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Showing posts with label gift. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gift. Show all posts

Still Life with Tart Cherries and Silver Creamer (with Self Portrait Reflection)


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If you look closely, in the creamer you can see my self-portrait reflection. Here are a bunch of my paintings with self portrait reflections. These cherries and this creamer were given to me as a gift -- follow that link to see some of my still life paintings that were inspired by the generosity of others.

"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them." ~Thoreau

If you enjoy this painting, you may also like to see Still Life with Cherries and Silver Creamer (with Self Portrait Reflection) (2022), or a bunch of my paintings of cherries or this creamer.

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Tart Cherries in a Silver Compote



These cherries were given to me as a gift -- follow that link to see some of my still life paintings that were inspired by the generosity of others.

"My work is loving the world.
Here the sunflowers, there the hummingbird—
equal seekers of sweetness.
Here the quickening yeast; there the blue plums.
Here the clam deep in the speckled sand.
 
Are my boots old? Is my coat torn?
Am I no longer young, and still not half-perfect? Let me
keep my mind on what matters,
which is my work,
 
which is mostly standing still and learning to be
astonished.
The phoebe, the delphinium.
The sheep in the pasture, and the pasture.
Which is mostly rejoicing, since all the ingredients are here,
 
which is gratitude, to be given a mind and a heart
and these body-clothes,
a mouth with which to give shouts of joy
to the moth and the wren, to the sleepy dug-up clam,
telling them all, over and over, how it is
that we live forever."
~ Messenger by Mary Oliver

If you enjoy this painting, you may also like to see Strawberries in a Silver Compote (with Snow Reflections) (2018) or a bunch of my paintings of cherries or this silver compote.

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Hand-picked Apple with Leaves

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This apple was given to me as a gift -- follow that link to see some of my still life paintings that were inspired by the generosity of others.

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Still Life of Peonies in a Silver Pitcher (with Self-Portrait Reflection) (larger painting)

Still Life of Peonies in a Silver Pitcher (with Self-Portrait Reflection)
oil on linen on panel, 2022, 12"x9"
Private Collection

If you look closely, in the silver you can see my reflection and my hand & paintbrush reaching towards my easel. Here are a bunch of my paintings with self portrait reflections. Also, this silver pitcher and the peonies were given to me as gifts (from different people) -- follow that link to see some of my still life paintings that were inspired by the generosity of others.

If you like instagram, follow me @abbeyryan8 to see the #mindfulstudiopractice poetry and photos I share, in addition to my paintings. On facebook, find me here.

If you enjoy this painting, you may also like to see Still Life with Pink Peony Buds (2021), Still Life with Pink Peonies in a Silver Cup (2020), or a bunch of my paintings of flowers.

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Blue Skies Reflected in Brandy Snifter (present moment)


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Looking closely, you can see my reflection in the glass. Here are a bunch of my paintings with self portrait reflections. Also, this brandy snifter was given to me as a gift -- follow that link to see some of my still life paintings that were inspired by the generosity of others.

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Still Life with Persimmon and Temmoku Bottle (+ Upcoming Live Demo)


Live Painting Demo - Tuesday, Dec. 1
If you're interested, I’m planning to conduct my free December 1 live painting demo from my studio. I will start painting around noon ET and I'll finish my painting by about 2pm. You can tune in (and ask questions in the livestream chat) by clicking this link: [arcadia.edu/UKnightedLivePaint]. If you're new to my blog, you can read more about why I do live demos here. To find out more, sign up.


This persimmon was a gift to me. #gifts #grateful. Follow this link to see more of my still life paintings that were inspired by generous gifts from people in my life.

If you enjoy this painting, you may also like to see Still Life with Figs, Bleu Cheese, and Temmoku Bottle (the light, the shade) (2013), Still Life with Peeled Lemon and Temmoku Bottle (2010), or my other paintings of this handmade bottle made by Sequoia Miller. #potsinaction

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Hand-picked Apple with Leaves (Sept 30, 2020)

 

If you're interested, the auction for my painting, Still Life with Scarlet Runner Beans and Glass Bottle (A Meditation on 13 Years), ends soon at 7:20pm ET. 

#gifts #grateful. Follow this link to see more of my still life paintings that were inspired by generous gifts from people in my life.

