art collection addition: 'Blue'

My fascination with portraiture shows no signs of waning any time soon. This is my most recent addition to our Ruth Shively collection. Blue is an oil painting on wood panel. I'm not yet sure where she will reside.

Most likely a deep red wall background, or possibly a much more neutral, warm eggshell-hued wall. Wall color certainly impacts the overall feel. I only wish we had more space around the perimeter of our very modest sized home to prop paintings on the floor against the wall. I now stick with smaller pieces as the walls are filling up. Must build more walls!

new art: portraiture

Much to my chagrin, blogging time is scarce. Sometimes I have a chance to post, but I haven't yet snapped the requisite photos to accompany my posts. No excuses today. I just quickly snapped a couple pix of my latest art acquisition.

I've shared here before about my love of portraiture and collecting paintings. Ruth Shively, who lives just down the way in Portland, Oregon, is definitely one of my most favorite favorites. Several weeks back I added her glorious "Russe" to my collection. This painting, on wood panel, is 14" x 20" and will soon find her home on my bedroom wall. For now she is propped in a chair where I still get to see her daily. I love art in general, but much of it feelings fleeting to me. Not so with Ruth's compositions. Russe will endure.

Made by Joel

I have no stock of written posts at the ready for those extra busy Tuesdays when I am missing either the inclination or the time for this little blog. Today, I have it listed on my calendar with a small niche of time and there is so much I would like to cover. Yet I find myself jumping all over the place - from plaids to painted portraits to Alexi Murdoch. This means it's a good day to focus on an artist or blogger whose work wows and inspires me.

Today, it's Joel Henriques of Portland, Oregon. In his blog, Made by Joel, he shares some of his ingenious crafts and projects for kids and adults alike. For me, much of the appeal of his creations is the beauty of their simplicity. It's that kind of simplicity that seems to be generally over-looked by most of us. I am enamored with this kind of vision. Joel has an art site as well, where you'll find his still life and abstract pieces, mobiles and more. There's a good bit of this site that I have yet to peruse.

I so look forward to reading Made by Joel as his designs all strike me as functional art. Here are some of my recent favorites:

This alphabet game.

This fabulous lamp.

These pillow dolls & pouch.

So much goodness to be found here. Thank you Joel!

Oliver Jeffers

I've recently started reading Abbey Hendrickson's blog Aesthetic Outburst. Great name aside, Abbey's blog has piqued my interest in a big way. I am trying to carve out a bit of time (twice weekly actually - my new plan to make it happen by scheduling it in) to visit some favorite blogs, Aesthetic Outburst included.

When I recently saw her post on artist/author Oliver Jeffers it seemed a bit of kismet. I adore his children's books, but I am especially smitten by his paintings. The Substitute Window is a favorite as are these:

title unknown


Still Life with Maths and Orange


It's best that you visit his site for more images. Here's a great video of Oliver sharing his illustration process:



I missed my chance to own a reproduction copy of this sketch book completed in about 9 months by four artists, including Oliver, each entry in response to the previous artist's entry. The book passed back and forth between Brooklyn and Belfast.

Friday Focus on Art - Jen Corace

Today's artist is Jen Corace. She's probably not new to many of you. So if I have three readers now, I'm guessing that two of you know her. She has illustrated several children's books. Or perhaps you've seen one of her journals. I am eager to get my hands on The Humblebee Hunter, written by Deborah Hopkinson, a story about Charles Darwin and his way of observing the natural world at home with his family.

I am writing this post in our dining room where two of her prints grace the walls and bring me as much joy with every viewing as when they were first purchased.


Stumps and Snakes


Sitting, Thinking, Staring

In my view, her art always offers up a great story. I love the lines of her pen and ink drawings. She achieves the most beautiful of soft muted colors. Based on comments received about the pieces we have displayed in our home, her creations are well appreciated by all ages.

Friday Focus on Art - John Buck

My first "Friday Focus on Art" post is a day late. Just ran out of hours to get in done yesterday. I so love this artist's work!

Last month, I went to see a John Buck exhibit. So glad I did! I am completely in awe of his carvings and sculptures and am easily able to connect with his work on a personal level. I was lucky to take some classes, recently, with a master wood carver. I’ve gained a new appreciation for all that goes into Mr. Buck’s art.

His large scale woodblock prints - blocks jigsawed together to create each massive piece - are staggering. I wished for a bench or two to relieve my aching back, as I spent probably an average of 7-10 minutes examining each work of art. Fairly quickly, you can to recognize many of the icons he repeats as he offers commentary on issues - local and global - that affect us all. Each piece is so clearly a narrative. I wonder if my interpretations comes anywhere close to what the artist had in mind.

I located a print of The Coal Mine, 1996, available for sale. It’s a 4 color woodcut, 62”x37”. Probably shouldn’t have sought it out, but I can dream.

Words to live by

A few weeks back I stumbled upon Keri Smith's How to Feel Miserable as an Artist. This list is the single item tacked to my wall as my new work space transformation continues. I don't fancy myself an artist by any means. Instead, I prefer to work on honing the skills of my craft. I suppose it follows, then, that I am a crafter of sorts. Skill-building is not intimidating. Identifying oneself to others as an artist is petrifying. So I haven't settled on any concise descriptors for my work as a whole. Nothing feels quite right...yet. This, in part, is reason enough to commence blogging.

Having said all of that, I do consider all of us to be artists. More on this in another post. Back to Keri. As stated in her blog, Wishjar, she is an author/illustrator, guerilla artist. I think she offers heaps of thoughtful and sometimes provocative insights. I've only browsed her work in the past, but I expect to visit Wishjar more frequently moving forward. My arsenal of creative habits is growing! Check out Keri's Artist's Survival Kit.

An artist who inspires me daily with her sketches of mythical beasts, horses and other magical creatures: My daughter, Ruby. Her little sister's work is equally captivating in an entirely different way.