Happy Images

I suppose every artist goes through this - I haven't been painting lately. In fact, I haven't painted since February. It's not for lack of ideas, thankfully I am blessed with plenty of creative ideas. It's time and stress. I tend to paint when I am happy. Conversely, painting makes me happy, so when I am stressed I to need to get off my butt!

Today I started painting again. I have my first potential commission. And I am working with primary red. What a thrill it is to work with this powerful color! Right now I am just practicing on mockups so that when I get to the final canvas the project will be completed perfectly.

The joy I feel is tangible. Ideas for paintings are flooding my brain. Here are some happy images that I think will be inspiring my upcoming works. Hope you enjoy them.

My favorite tea cup from Starbucks.

Flower ring and bracelet from Target. SNL bought these to wear to a 70s event! Aren't they cute?

Beads at Target. I think these colors would make a great color scheme for a room. Silver, white, orange and yellow. Groovy.

Veggie bags from flickr user hownowdesign. I love when ordinary objects become art. This would make a great painting, I am not a photorealistic painter, but I do feel very inspired by this image.

Mini canvas painted by my nephew GG. Love the colors! Stay tuned for paintings coming soon!

Yellow!

Image from Apartment Therapy Color Contest. See previous post here.

Today yellow is on my mind. Yellow is a color I have previously written about. (See previous posts, here and here.) Like orange, yellow is a color I have grown to love. Although, I still have not added yellow to my decor. Every home should have a small amount of yellow for good feng shui, and I have been experimenting with yellow paint. To me yellow is the color of happiness, and a little goes a long way. Here are some inspirational, happy, yellow images. Hope you enjoy!

From the new West Elm catalog. Like any bright color, yellow needs lots of white to balance it. I love the colors of that pillow.

Yellow, grey and white look great together. Image from flickr user cAKE$.

Dig this needlepoint pillow I photographed at a local vintage store! Kim, I think you need this. And speaking of Kim's place, have you seen her groovy yellow door and yellow chair? It is totally fun watching Kim's place evolve, better than any reality show. I am so envious of that white floor!

See more of Kim's home at Desire to Inspire or her flickr set.

Dig this yellow chair from flickr user Beatnic. I love how even the base is yellow! I might steal this idea.

I think this lamp from Target is cute, but I think it would rock if the base were spray painted yellow like Beatnic's chair.

Yellow teapots I photographed at a local vintage store.


GG, here's one for you. A yellow DS! Image from flickr user WooDrew.

I adore when ordinary objects become art.

Image from flickr user bitsandbobbins.



Image from flickr user Jeana Sohn.

I'm beginning to love primary colors. Image from flickr user Werner Schnell.


These canvases are fascinating! I intend to devote an entire post to this style of painting, so I won't say too much at this point. Image from flickr user .michael.newman.



Love this watercolor by Etsy user artworm.

I've been seeing lots of cute yellow fashions. Doesn't this yellow dress look cute with those orange beads? Photographed by me at a local vintage store.

Love this design by Marimekko. I often get clues for color schemes for rooms from fashion. This would translate to a gorgeous room. Pink, orange and a small amount of yellow.


And this cute dress from Marimekko proves that yellow and purple look great together. Both dresses can be seen at Saga Living.

I adore these shoes from flickr user jennbastin143. Wouldn't even matter that I would need a wheelchair if I wore these. No one would notice they'd be so riveted by these hot shoes.

Here's my first experiment painting with all primary colors. It's acrylic on canvas, 24" x 24". I will probably add more paint to it.

Feeling blue? Think about yellow! Add a piece of yellow to your home, it is sure to make you smile.

Wish I'd Painted That...

Hey retro mod lovers - it's time for another installment of "Wish I'd Painted That." Today's paintings were found in a vintage store called Suite Lorain. Looks like artist is Jill London, but I couldn't find any information on her. If anyone has any information on this artist, please contact me.

Aren't they groovy? I want the orange one.

So Much Beauty, Vol. II

Me and my camera. We are joined at the hip. Looking through the lens of my 4 megapixel wonder, I have been falling in love. With Cleveland, all over again. Laugh if you will, but Cleveland is a city of unexpected beauty and I intend to prove it. I feel like a perpetual tourist and I love it. I feel compelled to show people what I see.

Every day I make a new discovery, and today was no different. I was astounded to discover this statute in the middle of a busy section of town. I had to pull over, much to the chagrin of the drivers who were driving too fast to get to their destination. I barely heard the obscenities they screamed at me, I was in awe.

Imagine that. A statue of Mohandas Ghandi in our city. Standing beneath this sculpture was nothing short of a spiritual experience. The face was so alive, I literally felt he was looking down at me with love and compassion. How do sculptors do what they do? The pictures do not do it justice.

Our city also boasts a beautiful building designed by the architect Frank Gehry.

Photos of the Peter B. Lewis Building taken by Peggy.

What a remarkable sky. What a remarkable building. I've said it before and I'll say it again - beauty is everywhere I look.

So Much Beauty

Beauty is all around me. Everywhere I look I see beauty. I don't even have to travel very far. My city contains an infinite supply. I keep discovering new places. It's present whether I look up, or whether I look down. These images all came from one street. Such diversity - it's an artist's dream!

I love the raw vegetation in front of this building. I hope the owners won't be too tempted to manicure it when the weather gets nicer. I'm not sure why we humans feel the need to interfere with Earth's placement. The Earth does a fine job when left alone. I've always found the competitive lawn syndrome of the suburbs a bit strange.




I adore the tenacious flowers that peak out from the sidewalks.

There really is no such thing as a weed.

Vase Arrangement - Update

Below I wrote about the beauty of orange and how excited I am that Baby Bro and SNL painted an accent wall in their family room orange. I mentioned that SNL would probably play with her vase arrangement, since she shares the pottery addiction with me. We love to move vases around and come up with different arrangements. I find our creative differences interesting. She tends to prefer symmetry, and I tend to prefer asymmetry. Sometimes I move her vases around, only to return them to where she had them - she has mastered the art of display. Sometimes it is a collaborative process and even my nephew gets involved. In any event, playing with vase display is a lot of fun!

This is the arrangement we came up with this weekend. Don't these vases just pop against that orange background! Love it! Vases - Ambria vases available at CB2, O vases available at Kenneth Wingard.

Orange!

It's strange. For someone so obsessed with decor, I haven't been thinking of decor lately. Maybe it's because Spring has finally arrived and my thoughts are turning more towards the outdoors. That said, I am still completely obsessed with orange. I've written about orange a number of times. (See previous posts here and here.) I can't seem to get enough of it. And I think it's contagious.

My favorite color combination is orange with hot pink and, of course, tons of white.

My dining room. With orange vase that I recently sold. Oh dear, I may regret selling that vase. Oh well. Still have the digital image of it, which takes up a lot less room.

The Mizrahi bedding at Target proves that orange and pink look great together.

Orange also looks great with purple.

Above two images from HGTV.com. Dig that sofa! I want a purple sofa. Of course then I'd have to have these vases from Kenneth Wingard.

Two of my favorite things. Pottery and pillows.

Image from my apartment. Any bold color needs large does of white to balance it. Not convinced you love orange? Here are more images.

Orange looks great with blue and with turquoise. All images by Peggy. Remember the next time you are feeling blue - think orange!