ArtistsBillofRights.org reviews competitions and appeals seeking creative content, listing those that respect your copyrights and highlighting those that don't. Art Matters! publishes calls to artists, and not all of them may be compliant with ABoR's standards. Visit their site to learn more.
I love this time of year. The lilac tree behind the house is going crazy, our dogwood tree is like a pink puffy of cotton candy and the rhododendrons are jurassic sized this year. A long wet Oregonian winter was just what we needed. These lilacs were a surprise delivery from my friend Ann Britt. There’s nothing quite like doing a spontaneous still life as fragrant as freshly picked lilacs. These are the small town moments I love. Neighbors, friends, ease of dropping off flowers, soup, the proverbial cup of sugar.
It’s May Day! Yup, May 1st. Otherwise known as five minutes after winter and wasn’t it just Valentine’s Day? Let’s see, what’s new..?? I’ve been up in Victoria with my family, now home cleaning my office and studio (spring cleaning really is a thing), packing/shipping orders, walking Bella, painting, seeing friends, watching Succession and listening to a variety of podcasts. Lots of new paper goodies have been coming in, greeting cards and postcards and even some fun licensing projects in the works!
There might be snow on the mountains, hail in the morning, sun in the afternoon and three wardrobe changes in an April southern Oregon day but one things remains…it’s a floral delight! I’ve got tulips in my living room doing their tulipy stem dance, a $12 indulgence that brings immense joy and satisfaction. Gardens are about to pop all along my street and the nurseries are full of color again. I bought several potted ranunculus for the front porch. A few Easter decorations are out and the season is unfolding (albeit slowly).
I was talking to a fellow creative the other day and she admitted, I sort of like that it’s a never ending winter this year, is that bad? NO! It’s called guilt free easel days! And..yes, I’m craving a bit of sunshine and walks with Bella that don’t require gloves and a puffer but that’ll come…in the meantime, I’m leaning into the creative cave and painting lots. Florals, fruits and more. Next up? Maybe a new fancy parlor or an animal series. And always natural history.
Happy spring everyone! Wishing you a Happy Passover and Easter!
Hello and happy Thursday! Oops…I did it again. You’d think I’d have this down by now but…I accidentally ordered these postcards with a different paperweight than all my postcards. It’s 100# weight, still thick-ish, average postcard paper weight but not the ultra heavy stock I usually order. Soooo…I’m giving them away!
With any retail order, any amount, I’m including three of these postcards (and you know I like to send extra extra freebies with my orders…) so if you’re thinking of ordering any of the new cards (or anything…lol), these and more will be included while supplies last.
Hi friends! Happy Friday! March is marching along and it’s been a busy prolific creative month. I’ve got several collaborations going that have been a nice change and fun to work on. First up is…FRUIT! An orchard’s worth of fruit!! I love all things natural history and botanical illustration so this was an enthusiastic yes to do a series. I’ve got oranges, apples, lemons, peaches and more. I’m on a roll and see some figs and strawberries coming soon. Cute for a kitchen!?
Onwards and upwards. Heading to the studio today…I’ll let you know what I plant and what grows.
It’s National Pi Day…the mathematical variety but I like to take every opportunity to remember and celebrate that none of my alegebra, calculus or high school math classes mattered after all.
Hello from New York. This has been a much needed punch in the arm, taxi honking, wind whipping, sore feet from walking, art food architecture joyous cacophony New York getaway. The Met, MoMa (twice!), New York Public Library, Central Park, Rockefeller Center and so much more have filled my inspiration cup full. I’m absorbing it all and tired in that best kind of way.
“I look out the window and I see the lights and the skyline and the people on the street rushing around looking for action, love, and the world’s greatest chocolate chip cookie, and my heart does a little dance.” Nora Ephron
More as I digest but for now, feeling Nora Ephron’s heart happy dance.
(NYC Yellow Taxi available here and no doubt more NYC images to come soon!)
