#30EJPaintings are complete! Woohoo!
Hello!
If you have been following my Instagram feed over the past few weeks then you’ve seen the process, behind the scenes, and even a few sneak peeks of this project. I took some time to paint several new paintings, to try new things, and to be willing to practice. The beautiful thing about practicing is there is no audience. It’s just me and my brushes, trying new things. Sometimes practice feels effortless and exciting, sometimes it is ugly and tricky, but it is always helpful.
I worked on 34 paintings, finishing 30 of them.
27 of those will be available on my website at noon today (eastern time)!
Please check out the collection below!
Thank you all for your support and for cheering me on during this challenge! I hope you enjoy the results as much as I enjoyed creating them!
Emily
New Prints coming to Emily Jeffords Shop!
Hey!
It’s always exciting when I get to launch a new collection of fine art prints! There are so many, many moments of effort, love, hard work, and thought put into each painting before it becomes a print, then working with the printer to make something truly special and of high quality is another round of passion and effort….
I love every moment and I’m SO honored that my artwork is living in people’s homes, adding a little more beauty and grace to their lives.
That is so special.
This collection is a long time in coming. Thank you for all the emails requesting these prints! You made my choice quite easy with your outpouring of love and affirmation! Thank you all. The prints that are currently in my shop will still be available as well.
The collection will launch tomorrow afternoon at 7:00 am (eastern time) in my print shop and in my Etsy shop. And because Valentines day is fast approaching and I really like you guys, please use this 20% off coupon at checkout! “LoveSomeArt”
http://www.EmilyJeffords.com/print
And now, enjoy checking out the new additions to my fine art print collection.
Creative Consultations
Hello everyone!
Last year I began doing these great one-on-one creative coaching sessions with artists all over the world – they were AMAZING and I cannot believe how creative and passionate these people are! We get to talk about all aspects of creative business: creating good work, conveying your message and story with your collectors and audience, and marketing your work without getting weird or sleazy. I always walk away from these conversations so inspired and refreshed, and have been so blessed to help and mentor many others through them.
I just opened my schedule back up for these one-on-one conversations AND also added small group chats!
If you’re thinking about growing your creative business or fine art career but have questions about growth, social media, or really anything, I would be honored to talk with you.
One-on-one conversations are wonderful if you have specific questions or would like me to look over your business individually. I’ll offer helpful and hopeful feedback as thoughtfully as I can. We talk about ways to share your individual passion and work with your audience and how to connect with your market online via social media. sign up here
The small-group conversations (limited to 12 people) happen online through a video chat and will be focused on the topic of Branding and Social Media for Creatives. The first one is scheduled for March 17th and I would LOVE to talk with you! Every class member will have a voice and will be able to ask individual questions, share ideas, and network with the other creatives. Sign up here
Everyone I talk with (one-on-one or in a group) will be given a booklet full of my personal branding and passion-sharing philosophy and guidelines – complete with a section focusing on social media tips and a nice resource list.
I’m an open book and I share my successes and failures candidly. My hope is that you will learn from my struggles and that we would all walk away from these talks feeling nurtured and encouraged!
Talk soon!
Photos by the talented Paige French
10 things that being an artist taught me last year
Last year around this time I wrote a list of 10 things that being an artist taught me in 2013, and many of those things ring so true today too. Things like, “Your fingers can create more than you think they can” and “A creative community is incredibly beautiful and worth cultivating…”
This year, I feel like I’m building on these things and adding a few more to the list as well.
Such as:
- Ask for the things you would like. Dreams require a little boldness and a lot of follow through.
- Practice the habits that help your creativity.
- When you feel trapped by the expectations that are put on your work (by yourself or others) change it up – pronto.
- Rest. Creativity has a hard time working in a tired mind.
- The first thing you have to do is pick up the brush. Then, make as many mistakes as you wish. Every stroke is just practice.
