Following My Muse

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-26T15:55:00.000-05:00

I hope your holidays have been wonderful!

If you are looking for something interesting to see, along with all of the other holiday activities offered at Tunkhannock's Dietrich Theater, there is also a beautiful, interactive holiday display that is delightful for children and adults alike.

This display was designed and created by Stephen Hendrickson, who is the production designer for the television show, "The Good Wife." My photographs of the display were featured in an article which ran on the front page of the Lifestyle Section of the Scranton Times-Tribune.

You can read the article here.

Here are some of the detail shots of the display, "On Christmas Eve, Who Let The Monkeys In?"

If you are in the Tunkhannock area, and get a chance, stop in at the Dietrich and take a look.

Have a Happy New Year!

Emma

2011-06-04T23:18:00.000-04:00

Some images just don't need words...

How Do You Spell Adorable?

2011-05-11T19:25:00.000-04:00

S-O-P-H-I-A!

I recently had the pleasure of photographing this sweet little one-year-old and her family. Just look at those beautiful blue eyes!

We postponed this session hoping for warmer weather, and I was glad we did! I knew her parents wanted some outdoor portraits in addition to the indoor ones, and I learned long ago that it's much easier to keep a toddler happy when they're not shivering! We ended up with a gorgeous day that was absolutely worth waiting for.

New Beginnings

2011-04-22T00:19:00.000-04:00

I have not posted here in a L-O-O-O-NG time. I don't think I've painted since my last post. My boys keep me running -- all of them, including my husband!

I have not lost my creative spirit, however! Lucky for me, I still have photography, and that has really blossomed in the last year. I've continued to photograph all kinds of things that inspire me, but have found myself doing some portrait work, and have found that to be inspiring as well!

The portrait work was kind of accidental...sort of. I've always loved capturing kids and families with my camera. I've always found myself striving to push my technical limits in order to create better portraits. I had decided I'd like to make it my career path as my kids got older, but did not have a definite time frame in mind.

Then, last summer, a friend of mine wanted a portrait done of her children with all their cousins. I am delighted to say that I have been getting calls through word of mouth ever since! It has been so much fun!

Here are a couple photographs from the session that got me started:

I am so grateful to my friend for giving me the push that got me started moving down this path...

...and I'm sure I'll find time to paint again eventually!

Jurista Road

2009-09-21T19:57:00.003-04:00

"Jurista Road"

12" x 9"

Pastel

While visiting their grandmother, we took the boys up to a neighboring farm to pick sweet corn. It was a sunny, clear, beautiful day. When we turned around to leave, this is the scene that greeted me...I have not been able to get that beautiful view out of my head since.

At Summer's End

2009-09-19T19:29:00.005-04:00

Can it be that summer is nearly over? I apologize for neglecting this blog over the summer months. It seems that when you are busiest and have the most to say, you have the least amount of time to write.

Between visits from relatives, a long roadtrip with my boys, home renovations and soccer season starting, I have been consumed by an abundance of activity...unfortunately, most of it has NOT involved painting.

I have, however, taken many, many photographs over this busy, busy summer, and things should begin settling down enough for me to pick up my pastels and watercolors once again.

So, I'm back! Here are some of my favorite photographs from the summer...I hope you will enjoy them!

Work In Progress: Newton

2009-06-27T14:34:00.003-04:00

This painting is still in progress, but it's getting close to finished. I think I need to add some more darks in a few places so it doesn't look quite so much like he's "floating" above the moss. This will be a birthday present for my son's 6th birthday. He has asked for more "real" paintings to hang in his room.

This is a salamander (actually a red-spotted newt) which we found in our yard last summer. We kept him for about 2 weeks, and then let him go where we found him. I don't know if it was his vibrant color, or the surprise at how rough his skin felt (he didn't LOOK rough!), but he really captured the imaginations of my boys. They still talk about him!

I haven't done much in the way of painting animals, but I am having SO much fun with this one, I may have to do more!

Fiery Reds

2009-06-09T16:15:00.004-04:00

12" x 18"

Pastel

These brilliant red tulips were crying out to be captured forever! I preserved them in a photograph, but they really wanted to be painted, as well. I hope I've done them justice!

Vacations and Kitchen Renovations, Oh My!

2009-05-25T23:12:00.000-04:00

We just recently got back from a fun family trip to Chicago. There is so much cool stuff to see there! Here are a couple of my favorite "public art" works there, both from Millenium Park along the lake.

