Working the Edge, tricolored heron, mixed media

"Working the Edge"

I saw this heron while we were out fishing in the rim canal at Lake Okeechobee.  He fished that edge for quite a while and I got some nice pictures of him.  This was a fun little impressionistic painting with lots of loose brush strokes and bright colors.

I hid some clear colored beads in colors that match, so it is a somewhat hard to see them until the light hits them.  There are some peach and orange beads on the hill, green ones among the lily pads, and a few blue ones near the rocks in the water.  The blue ones show up the best, which was the goal, so it adds more sparkle to the water. 

 Framed it in a nice wide custom frame and embellished it with silver lace along the inside lip (see below).

Enjoy!

5 x 7 inches

Mixed media

Sold

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Fluffy, bunny portrait, knife painting

"Fluffy"

This is a take off of "Peter" which I did years ago.

I thought I would add mixed media and thick layers of impasto, but I stopped here because I really liked it and didn't want to mess it up by adding too much.  It is much harder to undo mixed media than it is to change knife paintings.

I apologize for the glare on the images. I usually do my photography with a professional camera, but these were taken with my cell phone, because they were spoken for before I had a chance to get a better capture. The glare is in a different place on each image, so you can get a good overall idea.  (Images never capture the way it truly looks in person because the camera can't capture the subtle changes in values and hues.)

I made the little custom frame for it.  I mitered, joined and then embellished it.  I love the little bit of gold lace on the inside lip.  It adds a nice texture and enhances the painting too.

6 x 6 inches

Knife painting

Not Available 

Email me if you would like a portrait of your pet or livestock: fawn@fawnsartstudio.com

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Morning Path, knife painting

 

"Morning Path"

© Fawn McNeill 2021

The plants lit up when the sun hit them just right. The orange and yellow really caught my eye along this pathway. I took lots of photos. There were birds and wildlife greeting me at every turn!

I updated this little gem with a couple of palms, a bird, and a little bunny.  I also put it in this custom frame, which I painted with a lacy gold trim.  I love it!

Enjoy!

~ Acrylic on hardboard

~ Original palette knife painting
~ 5 x 7 inches 

~ Unique custom frame (see below)

~ $155.00 (free shipping in US)

Click here to purchase

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 On My Way

Gravel Path

Back to the River, mixed media

"Back to the River"

I've been revisiting some older works. This is a scene on the Kissimmee River.  I was interested in the  blue shadows on the sandy road from the morning sun.   This is a somewhat of a knife painting with beads and charms for added interest.  I did some parts with thick texture by using a palette knife and I left other parts smooth for contrast.  I love the way the beads catch the light.  Too much fun!

Mixed media 

5 x 7 inches

Unique custom frame

(Not available)

Email me for a custom painting done similar in a size you would like!  Fawn@fawnsartstudio.com

Click here to see more

 

Casper, white calf, knife painting

"Casper"

Revisited this older painting.  Corrected a few things, added flowers, and exaggerated the eyes to make it even cuter.   I also changed the name and put it in a new frame. 

Sometimes they go into storage and when I bring them out for a new frame I just have to fix the things that don't look right to me now.  

Too funny how we see things differently over time!

Description:

Original art

Acrylic palette knife painting

Image size: 5 x 7 inches 

Custom frame (see below)

$155.00 (free shipping in the USA)

Please email me for availability: fawn@fawnsartstudio.com or to have something similar created!

Click here to see more

 

Rough Shore, sand dunes, waves, mixed media

"Rough Shore"

"...in this world you will have trouble... Take heart,

 I have overcome the world!" 

 (Jesus) John 16:33

 Learned how hard it is to undo things that have been adhered to with acrylic modeling paste while I was working on this painting (off and on for the last couple of years)!  It certainly is difficult to change my mind once it has dried.  (This was one of my early experiments with mixed media.)

 I started it just before I closed my gallery and teaching center because of the pandemic.  Worked on it several times, but I struggled to resolve the texture issues that are left behind when you remove items that aren't working.

I wanted to contrast smooth areas (created with a brush) with thick areas (built up with a palette knife).  I was after the effect of waves crashing against rocks near the shore.  This proved to be quite a mess at first.  Needed to resolve texture issues and correct the size and placement of waves coming onto the shore. Finally found the effect I was after.

Then I got to have some fun! Added sea glass, beads, shells, and aquarium stones. Rearranged them several times before deciding on exactly where to place them.

I framed it in this lovely textured frame, which complements the whole effect I was trying for.  

