New Abstract Watercolor Paintings

I've been hard at work creating some fun, colorful abstract paintings, so I thought that I would take a moment to show them off!  The originals of all these paintings are available in my Etsy shop.

1.  Cheerful Colors Abstract

This watercolor came about while experimenting with my brand-new watercolor brush!  Below are pictures of the work in progress and of the finished piece.

"Cheerful Colors Abstract"

2.  Pink and Green Abstract

This painting was inspired by spring-time and all the lovely colors that emerge during that time of the year.  I don't know about you, but I sure am ready for spring weather!  Both the original and prints of this piece are available.

"Pink and Green Abstract"

3.  I Wear My Heart on my Sleeve

This month has been a rather emotional one for me, so I created this painting as an outpouring of my emotions at the time.  I was thinking a lot about the love I have for the important people in my life.

"I Wear My Heart on my Sleeve"

4.  Beach Glass Abstract

This final abstract was inspired by my collection of beach glass.  I love going to northern Wisconsin in the summer, where I always search for beach glass along Lake Superior.  I just love the soft, beautiful colors of beach glass, so I thought it was about time I created a piece of art using those colors.   Both the original and prints of this piece are available.

"Beach Glass Abstract"

Thanks for taking a look, I hope you like these latest colorful abstracts!  Which one is your favorite?

Cheers,

Jennifer

Hello 2015!

Hi there and Happy 2015!  Sorry this post is a bit late but 2015 already seems to be flying by!  It was a busy start to the new year with me trying to be proactive in setting new goals for my business as well as looking for some fresh inspiration for my art!  And in the midst of everything, I caught the flu, which put me a bit behind on work (but hopefully that means I got the whole being sick part of my year out of the way already).

Anyways, I thought I would start the year off by sharing a few things that are inspiring me as of lately!

The start to my inspiration board for 2015

1.  John James Audubon.  I'm sure many of you are familiar with Audubon, ornithologist (studier of birds), painter extraordinaire, and creator of the Birds of America book.  One of my favorite paintings of his is the American Flamingo, shown above.  I never tire of looking at his work. Never.

2.  Charles Burchfield, a brilliant painter and watercolor artist who I have just recently discovered.  His work is whimsical, even somewhat mystic, and quite impressive.  As a watercolor artist myself, I am pretty much in awe of his work and cannot seem to get enough of it!

Spring Thunderstorm by Charles Burchfield

3.  My brand new bird book that my awesome brother gave me for Christmas, The Crossley ID Guide- Eastern Birds.  It is a beautifully illustrated book of North American birds and has already inspired me with my latest painting:

My work in progress of the Western Meadowlark

4.  Show Your Work.  I've only just started this book and so far it has not disappointed.  A read that I would thus far highly recommend to other artists!

5.  The song, Waiting on June, by Holly Williams.  It is so beautiful and makes me cry almost every time I hear it.  I'm not sure yet how it is going to play a role in my art-making, but I'm sure it will when the timing is right.  If you haven't heard this song yet, I would recommend that you take a few minutes to listen to it (you won't regret it).

So there is my little rambling of things I am currently obsessed with.  What are your current interests and inspirations?

Cheers,

Jennifer

The Eastern Bluebird

I had so much fun painting my latest watercolor bird, the Eastern Bluebird, so I thought I would share a few pictures of my progress on it.  The Eastern Bluebird is the official state bird for Missouri and New York, and isn't such as pretty little bird?!  I have always loved bluebirds and they pop up in my drawing journals often, so I thought it was about time I did a real painting of one.  Here's how it turned out:

The start of the painting process, I always like to start with the bird's head.

Putting the finishing touches on this birdie and doing what I love :)

The completed painting!

In case you were wondering, prints of this bird are for sale at my Etsy Store and Official Website!  Here's a picture of what the print looks like close up:

I hope you enjoyed taking a look at my work, comments are always welcomed and appreciated :)

Have a lovely evening!

Jennifer

Happy Holidays Art Print Giveaway

Happy December!  I am so excited to share that I have teamed up with a lovely blog, The Pink Paperdoll, to provide a Happy Holidays Giveaway of one of my new and improved 8.5” x 11” art prints.  This giveaway is my way of saying thank you to all my wonderful followers for your continued support!

You can enter below, and be sure to check out The Pink Paperdoll’s review of my art here. 

The giveaway is open now through December 14^th.  Best of luck!  

*Giveaway is limited to U.S. residents only.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Comments are always welcomed- I would love to hear what print you are hoping to win! All the best, Jennifer

Remember to Shop Small Business Saturday!

Sorry this post is a little late in the day, but better late than never, right?  I just wanted to remind everyone to consider shopping at small businesses today for Small Business Saturday.  Shops like myself really depend on your business, and we really, truly appreciate it!  

I am also have a sale at my official website and Etsy shop in honor of Small Business Saturday!  Take 20% off all orders now through Wednesday, December 3rd.  Use the code SHOPSMALL20 on either site to save and finally buy that art print you have been eyeing.  This sale is my small way of saying thank you for supporting handmade artists like myself this holiday season!! 

