November and a new blog!

I will be opening a new blog!

My life has started to take a different direction, and the last few months have been key is pointing out to me that I have yest to REALLY take my art seriously.

Stuck inside for a few days, and back to feeling comfortable painting has started to push me in a new direction.

So! To prep for 2013, and what I'd like to see come out of it, I am starting a new blog, focused on Licensing, Classes, More updated about new work and new projects.....free downloads and a bunch of other fun stuff!

If I am ever going to work as a full-time artist, I have to make some changes....this will be the first one :)

If you enjoy following me, then here is the link to my new blog...

http://beestungart.wordpress.com/

And please remember to sign up to my mailing list to get even more fun free stuff, and  class & show announcements!

Thanks!
Hope to see you on the new page!

xoxo
Hollie

20 things I love about Fall!

I don't know why, but I ended up dividing my list of "20 Things" over a few posts...
But here is the complete list of...

 20 Things I love about Fall 

1. keeping the windows open and getting fresh air in the house

2. blankets

3. pumpkin spice lattes

4. scarf time!

5. smelling the change in the woods...sweet decaying leaves

6. raking leaves
7. carving pumpkins
8. time for fires at night!
9. local harvest festivals
10. october sunrises!
11. trying to walk down the street jumping from one "crunch" to another as the leaves drop!

12. apple or pumpkin ANYTHING! Bread, muffins, soups, baked...etc...!
13. gathering acorns and leaves and milkweed pods to add to my collection of decorations.
14. geting all of my fall decorations out...and of course adding to them every year.
15. soups and stews
16. cleaning out my studio and redecorating it...which i will start today ( so look for pictures!)
17. long rides in the country with the windows down, the heat on and colors changing everywhere!

18. jeans and sweaters and hats! oh my!
19. cozy-sofa-movie-and-spiced cider-nights
20. HALLOWEEN!

( Thank you to The Inspired Room for this lovely new tradition of Fall Nesting! To see more posts from more Fall Nesters, click the link!)


xoxo

p.s. what do YOU love about fall???

5 more fall things...

1. raking leaves
2. carving pumpkins
3. time for fires at night!
4. local harvest festivals!!!
5. october sunrises!

fall-ing

I got this link in my e-mail this morning, in an e-mail from EverythingEtsy.com
the inspired room
and it was the best way to start out a quiet  autumn-like sunday morning (only thing missing? milk for my coffee!)

For anyone who knows me well, you KNOW i'm absolutley head-over-heel about Fall, and everything that goes with it...THAT is why I am going to participate in The Inspired Room's Annual Fall Nesting!

Here is the deal...

"Fall Nesting Parties @ The Inspired Room {every Tuesday in October}

Week One:Get Your Fall Nesting On {20 Little Things You Love About Fall, yep, we are bringing back that favorite list! so start thinking about what your favorite things are and get ready to link up your favorite fall things post in October!}

Week Two:
Fall around the House {OK, so don’t really fall, but let’s get nesting around the house for fall and show each other what we are up to!}

Week Three:
Decorating Fall Mantels & Porches {showing our fall mantels and porches}

Week Four:
Inspired Holiday Nesting {Halloween, Thanksgiving or Pre-Christmas Decorating & Entertaining Ideas}

Week Five:
Fall Project Round Up {Pick your favorite project from October and link it up!}"

So...I am starting a little early ( and I may not post every Tuesday...but I will be posting once a week...for the next 5 weeks... I think I will do 5 things on this poat every day and keep editing til it's OCTOBER because I can hardly wait!

(pumpkin patch in New Englad...photo taken in college...er...1999)

20 things I LOVE about FALL:
1.keeping the windows open and getting fresh air in the house
2. blankets
3. pumpkin spice lattes
4. scarf time!
5. smelling the change in the woods...sweet decaying leaves.

...okay I have to stop myself because I could go on and on!

Look for the link on my sidebar if you'd like to join...or just follow!

