Art Exhibit Opening Reception

We had a tremendously success opening reception last Saturday evening for Embellished, a three woman show with Chrissy McIntyre, Liz Munro and yours truly. It was presented by Maplewood Arts and Culture in honor of Women’s History Month. We had a huge turnout in spite of the pouring rain and it was a very festive party atmosphere with music by the incomparable JanetZa Miranda.

If you missed the opening there is still time to catch the show during the gallery hours on Saturdays and Sundays from 2-4pm for the month of March. A possible artist talk/closing party is in discussion right now - I will keep you posted. Please note 10% of all sales from the show will be donated to Turning Point Community Services, a local organization supporting and assisting homeless and abused women. (PS - they are amazing!)

What if all the Worries were Flowers, embellished giclee

Brooklyn Row Houses, mixed media on canvas, 12x24

If you give a moose a raincoat...

Are you familiar with the children’s books, If you give a Moose a Muffin and If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, by Laura Numeroff? They were some of my favorites of my daughter’s picture and illustrated books. Charming stories of one thing leads to the next, and all the craziness that ensues.


It reminded me of a recent sketchbook piece I did that started as a warm up sketch as I was working out how to represent 1960’s mod raincoats. I wanted to capture the boldness, the mid century color palette, the facelessness so it can be anyone. It went through myriad of stages, sizes and variations. And, a friend saw one of the sketchbook pieces I did, fell in love - and bought it right out of my sketchbook!

She framed it in a cute square frame (I love square frames) and it found a home on her bookshelf.

A month or so later I met a friend of hers at their holiday party and she asked what kind of art I made - I explained I work mostly in watercolor and ink, and I pointed to the shelves to show her an example.

She loved it, showed her husband - and they asked to commission one inspired by their daughter. She had an adorable photo of her on the phone with a pink umbrella, a fluffy tutu over leggings, a flower on her hat - and boots. A bright spot of pinks, peaches and purples brightening the rainy day she was standing in!

I was really happy with the result of the commission - and so were they! This is a 10x10 frame which they will display on bookshelves too.

It was great fun to make these and to follow this unexpected path. But I will go where the boots, the raincoats - and the moose - take me!!

All these colorful illustrations are helping to distract me from the ongoing grey dreary weather in New Jersey. But I am immersing myself in color as I am currently preparing for a new 3 woman art exhibit that is set to open the first weekend in March. Stay tuned for more information…

All the best,

Erin


20th Anniversary of the SOMA Studio Tour

Yes, that's right...this year is the 20th Anniversary of the incredible SOMA Studio Tour with 70+ artists showing their work all across Maplewood and South Orange! I have been participating in the Studio Tour for most of the last 18 years - wow, time flies!!

You will find me exhibiting outside on at 729 Valley Street in Maplewood, ONLY on SUNDAY, Nov 5th with Chrissy McIntyre and Ridley McIntyre.

I hope you can stop by to say hello, see some new work, some older pieces (priced to sell) and catch a Sketching Demo!  Live sketch demos at 12:30 and 2:30, bring your sketchbook if you want to draw along with me!

Click here to find more info on all the participating artists on the SOMA Studio Tour website

Please Note: the official map has our location showing as Saturday but we are exhibiting on SUNDAY ONLY

I hope to see you there!
Erin

Daily Watercolor Sketchbook, Days 21 and 22

Ok, it is tough keeping up on the weekends. It just is.

But here are simple ink sketches for Saturday and Sunday, days 21 and 22, both fun fall plants. Daisies are blooming around right now!

Please, don’t eat the daises. (remember that show?! - best title ever!)

Mushroom foraging… ok, so these are really not growing around here but they sure are charming. I love mushrooms!

Daily Watercolor Sketchbook, Day 20

The Great Gatsby! A musical!

A giant WOW! We saw it at the Papermill Playhouse last night. It was unbelievably amazing. The costumes, the music, the acting, Jeremy Jordan, the sets, the Costumes!!!

So as we slog through another rainy day I am reliving the energy and fun of the show and doodling some flappers kicking up their heels in a joyous Charleston!

