belvedere beads

Making Spring - 10 Robin Paintings

noreply@blogger.com (belvedere beads) — Sun, 31 Mar 2019 14:18:00 +0000

Making spring happen.
Ten 10"x10" oil on canvas paintings.

Robins to the Power of 10

noreply@blogger.com (belvedere beads) — Sun, 24 Mar 2019 14:35:00 +0000

Ten 10"x10"
Let's work some sympathetic magic in the studio.
Ten robin paintings to banish this endless winter we're having here in Upstate New York.

A Little Piece of Chicken

noreply@blogger.com (belvedere beads) — Sun, 17 Mar 2019 13:28:00 +0000

Day #1 of a new rooster painting.

Gingko Leaves :: Day #1

noreply@blogger.com (belvedere beads) — Mon, 11 Mar 2019 22:55:00 +0000

Just started some of the dark green under painting.
Look at all that stupid snow out my window.

And So It Begins - - Again

noreply@blogger.com (belvedere beads) — Sun, 10 Mar 2019 04:35:00 +0000

Getting started on some new paintings.
A quince, ginkgo leaves in the grass, a rooster and possibly white peonies.

New Earrings - Nancy Valle Beads

noreply@blogger.com (belvedere beads) — Mon, 04 Mar 2019 02:46:00 +0000

Earrings with hammered sterling silver & ceramic art beads.

I made some things today just for myself.
That almost never happens.

Earrings with hammered sterling silver, ceramic art beads and found shell fragments.

I have a fantastic stash of ceramic art beads by Nancy Valle.
They're hoarded in a special jar. I pawed around in that jar today and made myself some earrings.
Her beads are just so gorgeous and wild, they're like fossils and ancient relics.

I love, love the ones below that she imprinted with little leaves of parsley.

Earrings with hammered sterling silver & ceramic art beads.

Earrings with hammered bronze, ceramic art beads and gold plated earring wires.

Donuts or Cherrios?

noreply@blogger.com (belvedere beads) — Thu, 24 Jan 2019 15:11:00 +0000

A new bead style - like the tiniest donut or the biggest Cherrio.
Made off mandrel with swirls of color and frit.

These are for a bracelet class at the local bead store Let's Bead.

Starting with a piece of 5mm round leather and a magnetic clasp these are for piling on with other fun components to create your unique bracelet.

Tricks With Shorts - or - How to Make Marbled Beads

noreply@blogger.com (belvedere beads) — Wed, 23 Jan 2019 15:30:00 +0000

Grab all your turquoise glass rod shorts and your nippers.
Light turquoise, dark, smurfy, atlantis, rainforest, copper green, opal, all of 'em and some sky blue too.

Chunk them up with your nippers.
I use a plastic colander to catch them, otherwise they go rocketing everywhere.

I keep them in a small, plastic frit jar.

To make the beads just pick up a chunky chip with the blob at the end of a rod of turquoise.
I carefully introduce them into the flame by sneaking the chip in around the backside of the blob.

After you've melted in a bunch of different hued chips, and have a nice size gather going, just wrap the whole mess on to your heated mandrel. The more you stretch out the gather to wind it the more marbled the bead will be.

Obviously this works great with all sorts of colors and mixes of colors.

I always have a jar of turquoise on hand, as well as a nice mix of corals. Greens are good, a mix of greys and browns, I'm thinking of making a mix of black, dark silver plum and ivories.

(some of these also have some frit too)

Devil Baby

noreply@blogger.com (belvedere beads) — Wed, 16 Jan 2019 17:31:00 +0000

The last oil painting of 2018 - 'Devil Baby.'
oil on board 4"x6" unframed

This is the one I am keeping.

Winter's Light

noreply@blogger.com (belvedere beads) — Sat, 12 Jan 2019 04:18:00 +0000

This afternoon in my studio.

Red Apples & White Clover

noreply@blogger.com (belvedere beads) — Tue, 08 Jan 2019 15:42:00 +0000

"Red Apples & White Clover"
oil on canvas 20"x20"
2018

Because I Needed Bead Release...

noreply@blogger.com (belvedere beads) — Sun, 06 Jan 2019 20:12:00 +0000

What glass beadmaker out there has not done this?
I needed bead release.
So I got all this beautiful, new glass because I wanted the free shipping deal.
The evil minimum order for free shipping.

