40% OFF is Amazing!

But only through Monday 11/27!

 

Only once in awhile do I offer a deep discount on a collection of works...

Why?  

~ Because I am not a production studio where pieces are turned out in mass.  I am just me - painting in my studio and each of my artworks is original and one of a kind. 

~ Because I have not inflated my pricing to cover gallery commissions (which are usually around 50% of the price of art) I sell off of my website... this keep my pricing in an affordable range 

But - I have curated a collection of 28 beautiful, original works of art in both oil and watercolor that I've priced at 40% off - just for a few days!  My pricing includes domestic shipping!  So ... 

NOW is the Time to Buy Art!!

And it's a great time to think of gift giving!  Art is a one of a kind gift!  

Check out my website  - and go to the November Discount section!  Each of these is ready to ship!
But this special offer is only given through Monday 11/27!!

Autumn Radiance Landscape Painting

 

Autumn Radiance, 24x18" oil on canvas
©2023 Helen Read

Autumn is alive with color! As the sunlight filters through the leaves
the warm colors glow.  There's a crispness in the air and
the spirit is revived!  This painting captures the essence of autumn and invites the
viewer to walk the dappled road ~ more color, more breath taking beauty. 

See all the details at this link

A Pay-Over-Time option is available for any of my paintings over
$150.00.  Please email me:  Helen@HelenCRead.com
for how that works.  (No obligation, just information!)

And to see how this painting was created, check out the video that shows the whole process.

How to Draw Birds with Confidence!

 Love birds?   I do! And I love to draw them! 

My 11 minute video will show you, step by step, how to draw birds using a reference photo and graphite pencils to get an accurate likeness!  It's FREE!  because drawing is fun - and drawing with confidence is the best kind of drawing!  When you go to this link, you'll be able to access the video and learn the simple methods for drawing birds of all sorts.   You'll also receive encouraging email  from me so we can stay in touch! (Don't worry, you won't be overwhelmed by email - you'll only get a couple a month from me ... and you won't be pressured to buy anything at all!)  But you will enjoy a free tutorial and new skills!  

Abstract Fun

 Abstract art is intriguing...  I  like it's playfulness.  I like the way colors and shapes can dance across a canvas.  But...  it is also challenging.  Challenging that it doesn't become too chaotic.  Challenging to incorporate elements and principles of good design.  

I've done some abstract work in the past - and I enjoy it... but there are still many things I am learning about my own voice in abstraction.  

This painting has not title.  It is acrylic on cradled board.  It's given me more ideas to explore! 

Milkweed in Bloom

 Who doesn't love FREE?  Especially Free Art!  

If you love free and love art, you'll love this! 

Every month I send out one colorful, fun note to my special friends... and it's easy to subscribe!   In that note, I include something exclusively just for you! 
It could be free, downloadable and printable art for your personal use (like the original milkweed watercolor painting above).
After printing, its yours to frame and enjoy. 

OR

It could be a contest to win a free original painting!

OR

It could be a special, members first discount!  

There's always something I've created with you in mind! 

Staying in touch is tricky. Social media is not reliable ~ there's so much we never see.
But you'll always get a friendly note from me in your inbox in the first week of every month.

Subscribe here - and you'll get an immediate welcome email and free gift! 

Let's be friends ~ It'll be fun! 

 

Radiant! Sunflowers

 Radiant,   7x5" oil on panel
©Helen Read 

 Sunflowers are one of my favorites!  And at the end of the summer, they always make an appearance in my art.  Their colors are varied but vibrant, their shapes range from large to small.  Even their centers are different in size and color.  

This small painting is quite textured, and though the warm colors of gold and yellow green predominate, the undertones of blue and purple are also seen. 

More information on this painting is found here!

This painting is available either framed or unframed.
Domestic shipping is included! 

Dancing in the Wind ~ abstract

 Dancing in the Wind
(A garden inspired abstract painting)
12x9" oil on canvas
©Helen C Read 

This is the time of year when I find a lot of inspiration in the variety of colors and textures and shapes of the garden!  And it's fun (and challenging) to do an abstract work.  There are many design elements to keep in mind; balance, rhythm, motion, color harmony, directional flow.  This painting leads the viewer into a color rich, imaginative garden experience.  

For more information on this painting, click here. 

