Sweet Inspired Home: florals

October 2, 2013

Artist Mary Qian demonstration

Last month I introduced you to artist Stephanie Birdsall. Today I'm even more excited to introduce you to artist Mary Qian (pronounced like Chien). From the moment I found out that Mary would be doing a demonstration at Saks Galleries I was giddy with excitement. I love her work! LOVE IT! LOVE IT!

Mary paints florals and figurative. I am a huge fan of her figurative work so I was hoping she'd be painting a person for her demonstration but I didn't let my hopes get up too high because I knew florals would be much easier to set up.

When we showed up Mary was already painting and it was a figurative! I can't even begin to describe how my craziness and excitement went off the charts and I couldn't even sit down. I'm sure Mr. H wanted to hide and not claim me as his wife that afternoon. I know I must sound like a fan meeting a celebrity or something, but to me it was sort of like that since I loved her work so much.

As she painted she described using techniques of hard and soft edges to keep the viewers eyes on the canvass. She talked about using a light easel so she can carry it around if she is painting on site.

She even uses styrofoam plates instead of a traditional paint palette because they're so much lighter to hold for extended periods of time.

I love this one of the model taking a picture of her portrait. Can you just imagine if Mona Lisa or The Girl with the Pearl Earring jumped up after their sittings to take a picture of the painting?

My favorite work of hers is "An Innocent Gaze". I just love the girl's face, how serene it looks. I also love the colors in the painting.

An Innocent Gaze

Here are some other ones I love.

Passing Times

Lily

Winter

After going home and ~~obsessing~~ thinking about it for a few days, we went back and purchased An Innocent Gaze! Here it is in my dining room. I just love it so much and make it a point to sit down and truly appreciate it for a few minutes each day.

If you'd like more information on Mary, here is her website www.maryqian.com

Don't forget to enter my giveaway if you would like a chance to win the herb box made from a wine crate. Just visit my previous post for details!

September 9, 2013

Artist Stephanie Birdsall demonstration

Farmhouse by Stephanie Birdsall

Art can reflect the soul. With the careful mixing of hues and strokes, an emotion or moment in time is captured.

Framed art is one of the main staples of home decor. Everyone's tastes vary, but most people will agree that hanging something on the wall that reflects your style and tastes makes your house more of a home. It creates the feeling and atmosphere that you want your home to exude.

I love spending idyllic Saturday afternoons in art galleries looking at paintings and wondering if the artist had an underlying meaning in the painting and maybe if you look hard enough you will understand the message, or maybe what you see is all that is meant to be seen, nothing more.

This past Saturday I had the opportunity to watch an artist in action. Saks Galleries hosted a demonstration by artist Stephanie Birdsall. Stephanie received her formal training at the City and Guilds of London Art School in England. She currently lives in Arizona but has plans to move to Denver by the end of the year.

To me, it's a privilege to see a work of art come to life, to see the process that the artist goes through. For this demonstration, she painted pansies. As she painted she explained her process, why she was adding a stroke, or taking one out, and how she was layering colors.

Stephanie didn't finish this piece that afternoon but here are some of her pieces available at Saks Galleries. My favorite is Farmhouse, the one you see at the top of this post. I wish I could take it home!