If you are in the area, be sure to come visit my booth. I will be raffling a print. Drop off a business card or leave your contact information.
Follow @vpmillerart
Thursday, April 19, 2012
St. John's River Festival of the Arts 2012
I'm extremely happy to have been selected to participate in the St. John's River Festival of the Arts, in Sanford, FL on May 5th and 6th.
If you are in the area, be sure to come visit my booth. I will be raffling a print. Drop off a business card or leave your contact information.
Follow @vpmillerart
If you are in the area, be sure to come visit my booth. I will be raffling a print. Drop off a business card or leave your contact information.
Follow @vpmillerart
Tuesday, April 10, 2012
Orange Blossoms and Honey Bee Oil Painting
"Orange Blossoms and Honey Bee" is a small departure for me. Watching the orange blossoms burst forth, and the accompanying dance of the honey bees lured in by the heady fragrance was akin to watching a mini drama in my backyard.
Several times during the week, I did a photo shoot alternating between Aperture and Shutter setting on my camera. I generally prefer Aperture when shooting flowers, to make the background blur away. I also used higher Shutter settings to capture some detail of the bees so that I would have some information when painting.
I prepped the canvas with a wash of burnt sienna and odorless mineral spirits. I let it dry overnight, and used vine charcoal to draw in the composition, aided by rough grid marks on the canvas. I had assumed that drawing flowers would be easy, but it was surprisingly challenging and complex. I knew once my drawing had to be revised several times that painting it would also be a learning experience.
My approach is to work the whole painting at once, rather than concentrating in one area. It helps in laying the correct values immediately. I work with the largest brushes first, saving small brushes for later.
After painting several days, I went back to the citrus trees expecting to retrieve a live flower blossom as a studio model and reference. There I received a shocking reminder of how transitory nature is: all the orange blossoms were gone. I missed my chance. I had to rely on my memory, familiarity, and my photo references.
During this period, a honey bee fell into our swimming pool and I was around to fish him out. He sat on the pool's edge, cleaning himself off. I watched him at eye level from inches away. Their thorax is very soft and fuzzy, reminiscent of a duckling's down. Their telltale stripes aren't so stark black against a constant yellow body, like commonly depicted. After a few minutes, he regained his composure and flew off. I used this field observation to more fully render the rough areas of the bee in the painting.
I've already planted Lemon Queen sunflowers and other attractors in our vegetable garden so I look forward to more close encounters. Our pollinators are so important and are threatened on many fronts: colony collapse disorder, habitat destruction, viruses, pesticides, mites, and fungus. For a great Q & A all about bees, their behavior and the Varroa mite, check out this online session with Marla Spivak.
Follow @vpmillerart
 |
| "Orange Blossoms and Honey Bee", 16" x 20", Oil on Canvas, ©Victoria Page Miller |
Several times during the week, I did a photo shoot alternating between Aperture and Shutter setting on my camera. I generally prefer Aperture when shooting flowers, to make the background blur away. I also used higher Shutter settings to capture some detail of the bees so that I would have some information when painting.
I prepped the canvas with a wash of burnt sienna and odorless mineral spirits. I let it dry overnight, and used vine charcoal to draw in the composition, aided by rough grid marks on the canvas. I had assumed that drawing flowers would be easy, but it was surprisingly challenging and complex. I knew once my drawing had to be revised several times that painting it would also be a learning experience.
 |
| Color Wash with Initial Vine Charcoal drawing, "Orange Blossoms with Honey Bee" |
My approach is to work the whole painting at once, rather than concentrating in one area. It helps in laying the correct values immediately. I work with the largest brushes first, saving small brushes for later.
After painting several days, I went back to the citrus trees expecting to retrieve a live flower blossom as a studio model and reference. There I received a shocking reminder of how transitory nature is: all the orange blossoms were gone. I missed my chance. I had to rely on my memory, familiarity, and my photo references.
During this period, a honey bee fell into our swimming pool and I was around to fish him out. He sat on the pool's edge, cleaning himself off. I watched him at eye level from inches away. Their thorax is very soft and fuzzy, reminiscent of a duckling's down. Their telltale stripes aren't so stark black against a constant yellow body, like commonly depicted. After a few minutes, he regained his composure and flew off. I used this field observation to more fully render the rough areas of the bee in the painting.
I've already planted Lemon Queen sunflowers and other attractors in our vegetable garden so I look forward to more close encounters. Our pollinators are so important and are threatened on many fronts: colony collapse disorder, habitat destruction, viruses, pesticides, mites, and fungus. For a great Q & A all about bees, their behavior and the Varroa mite, check out this online session with Marla Spivak.
Follow @vpmillerart
Monday, April 9, 2012
Casselberry's Art and Music in the Park Fri April 13th
Come out and see me and five of my creative friends as we exhibit our art pieces this Friday at Casselberry's Art & Music in the Park!
Art & Music runs from 5-8pm at Lake Concord Park and includes live music and the original Food Truck Bazaar(mobile gourmet food). I can't wait to chill out after a long work week and relax with friends.
Come on out and say "hi" - but be sure you bring your own blankets or lawn chairs! See you there!
