Christmas Ornaments

New from Art by Bala! Hand-painted Christmas Ornaments ... a limited edition of only 100 with just 10 purple ones for the first 10 orders. I am thrilled to try something new again this year (last year I did the coloring book for the holiday season). These little approximately 3" plastic shatterproof ornaments are painted on both sides. I was able to find the disc-shaped ones in just red & blue and have painted the blue over for a few bluish green ones and purple. All of them had to be painted over before I could do the textures so the thick paint adheres better to an already painted surface rather than the plastic one. Initially I was thinking of offering custom words on the back inside the hearts, but given the time it takes to work on them & the price point, I am sticking with "Love" on all of them. Can't wait to start shipping these out.

2015 Art Calendars

2015 Art by Bala calendars are almost here and will be shipped starting Nov 4! It is Animal Paintings themed, with high resolution images of 14 of my henna style textured animal paintings. Printed on high quality premium glossy card stock paper and measures 8.5" x 11". There is also room to write on the dates. Only $15 + $3 shipping within US. Get yours today!

You can now purchase them directly from my website!
Click the link here: http://www.artbybala.com/calendar

The Perfect Gift

I am celebrating yet another trip around the sun today and look what you all got me this year. Since I am so close to my target I went ahead and got this wonderful set up. Even managed to take booth shots yesterday before the snow here today. Thanks again and keep sharing my art with your world! 

Link to the campaign: http://igg.me/at/artbybala/x/4868314

Trimline Canopy tent & Flourish mesh panels that even include the set up for a french door, weights and 2 tall director's chairs are already here!

 

Hand Painted Coasters

I saw these amazing Spanish porcelain tiles at the Habitat ReStore in Madison and knew right away that I wanted to create coasters with them. I have not played with these before and the process involved a lot of learning. And for once, youtube was not really helpful. But in the end, the coasters are turning out beautiful. These are the ones I have completely finished so far. A second batch is waiting to be sanded and coated with another layer of resin and a third batch is waiting to be painted. A total of 88 tiles for 22 sets. Pricing and ordering information on these limited edition coasters can be found here. Perfect for the holidays, wouldn't you say?

 

 

 

Going Pro

I am doing a little fund raiser on IndieGoGo to take my art to the next level: Next summer, I want to hit the professional art festivals in the mid-west including Madison's Art Fair on the Square. I need your help and support for getting there. Please check out my campaign by clicking the link below, contribute whatever you can and help me spread the word about my works. And I have some wonderful perks for you along the way. In case you are new to my works, please check out my facebook page and my website. 

Chocolate Mini-Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting

I had the opening reception for my biggest show of the year last night. The Gallery at Yahara Bay Distillers was a wonderful venue with gracious hosts and we all had a great time. The best part was when three of my paintings found a new home and I hit the big 100 (# of paintings sold/donated since I started showing in Feb 2012). 

As usual, I made the hors d'oeuvres for the evening. I spent a good chunk of time on Wednesday in the kitchen and all four items were baked (three of them in mini muffin pans)! At least the weather was a little cooler to manage having the oven on for a good 2-3 hours.

One of the dishes I made was chocolate cupcakes with a peanut butter frosting. The batter was adapted from a cake recipe and improvised quite a bit.

Ingredients (For 48 cupcakes):  All-purpose Flour - 1 1/2 cups; Cocoa Powder (I used Dagoba drinking chocolate with spices) - 1 cup; Sugar - 3/4 cup; Butter - 2 tbsp; Vanilla - 1 tsp; Salt - dash; Baking soda - 2 tsp; Baking Powder - 1 tsp;  Eggs - 2; Yogurt - 1/2 cup;  Water - 1/2 cup.

• Pre-heat the oven to 350F
• Line muffin pans with baking cups
• In the mixing bowl add all the dry ingredients, mix them quickly
• Add the wet ingredients and mix well with an electric mixer
• Pour the batter into the baking cups, about 3/4th full (about a tbsp)
• Bake for about 20 minutes! 

For the peanut butter frosting, I whipped together 1 cup of creamy peanut butter, 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla, milk  2-3 tsp - as needed. Once mixed to the desired consistency, I used a ziplock bag to pipe some on the cupcakes!

I am sending this to Cupcake Fest, hosted by Sreevalli.

