Photos From The Petite Valentin Art Show

Fantastic chandelier at Zinnia.  Illuminating Inspiration!

Hi there.

I would like to share some photos with you of the Petite Valentin art opening that was at Zinnia last weekend.

It was a great night!
I got to meet other artists, look at all kinds of art, and even sell a painting..... or THREE!!!  Yahoo!  That's right, I sold my very first paintings (to non- family or friends that is)!!  When I showed up two were already sold!  See those beautiful red dots next to two of my art pieces below, that means "back off buddy, these are sold!"  Let me tell you, I was thrilled!!  I have my first non-family member collector.  Right?  If this woman (of impeccable taste you know) bought TWO of mine, doesn't that make her a collector?



Wow, I sound like such a novice.  Don't make fun, this is a whole different world than painting Trompe L'oeil on people's walls.  The art world can be a bit of a mystery.

Reva (left) and me

As I was cruising around I started talking to an artist/creative life coach (how cool is that?),  Reva Solomon, who submitted some work also, and she asked which were my pieces.  When I showed her mine, this dear woman,  also of impeccable taste, and a funky edge :-) pointed to one of mine and said "I'm going to buy this one".  I wasn't sure she was serious, but next thing I knew, she took "Pinned" down and bought it right in front of me.  I was unsure what to do with myself.  Three sold out of six before the first hour was even up?  Yahoo!!

"Pinned" is already sold and gone!  It was above "Be Gentle"

For most, if not all, of us artists, each art piece we create is very special to us, a piece of ourselves.  Our babies.  So to see someone appreciate your art is a good feeling. It's as if you yourself are understood in a way.   I've been wanting to release my "babies" into the world for a while, so to sell three the first time participating in a show gives me a much needed boost to get out there and release more for others to enjoy.  I create art because I have to, I'm driven to, but I don't create just for myself.  I create because I want to share what I have to offer, what I've been given, with the world.  To find others that connect with my art, that "get it" is a true blessing, and it lets me know that I'm on the right path (even though really, I DO know this.  Heck you couldn't shove me off the path if you tried, but it's just nice to get a little extra confirmation, you know?)

Reva (left), one of my very first buyers! and me (right)

So here's a big huge THANK YOU to my buyers, and also to you, my blog followers who keep supporting and cheering for me from Blogland!

The art wall that my pieces are on.  Can you spot them?

Another wall of Petite Valentine art

Zinnia is jam packed with creative goodness!

Their displays always amaze me!

Notice the saw blade Valentine"wind chime".  I love it! (sorry these were from my cell phone so it's kind of hard to see)

I love the figurative painting that's on the wall above.  I stare at it every time I go in there.  It's by Joe Carrion, a darn talented artist, who works and teaches at Zinnia.  If you look to the left of Reva in the photos at the top, you can spot Joe in the background looking busy in the green shirt.  Hi Joe!  

Another brilliant display.  It's a rusty bedspring that has hundreds of hearts tied to it!

I fell in love with an art piece at the show titled "Heart Seat" by Connie Freedman, so I made my husband buy it for me.  It's so pretty.  I can't wait to frame it.  I love encaustic art!

As we were walking to our car we saw this below... they were playing a classic Charlie Chaplin film on the side of a building!  Wonderful!  We'll be sure to be at South Pasadena's next art crawl, and maybe even be a part of it again!

**side note.  My brain is not what I need it to be right now, tough day, so I had by husband proof-read this post.  I learned something that I thought I'd share with you because it MUST be true.  After finding not one, but three apostrophes where they need not be, to make me feel better he stated, "It's a proven fact that being on your period causes unnecessary apostrophe usage".  Of course.  I should've kno'wn.

A Little Valentine's Day Fun

Hi there.

I had a bit of fun today creating a Valentine's Day photo shoot.  I was going to post about the Zinnia art show, but I really wanted to take some photos today just for the fun of it instead.  I hope you enjoyed them.  I had fun getting my creative photography wheels spinning!  I can't wait to tell you about the art show in my next post!  

