Monday, February 12, 2018

PERSONALIZED PAINTING!

Personalized Painting


I LOVE to tell stories in my paintings! Most times, these stories are left for the viewer to interpret what the painting is saying to them… BUT…

I have recently been blessed with a commission that allowed my love of story telling to be exercised. I had so much FUN!

A woman contacted me about a painting I had posted on Facebook. She said the painting made her so happy because it reminded her of her mom who had just passed four months earlier. I offered to create a painting especially for her, and she accepted my offer. I asked her many questions about her mom, favorite colors, what was she like, what music did she listen to… As I was painting, I imagined her mom sitting right next to me directing my brush. By the time I finished, I was overjoyed with all the little nuances that made this painting hers. Here is her painting:







Some of the interpretations: 

48 white flowers to represent the 48 years marriage.
Rose Garden because her mom had a rose garden that she loved. 
The forget me nots to remember that Mom is always with her, woven into the fabric of life
Three orange flowers representing the two sisters and the father.
The hidden flower is her mom, because she was uniquely special.
The floating heart as a reminder to always remember her moms love.                                   

I so enjoyed this new process of being told a story, and then interpreting it! 

So… Anyone want to share their story with me?
If you do, shoot me an email: kimellery@mac.com


Giant Hugs and Lots of Love!

Kim Ellery



Wednesday, February 7, 2018

The Dreaded CREATIVE BLOCK!!

Have any of you ever had a creative block?
Well, if you have... you'll know what I'm talking about!


This blog is a long time coming. I am sharing this in hopes to help other artists with creative blocks… I don’t know if my story will help, but it surely can’t hurt… and if I can help even one person, then it was well worth my time.



   I started having my first creative block sometime back in May 2016! I feel that I am still battling it, although I am finally almost back to where I want to be… Creating with ease and getting into the zone as soon as I pick up that brush!

There were a few things driving the bus…


 I began to feel like I was expected to paint the same thing over and over again. Turns out the demand of keeping up with galleries and clients wasn’t inspiring to me. My anxiety and depression took over and kept whispering in my ear that I was a one trick pony. Not only was I doubting my value as an artist, but even as a human being. I felt like if I weren’t an artist, who else was I going to be? The creative drive was not only gone, but it also felt like it was laughing in my face. 



   Alzheimers disease has become a part of my life. My Dad had passed away from it about five years ago, and now there are two more people in my life (that I love and adore) that have been struck with the disease. One of those people are actually younger than myself. So I started asking myself “If that were my diagnosis (at the age of 54) what would/should I change. My answer was blaring ; After about a dozen years of painting alone in my studio, I was tired of being alone. I would literally walk into the studio and turn right back around because I couldn’t bare the idea of spending another day alone, even if I was painting.


   So really, the three contributing factors were;

*The desire to change my work up but the fear of lack of acceptance if I did.
  • My battle with anxiety and depression
  • Alzheimers hitting home once again
  • Isolation




So what did I do to help myself through this block?


I went on an amazing art retreat to Ghost Ranch in New Mexico with my friend Kem. I tried taking a break from painting for the most part of the summer. I started knitting and pottery (because I am cranky pants if I am not creating). Nothing was really working. For a while there I was really digging the knitting… but the honeymoon wore off and reality set in. Nothing seemed to be working. 



So….


I got my ass back into the studio. I started doing everything as opposite as I could to mix things up, to challenge myself, to put the romance back into the creative process. 

I decided to leave my isolated home studio, and found a new home for my studio at Shady Lea Mill in North Kingstown RI. (15 minute drive from home)

I started painting again for ME! That was a big one. To paint and post my investigative work was intimidating to say the least. I posted images where I would get only about 5-10 thumbs ups. This was a drastic difference from my normal response. I began to fall in love again with the creative process. The chains that were shackling me began to drop from my wrists. I found myself again.



So there it is… the reason for my absence from social media… and life as I knew it!


That’s all for now. For more details, go to Jamie Markle’s Blog at:
https://jamiemarkle.com/blog




Monday, September 1, 2014

REVELATIONS

REVALATIONS


I have been having a blast painting “Fields of Flowers”.  
There are about 30 plus paintings in this body of work. 
I am very HAPPY and Blessed to say 
that most of them have sold!    
… but it feels like the time is right for a little change.



I have just started a new series called “Love Stories”.  
With every new body of work come new challenges 
and usually great and exciting rewards. 
I am in the midst of painting the third painting 
from this new series and already two have sold!
Yay!!!!



I usually have about 3-9 paintings going at the same time. 
I do this as to not get bored or stumped while in progress. 
There are some that have been waiting a long time for me to throw some new paint on them, 
while others I can’t seem to keep my hands off of them. 
Bottom line is I LOVE MY JOB!



