M Theresa Brown-Artist

2020-04-25T16:48:00.000-04:00

2020-What a Year!

We don't have to tell you that 2020 is an unprecedented year. Changes have happened so fast and everyone has scrambled to find their bearings. Our new vocabulary includes "social distancing" and "Stay at Home" ordinances and it all happened in the blink of an eye.. And now with horse shows canceled, workshops and classes canceled, in fact all events with over 10 people canceled, we have had to regroup to keep afloat.

But enough of the current affairs as there is always a light at the end of every tunnel and we are seeing a slow re-emergence. We are continuing to do what we have always done-paint and create. So let's bring you up to date!

So for our Horse Show clients: Steve, after a hiatus with neck surgery has updated his popular blog !As many of you may know he has become known for painting outside the rings at many horse shows. In fact over the years, with so many changes taking place at some of the show grounds, he has been told that he is painting the history of some of the long standing events! With that in mind there are several of his horse show oil paintings available.
Below is an 8' x 10" oil of the Upperville in gate. So much has changed over the past 15 years at Upperville and his paintings reflect that. You can find more information here

You probably have to be a certain age to remember the old stables at the Warrenton Horse Show. But if, in the days when no one had the glitzy barns of new show grounds, you kept your pony or horse here, the painting below will hold a definite nostalgia for you! An 8" x 10" oil with details here.

Some Historic showgrounds which used to be on the outskirts of cities and towns are beginning to crumble under the steady growth of progress. One such show is the Sedgefield show outside of Greensboro, NC which faces a sale and re-zoning.

Stephen Filarsky painting the old Sedgefield Barn

All the original oil paintings that Stephen Filarsky painted on site have been sold, however there are prints available!

For prints of Devon and Deep Run, visit his blog

The Portraits continue to be a mainstay of our "Filarsky Brown Art Studio" with both Theresa and Steve creating in their favored mediums of oils, pastels and watercolor.

24" x 36" pastel by M Theresa Brown "Greg Best on Gem Twist"

For those who didn't realize that Theresa was also a printmaker in college and has, for the past 10 years included that among her creative pursuits, well you can enjoy a peek at that art form at The Silk Thread.
As well as painting and printmaking, she brought back her dormant sewing skills to create her own artisinal fashions with her fabrics! The past month or so has been crazy with sewing and donating many masks to needy organization. If you have need of one with a horse design, you can find them in her Etsy shop.!

The matching button headbands are designed so the elastic loops over the buttons, saving your ears!
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There are so many ways to reach us! We have found that our Facebook pages can be updated far faster than a website! We confess our long time websites are a bit out of date BUT we both solved a part of that by using the Etsy format to add photos and keep pricing up to date! Our long time landing page On Road Artists will share our many links!
For Theresa's portraits https://www.etsy.com/shop/mtheresabrown
For our Filarsky Brown Art Studio Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/FilarskyBrownArtStudio
For Steve's Facebook paintings: https://www.facebook.com/sfilarsky/

That's plenty to absorb for now :-)
We hope you stay safe and follow the guidelines. Together we will all get through these times!

Warm Regards
Steve and Theresa

When you want more than a copy of a photo!

2018-03-22T07:52:00.000-04:00

The Internet has provided opportunity for learning never experienced in the past! No longer do schools need volumes of books or shelves of audio visual equipment. All one needs is an Internet connection and the time to watch videos and read stories on every conceivable subject!

There are huge benefits and huge pitfalls in this age of mass marketing and communication and in my area of expertise-the arts-everyone has become an artist! Now that's not a bad thing. In fact today's kids and adults have the tools to learn all kinds of art forms unavailable to my generation of artists :-). I was delighted to get the cardboard packaged in my dadd's shirts from the cleaners (yes they came folded!) Now there are art toys that do all the drawing for the kids. Becoming an artists used to mean practicing over and over to become good at a subject (lol-horses come to mind with me) but now there is very little of that. Children (and adults) do not develop "the eye". In a class environment, kids can create wonders!

But what I am seeing today in adult artists are copyists. Few are "seeing" their subjects. Most have learned the technique of copying and pasting with their computers and printers and so longer seem to have a "hands on" approach to painting. Have they actually walked in the woods to see that landscape? Watched the clouds and the weather roll in? Handled that dog or horse? Or more importantly, drawn "from life?"
When you compare art that is copied to art that is created from knowledge and goes beyond copying, then you are seeing a true artist at work :-). Think about that the next time you might be thinking of investing in a portrait. You really often do get what you pay for :-)

A few dog portraits

A few horse portraits


People and their pets


Often it is the moment and the feeling!

Holiday Open House at our Studios!

2017-12-10T14:31:00.001-05:00

Holiday Open House at our STUDIOS!

2 Artists Studios!

Saturday Dec 16 from 11-3! Come see the art studios of 2 long time working artists and see the
variety of, dare we say, amazing art! A perfect place to pick up those last minute hand crafted
gifts 🙂
Meet our ponies, Helen and Shadow, feed a peppermint to Bella, our alpaca…
yep-the chickens will visit you as well as our dogs! See examples below.
Enjoy some light refreshments in the large studio (our painting one) and do some shopping!
Kids are fine, leave your pets at home though please..rain or shine.
Located at 2109 Old Mill Farm RD., Franklinton, NC 27525.