Daily Watercolor Sketchbook, Days 18 and 19

Funerals are hard
Seeing and experiencing the raw emotion, pain and loss
Bringing up difficult memories
They gut you and drain you

After attending a funeral yesterday of a good friend’s ex, and seeing their teen kids who will navigate the rest of their lives without a father, just wrecked me.

After I was home I just could not get a focus on what to do or to draw.
My sketchbook project seemed inconsequential
And outside of my grasp
Took a short walk to clear my head and realized that sketching something was actually tremendously important.
Drawing and making art is where I connect with my soul, my being. It’s where I find my angels and inspiration
It is where I am grounded and whole and alive
I needed to draw, and I needed something timeless… and so shells. The spirals of infinity. The beauty of nature. The power and eternity of the sea.

Sketching these tiny shells brought me so much peace. Tiny shells and tiny sketches- but tremendously soothing

After I was done I sat on the couch with a view of the yard and watched blue jays swooping and darting all around. A blue jay party like that is a rare occurrence in our yard. It was so joyful and special it inspired my sketch today.
I drew it quickly and painted it quickly to give it a little movement and spirit

These moments of presence and grace are the best reasons for this daily practice.
Feeling shifts already as I complete day 19 of 100…

Daily Watercolor Sketchbook, Days 15, 16, 17

Green tea
Specifically Matcha Green Tea
Every day - I drink 1-2 cups of organic matcha every day
For the antioxidants
The flavonoids
The anti-cancer benefits
The anti-inflammatory benefits

It was a bit of a crazy weekend with the Art Walk on Sunday. Not a lot of sketching time for sure. Live outdoor shows are very all consuming - and exhausting! But, they are fun and I saw so many friends, neighbors and clients. And the weather was beautiful after a total wash-out on Saturday.

I have been working on this page of illustrations for a few days, doing a drawing a day - and then I added watercolor today. And more green tea leaves, so showing it all as one.

It is fun to keep a sketchbook journal and draw one thing each day. I had started that practice back in January and did it for the first half of the year. Somehow I fell out of the practice, I am not sure why… but I loved it and I think it’s time for a return.

Sketching every day! Matcha tea every day! btw Jade Leaf organic matcha is my personal favorite and dissolves better than a lot of other matcha powders I have tried. Though they are all a bit resistant.

What are you drinking? and what are you sketching?

Daily Watercolor Sketchbook, Days 13 and 14

I am born and raised in Brooklyn (well until 13 - but those are some formative years!), so it has always had my heart. And I have always been in love with the bridge.

This sketch of the Brooklyn Bridge from Dumbo, is the first step in a series experiment.

Maybe I am cheating here a bit, as I drew it yesterday and added watercolor today - so counting it as one each! I get a pass as I am buried in prep for the Maplewood Art Walk and Music Festival that is happening tomorrow. It’s my first show in 6 months and I always forget how consuming the prep is.

Daily Watercolor Sketchbook, Days 11 and 12

I have a fear of plein air painting! It’s a loss of control thing I guess… you gotta just jump in and do it in the moment. No planning or roughs, no control over the elements… the wind, the sun, the rock hard apples falling!

But on Wednesday I had an opportunity to participate in a Plein Air event at Greenwood Gardens. It is such a beautiful and amazing place that I couldn’t pass up the chance.
I decided to keep it simple and low stress by focusing only on sketching
And taking photos for reference for more sketches, and for larger paintings.
Bringing a sketchbook and pencils/pens felt less scary. And would give me the time to walk the grounds and gets tons of photos.
I was very impressed with fellow artists who brought easels and oils, and spent their time on one piece in one location.
Greenwood gardens has such varied and interesting locations with a mix of plant and architecture that I wanted time to really walk around.
I collected lots of reference pics and also had the very soothing experience of drawing 2 different locations on site


The first two I drew yesterday on site and painted when I got home.
The summer house detail I drew Friday from my photos. Best part was I felt like I was there again.

I intend to do more plein air and on site sketching so I get more and more comfortable with it. It’s also a really great way to loosen up your drawings and trust your instincts.
I don’t love hauling the stuff, including a chair, which was invaluable.