I recently got accepted into the ArtExpo New York 2015!!!
I honestly was just sending an email off 
to find out some information for 
possibly exhibiting during the 2016 exhibit.
However, when I received a call from them 
later that day saying I had been accepted… 
I jumped at the opportunity! 
Wow! Me… at ArtExpo NY! 
Yaaawhooooo!!!!

http://artexponewyork.com


With so much time to prepare, 
I started painting with a slightly different perspective. 
Usually I paint fast and furiously. 
I love the quick flow of jumping from painting to painting 
watching multiple paintings taking on their stories, 
colors, and compositions. 
Truly there is not much more that is as exciting and fulfilling.





I thought for the NY show, I should slow things down a bit. Stop and smell each rose. 
Take the time to study every inch of how the canvas is flowing.
 Let me say that it has great points and some challenging points.

I am loving the peacefulness of going at a slower pace. 
I am taking the time to enjoy watching the paints flow and blend together. 
I am adding some collage elements to this new series 
as well as using some fabulous paint mediums. 
In other words, I am adding more textures and layers.



What I am not loving is the fact that I producing half as many paintings as I was before. 
Hmmmm…. This is worrisome to me. 
I am trying to keep up with the supply and demand of the galleries and buyers, 
but am worried that I will be unable to please everyone 
AND save some paintings for the exhibit in NY.

What I have concluded…



I need to stick to my philosophy for life. 
If I’m not having Fun, and if I’m not Spreading Love… 
Why Bother! 
In other words… 
I am going to chill and just 
enjoy this time of painting at a slower pace!



It may be just for a season, 
or I may fall in love with a slower pace. 
Either way, if I continue to paint 
with the goal of having Fun, 
and hopefully Spreading a little Love… 

Life will be just grand!

Love and Hugs,

Kim

Monday, January 20, 2014

WARNING: THIS BLOG HAS RELIGIOUS CONTENT







God gave me the gift of a miracle today. 

My best friend died recently…actually months ago now.
 Since her death, I have grown angry with God, 
kind of that Love Hate relationship. 
I know I can’t live without God, 
but living with God without Laurie became too painful. 
That’s where the anger came in.
 You see, Laurie and I… 
our whole relationship revolved around God. 
We were prayer partners. 
We would read the bible together, share devotionals 
and how they were speaking into our lives, 
we would pray together, do ministries together...
we were there for each other through thick and thin. 
I refer to Laurie as my Spiritual Spouse. 
There is a huge whole in my life without her.




Anyway, I have been complaining
 to anyone that would listen lately
 how pissed off I was with God. 
Laurie was gone and I had no sign or intuition
 that she was at peace with Him
 and safe in His arms in heaven.

I kept asking God for signs. 
At first I thought he was sending me wild turkeys as a sign. 
Long story… 
but basically Laurie would have called me a turkey 
for even needing a sign in the first place.

So this morning, I started my morning the usual way. 
I sat in my chair with my pile of books; 
devotional, bible, journal, and bible study. 
I always start with prayer asking God for personal requests 
and then leading into asking for forgiveness and a clean heart, 
and finally asking for God to bless the time I was about to spend with Him.
 I specifically ask for Him to show me 
exactly what He wanted me to learn and focus on for the day.




I started praying. 
Jesus interrupted me and said
 “Wait, I have Laurie here for you.”
“You have Laurie there? She’s there? Laurie are you there?” 
Laurie responded with 
“Of course I am here! Where else would I be Goofy!” 
I started sobbing. 
She went on to tell me that she’s been sending me flowers. 
She said not to call the new series of paintings 
“The Garden Series” 
because they weren’t… 
they were “Fields of Flowers”. 
She said they went on and on. … 
Laurie LOVED flowers! 
One of the last things we did together 
was walk hand in hand in her Garden 
admiring the flowers and enjoying the fresh air
 and sun on our faces. 
... She told me to stop mourning 
and get myself out of the mud. 
She wanted me to start glorifying God. 
She told me that whenever I felt lonely for her
 to just look at the flowers she has sent me.
 Then Jesus told me I needed to spend more time
 listening to Him as opposed to speaking at Him.



I need to clarify something at this point. 
I am a painter. 
I have until 3 weeks ago been painting strictly birds and trees. 
The flowers that I recently started painting just happened. 
There was no thought involved at all! 
I sat and just started seeing flowers on the canvas. 
My brush moved quickly outlining the different shapes… 
and before I knew it, 
I was staring at my canvas completely covered with flowers.


So, you’d think the story stops there, right? 
Well it doesn’t!
I then went to my devotional and as always, 
I would randomly open to any page. 
I felt God would choose what He wanted me to read. 
This is what it said:
“Be still and know that I am God. 
Your life has been tumultuous recently- 
full of change and new responsibilities. 
You have continued to spend time alone with Me. 
You need to set aside time for listening to Me- 
blocking out distractions 
and reconnecting with me in the depths of your soul.”
The devotion goes on, 
and you can read it in Sarah Young’s Jesus Today page 282-283.