Email Theresa@thesilkthread.com with questions.

Our chickens sometimes claim the studio front porch!

Silk work by Theresa

Plenty of portraits to see by Theresa

Steve’s watercolor table

Steve hand lettering on glass


Theresa Painting

Welcome 2017! More art, more silk......

2017-01-02T21:58:00.000-05:00

Wow I have been keeping up with so many blogs that I forgot about this one! Whew-my own name!
But not to worry I won't spend pages catching you up, instead I will share several links. One is from my silk blog:http://thesilkthread.com/posts/
The other is from my DreamHorseArt.com site.

Facebook, here we come!

It’s taken me awhile to make a separate page for the Dream Horse Art on Facebook. After all I have The Silk Thread Art, Art Career Experts, Art Student Academy…..um let’s see, Filarsky Brown Art Studio. So I am busy administrating let alone creating!
BUT I have now done so and it is there you can see my latest posts. There can be a lot because although the site celebrates the HORSE, I have fudged a bit and added portraits that may not actually (gasp) include a horse. But after 25 years of full time portraiture, I can’t leave anyone out!

A few dog portraits

So although I may have traditional people, horse and dog portraits, I also have my abstract horse on both canvas AND silk (well fiber art)!
I am excited to finally feel more organized.
I know we are on the cusp of a New Year and 2017 promises to be as busy and as creative as ever!
Enjoy a few images and right now, for shopping, I am sending you to my Etsy shop!
Happy 2017 everyone!
Theresa

Three Muses

Horses on Silk

News from our studio and SHOW schedules!

2016-03-11T07:05:00.000-05:00

Early Spring (March), 2016

March and there is SO much going on. Many art shows and horse shows coming up this spring. We love to show and tell so scattered throughout this newsletter are some of the many art pieces we created for our collectors.
Also meet our newest family member, Bella, our baby alpaca. Theresa is already deciding what to do with all of her fleece when she is sheared the end of March.

What's Happening: Shows where you can find us, as vendors or on the grounds with our easels (Remember to check back with us on our calendar as sometimes this changes)

March 12 Triangle Farms C horse show, Hunt Horse Complex, Raleigh, NC ! Look for us on just Saturday, March 12 at the show! At the Hunt Horse Complex. We'll be there with portraits and silkwork (oh the horses!) http://www.trianglefarms.com/

March 17-20 Triangle Farms A horse show, Raleigh NC Steve will be at this show part of the time with his paintings. Check with us for the dates! http://www.trianglefarms.com/

March 18-20 Spring Carousel Gift Market Raleigh, NC, At NC fairgrounds, Jim Graham Building Theresa will be there with her all of her silk art. https://www.facebook.com/springcarousel

March 23-26 You will find us at the Spring Premier Horse Show at the Hunt Horse Complex in Raleigh, NC. Portraits, paintings and silk art in our indoor booth!
http://www.raleighspringpremier.com/

April 23 Bynum Bridgefest! A one day art and craft event (on the Bynum Bridge) between Chapel Hill and Pittsboro, NC that meshes with Earth Day. Come see Theresa with her fiber and silk art! http://www.bephilarthropy.com/

April 30:Cary Spring Daze! Long URL to a long established one day art and craft show held in a beautiful park in Cary, NC! http://www.townofcary.org/Departments/Parks__Recreation___Cultural_Resources/events/festivals/springdaze.htm

May 6-7: The Handmade Market We're still waiting to hear back on this art and craft event but if it's a go, Theresa will be there with her silk and fiber art! http://www.thehandmademarket.com/site/

May 21 & 22 Keswick Horse Show: Like last year, Steve will make his annual jaunt to the Keswick Hunt Club (in Virginia) and can be found around the grounds with his easel painting the scenes at the show!

May 20-22 Artsplosure A very busy, super fun art and craft show in downtown Raleigh, NC. Theresa will be there with all of her fiber and silk art! http://artsplosure.org/

Well that's probably enough to keep all of us busy! There will be our long time horse shows in June, July and August including the 2 weeks at Blowing Rock, NC and possibly some Virginia shows. YOU can easily keep track of where we will be through our Facebook pages!

ART classes and workshops (March-August)
These are classes held at our studio location and others. If you would like us to set up a workshop with your art group, just drop us a note. Sign up for our separate art student academy newsletters that are just for our painting students!
Theresa is teaching some new classes with the Vance Granville Community College (http://www.vgcc.edu/coned/personal-interest) in the Personal Enrichment program, including some Heritage Programs coming up. Make sure you are signed up for our Art Student Academy newsletters to stay on top of all art classes! http://artstudentacademy.com/

SHOP with US!
A great landing page to branch into the areas we have that interest you is http://www.OnRoadArtists.com From there you can read our blogs, see what we are painting and so much more! But additional locations are below:
Theresa's portraits are online, is: http://www.etsy.com/shop/mtheresabrown
Theresa's abstracts and silk art: http://www.DreamHorseArt.com....go to the shop section to see what is available!
Visit Steve's store with his paintings is: http://www.etsy.com/shop/sfilarsky

To reach us, all you have to do is go to ONE page:
http://www.OnRoadArtists.com
There you will find links to our blogs, Facebook pages, various websites, phone numbers and emails!

