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The Desire to Create

Does anyone even read blogs anymore? I’m not sure. But either way, I’m dusting off these cobwebs and starting fresh!

I’ve recently rediscovered something and came to the conclusion that I have a desire to create. For those who know me well, you know that I love to paint and that art is very important to me. I never gave it up- I would still find opportunities to pull out my paints or my stained glass tools for a project. But it certainly hasn’t been my focus.

The past several years have been wonderful. We adopted our two beautiful kids- now ages 7 and 3- and I’ve been in the thick of mom-life. From changing dirty diapers, cleaning, cooking, kissing boo boo’s and tucking them in and singing them songs at night. Now it’s school pick ups and drop offs and taking my daughter to ballet and running to my son’s soccer games. The list goes on! It is a beautiful life!

But in this busyness of mom-life, I got myself in a bit of a rut and realized that I wasn’t taking much time for me. This year I have been determined to make some small changes and go back to my roots of what I really love, and that is creating. I’m taking just a little bit of time every day to paint. I’m teaching a watercolor class to some darling girls once a week. In carving out a little bit of time for this, it has made my life much more vibrant. And I’ve realized another thing. It’s made me a better me! I feel like I am a better mom and a better wife, because I am much happier and fulfilled.

I have been working on freshening up my website and made the cutest new logo. Isn’t it so me?! I also created an instagram page for my artwork, where I plan to regularly post my current projects. I’d love for you to follow along at @jamieanneblake.art.

What would you like to see in the future? I dream of continuing my social media presence on Instagram and have also thought of creating a YouTube channel of me painting with watercolors and the techniques that I use. Any ideas are welcome! I’d love the feedback!

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First Official Book Signing

With our recent move out west, it has become much easier to be more involved in promoting my book. So on Labor Day weekend, my little family made the drive to Yellowstone where I had my first official book signing- at the historic and beautiful Old Faithful Inn! I had the best time chatting with people and selling my book. The day was beautiful (although chilly) when we got there, but before too long it began pouring rain and hailing. It drew a lot of people inside, which ended up being good for me. 🙂

I am hoping that this will become an annual tradition- and next time I will be a bit more prepared . . . I have already made business cards and a large poster. Many people came up to me asking where the hotel bar/bathroom/restaurant was. Although the most common question was, “when is the geyser going to go off next?” I guess I looked like customer service! 😉 But I politely answered the questions as best I could and tried to get them to buy a copy of my book before they left.

oldfaithful1my little family in front of the inn

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I had the best time and can’t wait for the next one!
(to be announced!)

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OBX

Just about a year ago to date, our little family went on a week long vacation to the Outer Banks of North Carolina. For those that have never been, that place is downright dreamy. How lucky we were to drive 4 hours out of the hustle and bustle that is the DC metro area and be in such a paradise! There is something so wonderful about the Atlantic Ocean beaches. Tall grass, warm sand, weathered homes on stilts- it’s just beautiful. In fact, just thinking about the fact that we now live clear across the country and aren’t in driving distance makes me almost want to cry.

Perhaps it was the craziness of the year we’d had- of adopting our beautiful little girl and adjusting to parenthood, but that vacation of ours was my very favorite we’ve been on. We needed some relaxation. We shared a beach house with some of our best friends, brought along our dog along (who loved to hop in the ocean waves), and have ourselves the most wonderful, relaxing trip.

obxMy sweet little family at the Bodie Island Lighthouse

We stayed in Kitty Hawk, NC, and all we had to do was walk across the street and we were literally on the beach. In viewing distance from our house, was this beautiful beach home on the water- Pelican’s Perch. Wouldn’t it be a dream to stay there?

pelicansperch

Because of our fond memories of the OBX, I wanted to do a watercolor of our time there, so I painted Pelican’s Perch. (using a complimentary blue/orange theme) I thought it turned out great. Maybe not as soft and delicate as I wanted, but still lovely! Although it’s safe to say that I will likely paint many more watercolors of the beautiful Outer Banks, because I love it so. Plenty of more opportunities to create a perfect watercolor.

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“Pelican’s Perch” 16″x20″ watercolor and ink

What do you all think?

 

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New Year, New Look

Hey all!

I figured it’s about time that I revive this website and get it up and running again!
Introducing my new website at jamieanneblake.com! One of my New Years Resolutions was to redesign my art website and to update regularly on my blog with all of my latest artistic endeavors. A big task (especially with a cute one-year old daughter who requires a lot of time and attention), but I think a manageable one!

My previous website design was beautiful and colorful. I really loved it. I spent a lot of time designing it, and my husband did all the programming to get it up and running several years back. But recently I started to think that it might be too busy. I want an art website that is clean and simple- something that showcases my artwork, and not the web design. What do you think of the new design?

So here’s to a new year, a new site, and lots of upcoming projects!

