Artwork for addressing grief and loss, that might also provide closure

I heard the song "You Get What You Give" by the New Radicals yesterday while sitting by the water having lunch. Boats were coming and going. My husband and I were taking a friend back to the airport after a short stay at our Florida home. This song always brings me back to Sherry.

Sherry was a dear friend of mine that who lost her battle with breast cancer a few years ago. While in the midst of her fight, I made a painting for her, and after her passing, I revisited the time lapse video I made simultaneously, which documented the process of the painting as it developed.

Hearing that song, yesterday, reminded me of this painting for Sherry, as well as the time lapse video. To this day, I tear up when I watch this video. I think about Sherry and what an amazing woman she was and how many children she helped as a social worker in the education system. She is missed dearly, but has also left a great legacy in the positive encouragements and support she offered the students she so selflessly worked with.

While living in Sarasota, I have connected with a couple of very dear women who work with grief and loss as well as provide opportunities and events that focus on the honoring and celebration of life. After seeing this video again, I realized that I need to let people know that this creative expression of love is something I can offer others going through their own grief and loss.

So today - I do just that. I offer this service, making the painting as well as the time lapse to clients who may be looking for alternative ways to honor and celebrate a loved one, as well as to add to the process of closure in an artful and creative way. If this is something that resonates with you, please let me know. We can begin the process of making something very special for you or your family today.

For more information, please visit my Laurie Maves ART website and go to the contact section to connect with me. Or simply leave me a message here. Thanks so much and have a beautiful Monday. 

#griefandloss #celebratelife #commissionedart

Migration Painting Exhibition underway in Florida

"March of the Flamingos, Stairway to Heaven"
acrylic on canvas
62"x48"
all rights reserved

Galleria Mare in Nokomis, Florida, will be hosting my series of 20 abstract paintings and mixed media works on canvas and paper from 11/16/17 through the end of January 2018.   All of the works are from my "Migration Series" - works which focus on themes of relocation, movement and life change. The colors of the plants and animals of the Gulf of Mexico and tropical environments can be seen in the works as well as reflections of weather, rain and even with the devastation of hurricanes, a realization that life can be illuminated with light and hope once again.

Galleria Mare

is located at

801 S. Tamiami Trail, Nokomis, Florida

(above Cafe Evergreen)

gallery website

"March of the Spoonbills"
acrylic on canvas
60"x30"
all rights reserved

"In Search of Tom Petty"
acrylic on canvas
30'x40"
all rights reserved

nothing to show except progress

Since moving to Sarasota, Florida I have been working diligently on my latest series of paintings all dealing with the theme of Migration. I hope you enjoy watching these mixed media works on paper roll out. All pieces are available for purchase either direct from the artist or via Vango, an online art gallery. Have a beautiful Sunday, and I hope what remains of the month of June is kind to you and filled with blessings. Here is a sampling to date:

all rights reserved by the artist, Laurie Maves Guglielmi of Laurie Maves ART

Laurie Maves ART on Migration and living in Sarasota, Florida

Recently I moved my painting studio and home from Denver, Colorado to Sarasota, Florida. I have been in Florida for about a month now, and the change in climate is truly the kind of change I was hoping for. Dramatic, thick, rich, colorful and predictably unpredictable. The sunshine state can be sunny, but it can also be rainy, cloudy, humid, but most undeniably colorful. And this is the one aspect which I have quickly grown to love in 30 short days. Everywhere you look, the greens of the plant life, the colors of the flowers, the movement of the birds and fish are all amazing to me. I am beginning to capture these in my latest and expanding series of works simply entitled, "Migration." 

"Migration Series #3," mixed media and collage on paper, 11"x15", 2017, all rights reserved by Laurie Maves ART

Following below is a short video that I created to introduce my work to my collectors via the Vango Art Online Gallery: Laurie Maves ART on Vango

I hope you enjoy my latest series of abstract paintings about color, life change and transition...and yes, migration

Laurie Maves ART's "Migration Series"

A Very Special Commission, "Love For Orangetheory Fitness"

When hired to create a painting for someone, there is always gratitude. When hiring a time lapse as well, there is greater joy in sharing not only the gift of the painting, but also of that of the creative process.

