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Art

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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Art

Free Oil Painting Tutorial – Two Geranium Studies

For those who have been asking about free oil painting tutorials, here’s one for you!  I have been toying with the idea of starting a Patreon page where I can offer painting tutorials for a small monthly subscription to those who are interested, but I kept stalling on launching it.  The idea became more of a roadblock than an incentive for me to offer more painting tutorials and I’ve learned that when I’m dragging my feet on something I want to do, I need to go back to the drawing board and determine my hang-up.  I realized that it felt like too much pressure when my focus is diffused in this season of my business (working on my home, working on book proposals, writing this blog, painting for original art sales.)  I just needed to keep it simple and I can continue making painting videos and sharing what I’m learning

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Art

two of the best shows on TV

I have mentioned both of these series in past Favorites Posts as well as on the TCe podcast.  And I can’t count the number of times I have brought them up in conversations with other people, specifically when talking about art or adjacent subjects like finding your creative voice.  I have watched all available seasons at least twice.  These series are Landscape Artist of the Year and Portrait Artist of the Year and, if you haven’t heard of them, I want to share all about them (without any spoilers), why I love them so much, and what I’ve learned from watching them. (All of the photos in this post are from sky.com) I tripped across Landscape Artist of the Year first a few years ago on Amazon Prime and I loved it right from the beginning.  I was then delighted to learn about Portrait Artist of the Year, which I

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a slice of life

better & done

What started as “feeling under the weather” and having a bit of a sore throat early last week turned into being flat-out sick mid-week.  So instead of photographing things I’ve worked on, painting in my studio, and getting things ticked off the to-do list, I was blowing my nose raw and redecorating my nightstand with coughdrops, saltines, a thermometer, and an array of beverages.  While I didn’t appreciate the little detour my week took, the kitties loved the extra snuggles and hardly left my side.  I’m still dealing with a cough and fatigue, but I am definitely on the upswing. Since I didn’t get to take those new pictures and work on putting new posts together, I am picking up a post I started writing a few months ago.  I looked back over my drafts and this one made me smile as I reread what was already written and I

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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.

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August 13th, 2026 at 1pm EST

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