Visit Me in Paris!

We all know my love of Paris and wishing to move there every other week (though this week I might take Chicago and the exceedingly warm temperatures).  Tomorrow I will be stepping into the Paris scene by painting at a Parisian themed event held at Shop 1021.  Take a look...

Besides Frenchie macaroons, berets and plein air painting, Ombre Soiree will be focusing on that soft dream-like color palette that whisks us away to eating a crepe and sipping a cappuccino on the Seine.

You'll get your first peek at my newest painting that totally fits this theme too.  You have to come by to see it and all of the other amazing vendors with their wares!

Also on display will be my most recently finished project.  Perfect for this summery weather.   Clocking in at 71 hours...voila':

I've been holding out on the real artist that created this bouquet....Beautiful Blooms by Jen.  Get to know Jen a bit more and view some of her other amazing creations.  I can just smell the roses in her fuschia and peach bouquet!

1.  How long have you been in business?

5 years

2.  Gotta ask...what’s your favorite flower?

Weird to say, but a rose. Love all the fun colors they can come in.

3.  Toot your own horn....what’s your specialty? 

Weddings- I love how the way you can tell it's a BBBJ wedding is because it is different and unique. Our weddings don't all look the same. We're the fun, modern florist in town!

4.  What would be your dream creation?

A bride that comes in with a wonderful budget and lets me be creative and design everything my own way! Pinterest has really taken away from brides letting me be creative.

5.  Craziest request you’ve had?

HMM I'll have to think about this one!

6.  What do you like about working in the wedding industry?

I love being a part of such a special day in someone life. I love it when they see their bouquet the first time and their smile!

7.  When you are not working, what are you up to? 

I'm almost always working : ) But when I'm not I'm hanging out with my husband, traveling, playing softball and making puzzles. lol

8.  Anything new and exciting coming up that we should know about? (either professionally or personally) I'm the only Certified Florist in Northwest Ohio and we love to travel and learn new things. We were the only one from our area at the Great Lakes Floral Expo last month and I'm traveling to Las Vegas for the American Institute of Floral Design Symposium this summer.

Beautiful Blooms by Jen

5646 Summit St.

Sylvania, OH 43560

beautifulbloomsbyjen@yahoo.com

419-517-8821

www.beautifulbloomstoledo.com

Yum!  And in case you forgot already, come visit me tomorrow at the Ombre Soiree!  Merci beaucoup!

And Now, Painting Secrets

Time for a painting update, and this time I thought I would focus on the details....the real details that I probably only notice but thought I would enlighten you with.  Typically I do not paint in layers.  You guys have seen my work and process, and I really just keep filling in the blanks until they are all filled up.  I don't put layer after layer of paint on my canvas and go back to rework areas.  What's done is done, and I move on.  I don't like to fiddle with things cause honestly, you could be fiddling forever.  Of course there are exceptions where I might look at the completed piece and touch up something here or there, but at a minimal level.

Well, this current painting has proved to have its challenges where I sit back and look at it thinking, "How do I even do this?"  That's always a great feeling.  How do you make something look fuzzy?  How do you wrap your head around something with so much texture and parts?  Like any problem, you break it down...into layers.

Here, take a look...

Can you see the difference?  The left side was the first layer, and then I went back in with mostly white paint to make things a bit more "fuzzy".  The contrast always looks a bit heightened too.

How about stripes?  You can't do it all at once because you'll have a sloppy, smeared mess.  So, you let that base of yellow sit for a day or so while painting other things.

Return to add your stripes, and voila'!

It's little lessons like this that you learn along the way.  For those of you novice painters out there, practice, try things out and don't be afraid to mess up.  With oil paints, you can't really mess up too much.  It's so slow to dry, you just wipe something off or move the paint around.  You'd never know if I made a mistake!

I'm always open to help a fellow artist (or wannabe artist) out, so feel free to shoot your painting questions over to me anytime.  Happy Friday!

April in Paris Event

I'm back from my trip to the upper corner of this lovely country and diving back into painting full swing.

Continuing my quest to finish Raj and Joe's painting, I'll be working on it live at an adorable event tomorrow evening (Tuesday) at The Left Bank.  You can catch me painting in the window!

Happy Earth Day!

FORM: ART + floral

I'm plugging away at Raj and Joe's painting....it's a tricky one.  I'm actually working on the hardest portion of the painting right now, so I'm hoping once this area is finished, it will be smooth sailing from here on out.  They always say to climb to the top of the mountain first so that you can enjoy the view going down.  This painting is going to hold up to this mindset.

So what do you have planned this Friday?  Hopefully you have bought your ticket to this year's FORM: ART + floral event.  If you haven't gotten your ticket yet, I hope it's because you are going to buy it at the door.  Here is the invite:

To purchase tickets ahead of time, please click HERE or visit www.formevent.eventbrite.com.

Did I tell you that we will be raffling off a piece of mine?  This is your chance to own a Reenie Rose piece of artwork for only $20 (raffle ticket price).  That's a deal and a half!  So, again....go buy your tickets HERE or visit www.formevent.eventbrite.com!!!  See you Friday!

Free Ticket to Paradise

Once again, I am dreaming of fanciful travels and watching unhealthy amounts of House Hunters International in hopes of teleporting myself somewhere exotic.  Luckily, my next painting helps out these fantasies a bit.  Though this wedding took place in Toledo, Ohio, you'd never know that from the looks of the bouquet that immediately transport you to a tropical island paradise.

The colors are unbelievable, and I just can't say enough about the flower selection...birds of paradise, pin cushion protea, mokara orchids, hypericum berries and banana leaves.  This is going to be a fun one.

I've already started to fill things in, and you have the opportunity once again, to come out and see me in action tomorrow (Thursday) at the Great Taste IV event.  There is so much packed into this evening...cakes inspired by dresses, a bouquet bar, delicious treats and beverages, and a little Reenie Rose painting!  And guess what?!  It's free!!!!  RSVP today and come by tomorrow!