Artistic Endeavors Archives | Page 19 of 56

Artistic Endeavors

Art Supplies

antique Japanned watercolor box

In case you hadn’t noticed, I have officially passed the line from buying a few antique art supplies to building a collection. (You can find more posts on art supplies HERE.) The collector in me always gets excited about the next thing to collect when I feel satisfied with a collection. Ironstone, for example, is something I have collected for years, but I have so many pieces and so many wonderful pieces that it feels pretty complete. I won’t turn down an amazing piece if I find it, but I’m not actively looking to grow my collection. But, collecting antique art supplies is still fairly new and I’m always finding new pieces to add, including this antique Japanned watercolor box I bought from my friend Julia. A watercolor box that is “Japanned” is painted in a glossy black paint that was meant to mimic Japanese lacquer work. These boxes can

March 17, 2022 11 Comments

Art

original art sale preview | march 18, 2022

Before I get into the details of the art sale preview, I wanted to let you know that 25% of the gross sales will go to Samaritan’s Purse, specifically for the emergency field hospital they are setting up in Lviv to help those injured in the war in Ukraine. It is a good cause, but also a personal one since one of our good friends is serving in that hospital. A few other notes on the sale… The original art sale will go live on March 18, 2022, at 10:00 am CST. You will be able to find all of the paintings HERE. They will not show up until the sale goes live. The paintings are first come first serve. There is only one of each and they sell quickly. That is why I post this preview, so you can think about what you want and head straight for it

March 15, 2022 10 Comments

Art Supplies

art supplies | ribbon ties

I remember reading a magazine article about the dos and don’ts of decorating according to interviewed experts. One of the designers said an absolute don’t was bows. Even when I read it, I had an immediate reaction. Oh, I totally disagree. I mean, I think we can agree on huge bow tiebacks on curtains in 1980s mauve, but bows can be lovely, feminine, and a great little finishing detail. I’m thinking specifically about simple bows on the back of a slipcover, tie details on the top of a pillow, and a ribbon tie holding a book closed. A few vintage art portfolios I’ve purchased have had ribbon ties and I felt inspired by them. There’s something in the act of untying a ribbon that makes it feel like you’re in for a treat just opening the book. It’s a little gift, even if it’s not a surprise. So, I’m no

March 10, 2022 20 Comments

Antiques

antique traveling inkwell

You must permit me to get a little romantic about writing and art supplies now and then. It’s hard to resist sharing about the delights of onion skin paper and Georgian brushes delicately made out of quills. I appreciate the combination of form and function that is lost in the modern plastic disposable pen. While my affection for writing and art supplies has been unearthed in just the past couple of years, I have appreciated beautiful, everyday antiques for years. Since I was setting up my first apartment as a newlywed, I opted for using antique jars to store flour and sugar and traded out our matching department store bedding for a vintage creamy white coverlet. I’ll always prefer old tools, wearing patina on their wood handles, to new ones. And I’ll always appreciate the patches, worn, used, old, and loved over something shiny and perfect. So, if a girl

March 8, 2022 8 Comments

Art

15 creative exercises to fill your sketchbook

Last night, I said it out loud. “I am finally starting to really see myself as an artist.” I have put the title on my profiles and have reluctantly used it in introductions, but I didn’t really feel it down to my bones. I don’t know what shifted or what gave me permission to internally embrace it, but it happened recently. I’ll have to think about it a bit more…about what changed and why. But the result is that I feel freer and more willing to make a mess and create something I don’t like. I feel more accepting of what comes out of my hands. And I feel more excited to draw and paint. I am hoping to share some of that enthusiasm with you by starting at the simplest, most honest, and forgiving place an artist can start – a sketchbook. I’m going to share 15 sketchbooks exercises

February 16, 2022 19 Comments

Art

impressionist still life series

After over a decade of creating as a profession, I’ve learned that I have creative seasons and that suits my generalist approach to business and creativity. I like to dabble, explore, learn, and “have my fingers in a lot of different pies” as my friend Shaunna puts it. And those seasons are shared here on the blog – a virtual space that has always been more about my story and less about one specific topic. Sometimes I’m hip-deep in working on my house, other times I’m stripping down and upholstering a parade of French chairs, or getting crafty for the holidays. Recently, I have been spending more time in my studio at the easel painting, which feels good after largely avoiding my brushes since late last summer. And I have gotten back to the basics, working on a series of still life paintings in an impressionist style. I have been

February 11, 2022 10 Comments

Antiques

antique travel dip pens & pencils

I have loved writing supplies for as long as I can remember. Shopping for school supplies was almost better than Christmas. Almost. (I even still do back-to-school supplies for mom.) I loved picking out just the right pens and pencils and zipper pouches to put them in. One year, we did some of our back-to-school shopping at Breuningers, a German department store, and I remember picking out this sketching kit with pencils, an eraser, a ruler, and a few other drawing tools. I loved the set so much that I wanted to just open it up and look at it. Using it seemed like a luxury I wasn’t going to indulge in until I had admired it enough. All of this to say that writing supplies are my jam and I have enjoyed diving deeper into the world of pens and pencils over the past couple of years. Recently, I’ve

February 10, 2022 14 Comments

Art

a collection of the best art books (over 300!)

If it isn’t completely obvious to you already, I’ll just lay it out there plainly… I’m a collector. I don’t know if it’s genetics or upbringing or just a personality trait, but I have that drive to hunt, find, collect, and curate things of interest. It doesn’t matter if I’m taking a walk on the beach, looking for shells and sharks’ teeth, or scrolling online to score an antique that will fill a hole in a growing collection. What I collect has changed over the years. While I am an avid collector of whatever currently excites me, I have gotten better about curating those collections more intentionally and knowing when I have enough and can just pick up a rare find here and there. And then I move on to the next thing. Art books have been my fastest-growing collection in the past couple of years and I have amassed

February 7, 2022 17 Comments

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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