What's This? $100 off regular pricing?

 

Yes!  - just until August 7th!  Take $100 off the usual price ($197)  on my full length drawing course, The Incredible Pencil.   ALSO, the first 5 to register will received a $15 gift card for art supplies.   Usually this course is  $197, but now in this Summer Special it's just $97! 

See more: https://helencreadart.com/incredible-pencil-course-info/ 

Whether a beginner, or wanting to brush up on your skills, or more - this course with proven methods will lead you into advanced drawing skills with confidence! In it you'll have full access to 20 instructional videos, more resources to download and use, a private group to connect with others, and access for a full year! There's no risk, because it has a 7 day money back guarantee! 

Drawing is a fun skill, and it is foundational to all other types of creative work! Check out the details ~ https://helencreadart.com/incredible-pencil-course-info/ Don't miss out on this! Now is the perfect time to pick up the pencil and start drawing! 

It's Finally Ready!! Helen C Read on Patreon!

 This is something I've been considering for a while...and now HERE IT IS!   :) 

The Art Adventure

Why have I created this on Patreon?  For several reasons:
As a busy artist, I need to this... I need time to just play. To explore. To experiment. To make whimsical creations.  It's renewing and ... well,  fun!  

I also need to be connected with other artists and those who are adventuresome, who like to try new things and see what happens.  

No matter what level of experience or the medium you most like ~ maybe for the person just starting out, or like me, has a lot of experience.... this is a fun adventure in creating!  

I've taught fine art for many years, and now am a full time artist. There's something exciting and fun about working together - learning together - adventuring together. 

I'm uploading a video with ideas to explore and experiment with each month, as well as other fun surprises. I've created a private group where we can connect and share with one another what we are doing - encouragement and support are vital!
Together we'll uncover and develop our personal style or "voice". 

You can find out all about it here on Patreon.

You can join and see all the content with a 1 week Free membership,
Then, if this is right for you, it's $5/mo ... that's it!  And, of course, you can easily cancel at any time.
$5 a month is a great value!  To get new ideas, to have friends to share with, and to grow your creative style!  Join us there - Let's adventure together! 

July is Give-Away month!

 

This lovely little original oil painting is going to one of my friends in July!  It could be you! 

Just check my July newsnote (sending on July 5th) for all the details about how to enter to win it!
It measures 3x3" and has a magnetic backing... perfect for a metallic surface or a small easel for a shelf. 

OH, if you don't get my 1x a month note... it's not too late! 
Sign up right here!

You'll only get 1 email each month from me - but it will be colorful and you'll get exclusive fun content only available to my email friends  (like a give away contest, or free downloadable art, or an exclusive discount).   Let's be friends!!

 

A Landscape Painting Exhibit - July 2023

 

Preparing an exhibit has taking up a good deal of my month of June!  But this 10 piece landscape exhibit is now up and ready to be viewed!  If you are local in Wheaton, IL, please stop in to see it!  It is displayed on the main floor of the library and will be there through the month of July.  

To see the pieces individually, please visit my website!  https://HelenCRead.com and go to the landscape section.

Tranquility

 Tranquility, 11x14" oil on canvas
Shown framed in a floating frame. 

There's something about being in nature - about the beauty, the colors, the sunlight... it is renewing.
This painting captures the essence of tranquility... a quiet peace, a place to renew. 

See more on this painting right here! 

 

Cantigny Tulips

 

Not far from where I live - these beautiful tulips are in full bloom. 
This only gives a glimpse of the acres of flowers tucked into a woodsy setting. 
This little plein air painting captures a moment between sunshine and shadow. 

See more of this painting on my website! 

It comes matted for an 8x10" frame
(framing options are available) 

Giclee print is also available:

Drying - not yet finished.

 

This is what has been on my easel this last week or so.  It's not quite finished.  Still drying - not yet titled. This is, I suppose, a progress report!   It measures 11x 14" and is painted with oil.  Adjustments are coming soon!  

Finally Finished!

 Sometimes, I find something stuck away ... something I started a long while ago and never finished.  

 Flowering Crabapple

That was the case with this small watercolor.  Just started and left unfinished.  I'm not even sure when I started it ~ it's been several years!  It was fun to add some more vivid color to the structure that was already there. 
 

