06 Monday Apr 2020
Posted in art, painting, sip and paint studio, Uncategorized
Tags
acrylic painting, art, artist, instructional painting video, painting, painting tutorial, painting video, rooster painting, things to do during quarantine
As promised, here’s another of the acrylic painting tutorials I filmed a couple years ago. Sit back and enjoy watching, or get out your paints and canvas and paint along! This includes step-by-step instructions for how to both teach or just create the painting. Enjoy!
01 Friday Feb 2019
Posted in art, tattooing, Uncategorized
Tags
art, elephant tattoo, filigree, filigree tattoo, flower tattoo, memorial tattoo, octopus tattoo, skull tattoo, tattoo, tattoo artist, tattoo cover up, tattoo studio, tattooing, willow tree tattoo
I wish I could say it’s been a hot minute since I last posted, but let’s be honest, a large portion of the country is in the grips of this polar vortex thing and it’s been damn cold out. I’m permanently cold, but when I tattoo I tend to overheat. Luckily, it’s been pretty busy at the studio the last couple weeks so I’ve stayed toasty and warm. Here are the highlights:
Super proud of this one. This was the winner of a holiday giveaway I did.
A little in love with this one, too. It’s something I could even envision on myself.
This one has sad story behind it. The customer got it because her son was shot and killed recently. After getting approval from the health department, we added some of his ashes to the ink so she’ll always have him with her.
A very cheerful cover-up.
It’s a symbol of inspiration for a woman on her 70th birthday.
How cute is this? The customer designed it herself.
Cute friendship tattoos.
No story here, it’s just cute.
Same customer as the one above.
A couple came in and wanted different versions of a willow tree with their kids names/initials.
This is the other version of the willow.
The customer wanted her parents’ birth flowers for this pretty tattoo.
03 Thursday Jan 2019
Tags
acrylic painting, art, dad, death, dementia, Emily Page, Emily Page Art, grief, painting, painting of train, train buff, train painting, what to give a train lover
I started 2019 off the correct way: in the art studio. And it felt so good. I’ve been so busy and exhausted that I haven’t been painting much lately. But I took Tuesday off and just painted what I wanted to paint. And it was a good thing. And it was a bad thing. Because what I chose to paint was this:
Engine #25 acrylic on canvas 24″ x 30″ $750 *links for purchasing the original and for prints and such at the end of the post
You know, ’cause my dad was a train freak. Next month will be the third anniversary of my dad’s death, and between that knowledge and the holidays, I’ve been missing him something fierce. About a month ago, S poppped in some of my old home movies, and I got to watch my dad in his 30’s – younger than I am now. And, for the first time since he was diagnosed with dementia, it made me actually feel happy to watch. I really enjoyed it. And then I started having nightmares about him again. WTF is that? I wasn’t sad watching those videos, so why did they spark a new round of “Dadmares?”
And now I’m struggling again. Every time I feel like I’m getting back to normal, thinking about him a little less and with less pain, I get thrown back in. And what I’m thrown into, more than anything, is those final, horrible days with him, when he was hurting so much and my mom and I couldn’t make it better for him. It just fucking haunts me. I worked so hard to make sure that I had as few regrets as possible as we cared for him following his diagnosis. I’ve dealt with enough death to know that regret that can’t ever be remedied is not something I want to deal with again. So I set out to do things right with my dad. And I did. I’m proud of how fiercely I worked to love him and advocate for him. But there wasn’t anything we could do at the end.
It’s not so much regret, I suppose, as just grief that I was so helpless to make his pain stop. Watching someone you love suffer for that long…it just stays with you. And most of the time, when I think of him, that’s what I think of. I flashback to sitting in the hallway outside of his room after about 48 hours of watching him writhe and moan, and just losing my shit while a CNA watched helplessly. I flashback to lying on his bed and whispering soothing things in his ear to try to distract him from the pain. I flashback to feeling so tired it made me queasy, and ignoring the death rattle for close to an hour because I just couldn’t make myself open my eyes and get out of the recliner one more time to check on him.
