Interview with Sarah Scholl Bowie - Art Ambassadress

The lovely Sarah Scholl Bowie is truly a work of art herself. She has filled her home with an abundant (and growing) collection of original art that is absolutely staggering, as you soon will discover as you look through these photographs of her collection (which, I'm sure, is just the tip of the iceberg). It's always fun to do an interview with an artist, but I have never done one with a collector - this will be my first and I'm thrilled that Sarah agreed.

When did you start collecting art and what inspired you to begin your collection?

When I left my parents' house I "liberated" a few of my uncle's paintings - before he became the musical composer Harvey Schmidt, he was a commercial artist. I also had 2 paintings by a friend of Harvey's and then 5 years ago I made friends with the artist Leisa Shannon Corbett and realized I could afford art from someone OUTSIDE the family! An impulse purchase from a gallery in Golden 2 years ago led me to Carol Nelson's work and Daily Painters - the collection mushroomed from there.

What do you think your collection says about you?

It certainly shows my love for color and pattern, but there are also strong subject themes - women are probably the most prevalent theme (I'm a motherless daughter), minimalist landscapes, art-within-art. I love hanging paintings in color or theme groups, and that shows one of the quirks of my brain - a relentless search for patterns in everything.

What is your art buying experience like - do you go into it with something in mind or do you discover new art/artists organically?

It's a combination of both, and the internet makes that so easy. Yes, I have been known to search on Etsy for something like "orange sun" or "green nude."

What are your turn-offs when shopping for art - aka, what would make you not buy when you otherwise would?

I am so spoiled by Pay Pal buttons that now I hesitate to purchase any other way - although I did mail a check for a beagle watercolor earlier this year!

Do you look for art that is ready to hang or are you open to art that will need framing to be hung? When it comes to canvases, do you prefer the sides of the canvas to be painted?

I definitely prefer ready-to-hang art because that frees up more money to buy more paintings! I prefer the canvas sides to be painted although I do have many hanging in my house with the edges still white and I've gotten used to that look.

When it comes to shipping, do you have a certain expectation about the package you will receive or does the packaging not matter to you (as long as it gets there safely, that is)?

I am always impressed by the care that artists take when shipping their work. But when they use so much tape that cutting into the box feels like I'm doing a C-section, I get frustrated. A lot of my purchases are shipped to my office and my manager has complained the cutting and ripping of boxes is too noisy in our open cube environment. (So now I drag the boxes into a meeting room to unpack them, LOL.)

You purchased one of my paintings on Etsy. Is Etsy the only place you buy art online or are there other sites you frequent?

Etsy has become my primary site because of the great range of prices, but I have bought many paintings from Daily Painters. I've also bought from Daily Painter Originals, artist websites and eBay.

Is there something we, as artists, could do/say/show to make our art more appealing to buyers?

I think you and hundreds of other artists I follow are doing a fantastic job. I can hardly resist you on any given day. I can't imagine how you could make yourselves MORE appealing!

Finally, what are your hopes for the future as a collector?

I hope I can slow down my rate of collecting so that it doesn't feel so compulsive. I would also love it if my collecting inspires other people to buy original art - that's part of why I show so many paintings on Facebook. I also hope my collection stays safe for many years - there's a burned-out house in our neighborhood and every time I drive by it, I shudder!

Many thanks to Sarah for a wonderful interview and peak into her art-filled home! Visit Sarah's blog at http://sarahbowie.blogspot.com/.

Product Review - Matisse Acrylic Paints

Here is the write-up about the Matisse brand of acrylic paint via Jerry's Artarama: "Now you can try brilliant Matisse Flow low-viscosity artists' acrylics with these fantastic sets! Well-balanced color selections and included mediums make for virtually limitless application choices, and are excellent for learning color mixing or for taking on the road! Matisse Flow Acrylics are a superb choice for any number of techniques, from folk art and detail work to glazing and even watercolor-like washes, and their high lightfast rating and pigment content mean your art is sure to stand the test of time. Try Australia's premier fluid acrylics with these terrific sets from Down Under!"

