Interview About My Creative Life

Hi there!

I am so excited and humbled that I'm this month's featured artist on the incredibly wise and talented Tara Leaver's blog as part of her "Creative Life Interviews" series. Please go check out my interview HERE if you want to find out a bit more about my creative life, and I'd love to know what you think.

I will be doing blog posts about my art pieces that are featured in the interview so stay tuned...and stay creative!

Painting Magnolias

We have a lovely Magnolia tree in our front yard that is so inspiring and gorgeous when it blooms. I find it hard to walk by without stopping to take at least a few photos of it. When it bloomed again this past Spring I had to finally paint it!

Small 6" x 12" Magnolia "Gentle Beauty" (available)

Close up of "Gentle Beauty"

 Using one of my photos as reference, I first painted only the small 6" x 12" version.

Small Magnolia in process

 I ended up loving it so much that I had to paint a larger version. I already had a 15 x 30 gallery-wrapped canvas (the perfect size for this!) prepped and ready to go! I wanted to make it similar, yet different enough and I had fun stretching myself to achieve this.

Large Magnolia painting 15" x 30" (sold)

Close up of large Magnolia

Close up of some of the great texture on large version

I added plenty of texture on the larger one because... well... I'm a texture junkie!

I love how both pieces turned out and can't pick a favorite between the two. Not a bad problem to have, right?

  

Large Magnolia in progress. Notice my photo at the top of the easel that I used for reference

I can't wait until the tree blooms again. I'm sure there will be plenty more picture taking and more Magnolia paintings too. What a blessing to have this inspiration right in front of our house... which means I can also see it from our kitchen window. Can you blame me for being a bit bloom crazy?

Our Magnolia tree back in March

Mixed Media Lotus Minis

Ok, back to showing you more from the 30 Paintings in 30 Days I did last year. This piece above, "Content" is number SIX. I had actually worked on another piece that night for hours but it was not cooperating. Or I wasn't. Either way I wanted to toss it to the coyotes. I gave up and cleaned up because it was late, and I was tired. I was bummed that I didn't finish one. As I was cleaning up I saw my little 4"x4" canvases. I grabbed one and went for it. I returned to a favorite subject and colors and the next thing I know this lil' happy piece was done! Yay! I felt so much better!

This next one, "Transparent",  is number SEVEN. I was trying out different colors than I normally use and a different style. I like how it turned out!

"Absorb" is number EIGHT. Absorb and learn what you need to from this beautiful life so you can nurture yourself and those who surround you.

These were all done in a similar way. I started by glueing down antique French book pages then painting and drawing over them. On this last one above I also glued down blue hand-painted paper and a strip of natural fiber. 

Ok, you know what... even though it's not part of the 30in30, I'm going to add one more mixed media lotus to this post because it was done around the same time and has a similar feel.

This is "Silent Beauty", because often silence can be a beautiful thing. 

Ok, that's enough for now. These are all done on small 4" x 4" x 1.5" gallery-wrapped canvases and are all available for purchase.

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day!

xoE

Flower paintings

Hi there!

I know in my last post I said that I would share more from the 30 Paintings in 30 Days challenge, but I wanted to share these with you first. This pretty little (5" x 5") piece was a commissioned by one of my good friends ( a brilliant wedding photog) as a gift for another friend of hers. What a special gift, right? 

She told me her friend loves these colors and Chrysanthemums, then we figured out what size to make it. I loved doing this and I think it turned out great! If it wasn't for this commission I might not have ever made a painting that was mostly yellow, green. and white, but I'm sure I will again! And my friend and I decided this was a win-win situation. She didn't have to stress about the perfect gift, she just gave me me the specifics and I took care of the rest.. and then I get paid instead of some store where she'd buy something she wasn't sure about. Total win all around! :-) Yay for smart friends! 

This fun collage above is how I started the mixed media painting. I love doing fun backgrounds, even if you hardly see it when it's done. The photo below is how it looked in phase two as I was starting to paint in the flower. I really like how you can still see the book page through the flower. Maybe I'll do another piece and let it show through more like this.

