truly this week's IF theme was created just for me....and little maggie. ;) two little insomniac BFFs painting themselves a whimsical night sky. ' cause while the rest of the world sleeps, we paint. :)
{throwing back to last july 2014 for this one...my website's home page image and the *face* of the enchanted easel. a bit more about this painting here....}
to one year ago yesterday...and this painting, "moonlight mavens".
hard to believe this piece (and the newly designed website, by me) are exactly one year old! how do i know this? it was website renewal fee day yesterday (squarespace is awesome, by the way)....and, i have a memory like an elephant. ;)
here's the story behind this painting as well as a bit more about me (in case you didn't already know)...
{and, just because it's throwback thursday, well i thought i'd share a picture of a very small Nicole with lots of dreams behind those big brown eyes of being the bestest children's artist she could be! :)}
this little sweetie goes by the name Sunshine (well, she is bright, cheery and yellow like the sun....) and is one in a small series of cute little birds.
ORIGINAL PAINTING FOR SALE HERE and PRINTS and other goodies FOR SALE HERE!
{and wow, have the last few tuesday nights been quite wet! maybe i should be painting an ark....is it winter yet?!}
ok, i digress. back to this little guy....i'm currently working on a few small square canvases (6'x6" to be exact) of adorable little birds. i'm thinking 3...maybe 4, max. the original paintings will be FOR SALE individually and listed as soon as each are complete.
had to start with the "yellow" bird first, of course.
{i swear Coldplay has nothing to do with this...;)}
actually, i finished it four days ago and kind of forgot to promote it. my downfall/undoing....self-promotion. i truly am the WORST at it. and it's not because i don't believe in myself or my work, it's that feeling of not wanting to be pushy (for a lack of a better word). plus, my introverted personality doesn't do me any favors there. slowly, but surely, i will improve in that area.
ok, back to the new site (and not my undoings-as there are a few...;))....
so, i decided to go with squarespace. i was previously hosted by intuit/homestead for the past few years but i felt like it was time for a change. and what a welcome change squarespace was/is. what wonderful customer service/assistance they have (available 24/7-and for insomniacs like myself who love to work late at night, well that right there, my friends, is priceless). also, i built the whole site in less than a week. for me, that's pretty awesome, as i do not like spending more time on my Mac than i have to. easel girl, right here (hence the fact that i don't paint digitally).
i have only the best things to say about squarespace and would highly recommend them. oh, and their mobile site is another huge plus. didn't have that with intuit...and isn't everything *mobile* now?!
now that the site is DONE (yay me!) it's back to the easel. and let me tell you, i have had some serious painting withdrawal. *needed to sniff tubes of paint just to get through*. ;)
{ps and btw, in the process of adding some new shops/venues where my art can be bought. as i said, self-promo, my undoing.}
so, now the back story for this painting (because isn't there always one.)...
well, i knew i wanted something different...something to represent the new style i seem to have evolved into with the start of 2014. i also knew i didn't want an easel in the image, knowing of course that this would be the new front page of the website.
so...i had to include my stuffed elephant, maggie into the design because she is my partner in creative crime, after all. couple that with the fact that i am an insomniac and do my best work after midnight (don't all of us artists?!) and the fact that i'm obsessed with chris martin and the coldplay song "yellow" ("look at the stars, look how they shine for you....i drew a line, i drew a line for you and all the things you do, and it was all yellow") well, there it is.
a little coldplay, a little insomnia, a little nicole and a little maggie, of course...and so "moonlight mavens" was born. from my head to the sketchbook to the finished painting.
just a glimpse at the new *face* of the enchanted easel. this business is my proverbial *baby*. I've built it all by myself and have done most of the legwork after not one, not two, but THREE cervical spine surgeries in the last four years. 'cause that's just how i roll. ;)
I've had the painting done for over a week but i'm doing my best to re-build a new website hosted by squarespace...which, by the way, i HIGHLY recommend. i didn't think such wonderful and cooperative corporations existed anymore. they are fantastic. it's just a matter of getting acquainted with the new site and how it works as well as adding watermarks and shrinking images for the web....mundane stuff like that. let's just say, i would rather be painting. but then again, what else is new?!
hoping to be done by the end of this coming week. if not sooner....*fingers crossed on that one* ;)
speaking of...i thought i'd be kind enough to include Coldplay's A Sky Full Of Stars video below....just because i'm nice like that. ;)
and while i'm on the subject of my beloved Chris Martin, my FAVORITE Coldplay song turned 14 yesterday (gosh, i really feel old right now....). best. song. ever.
{i know, i'm a little obsessed. but....it inspires paintings....like the i'm currently working on. :)}
{a peek at my next painting entitled "moonlight mavens". it will also double as my new homepage image on my website. always trying to re-invent myself....}
{and it kind of was inspired by favorite Coldplay song. kind of...;)}
ok, getting back to what's on the easel this week....this lovely little YELLOW kokeshi, named Kiiro {japanese for YELLOW-just in case you didn't know...;)}
wrapping her up in the next day or two!
{...because perfection always has a place in my life! ;)}
...to quote my favorite Coldplay song. oh how i love me some Chris Martin. ok, that's a whole other post for another day....;) although i will say, hey Gwyneth, you never really deserved him anyway. ok, moving on....
painting lots of YELLOW this weekend....from blonde tresses to stars. lots and lots of YELLOW!
this piece is to be featured in the back to school issue of stories for children magazine www.storiesforchildrenmagazine.com the august/september 2011 i believe.
if you can't guess what the story is about based on the illustration...here's a small summary...
a cute little cow (whom i named charlie) and a cute little goat (whom i named grayling) are all psyched to enter this art show. so charlie, with his yellow paint and grayling, with his blue paint go on to create a circle sun, some lakes and flowers and are pretty happy with their creation. until...henry (my cute little pony) comes along and wants to paint as well. unfortuneately, charlie and grayling tell little henry that there is no brush for him:(
so....
henry excitedly suggests that they drop a bit of each of their 2 colors on a rock and watch henry work his magic with his little tail. well, as we all know, blue and yellow make...GREEN!!!
so charlie, grayling and sweet little henry work together as a "team" to create a wonderful painting for the art show!!!:)
especially with some really cute animals:)
