Christmas Paintings

December has been a busy month of painting.

I have been privileged and honored to be a part of 

such thoughtful gifts to loved ones.

Thank you for all your support this holiday season!

Here are several of my favorites:

Portfolio: House Portraits

With great encouragement from a few of my friends,

I have embarked on painting house portraits.

They are really so much fun to paint! 

If you are interested in having your house painted,

please visit my Etsy shop for dimensions/pricing

and send me photograph of the house you want painted.

Artist Alert

Dear Kate Shaw,

You are amazing.

I love your beautiful landscapes.

I plan on showing your work to my students.

Sincerely,

Taylor Norton

Owls

I love LOVE owls.

So it is no surprise that I love these owl paintings 

made from spray paint on watercolor paper.

Wait... Did I say spray paint?! 

Yep, that's right. 
Amazingness!

These paintings are painstakingly made from spray paint, 

stenciled layer upon layer, much like the screen printing process.
A process I have always struggled with.
I just can't seem to think backward, 
which is required for this torturous  process.
First you layer the background and 
then continue layering to build the rest of the image;
the final details always being last.


So I have mad respect for these beautiful owl paintings.

Paintings found {here}.

Lucian Freud

I tell you with a heavy heart that one of my biggest inspirations passed away.

Lucian Freud, a British painter, was one of my sole inspirations for pursuing a career in the arts. 

In high school, I started painting. 

My high school art teacher, Mr. Whitehouse, 

encouraged me not only to pursue painting further 

but to research contemporary painters as well. 

This is when I fell in love with Freud's work. 

I remember as a junior checking out Mr. Whitehouse's books, 

rummaging through art book after art book desperate for inspiration. 

Once, I discovered the work of Freud... I was hooked. 

I went home and printed off what seemed like 100 pictures of his work.

After pasting each one into my sketchbook, I sketched and sketched his paintings.

Most of my paintings in high school were modeled after his compositions and style of painting.

He continued to be a source of inspiration, but less so in college

as I drifted away from painting and took to mixed media.

However, he will always be that initial spark to my love for the arts.

He is most well known for painting this portrait of the Queen.

While I cherish this painting for what is symbolizes more than what is represented, 

it is not my personal favorite.

Most of my favorites would be inappropriate to post on this blog 

since they contain a large amount of nudity 

{he primarily paints nude figures} 

but regardless of his subject, his style is so admirable.

I just adore his color palette and thick brush strokes. 

His ability to capture the likeness of a person is breathtaking 

and yet there is something rough about each of his paintings.

To me, it is quite beautiful.

Ann Toebbe

I am obsessed with Chicago artist, Ann Toebbe.

She got her B.F.A. from Cleveland Institute of Art and 

her M.F.A. from Yale School of Art.

{very impressive stuff right there!}

I love her collage-like paintings of interiors {and some exteriors} of homes.

I especially love the multiple perspectives in each piece

and the use of repetitive patterns.

"The Benefactors"

Cut paper, paint, glue on paper

42 x 35 inches

"Stained Glass Kitchen"

Oil on panel

18" x 22"

“Evenings Mopping”

Acrylic and gouache on panel

35" x 20"

Private collection

"Ich Weiss Nicht Mehr Genau"

Gouache on panel

9 x 12 inches

"Rental Property"

Acrylic gouache on panel

12 x 16 inches

Private Collection

I heart Adele.

My lovely friend, Adele,

just posted on her blog

a wonderful tutorial on

painting a portrait.

Here is the start:

And the finished product:

Just beautiful!

She is an excellent painter

and I adore her work.

Check out her blog for all the steps in between.