A Muppets Fan Through & Through

When I was a child, I had the joy of experiencing The Muppets on television. They had cartoons, movies, and holiday specials.

My younger brother loved Gonzo with his chickens, Fozzie Bear, Kermit, the Swedish Chef, Beaker… So many vibrant, hilarious characters to choose from! I loved Animal, the grumpy old guys who would do commentary, Beaker, Big Bird, Snuffleupagus, Super Grover, the yip yip nope nope aliens on Sesame Street (I couldn’t get enough of those guys!), and more!

Yip Yip Nope Nope Aliens from Sesame Street

Our mom got us cute little Muppets of our own one Christmas. I got MissPiggy and my brother got Kermit. They were so adorable and I loved cuddling with mine. She was just so pretty and festive! Our mom also got us Muppet coloring books. Which, I loved!

I love *Frankenstein*, so I figured a mashup would be cool!

I don’t have many good memories growing up, but some of the best ones include the Muppets.

Anyone who knows the Muppets knows of the Muppets creator, Jim Henson. I always thought he was someone to look up to. He was everything I wanted to be. Creative, kind, doing something he loved, bringing joy to others, having fun, and being a success at it.

When Jim Henson died, I was around 11 years old. I remember hearing about his death on the news. I was devastated. I think I probably even cried. I just remember it felt like a hole in the world. A light had gone out. He was such a positive influence in my life, such a big part of my childhood. It hurt and I could hardly believe it. But his legacy lives on and I’ve never forgotten how happy his creations made me!

A while back, I came across an Instagram account for Guy Gilchrist. He worked with Jim Henson. He was his cartoonist and friend. He also worked on Looney Tunes, Pink Panther, and various comic strips. He seems to have what you’d want in a Jim Henson cartoonist, a kind heart and a passion for people and life. I love seeing his illustrations! They are so inspiring and fun!

Seeing his work has definitely inspired me as an artist! So much so that the other day I got to thinking… I wondered what I might look like if I were a Muppet! You know, as you do! So I got out my iPad and started drawing!

Here’s a side by side for a little reference! Lol!

I knew right off the bat that I’d want aqua (my favorite color) colored “skin” and either fuchsia or purple hair. My hair kind of sticks up, so I had to figure out what that might look like on a Muppet.

Next, I had to plan out head and facial feature shapes. I know that I have a round shaped face, so that was easily figured into the design. I have a slightly turned up nose, but you don’t really see Muppets with noses like that. I wound up going with just a round nose. And in keeping with the round theme, I rounded the eyes also.

Purple hair was chosen, so that I could use pink for the nose and a little pink blush on the cheeks. Sometimes I wear a flower in my hair and often times I wear pearl stud earrings, so I wanted to add that to my Muppet.

I hope Jim Henson would have approved! I think it’s cute and captures my essence pretty well! I just wanted to honor him and if I could, I’d thank him for making my childhood better. Thank you, Jim! Thank you, Guy! And a heartfelt thank you to Guy for following me on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube! That means more than you’ll ever know. And thank you to Caroll Spinney (Big Bird’s puppeteer)!

Thank you for reading my blog! Please, subscribe and share. I greatly appreciate it!

To Learn More About Me And My Artwork, Please Visit: Link Tree.

Copyrights: Misty R. Lemons/Misty Blue Arts Do Not Copy

*For Educational & Inspirational Purposes Only

Behind The Scenes Of An Artist’s Life During The Holidays

Behind the scenes realism here. I’ve been pushing so hard working to get things listed in my shops for the holidays, building up my inventory (which means making things, drawing new things, editing designs, ordering my work on products, such as Christmas cards and ornaments), setting up a booth and my art exhibit, and looking for a new site to showcase my portfolio and sell my work from, that maybe I pushed too hard. It caught up with me.

