OH SNAP, She Posted Em!

Oh BOY! I just posted some new prints on Etsy. They are prints of a few of my paintings and they have been long overdue to be added to Etsy so I finally got off my butt and posted them for you lovely people! Some of the Fun Prints are of the Color Kids (Teens) each print is a glossy 8x10 and comes with either a Black or White Mat
http://www.etsy.com/shop/MysticReflections?section_id=6561503
I’ll be adding the pendants that were left over from Dragon Con this week so be sure to check back soon.

Thanks for reading!
~Caralyn

Oooo Art Stuff!

Hello Everybody!
I have been working diligently on a few paintings for Dragon Con. These will be on display and for sale in the Art Gallery. I’m really excited about this year because I have a few pieces I’m really pleased with how they turned out. These are just a few of them but I figured I’d give my readers a sneak peek. Let me know what you think.


P.S. I have also finished a few Brand new Myxies. If I have time before D-Con I will try and send you a few photos. Keep checking my blogs for updates.

~Caralyn

Gettin My Scratch On

I finally finished the Scratch Art pieces I was working on for Dragon Con. There are like 6 or 7…it’s hard to keep track after a few weeks of scratching. Anyway I’m posting just a few of the smaller ones because they were the only ones I could scan. One of which I’m quite happy with. I just call it Lilly, it’s an oriental inspired piece. I got the idea from an Asian Lily I had, the lily has long died since I really don’t have much of a green thumb but the inspiration didn’t. :)
Now that I am all done with the scratch art it’s time to move on to painting the very last piece of my Wonderland series…I know I said I would be doing that about a week ago but I needed to do something else for a while…a month of painting is all I can take, had to switch things up for a bit. Anyway here’s a few of the Scratch at that will be featured in the Art Gallery at Dragon Con, let me know what you think.
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=201883352&albumID=0&imageID=35940377
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=201883352&albumID=1475118&imageID=35940380
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=201883352&albumID=1475118&imageID=35940384

As soon as I’m done with the last painting I’m going to start on Brand new Myxies…I’m so excited about these, I have some great, fun ideas for them. Won’t be able to post them but they will be for sale at the Art Gallery also. Oh Boy!
Later!
~Caralyn

We're Painting the Roses RED!

I’ve been working on a 3 piece Wonderland series recently. So far I have completed 2 of the paintings and I’ll be starting on the final piece next week. The one I’ve just finished is of the Queen of Hearts. I did her on 15x20 white artist board with water colors. She is in a red and purple dress with hearts and cards on it. In the back ground of the painting I did white roses that have been painted red. This was EXTREMELY difficult to accomplish. I had the hardest time getting the roses to look like they were painted and not that I just didn’t color them in correctly. I tried dripping the paint onto the roses, but that didn’t look right and wouldn’t dry either. Next I tried smearing paint a crossed it and needless to say that made a mess. So then I just painted each rose leaving spaces and dripping the paint off the roses. At first I was not happy with it but after adding shadows and highlights it actually turned out pretty good.
So now here she is. Let me know what you think.
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=201883352&albumID=1475118&imageID=35415411

Also I’ve been working diligently on some brand new Scratch Art for Dragon Con, I’ll try and post photos soon so keep checking my blog for up dates.

Have a Great Day!
~Caralyn

Going a Little Bonkers

Man I’m kind of having a hard time keeping up. My Myxie inventory is looking pretty empty right now. I took a break from sculpting to work on some paintings I had planned for Dragon Con so my Myxies have been put on hold. I am fairly new to painting so I’m still incredibly slow finishing pieces. Right now I’m working on a Wonderland series. It is a three piece series of the Mad Hater and White Rabbit, the Cheshire Cat and the Caterpillar and The Queen of Hearts. I ,of course, am putting a Caralyn Edwards twist on the Characters though…they are all going to be girls…of course the Red Queen is a girl but she is going to be pretty. For those of you who saw my painting “Late for Tea” the others in the series are going to match it. So I have been a busy little bee with that and I also have a few other pieces that I am diligently working on. A few Si-fi paintings and as always, everyone’s’ favorite, Scratch Art! I still have a long way to go to be completely ready for Dragon Con and with trying to plan a wedding on top of it…. I’m going a little bonkers. You know on Looney-Tones when Bugs Bunny would go crazy and start hooting and hollering while hitting himself in the head with a mallet? Yeah that is pretty much what I feel like right now. But no time to complain I have heaps of stuff to get done. Hopefully I’ll be able to post a few of the new pieces for you to see as I go.
Anyway gotta get back to work, I’ll keep you updated on the MADNESS as it gets closer to Dragon Con!

