Where Bloggers Create Blog Party

Welcome to Where Bloggers Create blog party http://www.mydesertcottage.com/.  My garden gate is always open for you to come in and sit and relax while I share with you my creative spaces.  I am an artist living in Southern California where the weather is beautiful almost all year. I spend most of  the time creating and painting outside  in my little garden and consider my garden as my primary studio space.  I feel I can get closer to my subject mater if I can actually smell the flowers, see the blue sky and experience the garden.  I would love to share with  you a few of my favorite places that inspire my art  and where I create and paint in the garden before we visit my indoor studio space.

Let's meet Bentley, My Studio Assistant, in the garden to show you my "garden studio" where I spend most of my time creating and painting and the simple and everyday objects  that end up in my paintings.

          Have a seat and relax for our little tour of the spaces in my garden where I create!!!

                                                    Or  . . . have a seat  here!

I paint lots of white wicker and use the wicker chairs in my garden as inspiration - I add a table or change the colors of the cushions and pillows -here is where the paintings starts - in my garden .  I usually add the ocean  or Newport Bay as background as I live near the water and love to add  it to my art.




                                      

I like to paint the simple everyday beauty of God's creation - simple flowers and objects and  love collecting bird nests to add to my still life paintings  ( none of mine are real ).

                                       I  am working on this painting and added a bird nest. 

I love painting Pansies and grow most of mine in containers.  They do well in my part of the country and usually last until July  when it gets hot in Southern California.  Mine are just starting to fade and I am busy painting  them before they are all gone.

                                             

                                          Another nest ended up in the Pansy Painting.

                                            Even my red scissors end up in paintings!

I put together a variety of of flowers from the market to paint the Flower Market painting .If I don't have enough flowers I buy them from the market that  have reached past their prime  - just ask to buy them - they are perfect for paintings and very inexpensive. I bought the sign at World Market and waited until it was marked down 50% - I am inspired by it and love it in my garden  as it makes me feel like I am painting at  a real flower market.

                                                                          

Sunflowers are so happy and almost always end up in my paintings .

Bentley loves to stop and smell the flowers!!!!

My just finished  painting inspired by  new Flower Market sign and the flowers I put together in my garden studio.

Today I am painting the old watering cans and garden hat hanging on a shelf in my backyard - simple every day subjects.  I am still working on  the little bird and then it will be finished! 

                We are going to take a little  detour so I can share another favorite creative space -some of the Roses in my front  yard as they are always a favorite to paint this time of the year.  My front yard is planted in pinks, whites and lavender and my back yard is planted in primary colors of reds, yellows, blues and whites - that way I have a big variety to choose from.

                                 Would you like to have some cool lemonade before we go inside?

Now let's go inside to see the other space where I create and store my art supplies. I have a very large double garage with lots of built in storage cabinets.  About ten years ago I  painted the concrete floor to look like flagstone with brick trim and turned half of it into an art studio.  This is where I store my paint, books, canvases, etc. and paint on the few days a year when the weather is too bad to be outside in my garden studio.

I painted this painting to hang in my indoor art studio as it represents so many things I love to paint - Sunflowers,  Lilacs, a painterly bouquet of flowers, a garden hat  and blue and white tea set.

The photo quality of my indoor studio is not good due to the fluorescent lighting - it does not work well with my camera flash!  The old green work table is used for creating and the red curtain hides  storage boxes.  I use the market umbrella at outdoor shows and store it in the studio - it is fun to sit under it and create! I collect vintage watering cans that all end up in my paintings.  The white cupboard on the left of the table is used to store old mismatched china and flea market finds that find their way into my art.  I use a lot of old shutters as dividers - they were  found in the trash as well as the old cupboard - all free!  One day I am going to try my hand at mosaics with some of my flea market china finds!

                            

OK- here is a peek into the old  cupboard  that stores  flea market finds that I use in my paintings- I know it is a little messy but there are lots of great finds!!!

The stacking storage boxes came from Joanne's and they are great for storage.

                                         The old white cabinet holds my paints and art supplies.

              

More curtains hiding stuff - the shutters on the right make a nice divider. The red chair, watering can, garden gloves and  hat can also be found in some of my paintings. I love having everything  out on display  as it inspires me and gives me new ideas for future paintings and at the same time I  can use it when I need it.

Thank you for stopping by.  I loved sharing my creative garden and indoor creative spaces with you and hope you will come back to visit.  Please let me know if you have any questions or would like to see me paint something special.  We will be painting a Fall Welcome sign together in September and I will have a simple tutorial for you as well as creating a Christmas door greeter in November with a simple tutorial.

    A BIG THANK YOU TO KAREN VALENTINE FOR HOSTING THE FUN BLOG PARTY
Have a lovely day.   Blessings, Erin


                    LIFE IS A BEAUTIFUL RIDE - CREATE , LOVE,  AND  LIVE  JOYFULLY

"Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things."  Philippians  4:8