SUZAN BUCKNER

Hello!! OMG!! This was so much FUN to do. I was just playing around..nothing "serious"...I love the way it turned out (TOTAL SURPRISE!)..

Live Artfully!
~~Suzan~~

Good morning!! I just hopped over to Laketrees.blogspot.com and Kim has just this morning revised her list of 101 Top Artist Blogs List--I am #31!! That's ok with me! Thanks Kim for the update!!

I have to start packing up for this weekend's antique flea market thingie on our town square, so I might not be showing much of anything this week...maybe, maybe not.

I also have to get ready for PFATT MARKETPLACE..which is due soon. I am very excited to be selling my work somewhere new!! Also, I have to do something Christmas-y--so that should be quite the challenge!

That's about all folks! Long, boring weekend!
Live artfully!
~~Suzan~~

Can you believe that this month is almost over?? That means ONE HALF OF THE YEAR IS GONE, and I haven't met my goal of getting in a gallery. One of the reasons is that--well, I like sitting in my art room, watching Gilmore Girls, and singing LALALALA..(Remember how important the lalalala's are in my tutorials). But, now it's time to step up to the plate, and hit the ball. So, I got everything in motion in the last few days. I got a website-- SEE IT HERE -- and I have contacted the galleries, and other than uploading some more artwork, and adding Paypal, I am ready to send the site to galleries. I might get kicked around a bit...LOL..The one that I am shooting for is a high-end gallery in Chattanooga, TN. I went there last year, and fell in love with what they exhibit, and how they work. It's a beautiful place, and I don't think that I am ready for it, but I'll never know if I don't try. So.. Wish ME Luck!!

live artfully!!
~~Suzan~~

I hope you all are having a wonderful, happy morning. I woke up this morning thinking of insanity. Have you ever knew of someone that you KNEW was insane, and you couldn't tell anyone because they wouldn't believe you...oh, I know of someone like that, and I was thinking of them this morning, and it just made me laugh. I wake up with the weirdest thoughts and dreams going on. I think sometimes it's because I look at so many images throughout the day, that they sort of just blend in my dreams. I dream too of these magical estate sales where they have so much stuff, and I am always trying to buy it all. Dreams are so weird. Once in high school, I had a very vivid dream that I had woke up, and went to school, and this baseball player guy named Larry (who I had the BIGGEST crush on in the world) had asked me out --then in my dream, I came home from school, and went back to bed...so in reality, when I woke up a few hours after initially going to sleep, I thought that Larry had asked me out. It took me several days, and MANY conversations with my best friend, to figure out that Larry had not asked me out. (Which is a good thing, because I was dating RANDY, and Randy probably would not have been too happy with me going out with Larry.) I wonder how many people have such an active brain that they can be up at 5am, before coffee, and thinking this much stuff??

The picture above is a portion of a 12 x 12 painting that I am working on--it's not finished, but that is a scanned portion of it. I think it's going to be very pretty, but who knows with me? It may turn out black with red and turquoise..just depends on where my mood takes me.

MY HUSBAND nearly shocked me to death last night--Petey the Wonderdog was whining because it was thundering a little bit, and like a child, he has learned if he whines--one of his "people" will give in to him. It's usually me. Last night it was Nature Boy. MY HUSBAND. (He's weakening..he's gonna break). Anyway...Nature Boy says.."you can bring him in if you want to", to which I replied (like I didn't care).." No biggie, I didn't even think about the dog." So, HE goes and gets Petey the Wonderdog and BRINGS him inside...hehehehe...SUCKER!!!! Petey the Wonderdog came prancing in, and we looked at each other, and he winked at me. I winked back. The dog and the owner knew that someone was weakening..and Petey will soon be an inside with the air-conditioner on, getting his belly rubbed, feeling like the king, kind of dog.

Everyone have a happy artful day!!
~~Suzan~~

Yesterday...(sorry, I had more to say this morning, and forgot to say it, because the big spider incident.) Anyway..Yesterday, I drove my husband to his college class, dropped him off, and headed to Barnes and Nobles, and Hobby Lobby. I bought out Hobby Lobby, (had to hire an 18 wheeler to drive my order to my house...Joking). Then, I went to B&N!! They are switching locations, and everything left in the store was 50% OFF!! WHOOOHOOO...I finally got the CABINET OF NATURAL CURIOUSITIES book that I have been eyeing for awhile--and I didn't get a chance to buy, before SHE WHO KNOWS EVERYTHING left her job at Barnes and Nobles, and went to work somewhere else, therefore costing me MY DISCOUNT..(ungrateful brat--I LOVE YOU!!). I also got the coolest book of photographs from the Smithsonian Archives. Really OLD photos, and it is just FULL of beauiful weird things. Then, I picked up a Dover book w/CD on Holiday Vignettes, (Dover is fantastic place to get images), and a book on Monopoly (which has great old images of Atlantic City in it!). I was just tickled pink. I spent $44 on $88 dollars worth of books. (I have a book sickness!)

