Win This Free Painting!

The Fledgling,
mini painting w/table top easel

Once again....

It's almost time for a little give away!  

Every few months, I have a little give away for my newsletter friends.  You'll find out all about it in my March newsletter, which will be sent in this coming week.  

If you already get my newsletter, you'll get the information soon - if you don't yet get my newsletter, it's super easy to sign up and here's a taste of what you'll be getting:

• access to great discounts
• drawings for give aways
• downloadable art I create just for my friends
• a peek at new work 
• news from my side of the easel
• articles I write having to do with the artist's life, inspiration, motivation, and technique 
• and friendly conversation 
  
  
  It's all about giving you something special as one of my friends, enjoying art together, and staying connected.
  I use a trusted email service provider and your information is always secure. 
  
  Just fill in the form below and you'll be automatically added to my list. You'll get a thank you email with a gift from me to you - and you'll also get my next newsletter! 
  
  It's easy  - and I promise to do my best to make you glad you joined the fun! 
  
Click here and you're in!
For Email Marketing you can trust.

The Day's End

Day's End, 7x5" oil on canvas 

© Helen Read

That evening walk... the tranquility of a setting sun.  It's what the soul needs at the end of the day.
It's the moment to reconnect with one's self and to remember in Whose hands the day has been held and in Whom the future rests.  For me, it is that quiet beauty ~ beauty of God's artistry that reminds me to breathe deeply, to let go of the things that cause me a troubled mind, to relinquish my fears, and to allow peace to replace stress.
I highly recommend intentionally taking moments at the end of the day to reflect and regain balance!  

Please read my recent article about why owning an original work is so much different than having a print!
Let me know what you think! 

Have you ever wondered WHY?

Why buy original art?  

 Really! 
It's a legitimate question - there are lots of pretty prints available. 
What makes hanging an original painting different?

Recently sold, Winter Glow, framed

    
With an original painting, you hold a something that cannot be captured in a print or a photograph:

           You hold the motion of the artist's hands
captured in the textured brushstrokes. 

Textured brushstrokes, each of which contain a mixture of color within the stroke.

You see color just as the artist intended you to see it
as the artist saw or perhaps imagined it. 

Beautiful colors juxtaposed together to create a visual sensation that brings the eye back again for more!
Colors that surprise and energize!

 

It's less tangible (but quite profound) -
you hold a bit of the artist's emotion in your keeping. 

The motion of stroke and the lively color resonate with JOY!
An emotion that is contagious!

A painting begins with an inspiration - whatever it may be  - and with color and texture and vibrancy, the artist translates a personal response into paint.  Emotion is seen in the way the strokes are applied and the way the colors are mixed and juxtaposed.    When viewing a print or a photograph these subtle tactile elements cannot be replicated.  In a sense,

when you hang an original painting, the artist is speaking intimately and timelessly to you without words...
a message that can only be truly conveyed in the actual painting.  

Original works bring beauty and pleasure, of course, but more than that; they whisper to the viewer's heart deeper the thoughts of the artist.    

Romance!

Just in Time for Valentine's Day
a beautiful, romantic, old fashioned flower

Pink Hollyhock, 6x6" oil on canvas

©Helen Read 

 Think of an old cottage - with a picket fence, a large front porch and lacy curtains - and you're sure to see beautiful, tall hollyhocks along side the house.  This flower graced yards in by gone days and there's no question why... they are stately, bold and when you look deeply into the center - a kaleidoscope of shapes and colors.  
 This beauty in pink makes a beautiful gift of romantic bygone days.