Paramount canvases 6" x 12"

There is nothing, NOTHING, like getting a fresh batch of supplies. I am a one stop shopper when it comes to supplies - either going in person to the West Hartford, CT branch of Jerry's Artarama to check things out in person, or just buying from them online. You cannot beat the prices and their customer service is second to none. I used to frequent some big name art supply stores in Boston and New York when I was in college - they were cool in their own way, but Jerry's gives you all of the knowledgeable staff, all of the quality materials as the others, PLUS a positive personal experience that sticks with you (and crazy good prices) - it creates a sense of well earned loyalty - and in this business, that is something that I greatly admire and appreciate.

Matisse Primary Set of Acrylic Paint

The Mattise set comes with a good selection of colors - your basics "plus", if you will. Titanium White, Phthalo Blue, Ultramarine Blue, Brilliant Alizarin (Alizarin Crimson with bells on), Mattise Red Light (Cad Red as far as I'm concerned), Yellow Deep (this is the yellow I've been waiting for all my life, btw), Yellow Light Hansa (I've never been one for the Hansa Yellow, but that's just me - I think in time I'll grow into its mellow yellowness), and a solid Mars Black. Mixers know you don't need any secondary colors in there - multitudes of mixable purples, oranges and greens are there for the taking if you know your color wheel. ;) (Do you? Should I do a blog post about mixing colors? Let me know - no judgment!).



I began my painting session with a light wash of color (with no water or mixers by the way) to lay down an underpainting. The first thing I noticed was the thinness of the paint in the best way possible. It's smooth as silk without being too translucent. It isn't as thick as some paints I'm used to but it packs a punch nonetheless. I admire that in paint - I've dealt with cheaper acrylics that require you to layer and layer to gain the opacity you are looking for all the while being quite a thick paint to work with so it's not an easy process. This paint makes it easy...



Here's the first painting I made using the Matisse brand about half or 75% finished. I will say this... I like it... I like it a lot. My one warning would be to be careful squeezing it out - it comes out fast and a little goes a long way. You'd be surprised.

Amorous - Acrylic on 6" x 12" canvas, 2011 - SOLD

Here's the finished piece I called Amorous because, well, it reminds me of love (insert "aww" here).

Tranquility - Acrylic on 6" x 12" canvas, 2011

And here is another piece I made with these paints. All in all, I will definitely be using these paints in the future. I am also eager to try them on paper. Have you tried any new products lately? Leave a comment and share your thoughts!

A Web Design Public Service Announcement

Now that you are back to the norm of black text on a white background, how are you feeling? Are you seeing ghost images of the previous text box against this white space? Is it hard to adjust? Do you feel a little dizzy? If not, you're lucky! For many of us, (often also prone to vertigo and motion sickness), the effects of reading white text on black is so troublesome, we'll simply click away no matter how interesting the content is. If I absolutely MUST read something, I might copy and paste the text into Word so I can read it, but that is only if I know I want to read it beforehand.

So - if you are one of my fellow artist peeps and you've got white on black websites, PLEASE reconsider! If it doesn't bother you, you might think I'm crazy, but I'm not alone - just search "white text black background" on Google - you'll see! The choice is yours design wise, but I'm pretty sure that you want as many visitors as possible with nothing standing in your readers' way, right? Right.

Minimalist texture landscapes

Horizon 9

Blue Sky, Golden Meadow

Both of these textured abstract landscapes were almost finished for months and months. For some reason, I felt the urge yesterday to give them that final push to "finished". I've got another painting that was waiting to be finished that came to completion today but the pictures came out sub par. Hopefully tomorrow I should have some good shots of it. Hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday weekend!

Painting as Meditation

The View That Day

Letters to Heaven

The Change

Essence of Being

New works on paper.