I also stopped at my favorite thift, and what did I buy?? Ah yes, MORE BOOKS, A LOT MORE BOOKS. They were 25 cents each, so how could I NOT buy 3 tons??? LOL.

Ok..that's all I wanted to say..well, not ALL, but I can't figure out HOW to say WHAT I REALLY want to say--but, as soon as I figure it out--I will let you all know.
Live artfully!
~~Suzan~~

Good morning!! I have fumigated my head with bug spray..ARGHHHHHH...I woke up this morning, and before my eyes were even fully open--I looked up, and there sat this BIG spider. Now, I am not typically afraid of spiders, and they generally do not bother me--but, when they are big enough to carry their own luggage, and drive their own BMW, well...one of us has to go, AND since I didn't forsee Mr. Spider paying my household bills, I decided it had to be HIM. So, he's on the ceiling--sitting there, polishing the tire rims of his BMW, and I stumble to get the bug spray. I aim..I push the nozzle..sputter..sputter..NOTHING. Ok..I have OUTDOOR bug spray..so, I stumble back into the kitchen and I get the second can of stuff. You know the can--As big as a roll of paper towels, and it has a spray action of 20 FEET!! It's the can that I stand on my porch, and gun down wasp with on the eaves of the house..but, I am in my LIVING ROOM..and even though, it's a big living room, I don't think it's 20 feet long! So, I aim..and I HIT HIM! I also hit the TV, the bookcase, the wall, the long tall vase with the willow like branches in it, my lamps, not to mention my carpet (which I hate by the way), and everything else in the path!!! OH LORDY!! OF course, the first contact to the spider, and he went sailing against the wall, where he slid down in the river of bug spray that was dripping from everything.
So, I guess today, I get to find the spider body, and dispose of it, AND WASH my entire living room (walls and all) to clean up the bug spray.***Sigh..well, it can only get better from here...LOL

This was a fun piece to do. I gessoed a 12 x 12 piece of canvas, glued the image down, and some paper elements, then painted gesso, mixed with color all over it, even covering the images. (Except for the faces), then I repainted there clothes and stuff at the end. I need to ask if I can do a tutorial on this method (from the artist that showed us how to do it in a magazine), because it would be a good one!

Live artfully!~~Suzan~~

This is what happens when a person is so bored that they are ready to poke their eyeballs out with rusty forks...LOL..I don't know how I got to this point...***sigh..

Good Evening!! I couldn't take the white background any longer. It was driving me insane..making me nuts! I just do not like white. Maybe black isn't going to be any better, but I will try it. I am trying not to turn my blog into one of those screeching colors that you all know that I love...hehehe...I am trying to have respect for your eyes, and mine. But, after I get sick of a black blog...who knows what will happen?? Maybe I can last until fall, and I will just make it orange...

Guess what?? You have to be quiet, and not tell Nature Boy, if I tell you a little secret..hehehe..after he went to bed last night, I let Petey the Wonderdog into the house. He came right in, and we watched tv together...I was absolutely tickled! HE LOVES TV...his little ears got all perky, and he was really watching it..THEN, I told him to go lay down, and go to sleep...and off to the kitchen/utility room area he went. Right on the rug that runs between the two rooms. He curled up, and I went to bed. I hopped up this morning, and put him outside...and Nature Boy is none the wiser...***snicker..Petey is such a good Wonderdog!

Nothing much else is happening around here. My neck finally went back to normal, and I can move around without pain, so all is good in the world again. I am painting 3 paintings right now, and keep alternating between them. I am feeling kind of burnt out, and so maybe, I'll take a break, and do something different for a while. Who Knows?

Lori of FaerieWindow called me the other day! It was so cool to talk to someone from online! She also reccommended a blog on her blog, called The Pioneer Woman. If you haven't had a chance to go there, or you have never heard about it--go check it out. The love story that she has written on there is worth reading, and her post are funny! I sat there the other night, and read all 30 something chapters of How She Met her husband, fell in love, and became a pioneer woman. Her name is Ree, and she also has recipes (which I haven't looked at--because I can't follow recipes)...and Photography tutorials, plus daily ramblings of her life.

