TOO MUCH ART Sale: Day 6

“I paint flowers so they will not die.” — Frida Kahlo

Let’s start the week off with flowers. Both of these pieces are done with color pencil and ink on rice paper. The art images are the same size and matted to fit in a standard 8” x 10” frame.

Enjoy your day!

SOLD “Garden Morning Glories”, 10 ”x 8” matted. Price $20

SOLD  “Hearts and Flowers”, 10 ”x 8” matted. Price $20

Thank goodness for Spring…

Carol L. Adamec: "Nature's Spring Kimono", 2021. Acrylic gouache, gold metallics, 12"x12" / 13"x13" framed.

It’s been quite awhile since I’ve posted on this blog…

We lost our little Mother last November, just before the holidays. She was 97 and weighed less than 90 pounds. It wasn’t from COVID, thank goodness; and she passed peacefully, without pain. 

Since then I have been dealing with her estate—quite a learning curve for me over the past six months, dealing with lawyers, accountants, IRS, banks, stock companies. Everything has taken longer to process due to coronavirus limitations, quarantine regulations, and a couple of trips to and from Florida. 

In April I finally got my vaccinations. (I hope you have, too.) Things are becoming more relaxed, less contentious. I have been walking my little dog in the evening, leaving my mask at home, although I still wear it in public places where I expect to encounter people. Lately I have been feeling more energized and have been working in the studio more often, too. 

We are having a lovely spring in New Mexico, brought on by divine rain showers in April, turning everything green. Tulips, irises, and lilacs have bloomed and gone. Now it’s May. Roses of every color are abundant all over the neighborhood, with Spanish Broom providing splashes of bright yellow, and hollyhocks in pink and crimson springing up around my yard. I especially missed calling Mom on Mother’s Day this year. We always talked about what was blooming in Florida.

The painting featured on today’s post—"Nature’s Spring Kimono"— is one I recently finished and just framed. I love the spiral on the kimono capturing the energy of Springtime, filled in with the colors of blue skies and fluffy white clouds, green leaves and white flowers, amidst a swirl of golden sunshine. The kimono is then set on a background of deep pink and a plethora of greenery. For me, the painting is about Beauty and Hope, the same beauty and hope Spring brings. 

Mom’s favorite season was Spring. I think she would have liked this painting, too.

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Text & Image ©2021 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Happy Valentine's Day...

Carol L Adamec: "Hearts & Flowers" mixed media on rice paper.

...with Hearts & Flowers for you!

Happy Love Day to You!

Hearts & Flowers (Dotted Swiss), mixed media on rice paper
Available for purchase on ETSY.

"Love is a canvas furnished by Nature

and embroidered by imagination."

—Voltaire

Another Colorful Valentine...

Hearts and Flowers (Dotted Swiss), 2015.
Mixed media (ink, metallics, Prismacolor) on mulberry paper, 7"x5"
Available for purchase on ETSY.

Now there are less than 10 days until Valentine's Day, and I'm posting another version of "Hearts & Flowers" — this one with golden flecks like dotted Swiss—along with lots of bright colors and plenty of gold ground.

It's available for purchase on ETSY via this link: https://www.etsy.com/listing/221436408/hearts-and-flowers-dotted-swiss?ref=shop_home_feat_1

Thanks for taking a moment to read my blog. Enjoy your day.

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Image and text ©2015 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

It's "Hearts and Flowers" time!

Hearts and Flowers (GOLD), 2015

Mixed media (ink, metallics, Prismacolor) on mulberry paper, 7"x5".

Available for purchase on ETSY

Here it is February already, and we're only 10 days away from Valentine's Day. So I'm in the mood to do some variations of my "Hearts and Flowers" image.

Today's post features "Hearts and Flowers, Gold"--lots of yummy reds, with greens yellows and golds--which I just finished today: Hot off the drawing table, you might say. It's available for purchase on ETSY via this link:  https://www.etsy.com/listing/221437087/hearts-and-flowers-gold-valentines-day

Thanks for taking a look. Enjoy your day.
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Image and text ©2015 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Hello, I'm Back!

Floating Rose, 2014
Original oil painting on panel, 6" x 4"
SOLD

Hello, Dear Readers,

No, I haven't forsaken you or my blog. I have been out of town for most of the summer and just recently returned. And here it is, the end of July already!

Before my travels, I had been painting the late spring and early summer flowers and thought I would have time to post them online. That (obviously) didn't happen.

So, I am now ready to share these colorful little beauties with you over the next week or two. I hope you enjoy them.