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How To Get Ideas

My publisher wants me to work on a second Buffalo Joe book (this time, about Yellowstone)!! This is something I have been so excited about! It’s a good sign that book #1 is doing well- and I really had the best time working on my first book. So I am thrilled to get going on another one. But I’ve been going through a little phase of writer’s block. Blame it on being a new mother, on having a lack of ideas flowing, whatever- I’ve had a really hard time with it. I will sit down and stare at my laptop during Veda’s nap time and just be blank- nothing! No creative juices flowing whatsoever! I’ve even had several people give me ideas, but I can’t seem to fit them all together to create a great story. It’s led me to be frustrated with the whole thing.

So last week as I was organizing my house, I came across this book that I read for my Intro to Illustration class- “How To Get Ideas,” by Jack Foster. I have read it a few times, and it is a fantastic book. I recommend it to everyone!
You don’t even need to be a writer/illustrator/artist, it is just a fun read full of lots of tips and really funny quotes.

ideas

I busted it out and read the whole thing in a few days, and I came across several realizations. I loved this quote:

“If you want to be idea prone you must accept two things.
First, you must accept that what you think about yourself is the
single most important factor in your success.
Second, human beings can alter their lives
by altering their attitudes.”

Realization #1: I need to change my attitude

I realized that I have this weird fear of failing at this book (before I’ve even started on it) . . . I had such a great idea for my first one and it was such a great story, which gives me the feeling that there’s no way I can come up with something just as good.

But that’s not true! I’ve published a children’s book once! I’m just afraid of my new idea being rejected. But if I came up with a good idea once, I certainly can again, right? And I will!

Realization #2: Create a Deadline

I also realized that I need a deadline. And according to this book- the shorter, the better. Maybe if I’m under a time crunch, I will get serious here. So here’s what I’ve decided. I don’t have the time to dedicate to this like I used to, but
nap time = my time! No sitting down at the computer, trying to come up with something, and then just goofing around on facebook instead. This will give me at least 2 hrs. during the day to at least be thinking about book #2!

My deadline:

I am giving myself until the end of the year to turn in a manuscript. This gives me about 3 months.

September: Research all I can about the Yellowstone/Old Faithful area. The more I know about the area,
the easier it may be for an idea to pop up!

October & November: Write the story! Have the first draft written by Thanksgiving.

December: Revise, Revise, Revise! Turn in manuscript by the end of the year.

Item #1 this week is to get my hands on some books about Yellowstone and start doing some reading. Which will probably entail getting a library card (something that is long overdue to do!).

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Alaskan Moose

A good friend of mine from growing up lives in Alaska. Their cute family is in the Air Force, and they are stationed out there for several years. She wanted a painting for her living room that reminded her of Alaska, and wanted something with a Moose and mountains.

I was so excited about this project, and when I mentioned it to my mom she said, “Can you paint a moose?” And I was like, “Uhhhh, I think so . . . . .” Anyway, I did it- and I am proud to say that yes, I can paint a moose.

I am just loving how the watercolor turned out. I love how the colors all go together so beautifully. I decided to do this painting in a double compliment scheme- meaning having two complementary colors- purple and yellow, and blue and orange. What do you all think?

*Interested in your own custom painting? I love doing commissions! Contact me for details.

alaska-moose

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Moulton Barn Celebration

This year is the Moulton Barn’s 100 year anniversary. Our family is throwing a big centennial celebration in it’s honor this summer, mostly to raise funds for its preservation- so I painted a few watercolors to auction off. I think they turned out so lovely, and they’ll look even better framed! What do you all think?

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*For more information about the Moulton Barn, click here.

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Illustration Friday: children

I know I have been on-again off-again when it comes to Illustration Friday projects. Silly me. But I saw this weeks topic and loved it!! The topic is children. Which really is perfect, because it explains the reason for my absence!

 

My husband and I adopted a beautiful baby girl who is now just over 4 months old. Our lives have been turned upside down- we love her so much and feel so grateful to have her in our lives! Here is a little illustration of our sweet baby girl!

veda-IF

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The Adventures of Buffalo Joe

I apologize for the absence on my blog. Things have been really pretty busy around here.
And I have some big news. My book is finally out!!!

Introducing The Adventured of Buffalo Joe and the Blackbird with the Broken Wing!

I couldn’t have been more pleased with how it turned out.
The colors are bright and vivid, just how I imagined them.
And the good news is that my publisher is interested in me starting a book #2.

My book is available in the Jackson Hole/Grand Teton National Park area,
through Homestead Publishing, Or you can purchase a signed copy from me! Click below for your own signed copy:



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Comic Paintings

I know this is like ancient history, as it is the end of January, but I must tell you about what I did for my hubby for Christmas. 🙂 He has recently gotten into comic books, and months ago he said it would be cool if I painted him a picture of his favorite comic book characters. I just stored that little piece of information away and decided it would be a perfect Christmas gift.

I painted 3 different watercolor studies of Batman, The Flash, and The Green Lantern. And Wowza! I think they turned out great. I started working on them in October, and finished right in the nick of time. Here they are:

Batman

The Flash

The Green Lantern

And here they are hanging in Bryce’s office. What do you think?