Well, I hope you all like my black blog!
Live artfully!
~~Suzan~~

(Don't forget to look below this post for the other 2 that I did today!)

Hello~!~~! Thank you all for your wonderful support about my last post. It really did make me feel better. Today, I did lose myself in painting, and creating--and I felt a lot better. BUTTTTT...I slept on my neck wrong last night, and have had a stupid cramp in it all day, so if everything looks crooked, well...it's because my head was leaning side ways...LOL. I tried something new today--and I REALLY like the way it turned out!! (I think if you click on it, it'll show up bigger)

I got the latest issue of Somerset Studios yesterday at Books-A-Million, and it had this artist named Lisa Bebi in it. She has a blog called Pimp My Spleen. (lol) She is a fabulous artist, and I loved the look of her work --so, I attempted a piece of it today. The piece above is what I came up with, and I had great fun doing it. Totally different for me. I hand colored the black and white picture after I had finished the painting. Even though it doesn't look anywhere as good as her work--I was proud of it!

Then, the piece below...my 1,456 layer piece...and I don't think it's finished YET..but, it's getting there!

Well, that's about all I did today--these two pieces, and a few backgrounds for some journal pages.

Thank you again for all of your support!!!!
Live artfully!!
~~Suzan~~

Tonight was pretty uneventful, went to Staples, and Books A Million--and then we headed home. We were driving down the interstate, and there was a wreck. It had just happened --the cops and ambulances were right behind me on my bumper. It was the second worse wreck that I have ever seen. (My best friend was killed in the first bad one that I saw.) The car looked like a smashed Coke can. A man was waving us though--and I drove over a shoe. It has gotten me very messed up, and upset. I wanted to stop and help, but there were people everywhere, and we were in danger of being hit from behind--or worse of the wrecked car exploding. (We were only a little ways from it.) The cops ran past me, trying to get the person(s) out of the car, and the smell of gasoline was everywhere. I probably shouldn't share this on here, but I need to. I am sorry if it turns any of you away. I was probably less than 5 minutes from that wreck. It makes you Thank God. Tonight, I will pray for those people, and I hope you stop for just a minute, and say a prayer too. Sorry to be gloomy--I promise I won't go on and on about it. Just wanted to share.

~~Suzan~~

Good Morning!! I haven't posted for a while. I don't have much to say--nothing is happening here. I have been deep cleaning my art room, and the living room (which meant moving a ton more stuff into the art room)...the cycle never ends. I bring stuff home, I put it in the living room, then I move it to the art room...***sigh..I HAVE to stop buying so much stuff..LOL.

I have an idea of how I want my art room to look, and getting there is going to be heck!! I have decided that I need my easel set up in there, so that I can work on larger pieces. I had someone ask about a 3 ft. X 3 ft. piece yesterday, and for that, I would definitely need my easel set up. Luckily, I have one. One of my friends bought me one for Christmas many years ago.

Well, that's about it. I have just been messing around, not doing much, going through a major ton of paper...I have misplace a mega huge amount of already cut out images, and can't find them anywhere....and it's it's driving me insane!

I have to drive my husband to college tonight, so I'll have to go to Micheal's and Staples..other than that..it's been a boring week. ~~ Suzan~~

I hope you Father's out there have a wonderful day!!!

Once in a blue moon--as an artist--you just hit on something that's RIGHT. Well, this is it for me. This has got to be my favorite piece that I have done!! It just worked (at least in my brain), and I love the way it turned out. I usually don't feel any LOVE for my work -- it's just there, as far as I am concerned, but this piece was DIFFERENT! I LOVE IT. I am hanging it on my wall, and not even going to care whether it ever sells or not. (But, it is on Etsy..LOL)

Secret--(shhhh)...this started out as the piece of board that I keep under the work that I am working on, to keep my table clean...hehehee.

Live artfully!
Suzan

Close up scan of piece.

I was outlining the last little bit of my journal page, and the wonderful lights came back on!!Wooohhooo!!

Good Morning!! I have 28 minutes left until they(meaning the EVIL, EVIL electric company) turns my electricity off for four long, tedious hours today. What kind of back-woods company turns everyone in the county's electricity off?? What? Do they need to cut some more wood to fuel their generator's, or what?? Pisses me right off!! Why should I sweat so that they can work? I want to move back to a big city, where there would be a city-wide revolt if they cut our electricity off.***sigh...

I guess I will do some journaling today--I am tired of painting circles..LOL..I need some inspiration....

