Artistic Endeavors Archives | Page 23 of 55

Artistic Endeavors

Art

five lessons I learned from filling a sketchbook | video sketchbook tour

I know you’re not all my “art people.” Some are my art people, some are my home people, some are my furniture people, and some are my everything & anything people. But, the art posts are not just for my art people. There is so, so much I’ve learned from art that can translate to so many other areas of life! So, today, I want to give you a tour of my second completed sketchbook (yep, I’ve filled a second one already) and share what I’ve learned from filling two sketchbooks so far this year. the old Roman gate in Barga, Italy | pencil & watercolor sketchbook lesson no. 1 | practice makes better I’ve been learning this through my whole art journey – practice makes better even in drawing and painting. It’s easy to recognize that practice is important when it comes to sports and instruments, but we often

July 21, 2021 20 Comments

Art Supplies

creative play | customizing sketchbooks with fabric

I know I’ve already done a post on customizing sketchbooks (you can find that post here), but I spent a little bit of my creative playtime last week addressing something that bugged me about another style of sketchbook I use. If you don’t have a sketchbook, I bet you keep some kind of book…a fitness journal, a diary, a scrapbook, a recipe book, a photo album. You can definitely take this idea and use it for the kind of book(s) you keep. I love . They have thick off-white paper, they lay flat, and they come in several great sizes for sketching and designing. Buuuuuuut, they have a bright red spine! I really don’t have anything against red, but it’s not my color and it really jumps out against my cool blues, greens, and whites. ranger notebook/sketchbook portrait | | landscape And you can see it through a cutout in

July 15, 2021 10 Comments

All Things Home

how to clean & hydrate old wood | diy furniture cleaner

Several years ago, I wrote a post about how to clean and hydrate old wood and it was one of my most popular posts for years! I decided it was time to do a refresher post on this DIY, homemade natural furniture cleaner and write an updated post that answered a lot of the questions asked on that original post. I’ve also been using this recipe and technique for years, so I can speak to its efficacy and longevity. First of all, this DIY Furniture Cleaner will work on any old wood that has lost its luster and shine as long as the mixture can penetrate the finish. If the piece has a thick polyurethane topcoat, the mixture will just sit on top and won’t be very effective. If the wood is raw or the finish has worn away/evaporated, this DIY Furniture Cleaner will polish it up beautifully. It is

July 12, 2021 26 Comments

Art Supplies

vintage watercolor box giveaway

As I was thoroughly organizing the studio through February and March, I came to the conclusion that one person can only use so many antique and vintage art boxes! Don’t get me wrong, I am perfectly willing to extensively explore and discover the true limits of the number of art boxes one person can own, but I wanted to spread the love around to those who might want to explore that territory, too. I currently have two antique oil paint boxes, five watercolor boxes (two English Victorian and three mid-century French), a drafting box, two pastel boxes, and several smaller boxes for pencils, nibs, etc. What can I say? I love art supplies and pretty containers. I will offer no other excuses or clarifiers. The fact is, though, it is important to me to use things I have. It’s okay if using them means displaying them, admiring them, or actually

July 1, 2021 517 Comments

Antiques

marian parsons – hobby historian

“Great thoughts go best with common duties. Whatever, therefore, may be your office, regard it as a fragment in an immeasurable ministry of love.” ― Brooke Foss Westcott I received a new parcel from Julia of Ponder & Purchase. We initially connected through the antique sketchbooks of G. Herbert Kitchin and, since then, she’s been on the lookout for antique art supplies and other goodies for me. It works out great for both of us since she is frequently out shopping to supply her Etsy shop (and selling things directly to me saves her the time of listing the items), and most of the antique and vintage art supplies seem to have congregated in the UK. Maybe Americans just pitched theirs? Maybe hobby art wasn’t as big in the late 1800s – early 1900s here? Either way, she has a knack for finding little antique treasures to outfit my studio –

June 30, 2021 27 Comments

Artistic Endeavors

my first completed sketchbook

For all of the talk I do about journaling and sketchbooks, can you believe that I have never fully completed a sketchbook?! Well, not until a few weeks ago. I have filled plenty of pages in plenty of sketchbooks over the years, but I typically end up abandoning a book, unhappy with many of the completed pages. It’s interesting because I’m not a perfectionist, but I do take creative work seriously. When I was in college, studying musical theatre, my music theory teacher once told my parents at a performance, “Marian is very serious.” And I was. I vividly remember feeling an irritation with my peers who didn’t practice or work hard during rehearsals or focus during classes and workshops. I cared about doing things with excellence. So, when I’d go to fill a page in a sketchbook, I would look back at the previous pages and cringe at some.

June 16, 2021 18 Comments

Artistic Endeavors

isle of palms | part three | painting & sketching

Our trip to Isle of Palms in May was primarily about visiting with family and celebrating my parent’s 50th anniversary (51st now since it had to be postponed for a year), but it was also our first vacation in a long time, so I wanted to take intentional time to do things that were restful and restorative. Being at the beach and gathering shells were a part of that, but so was painting and sketching. Not only are those endeavors relaxing, but they help me really pay attention, be observant, be present, and appreciate the beauty around me. So, I made a commitment that I would paint or sketch every day, even if it was just a quick pencil sketch while sitting at the beach. And I stuck to that, even doing some quick landscape sketches in the car ride. I also wanted to work on watercolor sketches and drawing

June 7, 2021 36 Comments

Art

creative play | sketches with Calvin

Calvin has expressed an interest in art off and on for the past few years. He’ll ask to paint with me or request that I buy him some art supplies or a sketchbook, but he hasn’t stayed motivated in that arena. But, anytime he asks, I say yes. I can see he has a natural inclination for it and I think his mind is well suited for creative work in some shape or form. So, when he asked me if we could take an illustration class together, I pulled out my laptop and we started watching course trailers immediately. We found a class on Domestika – The Art of Sketching; Transforming Your Doodles into Art and it has been so much fun working on it together. He took notes as the instructor was going over his influences and wanted to make sure we had all of the right tools to

May 14, 2021 19 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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