Bubbling Over

Bubbling Over - Acrylic on 24" x 24" box canvas

I am actually quite literally bubbling over with joy anticipating getting together with two wonderful girlfriends tomorrow for a birthday get together and gab fest! Painting will be put on hold for the festivities which will no doubt include going out to eat, consuming copious amounts of wine, and sharing all of our stories from San Diego, Boston and small town Ellington (clearly, they'll have a lot more to share than me in cow-town USA - "So my friend at the post office made the most beautiful silk flower arrangements for his friend's wedding! He showed me on his phone!" "Oh and the most adorable cardinal has been watching over a nest in that bush, isn't that great!?" true story). Anyway, even though it seems like I've already partaken in said wine, I'm actually just drunk on pure excitement. It's been much too long since I've seen these gals and I'm going to will the clocks to slow down so I can savor every moment!

Documenting "Layers of Life"

Layers of Life - Acrylic on 16" x 20" gallery wrapped canvas

Here are some shots of this painting as it evolved...

I began working on this painting this weekend and found that I was getting too tight and too literal with my "circle" theme.

Today I went in with bright colors to open up the space and get a lot more action happening.

I was really feeling the turquoise/orange/yellow combo...

And then I started to get into the feeling of lots and lots of layers in various levels of translucency...

The finished product has this wild, frenzied action all over the surface with a gradual lightening as it works towards the top. I am feeling inspired by Lee Krasner's Noon - a piece that has moved me for years - as well as the abstract qualities of the great impressionists. I still have farther to push this series but I'm really liking where I'm headed right now.

As Deep as the Ocean...

As Deep as the Ocean, as High as the Sky

This new painting is not for sale as it is a wedding gift for my friends Nicole and Matt that got married late last year. I was lucky enough to be there for the wedding and in fact in the wedding as a bride's maid - a position that made me extremely uncomfortable given that I'm entirely too emotional at weddings, let alone the wedding of a friend I've known for 20+ years (yikes!). We all had such a blast celebrating the big day and when it came for the wedding itself, well, I was a mess. It was as if my emotions being so restrained acted out in random ways - I swear I was about to lose it either sobbing or giggling like a maniac. Poor Nicole, what was she thinking? But, I kept it together enough to not hog the spot light making every guest question, "WHAT is UP with that girl?" and the after party was one to go down in history.

This painting not only represents their deep love for one another, but it also is inspired by the ocean - something that plays a major role in their Floridian lives. Matt is a boat man and a master fisherman and Nicole is now his first mate. :)

Alive Again

Alive Again - Acrylic on 18" x 24" gallery wrapped canvas

As I look around at the bursts of green popping out everywhere, there's no question that spring is fully marching ahead and I can't help but feel like I feel alive again. Connecting to the earth, the flora and fauna - the energy feels like everything surrounding me is exuding a feeling of joy and a celebration of life. Happy spring everyone and have a great weekend!

Spring in the Studio

Today was absolutely GORGEOUS here in northern Connecticut. After weeks of rain and waiting for that perfect sunny, warm day to mark the start of painting in my outdoor studio, it finally arrived and I took full advantage! Rather than tackle the interior of my studio (which is a dreadful mess - sorry, no pictures! ha ha) I focused on the screened in porch and cleaned it top to bottom. With my music playing from the laptop, the sweet breeze blowing through, and busily gathering my supplies, all felt right with the world again...

And of course, having it all cleaned wasn't enough - I had to actually paint! To start off the season right, I began with my favorite color, my besty, Phthalo Blue.


The following are some work in progress shots of the painting I worked on today. I worked over a drip painting that I was only kind of happy with on it's own. If I'm not feeling it 100% - it's getting a makeover! Starting with some blue circles to get the ball rolling...





I just had FUN today - which is, at least for me, what it's all about. No expectations, just pure play. I'm not sure where this painting will go from here, but I feel great about where it's at right now. A little more tweaking and layers, a few more pops of color, and it will be there. Woo hoo! We're back in business baby!

It's getting closer...

