April Showers Bring May Flowers

I have been finally sitting down and painting a few new flower pictures for the Spring Barn Sale.  There are still a lot to do but this is all I have so far.
I have been absolutely loving the yellow/gray and the orange/gray color combinations this year.  They are so beautiful together!  I wanted to incorporate that into my flower painting.  For the first one I couldn't decided so I did both!

I didn't want the same shades of gray to be with both the yellow and the orange, so I mixed it up a little.  Since orange is a stronger and denser color to me I wanted to pair it with a lighter gray and yellow with the darker gray.  I thought if I paired yellow with the lighter gray they wouldn't contrast enough and almost wash each other out.  Here's how it turned out in the end:

All done and framed :)

Since I received tulips in my Valentine's Day flower arrangement, they have been on my mind.  So I painted a few with a different color combination:

This one only needs to be cut and framed and then I think the colors will pop more.
I have a few 5x7's I am working on but didn't get to finish today but I figured I'd give you an idea of what's to come:

I also painted a few smaller canvas on small easels.  I started a new job and wanted to make something for my desk and thought these would be perfect!
My gray and yellow with tulips:

 And my orange and blue:

 I had to take 2 pictures, one with the flash and one without the flash because the flash wasn't showing all of the different colors of the sun behind the wave.

That's all for now!  I hope everyone starts to enjoy the colors and flowers that are starting to pop up outside!  The grass looks so green it's wonderful!
Enjoy!!
xoxo Savannah

Erasing Back, Drawing With An Eraser

When I was in school, one of the different tools I experienced drawing with was my eraser.  Yes, you read it correctly haha, my eraser.  We would take a charcoal stick and completely cover our paper with a thick layer of black charcoal.  This is the exact opposite of what I was use to, I was obviously use to drawing on clean white paper.  The professor had a set up in the studio like she always did and when we were done coloring our paper black she told us to pick up our eraser and choose a spot to start drawing.  If we made a mistake we would use our charcoal stick to correct it.  It was a lot of fun and really interesting, here are some pictures:

This was always called erasing back.  I am not sure if that's that actual name for this type of art or not but that's what I always call it.  We were never allowed to use white pastels during these exercises, only later on when we would mix techniques for projects.
Once we practiced this for a few classes we actually were able to start mixing it up, have half the paper we were using be colored black and then erase back to draw and the other half start off as the normal white paper.  Here are a few of those:

This reminds me that I haven't done any pieces like this in a little while.  Maybe it can be a new project for me to keep me on my toes and practicing :)
If you enjoy drawing, I hope you adventure out a little and put the pencil down and try drawing with your eraser a little.
xoxo Savannah

It's That Time Again

The Spring Barn Sale is only 2 and a half weeks away.  The Barn has been coming together very fast and with lots and lots of hard work and sweat!  Lisa and Chris have been working so hard and non stop!
Here are a few of the displays I helped merchandise:

There is still a lot more to do!

Merchandising is SO much fun but a lot of work.  I love working with all of the colors!  We were at it all day again today.  I will post some more pictures of some of the other displays I helped with.  Hopefully I will be able to take some pictures when it is all finished before any of the customers get at it!

xoxo Savannah

Forgetting to Share

It's amazing what you will find while searching for Easter eggs! During the holidays I was doing a little bit of experimenting with decorating wine glasses.  Every craft fair I have ever gone to I have always seen wine glass, wine bottles, martini glasses, and oil/vinegar bottles painted.  All of the different types always look amazing.  Last Fall my mom picked me up some wine glasses and asked me if I wanted to give it a try.  I figured why not!
During the holidays I forgot to post pictures and share what I had done.  Better late than never.
I only have acrylic paints at home and was just experimenting so for right now, these glasses are for decorating purposes only.
The first glass I tried was of course.....pumpkins! haha

 In the background you can see an Easter basket.  I came across these glasses that where put away in our hutch.  I only came across them because I was on an Easter Egg Hunt!  (by the way I win every year ;) haha)

It was so much fun painting these, I even tried a few for Christmas time:

I don't have too much experience with these but hopefully this up coming season I will be able to do some more, maybe I will even try some flowers and waves this summer.  I can't guarantee anything because my boyfriend recently proposed and we are now planning a wedding :)
I am going to keep up my weekly blogs but bare with me if I ever forget!
xoxo Savannah

Advice From Artists

My aunt bought me a book called "Artist to Artist, 23 Major Illustrators Talk To Children About Their Art".  This book is about different artists (some I knew and some I didn't) sharing what they have learned about art, their art styles, and giving some advice about art.  It was really inspiring and interesting to read.  Some of the artists in it are Eric Carle and Chris Van Allsburg.

Here are only some of the interesting things the artists said that I wanted to share with you:

"A chef from a famous restaurant comes out and talks about his special dishes, his secrets, his techniques.  And it is true that if you follow his directions, step by step, you can make a meal just like his, and it will be delicious.  In the case of art, too, by following an expert artist's directions and copying her methods, you could probably produce a picture exactly like hers.  But such a picture would have no artistic value.  There is really no simple 'recipe' or method for creating a good drawing or painting, such as there is in cooking." - Mitsumasa Anno

"Artists observe.  The trajectory of a ball, the thrust of a twig, the enigma of fog, patterns in the sand, the uniqueness of every cloud, the convolution of an ear, the mood on a friend's face...everything has meaning to or eyes." - Nancy Ekholm Burkert

"As people who paint and draw, we are all connected by our pictures.  Artists who are working today, making paintings and picture books and cartoons, and those who lived hundreds or even thousands of years ago, like the cave painters in France and Spain, all speak to us and show us what they saw and how they felt.  And I respond with my pictures, and you respond with yours." - Mordicai Gerstein

"If you dare to follow you own dream of becoming an artist, you will dare to be different.  This will take courage, and your family and friends may not always understand, but to be an artist is to have the gift of seeing the world in a unique way; a gif you can share with the world for the rest of your life." - Wendell Minor

"The most important thing in the whole of life is to love what you do.  If you want to be an artist, don't draw from movies and television.  That's something someone else has already imagined.  Draw from your life.  Draw all the time.  Expect to be different from other kids, because if you are an artist, you are different.  Sometimes it's hard to be different.  Sometimes it hurts when people don't understand you or laugh at you for not being cool enough, but stay the course.  Believe in yourself.  Believe in the paintings and drawings that come out of your mind and your hand." - Rosemary Wells

Art is passion, something inside of people whether it is through music, painting, photography, cooking, sculpting, designing, and many more.  Some pieces come from deep within and others are surface and experimental thoughts.  At times your mind and body get lost.  Art is passion through expression.  You can apply a lot of what these artists said to your life.
Here are some pictures from the book:

I hope you were able to find what some of what these artists said to be enlightening and enjoyable just like I did.  If you have any questions, I highly recommend picking up this book to read, or share with your kids or even your students!

Thank you Auntie Susie!

xoxo Savannah