Seth and I returned home last night after a few days away to find our town has nearly turned completely black and white.  All of our neighbors were building great piles of leaves and that Fall smell of burning leaves filled our car as we pulled into our drive.  This time of year always makes me so thankful!  Thankful for where we live, for the life we have, for the colors and the baby squirrels emerging from their summer nests.  You should see these baby squirrels I spotted on my morning walk.  They were about the size of my hand with long velvety white tails.  I went back for a picture, but instead got the warning look of a very protective parent. Next time, perhaps.  :)

And now, as I sit in my studio and listen to the thunder clapping and the rain pounding I am thankful for work.  It's the kind of work I miss when I'm away.  The kind of work that is always on my mind.  I am so grateful to be in my own home with a line-up of customers.  It is the best life.

So thank you to all of the wonderful people who believe in what I do and allow me to paint all day long!  You are truly the best and most loyal customers.  I am thankful for you!

studio days

 In between cups of hot apple cider and steaming pots of beef and cabbage, I've been redesigning my studio to accommodate these larger canvases I think I've been mentioning a time or two.  The oil painting area is set up now, and I've been taking large chunks out of my days to paints swans and trees the sage green grass.  All the things I tend to day dream about.  Then there are those large chunks of time I spend painting houses and children for custom portrait buyers.  Honestly though, a girl can only sit for so long before she needs to get up and go for a long walk with her incredibly handsome husband, whom she misses during his week-long-work-trips across the country.  I love those walks.  They give us a chance to talk about our future, our present, our longing for a family (someday), and what's for dinner.  We talk about our days and what the week ahead holds.  Do you have a time for this kind of chatter with your spouse?  It's so important.  I don't know what I'd do without someone like him to talk to all time.

Oh and speaking of hot cider, can you believe it's almost October?  I can't even tell you how excited that makes me- not just for the perfect weather and Autumn smell in the air, but for a much needed break!  I can't exactly call it a vacation, but I think once October hits my painting life will slow down a bit.  Maybe I'll even take some time off!  Just sit around and drink hot cider and read my new "Shapes and Shadows" book of poetry.  It's older than the hills with crackly yellow pages that smell musty when you lean your nose over it to read.  Copyright, 1898.  I feel like I'm stepping back in time just to hold it in my hands.  Here's the first stanza of a poem in the book called "Dreams":

My thoughts have borne me far away,
To Beauties of an older day,
Where, crowned with roses, stands the Dawn,
Striking her seven-stringed barbiton
Of flame, whose chords give being to
The seven colours, hue for hue;
The music of the colour-dream
She builds the day from, beam to beam.

Do share some of your favorite poets!  I'd love to hear.  Oh, and those are pictures from Picasso's studio and his dog.  Aren't they fantastic?  I'll show you more soon.  Now go and build your day, beam to beam.  :)

weekend images

My weekend in images include...

1&2. my brilliantly beautiful English roses I've been dreaming of for months

(practically a steal at 70% off) 

3. purpley and pinkish hued stained glass from a local artist- now hanging in my kitchen window (kind of matches the colors of my roses!)

4. our kitchen with a new light and new window art (painting the ceiling is next)

5. the start of a bathroom makeover

6. three new projects in the studio- Ulia, whales, peonies

7&8. studio inspiration boards include bright and playful colors next to neutrals- a nice balance.

The temperature has dropped a bit this morning thanks to a nice thunderstorm this weekend which means I'll be spending some time outside today.  Then, it's back to the studio for painting, packaging prints, sending emails, and doing laundry- all the essentials before my next show.  Hope your week is off to a great start!

(Go team USA!  I am loooooving the Olympics and losing so much sleep.)

let there be lights!

After about a year of subtle begging, my studio lights have been officially installed!

No more squinting or ducking out of the way of my own shadow!

It's amazing what a couple of little switches can do in a girl's life.

"Let there be light!" she says, drunk with power.

Like I needed more incentive to hide away in my studio...

But look how clean it is!  Geesh, I could use a hardy pat on the back after cleaning and packing all day yesterday.  Doesn't it feel so good (and incredibly exhausting) to clean all day?

Well, time to switch those calendars.  My "June" features one of my favorite paintings of all time...

John Waterhouse's The Soul of the Rose

I think that's a sign that it's going to be a good month...

