The clean Art Studio fantasy

Creating my artwork in all its various forms from portraits to abstracts to silk art to stick horses (a volunteer fundraiser project) has left little room for putting things back where they belong and on my list today are the deceptively simple words "clean studio."

It sounds so simple to just put back the art supplies, yet in the midst of creating and running out the door, everything gets moved around, set down randomly, put in and out of car, not empty trash cans, clean up messes, and not return items to their designated spots....multiply that by the 27 straight days of shows that we have also been doing and those two little words become a HUGE item on a long list! So crossing off just this one thing on my list can be an all day event and I have just two days before the shows begin again!

Some of the silk work and the volunteer stick horses (amazingly time consuming!)

Some images of just a few of October's artwork!

Both Steve and I paint a lot at the shows while we are there but once back at the studio, I personally need an uncluttered space to recharge and be productive! 


So without any more procrastination....off the computer and into the studio to tackle...well at least my half!

Maybe I'll post a photo of "after!"

See our ART STUDIO!

We are asked constantly about the perfect art studio. The post before this showcased a few photos and the addition of a new building adding another 240 square feet to our current 720. That does not included 2 spare bedrooms now used for office space, sewing, storage and library! :-) 
So the perfect studio is the one that will work for you. There is also the old saying (one of my father's favorites) "A place for everything and everything in its place!"
I opted to put a Board on Pinterest to continue to showcase or art studios and surroundings areas hoping it will inspire artists to use what they have. You can see it all and follow it here:
 http://www.pinterest.com/theresabrownart/our-art-studio/

LOTS of photos updated regularly...neat, messy, spring, summer, fall and winter....work with what you have. Don't let the lack of the "perfect studio" stop you from creating. Draw your inspiration from what you feel and see around you. We take regular "random driving" trips around our vicinity to snap photos, inhale the aroma of the seasons and in general-absorb your surroundings.

new studio coming along

See the rest of the story here: http://www.pinterest.com/theresabrownart/our-art-studio/

Adding a new art studio

We're happy with our art studio.  In fact artists are always telling us how much they love where we are.

Late afternoon in front of Art Studio

As our art expands into new and different directions..what was big enough for two artists with full time art careers begins to take on a life of its own!

It's hard not to be emotionally attached to something you built with your own hands. We salvaged much from a 1910 house, Habitat for Humanity, thrift and salvage stores and with the help of friends and family and much sweat and patience, the 24 x 30 art studio with its 10 ft. high ceilings eventually came into shape! 
We started out SO neat! But the reality of loading and unloading vans, equipment, art supplies
paintings and then storage. Oh my. Storage! We have a pull down attic that can accommodate a lot but only those items we are not using regularly.

We were so neat in the beginning!

They say photos are worth a thousand words so maybe it's easier to show you what I mean!

But a solution presented itself ...we actually fought it for awhile...thinking just one more thing to fill up but scroll down to see the newest addition to our art compound :-)

Salvaged cupboards-I wish I had 5 more!

No, it's not moonshine-just Steve's secret oil medium curing on the front porch railings!

Steve's work table

Working on a silk scarf and oil painting at the same time!

Positioning and offloading the new building.

The newest building was brought here from just down the road-a 12 x 20 vinyl covered, insulated and wired building for a great price...I mean, how could we not?  The previous owner had even wired the building for 220 voltage to accommodate her kiln!  Well we won't be doing any kiln work anytime soon and there is some serious cleaning, fixing and painting to do but I am looking forward to moving supplies from the big studio to the shelves in the smaller studio....and will keep you in the loop of my progress :-)   I just hope it makes a dent in the large one!

Pastel Portrait Special! Ends Sept 1!

I am so pleased to be able to offer this again to my collectors and newcomers!
You asked and it's back! This is my 4th annual Pastel Special!  It ends Sept 1 or before when the available number is reached.

