Who - whose dyed their eggs? - onion skin egg dying

update - I am reposting this because it is time to start saving those onion skins!!  I'm going to make a new batch this year so check back to see what I come up with OR sign up for my newsletter (in the column on the right) or follow me on instagram

Have you ever dyed eggs with onion skins?  Not only is it Eco-friendly, and creates the most gorgeous shade of red,  its just so science experimenty cool.

After they are colored - I etch them with an old scratch board tool. These three were done - 18 years or so ago! - left uncracked the insides dry out and it sounds like a marble is inside.

My designs are: Owl and the Pussycat, a maiden on horseback stopping a dragon, and a chicken wearing a ribbon that says " which came first" : )

Yesterday I dyed a new batch and hope to etch them tomorrow. Here's how I do it - ( Ive heard red cabbages makes a beautiful blue dye - got to try that!!)

All it takes is:

1/4 cup vinegar,
1 quart h2o

and the SKINS from about 15 yellow onions (yes yellow!! this makes red, trust me)

Put all three in a pot and bring to a boil, then simmer for about 30 min.
After that, strain the skins - some people let the dye cool, but I am way too impatient for that !
In go the eggs and bring to boil again.

Then shut off the heat and let them sit - the longer they sit, the deeper the red.

Easy Peasy.
Now you are ready to etch in a design - be careful not to poke through the shell, use care to scratch away and reveal the white.
Have fun!  Show me how you did by posting a photo on instagram and tagging me!!

I'll let you know how the cabbage goes...

SaveSave

Studio Secret -find out what I do with leftover paint

 

Studio Secret:  What I do with leftover paint:

Leaving big globs of OIL paint on the palette is fine - you can come back later and it is still usable... 

Which is one of the many reasons I LOVE oils but sometimes I do use acrylics for their speedy dry time and all that leftover paint on the palette cannot be saved...   Who can live with all that waste?

Not this granddaughter of a depression era woman who made her own clothes and curtains, canned her own home grown fruits and veg. and saved all her rubber bands in a jar on the window sill.  Wasting perfectly good paint would have annoyed her and it annoys me too.

THOU SHALL NOT WASTE PAINT.  

So I started taking the old paint and brushing and smearing it onto extra panels that were just lying about.  Not paying any attention to what it looked like  - just building layers.

After a while, actual paintings started to emerge and now its just part of my studio process.

close ups below

After a while these panels were starting to look like actual contemporary art and I like them.

So don't let that extra paint go to waste!  Turn it into abstract art!

Outer beach - plein air beach painting, Debbie Miller

remember that 70 degree day last February?  I just posted the plain air painting I painted on that morning in my ETSY shop.

Take me Away

Beach Chair 30x40

"Calgon, take me away" is all I can think of when I look at this.  Saying that date's me doesn't it?  Youngsters just google it.

 Normally I am "team snow" but today - 5 days out from spring - to have this cold air and crunchy frozen snow everywhere, I am done.

HERE is this paintings original post with a link to purchase.http://debbiemillerpainting.blogspot.com/2015/07/beach-chair-debbie-miller.html

New Work for Eisenhauer Gallery - Debbie Miller

These lovely ladies will be heading to Eisenhauer Gallery on Martha's Vineyard soon.  

I am so pleased with this years group of paintings from my swimmers series.  !

"In Neutral" 36x60 oil

"Focused " 24x36 oil

"Secrets" 36x36 oil

"In the Meantime" 24x36 oil

"Girl Power" 36x36 oil

Lifes a Beach - daily painting. beach umbrella painting by Debbie Miller

6x6 oil on gesso board sold

UPDATE: 3/6/17
It seems this post _ originally posted on 7/14/08_   is by far my most popular image/post from my blog.

THANK YOU everyone for all the likes, shares and pins!

After painting this I painted another version that I liked so much that I made it available as a print HERE.
Check it out I think you will love it!!

Fine Art America/Debbie Miller

Or check my PURCHASE page for similar available original paintings

Swimmers and Artists Block

Girl Power 36x36" oil

This time of year is when I get in the studio and paint A LOT.
Its the season of hunkering - and for me that means getting to hunker in the studio and work on big paintings.
This year I gave my self a deadline to finish up a bunch of "swimmers" - I've been working hard but missed my deadline - well to be clear - I didn't paint as many as I wanted to by the end of last month but I did paint several and I like them very much.

Then it happened... ARTIST BLOCK.  Ugh.  seriously, NOW?  nooooo NOW is when I need to be painting!!

SO what do you do when a block happens?
Here is what I did.....

