DECEMBER DISCOUNT DAYS...DAY 7!

mirror, mirror on the wall...today's FEATURED PRINT is the fairest of them all!

throwback....

to last WINTER and these two cuties....they put me in my HAPPY place! :)

'cause this girl has had ENOUGH of this rainforest-like climate and disgustingly high levels of humidity. i just was not made to handle such conditions. perhaps that is why i am known as the "ice princess" amongst my friends. WINTER is MY season! 

ahh, Mr. WINTER...how i miss you so. your pristine beauty from freshly fallen SNOW to clean, cold temps. i await you anxiously, my dear friend....overly anxiously perhaps....i digress. and with that being said...

these two bits of adorableness known as Alaska and her little buddy, Aspen can be found FOR SALE here. they are ORIGINAL PAINTINGS, NOT REPRODUCTIONS.

however, since i like to offer up choices, reproductions and other bits of deliciousness with these two featured can be found here and here as well.

why not get yourself in the WINTER spirit now?! i surely am every. single. day.

{i need to write/illustrate a kids book about the wonders of winter, i'm thinking....}

1 kokeshi, SOLD!

3 more to go.

{oh, and 2 cute little penguins too ;)}

www.vangoart.co/enchantedeasel

LOVE all the ORIGINAL art on this site!

these three amigos...

relocating to their new home on the west coast! baby boy Turner, here come your new crib buddies! :)

these three paintings, 8x10, 9x12, 8x10, were a commission from a sweet grandma wanting some initial panels to hang above her grandson's crib. below are a few pics of the nursery...and my spin on creating something special for baby, Turner.

please email me at enchanted easel@yahoo.com if you'd like something special created for your little one.

that amazingly bittersweet feeling you get....

"wishful companions"
acrylic on canvas 11x14
©the enchanted easel 2015
SOLD!!!

when you sell an ORIGINAL painting....and, it's one you weren't even intending on parting with. (sniff, sniff)

{looks like the fairest of them all will be going to a much loved new home....and i am completely humbled, as always.}

PRINTS of her royal highness can be found HERE!

owl, birds, tree, flowers....

turner's initial pantings
©the enchanted easel 2015

oh, and some initials too. ;)

{these three custom paintings are on the easel this week....and,  just about DONE! if you would like something special created for your little one, please contact me through my website and i will surely accommodate you. i "heart" custom work.}

...'cause winter isn't over yet!

...and what would make better cozy companions than these two adorable balls of arctic cuteness!

LOVING these throws from fine art america!

a princess in progress...

just not ready to say which one...quite yet. ;)

{but here's a peek at some of the progress on the background...}

thursday morning thumbnails....

©the enchanted easel 2014

some arctic adorableness is on the way....:)

happy thursday, friends! 

~HaPpY St. PaTrIcK's DaY~

...or as i like to say "happy leprechauns day!" love me some red-heads! :)

*PRINTS of this piece entitled Thea's Wishing Tree (painted early last year) can be found here~

https://www.etsy.com/listing/124707690/thea-and-her-wishing-tree-reproduction*

here's wishing you all the luck of the irish today....even if there's not a lick of irish in you. ;)

the wistful ones

my latest painting, entitled "the wistful ones" is now FOR SALE as a REPRODUCTION in my shop.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/180804870/the-wistful-ones-reproduction

the second painting in my *new* style. had planned on having this done a couple of weeks ago, in time for valentine's day, but mother nature and some winter storms had other plans (power outages and no heat mean no painting). but, better late than never. 

besides, who could turn down a sweet little baby polar bear with such a "wistful" look of love in his eyes...? ;)

finishing touches...

this weekend on this little piece of loveliness. :)

©the enchanted easel 2014

©the enchanted easel 2013

"the wistful ones"

this lovely little piece of cuteness was slated for a release this past friday, february 7. that was my plan anyway...until a fierce ice storm rolled through here and left most of chester county without power...and without heat. really tough to paint with gloves on (although let it be known that i surely did try). i so wanted this to be for sale for valentine's day, but mother nature had other plans. :(

been working on it as much as i can (obviously it won't be done in time for hearts day this friday) as well as working on some other things for a donation for a sick friend from high school. as well as working on another painting for a sick friend from high school. will always put my own work aside to help anyone in need as much as i possibly can....even if it's just donating some art for a good cause.