• Original Art
• Mixed media on hardboard
• Professional materials
• 11 x 14 inches
• Textured custom frame (see below)
• SOLD

Email me if you are interested in something similar! Custom orders are priced by size.

fawn@fawnsartstudio.com

Click here to see more

Thanks for looking!

 

Sandy Daze, beach, shells, sand dollar, mixed media

"Sandy Daze"

Here is a free art lesson:

I cleaned and sealed this unusually large sand dollar, which was bleached white, before adding color to it.  I used very thin glazes of paint to get subtle value changes.  I would add color and rub it off, leaving a soft stain behind.  This made the flower shape stand out, which is what I wanted.

Next, I tried it in a wooden tray, a shadow box and on a regular canvas.  But I wanted some kind of wood support to give it more protection, without it being so deep.   This inverted cradled wood really set it off!  I liked the way I could use the edges as a frame too.  It was the perfect depth to show off the sand dollar and still give it some protection.  I primed the wood surface and then created the sandy colors for the beach.  I used professional grade acrylic modeling paste (which doesn't crack or loose its hold as easily as student grade) to adhere the sand dollar and build up thick areas of sand at the bottom.  (I added some sand color to the modeling paste before using it.) The shells in the sand gave it more balance and interest.

Painting transparent glazes (thinned paint with acrylic matte medium) for the water gave the illusion of the sand dollar being in the water instead of on top of it.  Then I used gel medium to adhere beads and create some texture for the splash.  (The texture is rendered with a palette knife by tapping gently onto the thick gel medium.)

  I used a paint brush and more opaque paint as I moved away from the sand dollar.   I love the sandy areas in the water, and put some of those back in when they disappeared. Using small detail brushes for extra shadows under the splash and under some of the shells gives it more depth.  Then small liner brushes are nice for extra details and lacey lines of seafoam. Had fun adding some pearlescent paint for extra shimmer in the water (as well as on some of the small shells at the bottom).

I painted the back and then the edges of the frame before using matte gel medium to adhere the shells to the corners.  Then I sealed the whole piece with two coats of an acrylic semi-gloss clear medium and varnish.

 I use professional-grade acrylic colors and mediums also because they have more intense hues and are thicker in viscosity. 

Feel free to email me with questions if you want to try to create a mixed-media piece of your own! 

fawn@fawnsartstudio.com

About this painting:

Mixed Media on Cradled Wood

10 x 10 x 3/4 inches

$270.00 plus shipping

Click here to see more original art

Click here for another free lesson

Thanks for stopping by!

 

May Flowers, mixed media, bees

                

"May Flowers"

                                                     

This little painting has charms and beads added to it.  The original photos came from pictures I took on a misty morning with all the wild flowers  lit up from the sun peeking through.  The beads and bumble bees came later when I wanted to have some fun with it.

Enjoy!

Mixed media on hardboard

5 x 7 inches

Custom frame (see below)

SOLD

Click here to see more

 

Hand-crated original art, professional materials, and sealed with a clear acrylic sealer.

All Wrapped Up Again, mixed media, heart

 

"All Wrapped Up Again"

Added some beads and glitter paint to this old gem.  I love the way it shines when the light hits it from different angles.  I also strengthened the tiny black shadows.  

I've been having too much fun with these mixed media pieces!

Mixed media on hardboard

5 x 7 inches

Custom frame: classic black

SOLD

Click here to see more

Enjoy!

Crashing Waves, shore line, mixed media knife painting

"Crashing Waves"

I love these transparent waves! This was originally a knife painting, then I got carried away with extra thick gesso and gel medium for the texture in the splash.  After that I added some beads and clear aquarium stones for extra bling.  I put it in a custom wood frame with a gold lip.  The frame really sets it off (see below).

9 x 12 inches

Original mixed media

Custom wood frame

$190.00

Click here to see more 

Email me: fawn@fawnsartstudio.com  for availability or for information about having your own custom painting created! (Animal portraits, kids with pets or livestock, homesteads, vistas, inspirational art, etc... )  
Price list by size.

 

Morning Flight, angel, knife painting

"Morning Flight"

This was a demonstration for a video lesson, but the video cut off during the session and I didn't know it. I did the whole thing thinking I was still recording!  LOL.  I went ahead and did another demo knife painting with the angel facing the other way, which recorded fine. I think this one turned out better, so I framed it up first. 

 I like the transparency of the angel and the soft colors. I also like the way the bottom could be sky or water.  Palette knife paintings lend themselves to abstract qualities which leaves room for the imagination. It is also fun to load up thick amounts of paint and smear it all together.

Thanks for stopping by!

