new abstract work

The creative every day theme for May is one, today I am sharing a painting I worked on last week. This one is mostly acrylic with some watercolor and oil pastel thrown in for some added pop in color. 

I used the sketch below that I created a few weeks ago in my sketchbook as inspiration and decided to paint in "one" direction for this month's challenge.

I painted the artwork intending to hang it vertical but, when I brought it in my house I decided I liked it better horizontal. That could have a lot to do with the space I ended up placing it in as well as the fact that the piece took on it's own life separate from the sketch. I am wondering about whether or not to sign the front, this way the direction of the art can change based on the space it's in.

 
When I started I was trying to mimic the sketch but, as you see the feeling and colors don't match at all. There is something in the quick strokes, splashes of color and color choices that got lost on transition to a canvas. I didn't realize what a difference it would make going from watercolor / paper to acrylic / canvas. Good lesson learned about art materials with this project.

Which direction do you prefer the artwork, vertical or horizontal?

ladybug flowers whimsical painting and prints

Ladybug Flowers Original Painting

 

Title: Ladybug Flowers
Date: 2012
Medium: Acrylic, Charcoal, Oil Pastel, Marker
Surface: Canvas
Dimensions: 16" x 20" x 0.5"
Kristen Fagan ©2012

While on a road trip I turned a quick sketch of flowers into whimsical ladybug flowers. I love sketching while in the car, it frees your mind to wander. The movement from place to place and surrounding scenery inspires and evolves with the passing miles. After a few years living in my sketchbook, I was ready to bring the sketch and all it's joyful whimsy to life in this painting.

Ladybug Flowers Art Print

iPhone cases available in my Society6 shop.

Stationary cards available in my Society6 shop.

blogiversary giveaway winner!

Congratulations to Pratima! 

You won a signed 8x10 print of my newest painting Willow Tree along with 2 art bookmarks. One for you and one for a friend.

 

I chose 1 winner randomly via random.org. Thank you to all who entered and shared a favorite childhood memory with me. I loved reading them and getting to know each of you a little better. It is sweet to hear what things you cherish from your childhood. I hope remembering these little moments brought joy to your heart.

Thank you again for your support and for being here, it means so much to me to share my passion with all of you. Much love, gratitude, and blessings today and always!

xoxo
Kristen

art masterpiece: cezanne

Art Masterpiece is an art appreciation program offered to elementary children by parent volunteer guides. The goal is to help students look, think and talk about great masterpieces of art. I'm a volunteer guide and I am sharing my art discussions with you in this weekly post. Hope you enjoy it! 

 

Flowers and Pears by Paul Cezanne

About the Artist: Today I am teaching you about an Impressionist painter name Paul Cezanne. He was born in Paris, France in 1839 and lived to be 67 years old. He was quiet and moody but loved art. Paul Cezanne liked to paint everyday things, landscapes and self-portraits.

He created 30 self-portraits. Show self portrait. Do you think he looks happy in any of these paintings? Some say he was unhappy because no one seemed to like his paintings; he didn't sell any of them and never won any awards. Today though his paintings are worth a lot of money and he is known as one of the great painters of the 19th century.

Let’s look at the painting.

Cezanne painted this from 1888-1890; it took 3 years to paint. The actual size of this paining is 19 3/4" x 24". (show on ruler)

What would you name it? This painting is called Flowers and Pears and it is a still life painting. Paul Cezanne enjoyed still life paintings (everyday objects). He spent a lot of time arranging the objects. In his life he created 200 still life paintings!

Why would any artist want to paint a still life? Cezanne liked working with fruits, plants, bottles and vases because they didn't move or talk back to him. He spent a lot of time arranging the objects.

Like our artist last week, this artist is also an impressionist painter. Impressionism was an art movement. We know it’s an impressionist painting because of …

E - everyday life / objects
L – focus on light
B - brush strokes
O – outdoor scenes
W – weather

What colors do you see? Greens, blues and yellows show a cheerful mood in this painting.

Are the colors warm or cool? He uses both.