About a week ago, a friend of mine, who also happens to be my pastor, 
posted some verses from Psalm 46 on Face book. 
I read the psalm that day. 
A few days ago, Psalm 46 came up in another devotional. 
I read again psalm 46. 
Today, I decided that when I read Psalm 46, 
I needed to read in a different version from the normal NIV version. 
I read it from the Message.

“God is a safe place to hide,
Ready to help when we need Him.
 We stand fearless at the cliff-edge of doom,
 Courageous in sea storm and earthquake,
Before the rush and roar of the oceans,
The tremors that shift the mountains.
Jacob- Wrestling God fights for us,
God of the Angel Armies protects us.”

Laurie’s favorite song… 
The song that we claimed as our Victory song over her cancer was 
“Whom shall I Fear” (God of Angel Armies) by Chris Tomlin.



Now I know this has been a LONG post…. 
But seriously, how could I have left any part out?

Today… God granted my hearts desire. 
Today, God gave me a miracle, 
and Laurie sent me Fields of Flowers!


Friday, January 10, 2014

A Year in Review!








A YEAR IN REVIEW!




This has been the best year for my art!
I have been working hard at challenging myself, 
I’ve taken a few workshops, 
and I’ve made more sales this year than any other year. 
YAY!


"Surrounded"

I even opened up a new studio! 
It's much larger than my home studio, 
and I can have clients and friends meet me there! 
I also plan to have some Open Studios
 once the weather gets a bit nicer!


Westerly, RI Studio




HOWEVER…

This has also been the most difficult year of my life too! 
I have lost three people I loved dearly. 
Two were my best friends, and one was my father.
 I’d like to say I was Wonder Woman and stayed strong, 
helping those around me, keeping everything together...
THAT is the furthest thing from the truth!


My BFFL Laurie

Me and My Grandma, also one of my Best Friends!

My Dad with Alicia ( my oldest daughter) and Leo (White Golden)


I’m going to be brutally honest here. 
I had a nervous breakdown. 
Complete with suicidal tendencies and hospitalization. 
I kept thinking about Van Gogh,
 wondering if I had eaten too much paint! 
Anyway, it was hard for me to keep up with the demands of everyday life, 
never mind keeping up with supply and demand of clients and galleries.

"Take Time to Smell the Flowers"


The good news is that I am surrounded by people I love and who love me! 
Painting was, and is a BLESSING! 
For me, there is no better way to escape from the world 
than to get totally submerged in creating something beautiful 
that will help make other people happy!



One of my highlights of the year was taking a workshop from 
the wonderful and magnificent Flora Blowley!
If you ever get a chance to take one of her workshops… 
I HIGHLY recommend it! 
It was FUN and full of wonderful things to learn!


"Love Fully Bloomed"


I was also given the opportunity to join a new Gallery that had the potential of exposing my art internationally. I learned a lot from this opportunity… but the number one thing I learned was that I have to be true to myself, or else my gift of being able to create would up and walk out the door! I found that I do NOT do well under pressure… I am more content with surrounding myself with things that are familiar, and also to be able to create at my own pace.

FYI – Now that this is out of the way… be watching for more blogs from me! I have three more stories I’m looking forward to sharing with you!

ME! Scuba Diving!!!!


Happiness and Hugs to you all!

Kim

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

LOVE BIRDS, PUPPIES AND CORAL!


There are some days you wake up and your feet hit the ground running… 
Today was one of those days.  
I was woken up to my daughter calling 
and asking if I could watch her puppy for the day…
 Of course I said yes… After all, I would be in the studio for the day painting.
 I figured Ben ( my Border Collie) would keep Leo ( My daughters Golden puppy) 
entertained while I was painting.
I also planned on training Leo  throughout the day in between brush strokes! 
HA!



 There was little painting done,
 However, I DID manage to finish one painting that was nearly done. 
I have had so many people comment on how much they enjoy seeing the transitioning of my paintings, so I am enclosing three images of it’s progression.  ( sorry there's not more than three)
The painting is called “Love Birds”. 
It is mixed media, and it is 24x24.








I plan on exhibiting ( and hopefully selling!) this in the Narragansett Art Festival. https://www.facebook.com/pages/Narragansett-Art-Festival/136429106435544   
 ( Only 14 days left to paint! YIKES!!!!)




Last week I was blessed enough to go on vacation with my honey. 
We both love scuba diving, and I always seem to get ideas for paintings from the coral and plant life underwater. 
This dive, I saw some amazing coral that reminded me so much of Gustuv Klimt’s paintings. … 
Have you ever noticed that when you are studying something, 
that something just shows up EVERYWHERE! 
Well, see for yourself. 
Do you think it looks like it belongs in a Klimt painting?

Isn't it GORGEOUS!


Now, here’s my interpretation of it:


I’m not sure where or how this will show up in my paintings… 
all I know is that this image is locked in my brain! 
Such beauty is all around us! 
All we need to do is stop long enough to appreciate it 
and then give it our own interpretation!

Well, that’s all for now! Until next time… Happy Creating!
Blessings and Hugs,
Kim