Have a Happy Saturday!

Jennifer

New Paper for Prints!

I have been crazy busy lately searching for the best rag paper to use for my art prints, and I am beyond excited to announce that I have finally found it!  Moving forward, my archival art prints will now be printed on AMAZING Hahnemuele William Turner 310 gsm rag paper!

For those of you who don’t quite know what that means, let me try to explain what it is that I love about this paper.  I want only the best for my work (and you as customers deserve only the best, too), so here is the breakdown of what, in my opinion, is so special about this paper.

First off, a little background might by helpful.  Hahnemule is a paper manufacturing company based in Germany.  Their company dates back to 1584 (yes, 1584!), and they are industry leaders when it comes to producing high quality fine art papers.  Although I tested papers from other great companies, I just kept coming back to Hahnemule rag paper (by the way, rag paper is made from cotton remnants and is an acid free paper that is pretty top-notch in the art world).  Hahnemule also has a long record of using responsible sources when it comes to their environmental impact.  As a very eco-conscious person, knowing this is a great-added bonus to using their papers.

Hahnemule has many types of fine art paper to choose from, so within the brand itself I also tested some of their different papers.  The William Turner rag paper, though, was by far my favorite!  It is a very unique paper, and you can tell that just by feeling it.  The texture to this paper is just incredible!  It has this crisp and almost chalky feel to it, and yet it is incredibly durable.  You can actually see the texture on this paper.  And as a watercolor artist who likes working on textured paper, I think that offering that same kind of texture on my prints is pretty cool.  So if you buy one of my prints, it will look almost exactly like the original painting itself- color, texture and all!

I should also mention that the weight and thickness to this paper is similar to what I use when painting original work.  The William Turner rag paper can be printed at two weights, and I am choosing to print on the heaviest weight at 310 gsm (grams per square meter). Gsm refers to the weight of the paper, and 310 gsm is a pretty hefty weight (to give a quick comparison, paper found in an office printer is typically between 70-100 gsm).  So when you buy a print from me, you are now getting some pretty serious fine art paper!

In addition to its awesome texture and durability, the paper creates top-notch prints in terms of color and overall quality.  My jaw actually dropped the first time I printed on it because I was so blown away by how my print looked on the paper! The paper that you choose to print on actually makes a huge difference in the overall look and feel of the print.  Depending on one’s style, medium, etc., different papers work for different artists.  For my work, though, this paper compliments my watercolors amazingly.  The results with this paper take my prints to a whole new level! 

I am so thrilled to now be offering this paper, especially because my prints now look and feel just like my original work!  And if you buy a print for yourself, you, too, will see what it all is that I am raving about!

Feel free to share your questions or comments with me.  And to my artist friends out there, do you have a paper preference when it comes to printing?

Happy Saturday!

Jennifer

New Abstract Art

Happy Wednesday!  I hope you all are keeping warm with the cold front making its way through the country!  I thought that today I'd share some of my recent abstract work with you all.  I'm still debating which of these I'm going to make prints of, so definitely let me know if there is one that you would like to see as a print.  And, if you are interested, the originals of these are all for sale :)

This first painting was something I made on a whim, I just let the design come to me as I was painting.  I really like how it turned out, and, as one of my awesome Instagram followers pointed out, it has a very underwater, Caribbean feel to it.  She said that the big red circle and the swirls next to it looked like a betta fish to her, which I totally saw once she pointed it out! Fittingly, I decided to name this one "The Tropics."

"The Tropics"

For this second painting, my inspiration came from thinking about the month of December.  To me, December is a wonderful time of the year filled with holiday joy, time with family and friends, and delicious food.  But it is also a BUSY time of the year!  Despite there being no silvery colors in the painting, I actually had the song, "Silver Bells," in my head while painting this:

"...City sidewalks
Busy sidewalks
Dressed in holiday style
In the air there's
A feeling of Christmas
Children laughing
People passing
Meeting smile after smile
And on every
Street corner you'll hear

Silver Bells, Silver Bells
It's Christmas time in the city
Ring-a-ling, hear them sing
Soon it will be Christmas Day

Strings of street lights
Even stoplights
Blink a bright red and green
As the shoppers rush home
With their treasures
Hear the snow crunch
See the kids bunch
This is Santa's big scene
And above all
This bustle you'll hear..."

Can you see my holiday inspiration in this piece?  

PS- I also added Rudolph somewhere in the painting, can you find him?

"December Hustle and Bustle"

Finally, I was eating way too much peppermint the day I made this last one.  I was also highly caffeinated from splurging and getting a Starbucks peppermint mocha earlier in the day.  So this crazy painting was the result of a sugar and caffeine high!  I do like the fun and sporadic feel to this one, though, and it reminds me a lot of the game "Candy Land" for some reason!

"Sugar High"

Now you know some of the creative process behind these whimsical works!  Thanks for stopping by, and I hope that you enjoyed seeing my latest paintings!
Jennifer