Observations

Good Day!

Here's another edition to my creative exercises on paper, "Observations". I really love this piece, it has an Oceanic theme to it. It fulls of blues, bubbles and mixed media. These art pieces I am sharing with you daily are raw, unedited, and messy at times.

It a mixed media piece as well. I so would love for you to see this piece, it's really something special to me. By the way, I do ship International Direct for all my art lovers overseas! I'd love to get my art sold over the world, what a nice thought and compliment! Help me by sharing my art to your European friends.
Thank you.

To see it and purchase it, click: Observations

Wander II

These "Wander II" art piece is quite different from the first original "Wander" which you can see if you didn't see that one yet.

The "Wander II" is a mixed media piece as well, but does have a rather rough, dark look to it, unlike the first. In Wander II, I used chalks which are great blending tools and lots of circle mark marking.

You see the words, Live Everyday, and My Favorite Part...words that are so important to our creative journey or any part of a journey. Today, we try to live the much you can each day, and remember your favorite parts of your day for gratitude.

I actually like this piece because of it's bold colors and rising circles with mark marking. There is a rough texture to this painting, which is one of My Favorite Parts...you can feel the texture and it feels like part of the wandering process...rough, textured!

Let me know what you enjoy about these pieces... more will be posted.

You can see and get this painting here, WANDER II

Thank you!

Wander.

If you saw my last post, I wrote about a recent creative exercise and how much I enjoyed it. So, I decided many months later, you might want to see these little works of art on paper.

They are raw, not clean edges, but you will see splatter of paint on the edges, the margins are uneven. Again, raw works of creative ideas of words, images, symbols and graphics. 

I also decided to not only to share these with you and their processes, but perhaps there might be one you are drawn to and would like to have.

I have listed these little works of art on eBay (my husband and I have an eBay store: Mike & Ally's Haul Ya'll eBay Store. I have them listed for the same price, but you can make me an offer if you like. 

And if you love Vintage Items like we do, you find a few of those.

Follow my blog for each update for these new artworks on paper like this art piece. Click on the word Wander to see this painting. Hope you enjoy these little works of art!

See it here: Wander

Media: Mixed Media

She Reads To Her Flowers

Hello!

Actually, I've been experiencing new art mediums and just needed the time to play with art.
Doing this period of exploration I was working on small paper and lots of it. And it felt good and freeing, no expectations, just play. As I filled up books and pages of art journal exercises

(I highly recommend), I was ready to back to canvas and go big. I felt myself missing going large while creating art on paper. It was back to basic art exploration and it was good. There's just something about canvas that feels so primitive. As my arms and upper body to move across the large canvas, I feel greater options... there's room, there's space, there no limits. It feels... larger than life at times.

Getting back to larger canvases, I took what I gained experimenting and applied those markings on a canvas in a new style. So what happened, what took place?

This is it. 

I envisioned her sitting in her garden as she reads out loud, the flowers lean in listening so intently to every word. She looks up and sees them enjoying the sounds coming from her lips. She looks back down at her book and continues to read to her flowers and smiles. 

I hope you enjoy this painting.

Title: She Reads To Her Flowers

Medium: Mixed Media

Size: 40" x 30" Gallerywrapped Canvas

Purchase This Painting

Beginning Art Buyers: 3 Things to Know About Purchasing Art

Congratulations! So, now you have a new home or apartment and you’re ready to decorate your walls with art. Where do you start? As an artist, I find today’s art market can be pricey and overwhelming for the new buyer to know where to begin.

Let’s start with some guidelines. In the article, “How to Buy Art: A Beginner’s Cheat Sheet”, written by William Grimes and Robin Pogrebin of the NY Times, they share in what venues and ways you can find and buy affordable art. Not only can you learn where to go, but the art hunt itself can be just as adventurous and rewarding as purchasing that great piece of artwork you love. After reading this article you should be able to research venues and events of art shows and exhibits to come up with a list of places you’ll want to scope out. Take a friend or your significant other, but do try to have a plan of where you’re going and have an idea of what you’ll be seeing before setting out.