What are your thoughts about working live

Have you tried plein air painting or drawing?

Daily Watercolor Sketchbook, Day 10

Tons of distractions today, putting our crazy little dog on high alert - he startled me any number of times! Pens, brushes and pencils flying out of my hand!

But I stuck with it and did a bit of doodling…

These 1970s groovy ladies are preliminary sketches for bigger ideas. You gotta start somewhere.

I almost gave up today but I knew I would be disappointed with myself if I didn’t commit to putting some ink and paint to paper. I am happy and satisfied that I stuck with it.

There will be more to come...


Daily Watercolor Sketchbook, Days 8 and 9

I have sketching and posting daily and made it through the first week. Some days were definitely more challenging to carve out the time.
But it is so worth it. It’s fun to look forward to, and very satisfying when completed. 
Posting them on the weekends will be difficult as family is a priority. But I can catch up with the postings on Mondays and just make sure I do the sketching.

So it stays fun and achievable - which is key!
Yesterday we went to Montclair State University for their open house event and this is a sketch from one of their buildings. Love the red Spanish tile roofs!

 And those vivid red rooftops inspired my desire to paint more red… hence the cherries today.

Vivid juicy and chock full of anti-oxidants.

 

My sketchbook is a Canson XL Series Watercolor book, 7x10, 140lb paper

My pens… Micron, 05pt

Daily Watercolor Sketchbook, Day 7

Pastry case at Bovella’s Bakery

Super tired today but still showed up in my sketchbook. Happy I did, it is very satisfying as I head to the couch for a little nap.

I met a dear friend at Bovella’s Bakery in Mountainside recently and I was totally captivated by the pastry cases. So inviting, charming and captivating.

I thought I was done, but was lacking something so I added the splashes of color and it gave it some zing.

My sketchbook is a Canson XL Series Watercolor book, 7x10, 140lb paper

My pens… Micron, 05pt

Daily Watercolor Sketchbook, Day 6

An apple a day keeps the Dr away, as the saying goes.

We saw it in action when our daughter was little. Apples were one of her favorite foods and she ate one every morning. Sometimes 2! And she was rarely sick.

As in she has only been on antibiotics twice.

I can count her stomach viruses on one hand, and have fingers left over. So I highly recommend that whole apple a day thing!

 

Today’s inktober prompt is Golden, and it is anything but golden outside (back to rain, fog, grey – Again) so I wanted to do this one to bring some sunshine into my day.

Enter the Golden Delicious apple. A beauty though truth be told, not my favorite apple variety.

Gala, Fuji, Honeycrisp are my first choices (red delicious and mcintosh are my least favorites).

 Today I sketched in ink before painting, looking for a variety of loose painted and detailed drawn for contrast and interest.

 My favorite part of this is where some of the yellow apples bleed into the purple shadows.

My colors: lemon yellow, permanent gamboge, permanent scarlet, ultramarine, and dioxazine violet.

My sketchbook is a Canson XL Series Watercolor book, 7x10, 140lb paper

My pens… Micron, 05pt

The text is paraphrased from SpecialtyProduce.com ivory flesh is fine-grained, aqueous and semi-firm with a crisp light tender consistency. They are also prone to bruising. Love the way they are described and makes you want to nurture these little beauties.

Daily Watercolor Sketchbook, Day 5

This morning got off to a rough start, but I was determined not to let it ruin my day.

It’s just not worth it.

So, I took a long, very brisk walk in the sun to clear my head, and wondered what I make in my sketchbook today. Being cranky and irritated do not encourage creative inspiration or flow – very much the opposite.

 I decided I needed a very low stakes, low stress, option. Something easy to shift my mood.

 Loose watercolor pumpkins scattered on the page was my answer… which is mostly about mixing paint (and always soothes my savage beast).

Painting my little pumpkins Just. For. Fun.

Lovely, bright oranges, reds, yellows, golds, and umbers (raw and burnt).

It felt really good.

Really calming

My breathing slowed as I appreciated the moment, and the process.  And I was loosening up.

Then I added a bit of color splashes.

Now to ink or not ink? I love my ink lines, so I went right in with ink instead of agonizing over the decision.