Original Art

Acrylic knife painting

11 x14 inches 

Ready to frame

$220.00  (free shipping in US)

Click here to see more 

Email me: fawn@fawnsartstudio.com  for availability or for information about having something similar created!   
Price list by size.

Click here to see the video

 

Along the Boardwalk, seascape, mixed media

 "Along the Boardwalk" © 2019

9x12 inches Mixed Media

Acrylic on canvas

SOLD

Last year I reworked this painting from a few years ago. The sea-grapes definitely needed some attention.  I enhanced the shadows and added more detail to the boardwalk and the sandy path.   I couldn't wait to add some charms and beads in the flowers! I camouflaged them well, so they are not noticeable until you see them at an angle.  It catches the light and then you want to look for others.  I also added a few shells.  I love the way it turned out!

I made a custom frame in rustic wood, which complements the boardwalk perfectly.  (See below).

I would love to create a painting for you!

I am accepting orders for custom paintings for another week.  If you want something before Christmas we need to get started!  I will need more than a month for large paintings.  

Click here to see more

Email me: fawn@fawnsartstudio.com  for information about having your own custom painting created! (Animal portraits, kids with pets or livestock, homesteads, vistas, inspirational art, etc... )  
Price list by size.

 

Breathtaking Impact, beach sunrise

 

"Breathtaking Impact" ©2019

"...the breath of the All Mighty gives me life."  Job 33:4

When I came around the corner and got that first glimpse of this scene before me, it stopped me in my tracks!  The salt air blew across my face and the sunlight danced on the water.  It was just incredible.  I wanted to capture that moment of awe when all of your senses are engaged in absorbing so much information all at once.  I was also interested in the shadows from the fence falling on the footprints on the sand.

I used modeling paste to build up thick impasto relief on the fence and in the waves.  I used gel medium on a painting knife to build up the textures in the sand and then painted the highlights and shadows over the top with a drybrush technique. This causes all kinds of interesting effects and is fun to create. 

The fence was very challenging.  Trying to get the edges straight and the posts to stand out with thick layers had me adding many layers.  The image doesn't capture the textures.  

This painting didn't get posted last year because it was at a show in Wellington in December.  Then before the show ended (the first week in April, 2020) everything was closed.  I couldn't pick it up for months!  

18 x 36 inches (plus frame)

Mixed Media

Framed (see below)

$1,500.00 plus shipping  

Click here to see more

Email me: fawn@fawnsartstudio.com  for availability or information about having something similar created! 
Price list by size.

Thanks for stopping by!

Spoonbills Feasting, mixed media, wild flock, Florida art

"Spoonbills Feasting"

© Fawn McNeill 2019

This is an older painting that I have revisited by painting more details and adding some bling.  I also put in a new frame.

Here is what I wrote about it a few years ago:

This was an amazing site! I have seen spoonbills at zoos, but this is the first time I have seen them in the wild. The evening sun was shining on them and the pink feathers were just dancing all around. I tried to capture it from memory, because I forgot to take my camera! 

I added beads and aquarium stones for more interest.  I enjoy the reflected light on the objects.

8 x 10 inches

Mixed Media

Unique custom frame (see below)

$190.00

Click here to see more

Email me: fawn@fawnsartstudio.com  for availability

Thanks for stopping by!

 

FYI: I use professional artist grade materials for priming, painting, adhering, and sealing my work.

This one has aquarium stones and beads added to the shore and in the flowers.  

 

Shoreline Treasures, mixed media, beach scene

 "Shoreline Treasures"

10 x10 inches

Mixed Media on Cradled Hardboard

Sold

This painting is actually done on the wrong side!  I flipped it over and primed the back so I could use the cradled edge as the frame.  I gave the '"frame" a faux finish to create the illusion of woodgrain. 

This is probably the longest I have ever stuck with a series.  It is endless.  Each painting sparks a new idea, or a new experiment!  I think I will keep going with this theme for a while!

FYI: I use professional artist grade materials for priming, painting, adhering, and sealing my work.

This one has shells and beads added.  I like the way the light catches on the beads in the water, and how the shells really stand out on the beach.  

I would love to create a painting for you of your favorite place!  

I am accepting orders for custom paintings.  If you want something before Christmas we need to get started!  I need more than a month for larger paintings.  Early orders get a 20% discount!

Click here to see more

Email me: fawn@fawnsartstudio.com  for information about having your own custom painting created! (Animal portraits, kids with pets or livestock, homesteads, vistas, inspirational art, etc... )  
Price list by size.

Thanks for stopping by!

