Artistic Endeavors Archives | Page 5 of 55

Artistic Endeavors

your creative super power

A question I received when I shared one of my paintings on Instagram earlier this week stuck with me. I posted a picture of a cat painting as an example when someone asked if I only paint dogs. It was this painting… Here was her question… Two of the questions are about method and technique, which I won’t go into in this post. But the second question is the one that hung with me. “Do you actually SEE them that way?” My first thought was, of course, I see them that way. I wouldn’t paint them that way if I didn’t see them that way. But I realized the answer is deeper and more nuanced than that. Yes, I do see them that way, but I have learned to see them that way. I have practiced to see them that way. I have tested, tried, studied, agonized, and spent many hours

November 19, 2025 13 Comments

a slice of life

plein air painting at Hidcote

Let me start by saying plein air painting is not my sweet spot. While I enjoy painting outside and on location, I’m rarely very happy with the results. I prefer painting in my studio in a more controlled environment. The lighting is relatively fixed; I have my easel and chair set to my height, all of my supplies are readily at hand, and I don’t have to worry about bugs sticking to my painting. Whenever I paint outside, I feel like I’m fumbling around a bit, and I almost always feel rushed. I know I would get more comfortable with practice, but it’s also okay if studio painting is my preference and where I do my best work. That being said, painting on location does a lot for my artist’s heart. I love the experience of painting in a place. Whenever I sketch or paint on location, that moment is

October 22, 2025 11 Comments

Art

DIY wet panel carrier for oil paintings

In my previous post about traveling with oil paints, I mentioned I would share a DIY wet panel carrier tutorial, and here it is! If you don’t use oil paints, you may wonder what a wet panel carrier is and why it’s necessary. One of the wonderful things about oil paints is that they are slow-drying. This gives you a lot of time to blend and nudge the paint around, or even just scrape it off. I find it’s even more forgiving than a pencil, which is one of the reasons I love working with oils. The downside of working with a slow-drying medium when traveling is that you now have a wet painting to transport home. That is why artists who work with oil paints need a wet panel carrier. I usually use premade wet panel cases from Raymar when I’m painting on the go, and they work great.

October 9, 2025 9 Comments

Art

Small Business Spotlight | A Gallo Watercolors

When I first started my business and blog, many creative entrepreneurs supported me along the way. They showed me the ropes, invited me into their community, and introduced me to their audience and customer base. I love that I can now return the favor to other creative entrepreneurs, from small start-ups to established, thriving companies, you may have never heard of. This Italian company, which makes handmade watercolor paints, fits into the latter category. They already have a devoted following, but you probably haven’t seen them in the aisle of your local craft store. For that reason, I’d like to introduce you to A. Gallo. (They are Italian-made, so it’s fitting I’m introducing them while in Tuscany!) A. Gallo handmade watercolors are developed and made by artists for artists, and they are passionate about their craft. Their watercolors are made “according to a traditional recipe of raw pigments, gum arabic,

October 7, 2025 3 Comments

Art Supplies

packing art supplies for international travel

I’ve been bringing along art supplies when I travel for the past few years. When I went to China in 2017, I had a vision of standing on the Great Wall and capturing the experience in a sketchbook. I was nervous about it, but I did it! The sketch was rubbish, but I learned that it wasn’t about the results. It was about the process, about being fully present, and taking time to observe. (You can read the post about that HERE.) Since then, I have always brought art supplies with me when I travel. Both times I visited Europe, I made a point to set aside time to sketch and paint. Again, I didn’t end up with anything I was particularly proud of, but I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. I’ve always just brought along supplies for sketching and watercolors, though, because they are easy to pack and travel with.

October 1, 2025 4 Comments

Art

September 2, 2025 | original art sale preview

As always, thank you so much to all my new and returning collectors! It is truly an honor that you would hang a piece of my art in your home. Over the past year, I’ve primarily been working on animal portrait commissions, so I enjoyed shifting gears to focus on still life and landscape paintings. I loved creating these pieces and hope you find one that resonates with you. My next original art sale is scheduled for Tuesday, September 2, 2025, at 1:00 p.m. Eastern (New York). In this original art sale, I have pieces ranging from 8 x 10 ($225) up to a framed 16 x 20 ($650). This collection includes still life paintings featuring clementines, limelight hydrangeas, peaches, mock orange blossoms, and white irises. I also have a few landscapes based on photos taken around Maryland. As usual, this post provides a preview of all available works, including

August 29, 2025 No Comments

a slice of life

A short trip to MN & upcoming art sale

Jeff is usually the one who takes the boys on trips so they can have some father/son bonding time, but he had recently been on a couple of trips, and it would’ve been a stretch to miss more work. So, as we planned a trip to Minnesota for Calvin to visit his friends, it was clear I would be the one to take him. At first, it felt like a minor inconvenience, something I was doing just for him, but it turned into a treat for me as well. Since Calvin has plans for most of our short trip, I would have time to do whatever I wanted. I decided to turn that time into a mini-creative retreat. I would spend two days collecting inspiration, painting, reading, and resting. I had planned to stay in a hotel, but when I reached out to schedule a meal with my friend, Cheri,

August 27, 2025 25 Comments

Artistic Endeavors

creativity conversations | finding your style

As I was writing in my journal a few days ago, I thought about my handwriting. It started as uniform, traced over block letters made with pale dotted blue lines on exercise sheets. I then reproduced the letters on my own, on printed lines, making sure each hump of an m met the middle line and each mast of an L spanned all three lines. I wrote each letter hundreds of times, copying and practicing the same printed letter that all of my classmates were copying and practicing. There was a sameness as we were all learning, and then, once the dotted examples and three lines were removed, we each found our own hand. I remember working on my handwriting to find my distinct voice. I went through a bubble-over-the-i phase and a double-story-a phase. Sometimes my ts had tails, and other times they didn’t. Sometimes I wrote my cursive

August 20, 2025 23 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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May 20th, 2026 at 1pm EST

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