Oil On Canvas color challenge

 Beading along with Marcie's color challenge over onLaBellaJoya blog, the theme was oil paintings. The first one I worked on had a palette of golden orange with hints of beige and muted plum.   

I started with a base of right-angle weave using the last of my copper-lined amethyst AB size 6 seed beads, embellished on the edge with loops of frosted silver-lined golden orange 11s, with a pair of light orange opaque Delicas flanking topaz AB Swarovski crystals. I also embellished the base itself with more topaz crystals, frosted orange and tiny bronze seed beads. Hidden at the base of each fringe loop are bronze and metallic dark raspberry seed beads.

 

I finished the necklace with loops of bronze and a gunmetal chain.

 The second challenge palette was for this, the famous Girl with a Pearl Earring. (No, I didn't see the movie.)

 I had a bottle with a slight neck that just begged for a beaded collar. I've been doing multiple versions of a modified 'Collier du Soleil' by Anna Elizabeth Draeger, made into a bracelet, which lent itself great to a collar.

 

I used frosted black 8s, bronze and opaque blue 11s, cream AB Delicas, light colorado topaz Swarovskis and my remaining tiny blue pearl drops from the 2009 Bead & Button show. 

 

I had only two pearls left, so I made my own pair of pearl earrings with a few bronze 11s and black 3mm firepolished beads.

I'm clearing out space in my studio, so for a limited time these pieces are up in my Listia account, a place to get free stuff. Please register through this link http://www.listia.com/signup/341959 as it gives me referral points. :D

Marilyn Monroe and Grace Kelly

 

Playing along with La Bella Joya's April's Color Challenge gave me not one but two challenges. The first was to use Andy Warhol's depiction of Marilyn Monroe as my color palette. I chose cyan, scarlet, yellow, peach and hints of black, starting with a nicely-shaped glass bottle that once held tequila. It had a nice cyan shade. Then I embellished the neck of the bottle with beaded rings in the rest of the shades.

 

The second challenge colors were inspired by an elegant photo of Grace Kelly. The palette of pale blue, cream, pink and burgundy were very appealing to me. I chose to make a variation on one of my signature beaded ball beads, starting with pale blue and gilt-lined opal seed beads (which appear blue next to blue beads). I then trimmed the bead with matte AB cream Delicas, pink-lined 11s and garnet AB Czech 11s, and paired the bead with a custom-dyed burgundy ribbon which exactly matches my new hair color.