Tomatoes and Corn {Bountiful Observations no. 30}

Garden Harvest

{8" x 8" (20.3 x 20.3 cm) – oil on canvas panel}
Sold

Framed painting: $300.00 starting bid + S&H

One of the best gifts of summer are vine ripened tomatoes gathered from your own plants or maybe a neighbor's or even the farmer's market... they all taste extra sweet and juicy.  I love getting my hands dirty tending the garden and savoring the rewards of all the effort invested months ago is worth it.

Do you keep a summer garden?  Has it been a productive year so far?

{14" x 14" (35.6 x 35.6 cm) with frame}

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This is a painting from my Bountiful Observations series, with 25% of the net proceeds of each sale being donated to the American Horticultural Society.

Friday Inspiration: Quiet Moments

{A still life with pears, flowers and a fan}

Hello,

To end the week, here are some quiet moments captured by artist, Jan Bogaerts.  A dutch artist, who was masterful at elevating simple items to the sublime.  Objects that seem to have been left on a table near the front door or on the side board in the dining room.  Minutiae from the day, letters, books, fans, forgotten and piled for another time.  

I feel as if the people who regularly occupy these spaces have left and we are lucky enough to chance upon them, immediately understanding the domestic tranquility that pervades on a quite afternoon with only the furniture for company.

{Pink carnations with an ivory fan}

{Zinnias in a Glazed Pot}

{A still life with pink roses, a fan and a box on a marble ledge}

{White Carnations}

Unfortunately I cannot find any biographical information on this artist... Even so, I would love to have known him.  His sense of brevity, while also attending to detail speaks to my soul, I know we would have been friends.

Have a wonderful weekend,

Liz

/ 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 

Roses and Pewter {Bountiful Observations no. 29} SOLD

Roses and Pewter

{8" x 8" (20.3 x 20.3 cm) – oil on canvas panel}

SOLD

Framed painting

I am fascinated how some images impart so many thoughts and emotions, how art has the capacity to inspire exploration, investigation, and then provide a feeling of hope and happiness.

And then in finding this quote about roses, I realized that most anything can take you out of yourself and speak to your heart.

“The rose speaks of love silently,

in a language known only to the heart.”

What is your heart hearing today?

{14" x 14" (35.6 x 35.6 cm) with frame}

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This is a painting from my Bountiful Observations series, with 25% of the net proceeds of each sale being donated to the American Horticultural Society.

How blogging helped me see myself as an artist...

{studio wall with misc daily paintings}

Hello,

Tonight I am going to share with you how this blog of mine helped me accomplish the biggest, most secret dream I had for most of my young adult life.

The dream was to become a full-time artist.

First before getting into how blogging made this dream possible, here is a bit of background. I had been practicing architecture for about four years and was just turning 30 when I realized it really was not for me, I wanted a career that FED my soul. So after a lot of soul searching, I realized I wanted to become an artist. But at the rate I was going, I would never get there. I would try to set a schedule to work on art but often my plans would stall along the way until I stumbled upon the online community of artists who blogged.

{some favorite art books}

This was the summer of 2007, and it was a whole new experience for me to read about artists of all different skill levels creating, posting, and interacting online. I knew I wanted to be a part of this. So during the first week of September 2007, I started my blog, Elizabeth Floyd Studio, and IT. CHANGED. MY. LIFE.

First and foremost, blogging helped me see myself as an artist and to introduce my art to the world. This was new for me, because I had always thought of being an artist as something not achievable, not realistic, and not reasonable. But now, I was telling the world I was an artist and that I would be posting paintings I created.

{my palette}

Secondly, blogging made me accountable to show up and paint. This shifted my focus from being a hobbyist to a professional, because I took my career goals {to leave architecture and become a full-time artist} in hand, and dedicated the time and effort to achieving them. No more excuses were permitted. Putting off painting on a free weekend afternoon was no longer an option.

Blogging was also how I posted the results of growth. As my painting skills improved, I was able to monitor the progress from the first daily painting created to today.

