New Postcard Sets

In preparation for the upcoming holiday season I've updated the postcards sets in my shop. This is always fun for me as I enjoy thinking about what themes run throughout my work and what sets I can create around those themes.

This year I have created the Enigma Set, above. This set is all about mystery and wonder, I love all of those images and I can just see them framed on a wall together!

I've also updated my Deer Set with some new images,

I've created a Butterfly Set, which really was fun to put together as I got to chose some of my absolute favorites out of all of my butterfly pieces,

I updated my Bird Set with some new images,

and as always there is my Lotus Set, one of my favorites, this set makes me feel so calm and happy.

For even more variety I'm also offering a collection of all 30 of my postcards in one complete set, featuring one of each of these cards,

 And, in case any of the postcard sets are calling to you...until Halloween Day next Monday the 31st, please enjoy 15% off of anything in my shop using code AUTUMNLIGHT.

With all of these new sets and calendars in the shop I'm feeling a give-away coming on soon... stay tuned.

xo

Happenings

I've been a busy bee, starting to update my shop for the holidays. I've been doing photo shoots,

Using lots of pretty accesories, 

and also preparing for a Pirate Birthday Party coming up this weekend. Frank is turning the tree house into a pirate ship. Ahoy.

What have you been up to my lovelies?

Crossroads

This summer I feel like I've been unusually quiet here on my blog, and not for lack of things to write about. No, there have been lots of adventures to write about, but probably more quiet times than I can remember in quite a while too. More times where I've felt that I needed to be more the hermit than the extrovert, more times where I have needed to simply sit and digest.
In fact, after leaving our life in NYC, leaving our whole life there and moving here, I think that one of the hardest things for me to get used to was the quiet. Once we settled in at the beginning of this summer, I don't think our home phone rang for months. Almost everyone that we knew, or could run into, lived far away, and so began a long summer of learning how to live in Charleston. It has been fantastic in so many ways, Frank has loved this new beginning, the kids have been thrilled to make new friends, and I have been drinking in the natural beauty and sunshine that we are surrounded by here in our new life.
The hardest thing for me is just feeling so constantly "out of my skin", I keep looking for a comfortable place, like a dog turning around and around to find the perfect spot to settle in.

And suddenly, without warning, I feel like I am at a bit of a crossroads. I can't even pinpoint the day but recently I noticed that I no longer feel so uncomfortable. Inside I feel myself relaxing, places that were tense are easing up.

All summer long I have taken a break from making my work, in past times of great stress I know that I have been unable to paint, so I knew that would happen this time as well. I prepared myself for this break. During my flurry of new paintings this spring and as I was packing up my studio I wondered how long the break would be. We moved and then settled into this time of integration. All summer I've felt myself processing, integrating the new and old, the leaving and the meeting, opening up and debriefing in a beautiful stillness. All while looking forward to beginning to work again, and finally, yes finally, I feel my creative process slowly coming on again.....I've begun envisioning paintings, ideas are germinating. I can't tell you how good it feels!

During this summer of stillness Danielle LaPorte's post on productive rest came at the perfect resonant time for me. The quiet, in between, times are still ones that I struggle with, but after this summer I feel more familiar with those places inside myself, more able to sit and be calm with them.

New Painting: Glade

Glade

I finished this painting two weeks before we left New York, so that's just over a month ago, in the flurry of activity that preceded our departure.  It is painted on a canvas that I covered first with cheesecloth for texture. This is a full blown "springtime" painting, with its riot of color bursting from a quiet ground. Just as we are about to celebrate the summer solstice and the first day of official summertime here tomorrow.

I'm seeing bits of discovery within this painting, passages that I am enjoying and looking forward to exploring more when I begin painting here....although I'm still slow to set up the studio. I am thinking that perhaps this will be a summer of gathering ideas for me instead of painting. I think of those times, the times of focus within, as sowing seeds for the crop from which I will harvest my inspiration and ideas when I begin working again. Sometimes that's just the work that needs to be done.

Universe

Universe

"Everything that exists, has existed and will exist. The totality of everything that exists."

For the past two weeks, leading up to our big party, I have been finishing up a new group of 5 paintings. It felt so good to be in the studio doing focused work while everything else surrounding our move feels like it is swirling around me, I just closed the door to my studio and started painting! I'm really excited to share this new work with you, and I'll be adding prints to my shop over the next few days.

My favorite part about this new painting is the tiny moment of this little golden star,

Time and Distance

I've been working on a couple of new paintings with this idea in my mind of Time and Distance, the idea started when my brother left after our Thanksgiving visit, to return to his home across the sea in England. I was thinking about how undimmed our childhoods are to us when we are together, how time does not matter for us as we always pick up at the same spot with each other. I have other friends like that as well, and I'm sure you do to. Those are the special people, what ever you call them.....a soul sister, a true companion, a dear friend, a soul's mate (and not just the romantic kind)....these relationships are some how outside of time and place, they can be across great distances and still remain strong. These thoughts were swimming in my head as I made these,

Day and Night

Time and Distance

OK, I know that this is silly but, I guess that as I was seeing them with different eyes, I did not realize that they are so appropriate for Valentines Day (read: big hearts) until just last week! So, I figured it was a good time to add them to my shop, you can check them out here and here.