Now I just want to share one more painted flower with you. I did this over another piece that never felt quite right, so it has great texture from the layers underneath. Taking the old and making it new again can be so rewarding. This one sold on Facebook. It's only 4" x 4" and it's called "Rebirth".

Thanks for stopping by! Have a creative day :-)

xoE

Numbers 4 & 5 for the 30 in 30 Painting Challenge

A few posts ago I shared that I took part in a challenge to paint 30 paintings in 30 days (last year). In that post I showed you the first three paintings I did for the challenge which, even though it was unplanned, all contained a water element and similar colors.

The next two took a completely different turn as you can see here! That's one of the many reasons that I enjoy being and artist... if I let it, art can take me on a journey instead of the other way around!

 Above is Number FOUR for the 30 in 30. "Vase of Flowers". It was done on a 14" x 18" canvas. 

close-up of # 4

Since I love texture I added some papers and even cardboard to the canvas first before painting it.

another close-up of # 4

Part of me likes this one just as it is, yet another small part of me wants to get back to work on it more. I'm not sure what I'll do but for now I've got plenty of other paintings to finish up so it stays like this... at least for now! If you like it as is please speak up! Also, this one does need to be framed because it has staples on the sides... so unframed it's only $300 .

Here is number FIVE. It's on done on a 14" x 14" x1.5" gallery-wrapped canvas.

I love abstract paintings with a lot of white. For some reason I'm drawn to them, but whenever I attempt one myself it gets overtaken with color and form. So the beautiful thing about doing a painting each day when I was doing this challenge... instead of giving in to my desire to reach for more color while working on this painting, I figured NO, I could do that on tomorrow's painting!

close-up of # 5

Title of this piece, "There's Always Tomorrow". $275 ready to hang.

Both of these are available to purchase. If interested just leave me a comment or email me. My email is in my profile.

Thanks for stopping by! I'll be showing you numbers's 6, 7, & 8 next time we meet! 

xoE

Mixed Media Painting : Fresh Start

When I'm feeling a bit rusty, or I just don't have much time but want to create, I've been making these quick little 5" x 7" mixed media paintings on watercolor paper. It's fun and fairly quick, and best of all since I don't spend days on them (mostly), I can sell them for a great price. I love affordable art, don't you? They're fun to create, and my collectors love them... win win!

This is my latest, "Fresh Start". I started out by gluing random pieces of paper down to add texture and depth. Next I painted the flowers, etc using acrylic paints and added details with water-soluble pencils and a bit of gold marker to add some pizzaz to the vase. This one is available for $38! The price includes shipping in the U.S., but international shipping is a wee bit extra.

Thanks for looking! I hope these flowers brighten your day!

xoE

Edit 8/16 -SOLD!!

Three New Paintings!

Hi there!  I've been a busy little bee lately!  Recently I took part in a challenge to paint 30 paintings in 30 days.  This one above was the very first one that I painted for the challenge.  Not bad #1, not bad!  It's on a 8" x 10"x 1/2" canvas. I love Koi and waterlilies so I figured why not paint both!

This is the second one, "I AM here".  This one was much easier than the first one.  It seemed to flow out fairly easily and tell me exactly what it wanted.  I love when that happens!  It's also on 8" x 10" x 1/2" canvas.

close up of "I AM here"

"Island Of Dreams" was the third painting that I did.  Don't you want to take a boat out on that water and just float?  This one was done on 11" x 14" canvas board. 

 I like how the first three paintings all have water and seem to go together.  I think it was a great way to start off the challenge!  

Just for fun here's a photo of "Island Of Dreams" while it was still in progress.  This can almost be a finished painting itself!

So there's the first 3 out of 30!  I only have 27 more to show you!  ;-)  

They're all done now so if you can't wait you can see them all on my Facebook Art Page or Instagram 

Thanks for visiting!  See you soon!

Two More Water Lily Paintings!

Hiya!  

In the last post I told you I started an "accidental" series of water lilies/lotuses.  I wasn't kidding!  Here's 2 more paintings that I did a few months ago.  Both of these paintings came together fairly quickly and easily.  I love when that happens. 

