Big, blooming and beautiful… My violets at their peak! I’ve had the plant on the right for almost eight years. They love the sunroom light. Once every week or two (depending how dry they get), I put them in a butcher tray with water. I try to catch rain water in a large bowl, they like that best!
I have one droopy violet, run roh! Seems like it happened before with my larger violet, but then it ended up being OK… Suggestions? Ideas? When you read about transplanting African Violets the process seems long and complicated. We transplanted one and it ended up doing fine. We didn’t do anything special. Let me know if you have any secrets to making these plants live long, happy lives!
Carol Bass. Fabulous, bright, happy colors! Her work is so amazing. It’s unique, and that’s what I love! If you live in the Charleston area, you’re in luck! For the month of March 2015 Carol’s work will be displayed at the main Charleston County Public Library on Calhoun Street, in Charleston, SC. The show is called W A V E L E N G T H S.
Bonus… Carol is as incredible as the art she creates! From paintings to the “Walking Houses” and “Totem” sculptures, all of her work is out-of-the-ordinary wonderful! Check out her website and see for yourself, or better yet… make it to the Main Library in Charleston in March!
Work by Carol Bass
The layers upon layers and the varying textures and colors make Carol’s work so interesting!
Carol Bass’s work is defined by bold strokes of vivid color. She improvises like a jazz player, a child playing on the beach. She dances with a long brush and thinks of the energy flowing, connecting us to one another and to the natural world.
Her work ranges from her dimensional “Walking Houses” and “Totems” series in the 1980’s, constructed from found object, to her energy sculptures and present-day abstracts.
All images& bio via Carol Bass or Carol Bass Art Facebook, used with permission…
STUNNING, isn’t it? Tulip photo taken with iPhone in sunlight with black car as backdrop – he he… I’m quite sure I looked a little crazy holding a vase of tulips outside the window on a chilly day as people drove past and slowed down. I was trying to get a nice black background to make this pop… I would have preferred a chocolate backdrop, but the car is black, so… This photo reminded me of one of John Matthew Moore‘s fabulous paintings – they are beyond stunning!
Nestled amongst the many elegant, stately homes in Charleston, SC you’ll find touches of whimsy… be sure to keep your eye out for it!
Speaking of Charleston, SC – have you voted for this years top city in Travel + Leisure’s World’s Best? This survey is LIVE THROUGH MARCH 2, 2015 – enter your vote today!
Something to make you smile :) Catch you back here tomorrow!
Elise Phillips. I love the name of this painting… Happy Hour. Many of her paintings depict Pennsylvania scenes. She did a great job, because before I even read her bio I looked through her paintings and thought of Pennsylvania. This is nice, the cows eating on a cold winter day, the house in the background, all toasty warm with a fire in the fireplace… and lights on in the house. The subtle shadows on the snow are just beautiful as are the trees. A very nice painting indeed!
Read a bit about Elise, from her website, and be sure to check out her paintings while you’re there!
Elise Phillips was born in Wayne, Pennsylvania into a family with an extensive background in the fine arts. Her great, great grandfather founded Newman Galleries in Philadelphia in 1865, and today she is the fifth generation of the family to exhibit there.
A graduate of The Hussian School of Art in 1983, she was an accomplished illustrator and graphic designer with many successful commissions in the business community. With an inherent passion for painting, she enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, emerging well schooled in the tradition of the Academy.
Elise has for many years maintained a studio in Elverson, Pennsylvania, where the bucolic countryside is a source of inspiration for many of her paintings, as is the Jersey Shore, New England and the Eastern shore of Maryland, where she is a frequent visitor.
An award winning exhibitor, she is a signature member of the Philadelphia Water Color Society, a member of the Philadelphia Sketch Club, Oil Painters of America, Mid Atlantic Plein Air Painters, and the French Creek Art Colony.
