a Spring Hare to add to the Winter and Autumn ones. 

Hare Painting

 

I love the Hare and the associated stories, the Moon Gazing Hare on the hanging heart was taken from a painting I done a while ago. You can see the post about it here..  The Hare Gazing Painting

Hare Sketch

And while searching for the Hare Painting post I came across this little sketch from one of my first posts way back in March 2011, you can see the post here ..... Running Hare Sketch

I hope you've enjoyed my little ramble but that's all from me for now, I'm off to do some more painting.

Jan x


I'm linking this post over to the weekly Lucy Blossom Craft Link Up

Valentine Cards & Gift Hearts all in one

Is it too early to be thinking about Valentines Day? 

Well I know that it's never too early to be thinking about Love

Last year I made Hanging Hearts for Valentines Day, this year I have more Hearts but this time I've attached them to hand drawn cards. These do well for other occasions such as Weddings or Anniversaries, or 'Just Because' after all we don't need an excuse to tell someone we love them.

A Valentine Card and Gift in one

 There is a mixture of Cream or White Cards and each one has a different hand drawn design.

Two Little Blue Birds on a Heart

The insides have been left blank

My Heart Forever

 The Lindor Chocolates used as props have now been eaten......

Love on a Hanging Heart

Well,you didn't think they'd last past the photo session did you?

Mmmm they were yummy.

Ladybirds & Hearts

 The Hearts can be taken off the card and hung up

Kissing Blue Birds on a Hanging Heart

Some of these are in my online shops, you can get to them via the links in the sidebar or you can message me on this blog.

Have you already made anything special for Valentines Day?  or have you yet to make something?

Have a great week

Jan x

I've popped this post over to the Handmade Monday Link up, click HERE to check it out.

Spring Flowers, Hearts, Daffodils & Bluebells

I love living where I do, here is a little peek at my week in pictures...
from big skies

View from the Warren

to little snowdrops

Snowdrops & Eranthis (winter aconite)

from big trees

Scots Pine by the Lake in Brandon Park

to little birds

Mr Blackbird & the Chaffinch

from a big horse

Mr Ned in the field

to the teeniest tiny snail among the moss

A Snail in the Moss

It's lovely to have so much inspiration on the doorstop. 

My latest Hearts with Flowers are for my local Art Shop Cavern 4 with Workwise which is part of the the Papworth Trust, a worthwhile charity helping to train and develop people with mental health problems. 

These Hearts have been influenced by Spring, the up and coming Mothers Day and not forgetting Easter.

Hanging Hearts with Daffodils & Bluebells

I hope you have enjoyed this weeks post, I am linking it to the Handmade Harbour Linky Up

Jan x 

Painting Daisies on Hanging Hearts

Hearts and Flowers are on the agenda this week, not Valentine Hearts or Roses but turquoise skies and daisies. The daisy is one of my favourite flowers and I often paint one or two into my work, I put them on my Fairy Doors, on my Swirly Tree Paintings and now I have painted them on Hearts.

I picked 3 different sized mdf hearts to paint and chose bright pinks and turquoise for the background....

Turquoise & Pink Background on the Hearts

I painted a smidgen of green in the point of the heart and using a couple of different shades of green I painted flower stems and grass.....

I used my Daisy photo's as inspiration...

Daisies in the Meadow

Painting the Daisies on the Heart

The backs of the Hearts have been left plain turquoise...

Back and the front of the Hearts

 

The finished Hanging Hearts

The large and middle sized Hearts have a pretty turquoise ribbon for hanging up and the smallest of the Hearts has a magnet attached.

I have put these in my Folksy Shop or if you would like something doing similar please contact me.

I'm planning on different colour and flower combinations, I'd love to hear what your choice would be?

 Jan X

I've linked this post to Handmade Harbour's link up

Valentine's Day Hearts

Did you know that it's only a couple of weeks away from Valentines Day??? There are a few clues about, lots of hearts, chocolates, flowers and all manner of things to do with LOVE.

The history of Valentine's Day--and the story of its patron saint--is shrouded in mystery, I googled it but there are so many explanations I decided to delve no further but I do know that 14^th February has long been celebrated as a day of romance.

I've joined in with a few hearts of my own.....

Traditional Red Heart & Lovebirds

Blue Birds on a Hanging Heart

Love Bugs (Ladybirds) on a Hanging Heart

A Commissioned Heart to be used as a Wedding Gift Tag

Some of these are available in my Folksy and WowThankYou online shops or if you want one making in the colour or design of your choice you can contact me through this Blog or on my Facebook Page.

I've also painted a few more 'I Love You to the Moon & Back' Hearts similar to those I showed in this post in this Hanging Heart post here  and in my Facebook Album

I won't show them again here, please click on the links if you want to see more.

That's all from me for now

Jan x

This post is linked to Handmade Monday's Linky Party 

I Love You to the Moon & Back, Hanging Hearts and Snowy Scenes

Hello all, another busy week, whether it's shopping, baking organising or making. I'm sure you've all been busy too.

One of my jobs this week has been painting a few Hearts, these are all 15cm x 15cm or if you prefer imperial measurements it's 6x6inches and have a ribbon for hanging up.

I Love You to the Moon and Back has continued to be a popular saying, these Hanging Hearts were ordered as a gift for sisters, They have slight differences in the placing of the stars and the colours, one being dark blue the other a deep purple.

I Love You to the Moon & Back

Hanging Hearts with Moon & Stars

I usually leave the backs of the Hearts plain but I decided to paint stars on the back of these, I know if they are hanging against a door or wall nobody will see the backs anyway but if they are hanging in a window or somewhere they can spin around I thought it would be a nice touch.

I've also been painting snowy scenes on Hearts.....

A Snowy Scene on a Hanging Heart

Houses in the Snow Hanging Heart

Hand Painted Hanging Hearts

Wishing you all a great week and don't forget to pop over to this weeks Handmade Monday Link up.

Jan x