Reach for the Sky

Here is a question for your....."WHY ARE GIRAFFES SO SLOW TO APOLOGIZE?"  (Answer at the end of this blog)

I have to admit that this one is just a wee bit different than my usual painting as of late and there is a very reasonable explanation for that difference.  This piece is a commission piece for a local middle school and since it had to have an "INTERNATIONAL" feel to it I of course had to look for a subject a bit more unusual than your run of the mill cow or chicken as my subject matter.   I finally settled on the tallest animal in the world that also has an unbelievably comical and expressive face.   Who do you know that doesn't just love a giraffe?  I mean what says exotic and foreign better than this very leggy herbivore?  And let me tell you, this guy was a blast to paint.  When it came to colors, I pretty much used them all.

If you have followed my work in the past year, you know that I have featured several pieces of art that focused on a cow or a calf licking their nose with their long pink tongues in my "Down Country Roads" series.  Well this habit I guess, while it might be disgusting to consider, is something that is also a commonly shared activity within the giraffe family and since they have such a beautiful blue tongue I just couldn't help myself.

While the original painting, done in acrylic on an 18 x 24 " stretched canvas has been sold, there is the possibility of having prints made or I would LOVE to paint another one similar to this.  Just message me and we can discuss that possibility.  I would LOVE to paint one on an even larger scale.  While you're at it, why don't you check out my website and look at my other works?  JulieTownsendStudio.com.  Be sure and leave me a commit below and let me know what you think of my art work.


Just thinking out loud here....I wonder if a giraffe can get a sore throat?

ANSWER:  It takes them a long time to swallow their pride!

Z is for ZINNIA

  

One of my dreams has always been to have a cutting garden.  Alas in Las Vegas growing anything takes an extra amount of work that I just never seemed to have the time for.  Oh I have some flowers every year growing in pots around the front door but nothing like the flower gardens of my dreams.

I plant the usual geraniums, pansies, and chrysanthemums but a new favorite has emerged.  I tried to find zinnias a few years back at all the local garden centers and all I
could find were a pack of seeds.  I planted the seeds that spring and while they don't look like the pictured bright red flowers, I did get a sturdy plant full of orange blooms. They have successfully reseeded themselves every year after that.  They grow kind of tall (about 3 feet high) and spindly but they are a nice splash of color by my front door.

What is it about Zinnias?  I mean there are lots of great flowers but I just find them so cheerful, colorful and they just make me happy.   Add it to the fact that they are SO easy to grow makes them a favorite for many flowerbeds.  I was mildly surprised to find they are part of the daisy family but the information I was reading also said they were part of the sunflower tribe.  I didn't know that flowers were classified in tribes.  I mean family and species classifications I remember but I don't recall "Tribe" as a scientific classification.  Of course biology has been a number of years ago so maybe this is just unique to flowers or something new.








When my much awaited mega large set of Prismacolor colored pencils arrived the first sketch I did with them was that of Zinnias.  I absolutely love all the colors I now can choose from.  Just look at all those oranges, yellows and pinks.  The choices made for happy little zinnias.  My original artwork is a 5 x 7, matted to 8 x 10 and is available for purchase.  I can also make prints, magnets and greeting cards if you just love the design.  Send me a message and I will be happy to get you prices.

I love filling up my artistic journal pages and maybe this is cheating because I've gotten where I just add copies of my sketches into the pages and add my thoughts about each of the piece or share a poem that I wrote to go along with the artwork.  I know I'm really supposed to draw directly into the book but I just find that I enjoy this so much better.  It's combining my finished works that I like and yet I'm journaling about things that are important to me.  I thought I would share my Zinnia journal entry from last week to close out this blog post.

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Zinnia Journal Entry in my Sketchbook Journal

ODE to SPRINKLES

One thing that my 3 year old curly headed grandson always asks me for when he comes to visit is SPRINKLES.  You know the colorful little edible spots that you can buy by the jar or the tub in the cake decorating section of the grocery store.  We actually have to buy our sprinkles in a larger quantity like you get at bulk stores just to keep up with his frequent requests for the little delights.  

I have been telling him for a little while now that I was going to draw him with sprinkles on his face. He always gives me his cute little smile and you can just see the wheels inside his head turning as he is trying to visualize how that would look.   So to be true to my word, yesterday I came up with this little rough draft sketch.

I am still working out the details of how I want the sprinkles to look but I wanted to share with you this morning my rough draft and the little poem, "Ode to Sprinkles" I have written so far to go along with the concept.  