New work images posted regularly on our Facebook pages! Watch for our updates!
Until next time!
Theresa and Steve

Mother Nature’s Colors in eco-printing on silk

2016-02-12T15:54:00.000-05:00

Mother Nature’s Colors in eco-printing on silk

So painting on canvas is not the only thing I "paint."
Enter my silk scarves (which can be found on www.TheSilkThread.com)

My last “batch” before leaving for a trip to Oregon earlier this month. Grinding, then boiling cochineal bugs and laying out plants on silk, I worked on about a dozen eco-printed silk scarves as well as some silk noil.

Laying out the plants

Cochineal extract

And the results? Oh my, what fun!

Collage of Mother Nature’s colors

Detail of an eco-scarf.

cochineal bug extract

Close up of vegetable plants on silk

Bella watching the silk dry.

Almost 3 weeks in the Pacific northwest and I could not leave without expanding my collection of leaf matter. Check out the monster Big Leaf maple. The weather promises to break, the snow is melting and the sun will make it possible for me to create more of Mother Nature’s Art

Big Leaf maple

Pacific northwest oak leaves

Oil portraits from Christmas

2016-01-06T18:29:00.001-05:00

January 2016. That's kind of crazy. As usual, the last quarter was hectic and 2 things slowed me down-the hard drive on my 6 month old computer crashed (thank you 1 year warranty!) leaving me scrambling to do even the basics, let alone photos, book work and correspondence. Sorry but my android phone just doesn't cut it. :-(. The other was a rotten cold that, for the first time in years, was bad enough for antibiotics....so today I am coldless and have my computer back (a ridiculous 3 week hiatus) Life is good!

So what have I been painting...too many to put up here so how about a few oils?

Maureen and Duncan-oil 20 x 24

Favorite Hunter-oil 16 x 20

Oils take longer than my pastels but they do sort of "pop" don't they?
I am off to Portland Oregon Jan 10-27 so let's see what I come back with!

Eco printing, alpacas and time travel

2015-12-02T18:03:00.000-05:00

What? It's December? When did that happen? :-)
I have run through 2 months of combining silk work and portraits and December simply brings a bit of panic into it!

I dug into the eco printing and have had some gorgeous results!

Various kinds of eucalyptus

It takes practice but in the end...the thrill (yes it is) is in not knowing what you'll create!

But knowing that I'm printing Nature's colors exclusively is another appeal to this art form.

I spent 10 days in October at the NC State Fair as the silk artist in the Village of Yesteryear

rose leaves from Seven Sisters

Heirloom roses and pineapple sage

and although it was tiring with daily 12 hour days, I met SO many people who were happy to add a scarf to their handmade collections!
November seems to have dissipated and I don't know where it went to. I do know that I am on a borrowed computer as mine bit the dust (although Best Buy is determined to make it work since it is under warranty) and I had no idea how many of my photos were on the other computer. Luckily I have Carbonite backup but having to make temporary folders to store work is time consuming.

I'll pop some portraits up in my next post...seems odd to mix them with the silk. :-)

Oh and I must add one more image....Bella! The newest member and a future supplier of fiber for adding some roving into some of my silk!


Meet Bella!

The search for dye plants

2015-09-22T12:12:00.000-04:00

We spent a gorgeous day recently collecting sample plants of nature's bounty to do some "eco-dyeing" on silk scarves.
Our current roadsides are awash with wild helianthus and pokeberries. Wild sumac encircles abandoned ponds and we're careful to collect only what we will use. But my own mini-farm offers up Rose of Sharon, wild buttercups, a lot of mimosa and pokeberry as well as grapes, dogwoods, oak, pear and maple...a lot of trees on my land that are soon to turn glorious colors. In the meantime we go with greens, yellows...lol, even red clay and tobacco!

The bounty

Water from a spring and wild picking

I soaked the scarves in a mordant, then layered our finds on top, covered them up, rolled and wrapped them and two days later, walla! Eco dyed scarves.

It's a lot of fun to collect, a lot of time to "do" and in the end, the appeal will be to a certain kind of scarf collector.

But the search is inspiring, restful and a soothing "back to the earth" kind of methodology that I'll employ a bit more into my fiber art :-)

DIY hanging rack from a baby crib! (the practical artist!)

2015-08-26T11:11:00.000-04:00

DIY hanging rack from a baby crib!

Taking off the pegged top piece on rail

As professional artists, we have 2 art studios on our property. The larger one is big, beautiful and built from a torn down 1910 house!
Our smaller one is my "cabin in the woods" and was a tired 10 x 20 storage building that we renovated for additional room in our ever expanding art business!

So in my small Art studio that I use for my silk making, I needed a place to hang my scarves while I worked on them. I use an outside clothesline which is perfect for drying. But in between some stages of my techniques, I needed a place to gently hang silk without folding it or dropping it on the floor :-)

Crib rail hinged to wood attached to wall.

The solution came in the form of parts of a free baby crib! Used cribs can be found at yard sales for next to nothing and the sides can be used for any number of creative projects!

My idea was to attach hinges to the bottom , attach it to the wall of my small studio and have it fold down from the top. When in use, the lightweight chains would let me lower it to pretty much any height I wanted. I did not want it level, just out a foot or so from the top of the wall. When not in use, it folds back up to the wall and hooks with regular latch hooks :-)

Small chain, latches and hinges are easily found in any hardware store!

