Watercolor Paintings by Louise De Masi

Louise De Masi is an Australian artist whose work reflects her love for nature and animals. She uses watercolors as the medium for her paintings because of " the unpredictable nature of watercolor. I love the vibrance of the hues and I thrive on the challenge that each painting brings. Sometimes I master it and at other times it masters me. " - she shares.

She has an online store where she sells prints in different sizes as well as original paintings. I have picked out the above few paintings to give you a taste of her beautiful work. You can see many more (over 500) paintings of all sorts of owls, birds and animals in her store. The owl portrait shown above is my favorite. How incredible is feather detail around his eyes!

Her artwork has been featured in many Australian art and craft magazines and currently she has some of her paintings licensed to a US wall decor manufacturing company.

Printable Notebook Pages

Teresa has a blog where she shares wonderful tutorials, free patterns and printables for all kinds of occasions. These owl themed printable is perfect to make your own notebook. The pages are available in three color shades -pink, orange and purple in two different designs. You can print them all in a single color or mix them. Download as many as you want and make a little notebook for yourself and for a friend who likes to take notes!

There many more notebook designs on her blog that you can take a look at and download if you like. She has shared tips on how can you assemble the pages in a notebook. There are even a few tutorials on how to make a notebook cover for your notebook, check out this link.

Earl Martz: Wood Carving Illustrated

Earl Martz has been a professional artist for more than 30 years. He started his career in 1970 as a mural painter with United States Army and still is fascinated by painting wildlife which is the primary subject matter of his work.

He has studied taxidermy, engraving, scrimshaw, and sculpting, and is an avid student of nature where he likes to spend most of his time. He creates stunning sculptures combining painting and carving on found wood in abstract shapes.

Artist's statement: "It occurred to me that nature and animal could become one in sculpture- the gentle twist of strong wood matching the subtle curves of a wild animal. In searching out only the best pieces to begin working with, I'll immediately go for pleasing lines and only select something with a heightened visual appeal, but some of these pieces will sit for a couple of years or more before becoming something that I will use to bring out a particular animal. Over a period of 15 years now, I've found outstanding pieces of wood from Maine to Montana... even down in the bayous of Louisiana. It can be hard to describe the process of making each one into a particularly original work of art, because that choice of matching the wood to a certain form doesn't happen everyday, but when it finally does come about, you know you've got the best shape for what the wood is going to become."

Each one-of-a-kind piece is full of intricate carvings and precise paint strokes. It's a work of a genius carving the feathers and fur on those animals making them look so real. To view more of his work and detailed close-ups watch the video below. 

Small Worlds by Christian Haas for Theresienthal

"Small Worlds" is an art-glass collection designed by Christian Hass a designer based in Munich for the luxury Bavarian glass manufacturer Theresienthal. Each piece is a masterpiece and when assembled together they form a little narrative within themselves, creating a 'small world'. 

"Once these elements are put together, they form a small world, which tells the viewer a story. The classical techniques of glass processing such as over-fishing, grinding and engraving here are not mere decoration, but are part of the narrative whole." Every single object from the Small Worlds is functionally useful. 

This beautiful glass collection is hand-cut, hand-blown in simple shapes with minimalist yet intricate engraving in delicate colors. The series comes in a limited edition of 50 sets each - "No Sweet Without Sweat", "Wisdom Is a Good Companion", "Planet Earth", "A Matter of Perspective" and "Still Waters Run Deep".

"Wisdom Is a Good Companion" collection consists of three gorgeous pieces that are assembled by covering the cobalt blue vase, engraved with a tawny owl sitting on a perch with a glass ‘cage’. A massive grey paperweight engraved with ants is then placed on top of the two vases acting as a ‘handle’ - via.

Owl vase from "Wisdom Is a Good Companion"

"Planet Earth"

 "Still Waters Run Deep"

"Wisdom Is a Good Companion"

Owl and ants tumblers from "Wisdom Is a Good Companion", and bees and honeycomb from "No Sweet Without Sweat"

Amy Judd's Paintings Inspired by Mythology

Amy Judd is a London based artist, whose work I have featured before here. She gained degree in BA (Hons) in Fine Art, Portsmouth University and MA in Fine Art Painting, Wimbledon. She is currently being represented by Hicks Gallery Wimbledon.

The above shown paintings are from the series titled "Avian", it is a "collection of sensitive silent moments; some full of whimsical intrigue, others more surreal and seductive. These paintings draw inspiration from the enchanting and imaginative relationship between women and birds found in traditional mythologies and folklores.

The composition, light and positioning of the subject, creates curious images, which conjure up new “mythological” narratives or creatures within the paintings; using Feathers as armor, and birds as familiars. The sensitive brushwork on the figure’s flesh complements the delicate pattern of the feathers, however the compositions are bold and strong, and the figures are not frail or delicate; the feathers allude to strength, flight and bravery, rather than fragility."

The women figure is a recurring theme of her work, their faces are often hidden or covered with feathers or flowers. The faceless women appear in her work along with owls, birds and other animals drawing attention towards magical relationship between the two found in mythology. Find more information about her work and to view more of her paintings go to the artist's website.

Printable Mother's Day Coloring Card Templates

These Mother's day card templates will be a great fun activity for kids. You can print these out for your little ones (or for yourself, if you enjoy coloring) to color and create a handmade card this Mother's Day. The templates are available in three cute designs - mama and a baby owl, a flower bouquet, and mama and a baby elephant. Just print, color-in, cut and you are done!

One can be creative in decorating the templates with gluing fabric, buttons, glitter and sequins to give it a 3D textured effect. To download the templates go to Tesco Living.

Loungefly: Owl Collection

Loungefly's brand new owl handbag collection features embroidered owl, applique owl, printed owl on canvas that are functional as well as stylish. There is one for you that'll rock your everyday outfit!

Loungefly owl navy and white tote

Loungefly embroidered white & black owl tote bag

Loungefly navy & white owl wallet

Loungefly owl with heart eyes black wallet coin bag

Loungefly embroidered white & black owl zip around wallet

Loungefly owl face trifold wallet

Three Owls Painting

This is a beautiful painting by Sudip Das an artist from Kolkata, India. I adore the owls' expressions, the texture and the color palette of grey with pops of bright, but not overwhelming - purple, yellow, pink.