Painting #52 The Lady & Sons

So, I was flipping through a few interior design magazines today (in all fifteen moments of my down time today) scanning the pages for artwork. I realized, once again, that I love artwork with lots of contrast. I love the dramatic statement it makes; the way the darkness makes color pop, and how precious light becomes. And that’s where the inspiration for this oil painting comes from. It’s an 11x14 painting on canvas board. I took this photograph of The Lady & Sons restaurant during our honeymoon in Savannah GA. What a cool city at night! And what a great place to spend our evening! We made late reservations (to be extra romantic), got all dressed up, and walked from our flat a couple streets away, soaking in all the delicious culture along the way. I’m pretty sure Paula Deen herself must have made our meals, they were so good.


I’m going to go out on a limb here and email Paula Deen to see if she would like to purchase this painting (cross your fingers for me!) If not… I’ll put it on my Etsy shop in a few days. In the mean time, all the paintings that are still for sale can be found there, so check it out!

Also, the contest to win a free painting ends in eight days! Be sure to enter because I guarantee you’ll be upset if you don’t at least try to win this painting…

Painting #51 DC – America’s hometown

I love DC. It feels so alive, energized, and historical. I mean, I’m not one to spend all day in just any old musium, but in DC, I could spend days and days and days walking down K street, over to 13th, of course, stopping in every art gallery, museum, and shop along the way (hey, why not? They’re all free!) of course I’d miander down Pensilvania Ave… take a look at the white house… see if I can spot a who’s-who of DC (or the world for that matter). Last time we were there there was a nice string of black armored linmos loading up. Not sure if we saw Obama, but there was a sniper on the roof. I think he looked right at me! Ah!

My oldest memorie of DC was 4th of July on a sunny, hot day, sitting in front of the Washington Monument for hours, and hours, and hours. My grandmother and I went to the Natural History Museum to look at the First Lady’s dresses (I have always loved sparkling things) and I had to use a porta-potty! But, it was all worth it when those fire works started… breathtaking.
So, in salute to our nation, I painted a watercolor painting of the National Monument, in DC. It’s a 6x9.5 watercolor paitning.

Don't forget to check out my etsy shop!  There are still some paitnings for sale there.  And, the contest ends in NINE days!  Be sure to enter to win a lovely original oil painting!

We had a play-date (for the moms more than the babies…) today!

It was fun and the babies were so cute I had to share photos with you!

Painting #50 Love Is In the Air...

I just love weddings. They’re so intoxicatingly romantic. I know a lot of people don’t really enjoy sitting through endless songs, speeches, entrances and exits, but I love every moment. My husband and I look back on our wedding day often. In my opinion, it was the most beautiful wedding ever. I’m sure some brides would disagree… but many would have to admit that I’m right. (I had to include some snapshots from our wedding album (thank you GetzCreative!) to prove my point… ; )

I loved painting this oil painting of Rebecca and Randy (it's almost their one year anniversary!) It is, by far, the most romantic painting I've ever created.  I love the colors, the mood, the composition, and especially, the dreaminess of it. It looks like the scene out of a fairy tale, and I’m sure Rebecca and Randy would say that that is just about accurate. I hope you guys cherish this painting for years.

Don’t forget to enter the give-away! I’ll be doing the drawing in 11 days!  Someone is going to win an oil painting!

Also, check out my etsy shop (EmilyJeffords.etsy.com) for painting that are still for sale. There are some great deals there that would enhance any area of your home. “May all your spaces be Beautiful”.
 

 

Painting #49 black and white beauties

I spent part of today dreaming about one of my favorite cities… Savannah.

It seems that this city, more than any I’ve ever been to, combines, art, culture, sunshine, beach life, and that indescribably unique (slightly ironic) style beautifully.



Places I want to go and things I want to do:
The Paris Market
Scad’s local art shop
Take a cooking class at 700 Drayton - followed with an amazing meal
Spend a couple hundred at 24E
Stay in a beautiful home on Taylors St.
Visit the art museum for hours and hours (mostly admiring the architecture)
Walk along River Street eating a champagne truffle.

Someday, I’ll be there, enjoying all these things, as well as basking in the sun, and enjoying all the oh-so-southern beauty around me. If you’ve never been to Savannah, it needs to make it’s way to the top of you list!

Ok, so this painting doesn’t really have anything to do with Savannah at all, however, it is lovely, dramatic, romantic, and also holds that “indescribably unique style”… sort of. It is a black and white, ink and charcoal painting of a few amaryllis flowers in full bloom. I love the play of light and dark in this painting. It is listed on my etsy shop, so you can feature this little bit of beauty in your home! Let’s be honest, there is not one room in your house that would not benefit from a piece of black and white artwork. It’s classic.

Painting #48 "Yes, The Grass is Greener Here"

So, what do you get when you mix people, framed art, wind (lots of wind), paper, a baby, sun (and thus, a slight sunburn), and a massage? My day. Weird, busy, exciting, inspiring, helpful, profitable, and somewhat stressful. I was at the Spring Fling this morning and afternoon, featuring my art and the painting365 project. I love the excitement that people have for the project and my blog. It is immensely encouraging!