I’ve got a cold. I’m wiped out and am having a hard time with the down time. I just want to be up working. Doing. I enjoy the work. I like being busy. I give 110% effort always. I’m working on my dream and I like the sense of accomplishment at the end of the day, but I know I have to prioritize my health too. So, while I’m down, I hope you will check out my shops. I worked really hard, have loved every second of it, and poured all my heart and soul into every piece! And when I’m better, I’ll be back at it!

Thank you for reading my blog! Please, subscribe! It’s greatly appreciated!

Shop My Shops

Copyrights: Misty R. Lemons/Designs By Misty Blue Do Not Copy

*For Educational Purposes Only

Art Exhibition Entended

I’m pleased to announce that I was invited to extend the duration of my exhibition!

The exhibit is at the historic Farr Best Theater in Mansfield Texas.

The theater is over a hundred years old and now, I’m a small part of it’s history! Very cool! I even took a quiet moment during set up to steal away to the stage and sing a couple of lines from Freddie Mercury’s “I Was Born To Love You”!

Originally, I was invited to have the exhibit for the entirety of November, but now it will be up until December 20th. So if you haven’t had a chance to see it, you still have some time!

There will be several shows in the theater this month, including an acapella band. Plenty of opportunities to take in a show and oggle my art!

Bring the family! Make a night of it! And grab one of my cards while you’re there because the majority of the exhibit is available to purchase!

You Can Find My Sites Here

Get Showtimes And Tickets Here

Thank you for reading my blog! Please, subscribe! I greatly appreciate it!

Copyrights: Misty R. Lemons/Designs By Misty Blue Do Not Copy

*For Educational Purposes Only

Christmas In Mansfield Texas

I’ve been working tirelessly preparing for this event. I’m so very humbled and excited to have my art on exhibit at the Farr Best Theater in Mansfield Texas. It’s my very first exhibit that showcases my own art exclusively!
I will have a pop up Christmas gift shop at the event, as well! I hope to see a lot of happy smiling faces there! Me and my elves will be adorned in our most festive of holiday wear and will pass out candy canes to all good boys and girls!
If you can’t make it to the event, I don’t want you to feel left out! You can shop my wares through this link! Christmas Shop
Remember, when you shop small, you’re supporting not only an artist, but a mom with a dream and you’re helping her family, as well. Merry Christmas from my family to you and yours!
Thank you for reading my blog! Please, subscribe and share with your friends!
Copyrights: Misty R. Lemons/Designs By Misty Blue Do Not Copy

*For Educational Purposes Only

My State Fair Of Texas Experience

When I decided to enter my artwork into the state fair, I perused all the different categories. I found animal painted rocks under Designer Craftsman. I had been painting rocks for over a year and llamas were becoming my specialty.

My llama painted rock on display at the *State Fair Of Texas* with the *blue ribbon* I won.

At the time, I was beginning work on two other projects. One was a painted rainbarrel for the city of Mansfield’s Earth Day Festival (Mansfield Texas) and the other were painted eggs for a contest by the company who makes Easter egg dyeing kits, PAAS.

Painting the rock had mostly finished before the other projects started. I say mostly because it was finished, but I knew it could be better. I wasn’t happy with the eyes of the llama or it’s nose. After I finished the barrel, I went back to work on the rock fixing the details I wasn’t happy with.

Here’s the rock before I reworked the nose and eye details.

Everything was going smoothly on my rainbarrel project and I didn’t want to start (or complete) my other two projects until it was mostly complete. When I’d almost finished, I began the egg project. And at that time I developed a cold from allergies flaring up. The weather had been beautiful and I’d done a lot of the prep for the barrel outdoors on our back patio.

It took almost three weeks to complete the barrel. There was a lot of sanding and preparing the surface for paint. The barrel was plastic and in order to get the paint to really adhere you have to give it something to grip too. Sanding the surface makes it a little rough so the paint is more likely to stick and stay put.

Here I am with my barrel before it was auctioned off at the *Earth Day Festival*.

Painting the barrel had been an absolute joy and I loved the entirety of the process, even the prep! But I was under the gun with the deadline for the barrel and the eggs. After the barrel was complete and turned in, I only had about a day or two to get photos of my eggs turned in.