Later!
~Caralyn

It's A Boy!

Okay this my attempt at a guy to go with my Sky Birds. I kind of gave him a Final Fantasy feel with the crazy weapon. I don’t normally draw weapons so it took me a while to figure out how I wanted it to look but I think it came out well.

I sketched the picture on Backing board and colored it with water color paint.
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=201883352&albumID=1828666&imageID=33605565
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=201883352&albumID=1828666&imageID=33605572
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=201883352&albumID=1828666&imageID=33605575
The working Title is Sky Warrior.

Thanks for looking, Keep checking my blog for updates on my art.
~Caralyn

Back to Work Until New Years!

Good Morning Everyone,
Hope you all had a Merry Christmas.
Now that I’m back at work for a few days until New Years, I decided to post the next group of “SkyBirds” I finished before the Holidays. I think this one is my Favorite just because she came out looking so relaxed.
First link is the sketch I did on Backing Board, Pencil and then went over the lines in ink.
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=201883352&albumID=1828666&imageID=33392102

Next I painted it with Water Colors
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=201883352&albumID=1828666&imageID=33392103

Finished, sorry the picture is a little blurry but I will scan it later.
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=201883352&albumID=1828666&imageID=33392104
Let me know what you think.
Thanks for looking.
~Caralyn

Hassle Free Art

Hello Friends!
I have been working on a painting for the past few days and WHOOT I finished it! I extremely enjoyed painting this one because it was what I like to call a “hassle free” painting. I just grabbed a brush and a canvas and started adding color. I am someone who begins a picture by first deciding what I want to do, then drawing a rough draft, then expanding on the rough draft, then revising it and Then FINALLY inking it before painting or adding color. With this painting I skipped all my normal steps and just got right to it. I had no idea where I was going with it or what the outcome would be and I tell ya …it was invigorating. Yes I find spontaneous painting to be very exciting…I’m a simple kinda girl. But it turned out really good… surprisingly.
Anyhoo I’ve posted the it along with a few pictures of the process I took to get it there. With this one instead of painting the characters first as I usually do, I started with the background then added on top of that. I had to wait for each layer to dry before adding the next…I used oil so it took a while to dry so next time I think I’ll try watercolor.
So here it is, Let me know what you think.
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=201883352&albumID=1828666&imageID=32773618

Thanks for looking, I’ve started on a few other projects so keep checking my blog for updates.
~Caralyn

It's GO TIME!

Wow Dragon Con is only a few days away. It is going to be very exciting this year. I have a Ton of new stuff. I have done about 20 new pictures that will be for sale in the Art Gallery. They are all original paintings and scratch art. I also have brand new Myxies for the auction. Including a few “special” sculptures like a Centaur and Harpy. I’ve got some prints of my newest PhotoShop pictures that I have been blogging about, they will be at my table along with new dragon sculptures. I’m a little nervous this only being my second year in the Dragon Con art show but I’m really excited to see the turn out. I’ve been working really hard to get everything prepared and now It’s GO TIME :P
It would be super awesome if you all came by to check out my booth…or just to say HI, I will be there for 4 DAYS so you can stop by to see how I’m holding up :) Thanks to all of you who take the time to read my crazy blogs and I hope to see you all at the D-CON!!!
http://www.dragoncon.org/index.php

P.S. I’ll be out of town for about a week and before that I don’t think I’ll have much access to a computer so it’ll be a little while before you hear from me again…I know it’s heartbreaking :P but I will tell you all about it when I get back. Wish me Luck!

Have a great week Everyone!
~Caralyn

I'm Myxielicious!

Hey!
So I finished the paintings I was working on for Dragon Con and have started on brand new Myxies. It has been about 6 months since I have scultped anything so I'm feeling a little rusty. The 1st one I worked on took me 6 hours to sculpt compared to my normal 4-5. Also I find myself having to start over a bit more then normal. But I have only finished a few, I plan to make at least 12 to 15 in all so I will have plenty of time to pratice. But I'm not just going to make my traditional Myxies the goal is to have a large verity of mythical creatures to sell at D-Con. I plan to make a few pans, mermaids and maybe something new that I haven't tried before like a Centaur. I don't know how well it will work out yet and it depends on how much time I have.
I have been taking a few photos while I sculpt my Myxies that I was planning to post for you all, but alas my computer is still acting crazy so no photos today.
Keep checking my blog for updates on what I'm working on for Dragon Con.