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Still Life with Scarlet Runner Beans and Glass Bottle (A Meditation on 13 Years)


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A Meditation for 13 Years
A Meditation on 13 Years

Today marks 13 years since I began making paintings for this blog. You can read some of my writings on this date in past years here. This blog has made my painting practice public, but for me, my daily paintings are intensely personal and my practice is a mindfulness meditation. Through my work, I hope to share with you a sense of awe and wonder I feel about beauty that is all around us in our daily lives. In a small way, I hope my work might awaken the same thing in you. P.S. These beans were another gift from my neighbors. #gifts #grateful

If you enjoy this painting, you may also like to see my other "anniversary" paintings or a bunch of my paintings of glass bottles.

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Hand-picked Apple with Four Leaves


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This hand-picked apple was a gift from our amazing neighbors. #gifts #grateful. Follow this link to see some of my still life paintings that were inspired by generous gifts from people I know.

If you enjoy this painting, you may also like to see a bunch of my paintings of apples. 

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Still Life with Peach, Antique Silver Teapot, and Bird's Egg


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 All of the subjects in this painting were a gift! This elegant silver teapot, a wonderful gift from my mother-in-law, has a neat story:

"Part of the Hopkins family saga: Granny T. rode the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad often between Philly and Baltimore. One hundred years ago, G. H. Thomson bought this silver plated pot as a memento of the days when railroads had elegant dining cars with heavy white tablecloths. The Baltimore and Ohio R.R. was selling off items because they no longer had the fancy dining car. It holds a cup and a half of tea water."

If you enjoy this painting, you may also like to see peach, bleu cheese, bosc pear, and five blackberries (the light, the shade), Self-portrait in a Blue Vase with Italian Plums, Peach, and Eucalyptus, 12x24", Two Hand-picked Peaches with Leaves, or a bunch of my paintings of bird's eggs.

P.S. I'm excited to share that I will soon be announcing details for a new last minute 1-day workshop in beautiful Boothbay Harbor, Maine. It will be on Saturday, August 4th. Contact abbeyryanworkshops@gmail.com if you'd like priority registration.

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To purchase my work, view my Current Auctions and All Available Paintings.

Thanks in advance,

Still Life with Cigar and Silver Cup


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This cigar is a gift (on loan) from a friend and it's handmade by Ashton in the Dominican Republic. Silver, gold, and nickel are also important exports from the Dominican Republic. #gifts #grateful. Follow this link to see some of my still life paintings that were inspired by generous gifts from people I know.

If you enjoy this painting, you may also like to see some of my other paintings of cigars or silver items.

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To purchase my work, view my Current Auctions and All Available Paintings.

Thanks in advance,

Apple with Honeycomb on Silver Plate (+ exhibition details)



This honeycomb was a beautiful gift from our same neighbors who gave me the eggs in my recent Still Life with Copper Bowl and Three Eggs (Homage to Chardin, 1732). #gifts #grateful Follow this link to see some of my still life paintings that were inspired by the generosity of others. If you enjoy this painting, you may also like to see some of my other paintings of silver items.

Click for larger view
Current Exhibition Details
(in press release format)

abbey ryan: the light / the shade
Arcadia University
Harrison Gallery, University Commons 
April 16 – June 16, 2018

A gallery talk by the artist will be held on April 19, 2018 in the Harrison Gallery beginning at 4:00 PM with a reception to follow.

GLENSIDE, Pa. — Arcadia University’s Art Research Collaboration (ARC) Exhibition Program is pleased to present “abbey ryan: the light / the shade,” an exhibition of recent paintings on display from April 16 through June 16, 2018 in the Harrison Gallery on the first level of the University Commons.

For Ryan, an associate professor at Arcadia and 2003 alumna of the University recognized for her daily practice of painting, this exhibition of 14 landscapes and still lifes in oil on linen represents the culmination of a 2017 research excursion to the Greek island of Patmos. This remote destination, known for its pure light, harsh terrain, and lack of shade, served as the longtime home of the American poet Robert Lax (1915-2000), whose singular form of minimalist poetry and seemingly solitary existence inspired Ryan to start the light / the shade series in 2012.

Executed either during Ryan’s travels, or inspired by her related research, these post-card sized images depict native fish and fruit as well as island views, some reflected in or framed by windows and doors. Acute to the paradoxes of illumination and rendered in an economical but expressive hand, the paintings are presented alongside passages from Lax’s book-length poem the light / the shade (1989) set in grey type adhered to walls painted deep blue. Distinguished by their vertical format in which each line is comprised of a single syllable, these short texts parse language into its elemental components to explore contrasts regarding light and time, seeing and being. They are simultaneously abstract and descriptive, visual and verbal. The resulting connections established between these meditative paintings and poems are further supported by a network of personal and historic associations.