 I started this first one on a day when I wasn't feeling well, but I had a few hours to myself so I was bent on painting... at least for a few minutes.  So I decided that I would just "start a background" then call it a day.  I grabbed some papers and started to glue them down, and next thing I knew, I was painting over them before the glue even had a chance to dry!  

Then I glued more stuff down and painted straight over it, then painted more, scraped, drew with charcoal, dripped, painted some more...etc....  Then once I stopped and took a step back, the day was almost gone and I had a mostly finished painting (I finished it a few days later) AND I was feeling much better too.  Art therapy!! 

A bit of a different style and different colors for me, and that's I love about it... I was more loose and free with it.  That's one of the things I've been trying to work on with my art is to loosen up more and get more messy and free.  That's hard for a perfectionist, but I'm working on it!

My next painting was started soon after.  This one was modeled after my art journal cover that I showed you a few posts back... right HERE.

For this one I used my beloved Heavy Gel Medium to create all the texture, then added layers of paint and glazes, and gold-leafed the outside edges.

Hopefully you're not sick of waterlilies yet, because more are coming!   I do also have a door painting to finish up, among others too, if I feel a need to change things up, BUT I really am enjoying exploring the beauty and peacefulness of waterlilies.  Heck, if it was good enough for Monet... then why not?

So what subjects are you exploring lately?  Do tell!

One Lotus Painting

After doing the front of my art journal with a lotus (in previous post), I HAD to do more like it, so I did two 8"x10" paintings inspired by it.  This is one, and I'll show the other one in another post.  

This photo above shows the beginning stage of it.  First I painted the base colors, then I smeared on a thick coat of Heavy Gel Medium and drew into it while wet.  After letting that dry overnight I started to paint it.

As you can see it looked quite different at this stage.  I liked it but it didn't feel quite right to me, so I put it aside for a week or so.  When I went back to it, I just kept adding layer after layer of paints and glazes until I finally liked it.  

To finish it off I gold-leafed and antiqued the sides of the canvas, then put a few coats of sealer over the whole thing.

So now I think I'm addicted to painting water lilies/lotuses!  I'm planning on doing some bigger ones like this too.  I think it'll be fun!  And I still have a couple more finished ones to share with you.  

For a while now I had been wanting to do a series of some kind, and realized that's what this is... my accidental waterlily series!  There's nothing like a good "Happy Accident" is there?

"Be Still" Textured Journal Cover

Hi there!

Here's my art journal cover that I showed you a quick peek of in the last post.  It kept bugging me that the inside of my journal was filled with lots of purdy art, but that the front of it was so drab.  So I decided to give it a nice facelift one day while another waterlily painting was drying.  

I started by gluing down a vintage dictionary page, then painted it with a coral color.  Next I cut and glued down various scrapbook papers in a waterlily shape.  Yes, I know that you can BARELY see any of that in the finished piece, but I think that every little layer gives it just that much more "something" when it's done... even if you hardly notice that it's there.  Art is kind of like us in that respect... all of our past experiences, no matter how slight, can influence who we are and the beautiful creatures that we can become.  

Wow, ok back to the process... I did think that all the base layers would be showing through more, but that's not what happened.  I try to let the art go where it wants to... sometimes I'm just along for the ride!

  So after the initial layers, I put a heavy coat of Golden's Heavy Gel Medium on, and drew into it while it was still wet.  I also added a painted crocheted 1/2 circle to the top and a ribbon across the bottom.

After letting it dry overnight, I painted it, then antiqued it with a raw umber glaze to get the grooves and  ridges to really stand out.  When it was finished I sealed it good since it's on the front of my art journal... which means it has to stand up to plenty of abuse as I drag it around with me most of the time.















There... so much better than a plain, drab, brown cover.  Now it represents what the journal is all about... artwork, creativity, becoming.  And layers... lots of layers.

And "Be Still"?  A reminder I need often in our busy hectic world.  You too I'm sure.  Be still, close your eyes, and just breathe, you beautiful creature you.