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After a few weeks of really diving into painting, I’m starting to get a handle on a creative process that seems to work for me in terms of generating ideas. I realized that I had way more ideas floating around in my head then I could work through in either watercolor or oil, so I’ve started keeping a sketchbook full of quick composition sketches.
What can I say? More of my paintings keep finding their way onto the walls of my studio. In this case, it was the addition of this new plant that prompted me to hang my painting Morning Reflections over my shipping station.
I did plenty of painting this week, but haven’t had a chance to share until now, so I’m going to be sharing a lot in this post! Most of these paintings are part of my tiny paintings series, but a few are a bit larger. (Including a 6″ x 6″ and, I know I’m getting crazy here, an 8″ x 10″ painting I made yesterday!)
And speaking of series, I feel like I’m starting to hone in on a cohesive body of work, which I’m calling (not quite officially) Bridges and Boulders.
I realized it’s been a while since I shared portraits of any of my plants, so when I came across these images of two of my peperomia plants that were just hanging out on my computer, I knew I needed to share here on the blog!
Both pics also feature my silver on steel stacking rings, which you can find in my online shop.
Today is a big day! These 16 tiny oil paintings are now available in my online shop! Of course, I’m a little sad that they won’t all be hanging on my wall like this anymore, but I also believe that art is meant to be seen and shared, which is why I’m making them available to you! (And I’m selling them individually, so you can buy one or a whole wall full!) Click here to check them out for yourself.
On Friday, I went to New York for an artist date with my friend Amber Kane. The plan was to hit up a few museums (which we did) but since it was such a gorgeous day we started it with a walk down the High Line. (Which if you aren’t familiar, is an elevated park built on an old train line.)
It helped that our first stop was the Whitney, which lies at the southern end of the High Line, giving us the perfect excuse to stroll, sip coffee, and take in the art and architecture around the High Line.
As I was packing up this Contra Collection ring to ship out to a customer, I couldn’t help photograph it in front of this group of black and white paintings that are currently hanging out in my studio.
Ever since I saw the Matisse exhibition In Search of True Paining at the Met, I’ve been inspired by the idea of exploration variation through subtle tweaks between one work and the next. And this came out a lot as I was playing with new watercolor sketches the other day.
When I started working on my tiny oil paintings, the first place I looked for inspiration (and subject matter ideas) was the sketchbooks where I keep all my watercolor marker sketches. It turns out, there’s lots of ideas to work with there!
But then the other night, it occurred to me that I didn’t have to be limited to just the watercolor sketches I’ve already done. So I pulled out my watercolor markers and started playing with new ideas. Then the next day, I went into the studio and turned a few of those into more tiny oil paintings.
It’s been a while since I’ve done any plant shopping, so on Saturday, I decided it was time to remedy that.
It turns out that my local garden center cuts way back on their selection of indoor plants over the summer in favor of lots more outdoor plants. Which was a bit of a bummer, because I don’t do outdoor plants. (I’m highly sensitive to poison ivy, so outdoor gardening is seriously stressful for me!)
Fortunately, they did have some succulents that were calling my name. I’ve been mostly resisting succulents to this point because I’m worried my current studio situation doesn’t have enough light for them. But I decided to give these guys a go.
And while they aren’t that big compared to some of the plants in my studio, they are pretty big as far as succulents go. And even though I wasn’t trying at all, these two plants ended up being the perfect fit for these two Elizabeth Benotti planters (ok, I think one is technically a vase) that I picked up over the last couple of months.
Of course, I couldn’t resist tossing in one of my new tiny paintings just to complete the scene!