Union

Union

Happy February friends! In celebration of Love, and with the approach of Valentines Day (I can't believe it is around the corner already), I have added prints of this new painting to the shop. This is one of my paintings that has already sold at my show at Swallow, which is still up through the end of February.

I'm also offering a Valentines discount of 10% off of every order placed in my shop through February 14th, just enter code LOVELOVE at checkout!

Through the Darkness

::Winter's breath blows cold and swift,
while we sit together,
waiting patiently for the sun's return,
the earth's rebirth,
through the darkness::

I'm sneaking up on the 200th sale in my shop, only two sales to go, I'll send a special surprise "something" to the person who is the 200th sale!

I've just added this wintry painting, Through the Darkness, to my shop for the first time, right here. Sending you wishes for a warm wonderful weekend!

xo

Origins

 Origins

This is one of the three new paintings that I finished last week, just before my show. It was inspired by this picture,

 that I took on a walk at dawn on my family's farm in Ashville, NC, and by this post, both from last August.

When I finish a painting I usually like to sit with the image for a bit, to let it sink in, to digest it. I feel like I am still sitting with this one, there are so many things that I love about it, including the graphic simplicity.

The Opening of my show on Thursday night was wonderful, so many old friends surprised me by making a appearance, and it was especially sweet to hang out with one of my closest friends who flew out from California to be there. I had so much fun and will post some pictures soon!

Sending you wishes for a beautiful weekend!

xo 

Show at Swallow

As the holiday season approaches I always get excited about the merriment and joy that this time of year brings. This year I'm thrilled to be able to share that I am having a show during this special time of year,

Please join me for the Opening Reception of my new show Winged Blessings: New Work by Faith Evans-Sills

If you are in NYC I'd be thrilled to have you come and see my new paintings from the past two years in person, and have a glass of wine with me. I'd love to see you! The Opening Reception will be from 6 to 8pm on Thursday, December 2, 2010. At Swallow Gallery, 361 Smith Street, Brooklyn, NY, between 2nd and Carrol Streets.
The show will run through February 2011, so if you don't get a chance to stop by the opening please visit the show at another time. Swallow is a great spot to pick up holiday gifts. I will have lots of small affordable originals for sale, along with prints and cards of my work.

I can't wait to see my new work up on the walls at Swallow again, my work fits there so well. Here is a shot from my last show there in 2009. I can't believe it was already over and year and a half ago, I've done so much new work since then!


Before I have a show I always get a little nervous, and pensive (I summed it up pretty well here last time), this time is no different. I'm pretty much running around like a crazy woman, getting last minute details finished, glazing paintings, still have to put the finishing touches on two of my paintings, then all in all I'll have 35 new paintings to put in this show. Horray. It is so fun to step back to survey the work that I have done, I think that is one of my favorite things about having a show. Its like putting the period at the end of a long sentence.


I'll be back soon to share glimpses of our holiday last week, and to share some peeks into the wonderful felting that the kids and I spent our weekend doing with the felt-a-licious class! Loving the felt!

xo 


P.S. You have until midnight EST tonight to use the coupon code "livelovegrow" to receive 20% off of everything in my shop for my Cyber Monday sale. Enjoy!

Cinder and Smoke

Cinder and Smoke

In the midst of my flurry of studio activity here I am seeing light at the end of the tunnel as I am putting the finishing touches on multiple paintings this week. I am so excited to share them with you over the next few days. The first one, Cinder and Smoke is so close to my heart right now, I'm completely enamored with it especially with those turquoise horses!

As I was working on it I was thinking about things that drift away from us as we grow and mature, as we let go of things (parts of us even) that we no longer need, to make room for what is coming into our lives. Moving ever forward.

I went to see the movie "Eat, Pray, Love" this past August, since I loved the book I was so excited to see the movie, but honestly as often happens to me when I see the movie version of a book that I love, the movie felt a bit one dimensional and left me a little cold. The most exciting part of going to see the movie came during the previews, as I was watching the preview for a movie called "Secretariat", the female character was asked, "Why are you doing all of this?" and she replied, "It is about life being ahead of you, and running at it!". Something about that line gave me chills and has stayed playing over and over in my mind.

So this piece has that idea in it too, it is about life being ahead of you, and running galloping full speed to embrace it.

Prints of Cinder and Smoke are now available in my shop.

Winged Blessings

 As I've mentioned over the past few weeks, I have been working on a series of small turquoise paintings, and if you've been following along you got a sneak peak at some of them in my turquoise postcard set that I released a couple of weeks ago.

 A group of them developed into what I am calling my Winged Blessings series, they grew out of my longstanding desire to work again with the blooming lotus flower from my painting Blessing along with the ache that I've been feeling to work quickly on a few paintings. 