A little paint on the wood the piece is hinged to will make it look finished :-)

As you can see, the lightweight silk dangles easily from the rack away from the wall. It could be closed as well if I choose.
A perfect solution for everything from fabric to paper to your laundry room.

Raise the chains higher if heavier items will be hung. The ceiling is barn style so hanging this from the ceiling where the lights are was not an option-too high and the lights were in the way so this "Murphy style" rack was the perfect solution!

An easy DIY project accomplished in an afternoon or less! (Depending on the number of breaks and how long it takes you to find the tools you put down somewhere!)

Kids Learning to Play like Kids!

2015-08-09T09:13:00.000-04:00

I take my childhood for granted. But now I know that I, and my peers, were oh so fortunate to have grown up in the years that we did! These were the years where kids played outside all day, came home when all the neighborhood moms stood on the porches and stoops and called us in.....where we climbed trees, ran for the sheer joy of it, picked berries, built forts and our water parks were wading pools and water hoses!

I re-create part of that in my art summer camps. And the kids have a ball! It is different because the kids work with art, outdoor play and critical thinking skills....and through it all I expect the grouped ages of 7-17 to work, play and create together. And they do!

Coming to our 2 art studios out in the country-both are our professional ones- in itself is an adventure. Being free to run at will outdoors down the secret paths of the maze, climb the maple and pecan trees, and in general, be kids, is actually a new experience for many of the students. But by day 2, they are enjoying the freedom of outside activities and that pumps up their creative processes!

Collage 1

Enjoying the ponies

The lunch tree

Without a doubt the favorite tree!

I hope to add more camps next summer-it's definitely something I have to bring in extra help as the camps can have up to 14 participants. Many are repeaters. Many are so improved by the 3rd day of camp-both artistically and physically! (who knew climbing trees was so hard?)
So add to that mix-getting wet, dirty, loved by dogs, ignored by chickens (but collecting the eggs is fun!) running the secret trails....and you have the incredible experience that I so took for granted as a kid...(thanks Mom and Dad for letting me be a free range kid and artist!)

My "Don't Tell Mom!" painting series

2015-07-07T17:21:00.001-04:00

It has been more than crazy at the studio! How can so much happen in 4 weeks?
So rushing through chores mid June, I tripped on a loop of bailing twine (that I had note and was going to do something about it!) went down like a ton of bricks and broke my elbow. Elbow! Who breaks their elbow?

My jeweler friend Ginger cuts off my wedding ring :-)

To top it off I was leaving for a facilitator conference the next day in the NC mountains...boy was I ticked! Wrapped up in a half cast, I went anyway and had a fabulous if not slightly awkward time :-)

SO I return in time to get ready for my 4 day summer art camp...this time I had help! I'll add the photos as soon as I find the folder :-(
Anyway in between all of that I have kept busy creating my non-commissioned art...just because! And just because is as good a reason as any so I have spent days just painting large happy canvases!
One of them, an acrylic on 30 x 30 canvas was selected to go on a catalog cover for the Blowing Rock Charity Horse Show...very cool! Steve putting in the graphics.

30 x 30 acrylic on canvas "Blowing Rock Horse Show"

Yes-sort of Grandma Moses but people are loving it!

Then I decided to go further-thinking of the years my twin and I rode like Indians on our New York farm, I decided to do my "Don't Tell Mom" series...they're big-30 x 40 canvases but oh what fun to create!

We tried all sorts of tricks on our mares and somehow they yolerated our clumsy trick maneuvers.
One summer, our mares were off being bred at a farm in HIllsdale, NY and that summer we rode a little 13 hh pony called "Bobby." Conniving, tricky and ready to dump us in a moment, we kept him tuned for his younger owners who had been unable to stay on him :-)

#2 in my "Don't Tell Mom" series is "School's Out!" 30 x 40 acrylic on canvas

#1 in my "Don't Tell Mom" series, "Acrobats"

So if these don't make you smile today, nothing will...
Enjoy the content and the colors and I'll be posting new ones shortly!

Driving the Night Road

2015-06-02T17:18:00.000-04:00

Ever wonder what an artist thinks? Well here is one example :-)
An artist's musings......Driving the Night Road
(by M Theresa Brown)

I am one of the last to leave the parking lot after the night class I teach. I wait in my car until the taillights of my final student pulls away and I follow.
Soon I am on the back roads home. If I am lucky, I won't have any traffic behind me and I can wander the 18 miles home more slowly. I've made the trip often, and in all weather conditions. It's the warmer nights I love. With my windows down I can hear the night. Driving a leisurely speed, I can see the night.

I pass rural houses, the lights of a home life filtering through open curtains. An occasional glow of a TV flickering in a den. Outdoor lights peep through the woods in homes set back off the road. People's homes. A family. Their night time sanctuaries.
Part of my journey takes me by several churches. As I approach the stop sign by one of them I cannot help but notice that some of the graves in the cemetery have little solar lights. It's a nice thought I think. Someone wanting their loved one to have a nightlight. Like a little earth bound star in the night.