One of my most interesting commissions to date. More and more clients are not only requesting a commissioned painting, they are also hiring a timelapse to be created to document the process of the work. After the client conveys the vision of the image of the painting, including media, size and composition with the artist - whether abstract or representational - the client then provides a song or music artist to to use as additional background inspiration for the making of the painting. Words, phrases and sometimes lyrics are included somewhere in the composition of the artwork.

If you would like to commission a most special gift for your clients, employees, friends or family, please contact the artist via her website www.LaurieMavesArt.com for a quote.

a special opportunity to be tasked with as a commissioned artist

I am asked to make paintings all the time for clients, for friends, for family.

For corporations, for live events, for galleries, for parties.

This is what I do as a "commissioned artist."

Someone gives me a subject matter and asks me to make a painting about it, and so that's what I do. And believe me, I recognize this ability is a most precious gift that I am able to do this task. Yes I have over 10,000 hours under my belt of drawing and painting and creating so that makes me an expert as Malcolm Gladwell would say. An "Outlier" so to speak.

But once in a great while, I am not only commissioned to make a painting for a most special occasion, I am also asked to deliver the painting to create a most memorable event as well. Often times, I have never met the actual clients in person until the unveiling happens. Sometimes I never even get to meet my clients at all - entire exchanges of information and what is desired in the commission happens over the internet or on the telephone in a most un-personalized fashion. But I always do my darndest to get to know the person or the subject matter as best as I can in order to most effectively make this creation, this reflection of the individual or situation.

The past two weeks I have been feverishly working on a large abstract for a person I have never met until this evening. A man named Dino reached out to me over the phone, said he had found my website through a "commissioned artist" web search and had a most fantastic idea to surprise his wife for her birthday. Unfortunately, he didn't know if I could help him out in such a short time frame, he had just now thought of the idea of giving artwork and his wife's birthday was in two weeks time. Every birthday they had spent together was always based on a theme, and he felt the event was getting rather "predictable." And even though in the past he had showered his wife, Sue, with jewelry, trips, clothing, accessories, etc etc. and she was most appreciative of all of her themed gifts, this year he wanted to create an element of surprise and make this birthday most "unpredictable." Dino wanted to secretly hire me to make a painting for Sue (who by the way already had developed over the years quite an impressive and eclectic art collection). Dino gave me all kinds of information about his wife, the art she liked, the music she listened to, her professional bio and things of this nature so that I could get to know his wife, my subject, with the hopes of not only making a large painting to fill a particular wall in their home, but to make a gift that represented all the most wonderful aspects of Sue.

What a most important special opportunity. What a great and challenging task. And all in two weeks time.

Still when making a commissioned painting I always get a little nervous about how the painting will be received. I put everything I know and have - all my wits, facets and things that I know about the world of painting and color theory to work. All that I know about the mathematical academic structural institutions of painting is incorporated into my work in hopes that I land on the right planet with the completed image, the completed painting, the completed creation that I make with my own two hands. (And most times I still am astounded after making thousands of paintings for people that individuals entrust me with creating that most special gift, present, or moment to honor another person) I am still astounded that I am hired to do the only thing I wanted to do as a small child and that is to make art.

This article is now getting a little long winded at this point...but I would like to take a moment to publicly thank Dino for hiring me to make a birthday gift for his most precious friend and wife, Sue. Every time I make a painting, I learn something new about me, about the creative process, and the magic behind allowing divinity to work through my hands to make a most special offering to give to someone that I've never met before. Dino gave me a most special opportunity indeed - to make a painting for his wife, the love of his life. I am most grateful that I was chosen for this project as I know I am part of something greater than myself, something greater than the canvas, the paints and the composition.