Positivity - Acrylic on 30" x 30" canvas, 2011 SOLD

Wild Garden - Acrylic on 20" x 20" canvas, 2011
CLICK HERE FOR PURCHASING INFORMATION

Unbelievably, the snow that came up to my mid thigh (and I'm a tall gal) has melted almost all the way. I didn't think I'd see the ground till May with the winter we've had, but alas spring is coming on strong and I couldn't be happier about it! I've even seen some shoots of hyacinth and iris peeking out, and the chrysanthemum has buds. In no time it will be warm enough to get out in the studio for spring cleaning and preparation. Spring has always been my most productive time of year to paint, so you could say I'm just a little excited about it. ;)

Above are two paintings I made along with the ones in the last post. Positivity was sold to a collector in Australia within a week of listing it on Etsy (which was shockingly awesome, to say the least), and Wild Garden, well, I just love that painting and kind of wish I could keep it for myself. These were the last batch of paintings I made in the basement. Now that the sun is shining brighter and the signs of spring are appearing, I'm feeling done with that dark and now totally uninspiring space, and can wait the couple of weeks to be able to work in the studio again.

In the meantime, I've been working in my sunlit kitchen making multiple original prints. I have experimented with screen printing with cut paper masters before, but this was my first hand carved print. Each piece was printed with acrylic paint and once dried, I applied large, wet strokes of watercolor paint. Some dried and ended up being just right as they were, others called out for a little more work.

Cupid Missed 5 - Mixed media original print on 6" x 9" paper, 2011

This is one that I liked as is. The others below got a little extra attention.

Cupid Missed 3 - Mixed media original print on 6" x 9" paper, 2011

Cupid Missed 2 - Mixed media original print on 6" x 9" paper, 2011

Cupid Missed 1 - Mixed media print on 6" x 9" paper, 2011

What are you creating these days? Feel free to share your latest artistic endeavors in the comments section.

It is officially ON!

Under the Snow I - Acrylic on 12" x 12" canvas, 2011

Under the Snow II - Acrylic on 12" x 24" canvas, 2011

After the longest break from painting I've had since I was 19, I am back to painting and I couldn't feel better about it! I never questioned returning to painting, I knew I would eventually. I didn't force it, I let myself have the time I needed to take a step back and remember why I do this, what I love about it, and to reclaim the JOY of painting. I won't get into the things that dampened my inspiration - I don't feel like giving them any power since I've learned what I needed to and am ready to move on. But I will say this - it is never over. If you are ever an artist, you are never NOT an artist, even if you don't pick up a brush or a sculpting tool or whatever it is you use/do for some time. To any artists out there that have experienced or are experiencing a lack or inspiration or an artist's block, my advice is to just wait it out. It will come again and when it does you'll be refreshed and so inspired.

In my time away, I've spent a good amount of time developing my stamp shop, Green Garden Stamps. I've also spent a lot of time creating, promoting, and managing the Fine Art Friday movement and the Finding Fine Art team on Etsy and blog. I think this has helped me so much - taking a step away from my own work and focusing on a larger community of artists to support got me excited about art in general again. There is still plenty of work to do regarding those projects, but the foundation is laid and now is the perfect time to get back into my own work.

These two pieces are the first to be completed out of a batch of several canvases in progress. I'm working on a larger square canvas right now that is next in line and I'm just loving the bursts of color and the playfulness of these new works.

Under the Snow alludes to the hopefulness I have to have in a record breaking, hard core winter here in New England. Otherwise I just might get buried by cabin fever under all of this snow and ice. It has been INSANE and the snow just keeps on coming! I'm quite thankful for the timing of my return to painting because I'll be leaning on it to get me through the rest of this monstrous winter.

Giving the Gift of Art

Let's face it - buying art as a gift isn't for everyone. Some people don't care much for art, or they have very specific tastes, or you just don't know them well them enough to make such a personal selection. There are some occasions and relationships however, where it is perfectly appropriate and ends up being a powerful statement with a lasting impression.