His art is special because he used color and shapes to make his painting look 3 Dimensional. How did he do that?
- overlapped things
- warm colors brought items forward
- cool colors took things back
- mostly concerned with shape color

What shapes do you see? He always used cubes, cones, cylinders. Do you see any of these shapes in your classroom?

Cezanne was a perfectionist. What does this mean? He worked on a painting until he was satisfied. He spent a lot of time arranging the objects. Once he painted a portrait of a friend and re-did it 115 times! Until he thought it was perfect.

How does this painting make you feel?

Where would you hang it? This was a neat way to end the discussion. They said all sorts of places, bedrooms, hallways, office, living room but most thought the kitchen was a great place due to the pears.

may goals

"Every worthwhile accomplishment, big or small, has its states of drudgery and triumph; a beginning, a struggle, and a victory."
~ Gandhi

April moved at a very quick pace. It was filled with lucky moments when I won not 1 but, 2 giveaways! Really how lucky was that? One is an adorable book about Cinco De Mayo illustrated by Holli Conger that I can't wait to enjoy and share with my kids. The other is 100 postcard portfolio's from Next Day Flyers, a printing company I often use. I am excited about the possibilities of what I will have printed.

Remember, how excited I was to get I'd Rather Be in the Studio by Alyson B. Stanfield in the mail last month. Yeah, well I haven't opened it yet! I think I've been scared to start it. Well, I need to face my fears and dig deep and empower myself this month! I have been painting a lot. I finished the butterfly fairy painting and after varnishing, it will be ready for delivery. I have a mermaid painting in progress and have been exploring watercolors in my sketchbook. I brought it with me everywhere last weekend and painted in the car, on the couch, while visiting family, it was awesome!

Last week marked this little blog's 4 year anniversary! It has been an amazing journey and I am excited about what the future holds! Thank you to all that visit, comment and read along with me. To celebrate, I'm having a little giveaway. Check it out here.

April Goals 

Business - Check out www.score.org. They have great resources on their website, and offer free mentoring sessions with a seasoned professional. I need to get my business setup properly for growth. Connect with artist's I met last month. Oh wow, I haven't even thought about this. Moving to the "later" list.

Art - Begin custom butterfly painting and continue to work on mermaid painting.Custom painting needs a varnish and it'll be complete and mermaid is in progress.

Blog - Create a Wedding page. Think about blog series and schedules. Eek another area I have not thought about.

Design - Begin on new wedding invitation design client, continue work with logo design clients. Still ongoing. I also worked on a Spring Boutique Flyer and birthday invitations for friends.

Shop - Add art necklace, note cards and 8x10 prints to Etsy. Add "Willow Tree" and "Ladybug Flowers" to Etsy, Society6, FAA and Facebook. I got "Willow Tree" posted this month. Still have much to do.

Read - Wheat Belly and I'd Rather Be in The Studio. Well, I didn't start one of these yet but, I did finish Wheat Belly and have been wheat free for 1 week! You can read my review on that book here.

Family - Celebrate Ethan's 8th Birthday, Easter and Earth Day! We celebrated Ethan's 8th birthday for an entire week. He has been enjoying all the extra attention and activities. He loves Super Mario so, I placed him in Mario's race kart for his invitation. He was thrilled! I went on Hudson's first field trip to the zoo. It was great to spend a day with him and his classmates exploring.  With only a few weeks left of school our calendar is filled with events to celebrate the end of the year. 

Health - No snacking after 7:30 pm. Start my day with hot water and lemon (somewhere I stopped this). Check out the yoga class at my local recreation center. No snacking is doing well, without wheat this last week has been a breeze. I'm just not craving food and that is amazing. I keep forgetting to pick up lemons! Hopefully, I will remember next shopping trip. I have not gone to yoga but, I did finally check out the schedule and write it on my calendar!

Soul - Meditate every evening, journal (written or art) weekly. I am meditating a couple of nights a week. If I am having a hard time falling asleep I turn to it and it works every time.Little bits of journaling and used my sketchbook this month which is good.

May Goals 

Business - Work on portfolio postcards. 

Art - Continue to work on mermaid painting, explore an abstract painting, complete two custom necklaces. 

