HOLLY'S GARDENS...and my grand-pop

HOLLY'S GARDENS~a four piece collection inspired by my infinite love for the month of December, winter and my grand-pop. 

He was my world and we used to love watching the cardinals in the snow as well as always marveling at the beauty of snow covered holly berries. The contrast of the rich crimsons so striking against the pure white snow.

He loved red, winter, cardinals and so much more. A sculptor, a painter, a baker...a true artist in every sense of the word. My inspiration each and every day.

This collection is for him.

Gardens I and II are AVAILABLE in my Etsy shop, with III to come tonight and IV tomorrow.

These gardens are near and dear to my heart. I sure hope they bring you as much joy as they have bought for me.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, POP-POP!! 

Snowdrops...

one of the first signs of Spring. 

Happy first day of Spring!!

"Serenity Amid the Solstice". 2018's first painting (and my favorite painting to date). PRINTS available and PENDANT NECKLACE coming next week!

PS/BTW, I'm still running a FREE SHIPPING SALE on EVERYTHING in my Etsy shop. Sale ends 3/31 at 11:59 pm EST.

2018's first painting!!

Serenity Amid the Solstice
11x14, acrylic on canvas
©the enchanted easel 2018

And I love her! So much!

Inspired by my love of winter (yes, I LOVE WINTER-someone has to), snowdrops and green eyes, I present to you the beautiful, Lumi. Meaning "snow" in Finnish, Lumi just seemed like a good name....I mean she kinda has a Scandanavian like vibe to her (well, to me anyway). Painted in a palette of soft sages and gorgeous grays, I wanted to give a wintry like feel to her without using baby blues and icy pastels. I must say, I throughly enjoyed this color palette I chose. 

Those big green eyes (I LOVE GREEN EYES-i digress), conveying a feeling of serenity surrounded by the delicate beauty of the snowdrop flower and kissed by butterflies wings. Lumi is indeed, "Serenity Amid the Solstice".

PRINTS AVAILABLE HERE and I'll be turning her into a pendant necklace in the next few weeks. Pendant necklaces available here.

I really hope you love her as much as I do. She sure does own a piece of my winter loving heart.

A new snowdrops painting....

is in the works for 2018!! 

I LOVE WINTER...AND SNOWDROPS! Basically, anything including the word "snow" is usually is enough to make me happy. :)

Been working on a new snowdrops themed painting these last few weeks with a serene color scheme of soft sage green and a bevy of gorgeous grays. Different than my usual bright and colorful color palette, yet I must say I'm thoroughly enjoying it. 

Progress pics below as well as January 2016's "Silence of the Snowdrops" painting (still my favorite painting to date) with links to PRINTS and a sweet pendant necklace featuring that painting.

Wishing everyone a blessed and happy New Year!!

PRINTS 

PENDANT NECKLACE

Christmas time is here!!!

and I've added some beautiful little snowflake ornaments to my shop featuring mini prints of my winter girls trio of drawings. THERE ARE ONLY A FEW OF THESE TO GO AROUND!! Buy one. Buy all three. And, take advantage of the FREE SHIPPING still available until Friday, December 1st.
I. Love. Winter...and Christmas!

NEW OWL PRINT AVAILABLE!!

Otus' Opus In Bloom
6x6, mixed media on canvas panel
©the enchanted easel 2017

Little Otus...with an ostentatious screech here and there, he manages to assemble quite the composition. So much so, it makes the flowers bloom...even at night. PRINTS are available and the ORIGINAL PAINTING IS ALSO AVAILABLE. Contact me if interested.

I worked on this little guy over the summer along with a baby fox (available next month in my etsy shop). Had such a blast making a couple of mixed media animals last summer, that I carved out some time to do a couple more this summer. These are so much fun and allow me to use the wide range of art supplies I have (and I still never manage to use them all-I mean one can NEVER have too many art supplies. just sayin'). Everything from my beloved acrylic paints to scrapbook papers, sheet music, oil pastels, palette knife, inks...and the list goes on. Looking forward to sharing the fox in November. Speaking of November....

it's one step closer to (wait for it, wait for it)...WINTER!! And oh how I have MAD LOVE for winter. I mean someone has to, right? Well, that someone is ME! :) On my easel right now is a winter themed painting featuring snowdrops (I so love the delicate beauty of those flowers). Here's a peek...

She's a beauty, if I do say so myself.