Ryan’s research was undertaken as Arcadia’s first recipient of the Dr. Norman Johnston Faculty Fellowship in the Humanities and Social Sciences awarded by Arcadia University to encourage talented and dedicated faculty members to excel in research in the humanities and social sciences and to share their scholarship with the University community. Dr. Johnston’s work on the evolution of prison architecture, specifically his study of monastic life as a model for solitary confinement, also informed Ryan’s project.

On April 19, 2018 at 4:00 PM, Ryan will give a talk in the exhibition space which will encompass the creation of the paintings in the show, her experiences on Patmos, as well as elaborating further on her views concerning the connections between Lax’s writings, Johnston’s research, and her own artistic practice. A reception will follow immediately afterwards in the Harrison Gallery.

The exhibition and the lecture are free and open to the public.

“abbey ryan: the light / the shade” was curated by Matthew Borgen and was made possible by a donation from Theresa and John Rollins. For more information about the exhibition, please contact the ARC Exhibition Program at (215) 5172629 or borgenm@arcadia.edu.

Gallery Hours: Monday – Friday 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, Saturday and Sunday 12:00 to 4:00 PM.

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To purchase my work, view my Current Auctions and All Available Paintings.

Thanks in advance,

Still Life with Copper Bowl and Three Eggs (Homage to Chardin, 1732)


Still Life with Copper Bowl and Three Eggs (Homage to Chardin, 1732), oil on linen on panel, 8x10"
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These three eggs (and feather) were a gift from our neighbors who have chickens. In warm weather, their chickens often roam free and sometimes wander into our backyard. When my window is open, I can hear them scratching around for bugs all the way up on the third floor.

This painting composition is an homage to Jean Siméon Chardin and his still life from 1732, in the collection of the Detroit Institute of Arts. From the DIA website: "Chardin was already famous by 1730 when he started painting small still lifes of kitchen utensils. In this work, the artist pared down the elements to a few, simple objects. Chardin typically used the same elements in other compositions, varying slightly the position of the objects or adding or subtracting a utensil. Hailed as a visionary artist, Chardin is nonetheless rooted in the art of eighteenth-century France, and the metaphysical quality of his compositions (as seen through modern eyes) does not mean that they are timeless. They bring the viewer instead into an earthly world and into the creative process of one of the greatest French painters of all time."

If you enjoy this painting, you may also like to see Still Life with Copper Pot and Pears (the light, the shade), other paintings I've done of copper objects and eggs, or a bunch of my paintings of gifts that have been given to me.

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To purchase my work, view my Current Auctions and All Available Paintings.

Best,

Sunset Reflected in Brandy Snifter (present moment)



Today's painting gives a bit more of a glimpse of the view out my new studio window. If you enjoy this painting, you may also like to see other paintings from my "present moment" series. Also, this brandy snifter was given to me as a gift -- follow that link to see some of my still life paintings that were inspired by the generosity of others.

If you enjoy this painting, you may also like to see paintings from my "present moment" series, or some other paintings of sunsets, Schuylkill River Reflections at Sunset (2009), or a bunch of my paintings of things that were given to me.

Auction ends tomorrow:

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To purchase my work, view my Current Auctions and All Available Paintings.

Best,

Still Life with Tangerine and Sugar Bowl (magic is still possible) (+ "Truth" an amazing video about artist Mario Robinson)



I shared last April about artist Mario Robinson's new book, Lessons in Realistic Watercolor. I am a huge fan of Mario's work -- he is a contemporary master in every sense of the word. Brass Brothers Films recently produced a wonderful new short film, Truth, about Mario Robinson's creative life. When the film was debuted, it was given the distinction of a "Staff Pick" by Vimeo and has been viewed almost 200,000 times. I highly recommend taking 9 minutes and 12 seconds out of your day to watch it.