I highly recommend this process of loosely painting circles and ovals… you can make pumpkins, tomatoes, onions, grapes, cherries, to name a few.

I’ll be doing more like this for the soothing, centering, relaxing feeling it brings. I highly recommend it.

Do you think you will try it? If so let me know….

Daily Watercolor Sketchbook, Day #4

I am currently working on a large custom house portrait with beautiful and extensive landscaping. One of the dominant landscape features is a very large Rose of Sharon tree, and I have been hesitant to work on it. The house is coming along so beautifully and fear that I might mess up the tree is really holding me back. 

Enter… my daily sketchbook challenge, swooping in like a superhero to save the day! It occurred to me this morning that it’s the best place to play and practice the tree and work out the tricky parts.  And the cute little daffodils blooming beneath it.

Now I am ready.
Well almost…
Still a little trepidation putting color to paper, but readier than I was.
So off I go…with my painted sample to guide me.

Daily Watercolor Sketchbook, Day #3

Echo Lake Park

5 straight days of rain. And grey, grey and more grey! All that dreariness and rain grinds me down, so last Wed when it finally broke I went for a walk in the park. To see a blue sky was truly a gift. It was early so I practically had the park to myself.

I was able to get this amazing photo… feels like an impressionist painting, doesn’t it?

So, I definitely have to make it a painting of it – but first, a watercolor and ink sketch so I can work out angles, color palette, overall layout. My sketchbook is the perfect place to do a little no-stress planning, and playing.

 I sketched it in pencil first, then inked it. (PS – my initial sketch had all the angles off. I was able to correct them with my ink lines)

 Then I went in with paint. I heightened the colors for emphasis and to match how it felt to be there. The colors felt more intense and vibrant in contrast to the preceding 5 days of rain/grey.

The world felt fresh, alive and so so colorful!

It’s fun to take a favorite scene, landscape, photo, etc. and make it your own. I think I will do this one more than once to play with different color combos.

The beauty of artist license.

 What are you drawing today?

 

Daily Watercolor Sketchbook, Day #2

Facial expressions are hard!

Drawing them while keeping an illustrated character consistent is a real challenge. It takes a ton of practice so today I am using the daily challenge to continue to hone my Ava Appelsawse skills.

A few years back I heard Rosemary Wells, creator and illustrator of Max and Ruby, speak at the Mapso Book Festival. She was amazing and she explained that she starts each day with a warm up illustration of her 2 characters, which she then tears in half - and throws away!

This first piece is purely for warm up and to get her hand ready to work. I was shocked, and awed.

I quickly sketched Ava here peeking around the tree, book 2 has more than a few scenes in the woods, so this was good practice. Will I tear it up and throw it away - not so fast! It may still end up in the 2nd book. Either way it was an excellent warm up and a great way to start my day.

Daily Watercolor Sketchbook, Day #1

Inspired by artists who have done 100 day challenges (or longer) I have decided to try my own. Seems very fitting to begin on October 1st when so many daily drawing challenges kick off… Inktober, Artober, Catober, etc.

My parameters… a daily watercolor and ink drawing which I will share here on the blog. I can do anything I want but will use some of the daily challenges as prompts, if I am ever in search of inspiration. The goal is to keep me sketching. Everyday.

I believe a daily sketchbook practice is tremendously helpful and important. For creativity, for health, for focus, for connecting with your inner being and your voice, for feeling your feelings, for fun. Fo Fun! Is there any better reason?! And I haven't been doing it consistently enough. It will be a challenge to do one daily, and post it - but that’s why they are called challenges! right?!

For my first I am turning lemons into lemonade… we have had SO MUCH rain recently. The unending grayness was really getting to me so to cheer myself up I had sketched some bright, mod 1960s raincoats last week. Thought it could make a great surface pattern design so this morning I filled another page.

I had a great time creating these little ladies… and I love painting the little squares of color for my palette. Day 1 of 100 completed!

