New Work

I haven't been blogging much, but I have been painting quite a bit lately (yay!) Here is some of my recent work -

 "A Summer Day on Lake Pepin" - Watercolor and PanPastel (9 by 12)

 "Butterfly in Spring" - Watercolor (8 by 10)

"Sunset Petals" - Watercolor (5 by 7)

 "Fly II" - Watercolor (5 by 7)

"Mr. Kitty" - Watercolor (5 by 7) (My first animal/pet in watercolor!)

Untitled - Watercolor and PanPastel (5 by 7)

Some of these paintings are available in my Etsy shop and the others are just practice. If you'd like to keep up with my work, please follow me on Instagram - @angelasexpressions

Hope you all had a great weekend! xoxo

Remembrance V

For the past five years I have been painting an American flag in honor of the anniversary of September 11th. This is appropriately called "Remembrance V," done in watercolor. I hope you will keep those affected by the tragedy in your thoughts and prayers today. 

New Painting!

If you can believe it, I just finished a new watercolor painting! It's called "Almost There." This is my first watercolor painting in over a year, which is completely ridiculous. School keeps me so busy that there isn't much time for anything else but I've been trying to paint for at least an hour a day. I also recently finished a new miniature watercolor. It was a fun challenge. :)

I've been posting quite a bit to my Instagram page (@angelasexpressions) if you want to see more. :) Hope you all are well!!

Remembrance IV

"Remembrance IV" - Original Pastel Painting, size 5 by 7

I know I haven't posted a new blog post in ages, but I wouldn't miss my annual painting for the anniversary of September 11th. As you can tell from the name, this is the 4th year that I've done an American flag painting in remembrance of that life-changing day. 

I hope you will keep all of those directly affected by the tragedies that day in your thoughts and prayers today. 

Sale Item for the Week

"Purple Whimsy" is this week's sale item on Etsy. Regularly $75 plus shipping but this week it's only $60 with free priority mail shipping. 

Have a great week!

Blooming White Rose

"Blooming White Rose" 8 by 10, Original Watercolor Painting

 

My latest watercolor painting is this beautiful white rose. I was drawn to the photo because of the contrast of the white flower and dark background, and shadows. I just loved everything about it, and I'm very happy with the way it turned out.

 

 It's available for purchase in my Etsy shop if anyone is interested.

 

Have a great weekend!

Purple Whimsy

"Purple Whimsy" 5 by 7, Original Watercolor Painting

 

"Purple Whimsy" is my latest painting. I originally thought the flower was a Cosmo, but now I'm not sure. In any case I was drawn to the photograph I used as a reference because of the soft purple petals. It was just so beautiful.

 

This painting is available for purchase in my Etsy shop if anyone is interested.

 

Have a great week!

May Lily

"May Lily" 5 by 7, Original Watercolor Painting

 

I finally got a good scan of this painting. I used my new light tent and I think I like it. I did a comparison between the light tent and the scanner. For making reproduction prints, the light tent is definitely the best.

 

This painting is available for purchase in my Etsy shop if anyone is interested.

 

Next, I think I'm going to work on some larger paintings. Maybe 16 by 20? Should be fun! :)

 



New Scripture Paintings

 "Fruit of the Spirit"

"Psalm 139:14"

 

I know there is nothing complicated at all about these scripture paintings, but I'm having a lot of fun with them. Doing the lettering, and masking it out is incredibly tedious, but I'm loving the outcome. "Fruit of the Spirit" is 12 by 16, and "Psalm 139:14" is 11 by 14. I want to do some even larger.

 

I was inspired to do these paintings from a love of wood signs done in a similar style. I was looking into making my own signs (which I still may do at some point) but got the idea to do paintings instead. I just love them. And they look spectacular framed. So, they can be more of an elegant addition to home decor, compared to a wood sign. It just all depends on what style you like.

 

Here's an example of one I framed for myself:

 

Anyway, I have prints available of all 3 of these paintings, and I will list some originals soon. I may even take some custom orders.

 

Hope you're having a great week!



Remembrance III

"Remembrance III" Pastel Painting, Size 5 by 7

 

Starting with the 10th anniversary of 9 -11, I have completed a "Remembrance" painting each year. I barely made it, but I was able to complete another one this year. I don't know about you, but the anniversary of 9 -11 is always a somber day for me. I can't help but go back to where I was when I heard the news (in my senior year of high school, in advanced biology class). My heart also aches for all of those who lost loved ones, or even survived the attack. I couldn't help but notice how little news coverage is being given to the ceremonies today. The more time that goes by, the less people seem to reflect on that day that changed our country in such a significant way. They will all be in my prayers today.



New Watercolors

I've been having some fun with some new watercolors. I was somewhat inspired by all these wooden signs I saw on a recent trip to Duluth.

 A few watercolor cards I did to test out my new ideas. I may put some of these on Etsy.

