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.
 

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!

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

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!

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!
 
 

Shades of Grey Treasury

Just so you don't forget...  there are a few different pieces of art up my sleeve.  I a quite excited that one of these darling collages made in into a treasury on Etsy!


There are 9 collages left, and they are each inspired by landscapes, textures, fabrics, patterns, and most of all, shades of grey. By using textured papers, cloth, and thread, I created these collages to be very tactile. The landscapes are drawn with ink washes; very subtle, and peaceful, yet elegant and trendy.   


If you would like more info about these collages, check out my original blog post, or, of course, you can head right on over to my shop!  


If you would like to learn more about any of the items in the treasury, just click on the image.  

Painting #109 The Grass Looks Greener When the Sky Dances

Good morning!  This is a lovely, yet rare occurrence...  that I would post in the morning!  But... here it is!  I actually finished this painting last night, but was to tired to photograph, edit, and post. 

I feel like my eyes and soul could take a bath in these colors and come out feeling fabulous.  (If that made sense to you, please let me know so I don't feel totally crazy anymore!)  This is a 8x10 oil painting on canvas.  It is glossy, it is gleaming, it is an artistic fashion statement, and it would look fantastic on your wall...  

You can find it on my etsy shop if you feel so inclined:  EmilyJeffords.etsy.com

One more thing...  You may be asking yourself: "My!  I wonder what these darling little canvases will become?!"  If so... check back on Saturday morning!  They have been transformed into three of the cutest and most dramatic little paintings you will ever see.  AND, they are going to be only $20 each!  

Mark your calendars. 

Painting #103 Quilted Fields

Day 103 and painting 103... see, all is normal despite the slight restructuring I outlined in my last post...  I've been quite busy today!  Along with all the blog posts I posted today, I also designed new business cards (they are super stylish.... photos coming as soon as I get them printed!)  and worked on a few new marketing ideas (top secret stuff).

I really love this painting!!!  The inspiration for it actually came during a church service about a year and a half ago... so I guess it is a divinely inspired painting.  And, yes, I was paying attention.  I start with a crazy, abstract line drawing right on the masonite, then start filling in the shapes with complimentary colors.  I chose various shades of greens and yellows for this one which is why it looks like a landscape.   It reminds me of lovely, lush fields, full of different crops.  I love flying over the mid-west;  such a beautiful quilted painting as far as the eye can see...

This is a 12x16 oil painting and will be in my Etsy Shop first thing in the morning!

Goodnight!

I didn't foresee myself painting a barn this year.  I wasn't actually apposed to it at all!  After all... my family does live in barn paradise...  I just didn't really think about it until, one day, I received this beautiful landscape/barn portrait in my email (along with breathtaking mountain views, and a close up of a wild BEAR! coming soon.)  You may remember a loooooong time ago, that I painted a scene of Montana on a small block of wood.  This painting was meant to coordinate loosely with that painting.  

This painting is much larger (12x16) and is painted on masonite, for easy framing and a sturdy surface.

Since the inspiration photo was emailed to me (which, by the way, YOU are more than welcome to do!) I'm going to give the sender a chance to buy this painting before putting it on my Etsy Shop.  But, there are several lovely painting there if you are feeling the oh-so-common art hunger.    

Check back this evening for a very important announcement!