Weekly Wrap-Up #1!

Hi everyone! I am going to start doing weekly wrap-ups to talk about all the new things that I have going on each week. I will try to post them on Saturday or Sunday and highlight everything from the previous week.

This past week was a very exciting week! I have two new paintings to show you, brand new art supplies to talk about, a new sketch I'm working on and a new licensed product: rubber stamps!

Sabrina - New Mermaid Painting

First off, I want to show you a brand new painting that I finished last week. This was commissioned by someone who wanted a fall mermaid, sitting by a pond with a German Shepherd. She wanted a lot of fall details in the background. I had so much fun working on this piece, because fall is my favorite time of the year, so I tried to put in so many fun fall details like the mushrooms, pumpkins and leaves swirling in the background.

I tried out a lot of new techniques on this piece (new for me anyway!). I used a new technique on the fence to make it look more like aged wood. I did this by painting light brown first, then I took a very dark brown (almost black) and painted it on top and quickly removed some of the pigment with a napkin. I tried to leave most of the pigment on the outer edges. I also tried a new technique on the scales to make them look more shimmery. I used many different shades of orange to create the final look. This was also my first attempt at making actual fur. Of course it is supposed to be somewhat stylized as my overall "look" to my paintings is stylized realism. I'm pretty happy with the way this one turned out!

The original is not available, because it was a commissioned piece, but I will soon have it available on prints and products including coloring pages! So stay tuned for that.

Lilith - New Fairy and Frog ACEO

My next new painting is a cute little treasure! Her name is Lilith and she's an ACEO. She measures only 2.5x3.5 inches. Her face is about as big as a dime! She is a fall fairy in brilliant shades of green, yellow, orange and red. She is painted with her little frog fairy friend who flew into her hand. I'm sure they will be best friends from now on. There are also cute little mushrooms in the bottom corner to finish the piece.

The original Lilith is available for purchase on Etsy here!!

Purchase My Original Sketches

Another fun thing I decided to start doing is to sell my original sketches! I have a whole collection of these from my very first painting up until my latest one. I have always loved sketches. I think they have such an energy and life to them that finished paintings sometimes do not have. Because of this, I have started to list my old sketches for a very low price! Most of them are going to be available for $15 and will even include an ACEO of the finished piece. But keep in mind, they are sketches not finished drawings! They definitely have smudges and messy lines. I have two currently available:

Original Lilith Sketch + ACEO is available on Etsy here!!

Original Rosalie Sketch + ACEO is available on Etsy here!!

New Licensed Product - Rubber Stamps

My artwork will now be available on rubber stamps through Sweet Pea Stamps! I'm very excited about this new product and I hope you will be too!

Sweet Pea Stamps will be releasing several new images of mine as rubber stamps every month and she's taking pre-orders for my first set right now. You can pre-order them here! They are scheduled to ship on October 12th. The first set includes Cassia, Telsa, Ryla, and Elana. They are sold unmounted on one sheet approx. 7"x9".

The best part is, you can sell whatever you create with these! You can make cards and all sorts of other crafts! My page has my complete "Angel Policy" listed.

I hope you all will enjoy these as much as I do!! As always, if you any questions, please let me know! =)

New Witch Sketch

I have started a brand new witch sketch! It has been a loooong time since I've painted a witch and I was hoping to be able to find the time to get her finished before Halloween. Halloween is my favorite time of the year and I tend to paint Halloween related paintings year-round. This new sketch is going to be a cute little witch inside of a pumpkin. There will be various jack-o-lanterns around, a barn owl and a few cats and spooky trees.

Make sure to follow me on Facebook (just search for Nikki Burnette - It's just a normal Facebook page - not a fan page). I will be posting my updates with the sketch and once the sketch is finished I will be having my naming contest. I do these for every sketch! I post the sketch and have people come up with name suggestions. After the painting is done, I choose a winning name. The person who suggested it wins a 5x7" print of the finished piece. So make sure to come join in on the fun on Facebook!

 

New Art Supplies

I also wanted to tell you all that I got some new art supplies last week! I actually ordered them a few weeks ago and were anxiously awaiting them to arrive. I ordered them from Cheap Joes, my usual go-to online art store. I got two new sets of Yarka St. Petersburg watercolor pan paints. I purchased the original and the sequel set. I am in love with these watercolors!! They are so creamy, smooth and vibrant. Just the smallest amount of pigment creates such a beautiful wash. Lilith was my first creation with the watercolors, but I hope to create more soon! I also purchased a set of Faber-Castell watercolor pencils. I haven't tried these out yet, but I'm excited to do so!

Below is a picture of my old, very used, messy palette, and to the right of that are my brand spankin' new, clean beautiful sets!! I just love them. =)

Well that's it for this week's Weekly Up-Date! Thanks so much for stopping by and reading. =)