In my life, I've given my paintings as wedding gifts to friends that I know like my work, and I painted something specific with them in mind. (In fact, I've got one to paint for my friend in Florida that just got married.) My family has received my art as gifts through the years. I know who likes landscapes, who likes my abstracts and who likes my crafts more, and I always choose wisely.

Not all of my friends are huge art enthusiasts, and some are, but have very minimally decorated homes. I wouldn't give my work to anyone as a gift if I knew it would make them uncomfortable or feel like they have to hang it if they don't care for it. And for some of my friends that DO love my work, I know I've overloaded them so much through the years, I've got to give them a break! But on those special times where the occasion and the person aligns, art has been and will be a cherished gift to give and receive.

Last year my best friend and I got to see each other on New Year's Eve after being apart for a while as she lives in San Diego and I'm all the way over on the east coast. We had our gifts to exchange and wouldn't you know it, we both bought each other art on Etsy. :)

To Emily from Jessica - Birds by Wallcandy



To Jessica from Emily - Eloise and Ramona play telephone by flapperdoodle

I got Emily the bird painting on a little wood block because she had just moved into a new studio apartment by the beach and I knew space would be an issue. She loved it because she could place it on her window ledge in the kitchen, a reminder of the swirling sea gulls of beautiful San Diego. She got me the adorable print set that I have in MY kitchen and I love it because every day I see it I am reminded of my besty living across the country, but always a phone call or an email (or text, or facebook, or...) away!


So it is true - art is personal. But some relationships are personal enough to know what someone likes or would like. And if you don't know what they like, start paying attention to what they notice online or in a gallery or shop. If you're a fan or know a fan of my work, stay tuned as my next post will be gift ideas from my various collections and product lines.

Flying to Florida with Patti Smith

Last Thursday I flew to Florida for a dear friend's wedding. I'm always so busy in my regular life that I often don't find time to read. Travel affords me the time to crank through one or several books and I cherish that aspect of traveling and vacations. On this trip, I read Patti Smith's Just Kids. It was the perfect book for me to read at the perfect time.

I didn't go into reading this as a huge Patti Smith or Robert Mapplethorpe fan. In fact, I didn't know much about either of them except for the basics. But diving into their world - their youth, young love, passion, sexual exploration, friendship, devotion, SEEKING, fearlessness, vulnerablity - all of it provided a deep insight into a fascinating life told from such an honest and self aware place. I almost finished the book by the time I landed and had a lot of personal reactions to what I read that I shelved for party-wedding-time.

Now that I'm home, I'm inspired to aspire to be as devoted to being an artist as they were. They were making art and living in apartments with junkies across the hall and no food but they were always committed to art. As vital to them as their blood. It's time for me to take money officially out of the picture when I'm making art. Take it entirely out of my mind and thought process. I've allowed it to permeate into my relationship with art and it's only served to limit me. Remembering what it means to be an artist, the responsibility I have to the gift of art, the responsibility I have to myself to not stop at small dreams.

I think I need to read nothing but artist biographies for a while. Soak in the reality that there is no "right way" to be an artist. Everyone has their own story, their own journey. The questions of "how do I relate, how do I agree, disagree, desire, reject their various choices, their process, their lives?" will help me figure out where I stand in it all. Where I want to go.




When I was in Florida I saw so many galleries and great contemporary art, I had this dream of opening a gallery down there and getting a condo so I could come and go and co-manage the gallery. I got so into this fantasy it was all I could think about when I was walking on the beach by myself. Returning home, I kept dreaming other dreams - a gallery/house on the Cape or Maine. A house on a lake here in Connecticut or in the woods in the Berkshires. For fun, I look up real estate in different states and vacation rentals in other countries. It's like a fun hobby for me but meanwhile, I don't really know what I REALLY want in the future. Am I supposed to know?

Blending all of this together, I think the focus is pretty simple. Just be an artist and let life take you where you're meant to go.