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Art

Art

new art prints

I haven’t been doing as much painting as I’d like this year.  How are we already deep into September and I have only had one or two original art sales this year?!  I don’t think there is a simple answer for that, but it’s been a lot of things.  I focused a lot of attention on gardening through the Spring and early summer.  I worked on some behind-the-scenes writing projects that took up a lot of my time.  And this fall has been a tricky season with our high school senior taking all college classes except two.  We’ve had to juggle rides from one school to another throughout the day until he gets his license (which will be happening soon!)  It’s really eaten into my day and I’m trying to fit a full-time job into part-time hours.  I actually said to Jeff the other day that I felt like I

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Art

tonal floral still life sketch | oil painting tutorial

It’s been a little while since I’ve done a painting video tutorial, so even though this was just a sketch to get into the groove of oil painting again, I decided to set up the camera and turn it into a tutorial.  Really, it’s more of a paint-a-long than a tutorial since I wouldn’t consider myself an expert when it comes to painting flowers!  It is definitely not my sweet spot when it comes to oil painting, but they are a popular subject so I’ve decided to keep working on them despite feeling like it’s not my forté. This painting was done in about 40 minutes, so it’s what I would consider a sketch more than a finished painting.  My goal wasn’t to have something that looked refined and detailed, but instead a painting that was impressionistic, simplified, and loose.  I focused on blocking in the larger shapes and only

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1970 home renovation

Landscape Mural Design & Colors

I’m getting things lined up to start “dining room mural take two.”  I painted the mural in my last dining room with very little planning.  I just had an idea in my head and used MMS Milk Paint and some acrylics that I had on hand.  I was just going to throw the paint on the wall to see how it worked.  It’s just paint after all and I could always paint over if it wasn’t working.  I kept it very loose, drippy, watery, and light, so I was able to finish it in just a couple of days. For this mural, I decided to use Farrow & Ball paints so there is cohesion with the paint colors (Light Blue and Card Room Green) used in adjoining rooms.  I also like the idea of having a palette of colors instead of mixing my own colors.  I’m sure some amount of

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All Things Home

the story of the sailboat pillow

If you’re in a hurry, here is the short version of the story.  I met Wendy when she became a Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint line retailer in her shop in Canada.  She became our Canadian trainer and my friend and we traveled all around Europe together.  She sold her shop and I sold the milk paint line.  I started painting.  Her husband, John, takes pictures and I asked to paint one of those pictures.  That picture, taken from their front porch, was licensed and made into a pillow.  That pillow made from one of my paintings made from one of her husband’s photos ended up in the shop Wendy sold.  Wendy bought the pillow.  My mom bought the pillow.  And here we are. If you want the longer story behind the pillow, here it is. Wendy and I met years ago when she signed up to carry the newly

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All Things Home

antique French drawing box & other goodies

If you can believe it, I added a few antique art supplies to my collection earlier this year (timely happy-birthday-to-me purchases) and I haven’t shared them here on the blog!  I’ve been so busy with other things that I haven’t written about them even though I took pictures a while ago.  Anyway, today is the day I’m going to introduce you to an antique French drawing box I purchased from Julia of Ponder & Purchase.  I used to order a box of goodies from her a few times each year, but I was feeling pretty stocked with antique art supplies, so I haven’t ordered what we jokingly call my “P&P subscription box” in over a year.  I have some very nice art boxes, palettes, brushes, and all sorts of pens, pencils, and rulers that I’ve gotten very picky about what I buy.  This French drawing box was like nothing else

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Art

My painting in the McGee x Threshold collection at Target

On Monday, I was browsing through Instagram Stories and did a double-take when I saw a piece of artwork I recognized in a round-up of Liz Marie’s favorite things from the new McGee x Threshold collection at Target… Do you see it?!  This is one of my oil still-life paintings and it was picked up for the McGee collection and is now being sold in Target stores and online!  You can buy one HERE or see if it’s available at a nearby Target. When I first saw it, I recognized it instantly as mine, but when I studied it further, I started to question myself.  For some reason, I felt like it was better than my painting!  I had a chance to look at it objectively, in a new context, and it gave me a new appreciation for my style.  For a few brief minutes, I wondered if someone had

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Art

royalty-free artist reference photos site launch

I’ve been working on a new project behind the scenes for a few months and now, we’re ready to officially launch!  I am so excited to introduce you to my new site… www.artistreferencephotos.com One of the greatest frustrations I’ve experienced as a growing artist is finding reference photos for the things I want to paint that I might not see daily.  My readers and Instagram followers have generously shared photos with me when I put the call out, but not every artist has a generous audience as a resource to tap into when specific photos are needed.  Yes, artists can search for images online, but there are restrictions even on “free” photo-sharing websites and things can get sticky if you want to license your work for reproduction and sale.  I found in all of my online searches that there isn’t a website that is truly a royalty-free reference photo library

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Art

original art sale preview | April 15, 2024

I can’t believe the last time I had an original art sale was last August!  The months just fly by and the collection of recent works has just been hanging out in my studio.  I kept thinking I would wait to have a sale until I completed more paintings to add, but once I gathered all of the paintings in a stack, I realized I had enough to schedule a sale.  I have learned that clearing paintings out of the studio that are just learning on the drying shelf or sitting in a stack, gives me motivation to produce more paintings.  I think it makes physical space as well as creative space to do something new. I’m excited about this sale because it offers a mix of subjects and a variety of sizes.  I’m selling a bunch of smaller works as well as works on paper, so there are some

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I’m Marian, a painter, writer, and lover of all things creative. From art and antiques to home projects and everyday life, I share my journey in hopes of inspiring you to embrace your own creativity and make beauty in the spaces you live.

next art sale

May 20th, 2026 at 1pm EST

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