I glimpse into my life....

A pen and ink piece i did to work out the details of my anniversary invitation....
I am inspired to do more silhouettes.

In memory of my niece Kacey(my daughter Michelle on the left and Kasey on the right) who was killed in a car accident heading back to college after Thanksgiving break in '07
she was only 18.....




This was the last photo I took of her.
I think of her every day

A bug's eye view of my dirty yet inspiring studio.

One of my favorite paintings by Sharon Broznan

A few more inspirations closer to home...

Great colorful glass mosaic inlaid in marble. Wynn hotel in Las Vegas

Favorite art piece made by Wood and Lucker.
They make amazing "whirlygig" type art.

More ispiration from Italy

This was the view from my hotel balcony in Sienna. No one can see these characters from the street below in fact the only people that can see these guys are the guests that stay in these few rooms.
They seem so less dignifyied with the pigeon "pooh" on their heads.....they seem to have a bit of a sense of humor though.

I am not big into popes but I thought this was the kindest carved face I had seen in all of Italy!
Is'nt pope John Paul?

What a body and I love the crown of thorns (bird inhibitor)

You will be seeing these blackberries in an upcoming painting. They were the only ones I could find still on the vine in late October.

Inspiration in Italy

This was a beautiful shell arrangement in a georgeous hotel in Rapallo. The coral was just spray painted sticks. Great idea!

The views from the unfinished church in Sienna are unrivaled in their breathtaking beauty .

This is a romantic picture of two Vespas having an intimate moment in Sienna.

For such a small store, what a stunning display of color and texture.

The sunsets in Florence this fall were amazing.













t
This is a beautiful pathway between homes up above Florence


















As soon as he finished his masterpiece it poured down
rain and washed away his masterpiece!














The view of the Arno River from our hotel suite.

Ideas for my future stillifes

I am currently working on a series of
stillifes and I love these objects and colors.
I had to hurry and photograph these fruits before
they were no longer available.

Check Out the Nautical Charts

Here is a selection of painted nautical charts. I have a series of 25. I take old nautical charts and find something mysterious in the ocean or the coast line and create a collage along with an original acrylic painting. I incorporate compass roses, old stamps and old fish images along with lots of other elements
The images are a visual reminder of what we see on the surface. The nautical charts provide the surface for paint but more importantly, the depth of knowledge that exists in all the information, nautical symbols and graphs and depths.
I am almost done with these pieces, I just need to write my thoughts in each
of the cartouche. This is the fun part that will add humor and certainly a little mystery.
What do you think....any suggestions?

Just back from Orange County...inspirational!

I Shall Return Limited Edition Print
20 x 18
$600

I just returned from a wonderful 4 day trip to Orange County CA. I visited the breathtaking Roger's Gardens. The beautiful still lifes, flower pots and outdoor gardens has inspired me to paint gardens again.
Right now they have some amazing arrangements that combine a full white hydrangea with a delicate maiden hair fern and variegated ivy all in a beautiful aged basket. The crazy thing is these are running about $165!
Let your "inner cheapskate" emerge and pull together something like this for under $50
All it takes is some very fine ribbon (don't chintz out on this!) A gorgeous basket from Cost Plus and some beautiful potted plants from Trader Joe's.
Inspiration is all you need to pull together a beautiful flower creation.

Juxtapose show at Laguna Art Museum is amazing....too bad you missed it because it just closed.
Ryden's piece is breathtaking.
Check it out.
Turns out the piece is actually owned by a Nike executive in "my neck of the woods". Maybe I can knock on his door so I can come in and drool over Ryden's brilliant brush strokes and amazing finesse with glazing.
This show was epic. The low brow movement is officially on its way into the art history books.
Hey, It is not too late to become one of the original collectors. Sign up to get Copro Nason's show announcements.

Today I am featuring my favorite limited edition out of the 12 that Marco Fine Arts printed

Seed collector Limited edition Print 21 x 18 selling for $650
If you are interested in seeing the rest of the pieces ....just ask.

Life has been crazy here. ..no time in my studio.
I will be finishing the nautical chart series and then moving on to some large canvases of boats and gardens done in a watercolor technique but using acrylic paints on canvas.
I will post a image of my first attempt.

This will be one of my first Acrylic experiments. Isn't this a wonderful scene ? I took this photo on the collector's cruise that Princess sent me on a few years ago.

Pepper the Panting Pug

One of my experimental paintings for a commission of "Pepper" for a friend. I love painting funny Pugs!

A Flattering Painting of....me!

This is a painting I did celebrating the influence of one of my favorite artists, Donald Roller Wilson.
This is acrylic on board 12 x 16

I have a plan and a focus!

Wow summer sure gets crazy when you have four kids at home and the sun refuses to shine and acknowledge that it is summer. Needless to say I have had no time to sneak into my studio but I have seen some pretty inspiring creativity around.
Last week we checked out the new digs for the second Collage store in Portland. The store could use a little help in the ambiance area but they had some amazing new products that I plan to try. I ordered an intricate old world nautical stamp to use on my charts art pieces and picked up some DG3 Judi Kins new art gel product! This stuff is great for making charms covered in a deep coat of resin so they have the appearance of laying under a layer of glass. I bought several of the deep channeled charms so I can do my own micro collage charms.

I also dropped by one of my favorite new interior stores Ste. Maine over in the Portland Sellwood antique area. I am in love with the art that they are carrying by x-San Francisco Graphic Designer/illustrator, Manwaring. he is an extremely gifted artist. After many years grinding it out in the serious world he has chosen to move to beautiful Portland. Portlanders are the lucky ones now! It seems he has had beautiful images floating around his head for years and now he has the time to turn them into paintings so we can all enjoy them finally as fine art.

If any one knows anything more about this gifted man, let me know.

I have no doubt that I will be buying one of his paintings in the near future. In the mean time I will continue to be inspired by his fresh approach, impeccable draftsmanship and cool imagery. Ste. Maine currently has a piece that mimics the moving and somewhat disturbing silhouettes of Kara Walker, one of the most gifted artist of this decade.

Homer Alaska Fish house. Original acryilc painting on aged nautical chart with collage elements by Jennifer Winship Mark www.jwinshipmark.com