I love the texture and smell of my oil paints. Thick fat color I can mix and layer. But a few times a year I sit with my watercolors and work on series inspired by my walks in Westport. Sometimes it feels like I'm conducting music. I just put a new series up on Etsy titled River Lentement. A french tern used in music to describe slowly but surely.
Going to Block Island, or sometimes called New Shoreham, in the summer is like visiting a dreamy children's book. Gentle hills, sweet but dramatic cliffs softened with sleepy dunes and beaches. You can get around entirely on a bike. And though you can see so much of the island from the top of it's hills and victorian porches there is the good kind of aloneness that seems to happen everywhere you go. Paintings inspired by our last trip to the island.
I know I know, it's really coming in under the wire for Christmas shopping but you do what you can do. My motto around this time of year is, if I'm not finding joy in doing it, I don't do it. Opening my little Etsy art shop was pure joy. Intimidated for way too long, I found going through the body of work I've had professionally shot to get up on a site some day, was pure delight. I don't let myself step out of the process to judge in anyway while I'm painting because I start down that awful path of "will this painting be loved by anyone else?" I would, however love your feedback on the site, pricing, descriptions, etc. My little shipping elf tells me if we get an order in by the Dec. 17-18 you can most likely get it by Christmas Eve. Just a reminder I have two etsy sites. One for hats and one for art. For art you search for alyncarlsonart or just go here.
I love these three together on a blue or white or grey wall.
I've been trying out some new silicone brushes. They look like thick, fancy spatulas. They've helped me discover some new blending and scraping methods. A few new oil paintings from this weekend. Poppy seed oil on panel. Here's a link to where you can buy these very cool new brushes.
Yup really truly in my hands as I write this. Paul and I are are so happy with the results. It is beautiful. You can get a sneak peak by going to Craftside Blog and download one of my hat design patterns for free. Goodreads has a contest for the month that you can enter to win one of my books for free.
The rose hat made from coffee filters is one of our favorites. Thanks Zoe for being our wonderful model!
I'm prepping for South Coast Artist Studio Tour which takes place two weekends for me this year. Stop by July 19+ 20 or August 16+17 for some color therapy. What has been interesting for me is the feedback from people with a gallery visit and the tour visit is very different. I think people feel less intimidated and ready to share their reactions to my work when it's in my back yard. It might be the hay on the floor, plywood on the walls, or maybe it's the wine, but I love visiting with you. Come by.
I love this poppy seed oil paint so much, occasionally I cry little color tears.
My pals over at Beehive Handmade have a new line of jewelry that I crave to wear daily. Beautifully handcrafted pieces inspired by a little Downton Abbey with some mid century thrown in. They are offering a sale this weekend to help get you spiffed up for the season. Shop till you drop here. Type in longweekend and get a 15% mark down. I may just have to own that heart with the "Hell Yes" inscribed on it.
Paul shot these and unfortunately I ate most of them.
One of my favorite projects in the last few months was creating the new logo and packaging design for a great company, 600lb Gorilla Cookies. Frozen balls of pure love. Real cream, real butter, real chocolate chips make these easy to pull off as home made. They sell them at Walmart, Stop and Shop, BJ's and are so worth picking up. My grandson's first greeting to me when he walks in my front door is "Got cookies?" You can make friends with the gorilla in the apron here.
Granny apron on this big ol' gorilla makes me smile.
Yes! You can now order my Paper Hat book on Amazon by going here. The book delivery is September 1 but you'll get a price break if you order early. 20 designs to make from mostly recycled materials, the level of complication ranges from beginner to more advanced. Over 60 illustrations and photos, this book was a year in the making and will be a fun afternoon or weekend art project with your favorite little one.
"My interest is in experience that is wordless and silent, and in the fact that this experience can be expressed for me in artwork which is also wordless and silent"
Agnes Martin would have been one hundred today. A Canadian by birth, she spent time in NY and settled in New Mexico. She lived a quiet life, supported local school projects in Taos where she lived, and she painted. I love these two portraits of her, seated in similar chairs. When I look at her later work, the delicate palette, perfectly proportioned and balanced grids, I hear 3-4 people, sometimes just 1 or 2, each humming there own long lovely note note. She liked to sip martinis, too. My kind of lady.