Directly across the intersection is yet another church and I wonder, not for the first time, how these churches in the country fill their pews. I always check out the the little white house next to the two churches. It's a non-assuming small white clapboard when I drive by it during the day. But on many of the nights that I pass it going home, it is transformed into something entirely different with its red light glowing on the front porch.
I ponder this anomaly of a mini red light district between two churches. It is easy to wonder all sorts of random thoughts. Is she open all night? Do people just stop by? Does she close shop at daybreak? Is she open on Sundays? I roll these questions in my mind, never coming up with an answer, as I leave the little intersection behind and travel on in the dark.


My attempt to photograph with my phone:-)

My headlights show pastures and fences and I scan the edges of the road for the ever present possibility of deer or a waddling possum. The traveling lights toss the shadows of trees into patterns that dance along the edge of the road as I drive. It's an interesting thought, bringing my own shadow with me and my mind wanders off into memories of shadow making.

I drive quietly. No radio, no music. I like to listen to the wind. As I approach the river, the incredibly loud chorus of tree frogs in the swamps signals my approaching turn. Some nights, when I turn onto this short section of dirt road I often stop. Listening to the tree frogs without the dopplar effect that comes with driving past is ear opening; Nature's surround sound. I love this section. The night holds no fear for me. My headlights might flush a rabbit or two on this dirt road. I might hear a dog bark far in the distance. More than once when I paused I have turned off my headlights to see the stars, brilliant on a clear night with no ambient light. It is an isolated section of road and it is easy to imagine Big Foot coming out of the pine forests. The thought makes me smile as my imagination wanders off again, this time into Big Foot territory.

My tires thump back onto the paved section of the road and I slowly make my way home. Past more homes, more shadows, more stars. Daylight shows me the details of what I only glimpse at night. But it is within my Night Drive circle of light that my senses fill, bringing a certain peace and focus at the end of the day.

My DIY art studio renovation!

2015-05-14T19:26:00.000-04:00

DIY studio renovation!

Things are moving along with my "cabin in the woods!"
If you have been following me, you'll know that I have been renovating a 12 x 20 shed and turning it into a second art studio. It's been taking a few months but bit by bit the big things get done, then the little things :-)

Below are some "in progress" photos of the north end of the building.

The deck going in.

Here is the plain jane studio in the making.

In the back ground is the large studio-our workhorse location. In this one I have begun to move all the dyes, paints and supplies related to my silk designs

Deck being built.
We re-purposed a used 6' sliding door for the north end of the studio!

The 6' sliding door going in

And now, with the deck completed, we can enjoy an beautiful extension of our studio and work on it even as we complete some minor details inside! Hubby has wasted no time...not have our dogs!

Notice the wild roses along our pasture fence add screening and privacy...not that we really need it on our mini-farm but it is perfect for an artist's studio!
heading out to the office takes on a whole new concept for me when this is one of my offices!

Murals on your Kitchen Cabinets!

2015-04-19T16:43:00.000-04:00

Murals on Kitchen Cabinets

Painting murals is not new to me. From my teens on up, I have painted scenes on walls, doors, commercial window displays and traveling circus trailers. (really!) In an earlier post you saw this mural below...now see the rest of the project completed above it!

Sometime it can go faster than painting the same thing on canvas that same size. Don't ask me why. it just does.
If you have followed my "cabin in the woods" renovation you'll know that my building came with cabinets recycled from a 1950's kitchen. The wood was that hard to find solid "thwunk" type wood found in your grandma's kitchen. And it also meant it came with that dark varnished look so popular once upon a time!
I removed the doors...sanded them, then painted them...more than once, with white primer.

White doors with a mural on panel below it that I painted a few years ago

White walls, white ceilings, white cabinets. Something had to change before I started moving my art supplies into it.

I went to my computer and pulling from my folder of "random traveling photos" that I accumulate for ideas, I thought.....actually I knew what I would do if I went one of two ways-mountains. Or beach. I settled on mountains :-)

Sequence of steps

So I painted in the sky, added the clouds and then started the background. It's a whole lot easier to add the foreground after the background is completed. Otherwise you will try to paint around a tree or around the leaves and it doesn't work.....at this point I tossed the pencil and just started winging it. Take a look :-)

Adding Mountains and tree details

You can see where this is headed as I added the mountains.

At this point I had to decide what to do with the section to the far right. These cabinets are a little over 12 feet long and 4 ft high.

My plan is to add a sink under the shorter cabinets when I eventually get the water running to the studio.
You can just see where I added a white path to the far right.

Here's a closer look at the left side below after I added details

Bringing in a middle ground and foreground

A friend sent me some stunning photos of Texas bluebonnets and Indian paintbrushes and I had my plan for the right hand side!

See what's been added!

DONE!

So there you have it-a soothing mountain view with birds, flowers....forgot the butterflies but hey I can add them later :-) So be brave-paint a door panel, closet doors, kitchen cabinets or anything else that strikes your fancy! And it you want to take it with you at some later date, just paint it on some lightweight plywood (birch is good) and screw it to the surface.
Go paint!

Getting creative with murals on wall cabinets

2015-04-13T08:11:00.000-04:00

So in earlier posts I shared how we have been renovating what was originally a storage shed and turning it into my silk/misc art studio! It has been a "do it as I can" project in terms of time and money but now, well, with a few small exceptions, it is ready to start moving into!

