throwback Thursday to one of my favorite drawings....

glacia
6x8 graphite on bristol

and my current WIP/commission.

let me start by saying i always consider any/every commission a blessing but when they are back to back really kind wonderful clients, well that just makes the "blessing" so much sweeter.

a couple of weeks ago the sweetest lady came to me wanting to completely redo her daughter's bedroom based on a few of my drawings (really?! this is really my life?! hashtag-blessed) and wanted this particular drawing turned into a painting because it looks smooch like her adorable little girl who happens to be a "budding artist" herself. i wound up selling her some prints and taking on this commission...painting her ginger haired, december born baby girl (ginger...winter...december...three of my favorite things....destiny, indeed). 

this is and always has been (and always will be) my philosophy...treat your customers like friends, make personal connections with them and they will come back to you time and time again. always staying true to myself...

"Nicole has been absolutely fantastic to work with! She is extremely responsive and has really worked with us to accommodate our special requests. The prints we ordered are absolutely beautiful! She shipped them out quickly and were packaged with great care. Nicole is an amazing artist! When you work with her you don't only get a quality product, you get great customer service. We look forward to working with her again!"

thank you, sara...for your kind words, becoming a "friend" and giving me a really good *excuse* to paint a ginger, winter loving little girl.

*LIMITED EDITION PRINTS OF THESE DRAWINGS AVAILABLE HERE...ONLY THROUGH THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER!!

LIMITED EDITION PRINTS!!

of my ORIGINAL drawings will be offered all throughout the month of NOVEMBER ONLY!!

this truly is a LIMITED TIME OFFER as i don't normally offer prints of my drawings unless the original is sold. ORIGINALS are still available in my etsy shop.

either way, it's always nice to do a little holiday shopping....early. ;)

THE WAIT IS OVER!!!

my little labors of love are finally FOR SALE!!!

i can honestly say these beauties are true "labors of love".  i spent my summer crafting these through lots of trial and error. you can read more about that process here. happy to say though, they were worth every second.

looking forward to making more in the near future. hope you love them as much as i do...

{feel free to comment below and let me know your thoughts. i LOVE feedback!}

one week from today....

my little labors of love will be available for purchase! worked on these beauties all summer long and i'm so excited to be able to share them with you! with the holidays around the corner, well these are the perfect gift for that special little girl of yours...or even for yourself. (i may have made an extra...or two...for ME. :)) they will feature four different designs as well as different metal finishes. so stoked for these!

jack of all trades...

of sorts.

i've been working on these sweet little pendant necklaces lately to add to my shop in september. and needless to say, they definitely come with a bit of a learning curve...and i'm pretty crafty. i'm embarrassed to admit the number of glass cabochons i actually went through until i had a successful outcome. in my defense, it seemed to be the glue (or so i thought) that just wasn't meshing with my inkjet printer. so...

i wound up purchasing a *special* glue which claimed to be THE glue for ink jet printers...no smearing, no bubbles, no color changing. operative word being "claimed." talk about a total disappointment and money wasted (not to mention sheer frustration). while i was purchasing the glue i figured why not purchase some more glass cabochons since i had wasted so many of them. another disaster. 13 out of 25 pieces of glass...BROKEN. the rest, chipped. needless to say, neither of those make for a very happy nicole. however, there is a silver lining....

weeks before i found this little gem (no pun intended) of an etsy shop called pretty charmed. run by a great lady by the name of cheryl. everything perfectly packed. glass cabochons in PERFECT shape. no chips. no breaks. just beautiful crystal clear glass ovals. also the pendant trays and chains to match...perfect. i found it easiest by going with one of her DIY pendant kits. everything you need is included.

for me, i had to forgo the inkjet printer and go to my local staples to have the images printed out on a laser jet printer. the glue just wasn't working out on my inkjet printed images. now everything is good to go and i can add these adorable little pendants to my shop this fall!

{thanks for listening to my little rant about the joys of jewelry making. i'm going back to my paintbrush now...}

a little late with this one....

camellia~original drawing
7x9 graphite/tinted graphite on bristol
©the enchanted easel 2015

but better late than never, right? :)

this little beauty goes by the name, Camillia  and is the the final drawing in my series of 3 flower/summer girls.

with today being september 1st already (and i'm perfectly ok with that-c'mon football and PEYTON and fall, of course) well, i'm kinda late with this little lady but it's been a busy august and she's been done for quite a while actually....just forgot to post her. so....

better late than never! :)

Camillia (along with her lovely little companions, Flora and Blossom) is/are FOR SALE as the ORIGINAL DRAWING(S) in my etsy shop. i also have a trio of winter girls listed for sale here...of course being the snow bunny i am, these three are my personal favorites. either way, hop on over to my shop and have a look. if you'd like to purchase the trio of either the summer/winter girls, please send me a convo through etsy and we can work out a happy price for all three beauties.

{did i mention i'm super stoked for FALL, FOOTBALL and PEYTON?! :)}

just a reminder....

summer is flying by....and so is this swimmingly sweet sale! 

EVERYTHING MERMAID (from compact mirrors to original paintings)...20% off throughout the remainder of summer! so, float on over to my etsy shop and pick up something special for that little mermaid of yours! :)

just a couple things...

in the works....always sketching out new ideas. :)

compact cuteness is here!!!

so happy to say that the compact/pocket mirrors i had ordered are finally here....and 2 are already SOLD!!! shop them HERE!!!