The eggs I painted for my entry to PAAS’ painted Easter egg contest. I won Runner Up!

Once those projects were turned in, I refocused on the rock. Repainting the llama’s eyes at least three times and the nose and mouth once. I had fiddled with it so much and applied so much sealant that it took a month to completely cure. After a month of curing, it was ready to submit to the fair!

This was my first time entering the fair. I was nervous and excited! I shipped the rock with a matching stand in a tiny box and you’re supposed to send a check to cover the shipping back.

Once they got the rock and my check, they called to inform me I’d sent too big a check. Well, I didn’t check with the post office to see what shipping would be before making the check and closing the box up. I told them to use the extra money to help another competitor with their shipping, if they’d forgotten to pay, etc.

The woman who called me about the money told me she adored my rock too! I thought that had to be a good sign!!!

Months passed, waiting for the winner’s announcements. After waiting what felt like forever, I got an email saying winners were chosen. I held my breath as I read the very long list. As I neared the end of the list, I didn’t see my name. I thought that I had a slim chance of winning, given how many competitors there were. I heard this was the largest amount of competitors the fair had ever had! At this point, I told myself I’d try again next year. No sooner had I thought that, I saw my name! I could hardly believe it! First place! A blue ribbon!

After jumping around and hooting and hollering a bit, I called my husband with the news. He was so happy and proud of me. I was elated! You couldn’t pull me off of cloud nine for several days after that!

I mixed the paint myself to get the exact color I wanted. Looks like orange sherbert!

I wanted to take my family to the fair to see my rock on display in the Creative Arts Building. Going to the fair is pretty pricey and competitors don’t get discounts, unfortunately, so we brought empty Dr. Pepper cans after five pm and got in for five dollars a piece. And we went when I knew Bob Schneider was performing. He’s a musician out of Austin I like. I’ve tried seeing him before. Bought tickets to see him at Billy Bob’s in Fort Worth, but got sick and missed the show. This was actually my third time trying to see him!

Coming in after five gave us only a few hours to look around, so it was a mad dash everywhere. We didn’t get to play games and I had wanted to see llamas in the animal building, but didn’t get the chance. Regardless, we ate some fair food, my husband and son rode a ferris wheel (not the big one, the line was too long), we saw my rock and ribbon on display, and we saw movie memorabilia from Texas native stars. I found out Brent Spiner from Star Trek The Next Generation is from Houston. I had a huge crush on his Data character when I was a kid! And I finally got to see Bob Schneider! Third time is a charm, I guess! And it was a great concert! It was chilly out, but he sounded amazing! I had a lot of fun and I’m so grateful we got to go! It’s now one of my favorite memories!

Here I am at the fair in front of the display housing my rock and ribbon.

Art has changed my life for the better. It’s taking me places and I’m loving every minute of it! All the new experiences I’ve gotten to enjoy because of art humbles and excites me!

Here you can see all three of the projects I’d been working on at the time.

My rock and ribbon. Back home after being displayed at the fair. I plan on having them put into a shadowbox to display them in.

To Learn More About Me And My Artwork, Please Visit: http://www.designsbymistyblue.com or Link Tree.

Copyrights: Misty R. Lemons/Designs By Misty Blue Do Not Copy

*For Educational Purposes Only

National Gingerbread Cookie Day

Yesterday was National Gingerbread Cookie Day. Which is perfect timing, since I’ve been working on painting gingerbread men ornaments! I will be bringing them with me to my art booth for Small Business Saturday, which I mentioned in my last posts. Details can be found there.

Originally, painting booties on them wasn’t the plan, but a blank backside was too good an opportunity to pass up! Any chance to add a touch of whimsy, I’m game!

These two are complete and I’ve got three or four more I’ll be adding, as well. I may just keep one, though! They’re just so cute!

I hope you’ll stop by my booth and visit with me! And you can pick up a new ginger friend too!