Have a lovely Sunday....go gather some acorns! get that first pumpkin spice latte of the season...i promise it will put you in the mood!!!

inspired in asheville

BANANA CHAIR!
outside of Altier gallery

(psssssst...my December show will be here! look for details coming soon....)

• 

                                              

                                                    "Home is where you hang your hat"

My husband took me on a surprise mini vacation (i.e. PLEASE get your inspiration back) to Asheville, NC a little over a week ago.  I'm still dreamy over it. I have a lot of places I want to share on here with you, but life has been , literally, in the blender lately.

I started working at my friend Cherie Anne's ( www.cherieannedesigns.com) running the tea a smoothie bar in the back ( oh yes! sidenote...look for some yummy recipies coiming soon) I've been in a tizzyover a million things...some good and some bad ( neurologist yesterday...do I have some nerve issues in my jaw? or should I just get all of my bloody teeth pulled???)....shows to paint for....the list goes on and the fun never stops.

My friend Niki at work gave me an Angel reading the other day...and she said a lot of things, but one thing that stuck out was that I need to have some alone time..relax, just me, in the woods or by water....but it's important. I've been give, give, give with my energy...it's time to recharge ( I'd like to have taken a month to stay in Asheville and recharge...haha)

So...off to smoothie world <3

Thank God for good friends and family...

Big Hugs to All!

H

laid...

...off.

'nuff said.

although it may not be that bad :) I never thought I'd be laid-off but they closed one of the branches of the flower shop, and it was the one i was running.

here is to new starts!

other than that no real news...keeping busy working on too many things at once ...again, not always a bad thing.

Asheville in two weeks! Birthday coming up (36! gulp!)

My Mom is moving out of her house in two weeks also..the house she moved into with my brother when my parents split 10 years ago...I know she is tired and I wish I could help her more!!! It's sad to see the things she painted on the walls and all the amazing decorating and love she put into a place that looked barren when she moved in, go away...get covered up with paint...sigh..and I know she and my brother are going to miss it. I'm going to miss it, except that now she is on MY end of town which means more visits..more mother-daughter movie and tea nights when frank goes away...and i may actually even see my darling brother!

I hope everyone is enjoying these last weeks of summer!
big hugs!
pictures of new work to come very, very soon!

xoxo

WHAT???

It's raining. Again. So much for long summer days off hiking and working in the yard. The storms have been so bad here...on and off, and then so humid in between. Having only one room with Air Conditioning is fine most of the time ( I lived in Baltimore for years with none at all) but I do wish we at least had a better cross-breeze in the house. Everything seems so stale.

It's my second day in a row off, which is especially nice because It's time for the cramps ( yeah, ladies you know what i mean!), and I hate going to work when I'm feeling like this. But one thing it makes me do that I don't like is watch day-time television. I usually watch documentaries while I paint, but our Netflix isn't working ( I swear it was all much more simple before we got 20 different machines and remotes to run the dang television!). So! I have my coffee ( instant because I am extra poor this week), my pillow props, my heating pads...and I'm all ready to watch some morning cartoons...and all then I can find are informercials!!! Get Thin, Insanity Workout, Cook this way or that way, Wear this make-up because Cindy tells you to, You NEED this super confusing thing to clean your whatever-it-is or you're just not COOL! 

Infuriating ( they used to put these things on at 3a.m., and now they are taking over morning television).

Other options? Depressing news? Religious services in another language and...oh! Trash T.V.! Something about 19 Children, The Kardashian mess OF COURSE! , Dog the Bounty Hunter, ....

I knew how bad television was...it has been for quite some time! I remember watching Survivor, years and years ago on the floor of my bedroom in my parents house with my ex-boyfriend...and how cool it was...I never knew how BAD it would get. And what IS our fascination with watching other people's issues on television? I have enough problems of my own...and it doesn't make me feel better to watch all of this crap! I wonder sometimes though, if it does make other people feel better about their lives? Like "Wow, these people are REALLY screwed up....my life seems normal in comparison"...or if we're becoming such a sick society that we actually enjoy watching other people make jack-asses out of themselves or go thru pain, or eat raw cow eyeballs. At any time of the day I bet you can turn the television on and find 1. A child being abused 2. Someone cheating on their husband/wife 3. Someone getting shot 4. Someone talking about how you aren't happy until you are a size 3 or have these new longer, lusher lashes....A car crash, a shooting, a bidding war....it goes on and on. And you know what channels I want to watch? They are the ones I would have to pay extra money for! I can't watch Green T.V., or the many National Geographic stations....