***SNOW WHITE AND RIBBONS UNDONE (the little red head with the bow-top right pic) ARE SOLD ALREADY! MORE ARE ON THE WAY!***

flowers in her hair....

©the enchanted easel 2015

and a few new drawings...underway.

{it's been a crazy couple of weeks....new drawings, commissions and my lovely little lily (see pic below) all trying to get done at the same time. busy, busy, busy....and loving every single second.}

lily...in progress
©the enchanted easel 2015

FINALLY got around....

to adding the birthstone mermaids to my etsy shop as PRINTS with OPTIONAL NAME!

take a peek here...

https://www.etsy.com/listing/164664474/birthstone-mermaid-print-with-optional

february, april and may COMING SOON! :)

sketching the day away...

you know when i first started brainstorming for a series of these 12 mermaid paintings back in january, i had no idea it would take me almost 12 months to complete them. i also had no idea i had neck surgery #3 waiting around the corner this past april. people of ten ask me what does that have to do with my right hand. well, they are clearly ignorant as it has EVERYTHING to do with my hand. EVERYTHING. the cervical spine controls more than we think/know.

it is today that i will finish the last 2 sketches and use the next few months of 2013 to finish the series of paintings (amongst some other things). pain free? not quite. but that never stopped me before and it sure as hell won't stop me now! :)

a bit of sweetness....

eli's slumberland
©the enchanted easel 2013

on this otherwise sad day.

well, for all of you who follow me on facebook (or on here), you know i have been working on this cute little elephant over the last 4 days. it was a surprise gift for the wonderful secretary in my neurosurgeon's office, jackie, who is about to pop soon! these people have been so amazing to me through 3 neck surgeries/cervical spine/fusions that there was just NO way i could let it go without doing something. jackie has always been so lovely to me over the years that it was a no-brainer for me to want to paint her something super cute for the impending arrival of her little one. 

since she's waiting until the baby is born to know whether it will be a little girl or boy, i wanted to make sure that i created/designed something gender friendly. also, it turns out, jackie LOVES elephants (like me). so, it couldn't have turned out any better. 

i delivered it to her personally today and she was so surprised. her reaction made the rest of my 2013 for sure. granted, i'm a bit sore from painting so much for so many days in a row (as i'm still trying to recover fully here from my 3rd surgery) but i have to say, her reaction made the soreness worthwhile.

i have decided to sell PRINTS of this in my etsy shop found here:

https://www.etsy.com/listing/162411346/elis-slumberland-reproduction

it is available in sizes 6x6 or 8x8. a perfect addition for any baby boy/girl's nursery. besides, who could resist a cute little baby elephant...in a diaper? ;)

just a peek....

beautiful little Claret....

sweet little June....

lovely little Citrine....

mysterious little Opal...

at some more mermaids i'm sketching out....

a whole sea full of mermaids....

 one for every month of the year!

that's what's up next!

i thought it would be fun to do a series of paintings of beautiful little mermaids, based on the gemstone of the month.

i always think it's interesting (and inspiring) to see how other artists work...their creative process, if you will. here's a peek at mine...

from tiny little thumbnails to the sketch outline to a little bit of *coloring* (because i like my sketch books to look pretty) :)

from there i will trace my sketch directly from my sketchbook and then transfer it to my canvas, so that the painting remains as close to the original sketch as possible.

can not wait to start paintings these beauties! :)

a couple of cute arctic loving fairies....

are what have been on my table this week.

they are sisters and they LOVE arctic weather. wonder where that idea came from...;)

little alpine fairy and her bunny alabaster are just about done and ready to be scanned in. and little siberia and her polar bear cub, snowball are half way done. a bit slow this week due to being under the weather :(

these will be FOR SALE as ORIGINALS in my shop next week. sized at 8x8 on gallery wrapped canvases.

i "heart" these little fairies...and winter :)

© the enchanted easel 2013

© the enchanted easel 2013

cute pond animals....and a flamingo?!:)

once upon a pond....:)

here is the latest set of nursery art  canvases i recently completed based on the Once Upon A Pond bedding by CoCaLo

http://www.babysupermall.com/main/products/coc/coc7035-986.html

these are painted on gallery wrapped 9x12 canvases and can be found FOR SALE here
https://www.etsy.com/listing/113184200/once-upon-a-pond-bedding-canvases

these bright and colorful pond animals would make a lovely addition to any little girl's nursery!:)

cute cottages and fruit and flower laden trees...

FOR SALE!!!

i got done these cuties quicker than i thought! and, they are listed in my shop and totally ready to find themselves a home...on your little girl's wall!:)
https://www.etsy.com/listing/111900712/baby-doll-bedding-canvases-original

based on this adorable bedding by Living Textiles Baby
http://www.babysupermall.com/main/products/ltb/ltb910801.html

love me some GIRLY bedding....

on the table this week...

http://www.nicolesnurseryart.blogspot.com/2012/10/todays-buzz_9.html

illustration friday~book

nothing like a little bonding time between sisters....with a good book!

this is actually a custom painting i did back in january of this year for a pair of sisters who couldn't be more opposite (hence the one's love for dogs and the other's for cats).

thought it was fitting for this week's IF theme of "book"!

enjoy....:)