(AffordableArtFair.com)

Once you’ve find that right art piece, what are things to consider before buying? In this article, ”How to Collect Art Like a Pro – Building a Collection”, by Alan Bamberger from artbusiness.com suggests you ask yourself these important questions before purchasing. And if you decide to go a step further in to the art market, he has a wealth of knowledge how to start your own art collection. For now, here’s just a few of the questions, Mr. Bamberger mentions when getting ready to purchase art.

1. What about it satisfies me?
2. Do I like it for the subject matters, what it represents, what it communicates, it's originality, the techniques, the colors, the historical aspects, the regions where it's made, the lives of the artists?
3. Does it make me think about things I've never thought before?

I have a few points of action to get you started.

·       Define Your Decorating Style: Is it Modern, Traditional, Zen-like, Asian, Minimalism?

·       Do Your Research: Go to sites such as Pinterest, SaatchiArt, and FineArtAmerica and find what you like or don’t like. Jot down a list of artist’s names, genres, and colors that speak to you. Recognize any patterns to your choices?

·       Ask Questions: Always make sure when buying online or in person, to ask about the seller’s refund policy. An additional plus is free shipping!

With a research, you can come up with a plan to locate and buy the right art for you. And if you still struggle finding exactly what you are looking for, ask friends or galleries if they know an artist that fits your style. Consider a commissioned piece of artwork from your favorite artist. That way you can get the colors you love and the size painting you need. Lastly, enjoy buying art from places you’ve vacationed. It’s a great way to extend the memories while having a beautiful or intriguing piece of art on your walls. Or you can purchase a painting from Allison Reece Fine Art, I hear the artist is phenomenal!

ABOUT THE ARTIST:

Allison Reece is an abstract expressionist painter from NC. She has been selling her bold paintings since 2004. She is an alumnus of Ringling College of Art and Design, in Sarasota, FL, where she studied Fine Arts. She graduated from Northwestern University’s Social Media Marketing Course, via Coursera, and also graduated from Digital Marketing from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She enjoys spending time with her husband and daughter, enjoys a good cup of coffee, kayaking in the southeastern intracoastal waterways, and long walks on the beach. Her favorite color is turquoise and she loves abstract art.

You can follow Allison on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Fine Art America, and Instagram.

Music and Jazz Lovers: If Music Had Color

Title: The Color of Music

Medium: Acrylics on Canvas

Size: 14" x 11" x 1/2" 

Purchase This Painting

             

 

The Color of Music immediately reminds me of the wonderful sounds of jazz with it's vibrant colors of blues, red, orange, lime green and black. This small, but bold abstract painting packs a punch of vibrancy for any office or room in your home. This ready to hang painting is not framed and has black painted sides. What a great gift this painting would be for you or your music loving friends.  

I hope you have you subscribed to my art blog to follow updates with my paintings. If you have an art lover friend, please share my blog with them.

Thank you for enjoying the Color of Music with me! 
Allison

Beginner Artists: 3 Little Paintings I Made Using Water Soluble Crayons

Artists and Crafters, have you ever used Neocolor II Swiss made water soluble crayons? Have you used them in your artwork or multi-media projects? What do you think about them?
I thought I'd experiment with a set I had found in my supplies the other day. 
They are suitable for numerous techniques on a wide range of materials. You can purchase them individually or in sets. 

 See on Amazon: Caran-dAche-Classic-Neocolor-Water-Soluble Crayons

I will say they are richly pigmented, that was a plus for me.
They can be a little messy though by getting all over your fingers once they are dipped in water, but that's the creative part of making art, right? 

First, I applied acrylic paint on paper, then after allowing the paint to dry, I layered with the crayons. I drew right on top of the acrylic paint.  No problems there, moved with ease and you can smooth out lines if you like. They do have a texture similar to regular crayola crayons, but not as waxy.

I liked the crayon look that it gives the painting, a graphic style that tends to be more edgy. You can paint with them by adding water and using a brush, however, I wasn't too crazy using them that way. Perhaps, if you are a watercolor painter, you could appreciate them in that manner. But my favorite way of using the crayons was simply drawing with them. You can add water and blend out your lines. Still my favorite approach was drawing onto the acrylics with free flowing lines and/or circles. I would recommend having a small set of water soluble crayons to add a different element to your art. I would use them again, maybe not often, but worth having on hand. Also, these work great for kids.

