I’ve been working on some wonderful, colorful new pieces of art the last few weeks. Here are a few close ups! Painting is a moment of calm and creativity during these still-weird days of quarantine.
I have a new collection releasing on June 18th. The pieces are all small, and perfect as gifts for the (mostly virtual) milestone celebrations the summer months bring. The bright and full of hope. Stay tuned on instagram or by joining my email list!
Hi Friends! On May 1st, I launched a fine art collection called the Burst Collection! The pieces are full of color and movement and hope!
When I started painting my collection in early February, I didn’t plan that it’s release date would be in the middle of a pandemic. With all the drastic changes happening in the world, I was ambivalent to stay on schedule and worried it wasn’t the right time to be making and marketing art. But with beautiful encouragement from my friends and art community, I decided to push forward, even if only for the benefit of my mindset. These 20 paintings came from hope, worry, changing seasons, new traditions and pursuing creativity even in the unknown. I hope they will be an open, energizing, hope-filled and encouraging experience for you, your family, and your safe spaces.
PRISMS
Prisms add an extra dimension and layer to photos (see above). I’d experimented with friend’s prism twice before and always wished I had one. So instead of the continued wishing, I just went ahead and got one (only like 20 bucks on Amazon)! It’s definitely not to be used all the time, but in certain, artsy situations it’s a fun way to add some more interest. It’s basically a big light-bending experiment. I want to learn more about the techniques before I add it into my portrait sessions, but it will happen eventually!
STOK
This coffee company‘s cold brew was on one of my weekly obsession lists last summer, and guess what, they stood the test of time! I never leave the grocery store without a bottle.
PUBLIC ART
Oh my gosh. I am doing some research for a photo project about the area’s best and most colorful public art murals, and YOU GUYS! Boston is WAY more full of them than I originally thought! Check out this WBUR blog post I found. It helped me do a lot of my research and I am so excited for my photo project in August.
That’s it for this week. Happy Friday!
We haven’t had a coffee date in a while! So let’s do this: grab your Tuesday-but-it-feels-like-Monday coffee and stay a while.
On Saturday afternoon Nate and I, along with two friends, put our kayaks into the Charles River and took off for what was officially our longest ride yet. We were on the water for almost 3 hours! We explored a lot and I liked it. The way out was nice and easy because the wind was carrying us along, but on the way back the same winds were not on our side. Definitely an arm workout! Highlight of the day: the 6 cute turtles I saw. Because turtles.
On Sunday we drove up to my parent’s house in NH to celebrate the 4th a day early. Nate’s parents were there too, so it was a whole big party! We played yard games (bocce! kanjam!) and then walked along the perfectly sunny beach for a while. The weather was the bomb dot com and the buffalo chicken my mom made for dinner was something to write home about (or at least pin on Pinterest). Lowlight of the day: Nate and I lost to our dads in bocce ball.
On the actual 4th we watched our local parade (it’s a big deal), and hung out with some friends before the fireworks! Low key and livin’ life. I’ve never had a strong love of July 4th as a holiday, but I definitely appreciate it and all it’s American dreamin’. *insert american flag emoji here*
OMG WAIT! Last Friday I installed my first ever solo art show! It is up and viewable in the bakery on Natick Common until September 1st. It’s a collection of bold and fun life lessons to encourage your day, lovingly named ‘Paper Pep Talks’. Highlight of this: Maybe I’ll be famous soon.
Short coffee date, but hope you had fun! Come back Thursday for a summer music roundup!
Last Saturday morning I was a vendor at my very first market! I’ve been a long time attendee of the Natick Farmer’s Market, so it was extra special to actually be a vendor at it! I honestly went in with no expectations; I knew I would probably give away a lot of business cards, and was OK if that was it. But luckily 4 sweet souls found pieces of art that they loved! I was so surprised! I had a lot of good feedback on my work, and quite a bit of interest in custom work, which I am praying will pan out in the future. I loved being part of the local action and getting to meet a variety of people from my town. One observation I made was that teenagers were particularly interested in my art. I am wondering if that is because hand-lettering is so prevalent on social media these days… or if they were just really cool teenagers 🙂
I also had a personal squad who came to support me! Nate was key is helping me set up the tent and tables, and bringing me coffee 🙂 My parents, my in-laws AND two of my four siblings-in-laws came to hang out (my mom was the principal photo-taker). A few different friends from bible study and my running group stopped by, and my sweet friend Amy surprised me with a visit as well! Thank you to all who made time in your day to say hi!
I will be back at the Natick Farmer’s Market on July 30th and August 6th and I’d love to see you there!
Stephanie