Category Archives: Painting

Weekend Inspiration: Google Art Project

the-starry-night-vincent-van-gogh-close-upTake a moment, go to Google Art Project, and bookmark it. While you’re there, look up your favorite piece of art and zoom in.

(Go, right now. I’ll still be here when you get back.)

Okay. How much time has gone by? Hours? Days?

Yeah. I know.

IT’S LIKE SEEING THE PAINTINGS IN PERSON, AND GETTING CLOSER THAN THAT LITTLE MUSEUM LINE WILL LET YOU. And then, someday, when they add “touch” technology…

Which paintings are your favorites? I actually found Google Art Project from a link posted on pinterest of the moon from The Starry Night (the picture above.) It is everything.

–Full disclosure, I’ve been looking at paintings for a while instead of finishing this blog post. It feels a little bit like I just had an artist date.–

By the way, while we’re talking about art, have you seen the Blue/Black White/Gold dress debate? It has completely altered my perception of reality and color and now I just don’t trust my eyes.

Magnetic Paint?

Click photo to be taken to original

I’ve just learned that Magnetic Paint exists. Anyone ever used it? I guess it’s technically primer, so a lot of people paint over it with Chalkboard Paint. I love this idea for my kitchen. I want to do magnetic spice tins, I was going to just get a sheet of metal to hang them on, but this would work better. And I could make a weekly meal calendar, shopping list, etc., if the whole wall was a chalk board.

So??? Help me out! I guess it takes several coats, so it’s not super duper easy, but according to some reviews, it’s worth it. Yes? No?

Narrowing my focus

I am a daughter, sister, wife, mother, friend, Pilates instructor, jewelry designer, author, cook, musician, painter, illustrator, yogi, barista, cashier, etc., etc., etc,. yada, yada, yada, the list can go on and on. I hold a bajillion different rolls, and, benethe them, sub-rolls (not in the sub-sandwich sense) and even some of those can be broken down into sub-sub-rolls. . For example, as an author, I write:

  • Fiction
    • Short stories
    • Novels
  • Non fiction
    • Health
    • Memoir
    • Self-help
    • Creative
    • Craft
  • Freelance
    • Blogging
    • Business/Corporate Writing
    • Content generation
    • Feature articles
    • Catalog copy
  • Children’s stories

I’m sure if I thought about it longer I could even come up with more.

Unfortunately, I can’t be perfect at all of my rolls. Heck, I probably can’t even perfect one of them. But, I can become darn good at some of them. And I’m realizing that to do that, I need to let some of the others go. So, for now, I’m choosing one to cross off the list. Well, actually, the sub-list. I’m going to back-burner the children’s writing I’ve been working on. It’s been nagging me, not because it wanted to be completed, but because it’s been one of those items on the “to-do” list that never gets crossed off. I’m done moving it from list to list to list. Today, for now, I’m removing it. Along with that, I’m unsubscribing from the children’s-market focused writing and illustrating blogs I’m currently subscribed to. I just don’t have time to digest everything, and I’ve got to make some room.

That’s not to say I’ll never come back to the Children’s world. Heck, I’ve got two kids, so, minimally, I’ll continue creating stories for them. It just means that, for now, my writing muscles are training for a different kind of sport. It’s like putting football on hold to focus on baseball. Just like Bo Jackson, I’ll be back. But even he couldn’t play both sports at the same time.

My first commissioned art project

I recently completed my first commissioned art project.  Not only was it my first commissioned project, it was also my first sale, and the canvases were the largest I’ve ever worked with.  Here is the final product.  I will blog some of the in-progress pictures later.

 

Final Purple

 

Final Teal

 

Final Red

 

Final Blue Wave

 

Final Green Wave

A Creative Thanksgiving

I woke up this morning, made some stuffing and a turkey.  Then it cooked for three and a half hours.

Thanksgiving Turkey 2011

While it was cooking I got so caught up in the Macy’s Parade and working on wire wrapping that I forgot all about the potatoes, rolls and green beans.  Chris took the kids to the playground while I threw them all together.  While they were cooking, I made this:

The poem is from an amazing prayer book Morning and Evening by Johann Habermann that you can get for free here or here.

We ate a wonderful meal that I thought about taking pictures of only after it was gone.  Everyone laid down for a nap, and I worked on finishing the necklaces I started in the morning.  After a quick trip to Michael’s for an amazing easel, we all ate chex mix and popcorn while watching Charlie Brown’s Thanksgiving.

After everyone went to bed, I decided to work on a few more necklaces.  Here’s everything I made today:

Necklaces I made on Thanksgiving Day

They will be in my Etsy shop soon, and available on Cyber Monday!

(I also started a painting tonight, but all I did was paint a canvas black, so I don’t have a picture of that.  I’ll post it when it’s done.  I do love my new easel!)