I painted a 3' x 7' mural on panel in our big studio to add under the old cabinets (scrounged from a torn down kitchen). Note my palettes of Styrofoam plates :-) Just used acrylic, water based artist's paint that you can find in the art stores for this.

The far end of the small studio has a work counter and although I wanted to put it underneath, it would not fit without cutting it in half (due to counter bracing). And I did not feel like cutting holes in it to fit around electrical outlets....so under the cabinets it went!

The cabinets themselves apparently came from a very old kitchen and the shed wall was reinforced with that rough OSB plywood that is a real pain to paint.

The shop size is 12 x 20 and I am just about to move into it this week. No running water yet but I have electrical so that will work until I get the waterline in. Thanks to Craigslist, I have already located a used stainless steel sink with the deepness I needed, plus all the fittings for a mere fraction of what it would have cost otherwise!

As you can see, I have gotten as far as putting in a sky. Originally the very dark, heavily varnished cabinet doors would not hold any paint until I sanded them (sigh) Now the skies are a backdrop to what other scenes or subjects I will add, which is still undecided! This is a project anyone can do on their kitchen cabinets...the laundry room...kids' doors...be bold. Painting on panels means it can be removed at any time!

Cabinet doors ready for their paintings!

Sharing the "How to's" of art

2015-04-08T07:10:00.000-04:00

Helping others learn to see and then paint what they see (real or unreal) can be an inspiring way to plug into my creative side!
Teaching some art classes at the Vance Granville Community College to both newcomers to art and those who have been in it awhile, in an open classroom environment, is a great way to tap into my dormant knowledge. Working in acrylics, watercolor, and in the case of one student-in fabric collages, they simple let their creative sides flow in class.

Nowadays many use their smart phones to find images to paint from (inspiration) and in

Acrylic and watercolor

doing so follow that age old tradition of looking at work they admire and trying to emulate it.!

Enjoy the creativity...the fabric/lace embellished on is below!

Going to the dogs...artistically!

2015-03-19T07:26:00.000-04:00

After finishing up 2 weekends...long weekends..... of shows, I found myself going to the dogs. On my easel.
I already live with 5 dogs and with a background that once encompassed dog shows, dog training and pet boarding (with a 100 run kennel no less!) I find it as easy to return to a life with dogs as I do with horses :-)

Our pets occupy a special place in our hearts and it's easy to see why my collectors love to have portraits of these special families members created. And I have created hundreds...perhaps thousands, over the years!
At these last two shows I created Jack Russell Terriers and a Corgi puppy. Both are two of the most popular pups at the horse shows although I am seeing more and more mixed breeds-a nod to the efforts of dog and horse rescue groups that work hard and diligent to place their charges in the best homes possible! The "Tiny Urls" take you to my Etsy store where you can see these much larger!

All 3 are available as originals, for purchase :-)

http://tinyurl.com/nueldyg

http://tinyurl.com/oznpjqf

http://tinyurl.com/o5m5rcn

Going to the Dogs is a special place I think. When it comes to your canine companions, every day is a good day! And that is a nice place to be :-)

Art studios, landscaping and chickens...

2015-03-13T07:08:00.000-04:00

Finally! Warmer weather! My poor ponies have a sea of dried mud around their run-in shed that will again turn to mush with the upcoming expected rains but MAYBE there will be a week with no rain, snow or mix after that!

So the renovation on the small studio is drawing to a foreseeable end...at least the walls are painted-white. I cannot bear the thought of anymore interior darkness! Hubby Steve is putting in the work counter...same height as a bar-that could be nice too!

I have been doing some raking and semi-landscaping. What that really means is that there was wire along the edges of the pasture fence that the pretty vinca flower vines had grown through and covered so I have actually had to use a pick ax, short and long handled pruning clippers to get up...a lot of it. I guess I noticed it but then did nothing about it...just ran the lawnmower around that nice long clump of dark green vines with their purple summer violets. After I finally spent 2 days yanking, digging and chopping at it all, the wire is up....followed by curious chickens who went to work digging in dirt I had conveniently already "undug" for them.

We are at a show right now so other than popping up an image of a recently completed and now shipped painting, I am off to make some sales today (always a good thought-heck it's the goal!)

Follow my journey with me and see how I set up the inside of a 12 x 20 studio!

Zues-16 x 16 pastel

Cabin in the Snow! The renovations continue!

2015-02-25T08:40:00.001-05:00

A cabin in the snow! The art studio journey continues.

So here we are at the end of February 2015 and the "cold winter" predictions have come true!

Just one of a number this winter!

Last winter collage and our cabin before renovations!

New England continues to dig out from yet another snowstorm...I think I read 7 feet of snow in 4 storms in 1 month! And we wait for a new system to come in tonight-one in which NO one seems to know what will happen (ice, sleet, little snow, lots of
snow?)

We have purposefully kept our large art studio cooler since we don't want to burn through too much propane. That means I can move a lot of my silk work inside the house to my office.

There is a definite space advantage after the kids leave home!

IN my next post I'll share some of the silk projects I am doing but right now here are a few of the images of the progress we are making with our "Cabin in the Woods" which will actually be a smaller studio but still a cabin feel to it!

Enjoy our DIY efforts! (this post is an excerpt from my Artsy Journeys blog!)

My artist hubby working late at night (with the help of a portable heater)

The mudding of the sheetrock is now DONE!