House Plan 514-20 by Katrina Cottage Designers for Houseplans.com
Looking for a small plan? The 514-20 House Plan is one of the Katrina Cottages designed by Marianne Cusato, Architect for HousePlans.com. This cottage is 832 square feet with 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. There is a fabulous front porch perfect for entertaining. What a sweet plan!
House Plan 514-20 by Katrina Cottage Designers for Houseplans.com
This house has a generous size front porch, measuring at 8’x15’6″ which makes it quite nice for entertaining, or for just sitting on your porch in good weather with a tea and a good book! Simple but efficient floor plan, perfect for those just starting out or downsizing! Life is less complicated with less stuff!
The plan is open, you walk into the living space, then on one side is the kitchen, the other side is the bathroom and at the back of the house is one bedroom, there is another bedroom off of the living room. Which gives you your own sense of space in a small house.
A Negative View on Saloons by Suzie Baker 12×16 Oil – SOLD
Suzie Baker. Gorgeous, loose, fabulous paintings. Absolutely stunning in every way. Check out her portraits, landscapes and still life paintings! I was so excited when I ran across her work! I saw it on Twitter of all things. I’m trying to get with it and figure Twitter out… I’m getting it a little more… so I am thrilled that my little learning curve ended up with a prize… finding Suzie’s work!
This painting, A Negative View on Saloons, drew me in immediately. I love paintings with a dark, dark and then something to offset it, and these greens are perfect!
Waving to the Folks On Shore by Suzie Baker 9×12″ Oil – SOLD
I think the abstract quality to this piece is so nice – fresh and different. Not too far out for people who need a painting to look like “something”. You know exactly what this is, it has great movement and luscious paint!
Read a bit about Suzie from her website – this made me smile:
“I have a degree in Advertising and Fine Arts, and for years I worked as an Art Director in ad agencies before trading in my Pantone swatches for a palette and brushes. My business trips are now en plein air. I love my job! I paint in oils and am motivated by color, immediacy of stroke, composition, the camaraderie of other artist and ultimately the desire to evolve as an artist. I endeavor for my paintings to communicate confidence in execution with a fresh, intuitive, spontaneous, quality. In my life, I will paint till I can paint no more. When I’m not painting I’m thinking about what I want to paint next. I can’t, not paint.” – from Suzie Baker, Fine Artist
This is a Bobby Flay recipe (from Bobby Flay’s Boy Gets Grill) – I first read about this recipe when I Googled “Salmon Recipes for Non Salmon Lovers”. A blog called FoodCrave featured this recipe – and I really liked the info they gave. They cooked it longer than the original recipe called for, which I liked (5 minutes on each side) AND they used a cast iron skillet! Perfect, since I don’t have a grill pan.
The original recipe was posted on Epicurious, this is where you can print the recipe without all my blah, blah blah…
Fred cooked it 5 minutes on each side like I mentioned, then we put the topping on, and stuck it under the broiler for less than a minute – wow! And I didn’t think I liked salmon :) He got the pan nice and hot, and had coated the salmon with olive oil and WOW what a nice crispy top that made!
I think it’s so cool that this husband-wife team work together on each piece. I love the retro’ness (is that a word?) of these paintings, reminds me of when I was a kid. Each painting has such life, color and expression.
Check out their work, but also check out their blog!
Read about Signe & Genna, from their website, I love reading about how they collaborate on a painting:
Partners in both life and art, Signe & Genna have been collaborating for nearly ten years.
Genna begins their process by applying rich layers of pattern and tone to gessoed masonite or linen supports. Signe then selects an inspiration image from their extensive collection of vintage found photos, draws with oil pastel atop the abstract underlayer using the photo for reference, and completes the image with blocky ‘panes’ of oil color.
The final results of their collaboration are multi-layered paintings with deep surfaces, crisp at first glance but rewarding the careful viewer with an undercurrent of complex tonality and colorplay.