Here I am, three years later, still desperate to make his pain stop, even though he’s already long gone. I don’t know how to let it go. So for now, I’m just painting something that made him happy in the hopes that it’ll make me happy.
*Original available here. Prints and stickers and phone cases and t-shirts and such available here, here, and here.
27 Tuesday Nov 2018
Posted in art, painting, Uncategorized
Tags
art, artist, artwork for sale, coupon, discount, Emily Page, Emily Page Art, Emily Page artist, holiday sales, painting, painting for sale, sales
That’s right. You may not have heard, but holiday sales are a thing, apparently. And guess what? They’re a thing on my website. I’ve got more paintings than I know what to do with, and you’ve got friends and family that need art to brighten up their homes and offices. Sounds like a perfect match. Come to think of it, your home and office could really use some brightening, too. No judgment, but you should really fix that.
Now until December 31st, I’m offering 25% off all orders over $100. Use Coupon Code HOLIDAY2018 when you check out. And note that I’m running the sale until the end of the year, so, if you want, you can sit down with the person you’re buying for and let them choose what painting they’re getting. Because I’m nice like that. And because I’m desperate like that.
So go to https://shop.emilypageart.com and order your artwork now! If you’re more interested in prints of my art or merchandise with my artwork on it, you can find those here, here, here, and here.
06 Saturday Oct 2018
Posted in art, tattooing, Uncategorized
Tags
art, artist, black and white portrait, Emily Page, Emily Page Art, harley quinn makeup, oil on canvas, oil painting, pin-up, pin-up girl, Raleigh artist, roses
My fellow tattoo artist at Ratatat Tats, Julio, loves drawings and paintings of women with Harley Quinn clown makeup. He had a bare wall in his studio room, so as a suprise, I made him two paintings. I took the pin-up girl style, added the clown makeup, and then, because he frequently suggests filling in space around tattoos with “some filigree and some roses,” I included each in these sister paintings as a little insider joke. I posted the filigree one yesterday, so here is the roses one. Both are available as prints, shirts, dresses, pillows, mugs, and other fun swag. Links below the image.
Pin-Up Roses 20″ x 16″ oil on canvas
05 Friday Oct 2018
Posted in art, painting, tattooing, Uncategorized
Tags
art, artist, black and white portrait, Emily Page, Emily Page artist, filigree, harley quinn makeup, oil on canvas, oil painting, painting, pin-up girl, Raleigh artist, tattoo studio
My fellow tattoo artist at Ratatat Tats, Julio, loves drawings and paintings of women with Harley Quinn clown makeup. He had a bare wall in his studio room, so as a suprise, I made him two paintings. I took the pin-up girl style, added the clown makeup, and then, because he frequently suggests filling in space around tattoos with “some filigree and some roses,” I included each in these sister paintings as a little insider joke. I’ll post one painting today (the one with the filigree) and one tomorrow. Both are available as prints, shirts, dresses, pillows, mugs, and other fun swag. Links below the image.
Pin-Up Filigree 20″ x 16″ oil on canvas
24 Thursday May 2018
Posted in art, painting, Uncategorized
Tags
art, bottles painting, Emily Page, Emily Page Art, hanging bottles, lavender painting, oil painting, photorealism, Raleigh artist, realism, realist art, realist painting
Every year, the hubs and I and some friends meet up in Blowing Rock, NC and rent a cabin. There’s a seriously cute little main street with boutiques and restaurants and such where we spend the afternoon strolling and shopping. One of the stores is painted with soft lavenders and creams and greys, and I used it as inspiration for the colors in my tattoo studio room. Outside of the store is a tiny little garden, and at one point, they had bottles and bits of chandelier glass hanging over it, and I fell in love with the scene it created. So I photographed it and now, several years later, finally sat down and finished painting it.