Morning Treasures, seashore, mixed media beach with shells

 "Morning Treasures"

This painting went through several stages. It started as a simple painting of a sandy shore with no texture. Then it became a knife painting with some texture.  I still wasn't satisfied.  It seemed to need more waves and more impasto type of texture.  

I used gel medium to build up areas of the sand and make the waves  raised up off of the canvas.  I liked it much better, but then I decided to add clear beads in the water for extra sparkle and real seashells on the shore for more interest.  Finally I added tiny details and stronger shadows.  

This was originally a gallery wrap canvas with deep sides, so the sides are painted.  I usually don't frame a gallery wrap because I want the painted sides to show, but this one turned out to be way too cool, so I added that extra protection that a frame gives.  I decided to put it in a floater frame.  This type of frame is harder to build and can be quite expensive.  The frame doesn't touch the sides of the painting and it literally looks like it is floating in the frame!

10 x 10 inches (plus frame)

Mixed Media

Framed (see below)

$375.00 plus shipping  

Click here to see more

Email me: fawn@fawnsartstudio.com  for availability 

Thanks for stopping by!

Wild Angels, egrets, stream, knife painting

"Wild Angels"

© Fawn McNeill 2007

This is an older painting that I always loved. 

The morning that I took pictures of this stream, some of the foliage and mist looked like large beings. As I painted it, they began to look like angels. So I had to emphasized them. 

I just put this painting in a new custom frame. (See below)

9 x 12 inches

Palette knife painting on hardboard
Elaborate Gold Frame

Sold

Click here to see more

Please email me at: fawn@fawnsartstudio.com  for information about having your own custom painting created! (Animal portraits, kids with pets or livestock, homesteads, inspirational art, etc... )  
Price list by size.

Thanks for stopping by!

Timeless Moments, sunset beach, seashells

Timeless Moments

"His mercy endures forever." Psalm 136

Finished this painting a few months ago.  I haven't posted anything here in a long time. 

This painting is full of thick impasto layers. I also added actual seashells, sea glass, sand dollars, and two hand sculpted clay items (a turtle in the foam, and a starfish on the shore.)  The clay items are a new element. I truly enjoyed creating them and painting them after adhering them to the canvas.  I'm using paper clay, which is clay with paper fibers added to make it stronger.  It is a lightweight clay and is something I want to explore further.

I was going through some personal issues when I painted this and thought about how somethings seem to transcend time. Some memories are as fresh as yesterday even though they happened years ago! Some things can happen in no time and seem like forever.  This led to the concept that we make time, it is in us and not just something that happens to us.  We choose to enjoy it, use it wisely, or do nothing with it.  So all of that is  flowing through this painting as the woman contemplates the vastness of it all.

I hid an angel in the sky, but not in the clouds per say, it is in reverse. The blue of the sky is in the shape of an angel by the clouds around it.  Makes it harder to find, but I wanted to make it bigger than the small ones I usually paint in the clouds.

24 x 36 inches

Mixed media

Elaborate custom frame (see below)

Sold

Click here for more information about this painting.

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Last Glimmer, sunlit Ixora flowers

"Last Glimmer"

This is an update to an older painting of Ixora flowers.  

The evening sun highlights the leaves and some of the flowers. Beads enhance the effect. I darkened the background for a more dramatic effect and hid a little frog on one of the leaves.  (Too much fun!) 

Original Art

Mixed Media on Canvas

8 x 10 inches

Professional Materials

Custom Green/Gold Eloquent Frame (see below)

$220.00 includes shipping 

Click here to see more original art!

Email me: fawn@fawnsartstudio.com  for availability 

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 Lovely Ladies

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A Crab's Life, rocks and waves, mixed media

"A Crabs Life"

This is a take off from a painting I did years ago at the Bathtub Beach in Stuart, Florida.  It is part of my new series of mixed media art.  I zoomed in and abstracted it a little compared to the first painting ("Rock and Roll").

I used the large aquarium stones this time, with beads that catch the light at different angles. I painted a little crab in the rocks, which was totally spontaneous.  It made me laugh when I put the red beads on him for eyes.

The splash was built up in layers of paint.  I used more gel medium this time instead of the thick heavy gesso because the gel medium dries clear.  It also dries shiny, which was good for sparkle on the water.

9 x 12 inches

Mixed Media on hardboard
Wide Custom Frame (see below)

$375.00 

Click here to see more

Email me: fawn@fawnsartstudio.com  for availability or information about hosting a private show and/or having your own custom painting created! (Animal portraits, kids with pets or livestock, homesteads, inspirational art, etc... )  
Price list by size.

Thanks for stopping by!