New Home for a Painting & Dieting Woes

After three weeks of trying to find a time that works, this painting titled "The Pond" went to its new home! I hope this brings lots of joy to the person who took it home. I am glad another one of my paintings has moved on :)

And last night, I had a reception for a group show with two more local artists. It was fun and if not for my migraine, I would have stayed for longer. Days 3, 4 and 5 on the South Beach Diet Phase I have passed and it has been eventful. Day 3 was good with a big burst of energy in the afternoon and I painted for about 3 hours. Friends were visiting that night and I made an eggplant moussaka adapted from the Moosewood cookbook and Vegetarian cooking. The side was a simple sauté of broccoli and cauliflower with coconut. We had the soup I had made the previous day and it had become a lot spicier, even for my taste. Dessert was a simple fruit salad and mochi icecream that I watched everyone else eat, till S gave me a small bite :) My friend who came over, had also done the South Beach Diet and it was really wonderful to actually talk to someone who has gone through with it and has seen tremendous results. She was very encouraging and I am glad to have the support.

Day 4 was bad, I woke up with the migraine and my stomach was hurting. I had an egg with salsa and sour cream for breakfast. S cooked during the day and made a delicious sambhar with onions, radish and eggplants, a green beans / carrots saute, a raita with cucumber, tomatoes and onion. I had a big bowl of all of this with my tofu scramble for lunch. After the reception last night, I had the same for dinner but with 1/4 of a cup of rice. Falling off the wagon already! I figured I might as well make some sensible accomodations that suffer too much.

Today, I had leftover sambhar and the broccoli/ cauliflower saute for lunch. And more of the leftover moussaka for dinner. Migraine also continues on day 2, but I managed to paint for an hour today and am now well rested. Only 9 more days to go :)

Productive Day

I started and finished this piece today - something I haven't done in a while. The sun will get a small mirror in the center tomorrow after the coats of varnish. The painting is done henna style with acrylics on wood (not sure of the type) with textured lines. The painting is on a 12x16 cabinet door from the Habitat ReStore of Madison, WI. They are also doing a Salvage Art Show from April to June next year. I have a few more pieces of cabinet doos lying around that might also get some paint action before then. I am so thankful to have two of their stores in Madison and just the other day found two maple brand new cabinet doors for $3 each. The last day to apply is in the first week in Jan. This piece might get donated if it is not sold before then. Lately, I am very fortunate to sell paintings as I finish them :) This will be on show at a Holiday Art Fair this Friday and Saturday. 

The pieces I do on cabinet doors can still be used on a closet. That would be super cool! 

 

She is a Beauty

I just finished this piece yesterday and am hoping she would go to the home of an inspiring friend. This friend has a yurt for a second home which is so heavenly and is adorned with blue & sparkly stuff. This henna-style peacock painted on wood would fit in perfectly and I can't wait for my friend to see this piece next week. 7x15 inches - acrylic on wood. Check out my works at www.artbybala.com and also do like my FB page at www.facebook.com/artbybala for regular updates!

 

Painting & a Show

When I started this week, my goal was to finish two paintings and I did it! This is the last Mandala Painting (acrylic on canvas) for a show that starts tomorrow. I can't believe I am already starting my third show - all in the span of 2-3 months and this month is super awesome because I am having two concurrent shows. I will be putting up my paintings at BC Hair on the east side of Madison tonight, and this show will go on till the end of May. Check out my website Art by Bala for more. 

I am also planning to stop by the one at Froth House later tonight and see if any of the pieces sold this week. The opening last Friday was really good with about 20 or so friends stopping by. I have also sold three paintings so far at Froth House and a couple of necklaces.

Though I am not working at the University anymore, I am still continuing my research and things are busy. Too many things going on and my table is so full. Both exciting & exhausting!

Art Show Opening & Reception

A few months back, I wasn't even dreaming of this, but today I am very excited for my second art show happening at The Froth House in Madison, WI. The paintings went up on April 1 and today is the reception. I am happy I will get to see friends I havent seen in a while and a few are coming from far away places (not just for this, but definitely a bonus :)). Will post more pictures after the event, but here is a sample -- an festive elephant & an Om Ganesh. My paintings are generally very colorful and they seem to pop out really well against the red wall of the Froth House! To add to all this excitement - my next show starts in a week! In the meantime, check out www.artbybala.com to see more of my works.

Mandala Paintings

I am doing two more art shows in April / May and trying to get things organized in the next week before things get really crazy again. And in the last 10 days I was able to finish a few pieces and though they are not 100% done (still need to finish the sides and attach hanger), I am happy the way they turned out. Both of them have a mirror in the center. It feels like the mirror is becoming part of my signature! 