Well, that's about all folks..gotta go make a pot of coffee before they disconnect me from the world.
Have a happy,artful day!
~~Suzan~~

Hello again! My real life friend, Jodi-- KEEPSAKEQUEEN --(who owns our local scrapbooking store) has opened her Etsy shop! She has a wonderful Christmas tree journal there that would be PERFECT for journaling your Christmas memories in--so Please Go Check Her Out, and leave her words of encouragement! (We all KNOW how scary selling your first item is!!) Thank you!!
Live artfully!
~~ Suzan ~~

well..speaking of which--I must get back to painting!!

Well..here's an 8 x 8 that I did this morning. It is done with acrylic paint and watercolor crayons. I know that I am just totally bouncing around lately..I am just trying new things, and some of these paintings that don't sell will be reworks. Someone asked me today in a comment, how I put out such an "outrageous amount of fabulous work"--Well..FIRST, Thank you for calling my work fabulous!! I really don't feel that way about it, though I DO like a few pieces that I have done (maybe 10 out of ummm...550+)..so, thank you for making me smile. I don't know HOW I do it. I just sit there, and really don't think about it, I am usually watching Gilmore Girls, 7th Heaven...or some other brainless afternoon TV show, and ....what happens--just happens. Usually, I paint the first coat on A LOT of canvas' at one time. I just pick a new color for each one, then I just do stuff on it. I rarely plan on doing anything..and never pick my images (if I use them) until I have several layers (read as: MISTAKES), on the canvas.

Nature Boy and I went to Lowe's (home improvement store) today. I had to buy an air conditioner for our computer room--it got so hot in there, that I couldn't breathe!! We had fun, and we wanted to drive/ride in the shopping cart that was made to look like a race car, but when we asked if Nature Boy could climb into it, the sales person shook their head...LOL..I can't stand people that expect you to act like adults...heck, we are 60 and 43--we are ADULTS--we don't have to act a certain way to prove it. (Next time, I am not asking permission....hehehehe).

Nothing much else happened today--maybe I'll have happy, exciting things happen tomorrow...then again--maybe not.

Have a wonderful, artful day!
~~Suzan~~

I am impatiently waiting for Army Wives to come on tonight. It's one of my favorite shows, and you all know that I live vicariously through Art, then TV (I still watch the Gilmore Girls show every day!)..hehehe.

I did this one this morning. It was actually one that I did last week, but it looked so bad at first that I wouldn't even show it to you all. This morning, I got bored, and I really like the way it turned out. It reminds me of street graffiti.

Well, back to painting--I am working on another piece, that I almost finished last night, but it need tweeking.

Have a wonderful day!
~~Suzan~~

Good Morning!!

Well, I haven't even had my first cup of coffee yet, and here I sit. I was up late working on journal pages, and slept until 10am.

I went to an estate sale yesterday, and should have left as soon as I saw the beat up old pair of sneakers for $5 a pair. It was held by rich people that own a huge business here, and I guess they think that because they have money, that their stuff was worth something....LOL..NOT. It started at 1 in the afternoon, and they made us all wait outside in the hot sun for an hour, and ON TOP of those two things -- I was in line (I was first), and behind us was a big, fat, know-it-all redneck. Now, for those of you that have never had the pleasure of meeting a true southern redneck --let me explain. Take a normal man, strip him of his intelligence, add about 300 pounds of blubbery fat (obviously from eating everything FRIED), knock out more than a few of his teeth, give him a dialect that is slow, and drawn out, and add an ego the size of Texas--and there you have it. Of course, I, being of high intelligence and unrelenting wit, love to talk to these fellows--because 1. You can insult the hell out of them, and they think that you are flirting and 2. They never actually realize just HOW BAD you are insulting them until they are sitting at home later that night stuffing their faces with pork skins and beer. Anyway--this loud, obnoxious guy had SOMETHING to say about EVERYTHING. Poor fellow--I spent the whole hour that we stood there making the crowd laugh at him, and he probably thought that I found him sexy...LOL.

So, yesterday was a bust. I didn't buy any goodies, and came home hot, tired, and mentally exhausted from having a battle of the wits with an unarmed person.

Today, I have to go help my friend with her online stuff. She owns the local scrapbooking store --so maybe I'll find some goodies--so for now, I must get busy.

Live artfully!
~~Suzan~~

Oh, this was FUN to do. I wish that it had scanned with the right colors. The sky is really intense, and the roof is yellow..but you get the idea. I painted the background, then I took paper with music on it, and cut out the tree, painted it, and drew individual leaves all over, glued it on. Then, I took and painted the house on watercolor paper, and glued it on. I really like the way that this turned out!