This is my popular pastel portrait special that I offer each year about this time, to my collectors, old and new, prior to my Christmas portrait rush! Thanks to my wonderful clients, I have created fine art portraits of all sizes in oils, pastels, pencil and watercolor for 25 years! The past few years I have been giving back by offering a special opportunity for you to have one (or more) of my small (cameo) pastel portraits of or for someone special in your life. You would normally invest $275.00 for my pastels of this size. For the Special, each portrait is just $95.00! Pastels are beautifully soft, pure pigment and once framed, your portrait will last for generations!

The details:
To get an idea of what others have ordered for their Pastel Special, take a look at the portrait examples All are 9 x 12 pastel portraits created by me from your best "head and shoulder" photos of your subject.
You may order as many portraits as you wish but each portrait will have only ONE subject in it. The available number of portraits is limited! So if you have 3 children, or 2 dogs, or a child and horse, you will be ordering 3 or 2 individual portraits.
Framing in not included. Shipping is additional and very reasonable. Complete instructions for framing are included in every carefully wrapped package. You may also arrange for pick up of your portrait upon my completion in the Raleigh NC area!

How to order your portrait!
1.Click on the number of portraits that you wish. Total number is limited. Etsy will notify me.

2. Email your best photos to me at ipaintportraits [!at] aol.com. Label each photo (you can send more than one of your subject and I will help you select the best portrait photo!) so I know who is who.
You may send old photos, recent photos, even black and white.


4. Upon completion, I will send you a digital of the finished portrait prior to shipping or pick up. Relax, I've done this for 25 years! If you feel something needs tweaking, no problem-it's YOUR portrait!

Unless I have questions, I will create your portrait within a 1-3 week time period! Because I work on the smaller portraits while also working on my large portraits, I find it easier to complete the cameos in the order in which I receive them :-) See my website at MTheresaBrown.com or find me (same name) on Facebook!

My Pastel Special allows you to give the ultimate gift to either yourself or a friend! Special ends Sept 1

Thank you so much!-Theresa

The most often painted breed of dog? Labradors!

Face it. People love their Labrador Retrievers! Black, yellow or chocolate, they love them.They live with them, sleep with them, play with them and enjoy them! So perhaps it is no surprise when I share with you that Labs are the dogs that I create the most portraits of.
Enjoy a few recent ones that I have done!

Bailey 14 x 18 pastel

The Perry labs

Another "Perry" lab

Page Labs 24 x 30 oil

Painting silk

 

So if you think that an artist just paints, well you might be surprised :-)
 
The fun of an Artsy Journey is just that: it's fun! For the past few months I've enjoyed various forms of silk painting with more or less a YouTube education. That in itself is another story, but I have played with some pretty basic tools to the more traditional dyes used by the professionals and have just scratched the surface. I think I know now,  how my painting students who come to me and say "I know nothing about painting" feel. :-)

Special markers on white silk scarves

So anyway I've played with resists, different dyes, washing, ironing...wow more work than a portrait!  You never know what I'll create next-keep watching!

Dyed with abstracts drawn by hand onto the scarf

Stretched, silver resist and hand drawn and painted

Same horses but with background dye added and silk salt for texture

Silk scarf embellished

Painting Kids and Horses

There is nothing cuter than small children and their ponies forever that way in an oil painting!

And there is nothing quite as challenging as going back a year in photos and narrowing down 120 digital images (and not so great) to create one cohesive painting!
I do this the old fashioned way-no computer art, no photoshop, no sending it off to China...just a large sheet of paper, sharp pencils and lots of erasers! I work out the composition and placement and subjects until I am happy, flip over the 30 x 40 sheet of paper and cover the back with charcoal. Then I flip it back, tape it to the canvas and proceed to outline my original drawing in order to transfer the drawing to the canvas. Then, I paint!

At this beginning stage it is important that even the rough likenesses be "close". For some reason that makes everything come together easier and faster. Details are last! You can see the charcoal of what is coming (as in background and 4 dogs) and get a feel for it with these images taken on the easel in the studio.

So follow along a bit here and eventually there will be a completed memory in oil!

Starting to paint, roughing in the likenesses

Adding second child. There are 4 dogs to go!