Working on my camera shyness, I thought I’d make a short clip introducing my new painting, ‘A Walk in Monet’s Garden.’ This piece was created on an 18×24 inch canvas, where textured layers of acrylic paints in tranquil blues and lush greens bring the scene to life. I’m eager to hear your thoughts on both the painting and the video. Please make sure to leave a comment below😊
If interested, the original painting is available in my Etsy Shop.
Hope this inspires you today, thanks for stopping by!!
I’m thrilled to announce the completion of not just one, but two paintings this week! The weather here has been very rainy and I like to get photos using natural sunlight. So I haven’t had luck today but tomorrow we should be back to that beautiful Florida Sunshine which plays a huge part in my artistic inspiration. In the meantime, I thought I’d give you a couple of sneak peeks of these textured paintings I created with vibrant, happy colors!
Hope you’re having a lovely weekend, thanks for stopping by!!
For the first time I joined the Scrappy8Challenge on Instagram. You’re given a month to create the art you want to submit for the challenge. This is ideal for me at the moment because it’s not overwhelming with everything else I have going on.
My sister gifted me this beautiful handmade 4.5×5″ watercolor journal that I thought would be perfect for this challenge. The February prompt was “Inspired by Art” and this was my creation.
There are so many wonderful artists who inspire me but the inspiration for this watercolor painting is the ever talented Joanne Sharpe. She has such a wonderful whimsical style and I love her use of bright, fun colors which makes her art scream Happiness!!
Hope this inspires you in some way today. Have a fantastic weekend!!
I had a bit of fun over the weekend and created this in my Strathmore 7.75×9.75 inch Watercolor Journal. I painted it mostly with acrylic paints but what I love about using a watercolor journal is the thick 140lb paper which stands up well to just about anything. I have thoughts I journaled on the first layer followed by watercolors, then decoupage, gesso and acrylic was the last layer.
I love roses but I’m a little rusty painting them so I’ve decided to add them to my daily art schedule so I become more fluent in painting them.
Hope this inspires you in some way, thanks for stopping by!!
This is a new 4×12 inch canvas I finished over the weekend. It’s an adorable painting with a textured background and 5 beautiful little birds. Instead of painting flowers I thought it would be fun to add more interest and accent this piece by using paper flowers and leaves. I also added a quote “Sing your song.”
Since this is painted on a 1.5 inch thick canvas, this artwork is ideal as a shelf sitter making it the perfect décor for a desk, shelf or counter but can also be hung on the wall.
‘Yello’s BIG Solo’ is available in my Etsy Shop, if interested.
Hope this inspires you today, thanks for stopping by!!
As you know I’m a collector of inspiring quotes and came across this quote by Marilyn Monroe which is featured on one of my watercolor art journaling pages. It’s a gentle reminder to be true to yourself and be uniquely you as only you can be!
“Imperfection is beauty, madness is genius and it’s better to be absolutely ridiculous than absolutely boring.”~Marilyn Monroe
Don’t forget there’s still time to take advantage of the Exclusive Sale going on now my Etsy Shop, just enter code MERRY25 at checkout to receive 25% Off Original Paintings and Christmas Ornaments (Sale ends 12/15 at midnight).
While on vacation quite a few years ago, I came upon this delightful book by Cicely Mary Barker, “The Complete Book of the Flower Fairies.” I love rhyming poems and fell in love with her beautiful illustrations and magical words.
Cicely Mary Barker was born June 28, 1895 in West Croydon, Surrey England. Because she suffered from epilepsy Cicely was educated at home but she mostly taught herself to draw and paint. Her father was an accomplished artist and encouraged her artistic talent. He enrolled her at Croydon Art Society when she was only 13 years old.
