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sketches

Art

learning charcoal

A few weeks ago, I was thinking to myself, Marian, you simply don’t have enough hobbies.  You should pick up another one.  Okay, not really.  I have hobbies coming out of my ears.  In actuality, I just found myself thinking about charcoal as an art medium and felt a pull to it.  I struggle with drawing, specifically with a pencil or pen.  I am much more comfortable working with paint, where I can focus on shapes instead of lines.  Charcoal is a drawing medium that seems to lend itself to that approach, so I decided to give the medium a good, solid try.  I would watch tutorials, read books, test out different hardnesses, brands, and types of charcoal and paper, and see if I find something that resonates. Fortunately, I have a plethora of art supplies to get me started!  I shopped the studio and found different types of charcoal,

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Art

criticism & what makes you an artist

I received a critical comment on social media a couple of weeks ago.  It happens when you share online, and after over 15 years of posting, I’ve gotten used to it and generally have a healthy perspective.  Most of the time, I can shrug off the comment.  It’s from a stranger on the Internet, and in many cases, it’s not even about me at all.  My inbox, DMs, or comment section is just where someone’s frustration, hurt, or bad mood landed on that particular day.  I usually don’t respond unless it’s necessary and seems like it would be productive. I can’t recall the last time I responded to a private, critical message publicly, but this comment has stuck with me, and I felt it was important to write about it.  The gist of the message was this: the commenter felt compelled to tell me I wasn’t a real artist.  She

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a slice of life

travel journal workshop

I’ll give you fair warning that my posts will be all over the place for a few weeks.  We’ll be bouncing around between Christmas decorating, gifting, and crafting, to early October in Italy, and then whatever else I’m working on.  Welcome to my life.  Today, we’re back in Tuscany at the La Dolce Vita Retreat.  While this trip was a vacation, it was also work.  I was here to teach a creative workshop for the retreat attendees.  I wanted my workshop to focus on art while staying approachable for those who don’t consider themselves artists.  I decided to teach on keeping a travel journal that went beyond sitting and sketching what you see.  While that can be a part of keeping a travel journal, I think that’s the piece that is intimidating to most people.  I am an artist, and it intimidates me!  I’m not as at home with paper

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a slice of life

miss mustard seed tees & hoodies

Do you remember Miss Mustard Seed tees and hoodies?  We’re going almost ten years back when I used to sell in retail spaces, at markets, and regularly added products to an online store.  I loved designing and wearing my own tees and hoodies, and they were my uniform for many years.  I finally let go of my last paint-splattered, faded sweatshirt a couple of years ago.  I’ve wanted to relaunch tees and hoodies for years, but I always get hung up on keeping the stock and physically packing and shipping each order.  Well, I’m happy to share that we (my assistant, Heidi, and I) have designed a new round of tees and hoodies AND found a way to sell them, so you can order exactly what you want without me having to ship each piece!  (Although I still have my custom-made t-shirt sign because I loved it so much.) All

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Art

royalty-free artist reference photos site launch

I’ve been working on a new project behind the scenes for a few months and now, we’re ready to officially launch!  I am so excited to introduce you to my new site… www.artistreferencephotos.com One of the greatest frustrations I’ve experienced as a growing artist is finding reference photos for the things I want to paint that I might not see daily.  My readers and Instagram followers have generously shared photos with me when I put the call out, but not every artist has a generous audience as a resource to tap into when specific photos are needed.  Yes, artists can search for images online, but there are restrictions even on “free” photo-sharing websites and things can get sticky if you want to license your work for reproduction and sale.  I found in all of my online searches that there isn’t a website that is truly a royalty-free reference photo library

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Art

two sketchbook tours | artistic endeavors

As I have shared in a few posts recently, I made the commitment to draw and/or paint daily in 2023.  Daily-ish.  And I’d say I’ve done pretty well given the number of paintings I have produced and that I’ve finished two sketchbooks that had been languishing in my studio unfinished for a while.  I have already started on three new sketchbooks (I’ll share why I work on more than one later in this post), but I set these aside to do two sketchbook tours together.  Sharing these sketchbooks accomplishes a few things for me.  First of all, it’s a record that I keep for myself in case these sketchbooks are ever damaged or lost.  Second, there is some accountability in knowing that I will be sharing them.  Third, as with everything I share, I hope the sketchbook tours will be an encouragement to someone.  Maybe seeing my creative play, my

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Art

testimony to practice | encouragement

It wasn’t a formal commitment or challenge explicitly set out, but I decided after Christmas that I wanted to try to paint and/or draw every day.  By every day, I mean most days, regularly.  And, with just one or two exceptions, I have been at the easel and/or in my sketchbook every day.  Some days, it’s just doing a few sketches on the sofa when we’re watching TV in the evening. Most days, though, I take the time to work at my easel, so I can consistently produce oil paintings to sell the originals and provide digital copies for commercial clients to make prints.  Even in these few weeks, I am feeling the momentum and seeing improvements. Over the weekend, when I was taking some time to paint a still life, I noticed the paint caked along the edges of my easel.  It reminded me of when I first bought

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Art

sketchbook tour | August 2022

The purpose of drawing and painting in a sketchbook is for practice, exploration, and experimentation.  It’s really not meant for public consumption, but it is a personal endeavor.  But, I admit that I find studying the sketchbooks of others to be more beneficial and interesting than studying the finished works.  The sketches show the thought process, the approach, and how a highly refined painting starts with the roughest of ideas.  It makes fine art, good art, feel more attainable.  For this reason, I like sharing a sketchbook tour each time I complete one. There has been a lull between my last sketchbook tour for a few reasons.  Of course, the move, being sick, breaking my foot, travel, and lots of other things which ate into the time I might steal away to complete a page or two.  But, I ended up having more time on my hands when the first

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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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