Painting #106 Where the Lights Shine Brightest

Around the Jeffords’ house, the day was devoted to yard work and car TLC. We had a grand time working together, although, I am worn out, to say the least… While pulling vines out of the bushes (my goodness they grow fast!) I stumbled upon some delicious black berries! What should I make out of them? I got about 2 pints.


I managed to squeeze in a couple hours of painting (ok, really, I wanted a break.) I am so pleased with how this watercolor painting turned out. It is such a collage of shapes, forms, colors, contrast, and Charleston! It measures 7x10 inches and is painted on very nice hot press watercolor paper. It will look stunning framed and on your wall! If you would like to buy it, it is for sale on my Etsy shop for $106! Just go to: Emil! Just go to: EmilyJeffords.etsy.com.



See you tomorrow!

PS.  I photographed this painting prior to signing it!  It is signed(!) with my traditional EJ swoosh. 
 

Progress... 

Progress... So, you may remember a few days ago (day 100 actually) I posted a watercolor painting called "Chandelier Warehouse"... this is its sister (or brother if you prefer). It's a watercolor of the same storefront from a different point of view. I just love the abstract shapes, and the depth of view created by store fronts. They fascinate me. This is a 7x10 watercolor painting that will, hopefully, be done tomorrow!  Do you have any title suggestions?

Have a wonderful Saturday! Enjoy time with family, friends, and the lawn mower...

Annalisa was just too cute to keep to myself today. We took her down town tonight and carried her around in her chest harness and had a grand time. She, of course, got covered with ice cream and kisses, and danced all the way down Main Street.

Framing Brilliance

Let's start with my personal favorite...  wide white mat, simple, high quality, black frame, (photo, thanks to Living etc.)   This style looks great with watercolor paintings, photographs, mixed media collages, oil and acrylic paintings in unwrapped canvas (meaning, without the thick, wooden frame), and drawings of all sorts.  

These three lovely photos (and the three bellow) were found on the Black.White.Yellow blog (talk about inspiring eye candy!)

Similarly, wide white mat, white frame.  Chic, simple, minimalistic, and very romantic. 

This style really allows the artwork to stand out. 

Another option is no frame at all!  This can look great with a nice, thick canvas, or a painting on wood with a wooden box frame nailed to the back.  Simple, and stunning.  With this style (or lack thereof,) it's all about the artwork.  I found this beautiful seen on the Neutral Dwelling Blog.

Painting #100!!! The glitziest painting yet...

We've done it!  Painting #100!  I am so thrilled to be here!  I cannot believe it's been 100 days...  Thank you so much for your support and encouragement (and for all the photos!)  I could not do this project without you!

As you may remember, we went to Charleston a couple weeks ago.  I just love visiting that city... almost as much as I love drawing inspiration from window shopping!  I love all the lights, the shiny things, the reflections, the dark shadows, the wonderful shapes, the hundreds of layers, and the warm tones you can see through a store window.   Here is a watercolor painting of just one of the shops I perused while there.

Chandelier Warehouse" is an 8x10 watercolor painting on my favorite hot press watercolor paper and is for sale on my Etsy page for $100!  This is a serious steal...  

Check out EmilyJeffords.etsy.com

Painting #96 Little Elena

Exciting times: there are two paintings today!  One for yesterday, and one for today!  I actually painted this beautifully sweet portrait yesterday, but didn't have time to post it.  We had some dear old friends who just moved here from Cali at our house for dinner.  We had a great time with them, but I was to worn out at the end of the night to blog.  I'm sorry!

The first painting is so sweet.  It brings back precious memories of holding my new born baby.  I really don't think there is anything sweeter than having that new life asleep in your arms.  I painted this 8x10 portrait using many, many ink washes.  I wanted it to look soft and intimate, but have a lot of contrast.  And I wanted those little eyes to shine!  

Julie, I hope this is a painting, and a memory, you will cherish forever!

And the second painting.... coming right up!

Cotton Candy Sky Over Raymond Street

Well, now that it’s officially Saturday (even by my somewhat skewed clock), I’m posting my painting for the day… well, make that yesterday. This is Friday’s painting. It’s beautiful. But really, how could I go wrong with this subject matter! God is such an incredible artist. Just look at the sky! Each and every day it is radically different. I could never hope to paint thousands and thousands of sky paintings and make them all different – off the top of my head! The sky scene in the photograph that was sent to me was no less astounding. There were little bright orange, peach, and purple cotton ball clouds dotted all over the sky. I’ve never seen a sky like that one (again, proving my point…).  And have you noticed that the sky changes dramatically across the country (and world for that matter).  Where were you last time you looked up and stood in awe of the canvas above your head? 

This is an 8x10 watercolor painting of a beautiful house that the family is moving out of, so I hope this painting will be a sweet reminder of their lovely home.
If you have a photograph you would like me to paint, send it to me!  I love creating paintings that are  meaningful to individuals (e.i., you…), so bring it on!

You can also check out all the paintings that are still for sale on my Etsy Page.

Happy Saturday!!!