VIDEO of TIME LAPSE 

If you'd like to watch the process of how Sue's painting came about, I encourage you to watch the time lapse video here (in the link above). I offered to make the video, paired with one of Sue's most favorite songs, as a sort of Hallmark card that Dino was able to present to his wife, minutes prior to the delivery of the actual painting to their doorstep this past Sunday afternoon. When I walked up to the door there were tears of the beauty of unpredictable joy and appreciation in her eyes and I knew right there and then that I had nailed it! And yes after trusting the creative process and the gifts that have been given to me, I had landed on the right planet after all.

to commission a Laurie Maves ART painting for yourself or someone you love, please visitwww.LaurieMavesART.com

Large Gottlichkeit Paintings at Artwork Network

ascending heart, 5'x5' mixed media on canvas in progress in the studio

Come join me to view three of my latest grand abstracts now exhibiting at Artwork Network in the Santa Fe Arts District of Denver,  Colorado.

Thank you so much to owner, Alan Kircher, for hosting:

"ascending heart"

"migration"

and "save me love"

three of the latest 5'x5' mixed media works on unstretched canvas.

For the opening reception on Friday, August 5, 2016, I will also be live painting on site from 5-8 pm.
878 Santa Fe Drive, Denver, CO

For more details, please visit Artwork Network online for show dates, gallery times, and pricing.

migration, 5'x5' mixed media on canvas in progress in the studio

save me love, 5'x5' mixed media on canvas in progress in the studio

(what happens when) waiting for the perfect painting studio

"My Warrior for the Feminine Divine" mixed media on canvas 72"x72" 2015  all rights reserved by Laurie Maves

Since my last Linked-In blog post, I have been patiently (who am i kidding - sometimes not so patiently) waiting for my new studio to come to fruition. In April I wrote the entry "Fliegen" Away on 4/15, as I was in the midst of packing up my desk, my paints, my easels, boxes of magazines, various collage materials, brushes, etc etc.  You name it, in the 2D art world of media, I was probably boxing, taping, and bubble wrapping those various materials away. I had to leave my 2000 square foot studio as my landlords were changing spaces, and I was along with them for the ride, so where they went, so did I.  At the time, I thought I might be down and out for only a month.  That was all well and good, because I was in the middle of my wedding and glorious honeymoon to one of my favorite countries on the planet, Italy. Honestly, I had many other thoughts on my mind in the month of May, than making that fourth grand 72"x72" painting of 2015, or completing the next commission on my log.

But now two months to the date have passed, and I'm still without a completed studio and boy is it really showing my over-achieving, anxiety-ridden, always need to be accomplishing something, dark side.  My newly-wed husband, who is gracious enough to cut a space out of his business's warehouse to create me a beautifully north-facing sunlit 1000 square foot studio, has been more than accommodating and supportive. "Take the summer off, Laurie. This is my busy season, and I only have spare guys to build your space when the company slows down, and we're super busy right now.  Take some time to be with your boys, relax, enjoy the summer, read some books, practice your Italian. I love you.  You know it's ok to slow down every once in awhile.  Take this time as a gift."

What??? Take the summer off??? Relax??? Enjoy the summer??? What does that mean? Is he crazy?

And the more time I went without a studio, the more I realized I was a certified downright art-making-junkie. I had been pushing my work, my paintings, my concepts, my social media so hard for so long - for over a decade - that I really didn't know what it meant to cool it.  Not to mention, I was an avid yogi as well. I have been practicing yoga for about the same amount of time I have been steadfastly pursuing my art career. So why is it that I cannot seem to practice my practice?

Why does it seem like even after all the Kris Carr, Mastin Kipp, and Deepak Chopra articles, podcasts and videos that I have absorbed like a sponge over the years that I cannot be at peace when I am not at work?

Is it because my art-making is more than a self-made job? More than a pay check and aspiring fancy career? Is it because I have a type A personality? Is it because I am a perfect example of a mom, who doesn't want to be categorized as a "soccer-mom" or "stay at home mom" because that somehow defines me as weak and less than? Is it because my over-achieving personality since childhood has its claws so deep into my guts that when the most important person in my life says, "hey honey take a break, you deserve it," that I feel guilty...almost as if that is impossible to do?

