Artistic Endeavors Archives | Page 26 of 58

Artistic Endeavors

Art

making time for creativity

One of the questions I’m asked most of is about my time. How do you fit it all in? Do you sleep? I was actually asked that twice in the last three days. It comes up a lot, so I thought I would share some thoughts on time and how I spend mine. First of all, if it looks like I fit it all in, like I get everything done that I want to get done, and like I always have it together, I can assure you that I don’t. As with anyone else, I have things that slip through the cracks, things that fall into the black hole of procrastination, good intentions that are forgotten, and things that languish on my to-do list. There are times I feel frustrated with the limitation of time. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve said to Jeff that I wish I

August 5, 2021 18 Comments

Artistic Endeavors

creative play | bookbinding single pages

In my last box of goodies that came from across the pond from Julia of , I received several vintage and antique sketchbooks and drawing/oil papers. She’s been on the hunt for those for me, so I could recreate some of the Kitchin sketches on old paper. And I love old art supplies and she loves a challenging shopping list! This particular sketchbook had amazing paper in it – thick with a good texture and slightly off-white with age. It even had slightly uneven edges that added to the charm. The only problem is the book wouldn’t stay open! I mean, there was no way you could actually sketch in it, which is probably why it hadn’t been used. It would just flip shut the moment you weren’t holding both sides open. So, I decided to try my hand at bookbinding to make it useable. I meant to take a

July 28, 2021 9 Comments

Artistic Endeavors

Isle of Palms art sale preview

I was planning on having this art sale back in June and I was planning on adding a lot more paintings to it, but… I had too many other things to work on. For those who ask how I balance it all? Well, sometimes things don’t get finished the way I want them to or when I want them to. But, I didn’t want to put off this art sale any longer, so I finally added it to the calendar! The art sale will go live this Thursday, July 29, 2021, at 10:00 am CST. You can shop the sale HERE or by selecting “original art” under the “shop” tab on the navbar. There is a bit of a creative clearing that happens for me when I sell the paintings collecting in my studio. There is both a release and a press of the reset button that signals to me

July 26, 2021 10 Comments

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

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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