Painting #76 Dripping Purple Berries

I’ve decided that you just can’t be too serious with watercolors… It just doesn’t work (at least, not for me). Maybe I’ll attempt a very dark, somber, formidable watercolor painting sometime this year, but I can’t really see it working with my style. Instead, I go a little crazy, a little elegant. Interesting combo, I know. I love the way the berries seem to be dripping off the branch. They look so tasty! I’m sure they are probably poisonous and deadly, but they look so scrumptious! I used to eat berries in the woods around our home when I was younger. Somehow the thrill that it might be poisonous was very exciting. I was young and foolish.  

Ah well. Here I am, still living a breathing.

This painting is an 8x10 inch watercolor. The photograph I worked from was sent to me by a lady that found these berries growing wild on the Smokey Mountains around Thanksgiving time! What a great little surprise! Because this painting's inspiration was sent to me, I’m going to give the sender a chance to purchase it before I put this painting on my Etsy shop. But please check it out if you are looking for a special gift or décor for your home!



Check back tomorrow for painting number 77! Wow! I can’t believe I’ve gotten so far! Thank you all SO much for your support!

Soft chubby cheeks next to mine, tiny little breathes on my neck, and a sweet baby in my arms… life doesn’t get to much more precious… sorry, I’m trying to focus on writing this, but Annalisa is getting to active to cuddle as much as she used to, so I soak up all the time I can get, and it's distracting!


This is really the first quiet moment either of us have had all day! My brother is going to boot camp in the morning, so we’ve been thoroughly enjoying his last day of freedom. Golf, two huge man-sized meals, he and my husband went to see Robin Hood, and of course, lots baby love from Annalisa (I’m pretty sure she gets enough attention…) He’s going to be such great Marine. We’re all very proud of him and you should all feel much safer.

In the middle of all that, I carved out a few hours to work on this painting! I love Charleston. The grand homes, the beautiful gardens, the water, the shops, the iron fences… but when I visit a city, I don’t want to see only the beautiful and tourist filled areas, I want to discover the real essence of the city. What the “natives” see. This watercolor is one attempt at accomplishing that. It’s a side street in Charleston. You can see the glitz and glam of the market ahead, but you’re not surrounded, not caught up in it.
Enjoy! And come back tomorrow. I’m going to give a few framing tips! Good artwork is only as good as the framing job! Ok, I don’t totally believe that, but it’s somewhat true… ; )

Say goodbye to those Jewish locks Benny-boo (he hates that nick-name...)

And the boy becomes a marine.

Painting #71 The Way the Birds See It

Sometimes, when I sit down to the computer to write my blog entry for the day, the words spill out, I have a hundred things to say, I have to edit out many lines full of rabbit-trails… and other days, I suspend my fingers over the key pad, waiting. And my poor little fingers just keep waiting for some story to hit my brain and trickle down to my hands and into the curious virtual ink... but nothing come! So, I write about that. Not to say I had a bad day, or even a boring one. I didn’t! Dan worked from home today, Annalisa was as adorable as ever (she waved goodbye and say “di-di” for the first time!), and I had a wonderful time painting this watercolor in my beautiful art studio! It was a lovely, quiet day (well, except for the visit by the Census man. That was lovely… I guess we’re insubordinate because we haven’t turned in our form yet. Am I the only one who feels a little funny about that?)

Well, on to more pleasing subjects! This watercolor is actually one of two. The first one I painted a few days ago. It’s a watercolor painting of a branch with an incredibly delicate flower off of a tree in our yard. I love the layers and layers of warm colors I was able to use in the leaves. This is a commission painting, but there are several paintings still for sale in my Etsy shop. EmilyJeffords.etsy.com

Check back tomorrow for painting #72! Also, send me photographs of lovely places you’ve been. Remember, paintings make perfect gifts for weddings, anniversaries, birthdays, and graduations! Please, leave the gift cards and salad tongs behind… give something that actually matters.

Painting #70 Where the Beautiful Leaves Grow

I love Tuesdays. They are my second-favorite day of the week (weird, I know). This Tuesday was especially nice because I was able to sleep in a little with my baby girl (love that…), paint, tidy up the house, and paint some more, then get swept off to dinner with my hubby. PF Changs, always a makes my evening.




On a different note, have you ever noticed the odd effect night has when it’s falling on top of day? Especially when it’s cloudy out? The earth is still bright, but it looks like a we’re living in a light box. Everything is too bright, to illuminated. Then, it gets really gloomy, all of the sudden. That’s where this painting comes in. Just in between that post-light box glow and pre-night gloom. But, please, don’t think that this painting is gloomy. It’s not! It just has that crazy evening glow.

I painted this scene in watercolor, having a lot of fun with the water effects. I love the way I am able to layer watercolor paint and see all the translucent layers, creating a very intricate visual effect. This painting is 7.75x10.25 inches on beautiful watercolor paper.

This painting looks incredible in a black frame with a white matte. Beautiful… You can buy this painting on my Etsy page!

Please stop by tomorrow to see painting #70!