We’ve had a couple of pseudo snow days here (pseudo in that it does melt but cold and snowy enough most people give it a snow day pass). Not sure what it is about looking out at the snowy valley, but citrusy oranges and spring blossoms appear on the canvas! I tried to paint a wintery scene! Twice! Nope. It was all branches and florals and tropical parrots that may or may not be hot pink in real life. I’ll call it artistic license.
I’m reminded this week (again) that showing up at the easel is more than half the work. I have orders to pack. Paperwork to tend to. Supplies to put away. An office that’s in desperate need of a reorg. Pets. Laundry. House. Yard. Cooking. Errands. Emails. Life. Life. Life. All of them, perfectly good excuses to not paint. And a snow day? Fuggedaboutit! That’s a Netflix couch pass if I’ve ever heard of one! And yet…I also know that famous Picasso quote is true, “Inspiration exists but it has to find you working.”
I muddled through several attempts of wintery themed pieces with not much gusto until the click. That knowing in your head or brush or fingers or whatever the muse has hold of and says, nope, not today. I’ve got a pink parrot for you so meet me half way! Who am I to question? I followed the art bread crumbs, made some tea and stopped fighting against the painting I wanted to show up and went with the painting that was forming in my imagination.
And am I imagining floral crowns and parakeets while I drive around town? No. Ok, sometimes I am. But normally no. But I am pulling on all the pieces of my past and present artistic influences and interests and so when I am ready to paint, I’ve been warming up. The good news is that every magazine, book, instagram feed, art gallery, museum, art supply store, restaurant, boutique, farmer’s market is research!
These are the post pandemic snow days of being an artist, working from home, running a small business, trying to stay creative and remembering (and forgetting) that even after a decade of doing this…showing up to your art is the hardest and most rewarding work of all.
Real or imaginary, I adore the charm of all things bakery, sweet treats, pastries and more. I could paint these delicacies forever. And the best part? I don’t have to bake or make to enjoy! Today’s inspiration continues from a fabulous citrus season that keeps on keeping on.
That’s it. Short and sweet. A reminder that inspiration can come from something as simple as your produce aisle or bakery counter at local grocery store. Happy Monday! xo
Hello and happy Wednesday! It’s not spring…yet. However, with the abundance of florals yesterday for Valentine’s Day (note to self, don’t go to Trader Joe’s at 4:30pm on February 14th….what was I thinking???) I’m in the bird, bloom, blossom, petal, branch, all things natural history botanical flora fauna zone. That’s a genre.
I’m also painting BIG. Or I should say bigger. It’s all relative to what you’re accustomed to producing. I’ve had a beautiful large 30×30″ professional artist canvas (as in, too expensive or nice to use..better save it….don’t want to “ruin” it) and I ripped off the plastic this past weekend and dove in. What was I waiting for? I’m the first to say, use the good paint, don’t save supplies for a rainy day, blah blah good advice, good advice later. But we all have our blocks and one of mine is using big canvases. Part of it is space–my studio area has some limitations so there is extra effort involved setting up. There’s the “I don’t want to waste it” factor. Which is so absurd as I write the words but there it is….is it safer to paint fast and loose on small or medium canvases? Is that the appeal of a sketchbook as opposed to an Italian leather journal? Probably.
I’ve painted large before, this isn’t the first canvas, but it’s not that frequent and I’m vowing to make it a regular practice because it made me so darn happy! Happy to play around on the canvas because there was a lot more space! I could get creative with composition…items were bolder when on larger scale! Roses popped. Oranges glowed. Tulips swayed. This whole getting out of the comfort zone thing isn’t so terrible. And you know what I did after I finished? I ordered more 30×30″ canvases. I still feel some caution and uncertainty when approaching the larger white blank canvas but I dove in the next day to another one (different size but also big). Trepidation is still there but I’m allowing curiosity to join us.
Wishing you a happy creative big canvas use the good paint kind of week! xo