Some of my favorite things that Mario shares in the film are:
"...A quiet style of art in this contemporary era is attractive to people." 
"...If someone is taking it serious, and actually devoting their life to it.... it's contagious. When a person re-discovers their artistic path, art actually enriches their soul. I can see it in their faces." 
"...It becomes bigger because of the passion that I put into it. It's infectious. When I show up, it's bigger than what I'm actually doing. It's the totality of everything. So, that's why you can't give up. Because eventually it will be a tidal wave, and it will overtake everything in its wake." [Watch film here]
About this painting
This is my third painting in my "Magic is still possible" series. (If you're interested, in the painting is a "Homer Laughlin Virginia Rose China" sugar bowl, given to me by my mom about ten years ago. This is my first time painting it.) Since March 2015, I've been working on a series of paintings to celebrate "Magic is still possible," the quote on my July 2014 free poster that comes from a great slideshow narrated by Marco Leona, chief scientist at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. In it, Leona shares his perspective on the role of magic in the creation of art.

If you enjoy this painting, you may also like to see a bunch of my paintings of tangerines or ceramic (not-quite-handmade-pottery) objects.

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To purchase my work, view my Current Auctions and All Available Paintings.

Best,


P.S. I have had some questions coming in about my 3 new email lists (daily, weekly, or monthly): Be sure to sign up for only one of the email lists. If you do not want to miss my painting auctions, the daily email is your best bet (sent 3-4 times a week). The weekly and monthly email lists are likely better for folks who are not interested in purchasing my work via auctions. Click here to choose your preferred email list to get exactly what you want (or don't want). If you've already subscribed: check your email today -- you can change your preferred email list by clicking on the "Update Profile" link at the bottom of every email I send.

Oyster (+ Annie Dillard's impossible pages)



For his contributions at the NYTimes, I always really enjoy Sam Anderson's work, and earlier this year he published a great piece in the New York Times Magazine entitled "Annie Dillard’s Impossible Pages: Three early and unpublished works by the author of Pilgrim at Tinker Creek." If you haven't sought it out, there's a classic and wonderful chapter about "Seeing" in Pilgrim at Tinker Creek ("a long nonfictional account of her experience embedding, Thoreau-style, for a year of close observation of the titular waterway in Virginia.") Here's the beginning of Anderson's article:

"It’s unclear what to call Annie Dillard, where to shelve her. Over more than 40 years, she has been, sometimes all at once, a poet, essayist, novelist, humorist, naturalist, critic, theologian, collagist and full-throated singer of mystic incantations. Instead of being any particular kind of writer, she is, flagrantly, a consciousness — an abstract, all-encompassing energy field that inhabits a given piece of writing the way sunlight clings to a rock: delicately but with absolute force, always leaving a shadow behind. This is an essential part of what it means to be human, this shifting between the transcendent self and the contingent world, the ecstasy and the dental bill. We all do some version of it, all the time. But Dillard does it more insistently...." [Keep reading]

Auction ending soon at 2 PM EST:
Still Life with Blood Orange Slices

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Best,

Oyster with Lemon (+ the David's ankles)



If you're interested, in this recent New York Times Magazine article, "David’s Ankles: How Imperfections Could Bring Down the World’s Most Perfect Statue," journalist Sam Anderson talks about his obsession with the flaws, reproductions and potential collapse of Michelangelo’s masterpiece. [Keep reading.]

By the way, this oyster was a gift, and I forgot to mention that the peaches I posted yesterday were also a gift. I like to note here when my still life painting is inspired by someone else's generosity.

To get my painting in your inbox, sign up here. To purchase my work, view my Current Auctions and All Available Paintings.

Best,

Fig and Reflections in a Japanese Cup (+ private painting mentoring)


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This cup was a recent gift from my brother-in-law, who brought it back for me from Japan. I am so grateful!

If you're interested in studying painting with me, read about my Private Painting Mentoring, which I have been offering since 2012. You can read what painters who have worked with me have to say here.

To purchase my work, view my Current Auctions and All Available Paintings.

Best,

Still life with Delft Vase and Cherries (+ what makes a good life?)


Still life with Delft Vase and Cherries (present moment)
3.5 x 4 inches, oil on linen on panel
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Auction contains framed view

If you have some free time, take a look at What makes a good life? Lessons from the Longest Study on Happiness; there's a video and the article ends with a quote from Mark Twain. More than a century ago, he was looking back on his life, and he wrote this:

 "There isn't time, so brief is life, for bickerings, apologies, heartburnings, callings to account. There is only time for loving, and but an instant, so to speak, for that."

To purchase my work, view my Current Auctions and All Available Paintings.

Still life with Muscat Grapes and Hand-painted Vase (+ 2 auctions ending)



Following the theme of painting things that were given to me, my mom just gave me this hand-painted vase.

Ends at 6:30 PM EST today:

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To purchase my work, view my Current Auctions and All Available Paintings.

Best,
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