{Most recent daily painting created}

Before having a blog, being an artist was really only a dream, once I established this blog, I got on a schedule, and I made a point to paint regularly so I would have something new to share. Within two and a half years from my first blog post I left my previous career and became the full-time artist I had always dreamed about. And I equate it to the positive experience of having this blog.

Thank you for all those who have followed this long and winding path. I am glad you stop by and still check in once in a while.  Your support and encouragement is so important to me.

Liz

{some still-life objects in my studio}

……………………………………….

Thank you for taking the time today to read my story, this is the first time I have shared it in such a public arena. I was inspired to share it with you today because I am participating a Story Crafting Practicum hosted by: Brigitte Lyons on Unfettered Ink.

Several other creative souls are also sharing their own stories and here is a list of participants:
July 10: Stacie, Soul to Substance
July 11: Jess, Epheriell Designs
July 12: Sarah, Red Line Design
July 13: Megan, Everlasting Present
July 14: Jane, The Mindful Drawer
July 15: Phoebe, ElSage Designs
July 16: Laura C. George
July 17: Lisa, Creative Goddess
July 18: Inna Aizenshtein
July 19: Kelly, Perched to Fly
July 20: Hilary, Dean Street Society
July 21: Skylar, Brising Beads
July 22: Elizabeth Floyd
July 23: Virginia, Harriet’s Hidden Blog
July 24: Nata, And the beat goes on…
July 25: Jessi, Better Late than Never
July 26: Monica, Show & Tell
July 27: Traveling with the Jones
July 28: Laurie, Yarns for a Better World
July 29: Jami, My Edible Eden
July 30: Michael, Me and the Boss
July 31: Alicia Cowan, Social Media Consultant

Please stop by and take a look around at the different stories.

Friday Inspiration: JMW Turner sketchbook

The sketch hunter moves through life as he finds it, not passing negligently the things he loves, but stopping to know them, and to note them down in the shorthand of his sketchbook. ~Robert Henri

Joseph Mallord William Turner

Color Study: The Burning of the Houses of Parliament,1834

I keep an idea journal, that is full of words, thoughts, and the occasional sketch.  And artists like JMW Turner kept wonderful sketchbooks, full of everything from scenes observed to studies of later studio paintings.


Do you have a place where you store your thoughts, dreams, and observations?  

Cloud study & a few examples by JMW Turner

Clouds #8

{approx. 5" x 9" (12.7 x 22.9 cm) – oil on gessoed paper}

I find that looking at inspiration helps me work towards a goal that is still to be achieved.  These oil studies by JMW Turner are just what I need right now.  

Where do you go for inspiration? 

{all images found here}

Black Eyed Susans & Cherries {Bountiful Observations no. 28}

Still Life with Pewter Pitcher, Black Eyed Susans, and Cherries

{8" x 8" (20.3 x 20.3 cm) – oil on canvas panel}

Click to purchase

Framed painting: $400.00 + S&H

A benefit I hope my artwork provides, is that it leaves you feeling refreshed and calm. With the painting providing a deeper sense of meaning when the entire composition is observed as a whole, than if each object is individually absorbed alone.

I hope by viewing this still life today you are given an opportunity to pause and reflect, pause from a potentially hectic day and schedule, and reflect that there is beauty to be found in all things, and it only takes a moment to notice.

{14" x 14" (35.6 x 35.6 cm) with frame}

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This is a painting from my Bountiful Observations series, with 25% of the net proceeds of each sale being donated to the American Horticultural Society.

Friday Inspiration: Turner, Monet, and Twombly

This week I want to travel to Liverpool to visit Tate Liverpool to see the exhibit Turner, Monet, and Twombly: Later Paintings



Here is a short video about the exhibit with director Mike Leigh, artist Fiona Rae, and Tate director Nicholas Serota. From this video two quotes caught my imagination...

"I took it for granted all the discoveries that the Impressionists made about how a painting can be" ~ Fiona Rae

"You give these paintings time, they will start speaking to you" ~Nicholas Serota

Do paintings speak to you?

