Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful for you!!!! If I am not lucky enough to sit on a patio with you and enjoy our time together while the world passes by, I am at least lucky enough to hear from you on social media.  I love painting, it takes me away, stimulates my brain, makes me feel good.  Hearing from you is the icing on the cake!  That connection, whatever it is completes my painting experience.  Thank you for your support!

Wishing you and yours a memorable time together while the world passes by.  

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Finding Fulfillment this Summer

 Fun with brush calligraphy

Painting with less brush strokes

Happy Summer!!!!  I have modified my painting since I am trying to give my arm a break.  If you have noticed, I am doing more pours and also, paintings that do not require too much fine detail work.  In a way, this has changed my painting style and has forced me to explore different ways to paint that do not agitate my painting arm.  I did try to not paint for about a month, but, I became a very irritable and grumpy person.  I started "sneaking" in 15 minute painting interavals.  I found that after painting something for just 15-20 minutes, my brain was very happy.  I realized one day, that I had to wait before going to do the next thing, whatever that was, focusing on driving my child somewhere or completing paper work for something.  I had to wait because my head was spinning in some kind of joyful high.  The feeling was great.  When I go to various doctors to find out what is wrong with my arm, I tell them that painting is like a drug for me.  It is better than any happy pill.  After I paint, and recover from my buzz, I can do any of the mundane things in daily life happily.  I have been satisfied creatively or my brain has been stimulated to the point it likes.  I have become a more joyful person.  Another observation I have is that I can get joy from seeing things I want to paint.  Which are always the sun shining on flowers, people, buildings creating shadows.  I now see the paint colors and look for the composition in what I see.  Sometimes, I do see something so beautiful, yet, there is not a composition or at least the composition that I like which is a strong light and strong shadow pattern.  I have shared some of these photos with you.  

My point of this post is find something that stimulates your brain so you can have your own happy pill.  I would say this is the most joyful I have been in life and it is very addictive.  My mom used to paint.  Something happened to her, a stroke or some kind of breakdown, we don't know, but, whatever it was, it made her forget her nagging pain in her back AND how to paint.  She can't for the life of her remember the first step in how she would start a painting.  She is basic paralyzed when it comes to painting.  She will not even pick up a brush.  Now, she is so unhappy and spiraling down because she cannot find joy.  I realize this has to do with something bigger than not painting, but, I believe if she could find something that stimulates her brain the way painting did for her, maybe she would not be as bad off as she is.  

This is your life, your days.  Find a creative way to stimulate yourself.  Sometimes for me, just painting a simple colorful card, like above, is good enough to get me the buzz.  You don't have to show your work to anyone.  Don't have high expectations for yourself.  It does not have to look exactly like you want for it to look.  Be gentle with your creative self.  If painting is not your thing, try singing, sculpting or writing, photography.  Just think about writing, what risk do you have there?  You are writing on a piece of paper, it doesn't even have to be expensive paper and surely you have a pen that you got for free somewhere.  Write your thoughts, write your favorite things, write a memory, things will evolve.  You have nothing to lose in whatever creative experience you try.  At first, it may seem like what is the point, but, I promise you, if you stick with it, you will get to the point of being fulfilled.  And fulfillment is the best experience for me.  Good luck!  I want to hear what you try.

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Fun, new products at affordable prices featuring my artwork

Butterflies in Contemporary Art

 Buy this original watercolor

Sold.

 Sold.

 Buy this original watercolor

 Buy this original watercolor

Partial Collection of the Series

 Buy this original watercolor

Happy summer!  Hope you are doing well and enjoying the blooming flowers and butterflies.  I have been continuing my work with butterflies.  Experimenting with brighter colors and more and more layers.  You can see in my last painting of a butterfly kaleidoscope that there is a significant increase in the number of layers which increases the depth.  On the electric bright kaleidoscopes, I am focusing on the high contrast of complimentary colors which I feel makes a stronger statement with a more simple design - less layers.  I want to achieve an dramatic feeling through the color.  If I added more layers, then there would be several shades of gradating color which would create depth, but, not electric color drama.

Please let me know what you think.  Are these intriguing to you or boring?  I am going to try this same technique with abstract shapes since abstract art is so popular right now.  Yes, I am allowing the trend to influence me.  It is because I am competitive with getting recognized for my work.  But, also, I LOVE the process of watercolor.  I have been told my many that watercolor is the hardest medium to master.  It is the first that I learned, so it is all I know.  I enjoy the process so much that I want for watercolor to be seen and appreciated by all.  I want for young artists to try watercolor.  Just imagine what young minds can do differently with the medium.  That is what I am trying to do with the butterfly kaleidoscopes - think and create like a young artist.  Fresh, experimental, uninfluenced, naive, innocent.  If you are a young artist, I encourage you to try watercolor and take it somewhere new.

