Woodland Owl

I have a thing for little owls, so mysterious, so beautiful.. the perfect well wisher for a birthday methinks..

A little woodland owl surrounded in a wreath of flowers, ferns and butterflies.. to wish your special one Happy Birthday .

My original design was painted in watercolors, it has been reproduced on gorgeous quality card with matching envelope available in The Sacred Gift store

Happy Tuesday to you all..

Cheers , Helen

Easter blessings and blossoms

'Hear your blessings fall like blossoms around you '  -Rumi

I love this quote..  It inspired me to create this watercolor.

 I thought this little chap is quite fitting for this lovely Easter morning..  

Wishing you many blessings this Easter and for the year ahead !

love H xx

PS.. the wee rabbit  watercolor and quote is available as a print in my art shop here

Dolphin Dreams

Dolphins have always been known to symbolize joy, play, balance and harmony.

What better friend to have with you in your dreams?

Number 2 in the Dreamcatcher series..

'Dreaming with Dolphin'

9 x 12 "

Watercolor on paper

                                                  Prints available at The Sacred Gift.etsy.com

An Owl in my Dreamcatcher

I have been coming across owls lately..  such a total buzz for me .. I always stop breathing for a moment or six :)

I am so delighted to have magical wise owl energy following me that it inspired me to create a
dreamcatcher series, with Owl Totem being the first.

The owl spirit animal is emblematic of a deep connection with wisdom and intuitive knowledge. If you have the owl as totem or power animal, you’re likely to have the ability to see what’s usually hidden to most. When the spirit of the animal guides you, you can see the true reality and see beyond illusion and deceit. The owl also offers for those who have it  as a personal totem the inspiration and guidance necessary to deeply explore the unknown and the magic of life. ( - Spirit Animal.com)

                                         ' Dreaming with Owl '

                                          Watercolor - 9 x 12 

                                        Helen Wheeler-Shaw                   

                                         

                        This Painting is available in my art store 'The Sacred Gift'

Illustration Friday - Silent

The topic for my Illustration group ( Illustration Friday) , this week is  'Silent'..

this reminded me of a a painting I did last year called 'Silent Navigator'..

you can view this post here..

this was actually my first whale painting..I had forgotten about it as I have been so excited over my latest watercolor version.

I apologize to my regular followers who have seen this one this week already.. but I really love the idea of re -presenting to the Illustration Friday group the NEW silent one a year later..

'Silent and Sacred'

watercolor

9 x 12

hot press

I really love whales.. the silent giants of the ocean..  this is the first of my 'Sacred Ocean' series.      
I'm feeling a Sperm Whale or Blue Whale coming next..


Thanks for visiting.. Sending you some whale love for your weekend.. !


Helen xxxxxxx

Can you guess what it is?

I am working on a watercolor commission... can you guess what it is?

My client has commissioned it as a surprise for her husband..  sweet huh?

so I can't show it yet...  just a sneak peek..

happy Tuesday to you all... 

Illustration Friday - Watercolor fish..

I'm joining in on this weeks theme - 'Obsession ' for Illustration Friday

It's all about fish for me at the moment... this little guy was inspired by yesterdays post 'Fish..paintings and metal sculptures'...    My little steampunk influenced version....

'Fish .1.'

Indian ink and watercolor

9 x 12

Helen Wheeler-Shaw

I feel he fitted in well with my fish obsession for this week..
 but wait there's more....
.. I stumbled upon a super fishy fibre artist.. more details tomorrow...
Love.. H xx

A little bird with a touch of Verdigris...

 Verdigris  :  the beautiful aged green patina that forms on copper after it has been exposed to the elements for a length of time..Its name comes from the Middle English vertegrez, from the Old French verte grez, an alteration of vert-de-Grice — verd (green), de (of), and Grice (Greece)— "green of Greece".

