Artistic Endeavors Archives | Page 46 of 59

Artistic Endeavors

be the artist you are

At the end of my post on Friday I shared, “I feel like I’m finding my legs a bit as an artist…trying to embrace the artist I am, not what I wish I was (if that makes sense.)” Well, it did make sense to several of you and I’ve been thinking about that statement and your responses a lot. I’m realizing how much I limit myself when, instead of working developing my artistic voice, I focus on other artists I admire and how my work isn’t like theirs and it probably will never be. I love browsing the works of artists to find inspiration, ideas, and to learn from them, but I constantly have to fight the natural tendency to compare my work to theirs and to allow their talent to discourage me. If I can’t paint/draw/create like her/him, I shouldn’t even bother. First off, I’ve been watching some tutorials on watercolors

October 24, 2016 47 Comments

Artistic Endeavors

studio happenings

With freelance design work and a book deadline looming, I have been pinned down in my new workspace to get things done and turned in on time. I feel like I’m learning and growing each day and I’m really proud of what I’ve been creating, but I am ready to hit an antique store, work on some furniture and just get away from my desk! Just a few days more… While I’ve been working on those projects, Kriste started painting the chairs I picked up on my trip to New York. I’ve been debating whether I wanted to paint them or not, but I decided they would benefit from paint. I also debated about the color, because I thought they would look good in many of my colors, but I finally decided on MMS Milk Paint Grain Sack. I also decided I wanted to leave the rushing unpainted. It will

October 21, 2016 25 Comments

All Things Home

$100 craigslist drafting table

I have realized that as my work changes, my workspace needs to change, too. When I work on furniture and photoshoots, I rarely sit at a desk or work table. I’m usually crawling around on the floor or scooting around on one of our wheely stools. I’m in a season right now, though, where a lot of my work involves sitting, painting, sketching, and writing. I’ve been spread out over one of our workshop tables, but it is a pretty impractical workspace. I also get this beautiful natural light in the studio and I was set up away from the windows. I’ve needed to set up a proper workspace for a while and I finally got the push I needed when this antique drafting table crossed my path… I found it on Craigslist for $125 and my dad negotiated the seller down to $100 and, as always, he picked it

October 19, 2016 39 Comments

Artistic Endeavors

30 day watercolor challenge update

I started the 30 day watercolor challenge last month as a way to push myself as I’m learning this new-to-me medium. I have gotten way behind, though! I knew when I started that even though it was a 30 day challenge that certainly was meant to be done in 30 consecutive days, I probably wouldn’t be able to keep that pace with everything else happening. So, I’ve made a point to not get stressed about it and just work through the list as I have the chance. Here are the days I’ve done, picking up from where I left off on my last watercolor post… day 4 | book That’s the Hunger Games Catching Fire, in case you didn’t know! day 5 | drink (Izze is my favorite) day 6 | fruit day 7 | nuts (No, I don’t have an announcement!) day 8 | mess or spill day 9

October 3, 2016 51 Comments

a slice of life

things have changed…

I’ve been needing to write this post for a while now, but the words were just never there. I have felt stuck with my blog for a few weeks, though, and I knew I would feel stuck until I made myself sit down and write. I need to tell you, my readers, that things have changed. Don’t worry. It’s all good stuff. I’m not dropping any bombs, here. I just need to put it out there, maybe more for myself than anyone else. After Lucketts, I had a lot of ideas on the “what’s next” list. I had some plans in the works that would involve tons of hands-on work – furniture painting, shopping, putting rooms together, styling, photography, etc. Those plans meant loads and loads of blog content, like the weeks leading up to Lucketts. I was headed towards those plans at a steady pace and then, like I

September 16, 2016 137 Comments

Artistic Endeavors

fall porch photoshoot

Thursday morning, I hit the snooze button a few times and then lazily scrolled through Instagram with one eye open until I felt like I could function enough to coax myself out of bed. My throat had been sore for a couple of days and now I could feel that I didn’t just have a dry throat from the A/C running or from a couple of short nights of sleep (from getting up to check blood sugars and make corrections in the middle of the night) I was getting sick. I had slated Thursday for a fall porch freelance photoshoot, but I just didn’t think I could swing it. The sky was threatening rain on top of my stuffed sinuses and it seemed like everything was pointing to rescheduling. Netflix, soup, and pajama pants were beckoning. Well, I tried my best, but I couldn’t fit it in another day to

September 6, 2016 9 Comments

All Things Home

30-day watercolor challenge

Hang in there with me while I experience my own personal renaissance! I am just having such a wonderful time allowing my creativity to spill into other mediums. This seems to be what happens to me and I’m going to embrace it fully with a 30-day watercolor challenge. Music and theatre were always my creative outlet when I was younger, but when I finished college and decided not to pursue a career in performing, I needed a new outlet. So, I started working on my home and learned how to sew, paint, and refinish furniture, and became obsessed with all things decorating. I picked up decorative painting when we lived in my in-law’s basement, as Jeff finished his undergrad degree, and I didn’t really have a space to decorate. I picked up cooking and baking when our first townhouse was painted and decorated and I needed something to learn

September 2, 2016 85 Comments

All Things Home

studio flooring options

In my post yesterday, I shared that we’ll be installing some new flooring in the studio. Well, not in the entire studio, but a corner of it, so I can use that area for photo shoots. The corner we’ll be installing it in is this one… You can see that the flooring is a bit of a mish-mash; some of the old pine and some plywood, so I haven’t used that corner for photo shoots despite the nice light and big, blank wall. So, I’ve been planning to float some flooring in that corner, so I can create “rooms”. Rooms that I can design, put together, photograph, and ultimately, sell everything in them. Doesn’t that sound like fun?! So, I was looking for a few specific things. First of all, I wanted a floor that would be neutral and wouldn’t cast any sort of hue, specifically red, orange or yellow. (The floors

August 15, 2016 22 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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