Blog - Create a Wedding page. Think about blog series and schedules. 

Design - Finish wedding invitation design client, continue work with logo design clients. 

Shop - Art necklace, note cards and 8x10 prints and "Ladybug Flowers" to online shops. 

Read - I'd Rather Be in The Studio and Beyond the Sling: A Real-Life Guide to Raising Confident, Loving Children the Attachment Parenting Way


Family - Celebrate the end of the school year with recitals, presentations, open house and teacher gifts. 

Health - Continue wheat free diet and go to a yoga class at my local recreation center. 

Soul - Meditate in the evening, journal (written or art) weekly. 

Creative Every Day *One* - Suggestions: create art in a monotone theme, focus on a single object in a piece of art, take yourself on a solo artist's date, make art using one kind of mark.

 If you would like to join in The Meetup biz goals fun, head on over to Athena Dreams.

blogiversary giveaway!

Thursday marked the 4 year anniversary of this blog a.k.a. my blogiversary!!! I can't believe I have kept up with this and how far i have come. What started as a way to entice myself to use my wacom tablet more turned into so much more with creative adventures in paint, jewelry, crafts, cooking and participating and building communities around my art. I am truly grateful to all who follow along with me and my creative adventures on this blog today and since its beginning.

To celebrate, I’m having a giveaway in honor of all of you! 

Prize ... A signed 8x10 print of my newest painting Willow Tree along with 2 art bookmarks. One for you and one for a friend!

Comment to enter ... Since this painting was inspired by childhood memories playing under my grandparents willow tree, I'd love to hear in the comments one of your favorite childhood memories!

Bonus entry 1 ...  Like Creative Stash on Facebook, and let me know in a separate comment.

Bonus entry 2 ...Share  this giveaway on Facebook or Twitter and let me know you shared the love in a separate comment and link. * please tag @CreativeStash

Winner ... 1 winner will be drawn at random from the comments on this blog post and announced next Saturday, May 5th.

Thank you for your support and love and for allowing me to weave in and out of your lives. It means so much to me to share my passion with all of you and to hear how it connects with you. Much love, gratitude, and blessings!

xoxo
Kristen

Note: This giveaway has ended. To see the winner click here.

art masterpiece: bonnard

Art Masterpiece is an art appreciation program offered to elementary children by parent volunteer guides. The goal is to help students look, think and talk about great masterpieces of art. I'm a volunteer guide and I am sharing my art discussions with you in this weekly post. Hope you enjoy it! 

Signac and Friends by Pierre Bonnard

About the Artist: Today we are going to look at a painting by Pierre Bonnard. Pierre was a French painter and graphic artist. He was born in France in 1867 and lived to be 80 years old. He studied law to become a lawyer but, decided he liked art better.  

Does anyone know how pictures were made before the camera was invented? Pierre became a painter around the time that the camera was invented so; artists didn't have to paint realistically.

This painting is called Signac and Friends. Pierre painted this from 1913-1914.

Pierre Bonnard loved boats, beaches and seaports and loved to pass the time sailing with friends. In this painting friends are enjoying a day of sailing. Paul Signac was a good friend of Bonnard's. Signac was also a famous painter.

Signac is sitting on the back of the boat. Where are we sitting in this picture? We are in the front with the artist. He liked to paint his subjects close to the viewer. It feels like we are in the picture.

Do you think he painted this softly? How can you tell? Short, choppy brushstrokes.

His brushstrokes are a feature of impressionist era, but instead of soft colors, the colors in this painting are bold. He was a master of light and color. He liked combinations of orange and yellow, pinks, purples and blues.

What colors do you see? A deep purple sea under a sky changing from rose to blue green to with tones of rust and bright orange.

What do the colors tell us about the weather?

Do you know remember what colors are warm colors and what colors are cool colors?

Warm = Red, Orange, Yellow Brown
Cool = Blue, Green, Purple, Black

Are the colors warm or cool? He uses both.

What sounds do you think you might hear in this scene? The kids always enjoy this question! They made sounds for me of waves crashing, wind blowing and sea creatures that may be nearby.

