31 of 100, watercolor on vellum, 6×6
This holiday season has been such a blur! The Mr. is down with a cold, so we’ll be laying low these next few days and I must say, I can’t wait to just be quiet and still.
I wish you all peace and love this holiday!
Happy Christmas!
If you’re following along with me on Instagram, you may have seen a new series of tiny paintings I’ve been creating, SCINTILLA.
These 4″ square works on deep cradled wood panel began as an exercise to fill the time while larger paintings dried. I always find myself falling in love with the earliest stage of a painting– the stage in which I paint in a monochromatic palette to work out basic light, contrast, and composition. So I thought these little pieces would be the perfect avenue to explore those monochromes as finished work.
Beginning with one color, then adding white and grey for light and contrast, the compositions emerge intuitively. I try not to begin with a set idea in mind, but instead allow a trace of a landscape to emerge slowly.
The first eight of the SCINTILLA paintings are currently hanging at Elliott Fouts Gallery in Sacramento as part of their Small Gems show! Check out the EFG website for pricing and contact information for the gallery.
I’m looking forward to creating more in this series after I get settled into my new studio in Tacoma. Oh yeah, did I not mention we’re headed to Tacoma for the next six months? 🙂
I’ll check in again once we get settled! Meanwhile, check out the SCINTILLA series and all the other Small Gems on the EFG website!
I admit, I get a bit jealous when I see artists participating in a fabulous residency in a beautiful place. I’ve applied for a few myself, knowing that with my still limited professional artist experience, gaining a spot in one is a long shot.
But as I was unpacking in our new temporary lakeside home in Washington, it occurred to me– I am in a new “residency” every 3-6 months! Every new place brings with it new experiences and new inspirations, so why not treat each one as my own independent residency?
This place especially, has my creative juices flowing thanks to the beautiful little lake on which we sit. Not to mention the trees, the rocks, the sky.. There is so much to take in!
While I’m here “in residence” on Offut Lake, I’ll be working on a new series, ECHOES, inspired by reflections in water. This idea was already germinating at the end of the VENTERS series and when I began to see how the reflections in the lake change throughout the day, I knew I had found my muse.
Image by me.
Each season, in each place, has its own palette and I find that each informs my work, wherever I happen to be. We’ve spent our spring and summer on the Puget Sound where I’ve been soaking up the way the water glistens, the seagulls call, the foghorns sound.
While here, in addition to the #100littleartworks project, I’ve been painting my VENTERS coastal series. Initially inspired by the wildness of the Oregon Coast and my memories of the beaches and marshes of North Florida, I wanted these paintings to have the palette and reflective transparency of sea glass and sunsets.
top image found here; bottom image by me
As I do for each series, I put together a Pinterest board for my palette inspiration, printing and referencing these images as I worked in the studio.
painting knocking on heaven’s door, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 40x30x1.5
right image found here
painting how she moves, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 15x19x.75
bottom image found here
painting make me an angel, 2016, acrylic on canvas, 30x40x1.5
left image found here
As I look back on the completed series, I see the way the work and the palette shifted the longer we were here on the Sound. I’m looking forward to finding my way through the Fall and the changes it may bring in my palette and my way of seeing.
PS– I’m shipping the last of the VENTERS paintings out to Art & Light Gallery very soon! Then onto the next!
I was introduced to Speakarts through my fellow Art & Light artist, Eva Magill-Oliver, as she is one of four artists partnering with Speakarts to combine great sound with great art to create a beautiful way to listen to music.
eva’s work on a WAF Speakarts speaker
via
These wireless speakers are based on a Danish design, with the front fabric cover attached with magnets so that the cover art can be changed out as you wish! Beautifully brilliant.
I’m excited to announce that I am one of four finalists for the fifth and final Speakarts artist partner!
the four finalists! 1 | inge flinte, 2 | me!! 3 | jasmine leigh, 4 | andre miller
The final artist partner will be chosen via popular vote on Instagram beginning now through Sunday, July 24th. I would love if you would click over to @speakarts on Instagram here and vote for #2! I would be so excited to see my work as a vehicle for bringing beauty and music into people’s homes! Thanks, friends!
Summer is the season for slowing down. For taking time. While I’ve been working in the studio a lot over these last few months, this summer has also been about renewal. As often as we can, whether it is a long walk down to the beach or a secluded hike or a weekend of camping, we are cultivating a habit of intentional quiet time.
As we approached the shore of Richmond Beach a few days ago, we happened upon an amazing installation of more than 30 cairns stacked along and in the water’s edge. We marveled at the time and patience it must have taken to create each of those sculptures, knowing that they are temporal. Creating art feels much the same– I work long and hard at painting, only to one day ship it off, where it will hopefully, go on to live a life completely apart from me. My time with my work is fleeting. But the hours spent creating it are the best kind of quiet meditation.
