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?

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! 

It's almost time!!

I tend to not be able to sit still to long without doing something...  fold laundry, work on some sort of craft, paint... lately, it's been sewing!  Now, you must understand, this is very rare for me.  I'm not the most skilled seamstress... I spend a lot of time with my seam ripper, trying to get it just right.  But every now and then (apparently, most often when there is a baby on the way!) I get the fabric itch.  I made Annalisa (my first daughter) a blanket before she was born out of fuzzy yellow fabric and satin, and she has grown so attached to it.  I wanted to make another one for Madelyn (due in 8 days!)  So, I've been hard at work creating her blanket and a bumper pad (shown above still in progress).    Yes, I will take out the needle!!!  It's just there for stability at the moment.

I'll post photos of the finished collection when I get it all complete.

Madelyn Ansley Jeffords will be here soon!!!

 I thought it would be fun to create a fashion statement for our couch too...  This was so easy and so much fun to make that I think, maybe, our bed needs one too!  We'll see...

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!

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 #110 The Eastern Sunrise

I’m back! I apologize for my inexcusable absence for the last two days! I can’t was that I’ve been enjoying the time away, because I haven’t been doing anything exceptionally fun that would keep me from you. Just life. Lovely, excitingly varied, life. I have been working on a commission watercolor painting. It’s coming along… and I think it will be beautiful when it’s done! I don’t want to post progress photos because watercolors can sometimes look very, very undone, and disjointed until the last moment, when they have that ah-ha moment. I love that. It’s my favorite part of painting. I plan on completing it on Thursday.

Tomorrow I will be out. A dear friend of the family has passed away, so I’ll be traveling to her funeral tomorrow. She was such a wonderful, Godly, encouraging lady. I know her family and many, many friends are going to miss her greatly. But, we know she is singing in heaven right now, not missing us at all.

The painting I did today was a bit of an experiment in texture. I used the back of the masonite board to get those little raised pattern. I enjoyed the variation, but prefer the smooth texture of the traditional masonite. Now I know! This painting was shamelessly inspired by Design Star (HGTV). There was a beautiful room designed using purples, lilacs, pinks, black and white, and it was stunning. Those colors were my inspiration as I painted this 12x16 oil painting.

This painting “The Eastern Sunrise” is for sale in my shop for $110! There are other lovely paintings of all sizes, styles, and prices still listed there, so check it out!
 
 

Three of the Prettiest Things

Without further ado, here are the three darling little painting you’ve been waiting for! They are a garden party waiting to happen. I used three cheerful, summery shades for the backgrounds to create that happy, yet romantic, mood.

Each of these paintings are 2x3 inches, oil on canvas, with dark black/brown edges (so you don’t need to frame it if you don’t want to!)

Tutu in Green
Oil on Canvas, 2x3 inches
(pictured above) 


I just love the refined blue vase, the candy colors, the deep browns, and the blush-pink flowers that are the star of this painting. I’ve always wanted to have a huge vase full of tulips… and some day, I will! In the mean time, I painted a lovely arrangement that you can enjoy all year long.

Green Roses Sans Thorns


When Dan and I got married, I wanted green flowers, but not those absurd looking dyed monstrosities… natural, lush, and romantic looking flowers. These roses are pale green and b-e-a-u-tiful!  And the polka-dotted vase just seemed so right.

Hydrangea Hurrah

Pair this painting with a few paper flower garlands, cupcakes, bottles of Sparkling Blackberry Izze, and you have the perfect party. I just love the green hydrangea blooms, the dark and dramatic dotted vase, with the nectarine shaded background.






Cute, cute, cute...


These paintings are a mere $20 each! You can buy them off of my Etsy shop, or by sending me an email: Theartist.emily@gmail.com

Painting #110 Deck the Sky With Festive Songs

And... here it is!  My gift of gratitude to my grandparents for their lovely gift to me... and one of the cutest paintings I've featured here!  I just love creating collages...  they feel so complex, yet relaxed with their many layers and textures and shapes.  This collage was especially enjoyable because it's just so happy!  Two little care-free birds signing together on a decked-out cheerful set of electrical wires.  I added the black and white border to give the painting a bit of weight and to add a little drama.  

I used watercolors paper, watercolor paints, pen and ink, a variety of fine papers, and some shimmering vellum paper.  

What do you think?  I would like to do a few more paintings in this style, so if you have any ideas, please let me know!  

Don't forget to check back tomorrow morning (not too early of course...) for three darling, little, paintings that will fit in any budget and decor perfectly!

I know this blog isn't about Annalisa....  but she's just so cute and photogenic.  It's hard for me not to include her in EVERY post, so I don't feel bad about slipping a few photos in every now and then...  besides, she helped me with this collage.  She crumpled up the paper I wasn't using.  Thanks, baby!  

She's got her "puffs" snack.  Life is good.