Merry Christmas!

And the angel said unto them, "Fear not: for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, 

who is Christ the Lord."
~Luke 2:10 - 11

Hello, Bedford Falls! MERRY CHRISTMAS! Merry Christmas, movie house! Merry Christmas, Emporium! Merry Christmas, you wonderful old building and loan!

Recently

Hot chocolate and varnishing. 

 

 working on lettering

 

 More paintings for Eggplant!

 

 Got two of my prints from Minted. Great quality! 

 

 Red feeling cozy

 

 "A Christmas James"

Christmas pretties

Some holiday art styling

Because why not? 

 

Tiny Expo Recap

Tiny Expo was last Saturday at the Ann Arbor District Library and it was great! I took all my photos before the show began, so don't be fooled by the wide open spaces - it was packed with a steady stream of customers all day.

I just can't reiterate enough how much I love indoor shows. haha. I do love nature and the outdoors, but I was blessed with allergies and pale skin...

It was fun to be in a show in Ann Arbor - amazingly short commute! 

Thanks so much to the Ann Arbor District Library for hosting and putting together the event!

That wraps up my 2014 show schedule!

 I still have some paintings at Detroit Artists Market till the New Year, and my Etsy shop is open for orders until Saturday Dec 20th at 3pmEST. After the 18th, you'll need to get expedited shipping, so get those last-minute orders in!

Tiny Expo

I will be a vendor at the Tiny Expo at the Ann Arbor District Library 

on December 13 (this coming Saturday)!

Pick up your last-minute gifts and items for those hard-to-shop-for 

people that you've been avoiding (we all do it).

Pink

New paintings - I was in a pink mood! You can take the girl out of the warm weather, but you can't take the warm weather palette out of the girl!

When I start a new group of paintings, I tend to work on them all at once so I don't waste paint, so you'll often see a cohesive palette among small groupings. 

 

I also decided to leave the wood grain bare as a background on a couple of the pieces. I love working on wooden cradleboard, so why not just totally embrace it?

A Bouquet for Amanda

 

 A Bouquet for Lizzie

 

A Bouquet for Carolyn

 

A Bouquet for Kathryn

 

 A Bouquet for Whitney

 

Shop paintings here

 

Progress of a painting

I was recently commissioned to paint a larger floral painting for a client who bought 2 of my smaller ones for her new bedroom makeover. Here is the basic progress of the piece.

I start with a pencil sketch on the wood (the lines often show through on the final piece)

I then refine the sketch with paint. The outline allows me to set the composition immediately, and I can concentrate on color for the rest of the piece without worrying too much about the other elements.

Next I added in the background. If I know what the background will be at the outset, it's best to add it in immediately as all other color decisions will revolve around this choice.

Then I add in whites and greens. I was experimenting with the exact shades I wanted here, wanting depth but, as you'll see in the final photo, the very dark green shown here was lightened a bit.

And the final product! I can't wait to see it in the room with the other pieces!

Cyber Monday Sale!!!

I'm having a fun promotion for Cyber Monday in my Etsy shop!

Save up to 30% OFF your purchase TODAY ONLY!!

Make sure you enter the correct code to save the right amount!

Enter coupon code at checkout to save!

Shop now!

Black Friday Weekend Sale!!!!

Black Friday Sale in my Etsy Shop! 

Save 20% OFF your entire purchase with coupon code GIVETHANKS20 (enter at checkout)

Sale lasts from Black Friday - Sunday!

A great time to purchase gifts and cards - Don't miss out!

I am also having a Black Friday Weekend promotion in my booth at Yellow Door Art Market  

if you want to shop local -- 20% OFF everything from 11/28 - 11/30!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! 

I hope you are able to spend the day with family and loved ones, enjoying good food and giving thanks for all we have. 

I am thankful for all my friends and family who are so supportive of me and my work (especially my husband... aww, sappy moment), and for every patron of the arts and supporter of small businesses and independent artists. 

I couldn't do what I do without all of you! 

"Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever" - Psalm 107:1

(psst.... check back tomorrow for a special announcement!!)

Ridge Fine Arts recap!

We had a great time at the Ridge Fine Arts Show this past weekend!

People came to shop, and it was consistently busy all day! So busy in fact, that I forgot to take pics of the whole area and all I have are some booth shots for you. 

Sadly those are all the pics I have, so I wanted to share 2 other businesses that I was introduced to at the show. 

My booth neighbor was Kate of Kate and Louie Handmade. She is super sweet and makes really cute home and kitchen decor, like dishtowels, napkins, and aprons. She is also a graphic designer, and designs some of her own fabrics. 

 (image from her Etsy shop)

We also made one purchase, and it was from Sugar Wood Bakery by Melanie Brooks. Melanie is also a ceramicist and jewelry maker who recently started a bakery and sweets shop. We bought some gourmet lollipops - green tea apple, pineapple coconut pina colada, and kahula coffee with cocoa nibs. yum. 

 

Thanks to Siouxsan Miller (of Green Daffodil) who co-founded and runs Ridge Fine Arts, and to all the volunteers who helped. It was a great show! 

Recently

messy worktable

 curious kitties

 some cuties - yum!

packaging up cards for the shop

 Prints for upcoming shows. 

we decided to start a little early with Christmas movies 

So excited about my shop on minted!

a pretty late-fall Michigan sky

Wintery paintings

Since it's currently snowing out, I decided to paint some wintry florals with lots of greens, berries, and some pinecones for good measure. 

 The tiny ones are so much fun!

"A Bouquet for Mary" (yes, that Mary. She deserves something pretty)

another tiny fellow! I say when in doubt, title it something French. It makes me feel like I'm really putting my 4 years of high school French to good use.  "Une Fleur de Noel"

This one reminds me of the English countryside. I have no idea why - I have never been there! But you get it, right? "Greens and Evergreens"

"A Winter's Table" - at 9"x12" it's the biggest of my winter paintings, but still easy to ship. It doesn't have an outright holiday theme to it, but an overall sense of a snowy outside and indoor warmth. I love citrus for winter!

A couple of these pieces are currently for sale at Eggplant in Charleston, WV, but I wanted to hang some up in my home first to experience the holiday cheer firsthand. It was lovely!

Paintings can be found here

psst, don't forget to stop by the Ridge Fine Arts Show in Ferndale on Saturday!