- Fight for those moments of quiet concentration
- While 9 out of 10 days will be totally un-glamorous, and some tasks are dreadful altogether, every moment is worthwhile and wonderful because you’re working for your passion.
- Passion = something you are willing to suffer for.
- Finding beauty is a habit; a mentality of curiosity and joy.
- Sharing beauty and a refreshed perspective with others is endlessly fulfilling.
It was a full and challenging year full of countless beautiful moments and so, so many paintings!!! I cannot WAIT to see what this year holds in store for us!
Challenges, Rest & A Painting-A-Day.
Happy New year everyone!!
We are back from an extended Christmas vacation and I’m so very ready to get back in the studio today!! This time away has made me ache for those quiet moments of concentration and the thrill of finishing a painting. I’m not one to make New Year’s resolutions. A year is usually a bit to long for my attention span… but I do love a good short term challenge; something that takes a bit of effort, and is super helpful in training my body/mind to do something well, but has a relatively short timespan. Basically, I’m a good sprinter.
But, lets be honest, you should only be in the struggle of The Challenge for spurts of time. You have to surround these struggles with sweet, sweet moments of rest, followed by long stretches of the gentle progress found in “normal life”.
If I’ve lean red anything over the past year it’s that keeping these three energies in balance is so important to my creativity & energy.
I’ve been enjoying my rest for the past few days. This holiday break has been full of relaxation, delicious food, focusing on loved ones & my little girls, and just resting. These days came after the very busiest months of my entire life and this rest is so, so sweet.
But now, I’m feeling revived and my hands are itching to get busy.
At first, I planned on doing a painting-a-day in January. But that was before thinking through how many days we will be gone in January and how many commissions I already have on the books. SO, my revised (and hopefully more realistic plan) is to complete 30 paintings by the end of February.
I’m not trying to sell these paintings during the process and my only goal is to strengthen my own creative muscles. I feel like I have been painting for others for a few months now, and it’s time to claim back a bit for myself. So, while I still have a few commissions this month and at least 3 trips planned, the rest of the days are allll mine!!
In order to practice a few things for some up-coming projects I’ll be painting mostly landscapes. But, I am going to challenge myself with my color pallet refinement, bending a little more into abstraction, and may even through in a few other subject matter. We’ll see!
I’ve done enough of these painting-a-day challenges to know that not every painting will work. I’m sure I’ll want to hide terrible paintings in my closest forever… But that is what progress is all about. Practice! Knowing which pieces are successful and which can be done better. Why do I expect my hands to wield a brush with the finesse of a concert violinist without first putting in the practice?
I’m going to be sharing the process super openly on Instagram and my Facebook page via the hashtag: #30EJPaintings
So, if you need me, I’ll be in my studio!
PS. If you’re interested in joining a painting-a-day group there is one happening this month! There are hundreds of artists participating; all sharing support and cheering each other on. Check out & join the group here: http://30paintingsin30days.weebly.com/
Photography by Chris Isham
Commission Reservations & a Painting Workshop!
Hello!
Some exciting things are happening in the studio over the next few months! First up – commission landscape paintings! I do three commissions each month and they are reserved on a first-come first-serve basis – one large paintings (over 36 in and two smaller)
…And the reservation listing will open again at noon (US Eastern Time) today!! emilyjeffords.com/commissions
And secondly… PAINTING WORKSHOP!!
This is the first workshop I have offered in 4 years (due to moves and family life.) I think it is high time we get together, break out the paints, work on some color theory, try out some new brushes, and create some original landscape paintings!
This is going to be a fun environment; a place to try new skills, use high quality materials, and learn about painting techniques. This workshop is perfect for beginner to advanced artists. I’ll answer any questions you might have about painting, marketing your artwork, producing art consistently, and will demonstrate how to create a moving landscape painting in my colorful, impressionistic style.
At the end of the day, you will have an 16×20 inch oil landscape painting, ready to hang on your wall!
The group sizes is limited to 8 students, allowing us to work together to create something beautiful.