 - I whined.  I whined to my husband, I whined to my best friend, I whined to my dogs.
- I spent a good 3 days binge watching Netflix (the Crown, Abstract, The Frontier, Broadchurch .....)
- I spent waaaaaay to much time looking at art on pinterest and instagram (which only made me more blocked and confused)
- I made chicken soup from scratch and toll house cookies TWICE.

It was NOT productive (art wise - the soup and cookies were great) BUT part of the process
Here is what else I did....

-I kept going to the studio
-I played with other mediums a bit and other subject matters
-I wrote down my feelings about my art and where I want it to go
-I cleaned and cleared my studio.  Made empty space to let new art breathe.
-I began meditating again
-I turned up the music and turned off the noise (no more looking at other peoples art)
-I kept painting

and then I painted this

24"x30" oil

and just like that I feel inspired again and have direction and clarity.
Still a swimmer but something new is happening and it excites me

Unblocked painting wise but I cannot come up with a title
OR decide what to do with this blog.
But for now I will just keep on painting...


Interested in purchasing?  click the button below (psst - free shipping)

New Swimmer (the block breaker)

Happy Love Day

nfdp
  Here is a little beach love for you.
more heart rocks here

Happy Weekend

nfdp

The weekend is here and I for one am very very happy about that.
(BIG game on sunday.  BIG GAME.)

This year I have really been trying to schedule in my studio time, teaching, planning time into the week - ya know, like a "real job" (insert eye roll here)
Being an artist who works for herself it was normal to me to have loose studio hours during the week and get a lot done on the weekends when my husband was home to watch the kids and dogs.

That was great BEFORE - ya know before my boys got so big that 2 out of the 3 have full beards and lives of their own and even the puppy is grown up.  *sigh*

So this year I am trying it out - leaving the house with a lunch and heading to the studio to put in the work.   Most of being a professional artist is showing up and so I'm showing up, putting in the time and so far I'm loving it.

Girl Power, swimmer series, Debbie Miller

February is here and it is time to paint the swimmers!
My studio is cleaned up and organized...
Ok not totally but mostly.  The painting area is at least.

The next week is set aside to finish up about 14 pretty big paintings in my swimmer series.
This one; "Girl Power" is the first and since I painted it last month I thought that was a fitting name.

Eli, portrait painting, Debbie Miller

10x10" oil on panel

The challenge of painting a face from life never bores me.  I have started the practice up again after noticing how much I missed it.
always something to learn, always a challenge.

Low Tide, beach painting, Debbie Miller

6x6" oil
My favorite of these little beach paintings that I have available.  I am working on larger works at the moment, so I will post these until some of those are camera ready.

A new website is in the works complete with my own shop but for now I've listed this and a few more in my ETSY shop.  I am trying that out for ease of purchasing and such.

check it out HERE

Beach Santa in a blue chair, debbie miller

6x6" oil

Beach Flip, SALE, debbie miller painting

20x20" oil

Let's have a little sale, shall we?

This is from my beach towel series.  

Reader Santa, debbie miller, beach

6x6" oil on panel
When I originally started painting these Santas I always thought of them reading the paper or a book, now I'm thinking Santa is sitting there with a reader, an iPad or a phone

Whichever, he looks relaxed.  Not sure what it is but I've got the itch to deck the halls early this year.

Rest up Santa

6x6" oil on panel SOLD
I am a firm believer in enjoying October to it's fullest fall glory so I hate to even look at a Santa BUT
that time or year is right around the corner.  This is my last little beach Santa that is still kicking around the studio.  I might paint up a few to have for sale during Warren Walkabout.
For sure there will be lots of little paintings that make great gifts though.

Rest Up Santa, busy day is coming.

Little Beach

6x6" oil on panel

Beach Day with the BFFs.   No, seriously - we have been friends FOR EVER and today we get to hang at the beach together just like old times.  What is better than that?

Shell Seekers, and finally a blog post!

 18x18 Oil on panel

What is this, a blog post?  Yes it is.  We won't even talk about how long it's been, let's just move along.

I'm going to try and get my blogging mojo back over the next couple of weeks so bare with me.  My studio building is open next thursday (august 25) as part of the Art Walk and I am thinking about opening my studio doors and having a big clearance sale of some of my paintings that are still kicking around the studio - the smaller ones and the paintings that don't fit into my current series or where my head is currently at art wise.

It is time to clear the cobwebs!

Not sure if I will do this or not so stay tuned!!  but pssst - this one is a great deal!! and it has a frame

stay cool

Beach painting

I FINALLY got to the beach and did some plain air painting.  So nice to get out there and just paint!!  

I did a bunch of 6x6" oil on panel. I'll post a new one each day with a link to purchase

Group Show