And, before I forget....NEW PENDANT NECKLACES coming next Thursday, November 2nd to my etsy shop. I redesigned them and added sweet little flower charms to further showcase the artwork. Super excited to share these just in time for the HOLDAY SHOPPING SEASON!! Stay tuned....

first painting of 2017...DONE!

winter's keepers
8x10, acrylic on canvas
©the enchanted easel 2017

every year i try to pay homage to my most favorite season of all (WINTER) with a painting or drawing. this year, i thought i'd create a whimsical self portrait of sorts because who loves winter more than this big brown eyed girl?! some cute little snow bunnies, perhaps....:)

PRINTS available for now. my S6 shop is still a work in progress but eventually i will be adding her (and some other paintings from last year) so that mugs, wall clocks, phone cases, etc can be purchased....'cause you know you want a coffee mug with those CUTE little bunny faces staring back at you while enjoying your morning cup of sunshine! :)

SCARF INSPIRATION....because i LOVE me a PLAID BLANKET SCARF!

latest wip...

big brown eyes....guess who? ;)

shhh, don't wake the baby...

a plaid blanket scarf. a necessity on a windy winter's night.

almost done. check back soon for the finished painting.

{hint-it's winter themed. a little self portrait, perhaps? perhaps. :)}

printing and packing....

this month's FEATURED art print, Silence of the Snowdrops.

this is my favorite painting from 2016 (do you think it has to with the WINTER theme?! ;)). happy to have sold multiple prints of these so far this month and looking forward to featuring another print come february.

2 more weeks left in january to get 20% off this beauty. enter code:SNOWDROPS2017 at checkout in my etsy shop.

{now, if only i could get a little SNOW around here....}

2016's final commission....

was a pleasure to create.

avery's painting-commission
11x14, acrylic on canvas

the sweetest lady came to me requesting a custom painting based on one of my drawings (pic below). it was to be for her ginger haired, december born baby girl. they were redoing her room based on a few prints of my drawings that she purchased (yeah, that happened-a room redo based on MY drawings-huh?!)

so-ginger, december, winter...three of my favorite things. triple win for me. :)

glacia
6x8, graphite/tinted graphite on bristol

HAPPY NEW YEAR, FANS AND FRIENDS!!

with the new year upon us, i will be offering a different PRINT each month throughout 2017 at a DISCOUNT PRICE. january's FEATURED PRINT is this little winter beauty, Eira.

silence of the snowdrops
8x10, acrylic on canvas

just enter code:SNOWDROPS2017 at checkout. *sale ends 1/31/17 at 11:59 est.

wishing all my fans and friends the most happy, most healthy, most successful year ever!!

so, it's official....

the very first day of my MOST FAVORITE SEASON is finally here!! HAPPY WINTER SOLSTICE, MY FRIENDS!! :)

to celebrate (because this is a day i look forward to every year) well, i'm offering a 20% SALE on ALL WINTER THEME items in my etsy shop. drawings, prints, paintings, ornaments and pendant necklaces....just enter code:WINTERSALE2016 at checkout. sale ends 12/31/16 at 11:59 est. 

{fake snow filter-not included.}

BAD BLOGGER!!

{hangs head in shame:( }

crazy last couple of weeks....between a commission, matting and framing prints for some friends who are always kind enough to buy my work for their littles and a pretty intense flare up in my right arm from all the osteoarthritis, radiculopathy, nerve damage and chronic inflammation in my cervical spine (something i know i rarely talk about in this blog) after three neck surgeries. i guess i've always been one to try and not dwell on the not so positive stuff but perhaps it helps others who deal with pain just to follow their biggest and most loved passion. there is (and always will be) a FERAL need in me to create. maybe you have to be an artist to really get it. you just can't live without out. really. so, apologies for the lack of posts but if you know me personally, you know my drive far outweighs my tiny stature. in the words of my favorite Pixar film, Meet the Robinsons, "KEEP MOVING FORWARD!!"

now to what i've been up to (besides the pain)...a sweet commission from one of my drawings (FOR SALE HERE) which i turned into a painting for a sweet little ginger. i will be posting the finished painting as well as offering prints of her very soon! you'll have to check back and see...;)

here are some WIP pics as well as a cute little blue penguin i sketched...just because.

throwback Thursday to one of my favorite drawings....

glacia
6x8 graphite on bristol

and my current WIP/commission.

let me start by saying i always consider any/every commission a blessing but when they are back to back really kind wonderful clients, well that just makes the "blessing" so much sweeter.

a couple of weeks ago the sweetest lady came to me wanting to completely redo her daughter's bedroom based on a few of my drawings (really?! this is really my life?! hashtag-blessed) and wanted this particular drawing turned into a painting because it looks smooch like her adorable little girl who happens to be a "budding artist" herself. i wound up selling her some prints and taking on this commission...painting her ginger haired, december born baby girl (ginger...winter...december...three of my favorite things....destiny, indeed). 

this is and always has been (and always will be) my philosophy...treat your customers like friends, make personal connections with them and they will come back to you time and time again. always staying true to myself...

"Nicole has been absolutely fantastic to work with! She is extremely responsive and has really worked with us to accommodate our special requests. The prints we ordered are absolutely beautiful! She shipped them out quickly and were packaged with great care. Nicole is an amazing artist! When you work with her you don't only get a quality product, you get great customer service. We look forward to working with her again!"

thank you, sara...for your kind words, becoming a "friend" and giving me a really good *excuse* to paint a ginger, winter loving little girl.