Pen and Ink, Floral Bouquet

Pen and ink is such a wonderful medium.  I did this small drawing a few months ago preparing for a larger painting.  But - it had such a lovely feel just as a drawing.  Not being able to resist a little color, I added a light wash of watercolor in the background. 
 

Another Give Away Painting coming in April!

 

This colorful painting is going to be given away!   That's right!  Every few months I paint a small painting to give to one of my friends.  The details are all found in my monthly email newsletter.  I've sent my little free paintings (literally) around the country and around the world!  

All the details are in my newsletter, which will come out in the first few days of April.
Don't miss out on the colorful, fun and uplifting email I send.  Every month, there is something fun and exclusive ~ just for my friends!  (Like a give away, or free art to download, or a friends discount) 

Sign up here ~ Art Lover News

UPDATE!  This lovely little painting has found its new home in Texas!  

Rainbow Fields ~ Spring Celebration

A 2-part painting (Diptych) where much of my creative energy has gone in March! 

As I was working, that is the thought that came continually to mind - God's creation that "sings colorfully" each spring. New life in abundance! 

Each panel measures 14x11", and when seen as a diptych, the overall size is 14 x 22". Painted in oil paint, the painting is a memory-generated painting of the landscape I remember from my childhood in Texas.  It is in the spring when new life bursts forth in the beautiful colors of the rainbow. 

My process began with an underpainting and then I painted these panels simultaneously in order to achieve continuity.  The challenges included compositional questions.  How to make this work as a whole, and yet, each panel also work separately.  Color questions also presented themselves.  I worked with a limited palette, but I wanted to make my color bright and vivid without becoming garrish. Yet, even  when viewing the wildflowers in person, they are almost over the top in color vivacity!  

It is almost finished.  I still need to paint the sides so that the panels can be framed in a floating frame.  It will be posted on my website soon!  

Garden Jewels

 

Garden Jewels,
7x5" oil on panel
©Helen Read

 

The beautiful jewel tones of the garden are, to me, like gemstones!
They catch the light brilliantly and sparkle in the sunlight.
Add to that a lovely cobalt water jug and the whole arrangement glows!

This small painting captures the diversity of color, shape, and size that one might find in a flower garden
and brings it indoors to delight the viewer. 

 

Find out the information on this painting HERE! 

 

Floral Assortment

 

 Floral Assortment, 12 x 9" oil on panel
© Helen Read

There's no shortage of color in the floral world!  I'm thankful for that.
But, flowers fade and become only a memory.
Vibrant and brilliant, these flowers will not fade or fail to bring colorful cheer to the room.

They are ready to send to brighten any room where they are found.
Shown below framed in a solid wood frame in black.

Either framed or unframed, domestic shipping is included.
(IL residents please add 8% sales tax) 

See more of this painting at this link

Vivid Color

 Two New Paintings
Still Drying

This is the time of year - the long lasting dreary days of winter - when I long for bright and beautiful color.  There's no better place to find it than in flowers. But, at this time of year, they will be flowers purchased.  

Painting them is therapy.  And enjoying them between painting session is good for the soul!  

The top painting, still untitled, is 12x9" oil on panel.
The bottom painting is 7x5", oil on panel.

Both of these feature the bright and vivid colors that are so missing as winter lingers.
They will be ready for their new home as soon as they've dried.

Red White and Blue for Valentine's Day

 

This lovely watercolor, Red, White, and Blue, is part of my 2023 Valentine's Suite.  Flowers have long been associated with love and Valentine's Day, but they fade and wither after a few days.  How about giving a gift of love that never fades!  

Just through Valentine's Day, this new original watercolor painting is available at 45% off what it will be after Valentine's Day!  There's still time to send it out to arrive for the 14th, if ordered quickly.  

It is sold unframed, but matted as shown.  The painting measures 5x7" and is matted for a standard  8x10" frame.  Oh, and domestic shipping is always included!  

Visit here to see the painting and it's Valentine's Day discount! 

Passionate About Pink?

This lovely watercolor, Garden Pinks, is part of my 2023 Valentine's Suite.  Flowers have long been associated with love and Valentine's Day, but they fade and wither after a few days.  How about giving a gift of love that never fades!  

Just through Valentine's Day, this new original watercolor painting is available at 45% off what it will be after Valentine's Day!  There's still time to send it out to arrive for the 14th, if ordered quickly.  

