Paintings for Livada: Sighisoara Tower

When I was on the missions trip with Grace Church serving the Livada Orphan Care ministry in Romania, the beauty of the country inspired me. I had the idea that when I got home to Arkansas I could paint these Romanian scenes and donate the paintings to Livada to raise money for orphan sponsorship.

Sighisoara was our one day excursion at the end of the trip – the touristy sight seeing adventure. After the group tour – the house in which Vlad Tepes, aka dracula, was born (now hosting a restaurant and a small museum of medieval weapons) – we had an hour or so to look around the city.

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I enjoyed a baked good and casually explored the 14th century city until I reached a tunnel of one thousand stairs.

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Well, it wasn’t actually one thousand stairs, but that’s what it felt like. There were some musicians at the top of the tunneled stairs playing some instrumental pieces. This was really cool because when I first started my month long hike the music was a faint echo, but as I got closer to the end of my journey, the music became louder and more pronounced.

I was rewarded at the top by a beautiful church.

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Right outside the church was this small house tower, which overlooked a graveyard.

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Image to Paint

8. Sighisoara Tower crop

Charcoal Sketch on Canvas

8. Sighisoara Tower Sketch

Painting Sketch (1st Coat)

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Painting Sketch (2nd Coat)

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Final Painting

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Paintings for Livada: Romania Poppy Field and Hillside

When I was on the missions trip with Grace Church serving the Livada Orphan Care ministry in Romania, the beauty of the country inspired me. I had the idea that when I got home to Arkansas I could paint these Romanian scenes and donate the paintings to Livada to raise money for orphan sponsorship.

There were many beautiful landscapes and Romanian scenery. This picture was given to me by a friend who is from Romania and held happy family memories with the flowers in the field.

Image to Paint

15. Romania Poppy Field and Hillside

Charcoal Sketch on Canvas

15. Romania Poppy Field and Hillside Sketch

Painting Sketch (1st Coat)

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Painting Sketch (2nd Coat)

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Final Painting

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Painting an Apron for OurHouse

It all started when…

Emily Wood Facebook messaged me – “Interested in painting an apron for the OurHouse apron auction event ?”

“Tie One On” Event

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Tie One On is a live and silent auction (of aprons designed by Little Rock area artists) to benefit Our House, which is a shelter for the working homeless in central Arkansas.

I got my aprons from Emily and started working.

I used “The Lady and the Musician” linoleum block to print the patterns on each apron.

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I then mixed gesso and acrylic paint and went over the prints

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These are what the aprons look like when worn.

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I met with Emily to give her the aprons and she gave me two invitations for the event. I invited M of course!

M and I went to the event and it was super fancy! It was at Pavilion in the Park and everything was covered in Christmas decorations.

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Both of my aprons sold!

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A Studio Day

My studio day was spent working on the Romania paintings. I approached my studio space and knew I needed a fresh space to work in. I rearranged my studio, moving everything around to make a new space for myself.

View from the window

View from the door

With my fresh space, I put on my audio track, and set up my paintings. My goal for the day was to cover the 13 charcoal sketched canvas in paint. I placed all of the canvas around the room in a line.

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I approached my easel and worked on mixing my color palette (oil paint).

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When covered in paint, the canvas was moved on top of the drafting table and flat file cabinet. The uncovered canvas would all get to move one space forward in their little line.

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I was covered in paint and pretty tired by the end, but it was a job well done!

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Artist Studio Series: Maria

I got connected to this online art community called Doodlers Anonymous. A couple of weeks ago I was viewing one of the “Coloring Book Interview Series” and saw some eye catching illustrations by Maria Garcia.

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I saw a picture of her paint box and wondered what her studio space looked like.

Maria Paintbox

So, I emailed Maria and asked her if she would be interested in being a part of the Paper Opera Artist Studio Series. She said yes!

Maria Garcia Studio – Maria writes about her studio below.

“This is my studio during my stays in Spain. It is on the top floor of my home. It’s a really calm space, with blue walls, white furniture, Catalan vault ceiling and an access to a balcony from where you can see the sea.”

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“In my studio there is a table with a small light table area and a sofa where I like to lay for sketching or reading.”

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“The most precious thing I have in my studio is my watercolour box. My parents gave it to me when I was still a kid and through years it has developed its own personality. I use it every day and I kind of consider that my studio is wherever I carry my box.”

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“I like to work with no one around and with music playing. I usually keep it clean and tidy, sometimes it gets messy but then I get stressed because I can’t find anything and I don’t know where to put my stuff.”

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“I’m more creative during morning and I like to have long walks on the beach in the afternoon, it’s a really good way to get inspired and have new ideas.”

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You can view Maria’s work on her website mariagarciaillustration.com