Carolina Creations

Why call this week’s post Carolina Creations? I look forward to sharing! But first, in case you’re new to this virtual space, here’s a bit more information about it. This is a place where, each week, I share my paintings, process, art history, and inspiration. Whether this is your first or millionth visit here, hiya, hello and a warm welcome! I choose a theme to guide my paintings each year. This year’s theme is Vessels, Views and Vistas. If you think your 2024 needs more color, consider subscribing to this blog. When you do, you will also receive a monthly newsletter called “Art In Real Life.” In it, I will share news about artwork and art walks that I have seen IRL (in real life). I hope you’ll subscribe here. Let’s get to this week’s view. OK?

Cue Up the Painting

Here’s this week’s painting! It’s the second of a series. I shared the first one, called “In My Mind,” last week. It’s 5×5 inches painted in oil on panel. And, none of these sa-weet small paintings will be for sale till the series is complete later this spring. So, I hope you enjoy looking here in the meantime.

The first thing that inspired this painting is the fantastic striped bud vase created by NC ceramic artist extraordinaire Ronan Peterson! What else could I add to the scene? Hmmm

The Search for Bud Vase Buddies

Even though it’s January and earlier in the week we had bone chilling weather, our Camellia bush is blooming. Actually, most of the blooms were gone except for the little one nestled in the vase here. So I guess, technically, the Camellia is not native; it’s from Japan. But here it is blooming away in downtown Raleigh, NC in the middle of winter.

I also added the tulip tree branch I used in last week’s painting. That pine cone? It’s a shortleaf pine pine cone. I found it on one of my morning walks after a windy storm came through.

As usual, this combination of characters for a painting took awhile to find and combine. Here’s the set up in the studio.

Inspiration

The inspiration for this painting and last week’s too, is a painter named Jon Redmond. Oh my how I love his still life paintings. There’s a sense of serenity in his paintings that, after a glimpse, helps me feel calmer. Couldn’t we all use a little bit more “calm” in our lives these days?

How About You

How are you doing gentle reader? Is there some creative work that helps you unwind, feel a bit more calm? If so, I would love it if you shared that creative person’s name and work here in the comments below! Thank you for reading about my artistic journey. I really appreciate you being here.