Tag Archives: realist art

At Least We Still Have Tomatoes

28 Friday Sep 2018

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I finally set up one of the spare rooms at the tattoo studio so that I could do some painting on my down time. I had started this painting almost 2 years ago, but after doing several veggie paintings, I sort of burned out on them for a little while. I finally decided to sit down and finish this little guy, and now I love it!

I finished it while listening to the Kavanaugh confirmation hearing, which was upsetting me for various reasons. I feel like our world is shifting in a very scary direction. That’s why I named the painting, “At Least We Still Have Tomatoes.” Silver lining, right?

At Least We Still Have Tomatoes_compressed

At Least We Still Have Tomatoes 8″x 10″ oil on board $250

Original available here. Prints and other merchandise available here, here, and here.

Blowing Rock Bottles

24 Thursday May 2018

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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:

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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.

Dilly Dilly

22 Tuesday May 2018

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Well, my migraine finally broke after several days (during which I still managed to do several tattoos, because I am a superhero…or at least, because I wore superhero underpants. That’s the same thing, right?), and I got in a lot of painting yesterday. I finally finished two pieces I’ve been working on forever. Here’s the first, which is a little still life I have sitting in my tattoo studio room. I posted it on Facebook and asked for suggestions for naming it. Someone suggested “Lavender Blue,” which put that damn song (for a truly obnoxious rebooted version of the song, click here) in my head for the last 24+ hours, so I’ve decided to be evil and put an ear worm out there for everyone who reads the painting title. Mwuahahahaaaaa! I give you, “Dilly Dilly.”

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Dilly Dilly 9″ x 12″ oil on board $300

The original is available here. You can find prints and mugs and greeting cards and a million other fun stuffsies here and here and here.

Lemon Peel Twist

09 Monday Apr 2018

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I realized that it’s been 7 or 8 weeks since I painted with oils, and after feeling so incompetent learning tattooing, I decided it would be good for me to take a little time out on my day off to do something I actually know how to do. So I got the paintbrushes and oil paints out and finally finished a painting that I had been working on for months. I had set it aside because it just hadn’t been working, but after today, I’m finally ready to call it “finished” and sign the sucker (or, maybe, sign the pucker?).

Lemon Peel Twist.JPG

Lemon Peel Twist 12″ x 16″ oil on board $450

You can purchase the original on my website here, or get prints and other fun stuff featuring this painting here and here. Know a chef? Get it for them! Or, at least, tell them about it and all my other food-inspired art!

The Very Fabric

09 Friday Feb 2018

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Of all the paintings I’ve created for the tattoo studio lobby, this one is probably my favorite. It’s a totally different style from the others, but sticks to a similar color scheme. I had some leftover oil-primed linen which has a really smooth finish, so I didn’t want to waste it by doing thick, impasto paint and losing that wonderful surface. So I went for thinner, smoother paint that allowed for a little more realism, and played with texture via the subject matter instead. So here’s the next lobby painting for the tattoo studio I’m opening, Ratatat Tats.

Very Fabric

The Very Fabric 36″ x 36″ oil on linen

Prints and other fun swag here and here.

Don’t Let Your Lemons Get In A Twist

29 Friday Sep 2017

Posted by in art, humor, mental health, painting, Uncategorized

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Whoooooo, it has been a week, y’all. A serious week. I got my lazy ass in gear and worked out on Monday (by which I mean that I did zumba with no music with my friend in her living room), and then looked at some commercial real estate. I had lunch with a friend that I hadn’t seen in almost a year, and then looked at more commercial real estate on Tuesday. Wednesday, I drove over to a little nothing town in the middle on NC to test-ride a couple horses with my mom (who is looking to buy for herself), then she and S and I spent the night in Winston-Salem, my old stomping grounds. Who’s a giant ball of pain now? This girl!!! But it was totally worth it because I haven’t gotten to horseback ride in about 6 years, and, assuming the horse passes the vet check, we found my mom a new buddy. On Thursday, we went to a Georgia O’Keefe exhibit, then visited my paintings on the Wake Forest University campus, had a little lunch, and came back home. And then spent the rest of the evening discussing a game plan regarding the commercial real estate we looked at on Tuesday. Really, we’ve been doing pretty much nothing but discussing real estate for the last month or so. And I am worn out. This brain? It’s actually just a matzo ball by now. Or maybe a dumpling. Either way, it’s soft and soupy and not much of a thinker. I needed a break.

