Monday, June 28, 2010

The Work Continues

I haven't been posting lately but I have been working. I'm excited about a new piece I've recently finished....it's 30" x 36", a size that seems to work well with the tea bags I am collaging. Similar in design to the last piece that size, this one has a lot more movement and energy in it:


And I've begun experimenting with a different type of bag, stringless and usually just about square shaped (typical of Celestial Seasonings bags). These I can empty of the tea leaves by slicing the bag open, but I haven't had any luck flattening them. So I decided to sew them on to a piece of plastic (usually used by quilters). The result is a lot looser and involves layering in a different way. It will be interesting to see how this piece evolves. Here it is on my work table.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010


It's never too late to be what you might have been.

George Eliot


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The other day a gallery owner friend gave me a refrigerator magnet with this quotation on it. I came by to show him my coloring line, newly completed. I didn't expect him to be impressed, because I know he thinks these small commercial ventures are a waste of my time. After being pleasantly surprised at how much he liked the coloring portfolios, he went into the kitchen and got this magnet for me. "Here," he said. "You take this and look at it every day. I want you to go out and buy a canvas. It can be no less than 4ft x 6 ft. I want to see one of your spectacular floral drawings transferred into a large color painting. You need to move into a new domain now. No excuses. When you can hang that painting on my wall, then give me back the magnet."

At first I was scared and very upset. I've never done a painting that large. I consider myself an illustrator. Everything I do is small. What if I can't do it.... blah blah blah. So I drove myself an hour to Rutland to an art store and stood staring at their large canvases. I nearly threw up I was so nervous. And, of course, that night I couldn't sleep.

Last night, two days later, I met W. again at the gallery. He wanted to show me something. In the lower room of his spectacular three storey Studio 47 Gallery, he had set up a projector and on a huge blank wall, projected some of my floral drawings and illustrations. I have to say, they looked wonderful. "See," he crooned. "They are stunning in this size."

So now my nervousness is coupled with excitement about moving ahead in this way. I have two commission projects I am currently working on, which should be finished in a couple of weeks and then...
I will be making a trip back to that store to buy a canvas. We'll see what comes of it.

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Adult Coloring Portfolio, set 3



With the completion of set 3, my Adult Coloring Series is done! In the next few days I will be listing for sale online: Coloring Journal, Creativity Kit, Portfolios of coloring pages (sets 1-4) Stay tuned!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

Adult Coloring Portfolio, set 4




This set of Adult Coloring Pages was completed a couple of days ago. It is called "Edibles." I am finishing another set this week called "Aquatic Bouquets." Stay tuned or watch my progress on my art blog at www.EmerlyeArts.blogspot.com.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Art as an Incentive - A Free Fathers' Day card & more....


In order to increase traffic to my food blog I offer a new design in a series of free cards, bookmarks and more that can be downloaded and printed at no charge.


This week I created a card for Fathers' Day that can be download here.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Painting and Graphic Design


Creating art? Hmmm.

When I don't have a brush in my hand am I creating art? Definitions can be confusing.

I have been writing, creating new recipes and do photography and writing.

My artistic efforts at the moment.
I am combining watercolor paintings with text and graphic design to create a series of eBooks.

Some of the inside pages of The Carrot book can be seen here.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Carrots


This is the 6th out of 8 designs for the Portfolio set called "Edibles." Two more to go for this set.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Adult Coloring Portfolio, set 1



Portfolio Set 1 is finished! Sets 2 and 5 are nearly done as well. I will have a new portfolio set available every few days for the next two weeks. By then, the coloring journal will have arrived from the printer. I will begin listing them for sale online in a couple of days. They will be available to stores thereafter.
It looks like Independence Day will be just that.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Yogi tea bags

As the tea bags come pouring in I have enough to work bigger and to get into some serious layering. Today I was thinking about creating a small book with the pages made of tea papers....maybe a cover made of tea tags.

But for now I'm just about finished with a piece made entirely of Yogi herbal bags. The staining is very subtle, but they are varied enough to create some interesting contrasts. Here is the piece still needing the edge papers applied...one more day of work should complete it:



Here is a close-up of the papers.....they really are lovely! This work is so much less "busy" than previous ones and I like the spaciousness it invites:


Monday, June 7, 2010

Coloring Pages

"Striped Ribbon"

Cynthia Emerlye: This is the final drawing for set 2 of a series of adult coloring pages I am working on. Each set is a themed portfolio collection of 8 frame-able loose pages to color. Set 2 is called "Floral Bouquets."

This set follows the completion of an adult coloring journal, a creativity kit, and now I'm completing 6 of these portfolio sets. It has been surprising how many adults tell me that they color for relaxation.