At the age of 16, Cicely had her first work accepted for publication as a set of postcards. From there she devoted her time to painting. Pre-Raphaelites greatly influenced her and she believed in “truth in nature.” Cicely painted from life whenever possible and even enlisted the help of the staff at Kew Gardens to help identify plants. She carefully studied and painted their every detail with great accuracy. The fairies were also painted from life and modelled from the children at her sister’s nursery school. Once the paintings were complete, she then wrote a poem for the illustration.
“The Complete Book of the Flower Fairies,” was first published in 1923 and was well received by all, especially because of the fascination with fairies at the time and her vision of innocence.
Cicely passed away February 16, 1973 in a Worthing Hospital, England at the age of 77. One hundred years after the publication of her book, it continues to delight all.
I highly recommend you check out her site at FlowerFairies.com where you learn more about her and purchase giftware items showcasing her stunning paintings. Copies of this book are available on Amazon and at Barnes and Noble, however the dust jacket may be different.
Hope you enjoyed this post, thanks for stopping by!!
Share the Happy💖
Here’s a sample of Cicely’s writing from her book:
Claude Monet was a famous impressionist artist who was born in Paris, France November 14, 1840. As a young child he loved to draw and would make money creating drawings of people that were quite good. His mother supported his interests in becoming an artist but his father felt he would do better to stay in the family business as a grocer. Luckily for all of us, he chose to pursue his passion in art.
During the late 19th and early 20th centuries (1867 – 1886), Impressionism art was born in France. It was a major movement of that time. Impressionism is a style of painting that attempts to portray visual reality with transient effects of color and light.
Claude Monet became known as one of the principal painters of this style. It is his work that inspired me to try impressionism painting which I love. It was much harder than I had anticipated and as a result gave me a greater respect for the amount of work that goes into creating one of these paintings.
Claude Monet, Frederic Bazille, Pierre Auguste Renoir, Alfred Sisley along with other well known artists would work together and influence each other’s art especially during exhibits. But it was Edouard Manet, an established artist who greatly influenced Monet’s work in the 1860’s.
The painting above titled “Woman with a Parasol” was painted by Monet in 1875. It’s an oil painting on a 39.4 x 31.9 inch canvas (100 x 81 cm). This painting belongs to a series that Monet created during the summers of 1875 and 1876. His wife Camille and his son, Jean served as his models for this painting which were set in the gardens surrounding his 2nd home in Argenteuil, located in the suburbs of Paris.
At the age of 85, Claude Monet passed away on December 5, 1926 in Giverny, France. He left us a legacy of stunning art that is admired and inspires us today.
Hope you enjoyed this art history post, thanks for stopping by!!
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“Everyone discusses my art and pretends to understand, as if it were necessary to understand, when it is simply necessary to love.” ~Claude Monet
I wanted to give you a little update on what I’m working on in the studio. I thought I should get a head start on making mini Christmas ornaments. I have some fun ideas and can’t wait to get these all going. I have the abstract, shown above that I’m working on. It’s a soft and dreamy painting with the feeling of flowers. Plus I have another larger abstract, shown below also in the works. Let’s see where these paintings go😊
What is really exciting me at this moment is I’m finally seeing a shift in the daily shadows in my yard which means cooler weather is coming, yay!! This was a scorching hot summer and I’m ready for fall with the official first day on September 23rd. How’s your weather been lately?
Hope you enjoyed your holiday weekend, thanks for stopping by!!
Share the Happy 💖
“Make visible what, without you, might perhaps never have been seen.” ~Robert Bresson
Laly Mille’s online course, “Wild Roses” has rekindled my love for painting roses. So I decided I would work on two 4×4 canvases and paint a single rose on each one. These canvases have lots of layers. I thought of creating the usual layer of texture like I’ve done on my other paintings but that didn’t feel right. So I opted for lace doilies and tissue paper for a more romantic feel.
These paintings aren’t finished yet as there are still more layers to go. It takes a bit of time creating the layers but it’s so much fun. So stay tuned and let’s see where these go…
Hope this inspires you to create today, thanks for stopping by!!!
Flowing Waters Art 