The little things

Laugh with me a little...

This is what I got done the other day.

High on my to do list these days is packing up non-essentials ahead of the real move and decluttering, staging and photographing each room.

I thought I might pack up some barware but then I had the idea to photograph my living room because it did not look too bad.

See that flat shelf and column on the right? Well, it has never been styled right and neither has it's twin on the other side of the room. It was loaded with antique books so I started packing them up in a too small box. Then I got a larger box and tried again but halfway through the marks on the painted white shelf bothered me. Off I went to grab cleaning products to remove the scuffs. It didn't work so I went to find a can of paint. I painted the shelf but the matching shelf had clutter. I left it there.

I started pulling things of of all tables and shelves and piling the on my dining room table to be packed. Then I thought it looked a little dusty...

Can you see where I am going with this?

I got the living room photographed and two boxes of books packed and a bit of dusting done and it took me hours!

I am so overwhelmed with work and travel and moving that I could barely complete a single task.

Sorta pathetic but this move is happening!

P.S. If you are going to go to High point market be sure to stop by CR Laine showrooms and say Hello! The party is Saturday 5:30 - 7:30 and is co-sponsored by Duralee.

What I learned about color while painting commissions

One of the best things about being an artist is the places it has taken me, both literally and metaphorically. I am partnering with furniture manufacturer CR Laine again for 2016 High Point Market. This time I was given sizes and color palettes to create pieces specifically for their vast and inspiring showroom.

I love this new colorway in Bruschwig and Fils' Le Lac fabric

This kind of project is what I live for. I love the process of color matching and the wide open freedom to create whatever I think will work in a space given a set palette.

While I can't show you any of the completed pieces yet I want to show you the process and how it changed how I get to a finished work.

Detail of larger work

The fabrics above were the collection I was given for a 70 x 50 inch canvas and the color palette scared me. There are viridian and turquoise and Pthalo blues that I normally avoid in my work. I decided to use the yellow ochre as a starting point. I really used a bright yellow spray paint and some ochre for my first layer. Next I layered sheer and opaque whites. Grayish, beige-ish, yellowish, and bright whites but those bold colors still needed to find a way on to the canvas. In the photo above you can see areas of viridian that were part of my next step that absolutely terrified me.

Detail of larger work

I spoke to an artist friend and she said the thing that she has often said, "Give your self permission to paint something ugly." I knew she was right. I only had two layers on so I began roughly adding all of the scary bright colors with no clear idea how I would turn it into something that someone would want to look at or hopefully, buy.

I began adding in the black and brown found in the fabrics and had a little epiphany. You see I was also painting a 36 x 48 canvas for the same space and I started with a painting that was in progress that had a few of the right colors but also had a peachy coral and a hint of lavender. Why do I have to stick firmly to these colors, I thought ? Maybe add another green or a variety of grays along with the prescribed colors. I did and also continued layering on the grays and beiges while finishing with more ochre and the bold blues in the fabrics.

Wet ochre color in this detail of a larger piece

Well, I can tell you that the most challenging painting is my favorite of the bunch and it taught me something about how I use color. The discovery in each painting is a big reason for my doing it at all and this did not disappoint. I heard an apt quote recently. 

"You will never know everything about something you love"

Stay tuned in April and I will be showing you what I take to market. If happen to go to High Point Market this Spring please stop by the CR Laine showroom and say Hi. I will be there on Saturday and Sunday.