Linda Mahoney Art

  Tomorrow is the last day to vote in the Fabric8 design contest sponsored by Spoonflower and Robert Kaufman. I am so excited my Butterflygarden collection has made it to the finals! If you don't mind taking the time to vote for my collection (or one of the others), you may go here to do so. Learning to do fabric repeats has been a steep learning curve for me, but I'm getting the hang of it. I guess my background in graphic arts is coming to the foreground as I have found I really, really enjoy doing surface design.

Here is the link to my profile for the Fabric8 Finalists in the contest sponsored by Spoonflower and Robert Kaufman. Voting will begin June 7th and I will post a link to the voting location here. I'm working, working, working to come up with the 7 additional fabric designs to compliment the Butterfly Garden entry. Tiring but very fun and addictive! Keep your fingers crossed and send me inspirational and encouraging thoughts, please! Best, Linda

Butterfly Garden - fat quarter Wowee Zowee! I can't believe it. I have wanted to design fabric or try my hand at other surface designs (wallpaper, giftwrap, etc.) but, I have been struggling with seamless repeats for patterns. My original art education did not include computers and that has been a learn-on-the-fly experience for me. I have been aware of Spoonflower for about a year. They provide beautiful fabrics by fantastic independent designers and you can upload your own designs to be printed as well. The site includes designing tools and lots of friendly online and other assistance. Spoonflower sponsors weekly design contests and I thought that I would enter one about a year ago. (I have found that competitions are good for my productivity. The deadlines and parameters help me stay on track despite my natural ADD tendencies to fly off in a million directions.) Well, after numerous attempts to create a design and have it duplicate without looking like it was a creatio...

Yea!!! I was thrilled to receive word today that I've been juried into the Art & Conservation 2013 Our Hidden Treasures event. Through a lottery I have been assigned to a ranch in Comfort, TX where I will visit 2 - 3 times over the next 12 months for reference material in creating artwork for the 2013 event. I am really looking forward to participating in this. I love nature - and of course, art - and the combination of the two helps preserve what is so difficult to preserve. I used my "Beauty Beneath" colored pencil painting which is based on the cypress trees from Camp Verde to apply for inclusion. http://www.facebook.com/l.php?u=http%3A%2F%2Fcibolo.org%2Fnode%2F1795&h=qAQEqwjsR

Fun with zentangle-inspired images continues. I created this little 4.5x6.5 piece with colored ink. I can't resist experimenting with new materials and ideas. I completed a larger colored pencil piece yesterday that is unusable. I will post it as a "learn from your mistakes" item later. Have a blessed Sunday! All the best - Linda

I continue to find zentangle-inspired images relaxing and fun! There are many sites on the web where you can find ideas for designs to incorporate into your doodling. I like to work on these while my hubby is driving - though unexpected bumps result in a few squiggles here and there. I've begun including color in the images and like how it pops. I hope to get more sophitiscated in the use of the doodles and size of the marks to help create depth and shading within the images. Update on the artwork in the previous post: "Wrong Turn" - is SOLD. Prints may be available at a later date. All the Best - Linda

Here's a colored pencil painting that I finished yesterday. It's 22"x16" on Stonehenge. This past summer an artist friend commented to me, "You like art that tells a story." I had never thought of that before, but perhaps I do. I very much enjoy doing representational still lifes and landscapes, but I suppose when I do something that is totally created from my imagination, it does tell a story. I often have the title of a piece in mind before I start on it, so I guess that figures in, too. This one is titled "Wrong Turn". Sometimes purchasers want to know what I was thinking when I created a certain piece. I don't mind sharing, but I prefer for the viewer to have their own story. If I tell them mine first, I feel it limits what it can be for them. Most of us have made a wrong turn or two in our lives, and I hope that idea doesn't cramp your story when you consider this image.