Wednesday, December 29, 2010

The Songs in Your Heart


Hi everyone!
This time around, I'm waiting for the ink on my paintings to dry (so that I can pull off my scan-&-post moves for you) and to fill time, I'm playing some songs I've been listening to for the last few months. I play a little bit of piano so that's what I play the songs on. As always, mixed with some of my all-time favourites. Maybe that's why practice sessions can get freakishly long at times. My actual practicing might last no longer than a shampoo commercial, but playing around with my new it songs takes anywhere from an hour to Whoa-wrap-it-up-it's-midnight.

This is my current list. Feel free to send in yours. There must be some great piano songs I'm missing out on.
- Dawn (Dario Marianelli)
- Northern Lights (Emily Bear)
- Over the Rainbow (Arrangement by Dan Coates)
- Romance in Winter (Miranda Wong)
- Piano Concerto No.23 Mov.3 (Mozart) -- because I like putting some classicals in it somewhere. This piece does magic to me. And it isn't very hard to play which is kind of shocking for a concert piece!

Take care for now. See you next post! :)

Peace, love, and pretty colours,
Rafika

Monday, December 27, 2010

Eyes on a Good New Year


Hi everyone!
So December 2010 is almost behind us. To all who celebrate any holiday and went to special events for it: On a scale from 1 to 10, I hope your celebrations were Beyond Belief.

I'm getting excited for the new year. If you wonder why, I can't think of anything specific. All that comes up is "Why not?" It's coming soon whether or not anyone want it to. Maybe not as excited this morning, but that might have been just because I barely slept last night. And possibly because someone turned on the water in the other bathroom while I was taking a shower. I don't like (translation: loathe) water tug-of-war so I just got out of there a decade early. No drama added. I did think about screaming "Who did this?! Got a point?" but I managed to keep it all cool and civilized. Turning focus to the new year instead (and maybe add in the fact that it wasn't even my bathroom.) But still! Eyes on a good new year, people... Eyes on a good new year. I finished showering though. NOT willing to go out in a winter collection by Soap Bubbles Couture. Done it once but the route was completely different. This time, I have to make it to the post office and mail a picture I had sold to Miss D (Thank you, Miss D!) 

I'll be back here soon with new works! See you next post! :)

Peace, love, and pretty colours,
Rafika

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Christmas or Not, Holiday or Not


Hi everyone!
My warmest greetings to all of you. Not just holiday greetings here, but good-every-day, good-for-everyone, no-expiry-date greetings. Simply put, the best kind I can possibly send you! I hope you are having the most wonderful time. If you're not yet a follower of this blog, I won't ask where you've been hiding (But if it's a great place, please volunteer to tell!). I'm just asking you, very nicely, to jump onboard because we're having fun here. And even more of it later!     

Behind the Feature Image:
This one happened to be a Christmas art but I hope it brightens your day whether or not you celebrate any holiday at all. This was a gift pastel painting I did a few of years ago. Long story short, the original painting had been water-damaged. (Hot water tank disaster + unprotected artwork = ...... ). I'm thinking a mushy roll of paper but I am glad I didn't see it or even know about it until a lot later. And aren't we grateful for scanners and digital files? I might attempt a remake or get more prints going on so I can offer more to anyone who is interested. For now, some prints are available up to size 5x5 inch (The 3x3 had become the magic size here because of the holiday frames sold at Indigo and other bookstores this season.) These prints are available at my Etsy and Artfire as singles. If you would like to order multiples, simply contact me at one of these shops and I will do my best to help you.
           
Peace, love, and pretty colours,
Rafika

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Honeysuckle - Colour of the Year 2011


Hi everyone!
Here goes your newest Serenity fine art print. It comes in the 2011 colour of the year, honeysuckle. Now you can say you had seen it at Fika's Art Box! :)

The light colour is not the lighter shade of the pink but another pink shade called "rose" so you get two beautiful colours here.

Colour of the year?
Yes. Pantone had announced honeysuckle as colour of the year for 2011, so expect to see this reddish pink trending in everything from the fashion world to product packaging.
More about the announcement:

Please visit FAB shops for more or click on the image above to go to the item page.

Peace, love, and pretty colours,
Rafka

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Oooh...New Studio


Taadaaaa! ... there's the link to my Artfire studio (on right sidebar, down a bit...). FAB Etsy shop is still up and running. That's where new artworks would go first, especially original paintings as they can't be available in both places.

It's still great fun to visit Artfire. You'll come across great items you won't see on Etsy. Some sellers stay out of Etsy due to how crowded it has become. Especially for jewelry artists. Crowded is fantastic to me but apparently it scared a lot of other people. And I get where they are coming from. A big full house could mean more people to share your craft with -OR- the perfect place to drown in the whole hoo-haa without anyone ever knowing you exist. I had seen the Etsy jewelry section and yes, it is an endless sea of shiny objects for sale!

Anyways, the doors are now open, so come on in friends! 

Peace, love, and pretty colours,
Rafika

Thursday, December 16, 2010

New Printables - Alphabet Dots Set


Hi, everyone!
Some digital printable sheets had just been added to my shop. Created out of my own personal need for a handy lettering set. I wanted a set that allows me to make any words in any colour combination. No more "there's only one P and it's red -deal with it" kind of situation. It turned out  my dream sets are hard to find if not non-existent. So I created some and now you can enjoy them too! 
Print away and create your own scrapbook embellishments, gift tags, labels, cake toppers, homeschooling materials, ...anything goes.

Peace, love, and pretty colours!
Rafika

Here are your links to the new items:
26-letter Multicolour Set

Single-colour Sheet


 

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Serenity Special

New from FAB shop

Serenity Package Deal
Put together any three "Serenity" prints available at
my Etsy shop and enjoy the special bundle price for your set.

Here is your link to the order page:
Serenity Package Deal

Need custom colours?
Simply click the contact button and
let's talk your dream print!


Peace, love, and pretty colours
Rafika

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

New Original - Dandelions of Heartland


Hi, everybody!
It's about time for a new original around here. I know this one didn't even get mentioned before so here goes your sweet suprise! Meet the happy dandelions of Heartland. It won't be long until the young ones join the fun and the air is filled with love!

"Dandelions of Heartland"
6x6 inch
Acrylic on canvas board

For the original, please click on the above image or run to my Etsy store before someone else took it home.

Peace, love, and pretty colours,
Rafika

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Powered by Brownies

Happy December Everyone!

For me here, this is the day to enjoy some brownies.
(Honesty-based correction: A lot of brownies.)
Too much browniedom in the system :D
In case you are not familiar, that's not a bad feeling at all!

This is also the day to wonder when I can post these new artworks. Some are ready for you. Just one minor problem: there has been very limited natural light here lately for me to take decent photos. If else fails, they will go straight to the scanner and my Etsy store. I will still try my best to post them here as we go along.

Until next post, I trust that you and yours have a wonderful time!

Peace, love, and pretty colours,
Rafika