Grownups Art Camp May 9 from 10-3!

2015-02-06T11:43:00.000-05:00

Oh my, the kids have loads of fun in one of our Art Camps! In our summer camps out here in the country our kids have a blast every summer! Last summer they got dirty, played outside, played games, ran through water streams from the hoses, created loads and loads of art, loved on the ponies and the dogs, picked blackberries, ran through the secret trails, collected eggs, climbed the trees and in general, just had kid fun.Take a look below!

A few scenes from one of our summer art camps!

But as the parents said, "Why should the kids have all the fun?" Yep-that's what we thought too!
So we decided to have a 1 day "ArtEscape" camp just for the grownups on the Saturday before Mother's Day-May 9 from 10:00-3:00. No one under 21 simply because you can BYOB AND it's your adult summer/spring camp experience! It's only $45.00 per person-dress to mess, bring a sketch pad and a bagged lunch (with your favorite beverage) We supply all the rest! Oh and if you want to BYOB-feel free!
http://artstudentacademy.com/Grown-Up-Artescapte.html

Our second, little studio will be open and the new deck is perfect for the grownup kind of relaxation...so maybe you don't want to climb a tree, but the trails are fun, the roses will be in bloom and we'll work on several amazing indoor and outdoor art projects!

http://artstudentacademy.com/Grown-Up-Artescapte.html

Don't miss out!

Time Travel through client's portraits

2015-01-28T12:41:00.002-05:00

I have painted portraits for a long time now and in doing so, I watch my clients and their children grow up in front of me! I am always honored when they come back for new portraits of new family members and second and third generations!

One such example is "Will" age 3. A 24" x 36" oil.

The fun part?
Scroll down and see the new 30" x 40" oil of Will at age 16 that I will be delivering later this week! I love my job!

Oil of Will. 24 x 36 by M Theresa Brown 1999

"Will" 30 x 40 oil by M Theresa Brown 2015

Renovation Cabin and the Creative process

2015-01-20T07:56:00.000-05:00

Evening Painting classes that I am teaching at the local community college (Vance Granville) started Jan 12. Four newcomers came with no supplies but I managed to put oil pastels and paper to good use in an Op Art exercise that always inspires participants :-) So they were happy campers. With a break for MLK day, classes will resume Jan 27 with the everyone bringing paint and canvases!

Below is my Jan 14 post Renovation Cabin and the Creative process that got lost in the shuffle of slow Internet and things to do :-)

Renovation cabin and the creative process!

The recent extreme cold has really slowed down the cabin renovations! It's hard to put up sheetrock when you can't feel your nose..BUT we managed to get the ceiling done with help from our son who was visiting (haha no one is coming by all of a sudden!) and the longest wall (the other side has cabinets)

The other side was just hubby and I with a little hep from our four egged friends who are always delighted to find their humans down at their level!

And today? Outside lights are going up before the rain and sleet come back in a day or so!

sheetrock the longest wall-done!

Getting some help

Making my Studio Cabin happen!

2014-12-28T11:39:00.000-05:00

Happy New Year!

Wow-the deadline of Christmas is past and I can breathe again...just for awhile as not everyone had a Dec 25 deadline :-) I am always delighted to hear responses our clients heard when they gave a gift of a painting or portrait!

If you've been following my "Small Studio Cabin" odyssey then below is an update from my "artsyJourneys" blog which is the same post but here :-) Next post will be some of the Christmas paintings I created that I can now share.

Making my "Cabin in the Woods" happen!

In less than 3 short weeks, my "cabin in the woods"project-the smaller art studio-has seen a some changes. Once I committed to the idea and stopped waffling, things began to happen!

First, because the only convenient place originally to set the 12 x 20 shed down was at the

renovations in progress!

edge of our dirt/gravel driveway, I knew I had to make another entrance opening.

I also needed more light-a door at the north end or bigger windows!

Bringing in a re-modeler friend who happened to have a spare 6 ft. sliding door, he and his crew made short work of the 10 x 16' deck and door installation!

I hired the neighbor's son to dig the "trench" to lay electrical wire. Our big studio is on a separate meter so it seemed logical to pull power from that. Brent had a lot of help from one of our chickens the afternoon he dug it!

Chickens are fascinated by any "scratching" in the earth.

Digging the trench from the big studio

Our remodeler came out the next day and he and hubby hooked up the power to the small studio and I was in business so to speak! Even the simple ability to turn on lights was inspiring :-)

The changes have been fabulous! Below is from just the day after Christmas when my youngest son and hubby (artist Stephen Filarsky) installed the sheetrock on the ceiling (the hardest part of sheetrocking!) as part of my Christmas present! It's already looking bigger and brighter!

Sheetrocking the ceiling

I'll add a small stoop to the door side-I might just close it off but in the summer I know an amazing crossbreeze can come through there so...still thinking!
In the meantime, my "Cabin in the Woods" is coming to life!

Creating my Cabin in the Woods

2014-12-06T18:10:00.000-05:00

Creating My cabin in the Woods

Finding a spot to create. It seems to be a quest of writers, artists and musicians. Often it's a quest. Maybe that's a good word for it.
I spend more and more time thinking about it-a cabin in the woods.
I'm not sure why that dreaded "If only...." phrase has kept popping up in my mind but it has me daydreaming of a place to relax, unwind, meditate, recharge-every adjective that an artist needs in order to justify her creativity! Silly. I have a studio that is the envy of most artists. We built it 18 years ago from parts of a 1910 home being torn down in the area. It's 24 x 30 feet in size with 10 foot ceilings, beautiful reclaimed pine flooring, the old windows-it is stunning!