I though this blog might just add a little COLOR to your day and hopeful a smile to your face.

Ode to SPRINKLES 

      by

Julie Townsend

Let me sing a song about SPRINKLES

On the roughest days you smooth out all my wrinkles 

I love you and all your tasty brightfulness 

Like magic tiny rainbow sugar pills of delightfulness 

A spoonful of SPRINKLES before I get out of bed 

Helps me think more clearly in my head 

SPRINKLES with my lunch 

Just for color and added crunch 

Give me more SPRINKLES   with my supper meal 

There is really no denying that my love for them is real 

Give me SPRINKLES by the spoon 

I like to eat SPRINKLES by the light of the moon 

Or SPRINKLES in a bowl

SPRINKLES before my evening stroll 

SPRINKLES are perfect anytime of the day 

Give me more SPRINKLES!  Are you listening to what I say? 

First Rough draft that I did.  I added to my artistic Journal page

Veggies are the Bomb Diggity

This past week I have found myself busy and distracted so not much art has really gotten done.  I did manage to write this little poem (which I hope you read at the bottom of this post)  to go along with one of my favorite sketches that I have done this year.    There is something just so cute about this little bunny sitting among a pile of fresh carrots.

This weekend I was blessed to be invited to attend a baby shower for the grandson of a dear friend.  I purchased a couple of very cute outfits to give the new mother as a gift but at the last moment decided to also include this piece and my sketch of a calf licking his nose.  I printed them out on acid free art paper, matted them and signed them.  I also included the poem I wrote for "Who Needs a Tissue". (To read that poem just scroll down to my May 7, 2016 post)  I think that these two prints make wonderful nursery art or would look great hanging in a country kitchen.

So this got me thinking about the holiday weekend coming up and so I decided to put together a blog special offer.  I usually sell these 8 x 10 matted to 11 x 14 inch prints for $45 each but for the next two weeks (ends May 31, 2016)  I am offering a special package to my online blog and website visitors only.  Both numbered and hand signed prints, along with a copy of both of my poems for $50 (plus $13 shipping in the good old USA). Here is the link to my Down Country Roads Gallery.  Just click on the Paypal button located at the top of the gallery to make your purchase.  While you are there, please feel free to checkout my other gallery tabs for my other works at JulieTownsendStudio.com.

"Don't Forget Your Vegetables"

"Who Needs a Tissue"

Don't Forget Your Vegetables

By 

Julie Townsend

I don’t understand it at all when I say
There are people I know that are not at all keen
To eating anything that is leafy and green
It is perplexing to consider the price they may pay
For eating our veggies is one way to stay
With your body fueled and your muscles lean

Packed full of good stuff with very long names
Plenty of essential acids, vitamins and minerals galore
All vital and important items needed to fuel your core
I’m not joking, pulling your leg or making false claims
This is for real and I’m not playing games
Eating the colors of the rainbow will help you soar

Red is good for your heart
Blue and purple work wonders for you brain
Green is packed with essential minerals so you don’t feel the drain
Filling your plate with lots of bright colors will get off to a good start
To keep your eyes healthy and reading off the chart
Orange and yellow are the colors for vision that will bring the most gain

All that about color just to say
Don’t forget to eat them 5 times a day

The

 Incredible

Very Digestible,

Always Sustainable,

The tasty and edible

Yellow, Orange

Purple, Blue

Green and

Red

V

E

G

E

T

A

B

L

E

Leave me a comment below to let me know if you like either the artwork or my feeble attempts at writing poetry.  Catch you on the next blog post.

I Create My Own World Full of Hummingbirds and Flowers- I'm An Artist!

Hummingbird on a Zinnia- 6x6

I love the boldness and sharp lines that are created here when I use a black sharpie marker in combination with acrylic paint to emphasize and outline the focal of each piece.  These are a few examples of my work that I have finished in the past few months using this technique and I just wanted to share them again.  I haven't really seen this style represented among other local artists and so I think it offers a unique illustrated look.  They are also very fun to create and I love painting on smaller 6" x 6"x 2" square canvases but it looks great on a larger canvas too.  Small, colorful, attention grabbing and very reasonably priced I think these would add some color to small spaces or in a grouping.
Some critics may say that outlining the art gives it a cheaper appearance but I love the combination of detail fine art and the illustrated comic look together.  When these pieces are all laying around in my studio it feels like spring is in the air and they almost always make me smile when I look at them.  I say FORGET THE CRITICS!  In my happy little world, I am the creator and I create what I like!