It is sold unframed, but matted as shown.  The painting measures 5x7" and is matted for a standard  8x10" frame.  Oh, and domestic shipping is always included!  

Visit here to see the painting and it's Valentine's Day discount! 

 

Daisies - Speaking Love with Flowers!

 

 

This lovely watercolor, Daisies in Lavender, is part of my 2023 Valentine's Suite.  Flowers have long been associated with love and Valentine's Day, but they fade and wither after a few days.  How about giving a gift of love that never fades!  

Just through Valentine's Day, this new original watercolor painting is available at 45% off what it will be after Valentine's Day!  There's still time to send it out to arrive for the 14th, if ordered quickly.  

It is sold unframed, but matted as shown.  The painting measures 5x7" and is matted for a standard  8x10" frame.  Oh, and domestic shipping is always included!  

Visit here to see the painting and it's Valentine's Day discount! 

Distant Mist Watercolor

Distant Mist, watercolor on paper

(Shown framed in a solid wood frame w/cherry finish.)

To see all the info for this painting, please visit my website.

Winter doesn't mean snow everywhere!  In fact, this winter has been quite mild.
We usually have snow on the ground from late November until February or March.  Not this year! 

And there are some trees that don't shed their green leaves until spring.
In the case of this painting, it is live oak trees.  The rest of the woods is brown, the grasses are dry and brittle, but live oak trees remain green a little while longer.  

This painting depicts that chilly wintery mist that can descend in December and January.
It measures 5x7" and is matted to fit an 8x10" frame. 

 

Working with Color

 COLOR!

 Getting familiar with colors within a palette. 

An exercise to understand the characteristics of different colors within a color family.
Even though I have worked with color for decades, I continually have more to learn!
This is an exercise that brings more understanding to the variety of color within a single color family. 

Get more tips on painting and drawing:  HelenCReadArt.com

Along the Canal

 

Still drying on my easel, this painting is about to be completed.  It's been a journey outside my comfort zone, using a very intense color of rose for the underpainting.  Working with that undertone to provide warmth. but challenging to also give a sense of daylight waning.    

My inspiration/reference photo came from an early evening walk along a canal in Idaho.  It's interesting to me that much of farming there (not at all like here in the midwest where I live) is dependent on the canals along the fields to water and irrigate.  There was a pathway alongside, which really was a little bigger than a foot path.  

Color is an area where I'm exploring and growing artistically.  I've gotten a little bored with my very faithful to nature color use, and found that using brighter, more vibrant color is exciting to my eye.

Nest Eggs Giclee Prints

Now Available!

Beautiful Giclee prints with several options!  

I've had a number of requests for a print of this original oil painting, Nest Eggs. And now it is available in several sizes, with several options including sizes, print surface, framed or unframed.  Follow the links below for more information and pricing.

Giclee printing is state of the art professional printing done on archival surfaces with archival inks. The print has beautiful color and the texture of the surface creates a very close likeness to the original.  In fact, it may be difficult to tell that it is a print!  If the framed option is chosen, it will come ready to hang. If the unframed option is chosen, it will come ready to drop into your frame!
Prints are a wonderful way to add fine art to your home at a very affordable price, well below that of the original.

• 8x10" printed on canvas, giving it the authentic texture of canvas.
  Framing option - solid wood (walnut) frame that measures 1.25" across the face
  or
  Unframed option  - the canvas print is mounted on an art board and ready to drop into
  your own 8x10" frame
  See more here. 

• 10x 12" printed on canvas, giving it the authentic texture of canvas
  Framing option - solid wood (walnut) frame that measures 1.25" across the face
  or
  Unframed option  - the canvas print is mounted on an art board and ready to drop into
  your own 10x12" frame
  See more here.
  
  
• 14x16" The image is 10x12" printed on canvas textured paper and matted in silver-gray for a 14x16" size frame.
  Framing option - 14x16" solid wood (walnut) frame that measures 1.25" across the face
  It also comes with premium acrylic glazing.
  or
  Unframed option  - the canvas print is matted and has a light weight art board backing. It is ready to drop into your own 14x16" frame
  See more here.
  
  All pricing includes domestic shipping.  IL residents, please add 8% sales tax.