Happy Valentine's Day! xoE

A Close Look At Amour...And Two Other Mixed Media Art Pieces

Hi There.

Here are the close-ups of the other three art pieces that'll be for sale (only $35!!) in the Petite Valentin art show at Zinnia, starting tomorrow.  Stop by and say "Hi"!  The opening is Sat, the 11th from 6-9pm, but the show will continue for the rest of the month, ... what doesn't sell right away that is!!  They're going to be selling the art right off the wall so you can take yours home right away!  Zinnia is an amazing little art store in South Pasadena.  I'm planning on hanging out at Zinnia for a while, then cruising around the area.  The opening is part of the South Pasadena Arts Crawl, so I want to check out some of the other galleries too.  I can't wait!  There's going to be lots of art, live music, and food in the area!  Yahoo!

Ok, speaking of art...

This is "Amour".  

It's made on a 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 piece of wood.  I started it off by glueing down vintage French book pages, then layered some heavy gel medium over them.  I used a stencil and the gel medium to create the word "amour", then when it dried, I painted over the whole thing. I drew the Eiffel Tower with graphite and glued down a piece of black lace across the bottom.  I added copper tacks, a tiny crocheted circle, and a heart I cut out from plaster cloth and painted red.  Then, as with all six pieces, I sealed it to protect it and keep things from smudging.

Next up is "Be Gentle".  

I love this one.  OK,  I love them all, (each one is a favorite!?), but this one doesn't look as great in photo as it does in person..the subtle colors and textures, etc..  It's done on a 4 3/8" x 5" piece of wood.  I also started this by gluing down the vintage French book pages and covering them with heavy gel medium and paint...

 I cut a piece of plaster cloth, wet it, folded it in half and layed it to dry on a piece of wax paper.  When it was dry, I used an exacto knife to cut out a heart (I used the inside heart shape on "Be Still") and glued down the "heart window" over the base.  I painted and antiqued it, and added copper tacks and twine.  I filled in the center of the heart with clear crackle paint (to show how fragile the heart is) and when dry, I antiqued it to show the cracks then used paint to stamp the message, "Be Gentle", on it.

The last piece below is titled "Treasured".

  It's on a 4 3/8" x 4 3/8" piece of wood.  I wet a piece of plaster cloth and wrapped it around the wood, smoothed it a bit then left it to dry on wax paper.  I painted over it all and scratched into it with a sharp tool, then antiqued it...

I glued down a stamped strip of paper across the bottom with heavy gel medium, and added a small crocheted circle.  I made the heart years ago by stamping the heart image then I covered it with glue and tiny clear beads.  I love that some had fallen off.  I added a few more touches with paint to finish it off.

So there you have it, the rest of the six art pieces that I made for the Petite Valentin art show.  To see my other three pieces that will be in the show and get more info (if you missed my last post) click here or just scroll down one post. 

Hopefully all will go well and you'll see me and my (not-so-Petite) Valentine David cruising the art scene.  Oh, and happy birthday Honey!!  I love you!!  You're the best husband ever! xoxo

Hope to see you all here!!

I'm linking up with Paint Party Friday.  To join in or check it out click here.

My Petite Valentine Art

Hi there.  

I mentioned in the last post that I was painting like a mad woman trying to finish my art pieces to submit for Zinnia's Petit Valentin art show, so here they are.  The show goes up this Saturday the 11th with the opening from 6-9:00 pm.  I'm planning on being there so if you are in the South Pasadena area Saturday stop by and say "hi" and maybe even go home with a fantastic piece of art!  My pieces are priced to sell at only $35 each!  There will be tons of other PetiteValentine (all had to be under 5") art pieces there from other artists too, with varying price ranges.  Zinnia has around 250 pieces for the show so there'll be plenty to choose from, but since they have so many they won't be able to put them all out at once.  They said as the art sells off the wall they'll keep replacing it with more, so if you like a piece of mine but don't see it there just ask them... it might not be sold, it might just be in the back.  I'm so excited to go check it out Saturday evening, and I can't wait to see what everyone else did.  Lot's of hearts, hearts, hearts, I'm sure!

