Wildflowers - finished

Wildflowers   9x6" oil on gessoboard 

©Helen Read 

It all started with a wander through the woods on a beautiful sunny day.  It's one of those moments of renewal that I often take time to do.  Along the trail, this was the moment that most stood out to me as a surprise greeting - an array of sunny yellow wildflowers blithely dancing on the breeze.  They seemed to literally glow as the sunlight cast it's beautiful golden light, while the darker backdrop of the woods gave them even more definition.

This kind of unexpected surprise is what makes landscape painting so compelling to me - it transports me into the beauty and joy of God's creation.  It seems to me that He has shared something special as a personal gift! 

To see the beginning stages of this painting in video format of this painting, please click here. 

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Just a start! Wildflowers

 

Just getting started on a new landscape! 

I thought you might like to see the first sitting (in 4x speed!) 

Kinda fun to watch it get a start.   I'm painting on gessoboard with transparent oil paints to start - later when the first layer has been laid in, I'll add opaque paints.  

Of course, there's more to be done on this!  So check back later this week and see the final result!   

 

Congratulations! A winner in Texas!

The Fledgling,  3x3 oil on canvas
©Helen Read

The March contest winner of this little mini painting lives in Texas! 
How exciting!   In just a few days this little guy will be winging his way south to a new home. 
Included in that package will be a small easel for display in a bookshelf or a desk top. 
I love painting these little gems and giving them to my friends, which I do every few months.

It's easy to participate in my contests; when you get my newsletter at the beginning of the month, the details are found there!   Each & every month, I give my newsletter friends something special.  It might be a contest for a free painting, discounts on original work, a free download or some other surprise! You'll also get a peek at the newest work from my studio and news from my house to yours.   It's a great way to stay in touch!  

Now, you're wondering how to join my email list! 
It's easy... click the button below and that's about it!  You'll be getting a newsletter near the beginning of each month.  So, join the fun ~ I'd love to have you among my friends!  

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Flowers for Spring!

It's SPRING TIME! 
and I need to do a little spring cleaning...
I have a few beautiful flower paintings that haven't found their home yet

So, through the month of March, I'm offering the ones you see below  @ 25% savings from their usual selling price. 
Plant your garden!
Right in your own home for year round color!

Coneflower, 5x7" oil on canvas
Painted around sides - no need to frame
©Helen Read

Front and Center - Coneflower -  8x8" Oil on canvas
Painted around sides - no need to frame
©Helen Read

Coneflower 2,  7x5" oil on canvas
Painted around sides - no need to frame
©Helen Read

The above 3 Coneflower paintings can make a beautiful grouping,

_______________________________________________________

Winter Blooms, 8x10" oil on canvas
ready to frame
©Helen Read

Spring Tulips,  12x9" oil on gesso board
Ready to Frame
©Helen Read

Poppies in Bloom, 6x12" oil on gesso board
Ready to Frame
©Helen Read 

And... While you are here, 
don't go without joining my email list! 
Every month, you'll get a newsletter where I send out special discounts, offers, give-away contests, and freebies
 - but only to my email list friends... it's super easy & lots of fun!

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Scent-sational!

Scentsational,  8x8" oil on gessoboard

©Helen Read

The beautiful rose, by any other name...  would still be just as challenging to paint!
I love roses with all their twists and turns and spiraling shapes that have many changes in color and value.
Painting them presents a challenge though. Depicting their intricacies with various tints and shades of paint requires great observation and a little bit of invention!

 I hope you can almost smell their fragrance, as you look down into this arrangement of long stemmed pink roses,
carnations, and baby's breath.

This little detail show the brushstrokes and texture incorporated into the painting, as well as a few of the subtle
colors that are visible upon closer inspection.
And though it comes unframed, this is what it might look like with a simple black frame:

Colorful and cheerful - a visual reminder that spring is on it's way!

What space at your house needs a little floral cheer!? 
(this beautiful floral could be on it's way to you right away!)

