Change and Taking that Leap

Life changes. You can't avoid that. Sometimes all you can do is take a leap of faith.

I've been thinking about that for a couple of days because of a painting I was working on. It started out one way and became something so much more vibrant, rich and energetic than I had planned.

I've been trying to break out of my tight, photo-like style and into a more loose style.This painting might be just what I needed. I got to the point where I was stuck at, "technically this isn't working for me," and "this painting is Boringville," when I decided to risk the whole thing and take a leap of faith with a new idea. I don't know what possessed me to do it, but I did it, and I couldn't be more excited about the result!

Here are some photos that document this painting's transformation:

Could I have stopped here? Probably. The stems just weren't working for me or my "studio assistant" who doubles as my husband. This is where I decided to take a leap and embrace a new idea.

And from there it evolved into this:

I'm thrilled with how this turned out. I hope you like it too! 

While working on this I learned that some risks are worth taking, and sometimes change is a good thing.

Ellen

Twitter

Okay, y'all. I got a Twitter account today for my art endeavors. 

Why is it that I feel so old trying to figure out a new social networking trick? I was very comfortable with my Facebook-ing ways and then I think I did pretty well with Instagram. Let's hope that I can catch onto the birdy quickly!!

Enough beating around the bush! Follow me: @ellenvt_artist

Cooler Weather and Fall Refreshments

It finally feels like fall here in north Texas! With a ten-day forecast of upper 60's to lower 70's, the cooler weather may actually be here to stay until spring.

I don't know about you, but the cooler weather definitely lifts my spirits. I think the word that best describes is "refreshing." There is something so pleasant about not sweating every time you walk outside...go figure.

Since the weather is now actually fall-ish, I can let myself have a Pumpkin Spice Latte from Starbucks! Pinterest has lots if recipes for different fall drinks, including the Pumpkin Spice. What's your favorite fall drink? Apple cider? Hot chocolate? Homemade or store bought?

Let's have some fun and share fall drink traditions!

ARTWORK GIVEAWAY!!!

Just so you know...I'm holding an art giveaway contest! I'm attempting to get more "likes" and spread the word about my art in general. What's a better way to do that than to hold a contest?!

Here's the official flyer: 

Here are photos of the three pieces the winner will be able to choose from:

To see close-up photos and see specifications you can go to the Fall 2013 Giveaway album on my Facebook page. 

 If you have already "liked" my page all you have to do to enter is "share" the page or giveaway photo. If you are a newbie to Ellen Van Treuren Artworks, you need to "like" and "share."

Don't delay! This contest ends October 7th! 

 

Ellen

Tourists

Sometimes it's fun to be a tourist in your own city...especially if you just moved there! 

Last weekend Tim and I took a little trip to the Fort Worth Botanic Gardens and visited the Japanese Garden. It was a fun little adventure and way less expensive than the Dallas Arboretum. Some of the gardens are actually free, but some (like the Japanese Garden) cost a little bit. 

I took my camera and was hoping to get some reference photos for future artwork. I'm not sure how successful I was since my camera really doesn't take great photos, and since everything was one color--green. It was a little disappointing that there wasn't a bigger variety if colors in the garden. Maybe there will be in the springtime.

Here's one of me and Tim. I'm such a lucky girl 😊

Tim was the official map reader. He wasn't happy with me that I wanted to see the sites out of their numerical order on the map.  

Btw...he wasn't really mad. I told him to pose like that.

Until next time...

Life Since the Move

Two weeks ago Tim and I moved. We are now enjoying a more pleasant area and 200 more square feet.
While he started graduate school, I started a new job at Hobby Lobby.

Moving means lots of new changes and it also means the opportunity for new decorations!
We had plenty of those old ugly, laminate book cases so to spruce it up I added some color.

Nice, huh? This was loosely based on a Pinterest project that I saw.

This next decorating project was directly based on something I saw on Pinterest.

 

This I had seen on Pinterest. It's a photo of me and Tim during out first dance with the lyrics of the song to which we danced.

 

This one I thought of all by myself! Here he are exchanging vows and rings. The words are the actual vows that we wrote for each other. It was very sweet and sentimental to look at them again. I am very glad that they will now be up in our apartment where we can see them. I think it will be a good reminder to make sure that we are actually honoring those promises through the years to come.

 


P.S. Being married is the bomb.com!

Turning Back into Humans

In my last post, I talked about how my husband and I had gone on a seven-day cleanse diet. Well, that lasted about 1.5 days.

The second day I was irritable and just didn't feel good in general. Also, I was hungry.

We ended up quitting the diet and had a delicious dinner of breakfast Pita bread which usually includes scrambled eggs, bacon and cheese broiled on top of Pita bread.

Come to find out, it wasn't necessarily that I lacked will power to complete the seven-day diet. Tim discovered while talking with a friend that we probably did not have enough protein in our diet and this was making me so moody and feeling weak.

I guess a cleanse like that takes more research than we did, and it takes a better plan. There is hope in our future for a cleanse-diet, but we might start out with a three-day trial and than graduate from there once we find meals that contain all the nutrients our bodies need to function properly.

Until then, I will enjoy my cheeseburgers and chicken fried steak.