We did have one tragedy today that about ripped my heart out… While I was painting the painting for today a huge gust of wind blew and almost knocked over one of my largest, and most expensive frames, so, of course, I ran to catch it, not knowing that my painting had also gotten caught up in the wind and fell onto Annalisa’s face, leaving a little cut on her cheek. It looks so sad, and I felt horrible. But, 30 seconds later, she had forgotten all about it and was back to her old self playing and smiling at everything.

I did this painting while sitting at the booth, in between visitors, and while working on my tan. It is a 9x11 acrylic painting on panel called “The Grass is Greener Here”. And, even with all the ill will I felt towards it after cutting my daughter, I still find if very pleasing and think it would make a great accent, or point of intrest in pretty much any room in your house! I have posted it on my Etsy page!



The drawing for the Butterfly Bush oil painting will be held in 12 days! Don’t forget to email your friends and copy me on the email to enter! The number of people you tell is the number of times your name will be entered in the contest! If you have a blog or a website you interact with regularly, put a link on there and let me know how many hits you got that day! I’ll enter you into the drawing that many times.



Here are a couple pf the paintings I still have available and can be found on my Etsy page, or by emailing me. Please let me know if you would like to purchase one or more of them! They are such a steal!

#13#21

#28#26

#41 #46

Painting #47 Garden Observation III

I spent most of today doing things I would rather not have done, and I did them by choice! For example, I spent about two hours at the printers… formatting, color correcting, printing…. And I spent way more time painting today than normal… and thinking. Not that I don’t like thinking, I do (wow, I never thought I would have to write that sentence), but this was mental list making. All because, I’m doing that last minute show I mentioned yesterday. I want to take this opportunity to thank my most loving husband for dealing with me in this altered sate of mind, and for always coming up with creative ideas, and for being my most avid reader and supporter!


I am very excited about the show, however! I’m excited about introducing a whole new group of people to my artwork and project. I mean, lets face it, I need all the support I can get!


When I first considered doing this show (about three days ago) I didn’t have very many paintings to sell, so, that has been my mission today. Paintings. Here’s one of them! It’s another acrylic paintings on wood, and it’s depicting the last of the Camellias in our yard. I’m so sorry to see them go! They are so beautiful… So, I had to forever memorialize them in paint.

Don’t forget about the give-away! Your odds are still quite good for winning a lovely oil painting!

Painting #46 Flutter By Flowers

My husband and his brothers play this word twisting game (drives me crazy some times... but it's amusing none-the-less), where they take the different parts of words and mix them together, such as "Let's get this Row on the Shoad". I'm pretty sure that's what happened with the poor butterfly. I really think it wants to be called a flutter by, instead of flying butter. So, that's what I'll name this painting in honor of the Flutter By's name change revolution.


This is the first real acrylic paintings I've done since I was in high school, and those paintings DO NOT COUNT. So, this is the true first... I had a lot of fun with the medium! It's colorful, silky, slimy, and dries way to fast for my taste, but, all in all, I really enjoyed working in acrylic! I really love that I painted this paintings today, and I can turn around and hand it to a buyer tomorrow without any fear of accidental thumb prints or any other such horror. Good thing too, because I just signed up today (!) for a show on Saturday! Call me crazy (I'm beginning to be convinced of that myself) but I'm painting, and designing, and planning like a mad woman! I think it will be very fun. It's the Spring Fling at the Greenville Classical Academy, and if you live anywhere near Greenville, you must come see me!

Don't forget to stop by my Etsy shop for paintings, prints, and collages that are for sale!

Painting #45 NY I Love You

I find if very intriguing how much America loves it's New York. Isn’t it amazing how a city, not fundamentally different from any other city, can be so great? Such an empire? It all comes down to the average person. A few of them are creative, a few business savvy, a few are organized, some are good leaders, all of them working together to create an amazing city. That’s pretty amazing. Even more amazing: that translates to you, in your city, your town.


I’ve never lived in New York, so I don’t really know exactly why people chose to live there, honestly… It seems a little too big for my taste. I’m not a country girl by any means! Give me your highways, malls, and starbucks (btw, free coffee tomorrow if you bring a mug)! I lived in Houston for several years and it felt like there were people everywhere, for miles and miles. I remember thinking to myself, I could spend a week wandering around, looking for someone I know, and never bump into anyone. I can’t imagine living in a place that is even more populated! I like my medium sized city, full of all its amenities, yet with that indescribable southern charm.

But, not to harbor any ill-will against NY, or the painting I did of it today! This painting is of the NY sky line, as seen from the Statue of Liberty and is such an amazing site! The painting is a 12x5 inch oil painting on a wooden block. It’s a commission painting, but please check out my Etsy shop for paintings that are still available! EmilyJeffords.etsy.com


Thank you all so much for your continued support! You are making this project work by encouraging me to continue each day. It’s not easy, let me tell you…

Also, remember to email your friends about this blog, and copy me on the email, to enter the give-away!

Pretty packages for pretty paintings.  How fun would it be to get one of these in the mail?