Where is your eye drawn? The composition is unusual, the boats thrust upward and the large sail is a sharp triangular shape. You are drawn to the 3 men on the right because of the big white sail.

What are the people feeling?

How does this painting make you feel?

Would you like to be in this picture?

Pierre liked to paint people, everyday things, seascapes and interior spaces like your living room. I finished the discussion by showing some interior pictures he created as well as a self portrait.

dandelion and willow paintings and prints now available

Willow Tree Art Print

Willow Tree Original Acrylic Painting

Title: Willow Tree
Date: 2012
Medium: Acrylic, Charcoal, Oil Pastel, Marker
Surface: Canvas
Dimensions: 16" x 12" x 0.5"
Kristen Fagan ©2012

Inspired by my grandparent's wild weeping willow tree. I spent many afternoons having tea parties, swinging on the tire swing and marveling at it's beautiful long weeping branches.

Original painting for sale in my Etsy shop. Prints, cards, skins and cases available in my Society6 shop.

******************

Dandelion Art Print

Dandelion Original Acrylic Painting

Title: Dandelion
Date: 2009
Medium: Acrylic
Surface: Canvas
Dimensions: 20" x 24" x 1"
Kristen Fagan ©2012

This painting was inspired by an enormous dandelion I spotted and photographed while on vacation in Alpine, Arizona. I have love making wishes with dandelions and this big and beautiful flower was such a magical surprise instead of blowing it away I wanted to live forever on canvas.

Original painting for sale in my Etsy shop. Prints, cards, skins and cases available in my Society6 shop.

painting in progress: butterfly fairy

This painting has taken a few twists in turns in color and I am loving where it is now! Click here to see where I began. I changed the color of the hibiscus flowers so many times that I decided to email my lovely customer Noami and asked her what she would prefer the color be. She leaned more towards red and yellow and I couldn't have been happier.

So, I began adding yellow and red back to the pink white flowers of the earlier version.
Photo taken with garage light only so the colors are a bit dull here, sorry.

Here's a better picture and a great burst of color! The flowers are now red, yellow and orange and with this session I spent some time working on the butterfly wing details.

This past weekend I pumped up the colors and depth of the flowers with oil pastels, added in some white details. The blue background lost some of it's milky whiteness and instead I laid down bright blue. I added more detail to the butterfly wings and you can see the beginning of 3 small butterflies in the distance.

The colors overall are now vibrant and full of life. I love that! The three butterflies in the distance were added at Noami's request and I think they are add a wonderful new depth to the painting. I need to finish those little butterflies and this beauty will be ready to go to it's new home. I hope to be sharing a completed piece with you all next week!

om: learn as if you were to live forever

Last weekend I helped out my friend and Soft Flex Company co-worker Sara Oehler with her book signing event at Bead World in Scottsdale, Arizona. Sara was on-hand teaching a free make-it-take-it earring project and signing her new book co-authored with Jamie Hogsett, Show Your Colors.

I helped out with individual customers when needed, picked up flying scraps of beading wire and talked about Soft Flex Company products and projects with shoppers. Below you'll see me talking someone through the finer points of crimping. Bead World is a really nice store with helpful staff and being right off the freeway it was super easy to get to.

After the event was over Sara gave me and the Bead World staff a quick knitting spool lesson. I have wanted to get my hands on a knitting spool for while. Jamie and Sara have an entire chapter in their book dedicated to it and we have a bunch of free beading project ideas on Soft Flex's website using it. I LOVE texture and so it's only natural that I really love the designs made with the knitting spool.

Here is my first knitted wire bracelet with Soft Flex Company wire and a knitting spool!

It's a little wonky in spots but, for a non-knitter I am pretty pleased with how it turned out. It took me a bunch of tries to get it started but, once you past the first few rounds of loops it becomes really relaxing and meditative. I love learning something new! Thank so much for the mini lesson Sara, love you!

“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.” ~ Gandhi
 

One Moment [OM] is a weekly meet up that promotes living in the moment.  Whether funny, sad, ridiculous, or banal, looking for these moments can promote balance in our lives. Anyone can join – read about it here.