ACEO Barn Owl "Evening Watch"

"Evening Watch"

Barn Owls make wonderful subjects to photograph, sketch and paint. What beautiful birds these ghostly faced owls are.  I have thoroughly enjoyed painting several and have many more ideas in mind. Here is my newest owl painting:

"Evening Watch" by Colleen K Carrigan (c) 2011

SOLD

Dedicated to Queensland, AU "Great White Shark and Spirit" ACEO

"The Spirit of Power and Beauty"

(Detail of Painting) SOLD

To my 'family' in Oz, may you be safe and experience brighter days - very soon! ♥♥♥


Queenslanders are Ace! -  Fair Dinkum!!

UPDATE Feb. 21: Thank goodness, my Family in Oz is Safe and they are continuing to clean-up around the property.  Great news that Cairns and surrounding towns are picking up the garden floral debris/waste curbside so individuals don't have to cart all the palm fronds and tree branches away themselves. Also, wonderful news that Mrs. Willy Wagtail and her babies survived Cyclone Yasi and visited the garden for their worms after the storm.


The past weeks have brought great challenges from 'Mother Nature' worldwide.  It seems half the US is covered in snow and ice and there are countless floods across the globe.  I have a special place in my heart for Queensland, Australia - it's my second 'home'.  I have made four wonderful journeys there since 1996 and the spirit of the people never ceases to amaze me.  With meticulous precision, my dearest friends of 30 years, began preparing for a massive hurricane headed directly for northern Queensland where they live near Cairns.  Floods have been flowing for weeks in Queensland south of Cairns and this monster storm looked as if it would engulf Queensland! 

Cyclone (hurricane) Yasi reached category 5 (Katrina) yesterday before hitting the eastern coast.  Today, the destruction is being assessed amid pouring rains and additional flooding.  Aussies are celebrating the fact that three new babies arrived in Queensland during Yasi!  Far Northern Queenslanders are experts at preparing for cyclones - we can learn from the preparation and positive spirit and attitudes of our Aussie brothers and sisters. 

I am continuing my series of "Mother Earth" miniatures (I sold three last week, and I shall blog photos of them soon).  I painted "The Spirit of Power and Beauty" during Cyclone Yasi, in dedication to the Spirit and Attitude of Queenslanders.  A lifelong passion for sharks has consumed me and I love the grace and beauty of the human figure.  My dearest friends, Jim and Susan and I have been communicating about nature, sharks, ecosystems, global challenges, and the love of kitty cats for over 30 years across the 'big pond' known by its other name: the Pacific Ocean.  Coral2Cove (My eBay name, website and studio gallery) comes from my love for the Coral Sea and a quaint little place on Puget Sound, Pirate's Cove. 

Although, I have not heard from Jim and Susan yet, I feel certain that they are (hopefully sleeping as I type this) fine and will be cleaning up around the property from all the blow down of palm fronds, banana plants and tree limbs.  Oh, I hope the little wild bird, 'Mrs. Willy wagtail' that visits the garden for her worms each day - made it through the storm.  She has been raising and feeding her chicks grubs for years provided by her human family.

From the sale of this ACEO, I shall be making a donation to the relief fund for Queensland.  Last month I donated to: http://www.qld.gov.au/floods/donate.html


This art card is priced at $1.00 to encourage bidding - I shall make a minimum donation to Queensland of $20 and more if the card sells for more.


  The Power of Mother Nature - the Beauty and Spirit of Queensland, Australia

 

Great White Shark and Spirit "The Spirit of Power and Beauty" SOLD

FOR SALE starting at $1.00

2.5" x 3.5" watercolor and ink

Coral2Cove Studio Gallery

ACEO Sea Turtles and Coral Reef

"Spirit of Travel"

What a wild week!  Two power outages, living out in the forest on a bay at sea level becomes 'wild' when it snows and the winds pick up.  Two 80+ foot Douglas fir trees came crashing down last night in the forest near our house.  It was exciting.  Power was out but my family was watching Happy Feet on my daughter's laptop by the roaring wood stove and candle light.  Today the power was restored, so I'm working away to list a few items in our gallery. 

My love of turtles has been with me since childhood.  I grew up in west Texas and after a spring rain - box turtles could be found walking out on the roads.  My siblings and I rescued numerous turtles and we kept a few in our yard where they fed on cicadas, June bugs and prickly pear fruit.  I worked with Kemp's Ridley sea turtles in Dallas during the mid 80's. 

Here is my newest painting celebrating 'sharing and traveling'.  Sea turtles travel the world's oceans and the females return to the beach where they were born to lay their eggs.  This ACEO has some silver and blue sparkling ink added (a touch of magic).

SOLD

ACEO Orca Whale Breaching

Orca Whale "Breaching Majesty"

Hello Artists, Friends and Family : )


It has been a month since I last updated my blog - shame on me. 


Here is a fun Art Card painted in watercolor and archival inks of one of my favorite marine mammals.  "Breaching Majesty" was a wonderful miniature to create of our Pacific Northwest region complete with an orca and beautiful mountains on the horizon - all viewed from Puget Sound.  I never tire of painting, viewing, or learning about orca whales.  They truly possess strength, power, intelligence and a nurturing nature for their young.  Several pods have lived in Puget Sound for eons and they feed primarily on the resident salmon.  It is always exciting to view them. So enjoy this ACEO and may the power of the orca be with you!

Breaching Majesty 2.5" x 3.5" Watercolor and ink

SOLD

ACEO Halloween Black Cat, Moon Magic, Bats and Owl

MOON MAGIC

What a fun time I had creating this ACEO!  And the best part was that my kitty, Kraven (alias: The Bad Boy) was the model.  It was great composing some of my favorite October subjects into one mini painting.  We hear owls often in the woods near our house and bats live in the open garage (the house was built in the late 1800's). The painting is complete with a full moon in a deep blue violet sky.

Enjoy Moon Magic this October.

"Moon Magic" watercolor by Colleen K Carrigan (c) 2010

SOLD

Kraven enjoying a sunny location - he loves to smell flowers!

Original Watercolor Painting Sandtiger Shark 4" x 6"

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"Sandtiger Shark"


A lifelong love of sharks led me to create this 4" x 6" watercolor. After receiving my BS in Biology, I worked in the aquarium field for over a decade and spent a lot of time with captive tropical species. Several research projects were designed and conducted using sharks as the subjects. One study involved the operant conditioning of a female sandtiger fondly named “Mama”. She was taught to touch a target and have a buzzer sounded then receive a food reward. She did very well on her trials with 88% success. She was truly a beautiful shark and taught her care takers well - this painting is dedicated in her memory - 'Swim free beautiful lady'.


Glittering ink sparkles on this painting resembling the light reflection off the dermal denticles (scales) of the shark.

Sandtiger Shark

SOLD