Thanks for giving a few moments of your time to take a look. I hope you are enjoying your summer, too!

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Text and image ©2014 Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

Summer is Here...

Sunshine Garden, 2014. Original digital drawing printed on ricepaper.

I have been revising my "Garden Varieties" series of digital drawings that I did on a Boogie Board Tablet awhile back—this time, adding lots of luscious color using Adobe Photoshop. Fun!

This print on rice paper matted for an 8x10" frame can be purchased via my shop on ETSY.com.

Thanks for taking a look. Enjoy your day!

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©2014 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Hearts & Flowers, Folk Style

Hearts & Flowers: Folk Style, 2013. Hand colored, mixed media on rice paper.

The fun part of hand coloring my Boogie Board prints is altering the hues and patterns to see how it all turns out. The variety of possibilities is amazing. The saturated colors of this version reminded me of the bright and cheerful designs of American Folk Art styles, such as the Pennsylvania Dutch. Enjoy!

Thanks for visiting my blog and have a great day.

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Text and photo ©2013 Carol L. Adamec. All rights reserved.

Hearts & Flowers Folk Style is printed on rice paper and hand colored with Prismacolor pencil and metallic ink. The image measures approximately 7" x 5"  and comes mounted in an 10" x 8" black mat, ready to frame. The price is $85 with FREE SHIPPING, available for purchase on ETSY at www.ArtByCarolAdamec.ETSY.com. (On ETSY you can pay withPayPal or a credit card, and it's safe.)

Fall Flowers

Blue Vase, 2011
Original painting:  oil on paper, mounted on panel
Private Collection

Here's another small painting I completed while in Albuquerque. When I arrived at my friend's home this bouquet was on the table to greet me....flowers fresh from her garden. Now, who wouldn't be inspired by these great colors and such a kind gesture by a thoughtful hostess?

However, the preparation for this painting started a few years ago when I saw a painting done on brown paper, mounted to a panel. I liked the way the oil paint looked on that paper; so I prepared this small panel with brown paper and coated it with a clear gesso (for archival purposes). Then it sat around my studio waiting for the "right" image. I'm really glad that I packed it with my painting gear for my trip to Albuquerque. It was ready to go the day I painted this blue vase with flowers.

Thanks for taking a look. Have a great week!

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©2011 Text and image by Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

Spring Daffodils

Morning Daffodils (WIP)

by Carol Adamec
Oil, alkyd on stretched canvas
10 "x 8"

It's spring in New Mexico.... one week the weather is sunny with balmy temperatures in the 70's; and then the next week it's cold and snowing! The daffodils came out a few weeks ago, and I photographed a small bouquet of them basking in the morning sun on my kitchen table.

This week I've started two new paintings, one being Morning Daffodils, based on the photos I took a few weeks ago.

Some of you have mentioned that you enjoy seeing a painting "unfold" from start to finish. So, I will take photos of this piece as it develops and post the pictures of the process.

Today's post shows the underpainting, where the composition and basic values (lights and darks) are defined. You can see the table edge and flowers in front of a chair, with a window and cabinets on the right side, and on the left, a bright rectangle of light on the refrigerator in the background.

On Monday I'll post the next stage of the painting. See you then.
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Artwork and text ©2009 Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

Stuck in the Middle

Sitting on the Fence (in progress)
Original: oil & alkyd on panel
6 x 8"

A result of moving my studio last weekend was the discovery of several paintings that I started—maybe even worked on for quite awhile—and didn't finish. Some of these paintings have been in boxes for several years; others, just since my time in Florida. I've been sorting through these paintings, determining which ones still hold some interest and (hopefully) promise if completed.

The image posted today is a small plein air piece that I began last winter while living in Florida....and then just put aside. In its present state it gives you some idea how paintings look in the "middle stage" when the shapes and light are defined but the painting is far from finished.

For me this is the stage that is most "dangerous" depending on whether or not I have enough interest to complete the painting, or decide to just give it up and paint over the entire surface to begin anew.

So, we'll see how it goes. I'll post the final results—either a finished painting that I'm happy with or a scrubbed over panel. Stay tuned!

Thanks for taking a look. Have a good weekend and I'll see you Monday.
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Text and image ©Carol Adamec 2008. All rights reserved.

Up Close...Detail

Carol Adamec
"California Calla Close Up"
Original oil, alkyd on gessoed panel
Private Collection

Back in September, I posted the calla lily painting, measuring 12" x 12", that I had painted for Spiva Center for the Arts (9/24: "Art for a Good Cause").

