Jennifer Love Artwork BLOG

Twas the night before workshop And all through the hous e,  An artist was scurrying,  As fast as a mouse Paints and paper all packed Anticipation abounds Palette, cardboard and towels No scraps of paper left to be found (okay...maybe a few...) The hour is late As she checks her list twice Do I have all my supplies? Missing some wouldn't be nice Morning will be hurried, Make sure things are ready Tuck the kids into bed With a blanket and teddy The artist is tired She hopes all is done Tomorrow she's off  To learn from Nancy Maxfield Lund ! Paints, palette, papers all packed for workshop. This is my "empty" studio space. :) I'm registered for a two-day collage workshop with the awesome Nancy Maxfield Lund  that starts tomorrow. This is another "mini workshop" sponsored by the Utah Watercolor Society . I am super excited! Hopefully, I will have some interesting art to share afterwards. :) As always, thanks for sto

What I love about mid-March in Utah are the sure signs of Spring that seem to appear almost overnight. Beautiful sunrises and sunsets. SUN in general! Daffodils blooming, buds appearing on my lilacs, leaves on my butterfly bushes, and tulips poking out of the ground in my flower beds! Our house is West-facing, so the tulips are always coming up later than most of the neighbors, but they also bloom later, so I have flowers longer. :) I have found, over the past few years, that I increasingly crave the sunlight and find the gray days and dark nights of Winter to be increasingly depressing for me. There are some sunshine days that are beautiful in Winter, and I see the beauty there. But, the lack of light and the prevalence of gray make the overall season more and more difficult. So, as Spring approaches, the light increases, the flowers start popping out, and the weather starts warming up, I feel more cheerful, more energetic, and more inspired! Today, the temperatures are warm, my k

Random topics today? Perhaps.  It is Monday. First day of a super busy week for me. Day six of my personal "No McDonald's for breakfast" challenge. You can follow my daily challenge at my Instagram account or @JenniferLoveArt on Twitter if you want! Or follow JenniferLoveArtwork on your Instagram app (since that's really what Instagram wants...no websites for those folks!)  My challenge is the daily count-up (how many days can I go?) of replacing my usual McDonald's breakfast meal with oatmeal or Cream of Wheat. I am trying to cut out the extra calories, time, and money that my McD breakfast cravings have created in my life in the past few years. Small steps towards getting healthier...and long life = more time for me to create art!  #savingmoney #eatinghealthierbreakfast #21daystochangeahabit Instant oatmeal instead of Sausage/Egg McMuffin! Here in Utah, we moved our clocks forward one hour at 2:00am on Sunday morning in observance of Day

The last year and a half have been a challenge for our family and, in particular, the last nine months have taken much of my attention as Mom. Our youngest son was diagnosed Anxiety, causing ODD behaviors last June. We have been in therapy with him since that time. Weekly at first, then every two weeks, then three, then every six weeks - until yesterday - our most recent therapy session. Apparently we have "graduated" and that will be our last session (unless we have a major resurgence of problems). Admittedly, I am a little nervous going it alone, but the the therapist seems to have confidence in my skills to assess the situations and adapt our approach to his behavior in order to achieve positive results. I think child therapy sessions would really be more aptly named "parenting therapy." We have learned some great tools and techniques to help us better communicate with our little one as well as improve behavior and cooperation. But, there are always setbacks and

Wife, mother, referee, nurse, cook, laundress, time-out enforcer, maid, dishwasher, lawn care specialist, gardener, research director, referee, artist, newsletter editor, primary worker, recycling coordinator, referee... As so many of us do, I wear many hats. Mother and wife are the most important hats. Research Director puts food on our table and a roof over our heads. Dishwasher, laundress, cook, lawn care specialist, gardener, etc... are all necessary to keep our household running. Referee, referee, referee...well, that's what you get with two little boys in the house! Newsletter Editor and Primary are voluntary jobs, but I try to do my best. Unfortunately, the "artist" hat, because it is my personal pursuit and not something that currently provides much benefit to my family other than "making mommy happy," often gets put on last and in the moments when I can eke out a few hours to myself. I am trying to carve out regular painting time in my life, work it

