I'm in Somerset Apprentice!

Check out a fabulous Q & A about how I work in the "From the Pros" section of the newest Somerset Apprentice. 

 

 

I Painted the 34th Street Wall!

I wanted to do something a little crazy for my 32nd birthday.  Inspired by this month's issue of Juxtapoz (May 2012), I decided to paint my first ever street art mural.  This would become my first mural, my first public art, my first street art, and I knew the perfect place to do it.

You see, there's a special wall in Gainesville called the 34th St Wall; it's pretty famous around here, and even has a Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/34th_Street_Wall

The magic of the 34th St Wall is that painting it is accepted!  Graffiti, graduation announcements, fraternities, proposals, all kinds of painting are allowed on this wall!  It's an unwritten law in Gainesville that, in this spot, residents can express themselves without fear of punishment. 

While the majority of the paint on the wall (the layers are several inches thick) is in the form of congratulations, tagging, and other graffiti, I decided to paint a mural.  I started on May 2nd, the day after my birthday, and planned to work until May 3rd; two full days of painting!  But as most things go, I ended up taking four days in total to finish this project.


One reason it took four days is that I had no idea how exhausting it would be!  May is not necessarily the ideal month to paint outdoors in Florida.  And I learned on day one that the middle of the day was not a good time to paint.  The heat added to the exhaust of the continual traffic passing by...1:30PM-4:30PM was out.  So I got up as early as possible and set out to paint as much as I could by the time it got to be too hot.  Then, after a quick siesta, I would be back to paint until sundown.  Long days, but SO FUN!

I met some interesting people over those four days, including one professional and several amateur photographers who have made it their continuing project to record what is painted on the wall.  Others just stopped to look and make encouraging remarks.  Still others shouted from their cars or honked as they drove by...though not all the shouts were pleasant! :)

The entire experience was extremely rewarding and educational.  I had no idea what I was going to paint when I arrived, the whole mural was completely intuitive.  By the evening of the first day, I realized that we should be filming!  So we did.  Please enjoy the pictures and video below.

Here's the sign I posted below the mural.  The wall being what it is, I know that my mural will soon be covered by taggers and others who want the space.  I thought maybe the signs would buy me some time :)  I hope you enjoyed seeing the pictures and the video, and if you live in the Gainesville area, swing by and have a look! 

XOXO
Sarah

New work New series! Installment 1

****WELCOME!!!!****

Hi everyone! I am SO exited to FINALLY share all my newest work! Over the last year I have been more inspired than ever before and working harder than ever before, and I am now very proud to bring you these new pieces. I have more than 40 new works, from HUGE to teenie tiny and many in-between! Since I can’t post them all at once, I will be sharing them in installments; look for sneak peaks here on my blog. To see more of the first release, including more photos of the pieces below, check my website: http://www.caspiana.com/.

Many pieces are for sale, and I have made prints of some of my favorites. If you are interested, check out my ETSY store or drop me an email (sarah@caspiana.com). Most of the pieces I am listing for sale will be in the smaller range; many of the larger ones are on wood and will be expensive to ship. But, if you feel connected to a larger piece, email me and we can figure out the shipping. Many of these paintings need good “forever homes”. :)

These pieces were inspired by an imaginary world; perhaps the world of Caspiana. The elusive inhabitants are seen as through a window or a crack in our reality. The images are childlike and in some cases disturbing. They deal simultaneously with innocence and immortality, and many read as if part of a story. Please let them whisper their stories to you.

Original Ancient Lion piece not for sale, but prints are available upon request.

Prints of this Owl piece and many others are available in my ETSY store. Other prints are available upon request, just ask! :) sarah@caspiana.com

WIN A PRINT OF THIS OWL PAINTING or a mini piece of ORIGINAL ARTWORK from this new series!!! Simply tweet or update your Facebook status with a link to this blog post (http://sarahwhitmire.blogspot.com/2012/03/new-work-new-series-installment-1.html ). Leave a comment on this post letting me know you've done it and you'll be entered to win!!!

Don't forget to check out my other new pieces by going to http://www.caspiana.com/ and clicking on "paintings". Thanks so much for your time and feedback! :)

XOX

Support a Fellow Brave Artist!!!!!

My dear friend Tessa McSorley (http://www.howtomakeart.com/) has recently quit her terrible soul sucking day job and has decided to bravely follow her heart and become a full time artist! I am sooo proud of her! But it is also a very scary endeavor as she tries to pay bills and sell some of her treasured possessions on Ebay to enable her to fulfill her art dreams. I know how AMAZINGLY supportive this community this is. I've felt the love and acceptance sooo many times myself. Please Please, consider helping out Tessa with a word of encouragement, by purchasing a piece of her art or by sharing this post with your other art friends to help her get started.

I know that together, as a community, we can do great things!

Tessa's Etsy store's: http://www.etsy.com/shop/tessamcsorley?ref=em

http://www.etsy.com/shop/HowToUseArt

Tessa's Blog where she shares great FREE art tutorials and other fun stuff: http://www.howtomakeart.com/


Thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart! XO


Sarah

Ps. She has no idea I'm doing this, hope I don't get into trouble. ;)

I'm in "The Pulse of Mixed Media"!

I'm excited to be in Seth Apter's new book "The Pulse of Mixed-Media: Secrets and Passions of 100 Artists Revealed." published by North Light Books. In it, I share a painting based on my "biggest fear" and also answer a few other secret questions like, "How has the Internet changed my artistic practice?", and "Have I ever received artwork from others and reworked it as my own?"... You'll have to read the book to find out! ;)



A sneak peek at my biggest fear...




Hope you guys get a chance to check it out. :) It can be found at all of the major booksellers. Here's the link to Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Pulse-Mixed-Media-Passions-Revealed/dp/144031070X


Thanks again out there for all of your support. Without you all, I would never be able to follow my art dream.
XOX

I'm in Somerset Studio Magazine!

If you haven't checked it out yet I am in the newest issue of Somerset Studio (January/February)! The amazing Seth Apter and I worked on a collaborative journal project that took us 3 years to complete. There is a very nice article (8? pages) in the magazine and lots of beautiful photos of our journals not to mention our names on the cover! Yay!

You can find Somerset Studio online and also at major bookstores and craft stores such as Barnes and Noble and Micheal's internationally.

Thanksgiving!

Hi Guys,

I hope you all had a beautiful thanksgiving. Jared and I visited my Mom and though we were only 3 people we still managed to have quite a feast! It was also super special because we had a "healthy" thanksgiving this year using very little butter and oil. Roasted root vegetables, couscous, turkey, and homemade cranberry sauce to name a few... It was excellent!

My mom always sets such a beautiful table.

On another note, I'm still working working working- Painting almost everyday. Last I counted, I have 37 brand new paintings in the secret new style/theme I have been working on. We are planning it's full release probably in January or February. It's going to be a lot of fun. Jared is also working hard at the redesign of my website to coincide with the new direction I've been going. We will be having lots of giveaways and other fun stuff when they are finally released too. I was toying with the idea of doing 30 paintings in 30 days but since I have now made more than 30, I'll have to see. hehe Perhaps I will release a few new paintings everyday for a month? YAY! This is really the most prolific and inspired I have been in my career so far and it definitely will be a milestone for me. I can't wait to share it with you all! XOX

Sarah