Today's featured artist...

A sample of Cecily's miniature Guatemala paintings

Today's featured artist is Birmingham's own Cecily Hill Lowe (aka CHill Art).  She does these amazingly beautiful abstracts using acrylic wash. Sometimes people look at abstracts and think, "Anyone could do that," simply because they don't understand the skill that goes into creating the composition and manipulating the paint. Trust me, I could not do what Cecily does. Currently, Cecily is selling miniature paintings to fund a mission trip to Guatemala. The paintings are acrylic wash on paper and they're tiny- 3"x4"- so you don't have to worry about finding wall space for them. They'll fit anywhere. Plus, they're only $25 a piece! Don't miss out on that! To view them, check out Cecily's blog.

Once again I have to apologize for being an absentee blogger. I'll make this my last apology. Not because I will never agin be so untimely in my posts, but because I will just trust that you understand that with a baby on the way, I'm a little distracted. I'm officially 31 weeks now and we still have to basically rearrange the whole house to make a nursery... and all I want to do is sleep and eat. :) Now I'm off to have second breakfast. Take care!

Featured artist: Sunny Carvalho

Art by Sunny Carvalho- mixed media on plywood

Paperclay dolls with moveable joints

Ladies and gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to Sunny Carvalho, an amazing artist and a dear friend of mine. Though our artwork is as different as night and day, she never fails to inspire me both with her ideas and her frustrating ability to do EVERYTHING well. Her work spans several media
while somehow remaining consistent. If I didn't love her I'd hate her. I'll quit talking and let her art speak for itself. Check out her website by clicking her name above, or click here to check out her blog, Sparkle and Spin.

Sunny uses images from her art in handmade necklaces

Sunny also makes purses and cuffs depicting her artwork

And now for something completely different...

MaryLizIngramArt.com

There are so many amazing artists out there- and more than people realize in Birmingham. So I'm going to start featuring a few other artists I admire. The cool thing about art is that it can be so different and still be incredible. My first featured artist is Mary Liz Ingram. Her pastels never cease to amaze me. She specializes in Alabama scenes and in portraiture. I love in the picture above how she balances the dark sky and dark earth in the edges of the picture with brilliant whites and golds. Her portraits are incredible as well. She never fails to capture beautiful likenesses of her subject.

In addition to her website and various shows around the Birmingham area, Mary Liz's work can also be found at her blog Somewhat Daily Paintings. Check her out. She'll be one of your favorites, too.