2 shows back to back starting this weekend.  Click the "Shows" tab if you'd like to maybe visit me at one of them.  I downloaded this album for my car ride up to the city tomorrow.  I really love it so much.

If you'd like to see more pictures that aren't on the blog, follow me on Instagram @TheArtofMichelle or on Twitter @ArtofMichelleS.

See you next week!

studio day

After a long and hard-working week of organizing and cleaning, this week my studio is finally inviting me back in.  I really can't get enough of my beautiful white and pink peonies that are blooming so huge in my backyard.  I can barely stand to be away from them!  So I clipped a few from the bush to look at while I work on this house portrait today.  It's my first house portrait ever!  It'll be a part of my Doolin Family Portrait series and maybe something custom I'll offer seeing how well I like it.

Did you have a nice Mother's Day weekend?  I hope you gave your mother something pretty and had some time to relax and enjoy the gorgeous sunshine!

Making small changes

Do you ever get to a certain point where your surroundings become tiresome? I mean, you can only stand the mess, the clutter, the disorganization, the same 'ol ho hum decor for so long before something's gotta give. Eventually the artwork on the walls become so common that you barely pay it much attention. That frame, the basket full of junk in the corner, that lamp you once had to have is now so ordinary that it's irritating.

Maybe it's time for a change?

Maybe the artwork you once loved hanging in your kitchen would regain your appreciation if you would simply transfer it to another room, see it in another light? Maybe you should just stop avoiding the mess covering your desk so that you can feel at peace with your studio once again?

Maybe I should stop speaking metaphorically about you and admit that I'm the one with these problems?

I can only avoid them for so long before something inside of me just snaps, and I wake up in the morning with a mission to demolish the road blocks.

Yesterday was that day.

I took to cleaning the basement, organizing my studio, hanging wedding pictures, and sorting through magazines and catalogs to create new inspiration boards.  I'd love to show you before and after photos of the mess in the basement { the part that's not my studio }, but the after pictures are yet in the future and the before pictures are way too embarrassing!

Instead, I'll focus on what's currently my inspiration: bright colors, dresses blowing in the wind, bears, lions with big manes, zebra stripes, and sunny light.



in the studio some more

How was your weekend, my friend?

Mine was so typically wonderful and filled with delicious food, wonderful company, and lots of steaming coffee.  My sister and I visited a bakery nearby and sat talking for hours with the intoxicating aroma of cinnamon rolls and coffee beans.  The sun came out and joined us as we made our way through a few antique stores packed with old (and new) paintings, vintage postcards and books, wonderful little floral tins, fur scarves, and lacey clothes.  It wasn't long ago when I really didn't have time to sit around and enjoy my family and friends like I can now.  My life has a much more comfortable pace now, and I'm enjoying every minute!

This Monday morning, like most mornings, I awoke with an overwhelming urge to paint.  My head has been spinning all weekend with ideas for new paintings, new possibilites, new colors, new patterns, new textures.  So many things to discover and paint!

It might not look like much, but this sheep painting I've been working on has been somewhat of a "break through" painting for me.  I've been trying a new technique that has, honestly, always intimidated me, and I finally feel like I'm getting the hang of it!  Plus, I am loving the purples and yellows and blue-ish greens that are blending so nicely in the background.  I think this young lady will find herself and her sheep in more paintings to come.  Can't you see her sitting with her ram on a hillside with a book in hand?  Or perhaps she leads them to the sea behind her for a nice cool drink...

We will see what new ideas a brewing today.

The first step to painting...

...is to sit down.

I have this terrible habit of never sitting still.

But last night, I ignored the laundry basket next to me full of clothes,

and I painted.

It was wonderful!

I lay down the brighter colors first in thin, uneven washes so that later on,

if I want to make a color darker, all I have to do is add another layer or two.

It's much easier this way.  Watercolors can be tempermental.  If the bottom layer is too dark or dull, there are very few things you can do to change it.

So, bright colors first and dark ones last.

The 12x12" painting on the right will be a male Queen Alexandra's Birdwing Butterfly.

It's one of the largest butterflies in the world!

Here's a few shots from my sketchbook...including a sketch for my current painting

and a huge list of ideas for upcoming ones.

I've really got to get back in there and do some more drawing.

Currently my studio is undergoing some changes as I'm trying to think practically about how I can utilize all the space.  I'd like to have about 10 paintings going at once which would require adequate space for palettes, water, brushes, paper, etc.

More pictures soon!