But look at these amazing greens from Cims.

It's like spring in January, right?
And 'Spooky" might finally be the translucent white that won't disappear while working.

(Dr.) Who know what I need this fabulous new color for.

Triple Dipped Crazy

noreply@blogger.com (belvedere beads) — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 06:05:00 +0000

This one has got all my little quirks going on.

Amanaita Muscaria mushroom red and white polka dots
Crows
Faux Boix

oil on canvas (4"x6" canvas in a hand painted wooden frame)

Little Clucker

noreply@blogger.com (belvedere beads) — Tue, 11 Dec 2018 17:05:00 +0000

I think might be the smallest painting I have ever done.
It happened only because I had this amazing tiny gold leaf frame.

I wish I could find more of them... sigh.

Craftacular!

noreply@blogger.com (belvedere beads) — Tue, 11 Dec 2018 00:30:00 +0000

Another Craftacular is history.

Go Home Squirrel - You're Drunk

noreply@blogger.com (belvedere beads) — Wed, 28 Nov 2018 17:33:00 +0000

A sentence you'd never thought you'd say, "let's do a drunken squirrel."

Wreck the Halls

noreply@blogger.com (belvedere beads) — Tue, 27 Nov 2018 16:09:00 +0000

"Make it fun" he said, "and make it creepy."

Ok, can do.

FOUR FOOT HOT DOGS

A Little Party Never Killed Nobody

noreply@blogger.com (belvedere beads) — Tue, 27 Nov 2018 01:48:00 +0000

Loving how this particular project turned out.

This Chicken is Cooked

noreply@blogger.com (belvedere beads) — Mon, 12 Nov 2018 05:11:00 +0000

'Chicken on Asphalt' (second version)
20"x20" oil on canvas

And from the beginning...

election
day

chicken
tootsies

(sold)

First Day of Necklace Season

noreply@blogger.com (belvedere beads) — Sun, 28 Oct 2018 23:33:00 +0000

It's time to start the holiday craziness with some new necklaces.

All have my lampwork beads and vintage chain.

Some have semi-precious stones and freshwater pearls.

One has a beautiful, old French half penny.

I love collecting all the old bits of chain.
Always digging at estate sales for broken pieces to tear apart.

Snippets

noreply@blogger.com (belvedere beads) — Sun, 28 Oct 2018 03:30:00 +0000

Details from four paintings I am working on.
All are 20"x20" oil on canvas.

Indian Corn

noreply@blogger.com (belvedere beads) — Mon, 22 Oct 2018 23:20:00 +0000

When I was a kid I wore Indian corn necklaces.

With a big needle, some dental floss and shucked colored kernels little me stabbed, and strung myself fall necklaces.

Using various corals, ocher, topaz, tomato soup, purple red and other colors of glass rods I torched lots of little seed beads.

I wired them together with 18 gauge jewelers bronze wire in a classic rosary chain.
Each little piece of wire wound into an 'S' with pointed round pliers.

The piece took a couple of hours to construct.
There is no clasp.
I made it just large enough to slip over my head just like my childhood necklace.

Chairwhore

noreply@blogger.com (belvedere beads) — Sat, 20 Oct 2018 14:41:00 +0000

Few things make me as happy as 'new' furniture.
A spectacular sunset outside my studio window isn't bad either.

How To Build A Frog

noreply@blogger.com (belvedere beads) — Fri, 19 Oct 2018 02:27:00 +0000

Day 1 and day 2.

Days 3 and 4.

Finished and framed.

A little painting of a big frog.
6"x6" oil on board

Silvery Crow

noreply@blogger.com (belvedere beads) — Tue, 16 Oct 2018 01:44:00 +0000

Deep, deep from my paint drawers came a tube of "Metallic German Silver" paint by Daniel Smith. Perfect for this spooky, goofy crow.

9"x10 1/2" oil on board in a vintage silver leaf frame

Crow's foot.

(sold)