Happy Easter

Easter Bunny - Ink and colored pencils on paper - Rose Refour - 2009

Rose drew this bunny and I added Happy Easter in Photoshop. Here's wishing everyone a great day.

Art For The Day

The Blue Pitcher (c) Betty Refour - Pastels on Paper

Our mom had quite a few vintage items that we inherited so I thought it would be a good idea to draw some of them and sell reproductions to raise funds for Blood Cancer initiatives. I'm not sure the origin of this pitcher but it's one of my favorites. You can find reproductions of this drawing for sale in my Etsy shop.

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Happy Holidays

Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday.

Art for the day

(c) Rose Refour - Please Watch Where You're Going! 2007 Ink on Paper

For as long as I can remember the streets in the downtown area of our City have alternated directions. So instead of 6th Street going East and West it only goes West and 7th only goes East. The same with the North and South Streets.

This city gets a lot of tourists. On any given day you can go into the downtown area and see dozens of people visiting the Oklahoma City Memorial, taking photos, leaving gifts and so on.

So because of complaints from tourists the City decided to change the streets so that instead of going only East or West, North or South, they will soon all go both directions. Recently Rose and I went downtown and turned onto one of the streets that had been only a northbound street. I saw no signage and the stripes had not been changed so seemingly out of nowhere we were headed head on into another vehicle. Thank goodness we were all ok.

I usually take a note book with us where ever we go. That way if Rose wants to tell me something she can write it down since she doesn't always speak. Well soon after this incident she got her note book, drew this photo and handed it to me......I think I scared her really bad as indicated by her big eyes and lack of hair.

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Art for the day

©Rose Refour - The Swan - ink and colored pencil

My sister Rose loves swans. She has a collection of them including two plastic ones that she puts out on the lawn during the summer. They have to be in a precise location and if anyone moves them she races outside and gives the culprit a look that says "How dare you touch my swans!" as she snatches them and puts them back in their place. There are plants in them and if anyone tries to water them she becomes upset. When you come to visit make sure you stay away from the swans.

We will probably add this image to our line of cards.

Have a great week everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Art for the day

© Rose Refour - Untitled - Ink on Paper

Rose sold her first piece of original art yesterday! It was an ATC. Whenever something of hers sells I am always so excited. Most of the time she looks at me like "what's all the excitement about?" but once she said "Let's go shopping!". Well yesterday she didn't make any comment but then a short time later she came and handed me a list. On it were the following items: royal blue headband, brown belt, fingernail polish, turkey, white short sleeve blouse. I think she wants to go shopping again:)

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by. We will probably put this drawing on a card in case anyone is interested.

Art for the day

Landscape - (c) Betty Refour - 2007 - Ink on Paper

I haven't been able to paint much lately. Our roof was damaged during all the rain here and the basement and utility room flooded. We've have repairmen working on the damage but I'm just like a child with company. I hover around and ask questions and probably drive them crazy. I have done some ACEO's though and this is one of them. You can find some of the ones I did in my eBay shop. If you are unfamiliar with ACEO it stands for Art Cards Editions and Originals. These are small pieces of art 2.5 x 3.5 inches - the size of a trading card. They are considered an affordable way to collect art and they are traded and collected around the world.

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Art for the day

(c) Betty Refour - Untitled - Pastels on Paper

Have a great day everyone. Thanks for stopping by.

What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?

Pencil and Ink on Illustration Board - 1970's



Pencil and Ink on Illustration Board - 1970's

My 30 year class reunion is coming up. Yes, 30 years. But it got me to thinking about what I wanted to be when I grew up. A lot of you have heard the stories about how I started drawing geometric shapes on notebook paper and then graduated to drawing fashion and how CoCo Chanel was my idol and how I transferred those geometric shapes to canvas when I started painting and how I wanted to be a Fashion Designer and how I started designing note cards after a friend asked me to design a card for her baby shower and on and on. But very few of you have actually seen any of those Fashion Illustrations.

I would cut out pictures from magazines and newpapers and draw them. I also would use the bodies as templates to draw my own designs. These drawings are from photos I cut out.

I went to a small art and design school and got an Associates Degree in Fashion Design. But then I couldn't find a job as a Designer. I was offered pattern making and sewing positions and my attitude was like "Are you kidding me, I Can Draw why would I want to sew or make patterns."

Thinking back on it, although I said I wanted to be a Fashion Designer I think what I really wanted to be was an artist. I hated sewing, and making patterns and all the other things that are part of designing, but I loved to draw. So in fact I may be doing exactly what I set out to do when I grew up and just never even realized it. How about you, are you doing what you wanted to do when you grew up?

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by. Sorry I don't have better pictures, I just scanned what I could.

Art for the day

(c) Betty Refour - Somebody's Watching - Markers on Watercolor Paper

This is an ACEO that I did. It is available as a Limited Edition at Art Cards Wanted.

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Art for the day

© Betty Refour - Take A Load Off - Pastels on Paper

I started going to thrift shops years ago in the hopes that I would come across things that noone else noticed the beauty in. I usually came away with frames but then one day I found this duo. I have never found anything quite like this since but I still go just in case.

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Art for the day

©Rose Refour - Markers on Cardstock - Untitled

© Betty Refour - Watercolor on Paper - Winding Road

Yesterday morning we had rain for several hours and then for a short time the weather became severe with high winds, thunder and lightening. It lasted just long enough to knock the power out so Rose and I had to entertain ourselves for a time. One of the things we did were these ATC's. Artist Trading Cards or ACEO's - Art Cards Editions and Originals as they are also commonly known, are small works of art 2 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches. They are considered an inexpensive way to collect art.

It's funny how you get into a routine and may not even notice. We were sitting outside when the gentleman from the power company came by and asked us to check to see if our lights were working. I checked and gave him a thumbs up and told Rose we had power. I headed for my easel and I could hear the sweet sound of music and finger popping coming from her room.

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by. BTW for anyone who may not know, Rose is my sister and she has autism.