Follow @vpmillerart
Art & Music runs from 5-8pm at Lake Concord Park and includes live music and the original Food Truck Bazaar(mobile gourmet food). I can't wait to chill out after a long work week and relax with friends.
Come on out and say "hi" - but be sure you bring your own blankets or lawn chairs! See you there!
Follow @vpmillerart
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Heron at DeLeon Springs Painting
It's been a long time since blogging. I apologize for not tending to my blog, but sometimes life and family can overrun your time!
I just completed this oil painting titled "Heron at DeLeon Springs".
My daughter and I were out at DeLeon Springs State Park in Volusia County, Florida. She is a member of the Echo Ranger program which allows children to sample ecological, cultural, historical and outdoors activities in Volusia. It's a fantastic program, and a great way to explore Central Florida for families. (I don't see why all counties couldn't adopt this idea: it's low cost for families, and an excellent cross-promotional tool, but best of all, it's fun!)
Anyway, on this particular trip we went on a ecological/historical boat tour at DeLeon Springs. The tour went from DeLeon Springs State Park into the waters of Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge. This little heron was only a sampling of the kind of beauty we saw that day.
We'll be going back sometime to swim in the year round 72 degree Fahrenheit water. And maybe to try the famous pancakes at the Old Mill House. That requires getting there early, unless you want to wait.
Did you know that DeLeon Springs was once billed in the 1880's as a kind of fountain of youth? You can be sure that I dipped my feet in just in case!
Follow @vpmillerart
I just completed this oil painting titled "Heron at DeLeon Springs".
 | ||
| © 2012 VP Miller - "Heron at DeLeon Springs" - 16"x20" - Oil on Canvas |
Anyway, on this particular trip we went on a ecological/historical boat tour at DeLeon Springs. The tour went from DeLeon Springs State Park into the waters of Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge. This little heron was only a sampling of the kind of beauty we saw that day.
We'll be going back sometime to swim in the year round 72 degree Fahrenheit water. And maybe to try the famous pancakes at the Old Mill House. That requires getting there early, unless you want to wait.
Did you know that DeLeon Springs was once billed in the 1880's as a kind of fountain of youth? You can be sure that I dipped my feet in just in case!
Follow @vpmillerart
Friday, January 6, 2012
2012 and donuts
"Donuts is there anything they can't do?" - Homer Simpson
Well it seemed a good way to commemorate the New Year at the time.
We drove to St. Petersburg to hang out with my family, and brought my Mom to First Night celebrations downtown.
Walking in the luminary maze and arriving in the center, you set your intentions (or make a wish) tying a ribbon to the large oak.
Paper lanterns held messages from the creator, usually universal in understanding.
We all went over to my brother and sister-in-law's house for a party. And stayed too late. It was a great way to start the New Year.
However you spent yours, working, celebrating, alone, with others; I hope that 2012 exceeds your expectations!
Follow @vpmillerart
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
The Winner of the My Memories Suite Giveaway
Cheryl!!!!!!
I will be in contact with her in the next few days so that she may claim her prize.
The contest is now closed, but in case you missed it you can always purchase a My Memories Suite of your very own, or as a gift to give (because you are so very thoughtful) by using my coupon code STMMMS62509 in their online store. For every purchase made with my code, I will be donating $10 to the ArtZ (Artists for Alzheimer's) organization. In case you missed it, you can read about ArtZ in my post Art and Alzheimers, It's Personal.
Thank you everyone, for participating or just lurking.
Follow @vpmillerart
Monday, October 3, 2011
My Memories Suite Review and Giveaway!
I wanted to despise this software. I really, really did. Quite possibly, if I even liked it a smidge I would have to finally face years of online photos that have never been printed out and seen the light of day. I wouldn't be able to use my inability to navigate through Photoshop Elements as an excuse any longer, which I ironically purchased years ago for scrap booking!
Let me explain, I have learned to use Elements for basic tasks.. but the thought of creating an entire scrap book page with it makes me want to pull my hair out! It's like using a blow torch when all you needed was a single lit match. Serious overkill.
Rather than dive right in, I checked out the My Memories Suite blog, facebook page and tutorials. I wanted to see what kind of support the product has. It has very robust free onsite tutorials and a rabid fan base. After watching the what-you-need-to-know-to-get-started video I was chomping at the bit to get started and could see why it's users love this software! It is extremely friendly, and intuitive - especially if you have tried other photo editing software. One of the nice things about MMS, is that you can use any custom element you have - whether it's something you created, or a freebie you downloaded off the internet.
I decided to create an Art Journal Album using photos of journal pages I had created in other artist's journals. This first page "Art! Just Do It!" borrowed heavily from Rosie the Riveter and was painted right over Julia Cameron's The Artist Way Chapter 3, "Regaining a Sense of Power".
I've been in an Art Journal round robin for about a year now. We pass our journals around, and each month take turns creating pages in someone else's journal. After one year, we will get our own journal back with all the other participating artist's wonderful art work in it! It has been so much fun and I can't believe it's almost over. This journal page was meant for Joy's journal, so I included photos of her.
