The Greenest Place

 

Check out my latest little guy!   

The Greenest Place, a little 4x4 oil painting on gallery canvas.  xox

Thick paint strokes, lovely teal, and major contrast...  where would you put this little one?

I have created a new painting and I'm so excited to share it with you!  It's been far to long since my last painting; but anything longer than a few days feels way to long to me...
“Nearing 143657″ is a 4×4 inch baby painting.  I love painting tiny paintings because they are perfect little pops of artistic expression.  I like to place them on a shelf near a collection of pretty books, or on a mantle by a vase of flowers.  They also look great in groups, or solo in a little area, hanging on the wall.  Well really, they just look great no matter where you put them!  Tiny paintings are also perfect for the art lover without a huge budget.  These babies are priced just right (think, Christmas gift!)

“Nearing 14367″ is so named after the location this painting was inspired by.  My parents live at 14367 CR 37 in a beautiful home out in the country in Northern, Ohio.  Their home has to be one of the most warm, welcoming, comfortable, loving (and yummy!) places on earth.  I took this snapshot while driving down the road on the way “home” one afternoon.  There is so much lush foliage, and warm sunshine in this place…  I incorporated many shades of gold and cheery green, as well as a huge variety of warm blues in the sky.  It hope this painting fills you with that sense of lovely warmth and belonging as well!
There are eight more small paintings coming soon but you can find this one in my fine art shop.
 

Headed West

Well it's done.  The first substantial (aka, large) painting for our new living room!  As you know, we just moved to West Texas from sunny, lush, green South Carolina.  Let me tell you... it's a bit of a landscape culture shock.  I used to live in Houston, so I thought I knew what I was getting into... but it feel so different!
I love the warm colors, the HUGE sky, and the hundred different shades of yellow that are prevalent here.   It seems like you can see for miles and miles and miles... and, you probably can!   I snapped the photo that inspired this painting on my drive from San Antonio, TX to San Angelo, TX.
This painting, called "Headed West" is 24x36 inches on canvas.  I cannot wait to get it framed and hung behind our lovely new couch!!

Headed West - Painting Progress

Well it's not done yet... but close!  I'll try to finish it tonight and post pictures tomorrow of the completed piece.  I know right where its going to go, and I'm so excited to frame it and hang it up!!  Why does oil paint take sooo long to dry??  I just love working on large canvases.  <3

...isn't Annalisa getting big!!  You can't really tell here, but she's running, and skipping, and dancing, and using new words every day.  I love it.  She has an infatuation with this painting too.  Maybe it's because it's sitting on a box on the ground... (my art table broke in our move and I haven't gotten a new one yet.  Besides, what more could I want!  I have a big box and a pink velvet poof!) ...or maybe it's because I keep telling her not to put her fingers in the paint... or maybe she's a natural born artist and she just can't resist those colors and smells, and textures... 

I'm going to go with that one. 

Check back tomorrow for the latest piece in my growing "Texas collection"!

Texas, From My Point of View

I cannot tell you how good it feels to paint again!!  It's been far to long.  I've missed you dear brushes!!  You should have seen me... on all of my cross country adventures (with my sweet baby and sister in the car) I would frantically grab for my camera (which of course, was never where I left it), trying to still drive in a straight line at 80 mph, and snap a picture of some amazing sun set, or lush field, or dry landscape.  I am sooo excited about doing a series of landscape painting inspired by the beautiful variety of America I've seen over the past couple months. 

This particular painting is hitting pretty close to what is now "home".  I snapped this photo soon after entering Texas.  I love how huge and grand the sky looks, and how much depth there is in the golden fields.

This is an oil painting on canvas.  It measures 11x16 and has a dramatic red border (I'm liking the suprise element that adds to my decor).  I haven't decided if I'm going to sell this painting quite yet...  my new apartment feels a little naked...

Many more paintings to come!! 

I must clarify, (for the sake of my artistic integrity!!)  I was not painting this landscape!!!  I was just admiring the similarities...  This is the view from my bedroom window.  You should see it at night...  wow.  Maybe I'll paint that someday! 

Prints!

Exciting news!  I am now offering fine art limited edition reproductions on my shop! 

Check out the new prints that are being offered at an amazing price!  These were four of the most popular paintings from my Painting365 project. 

This print is a Fine Art Limited Edition Print on fine silk paper with the highest quality inks. I painted the original paintings in oil on wooden blocks. The smooth texture of the wood makes these painting ideal for a fine art reproduction.

Each print is signed in the lower right hand corner and is surrounded with a white border, ready to be matted and framed!

A20

I just love this clothing shop on the west side of down town Greenville, named Augusta 20 (hence the title A20). It's so stylish and modern... and, as always, I love shop windows! They always hold a feast of shadows, lights, shiny things, colors, and abstract shapes.

This particular watercolor is so warm and watery. The reflections are very implied and suggested with the beautiful watercolor effects. I just love painting in watercolors...