hoping to have this piece done in a week or two. providing mother nature cooperates, that is...(from my mouth to God's ears!)

amongst friends...and new beginnings!

so happy to be done my first official painting of the new year! entitled "amongst friends" this piece is so special to me. and here's one of the reasons why....

most people know that i truly do not like surprises. seriously, i really don't. must be the structured, routine oriented, OCD side of me (well actually, that's pretty much most of me...and i'm totally ok with that). anyhow....one day, a bit over a month ago, i got a *surprise* knock on my door having to do with snow removal (go figure since i LOVE snow, the irony is almost too much to take). i work out of my home...it's also my studio and i work VERY INTENSELY therefore *surprise* knocks on the door, well let's just say they don't make me happy. i had begun this beauty a week or so beforehand and already had the birch trees completely where i wanted them...nothing left to paint but the girl (whose name is Wimberly-just liked the name and i need to name everything). when the knock came, i had a VERY thinned down container of black paint in my hand (holding it at the top of a large 16x20 canvas-just resting my hand)....3 guesses what happened next (remember, i work "VERY INTENSELY"). i jumped sky high out of my chair and there went the black paint....dripping all down the already perfectly painted face of Wimberly. i was devastated. devastated. 

no matter how hard i tried to get it off....water, paper towels, my finger....NOTHING was working. painting on canvas is not quite like painting on wood. at least with wood it can be gessoed and sanded and gessoed and sanded and such. canvas is not that forgiving. and i have worked on canvas for YEARS and this type of incident never happened to me before. (well then again most people don't knock on my door unannounced). let me tell you, i cried for DAYS....it meant THAT much to me. usually i work all areas in a base coat of color and then build on those. this time i went straight for the back ground and the trees and perfected them before moving onto Wimberly (might go back to the *old* method after this one....). so, that was what made the decision to possibly start over on a new canvas a very hard decision to make, as i had already put weeks into the trees and starting to build Wimberly. 

after days of crying and losing sleep...and gessoing and sanding several times over a period of days (yes, i sanded canvas) i decided it was time wasted and THAT is not something i do well....waste time. so, i trucked outside, in my pj clad and ugg wearing little self, through lots of deep snow, over to the dumpster in the parking lot and was about to throw this out....because surely i could not have this reminder in my apartment/studio of a botched up painting, if you will (yeah, i don't do failure very well).  i just couldn't bear to look at it every day....(hence the dumpster option). it was then...at that moment....at the dumpster....

that before my big brown eyes appeared a very small little cardinal perched atop the lid. i swear that bird looked at me as if to say "hey little girl....what do you think you're doing?!" it was then i heard my late grandfather say "you're being wasteful little girl (as he often used to say when i would attempt to throw out food i didn't eat-happened often)...don't you know what could be done with this?!" funny thing is, cardinals were OUR thing together, as was snow. must have been his december birthday. we ALWAYS used to count cardinals together outside, all bundled up, in the snow. best. times. ever. it was then, i knew, i HAD to save this painting!

and, that i did. took me longer than i wanted, but i did it. another couple rounds of gessoing and sanding (and boy did my right arm/hand take a beating through this) until the entire surface was perfectly ready for the face to be painted....again. mission accomplished!

 Wimberly is kind of like me i guess,  not a quitter....no matter what the odds may be and despite all obstacles. 3 neck surgeries and here i am...still doing whatever it takes to keep the right arm painting (and drawing). and that in turn makes for the HAPPIEST NICOLE EVER! :)

so...i dedicate this painting, the first of the new year (and a bit of a new style) to my beloved grand pop, who taught me a few things in his time...mainly that life without passion is meaningless. (must have been the sculptor/artist in him).

