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Oil Painting

Artistic Endeavors

original oil paintings to sell at Lucketts

It was sort of inevitable.  I move back to within an hour from Lucketts and I get sucked back in.  (And I mean that in the best possible way.)  If you were reading this blog before I moved to Minnesota, you’ll remember the days when I was a full-time vendor at the Old Lucketts Store in Lucketts, VA, and when I sold at the Spring Market each year.  Lucketts has always been a very special part of my story since I used to shop there over 25 years ago when I discovered a love for antiques.  My first antique market over 15 years ago was at Lucketts.  My business grew so much when designers and vendors from Lucketts bought my pieces, took me under their wings, mentored me, and invited me into their wonderful world.  It was a hard place and community to leave when I moved over 1,000 miles

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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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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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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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Artistic Endeavors

playing with abstract art

If you had asked me a few years ago if I had any interest in abstract art, I would’ve told you confidently that it’s not my thing at all.  More than that, abstract art seems too chaotic, pointless, and lacks a true display of artistic talent in my estimation.  As the famous quote goes – Modern art = I can do that + yeah but you didn’t Maybe, if you splatter enough paint on canvases and put enough colors next to one another, you’ll come out with a winner eventually.  It might just boil down to high creative output and luck.  And then, art snobs will stand in front of a work the right person called a masterpiece and try to ascertain the deeper meaning.  Honestly, it all seemed silly and pretentious.  But, then I started intently studying art about five years ago.  I did a deep dive into art

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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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