It’s a Do-Over

There’s this painting that I did for my senior show.  It was one in a series of nine, but I  liked it the the least of all of them.

I don’t normally paint over paintings, but I made an exception in this case.  It would have been faster and easier to use acrylics, but I didn’t think it was a wise idea to paint acrylics over oils, so I started filling in the spaces in between the branches with oil paint.

My plan was to go back and carefully paint closer to the branches, but I was really intrigued by the outcome.  I love how you can still catch a glimpse into the landscape.  It’s like looking through a keyhole.  I don’t know if I’ll keep it like this, or what I’ll do, but I’m going to sit on it for a little while until inspiration strikes.

 

 

 

Visitors! (Prepare Yourself for Sheer Awesome-ness)

Today is one of my favorite kinds of days.  I have visitors in my studio!  Minion and her (and my) friend Stephanie Holmes are here doing art with me as I type.  I love beyond love working with other artists, so I’m having a great time.

BUT let me show you what Stephanie brought over today.  Only the coolest book I’ve laid eyes on.

Isn’t that so cool?!  I’m sure I’ll show you more of her work down the road, but for now, check out her blog and her etsy shop!  You will not be sorry, I promise.

Vaca Hours Are Over, Baby!

The beach was amazing.  Every year, my in-laws go on a trip to Emerald Isle with about six other families.  It’s a tradition that has been taking place for over 20 years!  It is by far mine and Eric’s favorite trip to go on, and this year was no different.  I read the book Something Borrowed by Emily Giffin which was entertaining, but overall, not recommended.  But I do love this one line where the main character is describing her love for a man.  She says that the time she spends with him is “Like the perfect beach vacation, where the routine is so blissfully uneventful that when you return home and friends ask how your trip was, you can’t really recall what exactly you did to fill up so many hours.”  That is the best description of my trip.  For one week I relaxed on the beach, by the pool, in the house, with people that I love, and it was.  PERFECT.

Crossing the bridge to Emerald Isle.

The gorgeous beach!

Eating the clams they caught (if you can really "catch" a clam), chips, and cowboy caviar.

Searching for sandcrabs!

Success!

A few houses down, a man caught a shark!

Eric took up surfing and putting wax on his teeth.

Now that I’m back, it’s time for work again!  I’m still ruminating on some ideas, so stay tuned!

Away We Go

I know that I’ve been especially lame for not posting lots of the amazing art activities that I’ve been up to…it would have been a lie anyway.  I’ve been hanging with the fam this last week, and I’m afraid it’s not going to get any better blog-wise for at least another week because I’m headed to one of my favorite places:  THE BEACH!  Please don’t abandon my blog!  I will be back, and I will post good stuff.

Here are a few of my favorite pictures from the week with my family, and how they inspire me:

My brother Micah, his son Marin, and my mom at Brown's Orchard. I think this would make an awesome painting!

I think my brother Nate and his son Asher look a lot alike. I love their curly hair!

Minion at Blueberry Hill. The color of the sky brings out the blueberries in a neat way.

My only niece, Piper. I love the textures in this photo. Also, the mystery of what's behind the gate

These are two of my nephews: Dexter and Marin. There's something funny about seeing such tiny people together.

Marin playing with rocks. I love the lighting and the bright colors in this photo.

My sister-in-law Easten and her (and my) nephew Dexter. I love both of their faces!

That’s all for now, folks!  Following the beach trip, I hope to finish my current paintings, and start a few more as well as tackle another project which I will get into later.  Have an amazing weekend!

My Peeps

For the first time in a year, all three of my siblings (and sister-in-laws and BABIES) are in town at once!  This week, I won’t be doing any painting, but I do hope to take lots of inspiration and reference photos for future paintings.  The one that I’m working on of Asher was taken last year when everyone was visiting.

Not Your Average Art Project

I’m back!  I’m so sorry for not posting for almost a week and not even warning you. Hope you had an amazing 4th of July.  I sure did! And yesterday, Eric opened my eyes to a whole new world (go ahead, you can sing Aladdin.)

Image found here.

You see, yesterday morning I visited the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles.  A few minutes later I studied Van Gogh’s Starry Night at the MoMA in NYC.  I got so close, I could see the cracks in the paint.  How did I do it?

GOOGLE ART PROJECT!!!!!!!!

Have you been to googleartproject.com?!  It’s like Google Maps for art museums.  You can go to the site and click on a museum, and you can explore it and look at the paintings.  Many of the paintings are high resolution so you can zoom in and see the tiniest details. You can even get information about the artist’s life, and details about the painting.

*image found here.

Now, I’m not saying that this is any substitute for seeing the images in person, but I would guess that it’s the next best thing to actually visiting the museum.  I mean, let’s be honest, do I have the means to actually visit Versailles?  No.  And until I do, I can check it out on this awesome site.