*LIMITED EDITION PRINTS OF THESE DRAWINGS AVAILABLE HERE...ONLY THROUGH THE MONTH OF NOVEMBER!!

LIMITED EDITION PRINTS!!

of my ORIGINAL drawings will be offered all throughout the month of NOVEMBER ONLY!!

this truly is a LIMITED TIME OFFER as i don't normally offer prints of my drawings unless the original is sold. ORIGINALS are still available in my etsy shop.

either way, it's always nice to do a little holiday shopping....early. ;)

throwback to my favorite season....

silence of the snowdrops
8x10, acrylic on canvas
©the enchanted easel 2016

WINTER!!!

with almost triple digits temps going on here the last few days (ugh!) well, i thought we could all use a friendly reminder of a much colder time....you're welcome. :)

{ps and btw, this is my favorite painting. must be the winter theme...}

PRINTS HERE. OTHER GOODIES HERE. and for a little Eira (that's her name) in the making, visit my Facebook page HERE.

so, these arrived the other day...

well done, Society6. well done.

you know, it's always such a rush to see my finished paintings on products such as tote bags, wall clocks, tech cases, etc. really. it never gets old. to say it's rewarding is well, an understatement. NOTHING makes me happier than painting/drawing. COUNTLESS hours go into building up a painting....from the initial sketching process to the layers of prep work for the canvas and then the of course adding the COLOR with layers of acrylic. every single brush stroke is a joy to make. then, to see it all done is overwhelming. (i must confess, i cry sometimes when i finish a painting...there's just SO much emotion and passion that i put into each and every single one. finishing one is definitely bittersweet...whether it's a commission or just one that i've painted that will sit in my studio until it sells one day). so back to Society6 and the A-MAZ-ING printing job they do....

the above pic shows the tote bag (sized at 16x16) and the really awesome "carry all pouch" (as they call it-available in THREE sizes-this is the medium). love love love how these turned out. so true to the original painting (which is FOR SALE-contact me if interested)...just lovely.

also ordered a few mugs for Mother's Days gifts that impressed me as well (pic coming soon). they have everything from wall clocks to throw pillows to duvet covers to stationary cards. click on over here to the homepage and check out some other really great artists and their products. you won't be disappointed.

FINALLY....

got around to curating my first little treasury on etsy late last night (yay me!)....inspired by one of my favorite flowers (and recent paintings), the delicate and graceful snowdrop.

click on over and take a look at the exquisite handmade items i found in my search. they are simply stunning in their own right.

silence of the snowdrops
8x10 acrylic oncanvas
©the enchanted easel 2016

the other inspiration for this lovely treasury, my painting entitled "silence of the snowdrops". prints here and other goodies here.

the making of "silence of the snowdrops"...step by step!

i thought it would be interetsing and fun to take a look into the creative process of my paintings...from thumbnail to sketch to paint palette(s) to the finsihed piece. i know i absolutely geek out looking at other artists WIPs so i thought i'd create a new album after each painting of the step by step process i use (and have used for YEARS) and share it with everyone. i work traditonally...pencil, paper, paint, canvas. i have much respect for the digital artists of the world yet for me, the passion and love will ALWAYS be in the traditonal tube of paint. old school...and proud. 

for a look at the full album and step by step instructions, please click on over to my Facebook page...and perhaps give it a "like", if you would be so kind! :)

PRINTS of this beauty here. ORIGINAL PAINTING is AVAILABLE. contact me, if interested. 

first painting of 2016...done!

silence of the snowdrops
8x10 acrylic on canvas
©the enchanted easel 2016

winter, my favorite season. meet Eyra...."silence of the snowdrops".

this is my most favorite painting i have ever done. i am a winter lover through and through and nothing will ever change that. snow, icicles, cold air, snowdrops....i love all of it. tried a softer color palette for this piece to (hopefully) convey that frosty feel that winter brings and i also tried a bit of a new technique (which i am currently obsessing over)...

MULTIPLE coats of gesso on an already pre-primed canvas. i. am. smitten. i wanted something smoother, something that didn't *eat* the paint like the very lightly pre-primed canvas did. i tossed around painting on wood but then didn't want to have to go down the road of heavy shipping rates being that the wood is considerably heavier than canvas. plus, i love canvas....painted on it since i was a little girl when i got my hands on my first paintbrush so i kind of have a sentimental attachment to it (big surprise, what am i NOT sentimentally attached to?!). anyhoo...i have found that 6 coats (yes, 6) got me the texture (or lack of) that i was seeking. applied in alternate directions (one app-vertical, next app-horizontal...and so forth) with LIGHT sanding in between...paint applied like a dream. time to start buying gesso in buckets...:)

beautiful little Eyra is for sale as a PRINT here  with other novelties featuring this lovely here.

see, winter can be beautiful...:)

*ORIGNAL PAINTING IS FOR SALE. EMAIL ME HERE IF INTERESTED.