And please check out my Link Tree. You can check out my shops, website, social media, and newspaper interview from there! Thank you!

Copyrights: Misty R. Lemons/Designs By Misty Blue Do Not Copy

*For Educational Purposes Only

Welcome To My Artist Blog

Be yourself; Everyone else is already taken.
— Oscar Wilde.

This is the first post on my new blog. I’m just getting this thing going, so please stay tuned for more and subscribe below to get notified when I post new updates!

Here it goes! I’ve been feverishly working to prepare for Small Business Saturday. Though, technically I’m not a small business. I don’t make enough from my art to pay taxes. Yet! It’s considered a hobby, at this point. But, that’s something I’m working hard to change!

Pictured are just some of the items I’ve been working on and will be bringing to Small Business Saturday

At any rate, my art is on exhibit at the Farr Best Theater in Mansfield Texas throughout the month and will be there for Small Business Saturday on November 30th. I was invited by Mansfield Commission For The Arts to have a booth outside the theater that day selling my work from 12-4. I will also open the theater, so that the pieces on exhibit are available for purchase, as well.

Here I am with part of my exhibit at the Farr Best Theater in Mansfield Texas

I’m very excited and I hope to get a large turnout. I’ve only had one booth thus far and this is my first exclusive exhibit. I’ve had a fantastic year for my art. I won Runner Up in PAAS’ Painted Easter Egg Contest in the Spring. I won First Place in the State Fair Of Texas for my llama painted rock over the Summer. I was featured in the Cleburne Times Review newspaper (and on their website and Facebook!) discussing my artwork this Fall. I joined the Mansfield Commission For The Arts earlier this year. I donated a Marvin The Martian illustration I did to the Chuck Jones Center For Creativity’s Red Dot Auction in California. Proceeds benefitted art programs for children with autism and seniors with alzheimers. I also painted a rainbarrel that was featured and auctioned off in Mansfield’s Earth Day Festival. So, as you can see, it’s been a banner year (and I really should have started a blog sooner)!

I hope to continue this success and propel even further! And I hope you’ll come along for the ride! Please, Subscribe! Thank you!

Learn More About Me And My Work Here

Copyrights: Misty R. Lemons/Designs By Misty Blue Do Not Copy

*For Educational Purposes Only

My Life As An Artist: In A Nutshell

Hello! My name is Misty Lemons (Misty Blue is a nickname) and this is my new artist blog! I’m a mom, Texan, wife, and award winning artist!

I will be posting about my art, my process, events I will be attending, and more! There’s so much I want to share that social media doesn’t quite allow for. The ultimate goal with my art is to get representation with an agency and have my work sold on products throughout the world. That’s the dream, the hope, and the goal that I’m working hard towards. On a more personal note, I want the message of my art to make a positive difference in the world, to brighten it and touch people’s hearts.

I paint in acrylic and also do digital illustration. I’ve painted on rainbarrels, rocks, canvas, wood, and more! I started doing my digital illustrations on a tiny little iPhone drawing with just my finger. I eventually graduated to a Samsung Galaxy Note with a stylus and now I use an iPad with pencil. But I’ve been drawing ever since I could hold a crayon!

Misty Blue is a nickname I got from a coworker at a Summer job I had when I was a teen. I believe I was around the age of 13/14. I was working as a custodian through a Summer job program for the city I lived in at the time. It was to help prepare kids for the workforce. I was actually working as a custodian in the middle school I was attending! All my coworkers were amazing and it was a great experience! (They took pity on me, since it was my school, though, and didn’t make me clean the toilets. I would have, but they said I didn’t have to. See, told you they were great!)

I hope you’ll follow my blog and spread the word! Thank you for being here and taking this journey with me!

To Learn More About Me And My Artwork, Please Visit: http://www.designsbymistyblue.com or Link Tree.

Copyrights: Misty R. Lemons/Designs By Misty Blue Do Not Copy

*For Educational Purposes Only