And because I’m so interested in the artists themselves, I thought you might enjoy this… from Bennet Galleries website:
Signe was born Kerry Signe Cornell in Michigan in 1974. She spent her first five years in the small town of Houghton Lake until she moved with her family to the equally small town of Washington, Georgia in 1979. Always drawn to the creative outlet of drawing and painting, art was a natural choice for a major upon entering college at Young Harris in the even smaller town of Young Harris, Georgia in 1991. After one year at Young Harris, Signe transferred to the big city to attend LaGrange College. After four years of art study at L.C., Signe opened Gallery 155 in Pine Mountain. A short lived venture, Gallery 155 closed it’s doors in August of 1998. The next month, Artists in Residence gallery opened with Signe as one of it’s founding members. Married to fellow gallery partner and potter Gennadiy Grushovenko in 1999, Signe teaches and paints full time at Artists in Residence and is proud to show her works with successful galleries in Atlanta, Knoxville, Chicago, and Asheville. Over the past five years, Signe has been honored with a number of awards at shows and festivals throughout the southeast and has been featured at the Period Gallery in Omaha, Nebraska, the LaGrange National Biennial, and at the Art With a Southern Drawl exhibition at the University of Mobile, Alabama. Her recent exhibitions include solo features at the Tucker Gallery in Evanston IL & Gonchary Gallery in Kiev, Ukraine.
I think the lines of these chairs are elegant in a casual sort of way. The chair on the left is very old (antique), the chair on the right is newer, both are slipcovered. I think slipcovers are the way to go. We were in NYC one year and stopped in ABC Carpet and Home (ohmygosh, the most wonderful home store – wow!), and found the fabric on the antique chair.
I snapped this photo hoping to get a little light on the wingback, but I still love it, with the dancing light on the rug, so pretty!
I know, I know… how many more photos can I take of these gorgeous historic buildings? You would be amazed! Look at the detail in this building located on Broad Street, Charleston, SC – it’s stunning! Long elegant windows – and look how the gorgeous color of the roof stands out against the brilliant blue sky. Wow!!!
Read All About It by Mike Kowalski 18×12″ Watercolor
Mike Kowalski. This painting, Read All About It was selected for the American Watercolor Society (AWS) Show for 2015, and guess what?? Mike received the Silver Medal! Quite an honor indeed! The show is held this month at the Salmagundi Art Club in New York.
I love everything about this painting. It’s a cool place that I want to go visit and spend time reading through the different magazines or newspapers. I like that he leaves the details to your imagination, very nice! The areas of shade and light – I just think it’s stunning!
Mike’s watercolors are brilliant. They’re well thought out and brimming with life! I am so impressed by artists who can paint with watercolors! I highly encourage you to check out his website… Gorgeous paintings, you just have to see them to believe!
Read a bit about Mike, from his website – I love how he writes!:
A friend recently told me that a good indication of what would make you happy in life would be to look back at what you were doing at the age of four or five. I was happy outside, observing nature. No need of added stimuli, just the sight, sounds and smells of our natural world. I also drew a lot. After over twenty five years as a freelance illustrator I have started pursuing art that………….. makes me happy. I was recently on the coast of California painting early in the morning. The sun rising quickly, shadows changing, wind whipping up from the west. The colors of the surf were yellows, and ochres, olives and innumerable shades of blue. I had only about an hour to get it all down. Those hours painting are what I live for.
Here’s the boring stuff:
Graduated from Utah State University with a BFA in art/illustration. The instruction at that institution was stellar.
Moved to Southern California in the early eighties where I had the opportunity to paint with Dan McCaw ( who also just happened to be on my soccer team ). I learned an awful lot in that time.
I relocated to the San Francisco bay area where I met my wife leading bicycle trips. After the birth of our first child I got a bit more serious about illustration. We moved up to the Seattle area where I began to concentrate on architectural illustration.
I’ve been busy ever since.
About five years ago I began to take steps toward a career as a fine artist. With four children that transition is slow but steady. I have many years ahead of me.
