Artistic Endeavors Archives | Page 9 of 55

Artistic Endeavors

original oil paintings to sell at Lucketts

It was sort of inevitable. I move back to within an hour from Lucketts and I get sucked back in. (And I mean that in the best possible way.) If you were reading this blog before I moved to Minnesota, you’ll remember the days when I was a full-time vendor at the Old Lucketts Store in Lucketts, VA, and when I sold at the Spring Market each year. Lucketts has always been a very special part of my story since I used to shop there over 25 years ago when I discovered a love for antiques. My first antique market over 15 years ago was at Lucketts. My business grew so much when designers and vendors from Lucketts bought my pieces, took me under their wings, mentored me, and invited me into their wonderful world. It was a hard place and community to leave when I moved over 1,000 miles

October 2, 2024 27 Comments

Art

new art prints

I haven’t been doing as much painting as I’d like this year. How are we already deep into September and I have only had one or two original art sales this year?! I don’t think there is a simple answer for that, but it’s been a lot of things. I focused a lot of attention on gardening through the Spring and early summer. I worked on some behind-the-scenes writing projects that took up a lot of my time. And this fall has been a tricky season with our high school senior taking all college classes except two. We’ve had to juggle rides from one school to another throughout the day until he gets his license (which will be happening soon!) It’s really eaten into my day and I’m trying to fit a full-time job into part-time hours. I actually said to Jeff the other day that I felt like I

September 23, 2024 5 Comments

Art

tonal floral still life sketch | oil painting tutorial

It’s been a little while since I’ve done a painting video tutorial, so even though this was just a sketch to get into the groove of oil painting again, I decided to set up the camera and turn it into a tutorial. Really, it’s more of a paint-a-long than a tutorial since I wouldn’t consider myself an expert when it comes to painting flowers! It is definitely not my sweet spot when it comes to oil painting, but they are a popular subject so I’ve decided to keep working on them despite feeling like it’s not my forté. This painting was done in about 40 minutes, so it’s what I would consider a sketch more than a finished painting. My goal wasn’t to have something that looked refined and detailed, but instead a painting that was impressionistic, simplified, and loose. I focused on blocking in the larger shapes and only

September 5, 2024 9 Comments

All Things Home

pressing & mounting flowers | video tutorial

Last month, I shared how I was taking cuttings from my garden to preserve them in my gardening notebook. As various other herbs and flowers have reached their peak, I have clipped them to add. I decided I would make a quick video on pressing and mounting flowers in a notebook while I was at it. I still have a few more to cut and press, but I have a pretty nice collection happening and I love how it makes my notebook even more personal and special. I pressed all of the herbs, a few annuals that are in pots on the patio and in the garden beds, and blooms off of flowering bushes. I labeled each one along with the date it was planted or cut. Admittedly, I didn’t stay consistent with the dating, but precision wasn’t the goal. I just want to keep a general record of the

August 28, 2024 9 Comments

1970 home renovation

Landscape Mural Design & Colors

I’m getting things lined up to start “dining room mural take two.” I painted the mural in my last dining room with very little planning. I just had an idea in my head and used MMS Milk Paint and some acrylics that I had on hand. I was just going to throw the paint on the wall to see how it worked. It’s just paint after all and I could always paint over if it wasn’t working. I kept it very loose, drippy, watery, and light, so I was able to finish it in just a couple of days. For this mural, I decided to use Farrow & Ball paints so there is cohesion with the paint colors (Light Blue and Card Room Green) used in adjoining rooms. I also like the idea of having a palette of colors instead of mixing my own colors. I’m sure some amount of

August 6, 2024 15 Comments

crafts

preserving cuttings in my gardening notebook

Do you remember the gardening notebook I put together in the spring? You can read about it HERE if you missed it. I thought it would be fun to keep a record of what I planted and how I cared for it so I could track what worked and what didn’t. It would also give me a place to store receipts for bushes that can be refunded if they don’t make it through the winter as well as a place to make notes to myself for future reference. I’ve put all of my plant tags in it and have recorded what I have fertilized and when. I also took cuttings from a few plants to press them for the book. Is it necessary? No. Is it a beautiful way to record what was growing in our yard each year? Yes. I pressed them in a heavy book between two sheets

July 24, 2024 11 Comments

All Things Home

the story of the sailboat pillow

If you’re in a hurry, here is the short version of the story. I met Wendy when she became a Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint line retailer in her shop in Canada. She became our Canadian trainer and my friend and we traveled all around Europe together. She sold her shop and I sold the milk paint line. I started painting. Her husband, John, takes pictures and I asked to paint one of those pictures. That picture, taken from their front porch, was licensed and made into a pillow. That pillow made from one of my paintings made from one of her husband’s photos ended up in the shop Wendy sold. Wendy bought the pillow. My mom bought the pillow. And here we are. If you want the longer story behind the pillow, here it is. Wendy and I met years ago when she signed up to carry the newly

July 22, 2024 16 Comments

All Things Home

antique French drawing box & other goodies

If you can believe it, I added a few antique art supplies to my collection earlier this year (timely happy-birthday-to-me purchases) and I haven’t shared them here on the blog! I’ve been so busy with other things that I haven’t written about them even though I took pictures a while ago. Anyway, today is the day I’m going to introduce you to an antique French drawing box I purchased from Julia of Ponder & Purchase. I used to order a box of goodies from her a few times each year, but I was feeling pretty stocked with antique art supplies, so I haven’t ordered what we jokingly call my “P&P subscription box” in over a year. I have some very nice art boxes, palettes, brushes, and all sorts of pens, pencils, and rulers that I’ve gotten very picky about what I buy. This French drawing box was like nothing else

July 9, 2024 4 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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