Finding Your Creative Connection, #11 Magazines from the Library

This week’s creativity trigger is an artist date… 

 #11 Visit a library and choose 3 magazines

 Hello – this week for my artist date I visited my local library to peruse the magazine racks. I used to be a magazine addict!! In my 20s and 30s I must have had a dozen subscriptions at any given time, and still I would buy a new one when I looked in stores. I could not get enough.

Over time I got my obsession under control and I eventually canceled all my subscriptions and only bought a copy or two when I was traveling, or sometimes commuting. Maybe I am the reason the magazine industry took such a hit!!

 But, magazines can be a great jolt of inspiration, and if you tap into the library’s stock you can easily sample a large variety. I decided to visit our library and choose 3 different magazines to flip through… home décor, fitness and fashion. I actually ended up with 2 home magazines. Like a kid in a candy store! Hard to know when to stop.

I chose non-current issue so I could check them out and bring them home. So my visit to the library was a grab and go and took very little time. Thought it might be nice to sit in the yard in the sun with our pup to flip through them.

The first one I went through was Vogue, May 2023 and the tribute to Karl Lagerfeld… the magazine is sprinkled throughout with illustrations by various artists and designers – jackpot!! This one is tremendously inspiring and I will go back through later at my leisure.

The 2nd is Country Living, April-May 2023 and the first thing I spotted was an article on curb appeal, inviting paths, fun and playful front door colors (I love a pop of color on the front door!). Then hydrangea hedges… this magazine is chock full of inspiring images and articles.

The 3rd, Women’s Health, January 2023, and the 20 minute workouts to do with dumbbells. Exactly what I needed to add some variety to my daily exercise.

 So, this Artist Date was a real winner for me! And, gave me some fun sketching and illustration ideas… which is exactly the goal.

 You can do this in about 30 minutes, or if you have less time grab 3 and check them out of the library so you can browse them at home. Will you give it a try?

If so, please let me know if it helps you or what you experience, would love to hear about it.

See you next week.

 Stay creative my friends.

Erin

 You can sign up for my email newsletter here to stay connected.

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This blog series is an exploration into staying creatively connected. How to find it, nurture it, and keep it flowing. And, possibly to find it again if it’s been disconnected for years, or decades. Cultivating creativity is an ongoing process.

Finding your creative connection, #10 A New Approach

This week’s creativity trigger is an activity… 

#10 Try a new approach or technique

This week I didn’t get out for an artist date. I failed to plan one in advance, so it didn’t happen. Lesson learned, planning and putting it on the calendar, in advance!, is critical for it to happen.

So instead of beating myself up for what I didn’t do… I decided to experiment with my paints and tried some new approaches.

A while back I bought a large box of Strathmore watercolor cards with envelopes, and they make a great warm up for me to sketch and paint a card – a small and non-intimidating format, so I approach them with more freedom and experimentation. And I was definitely reaching for that combination!

 I am very inconsistent when it comes to actually using them but this past week I was inspired to paint Black-eyed Susan’s for a birthday card. Nothing says summer like black-eyed Susan’s! I wanted to try this one a bit looser and only render one flower in detail.  (I am usually compelled to draw everything in detail)

First they were all lightly drawn in pencil, then I loosely painted the low focus flowers first – moving gradually toward the more and more focused ones. And finished by inking the detailed center flower. I really like the effect it achieved.

 The next experiment, I painted a water scene but with John Singer Sargent in mind. I wanted to capture the looseness and movement in his watercolors. I especially adore how he painted water.  The reference photo is from Long Beach Island last summer, in Harvey Cedars. I love the reflection of the posts and was very focused on creating a proper reflection.

Didn’t quite capture the looseness of Sargent but am loving how this came out. And I enjoyed approaching my paints in a different way.

 Did you go on an artist date this past week? Did you do advance planning and put it in your calendar? Would love to know!  If not will you try something new like I did?

If so, please let me know if it helps you or what you experience! 

See you next Wednesday.

 

Stay creative my friends.

Erin

You can sign up for my email newsletter here to stay connected.

Follow me on Instagram

This blog series is an exploration into staying creatively connected. How to find it, nurture it, and keep it flowing. And, possibly to find it again if it’s been disconnected for years, or decades. Cultivating creativity is an ongoing process.