With A Little Help From Van Gogh

Right now I'm dealing with a LOT of STUFF,
so it's nearly impossible for me to come up with
a composition, much less pull off a plein air.

At times like these, when I can stand it no longer,
it helps to pull out one of my art books and just work
on a copy for practice.

This one of Van Gogh's I've actually been working on for
years. Though I love the way the sky and mountains turned out,
(sky looks much better in person - the cloud has detail)
I don't think I'll ever share Vincent's enthusiasm for repetitive
brush strokes, so I got lazy while working on the field.

Am eventually going back to lighten up the cottages and put some more
detail in the foreground, and then I don't care if anyone buys it or not.

I like it enough as is to keep on my own wall, considering how
I don't think I'll be buying an original of his any time soon.

Jewelry Designs

I've crossed over to jewelry-making lately (as has everyone else, says my cousin), after discovering Miriam Haskell designs.
This has been a long-term project that incorporates my love of antiques with my need to create.There's really no affordable way now to create the kind of beautiful centerpieces the Haskell company did years ago, so I've found a way to incorporate
antique and vintage brooches into necklaces to give a similar result, without the cost of having to create the whole piece from scratch.
Getting the centerpiece balanced and properly matched up to the color of available
beads has been tricky, and pretty time-consuming, but I like the end result so far.

I've been shopping for the brooches/etc all over the state of NC for the last three years, and finally got a few finished designs in a couple of shops just as the economy crashed.

So it's hard to tell how they will be received, though a couple have recently sold.
I've noticed the idea becoming a trend, except using cheaper centerpiece reproductions.

Am posting a few below, with prices. The photo backgrounds are not the best, but I'll make some better ones later.