Topics we will cover:
Composition
color mixing and combining
under painting and over painting
shaping clouds
various brush strokes
…as well as any other questions or topics that arise.
January 17th, 10 am – 6 pm with a break for lunch
$175
All supplies are included (quality really, really matters in oil painting!)
16×20 oil painting on canvas – created by you!
cocktails & snacks
a swag bag to inspire and enable you to keep creating at home
Register for this workshop here.
Fine Art Print Gift Sets
I am so excited to be adding these collections to the shop on Friday!
only 50 sets available, each featuring two new prints! Woohoo!
Two 8×10 prints & one 5×7 in each box. $85 (originally $135)
Beauty in the Coolness Set features three blue, gray, and green prints, inviting calm and peace into your home.
Softness & Warmth Set features three peach, pink, and gold toned fine art prints that are at once exciting and peaceful.
All prints are printed on high quality canvas, matted in white, tied up with cream & copper twine, and packaged with a sprig of rosemary. Beautifully packaged in a white box and ready to give to a special someone!
Available on Black Friday, the 28th.
New original paintings available today!!
The holiday season is beginning with all of it’s delightful and meaningful charm… And this is the perfect time to buy artwork for yourself or for a special someone. Decorate your own walls before the holiday parties get underway – or plan a super special gift for a lucky loved one!
I’ve created several small paintings – adorable sizes (4×4 & 6×6) that are almost sculptural with their boxy shape (perfect for standing on a shelf or mixing into a rad gallery wall), and, along with those little paintings, there are three larger paintings (16×20 and 18×24) that are substantial and delicious with so many lush colors and expressive brushstrokes.
Mmmm… Options!!
This collection of paintings will be available today at 12:00 (eastern time) at www.EmilyJeffords.com/originals
Making Tome to Create: Podcast
Hello Everyone!
One of my favorite “creative rituals” (doesn’t that sounds dauntingly serious & yet so very fitting?) is listening to music or a podcast while I’m working in the studio. Podcasts are awesome because they engage my mind while my hands are busy doing their thing.
There is this really wonderful collection of creative podcasts that is growing steadily into something full and so inspiring. Interviews, discussions, talks about the ins-and-outs of creative culture & entrepreneurship…
It’s so nice to have those voices in my head when I’m alone in the studio. I feel like there is a collective of other people out there who understand what I’m going through and are doing this crazy and fulfilling struggle “with” me (even though we’ve never met and live miles apart and they’re not reeeeally talking to just me even if it feels that way 90% of the time.) ;)
So, all that being said, you now understand my unusual attachment to the creative podcast industry. So….
I was asked by Elise Blaha Cripe, the powerhouse creative behind Elise Joy Blog and the Make29 project, if I would be interested in talking with her on her podcast. I, clearly, said “HECH YES” as fast as my fingers could type.
The topic of our conversation was making time for creativity. We discussed my journey to fight for my artistic career, finding your creative outlet, mixing creativity with parenthood, and ways to strengthen that creative passion.
It was a total honor and I’m so happy to share the podcast with you!
Take a listen and let us both know what stood out to you – or any questions you may have!! I would be happy to offer some feedback or be that voice of support we all need.
Studio News: Internship position available!
Hooray! A new semester is coming up soon (can you believe it?!) and I’m looking for one intern to work in my studio alongside me and my studio manager, Alisha. It’s a fun time.
My goal for every intern is that they leave my studio with an understanding of how to actually “make it” in the creative world when they graduate. I share the lessons I’ve learned and offer tips and resources for success.
Ask good questions and I will give you the best answer I possibly can.
Read below for more details, duties, and requirements.
If this looks like something you would enjoy, send me an email and we’ll talk! shop@emilyjeffords.com
Must be local (Greenville, SC), have transportation, and be available 9-12 hours per week. Internships last for the duration of the semester (about 3 months) and can be used towards class credit (please talk with your adviser about this first!)