Tootles!
~Caralyn

Just About Done

Well I’m getting down to the last little details on my painting now. I have added a red coat of paint to the Dragon now and filled in the hooves and talons of most the creatures. On the bottom picture I added highlights and scales, also I painted the wrist band and axe of the Minotaur. As always when working on a picture I see things I want to change but with painting it’s a bit harder to erase but either way I am happy with how it’s turning out.
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=201883352&albumID=1828666&imageID=29990234

I will post one more blog once I finish so check my blog next week to see the completed piece.
Thank for looking.

~Caralyn

Moving Right Along

Okay so now I’ve started on the background. First I worked on the land, abundant with hills and a few bushes. At the bottom of the picture I used some browns to fade the green hills into a sort of dirt road. Next was the sky…I was going for a sunset so I used a couple different colors. Starting with a light blue and ending with orange just above the hills.
In the second picture I added detail, clouds in the sky and filled in the outline of the castle. Then I made the hills all grassy by painting small blades of grass…yes it took a long time. Also added a few cracks and stones at the bottom to make the “dirt road” appearance and highlights to the bushes. Now the background is complete it’s time to finish paintin dem critters!

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=201883352&albumID=1828666&imageID=29934578

Just about done I have about two more blogs on my progress so keep checking for updates.

Thank you for looking!
~Caralyn

If the Back Ground Fits...

The painting is coming right along. I have added shadowing to just about every creature. I shaded most the creatures with different shades of brown and then softened them with a light color over the shading. After it is dry I will add highlights and details. But before adding details I will start on the background. I’m thinking I will do some rolling hills with a few trees and in the distance a castle…yes yes I know…very cliché but it’s a picture of a bunch of Fantasy Creatures running around together, so what other background would fit? I mean really.
Anyhoo here are a few pictures so you can see what I was talking about. Enjoy :)

http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=201883352&albumID=1828666&imageID=29708870

Have a few more pictures to post so keep checking my blog for updates.
Thanks for looking

~Caralyn

Last Two...Don't Cry

Okay I know I said I only had one more picture to post but I forgot about a picture I was working on that I got TOTALLY frustrated with cause I couldn’t come up with a good background. So I kinda throw it to the side and worked on other pictures BUT I went back to it and was able to do a background that I could be happy with so I’m posting it also. But these two will probably be the last PhotoShop images for a while because I’ll be working on paintings and Myxies. You know you are all super excited about the new Myxies…Come on I can totally tell…just kidding :P

This first one is the one that I was having so much trouble with, see I wanted to do a stain glass window behind her that sort of told her story but for the life of me couldn’t get it to look right. After fighting with it for hours I took out a few of the images that I had in the stain glass originally and just went with the simple clouds and flames. It still gives the viewer and idea of what her story is but leaves more to the imagination then I had planned. But that’s not a bad thing. I call it Self-inflicted
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=201883352&albumID=1475118&imageID=29460684

I think this one is my favorite of all my new art. Took me FOREVER to do her hair and then about that long to get the bubbles the way I wanted. It didn’t come out at all the way I pictured it in my head but still came out great I think. I call it Posing Siren
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=201883352&albumID=1475118&imageID=29460747

That’s it for the PhotoShop pictures for a little while but I might try and post pictures of my paintings as I finish them so keep checking my blog for updates. Thanks for looking.

~Caralyn

Not What You Expected, Isn’t Always a Bad Thing

Well I had a pretty specific plan I was going to follow to get prepared for Dragon Con, but unfortunately time is running out so I have to make a new plan. I originally had about 15 pictures I was going to have completed for the con but alas I color too slow, so I have only finished about half that. I have a painting or two I still need to complete and then I have to get started on the Myxies. But I have finished two new pictures in PhotoShop that I am posting today and then I have one more that should be done this week that I will post. So don’t worry…you will have 3 more pictures to enjoy for now. :)

The first one is really just a doodled I did at a show that I never really intended to color but I liked her and it gave me a chance to try out a few of the tools PhotoShop has. Unfortunately it doesn’t have a title yet.
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=201883352&albumID=1475118&imageID=29255600

This picture was drawn over a span of about a year or so. She started out as just a head and some hair…later I added the body and then much later I added her wings and the plant she rests on. I call it Lonely Fairy…probably cause she was missing her wings for so long :P
http://viewmorepics.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=viewImage&friendID=201883352&albumID=1475118&imageID=29255574

I have one more picture I will post next week probably, but I will keep you updated on all I am doing for Dragon Con so keep checking my blogs.

