Friendship

The pose of these two women was inspired by the dance of the three graces in Botticelli's "La Primavera."

I will probably revisit those three again and again because they are just so beautiful and if you pick apart the composition it is just genius. Full of triangles and what they call "golden sections." Following their postures was very similar to when I paint esoteric symbols like the Celtic Knots - over and under - and it becomes quite meditative and I am tired at the end.

The harmony between the women in his painting reminded me of friendship thus the title.

As usual I had a hard time capturing the blue in the photos. The background is warmer than shown here. To me blue is so important and always so difficult to translate on the internet. Ah well.......

Hope you all are having a great week.

Warmest wishes,

Carrie

I am learning to see again........

Okay... The past couple of weeks I have been studying the masters. Following what these great artists have done really changes the way you think when you paint. I better understand color and form and also better understand my limitations! A few years ago when I was painting a lot I remember that I began to look around and see the world in brush strokes - everything looked beautiful to me; full of depth and composition. I then entered a time in my life where I just didn't have the time to paint and this seeing slowly ebbed away. When I had the time to think about it - I missed it - but usually I was too busy. I am so grateful that I am in a place now where I can develop my art.

Part of this development has been studying the masters. I am especially enamored with Botticelli's flowers. I was reading that in La Primavera (shown) "a total of five hundred species of plants have been identified in the painting, of which around a hundred and ninety bloom between March and May in the countryside and gardens of Florence." (The Great Masters of Italian Art, Elena Capretti) I realized that in order to paint that many flowers identifiably that man must have been paying attention and recognizing the beauty in his surroundings. Since studying Botticelli and many others, I have noticed that I am beginning to see the beauty around me again. Simple things. The way the leaves cast a shadow on the gas tank, the way my dog rests his head on his paw or the curve of a face. It feels good to see again!

American Sybil

Well here are this week's listings on ebay . I have to say that I have really been trying to blog more often but I sometimes find it very difficult. Especially these last few weeks. I have really been bleeding into my art lately and I feel like words pale in comparison to the emotions I am able to express in my art work. I also feel "done" by Sunday.

I know that I love reading other blogs and peeking into other artist's creative processes so I will continue to try and share.

I hope you all enjoy and thank you so much for continuing to visit through my labored process!

Carrie

My First Commissions

This week for the first time I did a painting on request. Actually I did two commissioned paintings this week.

I have gotten requests in the past to paint a particular subject or scene but I have always declined. I didn't have the confidence in myself as an artist to capture the "vision." There was added pressure for the Madonna because she is such an icon and I wanted to do her justice. I pushed myself harder than ever with these paintings because I really wanted them to be something my two new patrons would like. I am so glad I finally braved these endeavors. Firstly, it was so fulfilling because the painting became an interactive project. I didn't paint these paintings, we painted them. Secondly, it pushed me to really hone in on quality and technique. So here they are, Madonna And Child and In Flight

How do commissions work?

Hello all!

Since I have been getting so many requests lately for commissioned art work I decided to sit down and devise a system for pricing etc.

This is how it works.......

I receive a request for a particular subject, painting etc. If it is something I feel I can do I will let you know and get started. I will email you pictures of the painting - if you can not view the pictures in your email I can also post them on my blog. If you are interested you can pay me through paypal, check or money order. Checks and MOs will take a little longer to ship. If you are not interested the painting will either go up for auction or on Etsy. For those of you unfamiliar with Etsy it is a non auction art selling site. I will give you a reasonable time period to decide.

Pricing
When requesting a commissioned piece you may want to consider the size as that affects the price. I currently charge 0.65 per square inch. However since I am charging you directly and don't have to pay an eBay fee I discount the piece by 4%. Pricing is as follows for some of the standard sizes:

11 x 14 - $96
12 x 12 - $90
14 x 18 - $157
16 x 20 - $200
18 x 24 - $270

These prices include the 4% discount but do not include shipping.

Now if the piece goes to auction you very well may be able to get it for much less especially during these slow summer months. I am willing to sell some of my pieces for less on ebay because it helps to build more commissioned work and more collectors for the busier holiday season.

I hope this helps and look forward to making some great art for all of you!

Renaissance Folk Art

Hello all - these are a few of the paintings up on ebay this week. All the poses and colors turned out to be very Italian. I wasn't sure what category to list them under so John helped me. We decided to list them under "other" and call them Renaissance Folk Art. I hope you enjoy them and I hope you all are having a great summer!

Carrie

Saint Catherine

There's a funny thing about this painting. I was sitting out on my deck waiting for my next painting to come to me. I got an urge to look at my photos from when I was in Italy last September specifically the photo of the statue of St. Catherine located near St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. I found my photo and fell in love with the imagery all over again. I decided to look up St. Catherine before I started painting and it turns out she was canonized and recognized on the day of her death - April 29th which turns out was the same day I thought of her and started the painting. If you believe in odd coincidences then I guess that is what you would call it - I personally believe in synchronicity.

This lovely lady just sold to an Etsy buyer. She has a great website called www.shamanstar.com and you might want to check it out.

I am really glad she has found a good home. One of the things I really love about this painting is that her hair is shown and flowing. That is a little daring for a Saint!

Have a great Saturday everyone!

Carrie