I absolutely LOVE this painting! It's one of my favorite verses and I'm just so pleased with the way it turned out. Honestly, it doesn't look good on here at all. It was tough to take a good picture and then change the colors to get it to look as close to the original as possible (original watercolor paintings, or paintings in general, always look a lot better in person). This painting is 11 by 14, and I painted it for myself but I might make prints. I may even do another one to sell.

 

For a long time now I've been planning to make embroidered wall hangings with scripture, but I think I like this idea a lot better. Any excuse to paint. :)

 

I realize that this new style of work isn't exactly complicated or even considered "fine art," but I don't care. I really enjoy producing these types of paintings, and am happy to bring glory to God through my work. After all, this is a gift given to me by Him, no matter how small it might be. You can be sure to see many more of these in the future. :)

 

Have a great weekend!

Back in Bloom

"Back in Bloom" Original Watercolor, 5 by 7

 

If you can even believe it, I've finished a new watercolor painting! I started it about a week ago, and forgot to post a WIP photos. I thought I would ease back into painting slowly with a small piece (5 by 7) and with a subject that I'm comfortable with (flowers of course). I had so much fun working on this, even though I was slightly worried that it would be a disaster and that all my painting skills have gone out the window. I'm rather pleased with the way it turned out though. The pencil lines are a little dark though, and because of the fixative I used, I couldn't erase them. Oh well, now I know for next time. :)

 

This painting is available on Etsy if anyone is interested.

 

I hope you all had a great weekend!

Duluth Rose Garden

This past weekend my husband and I took a day trip to Duluth. I had never been there before, but my husband was sure I would love it. I did a little research and learned that they had a rose garden, so I definitely wanted to check that out. It was gorgeous! Because of my love of flowers, it felt like heaven on earth... I could have stayed there forever. These are a few photos I took:

 

I could easily have spent hours there taking pictures. I think I'm absolutely going to make a trip there every summer to take pictures. You can never have too many! I'm feeling very inspired to paint after visiting such a beautiful place, so hopefully I can do that pretty soon.

 

I hope you're having a great week! God bless!



New Toy

I was so excited to receive this Artograph LED 300 Digital Projector today! It's a very belated graduation present from my husband. I never thought I would be interested in a projector, but this one is great! Because it's digital, it can be hooked up to the computer, ipad, smartphones and flashdrives. I've been wanting to start painting larger, and I think this will really help. I can use my smaller drawings to create larger pieces. Of course I can also project my photographs. What I really love about this projector, aside from the fact that it's digital, is that it can be used in daylight. Many projectors only work in complete darkness. This projector will also project movies and play music. I have yet to actually play around with it, but I'm excited to see what it can really do, and how it will aid me in my work. :)

 

I hope you're having a great day!

Cheesecake Anyone?

"Drizzle" 5 by 7, Original Pastel Painting

 

 

This week's sale item on Etsy is this original pastel painting, Drizzle. It's $10 off with free shipping.

 

It feels like ages since I last blogged... School has been keeping me incredibly busy, plus my brother and sister were visiting this past week. Time to get back in the swing of things.

 

Have a great week!

Bleeding Hearts

"My Bleeding Heart" is my sale item of the week on Etsy. It's $15 off and shipping is free! (For the U.S. only please).

 

I hope you all have a lovely week!

Available Kitties

I'm not quite sure how it happened, especially with all my kitty collectors out there, but I still have 5 original kitties left.

 

"A Visitor"

"Bird Watching"

"Can You See Me?"

"Hiding Spot"

"In the Garden"

 

Each of these paintings are size 5 by 7 and are done in pastel, which means they will last a very long time (longer than an oil or watercolor). I hope someone can give these kitties a home! :)

 

Have a lovely weekend! God Bless!

"New" Original Paintings For Sale

"Sunset Beach" 11 by 14 Original Pastel

 

"Sunset Pier" 11 by 14 Original Pastel

 

I made the decision to put these two original pastel paintings up for sale. I painted them for myself a couple years ago and have had them in my private collection. I hope that someone will fall in love with them and hopefully purchase them as a set. They go quite nicely together.

 

I hope you all have a great weekend!

Remembrance II

"Remembrance II" - Pastel Painting, Size 5 by 7

 

Today we remember the tragic events that took place on this day 11 years ago. Do you remember what you were doing when you first heard? I bet you do. I was in 2nd hour, Advanced Biology class, my senior year. We spent the rest of the day watching the news. It was this event that fueled my desire to join the military.

 

Last year I painted "Remembrance" in honor of the 10th anniversary. I think I may paint one every year.

 

Please keep those affected in your thoughts and prayers today.

Heidi - Custom Pet Portrait

"Heidi" - Custom Pet Portrait in Pastel

I've been working on this cute pet portrait for the past few days. Luckily the customer supplied me with a great reference photo (which makes my job a lot easier). It was a pleasure to paint this beautiful dog. I did tweak the painting a bit after scanning it, but you get the general idea.

The customer actually commissioned me to do 2 pet portraits so I am starting the second one today. Another beautiful Golden Retriever.

I hope you have a great week! Please send me your good vibes, I have an interview for an internship on Thursday! :)