Click on the flyer to be able to read it better.

Today I'm only going to share close-ups of three of the six pieces.  I'll post the close-ups of the three plaster pieces (from the top row above) in the next day or two.

First up is titled "Be Still".  It's on a 5" x 3 1/2" piece of wood.

Love all that texture!  The crinkly background was made from painted tinfoil.  You can see it in the top right in the photo below while the foil was only partially covered with paint.  The soft green swirls are from a cool cut-out scrapbook paper that I painted and made all thick and crusty with heavy gel medium.  The heart was cut out from plaster cloth and painted.

This photo below was an in progress shot taken with my phone.

Next piece is titled "Pinned".  It's on a 4 1/4 x 4 1/4 piece of wood.

For "Pinned" I used heavy gel medium for the main texture and glass bead gel inside the heart.  I added copper tacks, wire, around the heart.  I then used the heavy gel medium to glue a small piece of copper sheet that I had previously stamped, to the side of the piece.  A foam stamp was dabbed in paint then used to stamp the pattern on.

The final piece for today is titled "Fulfill". It's done on a 4" x 4" canvas.

The olive green is paper that I smudged with red paint, then I drew a heart and smudges with graphite.  The long screw and bolt were from an old glass drawer knob from our house.  I used silver leaf along the sides and edges, then antiqued and sealed the whole thing.  Actually all pieces were sealed for protection.

I'll be back soon with the close-ups of the other three and any info I might have forgotten.  

See you soon!

Gingko Leaf Texture Painting and an Update

Hi there.  I know I've been missing (warning: long post).  Busy, busy, busy, then at night I'm too darn tired to post!  Lots of catching up to do.  Today I want to share ONE of MANY paintings that I've finished this past month, but first a little update on some of the happenings around the Orloff household...

1.  A couple of you asked how my foot is doing.  It's really good now.  Finally!  For those of you who don't know, I hurt my foot bad back at the end of October.  I didn't break it but had some major tissue damage and had to stay off of it, and was on crutches for a LONG 7 1/2 weeks!!  I was finally told I could walk the week of Christmas and haven't slowed down since then!  I missed painting so bad that it's hard to keep me out of the studio now!  Dinner?  What dinner?  Give me paint!!

2.  While I was stuck elevating my foot on the couch I noticed how grungy our den walls were.  Yuck.  So now the walls are painted a pretty grey-green, and the ceiling is now light grey.  Ahh.. much better!  But with the painting of the walls and the ceiling came a big mess.  Our den is THE room that we are in most of the day. It's the playroom, TV room, office, etc... so when it was a mess for the last few weeks... so was I...but it's all good now.

 I just had to share my husbands fancy light stand that he used while painting.  Yup, that's a clamp light on a drill gun.  Cracks me up!!

3.  My baby boy turned three last week!  Wow, time moves fast!  Warp speed lately (except when I'm waiting for my next Netflix movie to come), so we had a tiny little birthday party for him today.

4. I was submitting some art pieces for a Petit Valentine art show that's coming up next weekend and the art had to be in by Tuesday, so I was painting like a mad woman!  I got six pieces finished and turned in!!  Yahoo!  I'll share them with you this week along with details of the show, but for now, here's a photo of my workspace when I was in the middle of working on them.

OK, there's more but I'm done sharing for now, and this post is long enough! So now here's the rest of the photos of a new finished texture painting.

The color of the gingko leaves was a bit of a happy accident.  I meant for the color to be deeper and more copper but they ended up more of a peach color.  I liked it so I only added accents with copper.  I really like how it turned out.  Ok, see you soon.  Bye now.