I miss you Steve!!!

Well, here I am, without a husband or a tech support rep in the house and it looks like the blog is up to me for the next few days. When Steve goes out of town in only takes me a few hours to realize that one, I have a great husband and two, I don't know &%$*@ about this technical stuff. I fall into the category of knowing just enough to make a small problem bigger.

So today I will probably post a photo of one of our cats. You will know this when you read the blog and see a photo of a cat.

Steve is off to Birmingham for a few days to spend some time with his sister. He is a great brother to her and I really admire that in him. It is a huge responsibility that he has taken on becoming her guardian, but as he says in his positive way of looking at things " I don't have to do it, I get to do it". Sure makes life easier when we look at the things we do as being choices :-)

Well, I'm going to go rummage around the photo archives and see what I can come up with for today's post.

Stay tuned for more of the same tomorrow (Steve is not back until late Wednesday!!).

Cynthia

Hey! Just in case you want to see our website, here it is! I do know how to type that address!

www.casaartstudio.com

Getting ready for our show this weekend

While I was at the job site today Steve spent the entire time rearranging our studio and rehanging paintings, plus clean-up and organization. The place looks great and we are almost ready for our Saturday show as part of the Shirley Street 16 organization. If you are in the neighbourhood come see us between 11 am and 4 pm. There are another 10 to 12 studios within walking distance that will be open too. It's always interesting to see what all of these artists are working on and to observe them in their native habitat. It's like being part of a National Geographic special on wild artists in the field!!!

Today's painting was created around the same time as yesterday's painting so there are some similarities in colour and mood and they make a nice pair should you want to consider buying both (highly recommended!)

Have a nice evening and we'll be back at it tomorrow!

Cynthia

For pricing or more information on this painting or others at casa art studio please click on the link below.

http://www.casaartstudio.com/tofeapada6.html

Next!

Well, we did it. Managed to create another painting or two while in the midst of our faux finish job. Now I just have to get them photographed, edited, emailed, uploaded and transferred to my dropbox folder. It's a process!

Meanwhile with days like this in mind we created a little bit of an inventory a few weeks ago so that we could continue to post once per day. We wouldn't want to leave our followers waiting and wondering where we are!

Today's painting is a mixed media abstract using inks, acrylics and metallics. The colours are really vibrant, and with the sides done in black and the edges in the liquid 18k gold leaf it is ready to hang as is. By the way, we do not wire any of these paintings so the direction you hang it is your choice (which is also why we sign them on the back).

Have a great rest of the day. I am off to my writing class tonight (which was a blast last week) - can't wait!

Cynthia

For pricing or more information on this painting or other works by casa art studio please click on the link below.

http://www.casaartstudio.com/tofeapada5.html

Sometimes the bills just have to come first!

As much as we love working in our studio and would be quite content to be here everyday, occasionally a faux finishing job comes along that we feel the need to say yes to (still a great business to be in and it keeps the cash flow going). So, today we started working at a very nice home down in Port Royal and we will be there for a few weeks.

Which of course means that the 'Painting A Day' project could come to a screeching halt. The main purpose of committing to the daily painting is the discipline of creating something every day regardless of other things that come up. The next few weeks will prove to be a good test of our focus and commitment to our art. Especially now that it is in writing and broadcast out to the world. Feel free to nag and hold us to our promise!

Today features a cool little painting done by Steve that has a 'zen' feeling to it. It incorporates an interference green/gold metallic with natural papers and very fine lines of gold and bolder swishes of black. The sides are black and the top is edged in 18k liquid gold leaf. Every time Steve does something along this line it sells quickly at our shows. People respond to the rhythm and balance that is a big part of what this painting is about. With a previous one we mounted it on top of some organic bark paper and then had it professionally framed in a floating frame. Great look and an inexpensive way to make your art have a much bigger impact. Feel free to contact us if you need some ideas about how to frame your art - it can be the thing that makes all the difference (our picture framer made me say that....) !!!

Happy Monday - and by the way, happy birthday to my beautiful sister! I am so lucky to have her in my life. I love you Jen!!!