Live artfully!
~~Suzan~~

Shawn Borror said...
Oh, this is a yummy one! Maybe one day
when the muse is not working could you include some FAQs about your pages, where
you find the fabulous paper, images, do you look for one image at a time or do
you have a stash of images saved around, how (if you do) you organize the paper,
cut-outs...I'd love to know the answer to these questions unless that is giving
too much info away...regardless, I love this one!

Well Shawn--it's like this....it seems to me, that my whole life has led me to this artistic point. I have always collected old paper, magazine pages, old books,etc.. I would cut things out, put them in envelopes--the envelopes would be put into boxes, and it was actually a controlled thing at one point. LOL..NOW--well..it's a minor illness.

Before this last year, I had an antique store, and I was opened 7 days a week, so I would just sit there, and cut out pictures and put them in notebooks. I would just loving look at them periodically, maybe using them to look at as I drew them. I even got real brave, and put a TON of very old paper things in a box for sale in the store, and sold the mess out of them. (I have regretted doing THAT!)

So, right now--I have about 7 suitcases of VERY old stuff (illustrations, prints, book pages, etc). I have 35,000 images glued (with Post-It glue, so they can be removed) into HUGE 2-3 inch notebooks, 40 bags (gallon sized) of stuff that has just accumulated, and at least 9 drawers full of stuff (paper and old photographs). Then there's the books. I just threw away a lot of them (after tearing the pictures out), and I think I am down to about 200.

I buy old paper where and when I find it. I go to estate sales, yard sales, junk stores, etc..and when I find it--I normally ask them what they will take for all of it, then I sort it out at home and throw away what I don't want.

I also go to Staples a great deal, and spend way too much money there...LOL..I use those pages to cut up and make my journal pages, along with some authentic vintage/antique stuff. I don't use even one percent of what I own...LOL.

As far as organizing---HAHAHHA... I throw it in a closed container (drawer, suitcase, shelf, etc..), and go through stacks to find what appeals to me. Those stacks usually end up on the floor, and more stacks put on top of them. Every Sunday, I pick it all up, and put it away, and start over...

So..there's the mystery...LOL..I am a sick, sick woman, and my sickness is old paper...LOL

Have a wonderful night (sorry to bore you all to death!)..
~~Suzan~~

LOL..you KNOW that I live amongst country hicks, when I find excitement at the Walmart! I drove my husband to his class, and had 3 hours to pass away, so I went to Walmart, and was aimlessly buying stuff that I didn't need...and they did a "Code Adam". They locked the doors, and all the associates, (and some of the customers--me, being one), searched for a lost little 4 year old. Thankfully she was found (probably in the toy section). It brought back a memory..which is funny to me now. We had a large department store called Gayfers, in Pensacola, FL--where I am from. My grandfather, (then about 79-80 years old) would take my grandmother to the beauty shop inside Gayfers every Saturday. They normally took SHE WHO KNOWS EVERYTHING (my daughter--who I miss--SO CALL YOUR MOTHER!) with them to this department store, and while my grandmother was getting beautified, my grandfather would walk around with SHE WHO KNOWS EVERYTHING. Well, my daughter was about 3, and smarter than the average child (don't all mothers think so?), and she hid from my grandfather. She crawled her tiny little tail right into the center of one of those large round clothes rack, and sat there and watched him...LOL..Of course, he panicked..and asked for help. So, they closed the doors, (the store was in a mall, so that meant that they dropped those very large metal, cage-like doors), locked everyone in, and the entire store spent an hour looking for the cute little baby that was probably laughing at everyone...

Note: The next week--when my grandfather took SHE WHO KNOWS EVERYTHING to the mall, she was equipped with a baby harness, on a very long cord, that was securely tied to his wrist...hehehehe.

Everyone have a Fabulous, artful night!!
~~Suzan~~

Good morning!! I have set up my paypal account in my Etsy shop for all of those who want to use Paypal to pay. Thank you all so much!!

Live artfully!
~~Suzan~~

Good Happy Morning!! I woke up this morning to find that I had been featured on the INSPIRATIONAL blog this morning! Thank you so much!! That is super nice of you all to do that!!! I appreciate it!

Well, I am off to go downtown, and to the bank this morning--I have a funny Petey the Wonderdog story, but--it's going to have to wait until I get back. He's so hilarious!

Live Artfully!
~~Suzan~~

"LIFE'S THOUGHT"

These are my two for today. They are 6" x 6", mixed media on canvas.