SIDE NOTE-STILL NOT A FAN OF SURPRISES.

PRINTS ARE AVAILABLE HERE:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/176845283/amongst-friends-reproduction

a sneak peek....

(well, a few of them actually) of the first official painting of mine for the new year! yay me...'cause she's all DONE! nothing left to do but scan...at a very large 16x20. lots of *stitching* in PS going on tonight. but that's ok, she's worth it! :)

©the enchanted easel 2014

©the enchanted easel 2014

©the enchanted easel 2014

check back tomorrow for the FINISHED PAINTING (PRINTS WILL BE FOR SALE)......and a very bittersweet story that goes along with it.

almost done....

©the enchanted easel 2014

this raven haired beauty...which will make her my first official painting of 2014! :)

so excited to post the finished painting...very very SOON!

©the enchanted easel 2014

on the easel....

new year. new beginnings.

("amongst friends")

this little beauty will be my first painting of 2014...and i'm so excited for her! i promised myself that i kind of wanted something a bit different for the new year...a bit of a *change* if you will, but a small one at that. i knew i wanted to venture out more into the greeting card/small gallery like venues...maybe look into placing my designs onto calendars, mugs, tote bags, things such as that. i also knew that i wanted to change the faces of my characters a bit...do more with the eyes and add a sweet little mouth....basically MORE things to PAINT (and we know how HAPPY painting makes me!) so...

while not wanting to lose the whole anime-type feel of my work, i decided to keep with the very round heads (just switching that up by adding a bit of a slot for a chin) and by adding a mouth and a little connotation for a nose. i also softened up the cheek area...not a harsh half moon shape like my older work. the eyes on this beauty (named Wimberly...because i HAVE to name EVERYTHING) are closed (just like the sweet little cardinal friends of hers flying around). but still, i get a chance to do more with them than my previous work where the eyes were represented by 2 little black ovals.

i have a *thing* for winter, birch trees, snow and cardinals....hence this raven haired beauty (to be) and her adorable scarlet colored companions....as she is surely "amongst friends".

it's that time of year again....

CANDY CANE TIME!!! and i am CANDY CANE OBSESSED (obviously...)!!!

i've decided to sell a LIMITED number of PRINTS of this cute little guy...the mayor of my fictitious (well, it's real to me) Peppermint Bark Park...where mountains are made from yummy peppermint ice cream and and trees made of peppermint sticks and candy canes...with scrumptious pieces of peppermint bark scattered here and there amongst the snowy ground. so, careful where you walk because you may just be tempted to stoop down a grab a quick bite. ;)

https://www.etsy.com/listing/172047607/peppermint-bark-park-limited-edition

how oh i LOVE candy canes and snowmen!

a link to the ORIGINAL PAINTING can also be found in my shop through the listing posted here.

random question/thought...why do you think candy canes are so difficult to unwrap? must be packaged by a dentist i'm thinking....;)

thea and her wishing tree

i have had this painting done for about a month now, but i wanted to wait until closer to march and st. paddy's day to list it FOR SALE AS A PRINT HERE:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/124707690/thea-and-her-wishing-tree-reproduction

it was inspired by a friend of mine's little girl (named thea) who was born on st. paddy's day. is she irish? heck NO! 110% polish as a matter of fact;) and she is actually blonde, but i wanted to paint a cute little red head, so.....

besides, who says leprechauns always have to be boys ;)

speaking of "red heads", i'm working on November's mermaid this week, little Citrine. not exactly a red head, but close enough.

check back for pics.....

a little luck of the irish....

in january...;)

i have been working on this illo/painting for the past few days. it was inspired by a dear friend of mine's daughter, born on st. patty's day. the ironic thing...she's about 110% POLISH! go figure...;)

i just thought a little irish whimsy would be fun. for the sake of the illo, i decided to make her hair a strawberry blonde color...kinda like macaroni and cheese (and how could THAT be bad....)!

i'm just about done and will be listing it FOR SALE as a PRINT sometime in early february.

hey, who says leprechauns are always boys...?!;)