I thought these little paintings came out pretty cool.

Take a look at these and tell me what do you think?

 Untitled

Medium: Acrylics and Water Soluble Crayons on Vellum Paper.

Size: 4" x 9" 

 Title: Hedged In

Medium: Acrylics and Water Soluble Crayons

Size: 6" x 3"

 Untitled

Medium: Acrylic and Water Soluble Crayons

Size: 4" x 4" 

I'd love to hear your comments on these little experiments or the Neocolor II crayons. What do you use?

Starting A New Art Project: My Morning Creative Meditation Exercise

I've seen it many times, artists that paint a painting a day, or paint a certain amount of paintings within a month or a year and I think to myself, I don't think I could commit to doing that. However, I felt I needed to do something fast, creative and different than setting out to do usual larger paintings. So, I've started my own art project, "My Morning Creative Meditation Exercise".

The purpose of this daily exercise is to just move the medium in any fashion, shape or form. No agenda, no correcting, no critical thinking, or I'll fix that later. Why? To set up an environment for more creativity and see what happens in my brain. This art project is not about making beautiful or interesting paintings, but to get into the movement of creating art in free flowing way as possible. And, what will be my personal experience doing art this way first thing in the morning?

I will record my paintings each day if possible and share my personal experiences with each painting. I hope you would like to follow along this creative process of mine. Remember, this isn't about making stunning art, it's about the process. It's just an experiment, so I'm not taking myself that seriously. This is for fun and experimental purposes.

And if you have a similar creative experiment, please share. 

Here is my painting of Day 1 of my Morning Creative Meditation Exercise.

Day 1

 Title: Out of the Maze

Size: 9" x 12" 

Medium: Acrylic and ink on vellum paper
Read about my personal experiences on Instagram!

Day 2
Untitled
Size: Unsure, 7" x 4", scrap of paper
Medium: Acrylic and ink on paper
Details on Instagram!

Day 3
Title: Connections
 Size: 4" x 7" 
Medium: Acrylic and ink on paper
More details on Instagram!

If you want to continue to see my latest abstract paintings with this project, follow my Instagram account with this link:

Instagram: https://instagram.com/allison_reece_fine_art/

Thank you for following and subscribe to my art blog for updates with my larger paintings for sale.

 

Beachcombers, Sea Glass Collectors: Finding Simple Treasures

Hello Everyone!
Well, if you've been wondering where I've been, I'm still here. Took the summer off as I usually do and now I'm fired up to paint again. Taking the summers off really work for me. I was blessed with a wonderful beach vacation in an amazing beach house this past summer. And still reflecting back on that experience. 

First, allow me to share with you a little about my purposes in painting. First of all, it's about my love for color and it's energy, that is my passion. Secondly, I search for those profound moments in time that we have all experienced. For me, one of those moments would be my walks on a beach. You know, it's when time seems to stand still and show you something special that speaks to your heart. Like finding sea glass glistening on the beach being bathed in the sunshine and water. A treasure has been uncovered right at your feet. You know at that point, you happened to be at the right place at the right time to look down upon such simple beauty. 

It is true, a landscape artist can paint that scene to help you remember a special location and a realism artist can paint the objects of your adoration. Yet, an abstract artist attempts to paint that moment of your profound connection. We artists, do it via color and textures; to give you the energy of that time. My friends and art collectors, that is my goal in painting, to paint those moments in an abstract way for you to enjoy.

But back to abstract painting, I started back working on a few smaller size canvases, they seem to get me into the process quicker and become more experimental. I love sea glass, the colors and texture. Don't you? This painting was painted with unusual ease and you can see the fluid brushstrokes that add a nice quality to the painting. You might say, an impressionist style to it. What do you think?

Here it is. My special moment walking on the beach. I found sea glass and smiled.

 "Sea Glass

20" x 16" x  1/2"

Acrylic

In  private collection of Mrs. Wolff

Thank you for stopping by and visiting my art blog. Please sign up via email for my latest painting updates.

Allison 

 

A New Painting Submitted for the Twitter Art Exhibit 2014 in Orlando, Florida!