All these pieces are available for purchase on my website at Julie Townsend Studio or you can email me at Julie@JulieTownsendStudio.com if you would like a special commission piece created just for you.  

Fallen Leaves- 12x16 

Fallen Acorn- 6x6

Bachelor Buttons- 6x6

Giant Sunflower 11x14

 

Keeping it Fresh

2014 has turned out to be a year that I really feel that I have gained confidence and have started to open up as an artist and experiment with lots of color and a more free abstract style. Oh don't get me wrong, I am still painting dusty old prospectors but in between those prospector pieces or a mountain landscape painting a small colorful fun piece is just the ticket to get the creative juices flowing.  I thought I would share a few of them with you.

Coming up in November 2014, my friend and I will be the featured artist at the local cooperative gallery that I belong to. (City of the World Las Vegas) Jan Harris-Arduini and I haven't yet agreed upon a title for the show or the date for the reception, but we did decided the theme of our show would to demonstrate our belief in the Biblical  Account of Creation.  I just keep coming back to the Latin term "EX NIHILO" which translates "From Nothing".  It is my deep desire to honor my Heavenly Father by giving attention to His Creation and Handiwork.

I'm very excited to be painting some very special pieces specific to this show and I won't be sharing them until we have presented the show but I will also be including some of these small abstract pieces.  I'm planning on being a very busy girl this month.

If you are interested in seeing more of my work, please visit my website at JulieTownsendStudio.com

Summer Wildflowers- 8x10

Third Day- 12x16

Angel in the Sea Grass- 24x24

Two Clowns and An Angel- 11x14

Confessions of a Recovering Accountant

These are a couple of small watercolors and ink pieces I have done this week.  Colorful and expressive, they both have a personal meaning to me and were just plan fun to create.  I have been sketching in volume with pen and ink for quite some time now but I am new to using watercolors to add color to my drawings.  I'm quickly falling in love with the look and freedom that this medium gives me.

This is a little watercolor I painted on Wednesday that I'm calling "Right Brain vs Left Brain". It symbolizes to me the struggle the exists inside of me as detail, analytic person that actually is an artist deep inside. I went years, 27 as a matter of fact, working for an organization as their accountant and business manager and it wasn't until the last 2 years that anyone even knew I could draw or paint. There just didn't seem to be enough time. I'm so blessed because my time requirements have reversed so that I am now free to create art whenever I want and do taxes and some bookkeeping in my spare time.

Right Brain vs Left Brain

This piece I am calling "Right Brain vs Left Brain" and it symbolizes the struggle that I felt for years as I was consumed by deadlines, financial reports and board meetings.  These demands sucked the creativity right out of me and I used it as an excuse to push aside my desire to let the creativity inside of me out.  

Coloring My World

This one I am calling "Coloring My World".  If you look closely at the black and white drips you will notice they are actually full of numbers and mathematical symbols. They have become so swollen that the bulging drips have ruptured and spilled numbers all over.  The colorful drips of paint and the paint brush symbolize my new focus.  You can never remove the accountant in me, but I can sure make my life more colorful by filling it with art! 

I am blessed that I am now able to dedicate my time to creating art and still do taxes and some bookkeeping in my SPARE time.  I already have an idea for a 3rd composition in this series that I am tongue and cheek calling "Confessions of a Recovering Accountant".  I think these might make an excellent greeting cards but I'm not sure of that. 

"Taste of Summer" is now available

"Taste of Summer"- 18x24 Original Oil painting

I know that summer is here when I see those large bins of watermelon available at the grocery store.  I'm not talking about the sad selection that we had all winter, but piles of beautiful round, sweet melons.  Cutting into that first melon of the summer is pure joy. 

And of course what is summer without pitchers of fresh squeezed lemonade.  That frosty tangy sweetness is the answer to a hot summer afternoon and believe me when I say that in Las Vegas we know HOT! 

Yes, it is the fruit that I look forward to in the summer.  All winter we have endured a limited selection of apples, oranges and bananas but now we have beautiful berries and melons to add to our culinary delights.  I hope this painting makes you want to grab a straw and enjoy the "Taste of Summer".

This piece was painting in my Las Vegas studio.  The original is currently hanging at The City of the World Gallery at 1229 S. Casino Center Blvd where I have a number of my pieces hanging.  If your interested in the original you can contact me directly and if you would like to consider ordering a print you can find it available at http://fineartamerica.com/featured/taste-of-summer-julie-townsend.html