I decided to 'age' a gold frame that had an appealing design and shape. I painted it with a copper metallic paint and then used this 'verdigris' ageing solution.
Pleased with the results I painted this little chap in watercolor over the top of some old ephemera. To enhance the frame color I painted his feathers a similar green/blue verdigris shade. At a later date I will add a hand stamped copper plate inside the frame and then fill it with resin. This will give the work a clear glass protective coating which will make the frame an essential , connected part of the artwork .

I will post this again when it is finished.. Cheers , H xx

Illustration Friday - Number 2 in the series..

 I have finally finished my piece to submit for this weeks "Illustration Friday ' group.. the theme was... 'Stay'

Hoping he will...
 'Stay a while'
Watercolor on paper
9 x 12
Helen Wheeler-Shaw


Thanks for visiting  xxxx Helen

ps ( a 2nd shout out to my great hand model Luke ..my 12 year old son :)

Early morning start... . what's on my table..

Up with the birds this morning.. sketching out my next mixed media piece.. here is a peek..

 About to start the watercolor...( yay !) have a fun , creative Thursday,  xx H.

Remedy- Illustration Friday

This week for Illo' Friday.. the theme was 'Remedy'

I decided to paint a natural remedy from my home country New Zealand.

Wild Tea tree  ( Manuka is the name given by the New Zealand Maori) is covered in rosy pink or white clusters of flowers in the summer, much to the bees delight.. ( they make the very popular tasty ,medicinal 'Manuka Honey', from the pollen.

'Manuka'
Watercolor on paper 8.5 x 11
Helen Wheeler-Shaw

Manuka has many health benefits, the essential oil from the leaves is a miracle in a bottle, full of antibacterial, anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory properties. I always have a bottle in my bathroom cupboard.. and often have a few drops in my bath . The scent is a fresh, clean 'pine' type smell and combined with all the magical anti-bacterial powers', it also makes a fantastic natural cleaning spray.

Thanks for visiting.. sending you all  fun, happy 4th July wishes for all in the USA :)
Cheers , Helen xx

An apple a day.......

Provides a fun perching spot for this little fella'

'Apple'

Watercolor

Here's to a wonderful creative week everyone.. wow ..I can't believe it's already November!

It seems these days that even the weeks have wings..

Luv.. H xx

Oranges and lemons...

I had to follow the last lemony post with an orange chap sitting .. well.. on an orange.


Continuing my birds and citrus moment.. I present for your perusal..um..

'Orange'
(Watercolor)

Happy creative Wednesday ! I'm off to puppy training classes tonight.. hmm toilet training a pup is sooo much fun! ( lucky he is ridiculously cute!) :)

Cheers , Helen

What will you teach the new generation about creativity?

Hi there.. I'm joining in on We Scout Wednesday .. the topic is 'What will you teach the new generation about creativity?
.. hmm.. I never usually do this sort of thing.. but I'm gonna play!

A couple of the major aspects regarding creativity that I am passionate about ( aka ..I have learned this the hard way).. is ..

1)Any creative path is just that.. a path.. a journey.. keep going.. sometimes just one foot in front of the other.

I have had times of great despair with my art.. not liking the work I am producing ..becoming frustrated and overwhelmed.. but I have always found that if I find at least ONE thing about the work that I like.. and create another .. and another.. I can see definite improvement remarkably with each one.
My old pattern of throwing it under the bed in disgust.. giving up and berating myself mercilessly for days isn't that helpful, productive ( or enjoyable!).

I have found it best to just allow the work to come, ..acknowledge it, If I don't particularly dig it, then calmly press on to the next one. If I LOVE it .. then dance around the room like a wild woman.

2.. We are all artists.

It's true.. I know this one to be true.. If we wanna do it. .we can.. the untapped artist is in us all.
I tapped into mine at age 30.. sitting there patiently all that time..while I told people I could only draw stick figures..