16x20 canvas with acrylic henna style Mandala

10x10 canvas with a floral henna style acrylic Mandala

Mandala Painting

I finished this henna style acrylic mandala painting on 24x24 wooden panel today. As my month long art show at Mother Fool's coffee house in Madison is wrapping up (last day is 3/1), I am excited to start some new projects. I have sold 6 paintings so far from this show and three of the pieces were really popular! As everything else in life is kind of roller-coaster crazy for the last few months, painting has been very therapeutic and seems to be the only thing to keep my mind occupied without getting distracted. All the paintings in the show are listed on Art by Bala and will be available for sale on March 1st. Affordable original art supporting the community :)

Panel: 4 -- Henna Style on Wood

Here is one of the latest in the series. I love the copper + teal blue color with white henna texture. The panel measures 11x15 inches. Acrylic and finished with varnish. Needs to be hung at a slight angle to avoid reflection on the metallic color. Saw this color theme by one of our local artists during the art show in October and wanted to try it out. Mirror in the center. Will be listed for sale as soon as I can get my act together with Bees Beads & Colors! Last month was pretty busy with a lot of travel and this month is looking more crazier with work and also job applications. I got to spend part of today painting on a few gesso boards, after a delicious brunch of homemade Columbian style Arepa at a friend's. I am starting a couple of diptych's like this and also a small 5x5 four piece. Hopefully I can finish them sometime soon :) I have promised myself that I will sit and work on an Artist's statement after I complete 10 in the series and send samples to coffee shops in the city. Goal is to have an exhibit in town before I finish this position in June!

Art Inspirations from Hawaii

One of the best things out of spending two weeks on the Big Island, Hawaii, is finding quite a few artists similar to my painting style. Big inspiration. I hope I am able to find the time to channel some of this inspiration and have some creative fulfillment. Expect to see some of their influence in my future works, especially similar to the last but one (Its acrylic on wood). I couldn't quite keep track of the names of the artists for many of these, and one whose work I have not pictures here, is Pamela Sukham. I am in love with her work! But for now, check out the paintings below and revel!

       

         

         

          

Acrylic Henna Flower on a Wooden Panel

The third in my series :) My techniques are definitely getting better. In this piece I went between thick and thinner lines. Measures 6x15 inches. Textured acrylic similar to the first one. I might also accent this one with a few smaller glass pieces. And I know which way I want this one to hang on the wall. Will be available for sale soon...once I give it a coat of varnish and add the picture hanger on the back.

Recent Jewelry

Here are some of the jewelry I have made over the last couple of weeks. They will soon be available on Bee's Beads & Colors. That site needs a little updating since I sold a bunch of pieces at the Slow Food fundraiser, and am not sure which ones I still have. Send me an email if you are interested in any of the pieces below!

Second Panel

This has been a really great weekend, with one of my friends from Stevens Point coming down to Madison to hang out with us AND give me oil painting lessons! How amazing is that! So, for the first time in a very very long time, I got to explore oil paints, but without the hassle of oils and turpentine :) And she has left me with enough paint and medium to play around more before the next lesson. I do need to spend more time exploring to get a better oil vs. acrylic media.

Seeing her has been a big inspiration and I got back to finishing this panel I had started a while back. Its really simple, yet pretty :) I have also prepped a few more panels and hopefully I can finish at least one more piece before the weekend is over!

New Art Series

Here is the first piece I painted yesterday for my new art series. The panel is a wooden panel from Ikea  measuring 6x15 inches. The medium is acrylic, with textured henna patterns and a small mirror in the center. I made one tiny little change to this after the picture was taken. I haven't decided which way it looks better to screw the hanger on. I love how the wood grains actually show through. Today I have prepared three panels, and hoping I can finish at least one painting by tonight. I am so excited for these and look for more to come soon!

Acrylic Henna Diptych Painting

After spending hours in Ikea last week, I found box frames that I really liked for these Diptych. The paintings are acrylic henna pattern with texture, sealed with a varnish finish on 6x6 gesso boards. Bright colors, suitable for any wall color, can be hung in any direction. Finished frame size is 10x10.

I also found a multitude of different sized door/window/drawer panels for pretty cheap in the store and they are gonna be the basis for my new art series! I am excited :)