W1960GT offered by Architectural Designs – what a fabulous layout! It’s got such nice lines to it. This type plan will always be a winner! The front porch is wonderful and just adds to the living space albeit outdoors, but how nice is that? I really like the exterior shingled. The W1960GT plan is 1,442 square feet with 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms.
LOVE THE VERANDA. Oh, maybe I already said that… but I do, that is such a big + in my book! It’s nice that this plan has a downstairs bedroom – that always comes in handy. I like the living/dining/kitchen setup and the wonderful screened porch off the dining room. Very nice! The only thing I would eliminate is the door in the bathroom near the toilet/tub area and maybe have a shower instead of a tub, but that’s personal preference. It’s nice that there are options!
Clear your calendar for Saturday, February 21, 2015! There is the most amazing artist-led docent tour that you will not want to miss. Charles Williams is a brilliant artist who’s latest show “SWIM: An Artists Journey” will have you absolutely amazed!
This show runs through April 23, 2015, so if you miss the opportunity to meet Charles, by all means make your way to the show anyway!
Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum in Myrtle Beach, SC.
Here is a bit about the show (taken from an email)…
Swim is a highly personal artist’s exploration documenting Charles Williams’ past and more recent interactions and fears associated with the ocean: from wave formations in the oceans to the physical inability to swim and the paralysis caused by his fear. His images merge the conflicting emotions aroused by the ocean: alluring and sensual, yet mysterious and at times overwhelming.
Williams will give three guided tours of the exhibit, at 1:00, 2:00 and 3:00 p.m., and will be available between tours to answer questions about his work. The tours are free and open to the public, however sign-up is requested.
Please call the Art Museum at (843) 238-2510 and sign up for the 1:00, 2:00 or 3:00 p.m. artist-led tour.
These paintings aren’t like any you’ve ever seen. Several are large, very large, 6×8′ – they are displayed in the evening room which makes them even more dramatic. There are eight large scale paintings and forty smaller scale studies.
These paintings are so dramatic and breathtaking – whoa!
More information…
Works on exhibit are available for purchase from the Artist, and catalogs are available from Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum in Myrtle Beach, SC. For more information on the works visit cewpaintings.com and the museum website. “Swim: An Artist’s Journey” is on exhibit from January 15, through April 23, 2015.
Read a bit about Charles… and be sure to check out his website!
Charles Williams is a professional contemporary realist painter from Georgetown, South Carolina and a graduate of the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Savannah, Georgia with a Bachelor’s Degree in Fine Art. From utilizing oils for the basis of landscapes, each painting captures his reflection of human emotions in response to and in sync with the natural environment. Recent achievements and awards include a Hudson River Landscape Fellowship, featured work in the Artist’s Magazine’s 28th Annual Art Competition, honorable mention from Southwest Art Magazine’s 21 Emerging Under 31 competition, 2012 Winner of the Fine Art Category from Creative Quarterly and featured cover artist of Composite and Professional Artist Magazine. Williams’ works has been shown in American Art Collector, Empty, Charleston Magazine, Grand Strand, Studio Visit, Bluecanvas and other national publications. He was recently interviewed and broadcast on ETV/NPR station, entitled: “Nature Through the Eyes of an Artist”. His contemporary landscapes have been exhibited in group and solo exhibitions in galleries in New York, Vermont, California, Georgia, South Carolina and several other southeaster states. Learn more…
All images and information via Charles Williams or CEWPaintings.com, used with permission…
Homemade Spaghetti Sauce. Is there anything better? I make a pot of spaghetti sauce and we have it for dinner one night and then I freeze it in containers that will hold the amount we use for one night. It makes dinner so quick and easy. I have even taken it straight from freezer to stove and cooking it on low, and breaking it up, it defrosts quickly.
I usually use chicken Italian sausage (sweet or hot), but have also used grass-fed beef – tasty either way! Easy prep (cut up onion/garlic) – sauté veggies and sausage or hamburger and then add tomatoes and cook on low. Couldn’t be easier!
ARTFOODHOME.COM 