I was recently nominated by my friend (and fellow artist) Neena Plant-Henninger to do a challenge on Facebook: Post three paintings per day for five days - and nominate another artist to do the same each day that you post. They could be old or new paintings. The point: to fill Facebook with art images for the new year. Sounded fun, so I did! :) I tried to post around a bit of a theme for each day. Here are my five days' worth of paintings.  Day 1: Ballerinas (slightly older work) Day 2: Animals (more recent work) Day 3: Portraits (REALLY old work...but I still like them :)) Day 4: Kokopelli (more recent work - including a woven painting) Day 5: Butterflies (slightly older + more recent work - and, of course, I couldn't choose favorites, so three paintings turned into seven for this final day!) This was super fun, and also a good exercise for me. It helped me to realize that, even though I am facing the ch

Hello friends! It's a new year and a new commitment from me to be more consistent with my blog posts as well as my newsletter. I thank you for continuing to follow my crazy rantings, ravings, and art thoughts. I won't go into specifics, but I will say that the past few months have been filled with family business that took a lot of time and attention from us. Unfortunately, my art creating, blogging, social media, and newsletters had to take a back seat to my family priorities. But, as ever, I appreciate the support of my loving family and friends, and appreciate that my collectors and readers are still out there! So...with the new year in mind, I thought I would start my blog out with a reminder that Paintings 4 Parkinson's starts on the 1st of each month and ends on the 8th. (If you want to know more about Paintings for Parkinson's, click here to read Our Story and also to details for artists who might want to be involved).  We have just two more days left on thi

I recently attended the Utah Watercolor Society (UWS) Spring Exhibition Opening Reception in Provo, UT with my husband and children. It was a wonderful collection of paintings in which I was lucky to be included.   My painting, "Stargazer," was also selected by the Utah Division of Arts and Museums to be part of their Utah Watercolor Society Travelling Exhibit that will be on display in various venues throughout the state over the coming year. While visiting with some of the other artists and spouses at the opening reception, I overheard part of my husband's conversation with another man - the husband of one of the artists. They were discussing the wives' being artists, coming to receptions, etc. The other gentleman said "So, your official title is HOA...Husband Of Artist."  Made me giggle. Yup! That is his new official title. I think I'll print business cards for him. :) So next time you hear the acronym H OA, don't think of Hom

The Utah Watercolor Society (UWS) Small Works Exhibition is fast approaching and entries are due this week. My entry was actually due today because I am sending it with a delegate from UWS who will drive several paintings to Logan, UT - where the exhibition will take place. I have not participated in the Small Works Exhibition for a number of years. The last few years, the exhibition has been held in conjunction with the Logan Summerfest Art Faire and hosted by the Cache Valley Chapter of UWS. Logan is about a two-hour drive from where I live, so I am grateful we have a Salt Lake-based UWS member who is willing to drive paintings up for those of us who can't be there for the delivery date/times. The next step was to create a small painting. The requirement for the small works show is that the painting (including framing) cannot be larger than 144 square inches (ie: 12" x 12"). I had a 10" x 10" frame with a 5" x 5" precut mat ready to use, so I d

It's the time of year for the Utah Watercolor Society Spring Show (UWS). I was fortunate enough to be juried into the show this year, with one of my woven abstract paintings, "Stargazer," which also showed up on the event postcard! :)  The show was juried by John T. Salminen , who also presented at the UWS member meeting this past Tuesday evening. Wow! What an incredible artist and an entertaining speaker as well. The opening reception is tonight in Provo, UT. Here is the postcard. Here is my painting, "Stargazer."  "Stargazer"  Acrylic on 140lb watercolor paper This show is another important step in achieving Signature Member status in the UWS. I am already a Two Star Member (achieved after acceptance into two Spring Shows). Signature membership requires acceptance to eight shows (UWS Spring or Fall shows, or the Western Federation annual show). It is also required that your painting win an award at one of