Why as 30-50 year old something women do we push ourselves to such crazy extremes only to find we are truly making our lives - even the most brilliant ones - more chaotic? Why do we beat ourselves up when we are not creating, achieving or being the best "mommy" on the block? Why is it so hard to just 'be"?

I'm still wondering about all of this about myself and about high-achieving mommies in general. And even more so, I wonder about this for creatives, artists, writers, and the like, when we seem to have the ability to have a dream job, dream husband, dream kids and it's still not enough to take the guilt away of not performing? Perhaps I need to sign up for another round of talk therapy to calm my nerves while I await my new warehouse studio's walls to go up. Maybe I should take a page out of my own Art Therapist's background and draw about my anxiety of not having a working studio I can run to. Maybe the creative process is SO innate in individuals like myself, that when people like me do NOT create, we do in fact go a little bit batty? I can't even begin to tell you I have the answer at the moment, and maybe that's life's process, to create this puzzle along the way that I am driven to put together and continually solve? Maybe I won't be asking these questions of myself 10 years from now, and maybe just maybe I can learn to chill the hell out this summer, when I don't have a shop up and running.

Is that possible?

Check back with me in thirty days, and I'll let you know. Studio or no studio, I'd better figure it out, read a book, draw in my journal, get a sun burn, and make some home-made focaccia.

LUMIA #tileArt Competition with my painting

Hi friends, collectors, and reader of artsy blogs!

Yesterday the voting opened for a #TileART competition on the Talenthouse Website. This has been a great website for artists and creatives to get their work out into the world hoping to be "discovered" on a global scale. I have entered one of my paintings called, "My Most Favorite Circle Painting 2014" into the competition. I continue to be an advocate for real time, real life painters in a digital age, where painting and drawing with paints and pencils may soon be a thing of the past with computers creating most of the art we see online.

I hope you can take a moment to vote for my work. I think it would be fabulous to see a painting on your cell phone, and even better if it is one of mine. The more Laurie Maves ART gains momentum, the more current collectors of my paintings will be pleased with my increasing value in the art marketplace.

Here is the link: Laurie Maves #TileART on Talenthouse

Next week look for the #STANFOURCOVER another most important contest I am participating in - trying to win the album ART cover of the German Band STANFOUR's newest album "4" which is scheduled to be released later this spring.

Thank you and Happy Humpday!

Arriving Here, Leaving 2014

Today being the last day of the year I tend to embark on a life review - I'm sure like many others. What have I done with my life? Where am I headed? How am I doing as a mom? What to paint next? How to make the work better, how to reach more people...is it ever enough? Am I ever going to do or be enough??? (something my dear friend, Bernadette Slowey and I often talk about.) I spent the better part of yesterday reviewing almost a decade's worth of work posted online - some of it lovely, but honestly most of it I could do without. There's the inner critic for you. But I always come back to the fact that you can't get there from here. Everyday you have to be here. Here. Here. And every moment is now. Now. Now. And I could have never arrived at Circles, had I not painted Venuses, poppies, and Lollipop Figures on cliffs, then daisies, then orbs, then Circles. You can only get here, from where you are. 
Today's featured painting is my favorite Circle painting of 2014, appropriately entitled, "My Favorite Circle Painting." I love the lightness of being of it, it feels happy - the floating bubbles of possibility. It feels grounded and strong. It knows color and all the ins and outs and endless combinations.
I thank you all for an amazing 2014, and also for an amazing life thus far. I am truly blessed to be spending the majority of the hours of the day doing what I love to do - ever since I was a child, and that is to create.
I look forward to 2015, all the new paintings that will be made, all the new experiences I will have with you at my side, and all the new places we will arrive at together called "here." Happy New Year!

"my favorite circle painting" mixed media on canvas, 40"x40", 2014
all rights reserved by Laurie Maves ART

end of Year Frida SALE

"Metamorphosis Frida" 

was recently purchased by Kaiser Permanente.