Guess what.. I hadn't ever really tried.. I think I thought it had to be programmed into the DNA.. you have to have an 'artist father' or close relative. But when I decided 'I need to paint..I need to draw.. well... I did.
Many bizarre, hideous, moving and beautiful drawings later. I'm still painting.
It's so great ..with this facebook thing, people from highschool find my site and write.. 'Wow your artwork is amazing I can't believe that I didn't remember you were an artist!".

haha.. cause I wasn't. I decided I would be later on.. I made a choice..
and took action.. peeled back some veils and layers of doubt and voila..
( oh yeagh I also spent many , many hours practicing)

the great news is .. there is tons of crazy dancing around here now.. and it's pretty clean under the bed !

So to recap..

* Nurture and cherish your creative spark..

*Believe in yourself..

*We are all artists in some form or another, it just depends on how you choose to express it,

*If you want it bad enough .. keep going. and try to be nice to yourself.. ( tell that crappy voice in your head to shutup!)

Oh and I think it goes without saying.. be very careful who you ask for feedback from.. some of the ones we love the most... hmm.. not always the best for this kind of thing :) some weird, screwed up 'protecting/sabotaging package' often involved there.
Luv ..Helen xx
New Zealand Fantail
Watercolor

(One that didn't go under the bed..)

Lemon

A splash of yellow !

.. A tidbit of info about me.. I drink hot water with lemon and honey every morning to wake up..

I'm just not a coffee or tea girl..

I love lemons.. the scent of lemon blossom just sends me... xxx

Number 3..talking birds..

Hi there.. a little watercolor for thursday..

Creative hump day...

I feel so very 'Earth Mothery' today.. Zackary and I made home made play dough! ...Yes... I know this is not very exciting.. but I haven't 'got around to it' for so long..




here is Z livin' the dream....

While he was thus occupied... I was able to paint another in my little series of 'birds with nice things to say' hehe... It's so great to be working in watercolors again.. fast, easy and very portable! If you have never tried .. get yourself a few colors and get playing! But do yourself a favor.. buy a decent brush.. one is all you need to start.. I painted this picture with a n0. 4 ..

Taklon round. I love em'..

hmm.. you'll probably need to click on this fella to really check him out..

Did you get any fun creative time today?

Love ..Helen xxx

Ilustration Friday..'.Beneath'

Hello everybody!! I've joined in on this weeks 'Illustration Friday' prompt..

this wee bird has a powerful word beneath his feet.... one we cannot do without in this world..a sure way to find peace..

A little watercolor while Zackary plays about my feet...

Have a joyous weekend people..

Love Helen xx

Art catchup..

I've been busy busy.. around here we have just had new concrete poured around the house.. with a rather large patio which has triggered massive loads of pots , plants, mulch and soil. It just takes one lovely upgrade to trigger an avalanche of new fabulous changes. The kids are loving zooming around on their skateboards and bikes!
This coming weekend is my first art show this season.. so have been working pretty full on for that.. here is a glimpse of some new pieces..

a mixed media piece with resin on the top..


this one is on a big chunky canvas...


feeling the need to get my hands in earthen clay again. ..I suddenly decided to make some little 'pods' . Inspired by shapes in nature I am really trying to keep their 'made in my hand' irregular look.. highlighting the 'hand hewn' finish as opposed to machine made / molded.. they are not finished or fired in the kiln or glazed yet.. but here is a little preview..
they are so cute for holding earrings, rings or even for spices etc..


Some of you will remember this wee bird :).. I cut out the original watercolor with an xacto knife (scary) and gave it a bit of pizazz ..creating a 3D mixed media piece in a shadow box..fun! ( special bonus.. you can even see me taking the pic reflected in the glass :p )


lots going on.. hope you are all having some fun with your muse!
Helen xx

Illustration Friday..'linked'

Hi visitors... here is a Helen version of an illustration showing 'linked'

these two are linked through their early morning song'.....



Watercolor on paper....thanks for taking a peek!
Cheers , Helen