A Summer Cottage and Lakehouse

House Portraits

The houses I've been painting lately seem to have come straight out of a storybook, wouldn't you agree? They're just so amazing and adorable. This last one is one of my very favorites (although I tend to say that about a lot of them).  The wood paneled house is set back in the timber, shrouded beneath a giant canopy of bright emerald green leaves, and complete with wandering chickens and a long and winding driveway. I like to think it's someone's dream home!

I'm afraid to say my blog posts will, for the next two months, be slowing down considerably as I try to tackle my giant work load before Christmas. I'm so very thankful to have a growing little business here, and don't want to fall behind. If you'd like to still keep in touch between now and then, I'll be periodically posting new things on Facebook and Instagram, which are a much quicker means of sharing life, I have found.

In the Studio

a feature and a film

Last night I slept peacefully beneath the sound of a million tiny raindrops. Is there anything more soothing? If rain is truly an indication of May flowers then I think we're set for Spring. Those pretty daffodils were here long before Seth and I moved in and are so resilient! And the magnolia trees are in full bloom with a sea of white confetti littering the ground beneath them. I really feel I must paint them at some point.

Today I'm so excited to share a feature of my artwork on 6th Street Design School! I painted a house portrait for Kirsten and she has very sweetly written up a little blog post about my work. And for something extra special I created this little film because I cannot stop taking video of all the birds and blooms around here. After all, I am one half my mother. ;) Enjoy!

Settling down

I think we all probably get to that point in our lives where we suddenly realize we are getting older, the clock is tickin', and it's time to maybe start thinking about "settling down."  It's a strange thought to be thinking, I realize, and an even stranger feeling.  But that feeling has been firmly planted in the bottom of my gut ever since I got married less than 2 short years ago.  Now I'm 25.  My husband is 26.  We are almost 30, or so it feels.  We have a mortgage, multiple insurance plans, a solid budget (finally), bills and schedules and careers.  We're starting to actually think about our health...and kids.  We sit and talk for hours and hours about our future, our dreams, our goals, our life in 5 years or 10 or 20. It's a strange and somewhat daunting feeling for sure to suddenly realize you've made the break.  You are no longer an adolescent or college student.  You've crossed the line.  You are responsible. But it's also an awesome feeling.  It feels like freedom.  It feels like that first stretch when you wake up in the morning.  You are self-aware and empowered, wise and independant. Back when I started painting house portraits, it was our story of "settling down" I wanted to tell.  So, I painted our new home...

See those roses out front?  I planted those while Seth was still a bachelor in this house.  And we painted that door bright red shortly after we got married and I moved in.  The shutters went up last summer and a new rounded window was put in right in between the shutters and the door.  We really do have the best birds in our neighborhood, including my very favorite cardinals. And now, through these custom house portraits, I get to weave together all of your "settling down" stories.  While I paint these various houses I like to imagine what each family is like and what stories the house would tell if it could.  And in a small (small) way I feel as if I'm adding a little heirloom-quality value to each home I paint, sewing each story together in a tight little bundle to be passed down to the next generation.  I really do love the whole process.

So I created this little video of fragmented film from the past few weeks.  All the footage was taken in my home studio using my simple Canon Rebel and 50mm lense.  Nothing fancy, but I do hope it tells the story.

Happy Valentine's Day!

holiday house portraits

Sam Redding House Portrait
original watercolor

Pam Sheley House Portrait
original watercolor 

Flies Family House Portrait
original watercolor

Luke Hanger House Portrait
original watercolor

Schneider Family House Portrait
original watercolor 11x14"

Bo Nathan Hanger House Portrait
original watercolor

Kelsey House Portrait
original watercolor

Last year's Christmas season was busy, fun, fruitful, rewarding, exhausting, and encouraging all at once.  Along with 2 art shows and custom orders of all kinds I was somehow able to fulfill about 25 custom house portrait orders between the months of October and December.  Here are a few of my favorites including add-ins like "Bailey" the Beagle and the tiny brown rabbit.  I love the variety in shapes, sizes, colors, and landscaping between them all.

Believe it or not I still have about a month's worth of orders to fulfill, but while I work on those I'm thinking always of upcoming holidays like Valentine's Day.  Crazy, right, to be thinking about Valentine's Day already?  But alas, being only one woman with finite efficiency, I must plan ahead!  Visit my Etsy shop for details.

Happy Friday!