Hello everyone!
Voted of Florida's Best Artists, Robin Maria Pedrero is curating this 2014 Twitter Art Exhibit in Orlando to benefit The Center for Contemporary Dance, Special Needs Classes. This year I've been invited by Robin to participate in this year's Twitter Art Exhibit and each year since it's conception with Norway Artist and Founder, David Sandum. This is the fourth year and it's been fueling up each year... 

Here's the details if you live or planning to be in the Orlando area at the time of the show. Also, I've included the interesting young history of the Twitter Art Exhibits:

 WHEN
Thursday, March 20, 2014 | 6-9PM
Show runs March 20 - April 11, 2014

 WHERE
CityArts Factory, Magic Gallery | Orlando, Florida, USA

 The sale price will be $35 USD per card.

Twitter Art Exhibit: Orlando is an international exhibition of original postcard art benefiting The Center for Contemporary Dance, Special Needs Classes, a nonprofit (501)©3 organization dedicated to dance education and outreach. The Special Needs Classes include customized exercises that expand the student’s range of motion, creativity and social skills. Class work is further designed to enhance skills in memorization, problem solving and communication. Belinda Balleras, whose son takes classes every week, says: “He has a new sense of creative fulfillment and an additional pathway to productively express emotions.” 

Twitter Art Exhibit: Orlando is the fourth installment of an open international exhibition of handmade postcard art for charity, donated by hundreds of participating artists from around the globe.
While the first two exhibitions were held in Moss, Norway, the third installment held in Los Angeles marked the global launch for the concept by founder David Sandum, a Swedish-born artist who conceived Twitter Art Exhibit as a vehicle for doing good through social media and online community-building. The idea is simple: artists around the globe receive a call through Twitter social media to create original postcard-sized art, which they mail to a local curator, who then exhibits and sells them to benefit a local charity. 

Exciting stats: In its first year, Twitter Art Exhibit received postcards from over 260 artists in 24 countries, raising funds to buy 221 new children’s books for a struggling library in Moss, Norway. The second installment received entries by 360 artists in 32 countries, raising $4,000 USD for an abused women’s shelter, also in Moss. 

The 3^rd exhibition held in Los Angeles raised $7,000 for an organization mentoring underprivileged young adults in preparation for careers in the visual arts, attracting 502 artists from 35 countries, with a total of 726 postcard entries received.

Twitter Art Exhibit Organizing Board:
David Sandum                     @DavidSandumArt
Nat George                           @natgeorgela
Robin Maria Pedrero        @robinpedrero

Now would you like to see my abstract postcard painting for the exhibit?
Here it is....

 "The Movement"

6" x 4" on vellum paper

Sold!

What do you think?

On My Way To Happiness

Hello again to my fellow art lovers, art collectors, and newcomers on the scene. I've been working on several paintings at one time, which is usually the case for most artists. Most paintings I have to sit with for awhile to get the whole story process in my head, down on canvas or patiently wait to see what the images are going to reveal. And that process takes time, sitting, starring, waiting, watching, deciding, just plain pondering while chasing the doubts or fears away.

However, on the technical side of things, this canvas endured a layering process of large and small sections of colors and carving out textures with a palette knife. Then dry brushing and blending on the next layer. 

To be vulnerable here, I felt as if something was happening with this painting and also with the next painting to follow. I couldn't quite put my finger on it, but I was breaking through to a higher level in my painting. All I know is, I could feel it and I liked it! So hence the title, "On My Way To Happiness".  By the way, is there a time, you've broken through in an area of your life?

This painting has bright energetic colors of lime green, turquoise, blues, red, gold, medium  yellow, orange, and sand. I hope you've enjoy this painting and it's available for purchase. I think this one would look great in an office, den, bedroom, dressing area, or...okay,....anywhere actually!

I'd like to share this note to end. I had a wonderful compliment from a lady about my paintings. She said, "Your paintings uplift my soul". Immediately, I thought...then my job is done! I couldn't have received a better compliment. So buy art that will lift your soul and place that energy in your living space. Don't we all need to have surroundings and people that uplift us?

On My Way To Happiness

22"(w) x 28"(h) x 1"(d)

Acrylic

Close up of textured areas

Another close up

And another close up

How does this abstract painting make you feel? I hope this painting makes you feel happy too! Thank you for stopping by! Allison