All this to tell you that MY choice this morning is a show I SWORE I would never watch..."Gallery Girls", a show about...you guessed it...Girls in NY that think art is cute and cool and have big pocketbooks! The description actually says "...These women all share a passion for art, but are divided by their Manhatan and Brooklynbee Lifestyles...." THIS should be rich...

47 seconds into the intro and I've already heard one girls say she's completely narcissistic and wait! They aren't talking about art, they are talking about money and how Brooklyn girls wear "red lipstick, weird jewelry, wierd clothes and try to be cool" and The Manhattan girls are "all blondes and all belong to the same sorority" and..." I was obsessed with Sex in the City and I want to be like Charlotte"...This is not starting well. I agree with the girls saying "you work for free til you get a shot!" and about how cut-throat the artworld is....

Well...we will see!

In other, more REAL news....

I am painting up the finishing touches on three new panels for the Bike and Tattoo show this weekend. It's a  fundraiser for a little boy...check it out here...

Bike'n for Breyante

And, working on a poster for my husbands band, MojoVisnu

OK...now back to Gallery Girls!

xo

Good Morning~

Another hot, hot, hot morning here in South Central ( PA, that is)...ugh. Please can't we just have San Diego weather here? for a year?  If I didn't love my family so much I would move OUT of this ditch of a town ( literally we are a ditch where everything lays....I guess the nice way of saying it is a valley)...we have an incinerator, at least 2 landfills, you can see Peach Bottom and TMI from here...do you want  me to keep going? No wonder we have one of the most unhealthy cities to live in, according to most of the articles I've read in health-type magazines.

But, I digress, this was supposed to be a HAPPY blog entry. 

I found this list below on the Wish Studio page this morning....a lit of summer blog themes...

:: celebrate :: a sweet slice of slow hot days

:: remember :: a lovely remeniscing, remembering summer

:: studio ::  scenes from an exhibition at Artstream Studios was a delightful peek into studio life!

:: story :: because…this is why we share.

:: rest ::

:: friendship ::

:: read ::

:: practice ::

:: renewal ::

:: learn ::

I found a new favorite director...check out Albino Fawn, and go to Erik Leiser's IMDB page here, and scroll down to watch the video clips! Amazing stuff! I was an instant fan!

Other than that the summer has been doing it's dance between fast and slow....Can't keep up.

My husband just left for LA at 4 this morning, he won't be back til Thursday...but I have some fun to look forward to with my good friend Cheryl, plus visits with Mom and HOPEFULLY some hiking, if the rain doesn't persist.

I'm tired...ok so this isn't the HAPPIEST entry...i'm kind of mellow like the grey sky this morning I guess.

Too much going on in my head to feel grounded...half finished projects asking to please "finish me", car that failed inspection ($800).....but lots to look forward to.

xox

Blue Canvas

(my next post will be the finished product of what this pre-made background ended up being!)

Just a quick little blog post ( car inspection, new brakes and the dentist today...what a day off!)
to share with everyone my Blue Canvas profile, as well as Blue Canvas ! It's a great magazine (which we don't get here in York...they used to carry it at Borders) and a great place for Artist of all kinds to find a place to share work and be inspired!

http://www.bluecanvas.com/beestung

Take a look!

xoxo

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

<a href="http://www.bloglovin.com/blog/3899187/?claim=ea49ncms9tq">Follow my blog with Bloglovin</a>

Weekend Fun

This Saturday (tomorrow) I will be vending at The Station North Market in Baltimore, MD, with my good Friend Cheryl Fair! If you are in the area, and don't mind the heat, stop by and check it all out!

xoxo

the magic no.3

Three has always been on of my favorite numbers (735 is my very luckiest)...There are many things i have noticed that come in threes...

three of my mom's little pocket owls!

