I try to stay mindful and thankful of all I have year-round, but this weekend those thoughts tend to be at the forefront. My family, my friends, my husband and a warm roof over my head – I’m so grateful for the love of all of these people. Ontop of many other reasons, without their encouragement and support I probably would have never had the courage to quit my job to create Fin and Feather Art.
But I also have to thank you all, the people who follow my work. This little dream is completely impossible without you. In effort to show my thanks, all weekend I’ll be running the biggest sale in the history of Fin and Feather Art; a whopping %20 off everything on the etsy site!!! Enter code THANKFUL14 at checkout to receive the discount.
Use it for yourself, share it with friends and happy shopping!!!
For this week’s installment of #MakeupMonday I decided to paint one of my favorite items; a rollerball of Indigo by Nest Fragrances.
The scent was recommended to me by a dear friend while in Sephora, and upon seeing the display and packaging knew I would have to get it. I was pretty sure it wouldn’t matter what it even smelled like, but I was sufficiently enamored with the dark floral patterning of the boxes.
And after smelling it I was positively hooked.
That’s all for today, I have *so* much to do before leaving for Michigan for the holiday. Yikes.
One of my favorite places here on the beach is turning 30 this year!
The Art Center of South Florida has a slew of fun parties, openings and exhibitions going on to celebrate – and I was thrilled to be able to help out during the opening on Wednesday of this week.
For this particular show, we were in charge of postcard dispatch. The postcards were created by 75 artists, some currently showing at the center as well as distinguished alumni. Our job was twofold; to dole out packets of cards to the artists as they came by during the opening, as well as sell to any interested members of the public.
I loved watching people fawn over the cards (as I was doing myself, they were all incredible) but I also really enjoyed speaking with the artists about how they made their particular card. Packs of all 75 postcards are still available for sale, all proceeds benefit the Art Center and the great work they are doing in the community.
If you are local and have some free time, I can’t recommend the show enough –some really great work was made to celebrate the anniversary! Or check out their website for a schedule of upcoming event/shows, there is always something fun going on
It’s MakeupMonday here at Fin and Feather Art! For this week’s watercolor painting, I found myself inspired by the little goodies I received in this month’s Birchbox delivery.
I just love receiving the packages filled with bright little bottles of new things to try and smell — it’s always an exciting unwrapping experience.
Featured this week, we have;
-Not Soap Radio
-Bain de Terre
-TheBalm
-Eslor
-La Folle Joie
I’m still really enjoying these weekly makeup challenges, let me know if there is anything in particular you want to see!
For this month’s installment of My Favorite Things — we’re going old school. Rather literally.
These items were purchased in the fall of ’06 as a student at Michigan State University.
It was the beginning of the semester and I was curious about exploring downtown Lansing – so I hopped on a bus that I hoped would get me close to the capital (I had a penchant for getting lost once upon a time…) I walked those grey masonry blocks for a few hours, stopping by the river and of course the Capital building and at some point during my exploration stumbled upon Grand Art Supply.
Never one to walk past an Art Supply store – I had to poke my head in. I emerged much later with three things that have followed me through multiple moves, countless projects, commissions and experiments and have become tools I use nearly every single day.
Ruler.
Bone Folder.
Sharpener.
Aside from my easel and a collection of sketchbooks from my husband’s grandmother, these are probably the oldest supplies that I own and still use.
((I love that the sharpener still has the price tag. ))
I adore these guys for the memories they bring back. In the moments when I sit back from what I am working on and let my mind wander, I am greeted with fleeting images of my myself holding the same tool 9 years ago. Through some sort of silly object-based time travel I am transported back to my dorm room floor, cheap maroon carpet covered with curls of torn paper, pencils of varying length and trails of glue (usually webbing from my fingers out over my workstation). My ruler is pressed into the paper, bone folder at the ready and sharpener full of woodsy refuse.
It’s a wonderful memory, but I am always more than happy to open my eyes and return to the present.
I love having a few tools that recall places so vividly. Especially when most of my supplies are either used up and piled in a corner (ie sketchbooks) or used up and thrown away (tubes of paint.) It’s nice to be able to use something repeatedly — and that’s why these guys are my favorite.
What about you? What’s your oldest tool still in rotation?
I am an overthinker — especially when it comes to my work.
In most cases I am slow and meticulous with each detail, leaving no mark where I didn’t completely plan to leave a mark. When I work with pencil/pen it is a time consuming but quite possible task. With watercolor however it’s not only incredibly difficult but contrary to the nature of the medium itself. Watercolor goes where it’s going to go, leaving all sorts of blooms and trails behind if you don’t sop up the pigment or push it around the page.
I think that might be why I am so drawn to working with watermedia; for all my intent and planning something usually happens that wasn’t totally planned out. And I love it.
So when I find myself getting bogged down in detail, fingers aching with teeny tiny repeated movements — I turn to my watercolors and let loose. I make a few washes in various trays, get out my big fat brushes and go to town. No sketching. No planning. Just color on a white page. There is something slightly terrifying about surrendering the page to whatever in his my head at that exact moment in time, but the resulting paintings usually turn out to be some of my favorites.
Here are two that I created recently. I loved these so much that I actually turned them into iOS wallpapers
(Shoot me an email if you want a set — still figuring out how to add a download area.)
The rich eggplant shades of autumn lipstick, the pinched pinks of blush palettes and the little jeweled cases that open to reveal gemstone shadows have inspired me to make a few small watercolors. Thanks to warm welcome these small paintings have received, I’m going to try to make a series of makeup-inspired works and post a few shots weekly.
Follow @ellen_the_lemon on Instagram and watch for #MakeupMonday to see the paintings and feel free to drop me a line and suggest any products you’d like to see!
Today is a wonderful day.
Not only is it Friday, but it is also the day I get to launch FinandFeatherArt.com!!
This site has been a true labor of love. The incredible designer and I spent many a long night on Skype going over mockups, sketches, slideshow functions and various hairbrained schemes, with the main purpose of providing you with the best access to my work, the easiest way to view each collection and the fastest ways to get in touch with me.
And it’s ready to be unveiled!!!!!!
In celebration of this event, (and because I love you guys) I’ve created two collections of luxurious watercolor iOs wallpapers for your phones/tablets! Simply pop over to the Contact page of my site, enter your info with the subject line “Watercolor Wallpaper” and I’ll send you back a free set of handmade watercolor backgrounds.