Today's painting is a detail...a cropped segment from the first version, measuring 6" x 6" that I started awhile back, and completed yesterday. That's just the way it goes, sometimes.

Thanks for taking a moment to read this entry. If you would like to share a comment about my painting, please do so by clicking the COMMENTS link below. Or you can email me. Either way I look forward to hearing from you.

I hope you enjoy an easy weekend. See you Monday. ———————————————————————————————
Image and text ©Carol Adamec 2008. All rights reserved.

Exhibit Glimpse 2

Ellen Van Fleet
"...drives the flower"#8
Watercolor • 44" x 32"

Today's post features the work of Ellen Van Fleet, another California artists who participated in our Albuquerque exhibit, "Be Leaf It or Not." Ellen is interested in "mark making" and abstraction, and has traveled in the US and abroad studying petroglyphs and cave paintings.

For our exhibit, Ellen contributed work which also reflects her love of Henry Matisse, through her use of intense color and flowing, rhythmic line.

As Ellen notes in her Artist Statement: "I tend to use painting motions I can repeat. It is soothing and fascinating to see how marks or stripes...pile up and become visually interesting...Take the black stripes in the current work. I love dragging a brush full of pigment across a sheet of paper in a whole body motion, over and over, sheet after sheet. Then I take what I have amassed and tweak it until something mysterious and right happens."

Her title comes from a Dylan Thomas poem where he describes the force of Nature that "...drives the flower..."

If you would like to make a comment about Ellen's work, please use the "COMMENT" link below; or send me an email, and I'll forward it to Ellen.

Have a great Monday. See you Wednesday!

Image ©Ellen Van Fleet. Text©Carol Adamec. All rights reserved.

Art for a Good Cause

California Calla I, 2008
Original oil, alkyd on gessoed panel
12" x 12"
Available to highest bidder at
www.spivaarts.org

Just before moving to New Mexico, I completed the painting featured in today's blog and mailed it to Spiva Center for the Arts, in Joplin, MO. The painting is my donation to this year's Annual 12 x 12 Auction fundraiser, which features artwork by local, regional, and national artists who support the art center. I think this year has 78 contributions, all 12" x 12" and available for purchase to the highest bidder when the auction ends November 7 (see details online at the Spiva website).

Having been Spiva's Associate Director while living in the Joplin area, I know what a great art center Spiva is. In addition to showing top notch national exhibitions, Spiva supports local artists, too, through its Regional Gallery, Annual Membership Show, gift shop, and other events such as this auction. The art center offers year-round art classes for all ages, plus a day of art at Spiva for every Joplin 6th grader...over 600 kids! Spiva has a very hardworking staff, a volunteer board, and many faithful volunteers and supporters whose contributions make a huge difference for the local and regional communities that Spiva serves. It is an honor for me to again participate in this annual fundraiser.

If you are interested in bidding on my painting, go to www.spivaarts.org and follow the 2008 12x12 links. California Calla I is #67. You may want to check out the other entries, too. There are some great art pieces, and you can join the fun via online bidding, knowing that all proceeds support the art center.

Thanks for taking a moment to look at my painting. Have a great day! See you Friday.
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Text and image ©Carol Adamec 2008. All rights reserved.

Chicken Door

Chicken Door, 2008

Original oil, alkyd on canvas panel

8" x 10"

Contact Artist to purchase.

Here's my first completed painting since settling into my New Mexico studio. The dappled light of the late afternoon sun on this adobe wall was appealing to me and fun to work up with loose brushstrokes. I also loved the way the light skimmed across the tops of the marigolds in the foreground.

Thanks for taking a moment to look at my painting. If you would like to leave a comment, please do so by clicking the COMMENTS link below.

Have a great day! See you Wednesday.

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Text and image ©Carol Adamec 2008. All rights reserved.

Introducing....

eStamp by Lisa Rivas
"Daffy Down Dilly" 2008
Archival pigment print
8.5" x 11" unframed
$22 + S&H


To purchase, visit Lisa's ESTY shop: http://www.flyingcolors.etsy.com/
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Although I have two paintings in the works at the studio, neither was ready for today's post So, I am taking this opportunity to introduce you to a friend of mine who is an artist whom I hold in the highest regard for her incredible creativity, consummate technique, and rich personal iconography. She is a genuine talent, the "real deal", and a natural colorist. To put it simply, I am a huge fan and always look forward to seeing what will come out of her studio next!