The thrill that I feel while I am working quickly and able to finish a painting within a day (or two) is like no other, the pieces that develop feel fated, like each element was meant to be just how they turn out. Since there is no time to "over think" those quick pieces I feel that they get me out of my head, so they become an exercise that I like to turn to when I have been putting in long hours in the studio, which I have been doing lately as I'm getting ready for a solo show coming up in December.

Winged Blessing {rising sun}

When I spend hours in the studio painting time passes quickly as I find myself in a waking dream state, painting as my mind wanders down well worn mental roads, even while also staying focused on the task that my hands are completing. The energy of these waking dreams infuse all of my work, I think of it sometimes as the place in which I feel fully whole, in which everything makes sense, in which I can do my most clear thinking, and understanding. With this series, as I painted, my mind was focused on thinking of sending blessings, sending joy, wanting these Winged Blessings to carry magical wishes to the recipient. With wishes on their wings they remind you that you are brave, passionate, vibrant and beautifully alive, and that...

Winged Blessing {sunset}

Your dreams are always worth pursuing!

 Winged Blessing {golden glow}

I love the hope that I see in them, and I already have one sitting in my little personal alter on the window sill in my studio. 

These are the first of a group of originals that I am planning to add to my shop over the coming Holiday Season. You can find them here, here and here.

Another thing that I love about working on small pieces quickly is that I am able to offer them priced very reasonably, that makes me so happy since I love for my originals to go out into the world!

Wishing you deep joy and deep peace on the glorious weekend.

xo

Turquoise Postcards

I am love love loving these new postcards that just came in! Its a serious Turquoise fiesta.

My favorite color, in a series of 5 paintings that I've been working on for the past month. This set of postcards is now available in my shop here, and I'm excited to share more about these new paintings soon. 

The bottom three, with the lotus and the butterfly, are part of my new Winged Blessings series, and the other two are part of a series that I am working on about Journeys.

I think that they all fit together so nicely!

Thanks so much for your enthusiasm about our Disney trip, it was such a great time with our kids and my in-laws, perfect for family reunions. The one big thing that I have learned after going for three years now is to pace your self and take days off to just sit by the pool. Disney can be exhausting, probably because it is so much fun!

2011 Calendars are here!

It is hard to believe that it is already October, but the weather here has started to let us know that it is indeed autumn. We had a weekend of sun and brisk breezes, the boots and coats are coming out! So far only the first leaves have begun to change here in Brooklyn, but you can feel in the air that it is only a matter of time.
With the beginning of fall, the holiday season and even the new year always start to feel around the corner to me, and I am thrilled this year to introduce the first ever Leaves and Feathers Calendar, fresh for 2011!

I am making the calendar in a limited edition of 25, each calendar is printed and put together by me and features some of my most popular images!

The size is 5 by 8.5 inches with a hole at the top of each page, all of the pages are joined together with a silver ring that opens and closes to remove months or keep them together as you choose. Attached to the ring is a pretty turquoise ribbon for hanging. Each print is the same high quality as all of my prints, and each can be framed as art when the calendar month is finished!

I'm super excited about the cover image of my hands holding a bunch of feathers too, really everything about this calendar makes me happy, it come out exactly as I had envisioned it.

I'll be back this week with news of our Open Studio from this past weekend, Frank and I had a great time, we had so many visitors and sold lots of cards and prints!

Blessings to you for the week ahead!

Across the Sky

 Across the Sky

 As a freelance decorative painter Frank's work schedule is quite variable, sometimes he is around a lot and we can share child care equally, while each having time to do our art. Other times he works long hours leaving the house before the kids or I wake. For the past few weeks he has been working on an outdoor mural job in New Jersey, one of those jobs where he leaves early, which leaves me practically no time to myself, let alone time to work in the studio.
But.
I am always amazed at how even during these times when I am most busy and constantly caring for my children if I allow myself to stay open to it...inspiration finds me. I always have my pen and paper near so that I can harness the ideas when they come and these days have been full of them. So full in fact that when Frank took the kids out this weekend so that I could have a solid few hours to paint, I dove in quickly and was so satisfied. I painted with a fire that left me feeling deeply refreshed!
I've got 5 paintings in progress right now, and I finished this one in one day.
The birds are soaring and they are taking me with them, Across the Sky. I worked on it quickly and deliberately, then took the painting out to our front stoop where I sat and watched the kids have a water fight with the neighbor children.

I'm looking forward to sharing the other pieces that I have in progress with a few other sneak peeks as I'll be wrap things up in my studio at the end of this week, in preparation for a couple of trips that we'll be taking. We'll be traveling for most of August, first visiting family in Asheville, North Carolina and then our big trip to England to visit my brother and his family (and meet his new baby!!). I'm always excited for the change of perspective that travel brings!

Some little post cards

Fresh in the shop...I had 6 of my favorite images printed up as postcards and I am offering them now as sets.
They are perfect for sharing, framing, keeping, or of course sending for any occasion.
They are available in sets of 3, and a set of 6, here.

I have a little surprise something up my sleeve for the next week or so...check back tomorrow to find out my secret.