I have to admit that, even though I’m having fun learning tattooing, it’s not as satisfying a medium for me as painting. It’s hard to predict exactly how each piece of skin will react to different techniques, and you have to get it right the first time. There’s no changing your mind halfway through and starting over with a better idea. It’s harder to “tweak” to get it perfect. And the feel of the tattoo machine isn’t even close to the feel of a paintbrush and paint. Too much rattle to be soothing to me. So on my one day off a week, I’m trying hard to get into the painting studio and enjoy a little gushy fun.
Anyway, here is the painting:
Blowing Rock Bottles 12″ x 12″ oil on board $400
The original is for sale here. For now, you can find prints and cuff links and keepsake boxes and other fun thingsies here, here, and here.
26 Monday Mar 2018
Posted in art, painting, tattooing, Uncategorized
Tags
art, art nouveau, art nouveau female, art nouveau girl, art nouveau woman, artist, Emily Page Art, Emily Page artist, learning to tattoo, painting, Ratatat Tats, tattoo, tattoo apprentice, tattoo apprenticeship, tattooing
One of the things I’m figuring out as I learn tattooing is to think a little differently in how I create artwork. You don’t approach a tattoo the same way you work with acrylic or oil paints. It’s kind of similar to watercolor and drawing, except not. The order you do everything is different, and like when I was learning how to sculpt out of foam, I struggle to make my brain wrap around something that is totally different from everything I know. It’s different from what I’m used to being good at, so this is kind of a painful process for me. I hate being mediocre. To struggle at art, the one thing I’m actually really confident at doing, is really uncomfortable. But I want to learn, so I’m pushing through the discomfort and trying to grow as I learn this new medium.
In an effort to learn without the pressure of making something perfect that’ll be on someone’s body forever, I’m returning to canvas and paper and trying to create works that would translate well onto skin. I’ve seen some really fantastic tattoos of women, and I’d love to do one soon. So I’m playing around with ideas. If anyone wants to let me tattoo this one on them, lemme know. I know it’s a long shot, but I figure it can’t hurt to ask, right?
If you’re not up for getting this as a tattoo, but would like a print, t-shirt, tote bag, laptop skin, sticker, shower curtain, or just about anything else, you can get it here and here.
26 Monday Feb 2018
Posted in art, painting, Uncategorized
Tags
abstract art, abstract painting, art, artist, artwork, crowd sourcing, Emily Page Art, Emily Page artist, how to name your painting, name that painting, oil painting, painting
Alrightyroo! Thanks to everyone who contributed ideas for names for several of my abstract paintings. Suggestions mostly came in on Facebook. Without further ado, here are the ones I’ve chosen from your offerings:
Dreamweaver 48″ x 84″ oil on canvas
Thank you to Amanda Weber for the title, “Dreamweaver.” Prints and things available here and here.
Lava’n You 18″ x 24″ oil on canvas
Thank you to Alfreda Melvin for the title, “Lava’n You.” Prints and such available here and here.
Forgotten 30″ x 26″ oil on canvas
Thank you to Cassie Haggert for the title, “Forgotten.” Prints and swag available here and here.
Metropolis in Blue 18″ x 24″ oil on canvas
Thank you to Shannon Chappell for the title, “Metropolis in Blue.” Prints and schtuffs available here and here.
23 Friday Feb 2018
Posted in art, painting, tattooing, Uncategorized
Tags
acrylic on canvas, acrylic painting, art, art nouveau, art nouveau female, art nouveau flowers, art nouveau tattoo, art nouveau woman, artist, Emily Page artist, tattooing, tattoos
As I’ve been studying tattoo styles in preparation for starting my training in the art of tattooing, I’m definitely drawn to how well art nouveau lends itself to tattoos. It’s very stylized, elegant, feminine, has defined outlines, and I love a lot of the more popular color schemes. And I love the ornate decorative elements. I had one blank wall in my tattoo room, and I wanted to create something new for it, so I decided to create an art nouveau painting of an artist. Voila!
The Artist 48″ x 30″ acrylic on canvas
Prints and clothes and books and such available here and here.
The Perks of Being an Artist 