This fountain is sometimes a face just looking serious and it looks simply like an electronic "sculpture" of sorts. Then, the eyes close, the lips pucker up, and suddenly, it's spitting a large stream of water out onto the walkway, much to the delight of any children (including grown-up children!) who run and splash barefoot in the water.

Another really cool public sculpture is also found in Millenium Park...its official name is "Cloud Gate," but many Chicagoans simply call it "The Bean."

Here's a fun photo I took standing underneath "Cloud Gate."

I know I do lots of floral paintings and photography, so for those of you who enjoy that, here's a Chicago flower for you!

Anyway, we loved visiting Chicago, my home for 14 years (and my husband's for most of his life), and sharing it with our kids. It was great fun!

Now that we are back, we are in the midst of a kitchen renovation. I've had very little time to post to my blog, or get much painting done, for that matter! Things should start to settle back into some kind of routine after this next week...at least I HOPE so!

How We Celebrated Earth Day

2009-04-28T14:43:00.003-04:00

Photographing the beauty Earth is offering at the moment, of course! The world is coming alive with color once again, and I felt compelled to get out my camera and capture as much of it as I could! I collected a lot of painting inspiration...but I think some of the photos really stood on their own merits, too. Here are a few of my favorites:

My sons wanted to get in on the action, too. Here is one of my junior photographers at work:

And, I can't leave the other one out, can I?

Exhibition Entries

2009-04-23T23:17:00.004-04:00

What a busy month this has been! I have been framing and

framing some more, and not painting nearly enough.

All with good reason, of course. I've been delighted that
my paintings, "Color Therapy" and "Avery" have been on display for the past month at the Dietrich Theater / Wyoming County Cultural Center in Tunkhannock, PA.

In addition, I just this past weekend got my entries completed and submitted for the annual Wilkes Barre Fine Arts Fiesta Adult Juried Exhibition.

Here are the five paintings I decided to submit...I'll find out in about a week whether or not any of them were accepted into the show.

I had a hard time deciding which five to submit. The final two came down to the "Quince" (below) and my "Gold Leaf" painting. I thought about posting a poll here on my blog to help me decide, but in the end, I simply e-mailed a few of my very good friends and supportive family members. The leaf and the quince were about tied, so I framed them both. Suddenly, the decision was really easy! The quince actually seemed to move once it was framed. It was quite dramatic!

The leaf looks really cool in its frame, too. My husband, who is a pretty good woodworker, made a custom frame for it out of some beautiful figured ash, which swirls around the outside of the mat like an extension of the water the leaf is floating in. It adds to the tranquil, watery feeling of that particular painting. I'll post a photo of the framed painting soon.

Anyway, I'll keep you posted on the results of my entries. Please keep your fingers crossed for me! Thanks!!

Faded, But Still Beautiful

2009-03-25T19:18:00.007-04:00

"Faded, But Still Beautiful"

15" x 11"

Watercolor

I used to paint exclusively in watercolor, but it got to be more difficult to manage once I had kids. Waiting for layers to dry, taking care not to muddy the colors, making sure the paper was wet enough, but not TOO wet...it became nearly impossible when my kids were little.

Well, they're growing now, and even though I'm totally hooked on my pastels, I still like to play with my watercolors once in a while. Well, I got a terrible craving to do something loose and free with my watercolors, and this was the result. It was fast, loose, and lots of fun to paint!

Avery

2009-03-25T19:08:00.003-04:00

"Avery"

12" x 18"

Pastel

This is a moody view of Avery Mountain from my husband's aunt Calista's house in Tunkhannock, PA. I have always loved the view of that mountain, and her lovely garden helped frame it perfectly. I finished it a couple weeks ago, but just got around to photographing, matting and framing it.

Color Therapy

2009-03-15T23:32:00.007-04:00

Untitled (any suggestions?)

9" x 12"

Pastel

I started this painting a couple weeks ago, on a day when my 5-year-old son woke up for the day at 5:00 in the morning. It was still cold and cloudy outside. I was bleary-eyed and couldn't shake it. All I was desperately craving (besides a lovely cup of coffee) was some COLOR THERAPY!! Well, this is the ultimate result of that dreary Monday morning. I hope it brings you some of the energy that painting it brought to me...enjoy!

The Personal Side of My Art

2009-02-18T23:28:00.004-05:00

Warning: Long, rambling, reflective post ahead. Read at your own risk!

In conversations I’ve had about my artwork, both in person and online, the question of the purpose/intent of my artwork has come up. One of the conversations included a lengthy analysis of one of my flowers by a dear old friend. My (very inelegant) response was, “Wow, you got all that from my painting? I thought I was just painting a flower!”

