Margarita Mayham

I just love Mexican food and nothing goes better with it than a Margarita.
Now you just have to pick the flavor to put in the glass!  

I bought plain margarita glasses at a local shop - very inexpensive.

Next the idea

 At first I was going to paint a maraca band on each glass - all in silver and black - but that seemed a bit boring. 

Then I thought of cactus's holding instruments - not bad - I like Prickly Pear Cactus Margaritas.

Somehow, I wasn't liking the idea...

So, my favourite Mexican dish is stuffed poblano peppers or Chiles Rellenos.

Spicy, cheesy - just yummy!

  My thoughts were coming together - little peppers.

I began sketching and came up with four members to my band.

One pepper had to hold maracas with a blanket over his shoulder.  

I gave him a bright blue sombrero with silver applique.

Another strumming the ever popular guitar.

He is supposed to be a bit chubby - not all peppers are slim and trim.

I could just hear him belting out the tunes.

I had to throw in a jazzy character playing the horn.

I gave him shades with a tilt to his head and an orange sombrero with silver trim.

He is tilted back to give the effect of seduction and showmanship.

Last but not least a fiddle to spice it up.

He is the sweetie of the group - smirking like he has a secret.

I gave his red sombrero tassel's.

 Each had to have the ever present sombrero, a red sash and a lengthy black moustache.
I gave each pepper character by changing up their faces; two are singing with gusto while another is just smirking.  Their eyes tell a story as well - either looking off to the side or closed in concentration.

Hope you enjoyed the party!

Those Tenacious Sea Turtles

set of  6 Tenacious Sea Turtle glasses

Since I moved to Cyprus two months ago I have heard about the hatching of the sea turtles.  It is one of the "must see" events.

  The turtles have such a hard start hatching and then making it out to the sea that the only word that suited them was tenacious hence Those Tenacious Sea Turtles.



The Loggerhead Turtle and the Green Turtle both lay their eggs in nests that can be found along the Cyprus coast.  Specifically in the soft sand of the Alagadi Beach and Golden beach on the northern side of Cyprus and the Akamas peninsula on the south side.

Alagadi Turtle Beach - A cataloged nest

Supplies for the nests

I was so excited about the hatching that I decided to paint a set of glasses - note that each glass has a different base.  I like to do this so that my guests know which glass is theirs.

Base is a red lobster

Base is a red octopus

Base is a hermit crab and sea urchin

Sand dollar, sea horse and assorted shells

Starfish and assorted shells

Blue crab

I hope you enjoyed the post - coming soon are my impression of the Mexican margarita glass.

Mardi Gras Madness

Mardi Gras is a "Big" holiday in New Orleans!

Excitement, parades, parties and just alot of fun.

My daughter lives the life there and as a gift I painted her this set of glasses

 knowing she would enjoy them year after year.

Green, gold and purple was a must.  

Bright masks, a crown and a couple of fleur de les adorn these glasses  

as music notes dance around the glasses.

Notice the beads on the bottom of the glass - I gave each glass in the set a different color beads.

The perfect glass to enjoy your margarita!

Woodland Dance

What to do next after mermaids - I wanted to do something fun and imaginative and above all I wanted to use color.  

I honestly do not know how this painting began but I like how it turned out.

I began with my three fairies and slowly added more and more to the picture.

Three fairies in different positions.

I added more details to fairies blocked in the mushroom and used ferns as background.

Added varying heights of flowers.

Yellow cinquefoil, purple violets, red poppies and two woodland lady slippers.

Yellow cinquefoil and a bright red poppy.

I began to add leaves.

Finally I added a red ribbon to complete the picture. 

Treasures from the Sea

Imagine a fine glass of wine on a hot sultry night sitting on the back porch with friends.

  

Take it one step further!

 Imagine, after a day of sea shell hunting in the bright sunshine,

 you are sprawled in a reclining chair looking out to sea holding one of these glasses filled to the brim with your favorite wine. 

Now we are talking!

These one of a kind glasses are the perfect accompaniment to a delicious sea food meal or with appetizers.

First, I had to find the right glass that I wanted to paint on.  

Something a bit different - I found these at Pier One.  

I liked the rings around the base - it reminded me of waves flowing up the beach and slowly receding. 

What to paint - not an easy question.

I used my favorite sea creatures: the Blue Crab, Nautilus shell, Lions Paw, Starfish, Moon Snail, Florida Cerith shell, and of course the Common Sand dollar.

