March 2012 – Page 3 – ARTFOODHOME.COM

Fishing Boat, Monterey by artist Brian Blood

Brian Blood is a fabulous artist, no question about it. But this little number caught my eye in the biggest way… (Thank you Bridget for forwarding me that email!). I love everything about this painting. The water… perfect! The pop of orange, and all that detail without anything being too specific. Absolute perfection!

Many of you have probably seen Brian’s work in magazines… if you’re fortunate enough to be near a gallery (click here for list) stop in and say hello, otherwise he has a wonderful website! Brian teaches workshops, which I would assume would fill up rather quickly, he also gives a demo workshop… now THAT is something I would be interested in… I learn by watching… and yes, it does help if you actually pick up a paintbrush… sigh…

Here’s a blip about Brian from his website:

Brian Blood, a resident of Pebble Beach, California, is widely recognized as one of California’s most important plein air impressionist artists. Married to award winning artist, Laurie Kersey, www.lauriekersey.com they live their childhood dreams.

He began his professional life as a graphic artist and art director in Boston, Massachusetts. Although Blood’s career was successful, he was frustrated personally and realized he wanted to be a fine-art painter. A leap across the continent to California took him to the Academy of Art University in San Francisco for both undergraduate and graduate studies. Blood and Kersey were both later instructors at the Academy of Art University for 12 years.
From the 1990s, Brian Blood has been painting full time as well as conducting landscape painting classes at his alma mater. He also conducts ongoing workshops in his studio, and surrounding areas of Pebble Beach, California.

Primarily a plein-air painter, Blood creates hundreds of studies directly from nature, observing the ever changing light of day. He then takes his studies and supporting reference photos back to one of his two studios, either in San Francisco or Pacific Grove, to paint. He uses these studies as the basis for his larger scale works.

Blood has had his work featured in articles in Southwest Art Magazine (May 2002, and March 2005); Art of The West Magazine (March/April 2004); American Artist Magazine (January 2004); Plein Air Magazine (December 2005); and The Central Coast Journal (October 2005); to name a few.

Catch you back here tomorrow!

Isn’t this a gorgeous light? We have fought with ourselves over which chandelier to use for, well… years. So until we could make up our minds for sure we hung a ceiling fan which served its purpose in the interim. The Reed Hanging Light is one classy light, simple and elegant, not fussy in design. We ordered the hand rubbed antique brass finish with the natural paper shade which we LOVE. There is nothing like a shade from Circa Lighting. It gives off the most eloquent warm light. It makes every room look positively radiant! There is a diffuser on this fixture so you aren’t blinded by bright light. We also have it on a dimmer so it can be as bright or as romantic as you would like… If you’re searching for a fantastic light fixture, check this one out! Our house is an older house (1930’s), our furniture is a mix of antiques (mostly pine), and new (mostly slipcovered) furniture. So we have an updated look, with more modern lighting. This was perfect. Remember, you can always order from Circa Lighting online. If you’re in the Charleston, SC area stop in and see Matthew McLaughlin, the manager. He’s a very cool dude who knows EVERYTHING about lighting. Remember, you can order online and it’s FREE SHIPPING (in most cases), and you only pay tax if you’re located in one of the three states they’re in (SC, GA and TX). Lots of good reasons to order from Circa Lighting! Nice to know you don’t have to be near a store to take advantage of their beautiful lighting!

Catch you back here tomorrow!