Artistic Endeavors Archives | Page 28 of 58

Artistic Endeavors

Art

Online Painting Classes

If you haven’t guessed, I almost always have an ambitious list of things I want to accomplish each year. Some things end up getting kicked down the road simply because I only have so much time and I have to focus on things that are a higher priority. My little pet projects are the ones that typically get neglected. One of the pet projects I wanted to finally do this year was to offer online art classes. This included making new ones, but also putting the free art classes I made last year into a format that was easier to navigate. I am happy to report that I did it! The first new class available is a master study of Fabritius’ Gold Finch! Here is my version that I did for the class… I absolutely loved working on this painting and filming it for the class. I review all the

March 11, 2021 31 Comments

All Things Home

organizing the art studio | brushes, pastels & rearranging

One of my goals when organizing the art studio was to greatly simplify the amount of stuff that’s sitting out in the open. I waffle between wanting to see all of my supplies, so I don’t forget them and because they are beautiful, and wanting to have completely clear surfaces. The former usually wins out and the studio ends up feeling messy to me as a result. Now, you have to understand that my mess-tolerance is pretty low, so a mess to me probably looks pretty normal to some people! But, I do like stuff and can let things get a little too cluttered. Tidy, but cluttered. In order to tackle the clutter, I needed to clean out the drawers to make much better use of them and be honest about what I use most and what really needs to be at-the-ready. I also have to be honest about what

March 10, 2021 34 Comments

Art Supplies

Organizing & Purging the Studio | Paints & Papers

[et_pb_section][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text] Well, I’ve spent the better part of the last three days going through my studio with a fine-tooth comb. I’ve organized the studio before and have cleaned out a few things, but nothing compares to the thoroughness of this most recent endeavor. As I’ve been working in my studio over the past few months, I’ve realized that the quantity of supplies, instead of being inspiring, has been overwhelming. It doesn’t look out-of-control because everything is in neatly labeled drawers, but it’s a lot of stuff and I realized the full extent once I started pulling it all out! Having all of this choice might seem like an artist’s dream, but I found it to be more of a hindrance. It reminded me of when my boys were younger and, after a successful dentist visit, they were able to pick a prize out of the treasure chest. The experience

March 8, 2021 10 Comments

Antiques

Fixing & Cleaning Paint Brushes

As I shared last week, my Victorian-era watercolor box came with a bunch of brushes and other tools. I finally took some time to give them a little TLC and I thought I would share my process for fixing and cleaning paint brushes. This is helpful not only if you buy/acquire a lot of vintage or antique brushes, but if you just need to take care of some of your favorite brushes that get heavy use. The first thing I do when fixing and cleaning paint brushes is to pull on the tops to see if they are firmly attached. Most of these popped off easily, so that was the first thing I needed to address. (Those little marks of dried paint are from Violet’s paws! She has a knack for stepping straight in any paint if she sneaks into the studio.) I bought waterproof, neutral PH adhesive a while

March 4, 2021 19 Comments

All Things Home

charcoal, a glass dip pen, and a Victorian watercolor box…

It’s time to share some more antique and vintage art supplies! Obviously, I haven’t bought any this month because of “no-spend February”, but I bought an antique Victorian-era watercolor box with some Christmas money in January and I received a few little things last week as a gift. An antique dealer from PA who used to buy things for me to resell sent me a few art supplies she picked up as a part of an auction lot. It was a total surprise and so sweet of her to think of me! She sent me a box of vintage Flair vine charcoal… I love the label on the box, but was even more delighted to see it was full of vine charcoal sticks! And she also sent a glass dip pen! It has the most interesting nib. I haven’t had the chance to use it, but I’m looking forward

February 25, 2021 19 Comments

Artistic Endeavors

knitting organization

Despite my early frustrations that involved a lot of unraveling, I am getting the hang of knitting and I am really enjoying it! I find it’s a nice way to be productive while I’m watching TV in the evenings with Jeff and the boys. (We’ve been watching through old seasons of Survivor together.) After making several hats, I moved on to socks and I’m almost done with my first pair. Their slouchy and imperfect, but they are passable socks and I’ve learned so much while working on them. I’m also getting better at managing my tension and making my stitches neat and even. I have also gained a firsthand understanding of the need for sock darning. These socks will have taken me about two weeks to make. If one of them gets a hole, I’m going to mend it! These socks have so many hours of work in them and

February 24, 2021 28 Comments

Art

Rufus Porter Style Mural & My First Paintings

A part of organizing this month has been scanning old documents and photos (I’ll share more on that in another post) and uploading old photos that were saved to a disc to an external hard drive. At first, I didn’t even know if I had a way to scan a disc onto the drive! I remembered that we had an external disc scanner, so I was able to get everything uploaded. While photos and videos were uploading, I worked on organizing some of my computer folders. Oh, man! I need to do some serious sorting on my computer. At first glance, it’s pretty organized…everything is in folders, my desktop isn’t cluttered with a bunch of documents, but my photos are all over the place! It’s from years and years of taking thousands of photos. So, I’ll slowly chip away at that when I have the time. Anyway, as I was

February 4, 2021 40 Comments

Art

creative play | sketchbook tour

I’ve shared in the past that I have a hang-up when it comes to sketchbooks. Several hang-ups, actually. I always want to be the person who is filling up stacks of sketchbooks, making notes, sketches, and drawings, capturing thoughts and ideas, practicing. I’ve gotten much better about it over the past couple of years and I actually filled a notebook with a journal and did several paintings and sketches when I went to Europe in the fall of 2019. I’ve been more consistent with getting my sketchbooks out to draw quick thumbnails before starting a painting, to make notes when I’m reading books or taking an art class, or to doodle. Here are some of sketchbook hang-ups… I feel like there is a bit of magic that happens with certain paintings that is difficult to repeat. Some paintings just end up being very special. What if one of those paintings

February 3, 2021 43 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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