Cynthia

For pricing or more information on this painting or other works at casa art studio please click on the link below.

http://www.casaartstudio.com/tofeapada4.html

Gettin' the hang of this blog thingy

Steve just left to run errands and I am now tasked with doing the blog from start to finish! Normally he is within shouting distance if I don't understand something (which a few days ago was just about everything to do with blogging). Slowly but surely it is starting to make sense. I read a great quote the other day that said "if you are experiencing anxiety around something it is generally because you haven't learned all that you need to know about it". Pretty soon this 'blog thingy' will be second nature for me.

I remember when painting and faux finishing were foreign territory, and now through years of experience, reading, research and experimentation I have a great comfort level with them. It is a reminder that almost everything is possible if you take the time to train yourself. So bring on the blog!

Today's painting is very abstract and sometimes I think the subject in a piece like this ends up being the colours themselves, or maybe the energy it gives off. There is something about the combination of saturated blues, deep reds, magenta, orange and turquoise that create an energy field that is intriguing to me. I hope you can feel it too!

For more information or pricing on this painting or others by casa art studio please click on the link below.

http://www.casaartstudio.com/tofeapada3.html

Please share me with your friends!

Happy Thursday everyone!


People that come by our studio / gallery almost always comment on how so much of our work has an Eastern feel to it. I think this ties back to yesterday's blog, talking about how the past can influence the creative process, even if it is further back in time than our own lifetime. Sometimes I wonder what or who is coming through me and what is the link? I don't really need to know though - it just feels good and I love being connected to that timeless, universal spirit!

Today's painting just sort of directed itself into this world. I think I was just the 'organizer'! That Eastern Spirit has revealed itself again!

On a side note, we are taking a good bit of time this summer (while the art show season is a little quiet) to really work on developing our business over the internet. We would be grateful to any of you who might think to forward this blog on to their friends so that we can continue to build our internet presence. At some point (when we learn how!) we will be offering the option of purchasing a gift certificate over our website so that you can give that to a friend. Isn't that thoughtful of us?

To purchase this painting or to visit casa art studio please click on the link below.

http://www.casaartstudio.com/tofeapada2.html

Is it Tuesday or Wednesday?

Yesterday I thought it was Monday all day (and even on into the evening until Steve pointed out my errant thinking). So I just want to state up front that I will probably be confused for the rest of the week! I have found ever since we moved to Florida from Atlanta almost 15 years ago that my sense of time has never been on track. I'm self-employed, and the weather rarely changes so there aren't the normal markers along the way that let me know what is happening. I kind of like that though - it doesn't seem as if time passes as quickly here.

One of the aspects of being an artist that I enjoy the most is that non-linear connection with the past, present and future while immersed in a creation. While painting one is totally in the moment of creating, yet there is often a spiritual type of connection with past artists who infiltrate our thoughts and it often makes me wonder what type of direction is being given to me from unknown sources. And while creating it is easy to let your mind wander into the future, thinking about the next painting and what source will be the inspiration for it.

The painting featured today is one of Steve's that I feel strongly attracted to for the energy that it has. The colours are bright and yet there is a surrealness to it that makes me want to keep looking at it, as if there is a mystery buried in there, somewhere. I have two names for this painting - 'Continental Drift' and 'Pangea' as I feel as if I'm looking down from above on something from the past. Steve has no name for this painting. To him it 'just is'.....

See you tomorrow!

http://www.casaartstudio.com/tofeapada1.html

Ta Da!! My first blog entry. Welcome!

How does one start writing a blog?

I guess just jump in with your eyes closed, kind of like how I've made many decisions in my life. I've learned over time that the less I think about something and the sooner I just do it, the better off I am, and those around me benefit too. But just to be on the safe side I have signed up for my creative writing course again, and good news for all it starts tonight!



Meanwhile, let me say "Welcome!" to the casaartstudio blog, which for the time being will revolve around our 'Painting A Day' series of art work. We will feature small, generally 8" x 10" canvas paintings (all originials) that will be available to purchase for those of you who just can't stand not being one of our collectors. An easy, and very affordable way to become part of this mob scene. If we weren't the artists we would buy them ourselves!!!



Although today is the first blog entry we are actually on painting number 5. This piece is a mixed media work that combines acrylics, inks and metallics. The edges are finished in black and edged in 18 k liquid gold leafing. A protective varnish sealer is applied, and the painting is signed on the back so it can be hung any way that suits the new owner.

Talk to you tomorrow!

Cynthia (oh yeah, and Steve)



http://www.casaartstudio.com/paintingday4.html