Oh, and let me remind you - my newsletter is on it's way out!  Maybe you didn't know, but each month I send a newsletter, which is so much more than news!    In it are discounts, give away opportunities, free gifts, and news about the latest happenings in my studio and sphere.  It's easy to sign up... just hit the button below and you're in!

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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! 
  
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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.

Valentine Roses

Valentine Roses,  9x6" oil on gesso board
©2018 Helen Read 

SOLD 
 
Just in time!  Give the timeless, fadeless gift of flowers for Valentine's Day!   Nothing says "love" as universally as red roses.  And these beautiful colors are only enriched by the deep and alluring blue which holds them!
The impressionistic approach and the clear transparent colors exude soft romance! 
Still drying, but will be ready to send in time for Valentine's Day! 

Winter Glow

Winter Glow, 7x5" oil on gessoboard
©2018 Helen Read 

Ready to frame

SOLD

January can feel like such a long stretch of gray gloominess.  This is the time of year when Color Therapy is required!   And what is more colorful than a gathering of vivid color?!
To restore the spirit and revive the heart - this little jar is bursting with beautiful blooms.

This painting is done with impressionistic brushstrokes and colors that vibrate with one another.
Truly a small gem! 
Go ahead!  It's easy - just a click away and this beautiful burst of color can be hanging on your wall! 

His Eye on the Sparrow

His Eye on the Sparrow, 4x6" watercolor/ink on paper 

matted to fit 8x10" frame

©2018 Helen Read

SOLD

Even in the bleakness of winter, the sparrows flit and sing their songs.   I can't imagine how they find enough to eat but, their provision is given.  This becomes a personal lesson in trust.  Even these tiny birds - not particularly noticeable - really quite ordinary, are cared for day by day throughout the year by their Creator.  Their needs are met even on the coldest, bleakest days.
The old spiritual song, His Eye is on the Sparrow, comes to mind.  I remember my mother singing it when I was young, and it is a wonderful, comforting reminder  of who is caring for and watching over me.

Why should I feel discouraged,
Why should the shadows come,
Why should my heart be lonely,
And long for heaven, heaven and home,
When, Jesus is my portion,
My constant Friend is He;
Oh,  his eye is on the sparrow,
And I know He watches me.

Winter in the Midwest

Winter Twilight,  24x36" Oil on canvas 

©Helen Read 

Weather here in northern Illinois can be so changeable!  Today, the temperatures are in the middle 40s, which is more than 50˚ warmer than it was a week ago!!   Even though it's January, and we have snow on the ground, which melts and then falls again, I'm more than ready for spring.  I miss getting out to wander through God's beautiful creation.  I miss the inspiration it brings to my spirit and to my creativity.  

This painting, Winter Twilight, was begun in January during a winter warm up.  Because of it's size, it took a number of weeks to complete.  But, it reveals what our January weather often looks like - patches of snow, shades of browns and gray, bare branches and quiet water ~ and a lovely silence with only the occasional bird call.   An opportunity for reflection and forward thinking into the new year.  That's what I'm doing this January;  thinking forward into the new year!  I'm excited about what may come off my easel, and how I can connect and offer value to my friends!  May it be a productive and fun-filled year!  Cheers!! 

Happy New Year, Friends!

January has arrived with lots of COLD, cold weather this year!   I hope your new year has started well!  

One of the things on my "to do list" for 2018 is to continue to send out great newsletters each month...
My newsletter is where you get something great each month - something only available through my newsletter list. 

Sometimes, I have a contest for a free painting!  I give limited time discounts on paintings and original art.  I also have free downloads that you can print and personalize or frame.    I want my newsletters to be fun and interesting, inspiring and have something of value.  

This month's newsletter, which will be coming out in a couple days, will have a downloadable page for you to print and personalize as well as a great discount!   So, use the button below to get your name on my list so we can stay connected! 

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