Thanks for Looking!
~Caralyn

No You Can't Keep a Good Dog Down

Well if you read my blog about submitting a picture into Spectrum http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendId=201883352&blogId=465900536
I’m sorry to report…I didn’t get in It really bummed me out but I won't let that discourage me, I’m going to keep trying until they accept me.
But I have some good news, I got into The SiFi/Fantasy Convention, Dragon Con again this year. I was so nervous to hear back…not as nervous as last year cause I have gone though it all, both being rejected and accepted by the D-Con jury. And this year they accepted me OH BOY!
Oh So much to do, so much to do. I have a pile of projects to finish before the con. But unlike last year…I have time to finish them…I think. Also unlike last year I have many more Large pieces I will be selling. I am currently working on a 24x30 painting. It is a menagerie of Fantasy creatures, like dragons, unicorns, griffins, ya know all the classic ones. I’ve only done one other painting this large before and that one wasn’t as detailed as this one will be. So I’m pretty excited about finishing it. Along with that I have a slew of other projects I’m working on, including MORE MYXIES! Oh yeah, you know you are excited :P

Well I guess I better get started…I’ve got a lot of work to do.
Have a great weekend everyone!

~Caralyn

I’m no Van Gogh…I have both my ears :P

Greetings Friends,

I have a few projects I’m currently working on. The majority of them are paintings. I really haven’t done too much painting before. I prefer to color my work in photoshop…because there is an erase button…nah I’ve just used that for so long I’m the most comfortable with it. But as it is harder to create “large” pieces using photoshop, I don’t have much of an option but to do them on canvas. It’s not that I dislike painting, I just haven’t had as much practice.
Since I use acrylic paint for painting the features on my Myxies, I figured it would work the same for canvas. The only problem I have with acrylics is it dries a little too quickly, making it difficult to spread the paint as far as I need. Of course it works just fine for small detailed paintings because I don’t have to wait as long to add the next color. Lord I’m so impatient! Never the less I went searching for just the right paint for me. I have heard a lot about watercolors, in fact at shows many people ask if that is what I use to color my work…nope, that’s just good ol’ photoshop.
So I went to my favorite place…Michaels and picked up some water colors. But when I tried to use them, to my dismay, they didn’t work how I expected. The paint didn’t seem to soak into the canvas like other paints. It just sort of sat on the top and beaded up…Now that won’t work at all. Perhaps it was the type of canvas I use or maybe it could have been a cheap brand of watercolors but needless to say I was not impressed.
So until I found something that works for me, it looks like I will continue using acrylic. But since I am fairly new to the whole painting thing, I always appreciate any advise anyone can give me on what I should try. Thanks Friends!

Salutations!
~Caralyn

Patience is a Virtue

Hiya!

So I went to Binders Saturday, Binders is this really great art store I like to go to. It’s sort of like Michaels only it has more “art” supplies and less crafts. That’s where I venture when I need to get a canvas or Scratch board.
While I was there I met a talented artist who was displaying some of his work there. He was also in the process of painting a large canvas. He was painting it for his son as a wedding present. The artist was copying a photo of the couple taken at their wedding. The bride was dressed in a long red sari, The vibrant color caught my eye as soon as I walked in the door. All along the edges was a beautiful white lace, the artist was working on that when I approached him. As I came closer I realized he did not have a brush in his hand but an x-acto knife. He must’ve seen the confusion on my face cause he told me what he was up to before I could even ask. He explained that he was afraid he would lose some of the detail if he just painted the lace with a brush, so instead he was chipping away the layers of oil paint to expose the canvas underneath. A tedious task no doubt but from how the painting was turning out well worth it. He then went on to say he achieved to bright red, not from mixing paint but from layering it…14 layers to be exact. He said it had already taken him over 140 hrs to get where it was and he still had a little ways to go before it was finished. Can you imagine? I don’t even have enough patience to paint my nails.
Each of his pieces had so much detail, you could tell he puts alot of time into his work. People always say, patience is a virtue well I say patience is an artist. But seeing his work inspired me, I think I may even start on a painting this week.

Later
~Caralyn