Blue crab

I picked a sea creature - the first being the blue crab - and painted it on each glass.
After I added the Nautilus shell and Lions Paw in front of a sand dollar.

sand dollar, Nautilus shell and a lions paw

On the third side I painted the starfish, Moon shell and Cerith shell.

 The glasses turned out fantastic-  didn't they?

My Mysterious Mermaid

A mermaid is a mythical creature that is half woman and half fish.  The name comes from the 'Mer" meaning sea.  Some mermaids are described as being ugly and monstrous but when I think of a mermaid she has long flowing hair with a gorgeous tail and surrounded by jewels.  As I painted my mysterious mermaid she went through so many changes - I even decided to slim down her waistline - she was a bit more "fluffy" at first.  If only in real life it could be so easy!   I added a lime-green tint to the skin to give her a more mesmerizing appeal.

There is so much mythology connected with mermaids - I guess that is why I am so fascinated by them.

One such legend is that each mermaid has a special stone that is meant only for her and that their life is spent looking for this particular stone.  When the mermaid is lucky enough to find the stone her tail will change to the color of the stone and her magical powers will be enhanced. My mermaid is not wearing her stone but she is holding an emerald necklace and has several strands of amethysts draped sensually around her hips.

As I have said she went through so many changes along the way - even her tail changed in shape and color.  It began as bright pink with blue highlights but I thought she just needed more color!  As I painted the rest of the picture I added purple, teal and white.

My magical mermaid is surrounded by many sea creatures - some fresh water and others salt water. 

I began with two Koi swimming closely around her.  Koi are a fresh water fish and as I added more plants and sea creatures they began to vary between.  Technicalities!   

Since the Koi's early beginnings in the Nigata region of Japan in the early nineteenth century, Koi have been selectively bred and developed to produce the many varied types of coloured fish that we have today.  After researching many color variations I went with the dark orange/red and golden Koi.  I added two playful clown fish next to the Koi - to add more orange into the center of the picture.

A

A carefree turtle glides through the water toward the lovely mermaid. 

The bottom is a combination of many different creatures, plants, sponges and corals.

A group of Cameta golden-yellow discus fish and a green-blue River Discus fish pass over the sea bed.

Swimming above the Koi are three african cichlid, two blue hippo tang next to an amazing turquoise seahorse.

I created a sand by layering shades of beige, golden brown and raw umber.  Shells litter the bottom with a blue crab crawling over a sand dollar. 

This was a fun picture to paint and will go nicely in the bathroom I am remodeling.  I will be sure to post the finished bathroom when I am finished.

A Seashell Wreath

Often when I go on holiday I make sure to buy something to remind me of the place I visited.  Then at a later date I gather up my treasures and try to make something so I can remember those long ago times.

Through the years I have acquired a ton of shells - some I bought and others I picked up along the beach.  I had a great assortment of shells ranging in neutrals, as well as shades of oranges and purple. 

Somewhere along my travels I had bought a unique wreath that was made from tree limbs and woven together with grape vines.  I decided to use this as my base - it was a bit uneven but I decided that would bring character to my project.

backside of wreath after I glued on the shells

Before I began to glue the shells onto the wooden wreath I laid them out roughly in a circle on the table - this way I could pick and choose how the wreath was going to look when it was finished - what shells would go where depending on size and color.  Using a hot glue gun I kept adding shells - layer upon layer - angling the shells different ways and filling in spots.  Using a can on fine iridescent spray glitter - I lightly sprayed the wreath.

The wreath still needed something - I had a bouquet of small cream colored tea roses - I glued the roses around the wreath.  In between the shells I added small loops of white iridescent ribbon.  

Still my wreath was lacking.What to add???  When I visited New Orleans, I found a small shop on Magazine Street that had some of the most unique Christmas ornaments that I have seen in a long time.  I ended up buying a few Cloisonne sea creature Christmas Ornaments to bring home - one never knows - right!

A bright ropical fish.

A golden brown sand crab with moving leg joints.

A golden brown shrimp with moving tail.

A dark green alligator with a moving jaw and tail.

A golden brown crawfish with segmented tail and golden long antenna

I set the ornaments on top of the wreath spacing them out evenly and then I glued them on.  Done at last - so what do you think?  I am remodeling my bathroom - I have decided to add sea accents - I think this might just fit in.