Art in the Park is coming!

This weekend on Main St. in downtown Greenville!

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Fun and Flirty (and 800)

8 1/2"x 11"

Watercolor and ink on cardstock

I found a photo of this dress in a book recently, and fell in love with it. It is from the 1920's, and seems to have an elegance, combined with the fun loving flapper attitude. I imagine this little gal is going to a fancy party that will dissolve into a bit of mischief as the evening wears on.

Oh, and yesterday's post was my 800th. That seemed worth noting.

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Walking Away

8 1/2"x 11"

Watercolor and ink on cardstock

I don't know why anyone decided that a big pouffy extension to a woman's backside would be attractive, but it sure does make for a dramatic exit, doesn't it?

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Already in love

I love this piece already, and it is only a sketch on a canvas. I decided I wanted to do a larger oil paint version of yesterday's walking dress, so I quickly sketched this gal on a 16"x 20" canvas. It makes me nervous, though, when I like paintings this early on in the process. Usually, as long as I am fairly happy with the sketch, I will start the painting, changing things as I go along until I love it. But, when I love a piece from the very beginning, as much as I love this one, I get hesitant to paint over the sketch.

Well, here's to bravely going forward, even if I might mess things up in the process.

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A Dress just for Walking

8 1/2"x 11"

Ink and Watercolor on cardstock

It's too bad we don't have things like walking dresses any more. We just have "jogging clothes" which are not nearly as glamorous. Imagine having a dress specifically for walking around town, perhaps doing some shopping, and calling on your neighbors. I imagine the motion of this skirt around your legs as you strolled through the streets was beautiful.

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Making paint

My great-grandmother used to paint china. She spent most of her last years painting and taking care of my great-grandfather. It is a huge understatement to say that she painted a lot of china. Any of my relatives on that side of the family who may be reading this are probably looking around the room at their own tea sets, lamps, serving pieces, full 12 piece place settings, jewelry boxes, and other pieces, all hand painted by Nana, and are nodding in agreement that, yes, there are a lot of pieces.

I have had Nana's box of powder pigments for years, but never thought of doing anything with them until recently. Today I pulled out the linseed oil and pallet knives and have been playing with mixing the pigments into paints. Here are a few pics from my first mixing experiment, plus a little 2.5" x 3.5" paper doll dress I painted from the results.

Any of you have any experience mixing paints from pigments? Tips or tricks?

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Inspiration Monday: Anu Samarüütel

Source

I came across Anu Samaruutel's work on I Love Illustration, a blog that focuses on fashion illustrators. Samaruutel's work, painted in acrylic on paper, is so bold and bright and unique. I simply love looking at them. Wouldn't you love to have a huge painting like this on your wall? Click on the source link above to see more examples of this artist's work.

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Behind a Mask

6"x 6"

Oil and Acrylic on wood

$85

This is another piece in what I am calling my Masquerade series. I love the black and white dresses, and the mask adds even more to the anonymity. You don't see the girl at all. All you see is her dress and her mask. She could be anyone at all.

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At the Ball

6"x 6"

Oil and Acrylic on wood

$85

I finished reading a book last night (The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern. If you haven't read it, you really should!), and my head was filled with images of beautiful flowing ball gowns with huge rustling skirts. I make my paper dolls for a lot of reasons, which I have talked about on occasion, but a big reason I make them is because I love pretty dresses. 

Sometimes I like to escape from my everyday life of work, blogging, teaching, paying bills, jeans and t-shirts, and running errands, and jump instead head first into a world of gorgeous gowns and the unexpected. The girl wearing this dress is not concerned about whether she will have enough time to go to the gas station before class, or about finding the right health insurance. Much more mysterious and beautiful things will happen to her in this dress. (Although, she is probably concerned with not fainting because her corset is too tight, and not knocking down anything with her bustle, but besides that, her life is magical.)

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Top 10 reasons you need an Emily Clarke Commission for Christmas

You need to commission a painting from Emily Clarke Studio this Christmas. Here's why:
10. Because your Great Aunt is the hardest person on the planet to shop for.

9. Because your Grandmother wants everyone to know why her nickname in high school was "legs."

8. Because your mother is always saying she wants more pictures of her grandkids.

7. Because you can't remember the last time you bought your sister something she actually liked.

6. Because your brother and his new wife already have enough gravy boats.

5. Because your dog really is your husband's best friend.

4. Because all the photos of your grandparents as teenagers are starting to fall apart.

3. Because you want to show off how good you looked in your wedding dress (and he looked ok too).

2. Because I have spent years specializing in capturing your special memories in paint.

1. Because if you book your commission before November 22, you will get a free custom built frame with your completed painting!

Commissioning a piece is easy. Just email me a photo or bring one by the studio. We will work out all the details from there. Simple!

(50% deposit due upon booking your commission. Deposit must be received on or before November 22 to receive a free frame. Please allow approximately 3 weeks to complete painting. Remaining balance is due upon delivery.)

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An Adventure Close to Home

So, I live in Greenville, SC, and have for a number of years now. But I don't venture up to Asheville often, which is crazy considering it is less than an hour away and I have family who live there. So, today I took a somewhat spur of the moment trip up to the mountain city. My main goal in going was to  visit a gallery I have been considering submitting my work to, and to see my baby sister, who lives close by.

My secondary reason was to visit The Chocolate Lounge. Yes, it is everything you imagine it to be; comfortable chairs in a cozy room, intoxicating smells, chocolate flavored with ginger or lavender or coconut, brought to you in wine glasses.

After that I came home to nurse a cold that has been creeping up on me since Monday. Tomorrow will once again be just a typical day. Paper dolls will be made, my first class of the fall is starting up, but tonight, I may just dream about chocolate...
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Queen for a day

This one is just a quick paper doll sketch. I am trying to work out a little more illustrated, storybook style for some of the paper dolls. Many of the pieces I have been doing are very classic, traditional looking paper dolls. Now I want to make them a little different, perhaps a little more odd rather than just pretty.

8 1/2"x 11"

Watercolor and ink on cardstock

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