The painting will join their permanent collection of 

Colorado Artists.

I am so very honored to bring you this announcement!

To celebrate this accomplishment, I am offering the remaining 2013 Frida Kahlo portraits

and these three smaller ones from 2014 

(pictured below)

at a reduced rate of 20% off their original pricing now through 12/31/14. Portraits range in size of 16"x16" up to 30"x40".  Prices range from $350 to $1200 (before applying sale discount).  Purchase inquires please contact the artist at her email : laurie (at) lauriemavesart.com 

HAPPY HUMPDAY!

Check out my art on Vango

Greetings for this lovely Tuesday afternoon!

There's a great new little - yet growing ART ONLINE SALES website that I am quickly growing to love! Formerly known as ARTtwo50 , Vango is a great place to shop for original and affordable art online. Artists get to submit works that start at a sales range of $100-$250. Once you sell $500 worth of work, you get to move up in a tiered system. I have seen quality work on this site, and have already sold a painting that is currently traveling from my studio in Denver, Colorado to a home in Bahrain in the Persian Gulf. My first official painting to travel to the Middle East.  For that I am most grateful!

What I appreciate about Vango is that I can focus more time on making work, while they help promote my art. When a piece sells, part of their small commission pays for the shipping of the works, so all you have to do is show up at the post office or UPS and drop the work off.

Yes, I know, this sounds like a commercial for their company.

But I have to share what I like as a full time working artist, and this is one site that has worked for me.

Please visit my specific page on the site: 
LaurieMavesART on Vango

Right now I think I have about 16 works for sale, all at crazy affordable pricing for original works.

If you're a working artist, I hope you take the time to check out their system, and maybe it will be a great fit for you.  If you're a collector, then I hope you find some great art on there for yourself! 

In the meantime, I thank you for continuing to read my blogs, and I hope you enjoy the new works - Like these newest Poppies shown below as well as a new set of abstracts that I have uploaded to the site with the titles "Spirit," "Free All Every One" and "Love Inside My Mind"

"We Grow With Light and Love" 24"x24"

"When I Find My Light Poppies" 24"x18"

"Spirit" 12"x12"

"Free All Every One" 12"x12"

"Love Inside My Mind" 12"x12"

Laurie Maves ARTsy VLOG 8/18/14

creating some action on eBAY and in the studio. move this work via the highest bidder on social media

Check out my website http://www.LaurieMavesArt.com 

follow at @LaurieMavesART on twitter

 on Facebook like LaurieMavesArt

#3 artwork from the #JuneArtSale

"Find Me"
mixed media on canvas 12"x12" originally $300.  Suggested sale price today, $210.
Gotta get some original ART :)
Here's the link to see the piece in detail:
"Find Me" artwork

every day in June a new work will be posted from the "Entitled"Series
See the entire series here:
"Entitled"

New Etsy Page for Greeting Cards and Custom Orders

Hi Folks!
It's that time again, a time to start a new media/online shopping/wonderful way to pass a couple hours surfing the net of creative items PAGE.
That's right, I have joined (or rejoined) Etsy after a 5 year hiatus. I have found that the site gets a lot of traffic from many people who are not on the regular social media platforms, so I am hoping that my art will find it's way into the homes of bright and brilliant new collectors.
For now, you can purchase sets of digitally printed greeting cards of carious watercolors and paintings I have created in the past. Some are of Frida, some of Buddha, as well as poppies, daisies and a scene from lovely Venice, Italy.
I am also selling original artwork through that page, as well as taking custom orders for animal or landscape paintings. (I will always offer stylized portraits and other commissions as well, but thought to start with some examples of animals/landscapes and other reproduced paintings.)
Here's the link to the Custom Orders Page: Laurie Maves ARTsy CUSTOM ORDERS page on ETSY
and the link for the home page: ARTsy ETSY homage where you will see all the other fab fab items that are all for sale.
Thanks again for all your support, encouragement, and willingness to take part in the love for ART!