This painting is painted on heavy, hot-press paper (my favorite) with the finest quality watercolor paints. It measures 10x15 inches.

It is available on my shop for a great price! And, like every painting in my shop, will arive on your doorstep, beautifully packaged and wrapped! 

Celery Slopes

So, where on earth have I been for the past month!? It has been a crazy, exciting, eventful month full of family (we're talking 21-28 people at one table...), friends, trips, quiet days with my tot, and wonderfully warm weather. I really wasn't intending to leave for such a long time, and I'm sorry!

I'm back now (with just a slight lingering summer laziness left in me) and ready for all the excitement the fall brings. I have a love/hate relationship with fall... I love the crispness, the colorfulness, the freshness in the air, but it means goodbye to warm weather for many months, and I'm just not ok with that. I love little bits of winter, but not months and months. No thank you.
So, needless to say, I'm enjoying these last few weeks of warm, warm weather. In celebration of warm summer days, I painted this oil painting I am endearingly calling "Celery Slopes". It is 5x11 inches, painted on a beautiful piece of wood from my grandfathers wood shop. I love the quilted feel, the general sloping motion, and the warm, cozy, colors.

This painting can be found on my Etsy shop, along with several others, for $50 for only one week! Next Friday, it will go up to $80. I am doing a steal-deal today to keep life active and exciting. ;)
Have a WONDERFUL weekend! I know I will!

Painting #134 Under A Big, Blue Sky

Well, we finally got some rain! After days and days of scorching heat the sky decided it had waited long enough, stored up enough little drops, and finally let them fall. It was wonderful. My daughter, Annalisa, and I went outside when the rain was slowing down. I love watching her experience the world, learning about all the amazing things around her. She held out her little, fat hands and danced whenever a drop hit them. So cute…

I painted this oil painting before the rain began, wishing that the earth would look verdant and moist again. I used blue tined greens, hazy light blue for the sky to give the painting that lush feeling, and oranges, pinks, and purples to represent flowering fields, bushes, and trees. This painting is 12x16 inches on a wooden board with bright red edges. The decorative edges allow you to display this painting unframed if you wish. Otherwise, a simple black or brown wood frame would look perfect, as would a decorative gold frame… I’ll leave that to your artistic eye. However, if you would like me to select a frame that I feel fits this painting perfectly, just send me an email!

You can buy this painting in my shop.  EmilyJeffords.etsy.com

Happy Wednesday night to you! 
I just love Wednesday nights...  great conversions with friends, time with family, snacks, and Psych (usa network).  This afternoon I reveled in oil paints once again.  I've missed them!  This is also a wonderful treat for those of us without bottomless pockets.   I'm breaking out of the price system to give you a great deal on a lovely oil painting on a block of wood!  $75!  What a steal!  AND...  it's going to have a coordinating painting sometime very soon (also for $75!)

As usual...  I have no idea what flower this is.  It's not a rose, but it's beautiful!  I just love the lemon and peach hues, contrasted with all the lush dark greens.  I used very defined and intricate brush strokes (very exciting for whomever buys it and lets to feel it in person.)  You can find this (and other lovely paintings) in my shop, so, feel free to head over there! 

Painting #128 Beautiful On the Insided

And without further ado… I present my latest watercolor painting: Beautiful on the Inside, an 8.5 x 14 painting on fine watercolor paper.


I must admit, this painting took me far longer than any painting has taken so far and it tricked me into biting off way more than I could chew in one day. But the process was so enjoyable, and the subject matter so colorful and charming that I didn’t mind a bit.

As I said before (in the progress post), this is a painting of one of my favorite stores: Anthropologie. I remember the first time I wondered in to Anthropologie. It’s like stepping into a new world where you just never know what lovely thing you might find. It reminds me of a little real-life fairytale world, and I love it…

This painting is not currently framed, but I think it would look stunning with a nice thick white matt, and a modern dark brown or black frame, and, of course, hanging on your wall… Stop by my shop to buy it and to see all the other paintings I have for sale there! EmilyJeffords.etsy.com



Also, if you would like to commission a painting, please send me an email and we can work out all the details. I love creating pieces that are going to be especially meaningful to you, so bring em’ on!

Painting #123 Late Summer Mornings

Wow, what an adventure these past couple weeks have been! God is good, he gives more grace than I could ever hope for! I am pleased to be back, with my paint brushes in hand, ready to jump back into my paintings once again. Thank you all for your patience with me during this time.
I actually painted this acrylic painting last week during the art camps I taught. It was sort of an example/something for me to work on while the teen group was hard at work on their paintings. I really enjoyed painting this painting. I rarely work with acrylic paints because I have a hard time with the slick, sticky quality of the paint as opposed to oil. But, the speedy draying time and the stickiness of the paint was actually a huge advantage in this landscape. It created some fantastic texture effects along the right side of the painting. This large acrylic painting (16x20 inches) can be found in my shop for a low $123!

Come back tomorrow to see the results of my hours of painting!