Day of the Dead for Christmas? Yes! And Krampus, too

if you've never heard of Grub vom Krampus then allow me to introduce you to a fella who has been terrorizing children up in Northern Europe for more than a hundred years now  He's a counterpart to Santa which sort of makes sense when you think about it; wherever there's a good guy there's his arch nemesis, right?  

Jolly Old Saint Nick looks even saintlier when pictured next to old Krampus.  

See what I mean?  

So I've worked on a few designs, stylizing the demonic creature a couple of ways in order to offer a funny, dark alternative to the usual cast of characters.  Have a look:

Gift Tags and Gift bags... I hand cut that stamp you see on the bags - my first time using that technique in nigh on 25 years, I'd say.  (you like that?  I said "nigh on."  I'm not as old as that makes me sound but it kinda goes with the medieval vibe of the photos, right?  sure, right.)  Anyway I loved carving - especially now that Speedball has this soft easy-cut material.  I'll likely do lots more in the New Year.  

For now though Christmas holiday season approaches so I've got a few new items on offer for that.  In the coming days I'll post more, but for now have a look at my little Mexican Folk Art Snowman cards, and see if you might want to pick up a printed set, or buy the file to print your own!

you gotta fill one or more of these, don't forget!

All of this stuff and a lot more is available through my Etsy shop, BONES NELSON .  You can also visit me on Facebook at Bones Nelson Art or have a look at my website (which I badly need to revamp soon) Sherri Nelson Artworks

All the best for Halloween!  
Sherri

August has been a busy month for this Day of the Dead artist! (and that's great!!)

I've been going full steam for the past three weeks, much to mys surprise.  This summer has been cooler than normal and I suppose if I weren't working so much and didn't have to use very hot equipment the weather would be making me a little blue.  Having a busy shop is definitely not something I'm going to complain about but it has kept me from painting.. something I am aching to get back to.  Ahh well, soon! :)

One thing I've added to my offerings are wrapped canvas prints.  The above is my "Tamales" and it is reproduced here as an 11" x 14" canvas.  I paint the sides, which are staple-free, and I include the hanging hardware.  I hope to add more Kitchen Catrinas to the mix soon.

You can always contact me via this blog, but a better way is through my website contact page.  Look for that here:  Sherri Nelson Artworks  or you can purchase most of my stuff via Etsy here:  Bones Nelson

Painting, Packaging, Ordering, Marketing, Designing, Printing, Sketching... !

It's August and finally getting to feel like summer.  The cool weather hasn't bothered me, though - I've enjoyed working in this weather.  And I have indeed been working!  It's wonderful to be busy and have the creative juices flowing.  I thought it was about time I stopped for breath and to make a post here showing what I've been doing lately.

Excuse the watermarks, etc - I've recently been pirated!  My piece entitled "The Cotillion" was being used without my permission so I've gotten a little more concerned about making my online stuff more difficult to copy.  It all worked out in the end, so no worries.  I hope that in spite of my name being all over the following images you'll still get an idea of the pieces that have been finding their way out of my imagination and out into the 3D world.  :)

More to come...

Tilly and her AMAZING art piece "Skeleton of a Frog"

Creativity + Generosity = Awesomeness  

I met Tilly last weekend at the Skeleton Park Arts Festival and we had a chance to chat a little about art, paintbrushes, skeletons and dance recitals.  It was a marvelous time all 'round and as we said goodbye I hoped that Tilly would keep her promise to me and continue to make pictures and use her imagination to create wonderful works of art.  She told me she would send something to me one day, and .... she DID!

I don't know if Tilly knew this before, or if maybe we just have one of those kindred spirit things goin' on, but it just so happens that frogs are my favourite creatures in the whole world! So when Tilly's mom sent me the photo of Skeleton of a Frog I was so excited!  I asked permission to share it with the world, and so ladies and gentlemen, I have.  Enjoy.  :)  

Keep your eyes open for Tilly's work - I can see her blossoming into a famous artist one day!

All Things Unrelated: Paintings, Desserts & Highly Questionable Coffee Table Books

This is not an overly disciplined working day, I must say.  I have been going back and forth between listening to motivational speeches on the Youtube to looking up Thai desserts to painting.  The lack of focus on any one thing has produced lackluster results thus far. See photo of coconut vanilla mousse, below:

I know that this is nothing to write about, yet I can't seem to stop myself from doing it anyway.  What you are looking at, above, is Vanilla-Coconut Mousse.  If I left it at that perhaps you'd believe me to be creative and competent.  Hmmm.. should I?  Should I leave it at that then?  :)  Argh, I can't do it.  I have to confess that it's merely a packet of Dr Oetker mix blended with half a can of coconut milk and spooned indelicately into a fruit dish.  Even the photo of it is sub-par.  I mean look at the way the curly-q top seems to come out of the edge of the dish there.. *sigh*  but you know, the colours aren't bad.  And the background makes it look like I might live somewhere lush and exotic, so you know, it could be worse.

On to the work of art I'm creating with only a third of my brain engaged:

Look at the way the vase leans awkwardly!  Check out those checks!  And the funny little orchid blooms which I wanted to look subtly like skulls peeking out of hoods actually look very OBVIOUSLY like skulls and unfortunately the hoods are reminiscent of a dark period in US history  Well.. one or two of them are anyway.  

Which reminds me..

This book happens to be sitting on the side table up in the roof observatory of the building I live in. It's about the Olympic torch run in Canada, maybe for the Montreal Olympics or something.. but... come ON!  That is not the picture I would have selected for use had I been the editor, and it is not an item I would have selected for display had I been the decorator of the room, either.

So yeah, nothing brilliant up with me today.  Maybe tomorrow. I think it probably takes a day or two for those motivational messages to kick in.  Yeah, that's got to be right.

What's in YOUR Potato Salad?

It's Victoria Day weekend here in the land of the Maple Leaf, and that means burgers, corn on the cob & cold salads for this family.  For my part, I was in charge of a summer staple:  Potato Salad.

Everyone grew up eating a generations-passed-down recipe where every matriarch along the way added a little something special.  The resulting salad is sure to be a one of a kind and, much like turkey stuffing, is bound to be the one you crave when you are in need of some comfort food.

The Nelson Potato Salad gets gobbled up quickly here in our humble abode.  My ingredients are shown in the photo I snapped while the potato and eggs were cooling today.  What you can't see are the bay leaves that I boil in with the potatos.

What's in your special recipe?