Painting Giveaway

Bowl of Cherries

{Framed 4" x 6" (10.2 x 15.2 cm) – oil on canvas panel}

Two Cherries and a Derby Cup

{Framed 4" x 6" (10.2 x 15.2 cm) – oil on canvas panel}

 Good morning,

I am excited to share something with you this morning.  The talented Patricia van Essche of PVE design blog is hosting a giveaway of one of my paintings today.  Please stop by her blog and leave a comment sharing which of the two paintings you would be interested in owning to be eligble to win a small framed painting. 

One painting has an ornate wood framed

and the other has a simple wood frame.

Thanks and have a wonderful weekend,

Liz

July e-Newsletter

This morning my July studio e-newsletter went out into in-boxes across the world. In these newsletters I often share a work-in-progress sneak peak at a studio painting I am currently working on and some of my thoughts about the creative process.

If you are not a subscriber, please consider signing up here and go and read this month's edition.

Some more cloud studies...

Clouds #5, #6, & #7

{approx. 5" x 9" (12.7 x 22.9 cm) – oil on gessoed paper}

Do you ever have goals that somehow evade ever getting accomplished?

I will share with you a goal I had for May and June. I wanted to compete 30 cloud studies by the beginning of July, and I have fallen VERY short of that goal. Sigh. These three studies were completed in May, I just was slow in getting them photographed.

With this series I am working with a limited palette and so far when I do complete some of the series, I am learning tons. Some progress is better than none...

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It has been awhile since I shared any photos of my two girls, Slim {my sweet Abyssinian kitty} and Naomi {my sweet soon to be one year old!}.  They get along great, and last week Naomi learned how to hold a string toy for Slim to pounce at, and it has been a great success.  

And any day now, we expect Naomi to stand up and begin walking, or maybe even running. Exciting times are ahead of us!

Echinacea {Bountiful Observations no. 27}

Echinacea & Ball Canning Jars

{8" x 8" (20.3 x 20.3 cm) – oil on canvas panel}

Click to purchase

Framed painting: $300.00 + S&H

I believe all acts of creativity take you on a journey. I find that I may have a plan or hope of where I am going, however I never truly know where the journey will take me. This is why it is so important to LOVE the process.

One's destination is never a place, but rather a new way of looking at things. ~Henry Miller

{14" x 14" (35.6 x 35.6 cm) with frame}

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This is a painting from my Bountiful Observations series, with 25% of the net proceeds of each sale being donated to the American Horticultural Society.

Friday Inspiration: Stopping and Looking

Do you ever take a moment to pause and admire a scene? It may only take a moment, a short breath of time in regard to everything else.

I enjoy stopping and looking, sometimes at nothing in particular. The pause is as much a reward as the sense of admiration that may bloom from the scene, helping me find the value I have in my life, in the present. Enabling me to be in the present and ward off the mental chatter that is always so forward thinking and full of shoulds... I should be doing this, I should be focusing on that, blah, blah, blah...

I enjoy savoring the sense of pleasure, finding the beautiful, and awakening to what is around me.

Over the weekend, I encourage you to give yourself a moment to stop and look about, admire the simple details before you. Maybe it is the light glinting off the edge of your cutlery, or the stitching on the hem of a cloth napkin, or the sound of a bird outside your window. Whatever it is, enjoy the moment, your present.

I hope this post inspires you to slow down and savor what is about you.

Have a wonderful weekend.

Liz

Happy Fourth of July!

Wishing you a fun and festive holiday!  

May you keep cool and 

enjoy time spent with friends and family.

{Annie Gooding Sykes}

Summer Strawberries & Zinnias {Bountiful Observations no. 26}

Summer Strawberries and Zinnias

{8" x 8" (20.3 x 20.3 cm) – oil on canvas panel}

Click to purchase

Framed painting: $400.00 + S&H

Do you ever associate a particular item with cheerful memories? For me, summer strawberries always stir memories of summer fun. I think of my childhood, family gatherings and reunions at a state park, and eating strawberry shortcake, sometimes two times in a day! One grandmother had a quite the yin for the soft, spongy, sweetness of angel food cake, and if strawberries were in season... well, it just seemed natural to have dessert as an afternoon snack and then maybe also again after dinner.

What do you think of when the strawberries are in season?