Image by me.
I’ve never been an early riser. So catching the sun rise over the Atlantic when I lived in Florida didn’t happen often. But being on the West Coast, sunsets have become my happy place. At least three evenings a week, the Mr. and I walk the mile and a half from our apartment then down (and back up, ugh!) 188 steps to Richmond Beach on Puget Sound. Many Friday evenings we take a bottle of wine and end the week watching the colors slowly shift over the Sound. It is an incredibly peaceful and lovely way to begin the weekend.
Last night’s display was so incredible that Instagrammers all over the Seattle area were posting their sunset views. We were all taking in and experiencing the same collective beauty but each from our own unique perspective. What a gift of a communal yet individual experience!
These magical sunset views are informing my new work in the VENTERS series– not always literally, but in the way the light becomes soft and dreamy, how the sun melts into the horizon, the way the colors morph and move one into another.
See the current VENTERS paintings on my website here. The newer paintings are even softer and more dreamy, if you can believe it! Can’t wait to show you.
Image by me.
One of the big advantages to our current traveling lifestyle is how many amazing places we are able to see. These adventures are a huge source of inspiration for me as an artist. But seeing so many incredible sights can also lead to a bit of inspiration overload and lead my artsy brain in all sorts of different directions!
With each new location, each new season, comes a whole new set of inspirations! So how does one artist handle so many different sources of inspiration?
For me, I keep my eyes open and take special notice of what inspires me, not just once, but on a continual basis. It’s easy to find one spark, but the trick is finding what will continue to spark over and over and over. Look not for the firecracker, but the forest fire– the spark that leaps and creates more sparks, more fire.
I make note but I don’t necessarily pursue those sparks right away. My sketchbook is full of idea scribbles, some pretty well developed, others simply notes on colors and forms. I also have a folder on my phone where I dump those quick sparks when I don’t have my sketchbook handy. Then, there is my favorite inspiration keeper– Pinterest! I have at least half a dozen boards where I hoard visual inspirations from subject matter to color palettes. I keep them private so they are for my eyes only until I decide I am ready to share them with the world.
I commit myself to what I’m especially inspired by at the moment and concentrate on exploring that inspirational idea fully. Each inspiration exploration becomes a series of work to be revisited again and again as I continue to find new ways to express that initial spark.
Once I feel like I’m done exploring a certain subject for a while, I’m ready to move on to another idea. But how to decide? Sometimes it takes some exploration in the studio to see what is moving me creatively or it could be as simple as how excited about an idea I am! The most exciting prospect wins!
At the moment, I’m exploring beachy and coastal inspiration in my VENTERS series– it is proving to be perfect for the coming summer on Puget Sound!
All images by me.
Soft, moody. Bold & brushy. Which am I?
Once, in a job interview, I was asked what my favorite fashion brand was. I told the interviewer, I would love to be a Free People girl. But I think I’m more Anthropologie. And I think it’s the same with painting. I’ve gone through this questioning before, a few years ago, and thought I’d come to a happy conclusion.
But voices come in from all directions and we give them heed, perhaps we should but more than likely we shouldn’t.
Am I making work that makes my heart sing, that challenges me or am I making work that focuses on the way other people respond to it?
give me your forever, 2016, acrylic on cradled wood panel, 12×12
available at art & light gallery
I’m a quiet person. I’m not loud or brash or even sparkly. I’m introspective. Some might say mysterious, since I usually keep my cards close to the vest. Why would I try to make work that doesn’t reflect who I truly am?
As I was beginning the VENTERS series, I experimented a bit with slightly bolder movement and texture and while successful, the more quiet and soft paintings that have come lately feel more “me”. I just finished up four more small coastal inspired pieces and am starting on larger canvases this week. They are turning out beautifully and sharing them will feel like sharing my heart. As art should be. I can’t wait for you to see, stay tuned!
Image by me.
I have been hearing for years that having a newsletter is mucho important for any online presence. And yet, for some reason I resisted. UNTIL NOW!
I’ve been getting requests on social media for folks to be notified when new work is available, when larger pieces are available, etc., so instead of making you guys do the work of checking the website or keeping up with social media posts, you can now be notified first thing when new work is ready for your eyes! Newsletter subscribers will get first access to new paintings and more!
You can sign up for my artist newsletter, From The Easel, over on the blog sidebar–
Or sign up here!
I promise not to bombard your inbox with emails. The newsletter will be periodic– monthly or bi-monthly at the most– I need time to paint!
Thanks bunches, guys!