This is the second page in my Art Journal album, using my "Art! It's what for dinner..." chicken journal page as the background paper. I liked that the original spiral bound wire was captured in the photo, and wanted to keep that element. I could have covered it with a standard digital ribbon.
I scanned a rusted star I kept from an old wind chime, and used the jpeg (in Photoshop Elements) to create my own digital star embellishment. I downloaded the metal bracket as a freebie digital embellishment from Pixel Scrapper.
This journal page was painted in Anne-Marie's book, so I included photos of her. I would like to create a page of everyone in the Art Journal group - using the page that I created for their book. I loved creating the work and giving it away, but am happy to have a vehicle to create an album for myself with added elements meaningful to the group. The finished album can be printed, or be shared online with music and video added.
Hint: I didn't originally take photos of all of the journal pages that I created, nor did I bring my camera to each group meetup. If you decide to do something like this for any groups you belong to, it would be great to be prepared!
The MMS software made it an absolute joy to play, tinker, swap and experiment with their kits, and with my own custom elements. I worried less about what I was doing, and more about how it was looking. In essence it was true tool, and not a hindrance to the process. Loved the small learning curve and the ease of use.
My husband may yet, actually see a wedding album!
The wonderful people at My Memories gave me one extra My Memory Suite as a giveaway!! Isn't it great to share?!
The more comments you leave, the better chance you have to win! Entries will close next Monday at midnight, EST. I will draw the lucky winner next Tuesday!
I'd like to say thank you to everyone who supports my blog, the people at My Memories, and to everyone who loves the arts, in general! Good luck!
Follow @vpmillerart
Let me explain, I have learned to use Elements for basic tasks.. but the thought of creating an entire scrap book page with it makes me want to pull my hair out! It's like using a blow torch when all you needed was a single lit match. Serious overkill.
Rather than dive right in, I checked out the My Memories Suite blog, facebook page and tutorials. I wanted to see what kind of support the product has. It has very robust free onsite tutorials and a rabid fan base. After watching the what-you-need-to-know-to-get-started video I was chomping at the bit to get started and could see why it's users love this software! It is extremely friendly, and intuitive - especially if you have tried other photo editing software. One of the nice things about MMS, is that you can use any custom element you have - whether it's something you created, or a freebie you downloaded off the internet.
I decided to create an Art Journal Album using photos of journal pages I had created in other artist's journals. This first page "Art! Just Do It!" borrowed heavily from Rosie the Riveter and was painted right over Julia Cameron's The Artist Way Chapter 3, "Regaining a Sense of Power".
I've been in an Art Journal round robin for about a year now. We pass our journals around, and each month take turns creating pages in someone else's journal. After one year, we will get our own journal back with all the other participating artist's wonderful art work in it! It has been so much fun and I can't believe it's almost over. This journal page was meant for Joy's journal, so I included photos of her.
This is the second page in my Art Journal album, using my "Art! It's what for dinner..." chicken journal page as the background paper. I liked that the original spiral bound wire was captured in the photo, and wanted to keep that element. I could have covered it with a standard digital ribbon.
I scanned a rusted star I kept from an old wind chime, and used the jpeg (in Photoshop Elements) to create my own digital star embellishment. I downloaded the metal bracket as a freebie digital embellishment from Pixel Scrapper.
This journal page was painted in Anne-Marie's book, so I included photos of her. I would like to create a page of everyone in the Art Journal group - using the page that I created for their book. I loved creating the work and giving it away, but am happy to have a vehicle to create an album for myself with added elements meaningful to the group. The finished album can be printed, or be shared online with music and video added.
Hint: I didn't originally take photos of all of the journal pages that I created, nor did I bring my camera to each group meetup. If you decide to do something like this for any groups you belong to, it would be great to be prepared!
The MMS software made it an absolute joy to play, tinker, swap and experiment with their kits, and with my own custom elements. I worried less about what I was doing, and more about how it was looking. In essence it was true tool, and not a hindrance to the process. Loved the small learning curve and the ease of use.
My husband may yet, actually see a wedding album!
The wonderful people at My Memories gave me one extra My Memory Suite as a giveaway!! Isn't it great to share?!
If you would like to have the chance to win your very own copy of My Memory Suite v2 (retail $39.97) you can enter in any or all of the following ways: (Be sure to comment with an email, or other non-anonymous way, so that I can reach you in case you are the winner!)
1) leave a comment, saying what would be the first project you would tackle if you won!
2) follow my blog publicly, and leave a comment saying so
3) like me on facebook, and leave a comment saying so
4) follow me on twitter and leave a comment saying so
5) facebook, and/or tweet about this giveaway, including a link to this page and leave a comment saying so! Please include @vpmillerart #mymemories and #giveaway in your tweet. Here is a shortened link http://bit.ly/nDV3VW to use.
6) go to the My Memories site and tell me which kit you like best. (I bought "A Wonderful Life" which is a vintage Christmas-y kit, and also one of my favorite movies)
The more comments you leave, the better chance you have to win! Entries will close next Monday at midnight, EST. I will draw the lucky winner next Tuesday!
I'd like to say thank you to everyone who supports my blog, the people at My Memories, and to everyone who loves the arts, in general! Good luck!
Follow @vpmillerart
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