And that’s really all I thought my painting was. I’ve said before that I “follow my muse” and create based on whatever inspires me. It sounds selfish, but…I create because it makes me happy. I paint a lot of colorful stuff (LOTS of flowers), and I’ve never thought more about it than it staves off the winter blues. Don’t get me wrong, I am literally THRILLED when someone else likes what I paint or a photograph I’ve taken; it’s a wonderful compliment and it makes me feel like I’ve connected with that person somehow. It’s TRULY a warm fuzzy feeling...I actually get butterflies in my stomach from it! But I’m pretty sure I would still create even if nobody else liked my work.

More recently, I had a conversation about art with someone much more schooled in art than I am. I mused that my paintings aren’t complicated and they don’t make any huge statement; there is no great political message or activism that goes into my art. I think most of my art and photography is consistently lighthearted in feeling. He replied that there is a reason that I choose to paint the things I do. There is something I see in my subject matter, a personal vision.

Well, I’ve been pondering all of this for a few weeks, reflecting on my artwork, my process of creation, and trying to uncover exactly what my subconscious vision is. Why do I paint the things I paint? Why do I choose MY specific subjects for my photographs?

My subject matter is usually quite simple: A flower, a leaf, my son, a reflection in the water. The subject, however, is not my only inspiration. I may be inspired by the color, the play of light, or a dewdrop. Also simple. But, in my mind, in my “vision,” there is incredible BEAUTY in that kind of simplicity.

You see, life is often chaotic, cluttered and messy. Specifically, MY life is chaotic, cluttered and messy! It would be all too easy to get buried under that chaos. And in that situation, it’s easy to miss the beauty in life.

I try to look for the good in most situations and in most people. Even on a gloomy day, there is beauty to be found if you take the time to look. And it’s often found in the little things. The essential beauty of a maple tree in the autumn, for example, may simply be the glow of the sunlight filtering through its brilliantly colored leaves. The beauty of a garden can often be narrowed down to a single flower.

The act of painting, for me, is an act of meditation. As I mediate on the simple beauty of a single flower, I am reminded that little things like that flower are all over the place, if I only stop to look. If I look and there isn’t a flower, there is sure to be a beautiful play of light on some object, somewhere. And, if neither of these are to be seen, there is probably a coating of ice on something...at least where I live!

So, the reason I “put my work out there,” I suppose, is so that I can share that vision with others, help them see the simple beauty of everyday things, and connect with them in that sharing. I guess if there is a message to my creative work that is it: There is always something good, there is always something beautiful, if you only take the time to seek it out.

Or, maybe it's just a flower! (Grin!)

Spring Blossoms

2009-02-04T23:45:00.002-05:00

"Spring Blossoms"

18" x 11"

Pastel

Yes, I am CRAVING the warmth and sunshine of spring! I normally like winter, but we've had so much ICE this year, that it's difficult to even get outside for a walk. I'm ready for the fresh spring air...I LOVE that smell! I'd pass on the allergy part of it, but I'll take the allergies just to be able to get outside! For now, this is how I satisfy my craving...if I can't actually HAVE spring right now, I'll PAINT it instead!

Gold Leaf

2009-02-02T22:57:00.005-05:00

"Gold Leaf"

9" x 12"

Pastel

This is a leaf which I spotted floating peacefully in a puddle this fall. I loved how the sky and the clouds were reflected in what would otherwise have been a very ugly mud puddle! Maybe I should call it "Serenity" instead. What do you think?

Flowering Quince

2009-01-18T13:40:00.005-05:00

Flowering Quince

9" x 12"

Pastel

My mother-in-law has a beautiful flowering quince bush in her yard. Even though it blooms every year, I always surprised by its vibrant beauty when it does. Completing this painting restored my sanity on a cloudy, overcast day when the temperature was -4 degrees farenheit!

Cosmos

2009-01-16T22:30:00.003-05:00

Cosmos

17" x 11"

Pastel

A bit of a departure for me...this is a bit looser than I normally get with my pastels, but I think I'm liking it! I worked, very loosely, from a photograph I took in Monet's garden in Giverny, France.

DRIP! - Part 2

2009-01-08T17:50:00.003-05:00

DRIP!

9" x 12"

Pastel

I've been wanting to paint this Mexican Sunflower for quite some time. I think it may be done, but I'll turn it to the wall for a week or so and look at it again before I decide for sure. I never know what I'll see when I look at a painting with a "fresh" set of eyes.

