My studio is open today from 5:00 to 7:00 pm as part of the Downtown Culture Crawl. Folks who pop in for a visit can fill out a ballot for a draw for two paintings. Since so many (most, in fact) of my collectors are not from the Fredericton area, I'm also offering an online giveaway.

Here are the deets ...

The draw is for the two paintings shown above. This duo symbolizes a yearning for things to be in their place ...  in a playful and meditative way.

Order from Chaos #3 & #4
By Donna Mulholland
Each is an 8 x 8" acrylic on gallery-wrapped canvas with 1.5" depth
(Note that the edges are a pthalo-ish blue colour)

To enter:

1) Comment on this post below with a comment about the paintings and a contact email by 6:00 pm Eastern Time (ET) today. (If you would prefer not to publish your email online, please email your name and address to me at info@donnamulhollandstudio.com. However, you must comment on this blog post, as well.)
2) A winner will be randomly selected this evening and contacted via email.
3) If the winner does not respond to a notification of their win email within 24 hours another name will be drawn.
4) Folks living in Canada and the mainland US are eligible to enter. Canada Post parcel post shipping will be covered by me.
5) Please note there is a possibility of postal service interruption due to striking workers, in which case shipping time will be outside my control. 
6) Local folks are eligible to enter and can pick up their paintings at my studio at an arranged time.

Good luck everyone, yeehaw... and thank you for your friendship, support and inspiration!

​Donna

Today's post topic comes from the notes app on my phone. That's where I keep a lot of my ideas, reminders, to-do lists, things I want to save, and such. A draft list I'd jotted down called "ten ways to paint like yourself" caught my attention. I feel passionately that learning to paint like yourself is the most important thing you are to do. Great teachers can help you, but it's your job to develop your own style ... and not their styles. There is something better, deeper, truer waiting ... your style! 

Your style is not something you choose or pick out like a new coat at the store, it is who you are. It is who you are down deep. It is who you are aided by your self-awareness and imagination, enhanced by the skills you learn along the way. It can be extremely frustrating to develop your style, but rewarding, too. The best part is that it is a process that never ends, so you get to keep on painting!

The list of "ten ways to paint like yourself" is found below. As you would imagine, the list originally had more than ten ways, but I think ten is a good non-overwhelming place to start ... and take special note of #10, eh? There are some horror stories out there. 

I'd love to hear what you would add to the list. Please comment below and fill us in!

Until next week,

​Donna

PS Reminders

1) Thursday, August 25th my studio will be open from 5:00-7:00 pm as part of the City of Fredericton's Culture Crawl. I hope to be previewing pieces from my "What I Did This Summer" collection coming to the online shop soon!

2) Don't forget to check out the August Collection and other works available in my shop here.

​3) Exciting stuff is coming the first of September so hear it first by signing up for my newsletter here.

4) Contact me anytime via email here.

This week I'm going to answer a question I received about my acrylic palette. Just click on the video above to hear about what paints and colours I use, and why.

If video's not your thing or you'd like the short version, here it is: I love to mix colours and work with a limited palette of warm and cool primaries (reds, blues & yellows) plus white and Payne's Grey. I love the cohesive look working with a small palette brings to art work.

​Thanks so much for the question. If you have a comment or question for me about my palette (or anything else) go ahead and post below.

Have a great week!

​PS Check out the August Collection and my other available paintings in my website shop here.

As an artist, I'm continually working to better communicate the value of owning my art to my collectors. To this end, I've been keeping a Pinterest folder and a folder on my phone about the value and benefits of collecting and owning art. My plan was .... and is ... to devote some time to this subject in future blog posts. However,  this morning I had the experience of buying a painting and so that seems like a fine jumping off point for the subject. 

​I was on my way to the art supply store (Endeavours) and stopped into the new Gallery (Gallery on Queen) next door. I just had time to do a quick browse around to get a taste of the works there. On my quick walkabout a small painting set behind the counter caught my eye. I kept on walking the circumference of the gallery; kept browsing, but feeling the tug of that little painting. I ended up asking if the painting was available - slightly afraid that it had been set aside because it had been sold - and it turned out to be available. It just hadn't been set out with a display tag yet. So, I asked how much it was and bought it.

​So, why did I buy it? What drew me to it? It's very hard for me to define what draws me to something. It's not a left brain thing. It's a gut thing, an intuition thing ... an emotional thing. A connection happens and it happens as quickly and forcefully as a bolt of lightning. Once I've been struck, that's it. I rarely doubt the feeling. Interestingly, price is a secondary consideration. The gut connection, the heart connection has to be there first.

​I had no thought as to where I'd hang this piece or if the colours matched anything in my house. I didn't even know who the artist was. I just instantly connected with it. Was it the subject? Was it the composition? Was it the lights and darks? Was it the frame? Was it the colours? Was it the emotion of the piece? Was it the meaning or symbolism of the piece? Was it the energy of the piece? Was it a little bit of magic? I like to think that all of that and more counted in, but I'm leaning strongly towards "the little bit of magic" as the essential element. 

Terrific artists have that little bit of magic ... and it seems to me that in these interesting times, we could all use a little bit more of that magic.
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What makes you buy a particular painting or piece of art? I'd love to hear!

Have a great week!

PS The August Collection is now available in the shop. Just click here. Thanks for all the positive feedback!

PSS Let's have another giveaway! I'm offering a set of 4 art postcards (shown below) to the winner of a random draw that will take place on Monday, August 8th at 12 noon Eastern Time. To be eligible for the draw, tell me what made you buy the last piece of art you purchased in a comment below. If for some reason I am unable to contact the winner within 24 hours of the draw, the art postcards will be awarded to a second name drawn. Good luck!
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