What now? Anthro + Art

one of my Etsy shop paintings! 

Friends!

Have I told you how awesome you are lately?!? Well, you’re all really awesome! I was blown away by the all the love and support you sent me following my recent blog post about my short-lived job from H-E-double-hockey-sticks... Wow! I am so glad I shared about that and was able to connect with so many of you over the perils of employment gone wrong.

So you may be wondering what I’m doing now that I quit my anxiety-inducing teaching job. I started working part-time at Anthropologie in September and am loving it! It’s a wonderful work environment and my colleagues are amazing. I love being surrounded by beautiful things and creative people while I am at work. I am learning a ton and recently received a promotion, which was really exciting!

Since I’m only working at Anthro part time, I also have time to myself to work on my paintings, and I am loving that! I’d love to see my business continue to grow, and so far it is really starting to take off. I am currently booked with commissions through the end of January! Right now, lots of the projects that I’m working on are hush hush (Christmas gifts!), but I look forward to sharing some photos of what I’ve been working on after the holidays. I also have my paintings for sale in one of my favorite shops, which is SO FUN! (If you’re in Virginia, you can check them out at Fraîche in Richmond! Side note: Fraîche also has amazing holiday decor!)

P.S. - Did you know that I now sell gift certificates that can be used in my Etsy shop or on commissions and custom paintings? You can choose your amount and purchase them here!

ALSO… 15% of all sales from my Etsy Shop (gift certificates included!) will be donated to ProNiño USA, a non-profit organization that helps street children in Honduras. My mom and sisters have been closely involved with this organization over the past few years, so I’m excited that I’ve found a way that I can also contribute!

Have a great week!!! Fa la la! 

Etsy | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest

My artistic process

I receive a lot of questions about my artistic process and exactly how I complete my paintings, so I thought it would be fun to talk a little bit about that and share some progress photos that show the evolution of some of my pieces from start to finish. 

I have always been really inspired by abstract expressionist painters - I love the movement in their paintings and the visible brush strokes, marks, drips, and layers.  I really enjoy painting along the same lines.  

When I paint, I tune out everything and just begin painting spontaneously and intuitively, whatever comes to me, letting the movement of my arm and paint brush guide me.  These initial spontaneous strokes lay the foundation for the painting.  Once I have made some marks on the canvas, I step back and take a break.  I evaluate what is on the canvas, and think about the composition and color, and then figure out how to respond next - which areas are working well and which need more attention.  I build up layers in this way, painting spontaneously, then stepping back, evaluating, and responding deliberately to the brush strokes on the canvas and to areas in need of attention.  It is easy to overwork a painting, which sometimes results in painting over the whole piece and starting over, but it's all just part of the process. 

Stage 1: The foundation, gestural brush strokes. 

Stage 2: Building up layers and adding color. 

Stage 3: Filling in what's missing, adding tonal variations, and perfecting the composition. 

Stage 1:

Stage 2:

Stage 3:

Stage 1:

Stage 2:

Stage 3:

Paintings by Clare Wilkinson.  

Interested in my paintings?  Contact me, send me a message on Facebook, or visit my Etsy Shop! 

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Clare Wilkinson Studio >> now open!

Today I launched my Etsy Shop, Clare Wilkinson Studio!  I've spent the past couple of months working on paintings and ideas, and last week I finally took photos of my work, designed my logo, and figured out all the little details.  

In the shop you'll find original paintings in a variety of sizes, as well as a retro-inspired alphabet print (pictured above) that I designed and had printed for the nurseries of some dear friends and family who've had little ones in the past year.  New pieces will be added periodically along with some other ideas that I have in the works (I'm thinking custom house and room portraits!).  Custom paintings are also available, just contact me for details and pricing.  

I'd love for you to check out my Etsy shop, spread the word, and let me know what you think! 

Image by Clare Wilkinson

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Making it happen: an Etsy shop!

I've decided that it's time to open my own Etsy shop!  Opening my own shop and selling more of my work is something that I've wanted to do for a while now, but I've just never made it happen. I've always been too busy, too tired, or just lacking motivation.  Now that we've moved to Chicago, however, I've found myself with more time, motivation, and room to paint and create.  I've been blogging, drawing, painting, decorating, and just being creative, and I'm loving it!  

I've gotten some amazing encouragement from friends after posting photos of some of my paintings here on the blog, on Facebook, and on Instagram.  So, I've decided that it's time to make it happen.  I'm going to continue working over the next few weeks to create some more pieces and to get everything set up, but my own Etsy shop is definitely in the works.  

I'll keep you posted on the details!  Thank you for all the love and encouragement!

***UPDATE: My Etsy Shop, Clare Wilkinson Studio, is now open!!!***

Fonts & Brushes used: 
Pea Roxygirl from Kevin & Amanda
Arvil by Ben Dalyrimple from Lost Type Co-op
Arrow Brushes from Creature Comforts
Art and design by Clare Wilkinson.

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