Looking Through Time

2008-12-31T09:33:00.004-05:00

My "Looking Through Time" photo greeting card was added to a New Year's Treasury on Etsy!

This is one of my personal favorite photos from our trip to Paris last year. I took it looking through the clock at the Musee d'Orsay. It was so cool, looking out at Paris through this incredible clock face! I'm only wishing I had taken a greater variety of angles; they could have been really interesting. Alas, I was in a rush to see more fabulous art!

If you wish to see the treasury, you can click here:

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=30219

It expires on January 1 at 11:53 p.m.

ACEOs

2008-12-21T19:22:00.008-05:00

I've decided to do my first attempt at an ACEO. ACEO stands for Art Cards Editions and Originals. They can be done in any medium, they can be originals, they can be open edition prints or limited edition prints...the only rule is that they have to measure 2.5 x 3.5 inches.

Some people collect these, and now I know why! They are ADORABLE! (No kidding, I giggled with delight when I saw them!) And because they are miniature, they are also inexpensive.

So, I am doing my first few, and we'll see what the response is like. The first one is now available in my Etsy store. I had them professionally giclee printed on Somerset Velvet archival paper, which is a nice, thick, textured paper. I, of course, could not resist adding a miniature Certificate of Authenticity to ship with my tiny little works of art!

Moody Flower

2008-12-21T12:40:00.005-05:00

I'm really drawn to this faded black-eyed Susan. I can't say why, for sure, but I think it has to do with the fact that I see an unusual beauty in this faded bloom that I don't see in the fresh ones. Maybe it's that the colors are more complex in the faded blooms, before they turn totally brown.

I completed this pastel last night. I've cropped it to 10 x 8, which is not only better for framing, but I think makes it a more interesting composition than what I had originally planned out.

After the Ice Storm

2008-12-16T13:29:00.004-05:00

New Card Series

2008-12-09T23:26:00.005-05:00

I'm working on a new series of photos/cards to introduce on Etsy. France is my muse of the moment, specifically the trip to Paris I took with my husband a little over a year ago!

Today I listed the following photo greeting cards in my Etsy store. They are both photographs I took of Monet's waterlily pond while visiting Monet's garden in Giverny, France.

I personally love the calm tranquility of these scenes. Spending the morning there really made me understand why Monet was so inspired by his gardens and his waterlilies.

(P.S. If you're curious to see how the finished cards look, click on one of the photos in this post, and you'll be taken to my Etsy listing where you can see the finished product!)

Current Works-In-Progress

2008-12-02T12:41:00.006-05:00

I have a couple of pastels in progress right now. I always have more than one going at a time, because I usually need to put one away for awhile when I get stuck, but I still want to be painting. And sometimes, in the course of painting something completely different, I realize exactly what it is the other painting needs. Funny how that works!

I'm feeling like this pastel of my mother-in-law's old barn is nearing completion. It's almost there...

The pastel below is one that I almost threw away back in May. I just got stuck and couldn't get unstuck. It had no depth to it at all and I was frustrated. I recently decided I'd get really bold and play around with the color on it, since I was going to throw it out anyhow, and I'm now beginning to see some of the depth I was unable to achieve in May. I'm still not sure I can "save it," but I'm learning a lot from this painting as I'm playing around with it.

Seeing it photographed always gives me a new, more objective set of eyes, and I think I need to pull those shadows out even more than I have...and I thought I was being bold with that purple! Time to grow a pair and go even bolder!

Comments, suggestions, feedback...anyone?

MOO!

2008-11-25T00:06:00.005-05:00

I got my new MOO mini-cards recently (http://www.moo.com/), and I LOVE them! I am so impressed by the image quality and the nice heavy weight of the stock they are printed on. The coolest thing about MOO cards is that you can have a different image on nearly every card...HOW FUN!

They know they have a cool thing going, too...they even sell special frames for COLLECTIONS of the mini cards! I can't wait to start handing them out to people!

Busy, busy, busy!

2008-11-17T10:24:00.009-05:00

I'm realizing that I haven't blogged in awhile. I have been working on various projects, including organizing my digital photographs in Photoshop Elements, adding keywords and tags so I can more easily find specific photos that I'm looking for. Let's just say THAT'S going to be a work in progress for some time...I discovered that I have more than 20,000 digital photos on my external hard drive alone!

Oh my!

I have also been working on uploading more of my photos to my photo website and adding keywords there...the link is in the right column, but if you prefer to type the address into your browser, it's http://mdevensfitz.zenfolio.com/.