I have known Lisa Rivas for twenty years, since I was a gallery director and Lisa was one of the premier gallery artists in Memphis, Tennessee.

At that time she was creating complex imagery on rice paper using batik drawing and watercolor painting techniques. Lisa had studied Surface Design at the Hans Neumann School of Design in Caracas, Venezuela, where she grew up. Later, she applied those skills to painting, while a student at The Memphis College of Art. Often she would also quilt and stitch patterns and image outlines with different color threads to add another dimension to her work. Her art was truly unique, awe inspiring, and gorgeously colorful, and she found many eager buyers and serious collectors wanting "a Lisa Rivas."

About ten years ago, Lisa moved into the digital age of art and image making, teaching herself and mastering Photoshop, Freehand, Illustrator, Quark, Dreamweaver, and a few other programs artists use for creative purposes.

Her latest creative endeavor is eStamps, an ongoing issue of 8.5" x 11" prints presented in stamp format. The nationality of the stamps is "WWW" (for World Wide Web) and the denominations are in "kB" for kilobytes. The images on the e-Stamps can be details from her original paintings or a digital illustration she composed on the computer, just today. Each eStamp print is signed and dated by Lisa.

Lisa publishes a blog, too, http://www.flyingcolors.typepad.com where you can check out what she's doing almost every weekday and see many of the eStamps she has created, like the one shown above.

And, if you see an eStamp you just gotta have, take a quick trip over to her ETSY shop: http://www.flyingcolors.etsy.com/.

I just loved "Vespertina" and bought it for myself, the first one in my collection!

Have a good day. See you Friday.
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Artwork and image © Lisa Rivas. Used with permission.
Text ©Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

Back in the Garden

Morning Light, 2008
Original, oil on canvas panel
10" x 8" unframed
SOLD
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This is another painting inspired by the Eola Heights neighborhood where the Central Florida Plein Air artists had their April "paint out" this year.

I started the painting a few months ago, then let it sit around the studio, unfinished. This week, I was determined to complete it, and I'm glad I did.

The painting challenge of this piece was to convey the "temperature" of the morning light, which is cool and bluer than the warm sunny light of the afternoon. The method is to cool down all the colors while retaining the warmth of the spring season. The other challenge was the interplay of light and shadow patterns on the garage wall and trellis.

For a painting which I had almost given up on, it came together rather nicely. Many thanks to the Muse of Inspiration for all of her guidance!

I hope you have a great weekend planned. See you Monday.
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Text, images, and artwork ©Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

Looking Westward

Gate to the Garden, 2006
Oil, alkyd on panel, 8" x 10"
Original SOLD

Available as limited edition giclée on canvas or Art Print. Contact Artist for purchase info.

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In September, I will be exhibiting with my artist friend Sondra and three of her artist friends from California. Our exhibit will be at the Harwood Art Center in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Sondra owns a fabulous adobe home in Albuquerque, with a wonderful patio and lush gardens—both flower and vegetable! I've visited her "desert oasis" often and been inspired to paint the flowers and niches around her place. "Gate to the Garden" is one of the views around her house.

Although my trip out West is still a few months away, I am already looking forward to enjoying the view of the Sandia Mountains from Sondra's patio!

Many thanks for taking the time to read this post and look at my painting. You are welcome to forward this blog to others, too.

Have a great weekend. See you Monday!
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Text, image, and painting ©Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.

A Little Night Music

A Little Night Music, 2003
Oil, alkyd on gessoed panel
Original available: 24"x24"

Also available as LE Giclée on canvas or open edition Art Print. Contact Artist for purchase info.

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I first fell under the spell of Georgia O'Keeffe's imagery when I was a student at The Art Institute of Chicago. The Museum owned "Black Cross of New Mexico," one of my favorite paintings in the collection.

As mentioned in my post on May 23, I discovered the datura—a beautiful white flute which unfurls into a magnificent blossom at night—while living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. This is the same flower that O'Keeffe depicted in some of her paintings.

"A Little Night Music" was the second datura painting I did, just awhile after completing "Moonlight and Datura." Being a former student of piano and a fan of Mozart, I added the musical notation of "A Little Night Music" arranged as stars in the night sky.

The original painting is available for purchase, as is the signed and numbered Art Print sold through ETSY: http://www.caroladamec.etsy.com). "A Little Night Music" is also available in limited edition as a giclée on stretched canvas or on paper. Contact me for additional information about any of these items.

Have a great weekend. See you Monday!

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Text, images and artwork ©Carol L Adamec. All rights reserved.