- primary and secondary colors
- deaths ( this one is near the top if the list because this sad week, I've experienced the 3 death     phenomenon)
- the rule of three in writing (here)
- blind mice :)
- Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice
- sneezes ( three to "get the devil out")
-  past, present, future
- tsp. in a Tbsp.
- Greek Harpies
- Snap! Crackle! Pop!
- Ready! Aim! Fire!
- three legged races
- three stooges


...ok...so this could go on and on and on!


This morning I found my third inspiring project/class/group...and I'm feeling like things are coming together...


1. My sponsor ad on Kelly Rae's page (look at the sidebar!)
2. Flora Bowley's AMAZING e-course
 and my third...
3. An Artist's Way Bookclub, started by Jessica Brogan of "In Search of Dessert"... Check it out!

I feel like I could soar ( if only I didn't have a million things to do already! This is going to be an exercise in juggling for me..and in putting MYSELF first, for once!)

Please feel free to check out all three....and come back here to see posts about my experiences !


Happy 4th to those US friends of mine!
xoxo

"your inspiring life"

I've been taking this great e-course with the super-talanted and sweet Flora Bowley...
Last week's goal was to see things in your own life that were inspiring, so as to later incorporate them into paintings. Since nature is my biggest source of inspiration, I took some photos and did a lot of sketching over the past week ( i'm a little behind in the course because of work and general busy-ness), and plan on using them in my studio as inspiration this week!

Here are some of the photos, take on my mini-vacation in Cobb's Creek, VA!
Enjoy!

oyster shells

clay "pebbles" that wash up on the beach in that area

no clue.....but it's my favorite find!

japanese beetle eater leaves

japanese beetle!

I have been SOOOO busy working on logos, trimming hedges, putting a bid together for a mural and taking Flora Bowley's e-course!!!

Hope everyone is enjoying the FIRST DAY OF SUMMER!!!!

xoxo

from mom...

(I borrowed this from my Mom's blog this morning...)


"Something prompted this thought for the day......

Piglet sidled up to Pooh from behind. 
"Pooh!" he whispered.
"Yes, Piglet"
"Nothing", said Piglet taking Pooh's paw.
"I just wanted to be sure of you".

(A A Milne)

Isn't this what we all need...the assurance that the person we care about will be there for us."

(me, mom and gram, 2008)

i <3 you mom.




Today is going to be a busy day! hiking....Megan and the Wheelman playing at Moondancer Winery, then a picnic with friends...it's always so much fun...but where DO the weekends go?

saturday link love

I have had a more-than-busy week! I completely forgot to post my new link-list on Tuesday...and I am trying to get better about being CONSISTENT in my life.... ( any of you who know me well, know that I am doing a lot better with this...not job hopping or moving from city to city or starting a million and one projects that never get finished...i think i have it down to 5 or 6 projects at a time that DO get finished..eventually...)...so, here is a little link exploring for today..

Amanda's Photos are now available on insta-canvas ( and thinking about putting some of my own images up on this site...very cool!

This is just fun...100 poster in 100 days

I signed up for an e-course Brave Intuitive You that I am very excited for! I don't normally do these, but I've been reading Floras Book and it is so full of fun exercises to try and prompts and good stuff all around...I'll let you know how it goes!

something I have to try: feather manicure

I'm also starting to teach a class of my own....more details on that soon ( as soon as I talk to Cherie Anne and Melissa about where/when I can actually HAVE it!

Soon, my Mom's little shop will be carrying these fabulous bracelets

(maidenhair fern and spiderwort...spent my first day of the summer and Grandmas and came home with a million gifts and lots of looking-forward-to's!)