I'm also deciding what to add next to my Etsy store. I think it's time to add some greeting card "sets," notecards and notecard "sets." With the holidays approaching, this would be an easier option for some potential buyers than sending me a message asking me to do so.

Regarding this blog, I've been spending time debating with myself what the "format" of this blog should be. While I want to add neew art and photography as I go, I have some less-recent favorites that I want to share as well. So, please forgive me if I am violating some unwritten code of art blog protocol, but I've decided that I will be sharing old favorites mixed in with new stuff.

On that note, here are a pair of pastel paintings that I really like. I worked on these last winter when the weather was so dreary. We got so much ice that I couldn't even take the kids outside to play in the snow...they just slid around on top of it. I was really needing to expose myself to some color and light, so I decided to MAKE some!

"Dreams of Spring"

9" x 12"

Pastel

"Grand Opening"

9" x 12"

Pastel

Both were juried into this year's Wilkes Barre Fine Arts Fiesta, along with my "Portrait of a Stunning Redhead." The best part about painting these, though, is how that process pulled me out of a bad case of the mid-winter blues!

Portrait of a Stunning Redhead

2008-11-05T13:30:00.007-05:00

I just discovered my greeting card made with this image in an Etsy treasury entitled, "Redheads." This painting is one of my personal favorites. I completed this pastel last winter during a dreary period of lots and lots of ice. I just needed to immerse myself in vibrant color for awhile! The original painting is 9" x 12" and is not for sale. However, greeting cards and giclees on paper or canvas are available.

Please send me a message if you are interested!

Photos in the Spotlight

2008-11-04T10:44:00.008-05:00

I was pleasantly surprised to find a couple of my photos listed in treasuries on Etsy...a treasury is where somebody on Etsy puts together a group of their 12 favorite items and posts them for all to see. They usually follow some type of theme, but they can also just be a list of favorites. It is essentially free word-of-mouth advertising on Etsy, and I think it's a fabulous compliment!

So, I was honored to stumble across the following two photos in two separate treasuries.

I call the photograph above, "Drip!" This is a photograph of a Mexican sunflower that I took in Monet's garden on our trip to Paris last year. The air was pleasantly misty with an amazing filtered light effect that I have never seen anywhere else. The mist was condensing on all the flowers in the famous garden, which made for some wonderful photographic opportunities!

I found my above photograph, "Burning Bush," in a separate treasury. This photograph was taken after the first snow last winter. I just loved the effect of the white snow on the colorful leaves. I'm so glad to discover that someone else loves it, too!

My Etsy is Open!

2008-10-30T15:40:00.009-04:00

My Etsy store is now up and running, and I was very excited to sell my first item already! You can get to my Etsy from the sidebar, or by typing http://www.followingmymuse.etsy.com/ into your browser. I've started out by offering photo greeting cards, but plan to expand into offering giclee prints of my artwork and larger photographs.

You can also view and order my photographs by following my link on the sidebar..."My Photography."

My first sale was a greeting card containing the following image:

This is an historic mill in the French countryside somewhere between Giverny and Versailles. My husband and I were lucky enough to have lunch here on a trip to France. It was as peaceful and serene as it looks in the photo! Unfortunately, I do not recall the name of the mill or its historical significance...if anyone reading this post has that information for me, I'd love to hear from you!

FOLLOW UP: My dear friend, Sarah, who (along with her husband) traveled with us in Paris, had some information to share about this mill. It is called "Le Moulin de Fourges," and is on the Epte River about 10 km outside of Giverny.

To quote Sarah, "The story of its construction may deliver the secret for this magic. It is told that the mill of Fourges was erected by the builders of the Hameau de la Reine (the Queen's Hamlet) near the Palace of Versailles, this replica of a village where Marie-Antoinette fancied herself a farmer, far from the Court constraints.

Today the place still diffuses serenity and harmony. It is well known by anglers, painters as well as gourmets coming from Paris or much further, like Hillary Clinton who dined here of a lobster salad and a loin of lamb."

Thank you, Sarah, for sharing this information with me, so I can share it with anyone else who loves this photo as much as I do!

What I Love About Autumn

2008-10-15T23:04:00.007-04:00

Autumn painted her canvas with "weak-in-the-knees-stunning" color and light today. I'm making a point to appreciate it now, because winter comes early here, and all the colors will soon be gone.

My Road Home

Tree Of Light

Maple Swirl

No name for this one yet...I just loved the play of the blue-purple against the golden background. Any suggestions?