Heart a Day - Day 51

Set up Kelly's easel in the front room the other day - I wish I had one room in the house where we could have our easels set up at all times - open painting!  One day. 

Fine Art Friday - Chill Out

It's so very hot here, my A/C is cranked as far as it can go and we're living like hermits, hiding from the sun.  I thought this Friday I'd like to focus on art that could put me in a cooler state of mind.


I Brake For Bokeh Photography by Raceytay has been one of my favorites for awhile - I am a proud owner of her work.  This shot makes me think of late night walks in the city, the quiet crunching of snow underfoot, and the cold glow of phosphorous street lamps illuminating your way.

Old Man Winter Was Here by Raceytay

I'm a big fan of coolranchstudio - Caroline's paintings are so whimsical and sweet.  I've got one of her pieces on the wall in my studio - every time I walk by my little fox he puts a smile on my face. 

New Scarf by coolranchstudio

ryancolemanart is a new discovery for me - his giclee pieces are so full of movement and motion - Interrupted by Sky looks like the winter sky has just opened up and poured it's heavy burden onto the city.

Interrupted by Sky by ryancolemanart

I also recently stumbled upon FrancesPhotography - Frances Seward's work plays with light in such a fantastic way.  Arctic Moonrise captures that eerie winter night silence after a snowstorm, when the earth seems to glow.

Arctic Moonrise by FrancesPhotography

Hope this put some goosebumps on your arms - stay cool!

Fine Art Friday

Can a TV show make people talk about art?  Make it a dinner table conversation?  Or would that be more like a twitter hashtag now-a-days?  I've been obsessed with Work of Art on Bravo and it seems like I'm not the only one.  It's buzzing around the internet, being sold in stores - Michaels has a huge end cap of canvases, paint, sketchbooks - that can't be a coincidence.  I know these media giants work with retailers and mass marketers, putting out these all-encompassing ad campaigns, but however it has happened, I'm happy to see art spreading.

Last Friday I noticed a #FineArtFriday hashtag and thought, genius!  I also thought it could be the result of the show crossing the streams into the Twitter, internet landscape.  (I also also thought I could use it as an excuse to not have to #FollowFriday anymore) The hashtag is the brainchild of Jessica Torrant, a very talented artist I stumbled upon while sifting through Etsy several months ago.  Her work is abstract, colorful, bold, moody; my favorites have this ethereal quality, a quiet, lovely space I'd like to inhabit.

Horizon Line 2

Flowers for Sharon

Carried Away

Last Friday she tweeted and blogged about the #FineArtFriday hashtag movement, which strives to ride this surge in interest of art and show how accessible and enjoyable it can be.  Share what you like, talk about why you like it, share artists you have discovered in your local area, share your own work! Blog about it, put it on your Facebook wall, tweet some of your favorites and use the hashtag.  She described it as not a trickle down approach but a reaching out movement. Our schools, our students, our society all benefit from art being a part of the curriculum, part of the community, part of the daily discussion of life.