So I spent the day painting, then napping, then painting, then napping, then painting some more. Turns out, painting actually requires thought, damnit. Who knew? It’s exhausting. But I was able to listen to podcasts while I painted and finally not think about real estate for a minute and a half. Ahhhhhhhhh. And now, I present the fruits of my labor:

Lemon Twist I

Lemon Twist I 5″ x 5″ oil on canvas

Get it?!! Fruits of my labor? Admit it, you kinda sorta secretly liked that pun, didn’t you? Anyway, this is actually one of 2 lemon paintings I worked on today. Hopefully the other, which is significantly larger, will be done in the next week or so. If you like this one, you can buy it on my website at https://shop.emilypageart.com/t/realist-works or get prints or other fun thingsies here and here.

And one more thing: today would have been my parents’ anniversary. They need to come up with a way of acknowledging occasions like this, when it’s no longer happy. Saying “Happy Anniversary,” seems inappropriate now that my dad is dead, but I still want to let my mom know that I’m thinking of her, and them, and marking this day in some way. So maybe we need to come up with a phrase like, “Marking Anniversary,” or “Acknowledging Anniversary,” or “Nostalgic Anniversary,” or “I Really Love You And Know This Day Might Be Hard But I’m Still Kinda Sorta Celebrating Your Marriage.” Or something. So Mom, when you read this, pick which ever of those phrases you like best. Love you.

Low Hanging Apple

24 Sunday Sep 2017

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Remember how I had a dream that I did a series of paintings and called them “Low Hanging Fruit” and then, instead of being a normal human, I got up and sketched several? Well, here’s the second one, fresh off the easel.

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Low Hanging Apple 6″ x 6″ oil on board 

 

The original is for sale here, and you can get prints and things here.

Trumpet in Red

19 Tuesday Sep 2017

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I finally managed to organize my studio enough to paint again. It still has a ways to go as I try to find places to store all the crap I brought home when we closed the paint and sip studio, but at least there’s enough table top/easel space to do a little arting. And since it’s International Talk Like a Pirate Day, I thought I’d make today’s post about “arrrrrrrrrrrt.” You’re welcome for that.

I’ve been working on this painting for over a year, and by “working on this painting,” I mostly mean it’s been glaring at me accusingly for long stretches of time while I avoid making eye contact with it. It’s the largest piece I’ve done that is this detailed (and at 16″ x 20″ it’s not even that big, but still), and it was not a happy process for me. Too many straight lines and confusing reflections. Too much thinking required. But I finally took a couple days and powered through and finished the asshole. And now we’re besties. It’s been sitting happily on my easel for a couple days drying and cooing at me and telling me how grateful it is that I finished it.

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Trumpet in Red 16″ x 20″ oil on board 

But all that cooing is starting to get on my nerves ever so slightly. So maybe someone should buy it, like, right now. You can do so here. You can also get prints and other fun stuff here and here.

Fiddle Quartet

04 Friday Aug 2017

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Awhile back I posted a series of paintings of a friend’s fiddle.  It’s seen a lot of wear and tear, which gives it so much character. I love the scars that document the roadmap of its time in the world. It’s a good reminder that all the bumps and bruises we all accumulate along the way are the things that set us apart, and they don’t make us any less beautiful.

I decided to put the four paintings together as a print, which is now available here on a variety of products.

Fiddle Quartet.jpg

Electric Guitar in Blue

28 Tuesday Mar 2017

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Along with starting some new paintings, I finished up another painting over the last couple days. I’ve never been all that enamored of guitars, but I sure love a few guitar players who’ve been incredibly generous with their talent and time. Decided to paint a guitar in their honor:

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Electric Guitar in Blue 10″ x 10″ oil on board $300

It was a little bit of a nightmare to paint because of all the straight lines <damn you, guitar strings and frets> but I managed to complete it. Original available here. Prints available here.

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Thanks so much for reading my ridiculous thoughts! If you’d like to see my ridiculous thoughts translated into art, visit my website, or follow me on Facebook and Twitter. Know a caregiver, or someone with dementia, or someone who knows someone with dementia, or someone who knows someone who knows someone else who’s a caregiver? Or heck, do you know a person? Well, you should tell them about my book, Fractured Memories: Because Demented People Need Love, Too. Part memoir and part coffee table art book, I recount my family’s heartbreaking and hilarious journey through my father’s dementia. Available to purchase here (this is my favorite way if you live in the U.S.), here or here if you’d rather get the eBook than a print copy, and here (especially if you want a hard cover copy).

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