Last night's "Art Crawl" First Friday here in town was so disappointing :(  I feel bad for everyone because what could have been the most fun FF yet, turned into a rain-fest! The Art Crawl is where there are artists and crafters outside each business on Beaver St., and around the corners, and in the Market House. Music and art should fill the street. instead we got tornado warnings, no road blocks for people to walk around, nobody outside and no visitors. It was icky...and I feel bad for everyone who put so much effort into it...( Karen, I'm sorry about the balloons floating in the rain water on the ground). But there were a few brave soldiers who came out and fought, regardless of the "tornado"...which of course ended up being just on and off showers.
If nothing else, it's always nice to be downtown for the night and see friends and family...and to spend an evening with my Mom :)

So..part tim work starts next week...I was having a conversation with my dear friend, Andrea, about taking the steps to "do what you do" as a job/way of life...and about how it is now time for both of us to get real about it. It's still a fun thing....but it's a super-hard-work-pushing-ourselves thing now. And also, about the fear of success...and of having to live up to things and be consistent ( there is that WORD again) when you do have success.
It is scary and thrilling all at the same time!

But it is my Saturday to work this week...so off I go, despite the nice cool morning air and he birdsong trying to lure me into backyard painting and hiking.

Have a lovely weekend
xo

book arrival...

...hopefully you got yours too!

xoxo

heart of the home

“Don’t ask what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive, and go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” 

New Hope was a blast yesterday...although I must say only two of my very favorite stores are still there
 (Heart of the Home/ Heart's Afire, and A. Mano Gallery), but I found a few new ones ( although I almost cried when I found out Strawberry Jam was gone after nearly 40 years, and a soap shop moved in..blahhh....no ill will wished to the soap shop , of course!
And I did fall in love with a new store...well...new for me ( and could have very, very easily stayed there ALL night and listened to the purveyor talk of the treasures he had...old Mourning Jewelry, so many pieces made with hair (even a few with the hair pulverized and mixed with something to turn it into paint and them painted in these delicate little memory pieces......amazing!  and the birdcages and skulls and antique pet ephemera...I'm sure i didn't see half of what was there...or even a third...if you have time check it out...
TearDrop Memories & NorthFork Pet Antiques @ 12 W. Mechanic Street, New Hope, PA
teardropmemories.com
northforkpets.com
maidensmemoirs.com

Ok...enough about my obscure interests in anything unusual and morbid....

I also ran into a very sweet couple selling their wares on the street...her name was Allie D'Andrade...and her card only has her e-mail address on it...but she said she has an Etsy shop...maybe called Shine Vagrancy???
her card says : Photographer and Apocolyptic Folk Crafts.

I'll try to find it.....

And now it is time to go work in the garden and build a new fence! Gotta love three-day-weekends!

Love, Love, Love...
Have a wonderful Sunday!

New Hope...here I come!

More details later...I'm armed with a book, 4 mini portfolios and brand-spannkin'-new folded business cards!

big kisses to you!

i can't wait to share what i find...

first web-press!

My 'Sponsor Love' post on Kind Over Matter!

i'm also on twitter now...

tweet with me!

(new backgrounds for painting on...)

So many wonderful new things going on over the last few days! Where to begin...?
I have been demoted, happily, to part time for the summer at my job. So, in the Fall I will go back to full-time, but for NOW I get to paint and adventure and do landscaping....get some vitamin D!
There is also the slight possibility (fingers crossed) of a studio space on a friends land who has a barn....so, still waiting for that!

I've been getting ready to go to New Hope this weekend, as a fun day, but with my trusty little portfolio-envelopes tucked in my gigantic purse so that I can leave them with some gallery/ shop owners.

I have a whole entire summer to NOT be stuck inside again...to finally have time to push through and get my work out there and have a little fun with it!

I can't tell you how exciting this is!!!! Plus, being able to spend time at the shop with Mom and garden at my own house!

Sigh.

What are YOU doing for the summer? anyone know of any good art fests or music playing around the Central Pennsylvania Area? Anyone want to go on a roadtrip? I do.....but that's nothing new :)


xoxo