And I know this! But in reality it is crowded! Oh it started off with SO much space but with 2 working artists that changed quickly
Even the shed we added behind it turned into a storage area. Oh and we have a woodworking shop..the downstairs filled with tools and the upstairs filled with things we are storing but do not need. (easy with 4 grown kids who move around)

(

At the beginning.......:-)

And we have grown rose clippings from abandoned homesteads and they have grown and matured into a profusion of cascading color enjoyed by painters every spring...so WHY was I searching?

Seven Sisters roses cascading down the tobacco stick fence

Red Seven Sisters brought by mother as a cutting from her family homestead in Mississippi.

What am I looking for?

I lean towards mountain properties- a throwback I am sure of my New England upbringing where we lived in an 18th century farmhouse on 50 acre farm in upstate New York (next to MA and VT) and had unfettered run, on foot, skis and horses, of the mature forests and surrounding streams, farmland and towns. Our freedom included the glorious huge beamed barn with its many outbuildings and the secret hideaways within them all. Ah, such memories!

In my mind, my cabin retreat has to have a stream, mature trees...and of course-a small cabin. Again, I recognize this from childhood memories of running through abandoned farm fields and discovering, in the dark recesses of hemlocks and maples that bordered all the forgotten fields, streams that cascaded down rocks into small pools of cold, pristine water. It was all very magical to a child of ten and I clearly recall the details of discovering Jack in the Pulpits, ripples in the water pools, crawdads under the stones, floating maple leaves and the cool tang of the hemlocks. And other than the delighted sounds of discovery by my twin sister and younger brother, the only other sounds were that of the waterfall. The sound of gurgling water can quickly transport me to that spot anytime I hear it.

And on a bittersweet, yet telling note, the last family vacation I had with my twin sister was in the NC mountains. Eileen and I were 28 and I had 3 children, the youngest just 4 months old and a too busy life and business when our parents rented a little summer house for us to have a vacation in for our upcoming 29th birthdays :-). It sat in a valley with a little stream in front of the house. My 6 and 3 year old played for hours on end at the edge of the shallow gurgling water, building and rebuilding little stone houses. There had been no TV, no phone and we had sat on the front porch at night counting stars and waiting for the shooting ones. I had purposely left my guitar at home and brought my new hammered dulcimer. So our evening musical entertainment was the singular sounds of the dulcimer chords.

With my youngest in a backpack (or my mother staying and watching him) we explored caves, pastures, mountains, abandoned farms. We had bought Audubon books and learned the names of the wildflowers we were discovering. The children were at that age where everything held wonder and my parents and sister enjoyed sharing all the wonders with them. Something as simple as watermelon seed spitting contests and watching frogs hop held them in rapture. It was a good summer and even better memories. A year later my twin was gone and all that was left us were the memories.

So I sort of know WHY I am looking....maybe it's that I am searching for a bit of those memories I have just described. The point was I had a sort of an epiphany the other day.

After spending inordinate amounts of time on Craigslist, looking at properties that I could not afford, or cheap ones simply too far away (there IS a practical side to me!) and .....daydreaming, wasting an awful lot of time.... I shook myself clear of it.

I already have a small "cabin". I am on a couple of acres of land. I have mature trees. I have deer and wildlife. I have a stone fountain I bought used 3 years ago and never used....hey, I can MAKE my own cabin in the woods and do it right here!

Bought from a friend whose mother had used it first as a pottery studio, then as storage (of course!) it was simply too good an opportunity to pass up!

So $250.00 moving fee later, the 12 x 20 building is finally deposited between our house, studio and pasture. It isn't very lovely but it was insulated, wired and covered inside with many grungy shelves and a linoleum floor.

We are on 2.5 acres but the back is heavily wooded and alas...there was no way to get the whole shebang to the back area.

At first the changes I did were cosmetic: cleaning the sides, painting the door and trim, replacing the screen door with a vintage door......then I cleaned and painted the grungy insides shelves, thinking of paneling or sheetrock but not getting beyond that. Amazing what a little paint can do.
But within a few months we were storing frames and paintings in it, stymied by the cost of running electric to the inside panel.

And then the epiphany happened and I made a decision-yep-just like that-
The frames and artwork can go where they belong-into the 8 x 16 ft cargo trailer used just for that purpose. I'll enlist the help of some friends who can make a few things happen....for starters, I want a sliding door off the other end...this one door opens into the driveway-and cannot be a major entrance easily.
So I reasoned that if I bought property with a similar building on it, I would be facing the same economic and design challenges anyway so....what the heck!

So now I have my brain in gear...how to heat? Maybe a propane fireplace? Small woodstove? Must think this through but so many shelves are a bonus to help move my craft and silk work out of the main studio and into a smaller one.....let's see-add a small deck out the side where the sliding door would be, take that long unused stone waterfall..... are you feeling it now? :-)

What WILL the free range chickens think!? Stay tuned for what starts to happen next!