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all images are created and owned by Liana Yarckin
©Liana Yarckin

Artscape at the Dallas Arboretum Recap

Me upon completion of setting my tent up. 

New artist friends, we traded our note cards!

My regular that comes every year to see me.

These two ladies bought each other my scarves for Mother's Day

The left wall of my tent.

The right wall of my tent.

Overall, Artscape was a success.  Saturday kept some peeps away with the threat of rain, but, it never ended up raining.  I am pleased with the way my work showed and the feedback from collectors and artists.  My new butterfly series was a hit! 

www.lianayarckin.com

Own Original Art

This is the very first piece of artwork I bought with my own money when I was in fifth or sixth grade. Silk batik. I remember the day perfectly. My mom and aunt took us cousins to an outdoor art show. We always went to art shows. But on this day I guess I was old enough and had my own money and my mom planted the seed that I could buy something with my money. It made me feel like an adult I guess. This was the first time I looked at all of the art pieces in a different way. Looking at the prices thinking which one would I want to have, which one could I afford and was worth me spending all of my money on? I saw three or four pieces that were in my budget, but this was the one I loved the most. It was five dollars more than I had. We ended up back in the car leaving and I had no art piece. My mom gave me the extra money to buy this piece. I remember running out of the car by myself all the way back to this artist's tent. Would I be able to find my way all the way back through this giant art show in the park? I found her and I bought this piece. Walking back to the car by myself with my first art purchase in hand was an incredible feeling. It was always in my room until I left for college. I recently found it in a box at my moms house. I remembered it, and now that I have my own kids, I remember being young and naïve and innocent and how large that art show in the park seemed to be. I remember how proud I was to buy my first art piece. 

Because of this experience I am going to think of something to have for the young and innocent to buy at my tent at Artscape Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden this year April 28-30. 

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Art Show - April 28, 29, 30th
Dallas Arboretum

Sneak Peak of Art Show - Dallas Arboretum

Come see me at

Booth 11

April 28, 29, 30

16x22 Yellow Roses

11x14 Butterfly Kaleidoscope VII

Individual Butterflies

I am so excited to show my new butterfly series.  These sell as soon as I post on Instagram.  So I will have a whole new collection for Artscape.

Buy a Butterfly now!

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Your feedback is just as valuable as a sell. It keeps me going, it warms my heart and often I learn something new!  So let me hear from you!

Is it art if it is pretty?

I have been thinking about what an artist said in a workshop for quite some time now.  He said something about don't paint another pretty picture, that's not art.  Then a year later, a friend said how her husband is a serious art collector and will not let her buy this "pretty" piece of art because it is not art.  It is not making a statement, it is not dark, it is not saying anything profound.  She told me that what if she wants to have it because it makes her happy when she looks at it.  Isn't that a feeling?  Why does art have to only evoke dark emotions?  I agreed with her and told her about the statement this artist made to our class.  One day I posted a painting of butterflies and the words just came out as maybe I want to be a butterfly and fly away with them.  I thought what does that mean, why did I say that?  When I paint giant flowers and photograph flowers at odd angles I have literally thought what if I was so tiny that this flower was taller than me like Alice in Wonderland.  I have literally laid on the ground to take photos of flowers from a viewpoint in the garden of only 3" above the ground to see what it feels like.  That is called escapism.  What if artists paint "pretty" paintings to escape.  What are they escaping from?  That can be very dark.  What if an artist is moved to paint something "pretty"?  Isn't that an appreciation of nature's beauty.  Even a city scene crowded with people and the shadows on the ground.  For me that is capturing people as one - all busy - hurrying together or the patio scenes I like to paint - I always want to be in my patio scenes under an umbrella, enjoying the luxury of time, time with friends, the gorgeous weather in a group setting with others doing the same.  These are emotions and feelings that I like to experience and that is why I paint "pretty" paintings.  Anytime I stop to take a photo of a flower, an aspen tree, shadows, I am saying to the busyness of the world, "Excuse me, I just noticed some beauty that I must document because it moves me." 

Tulips Dancing in the Wind

15x22 watercolor

by Liana Yarckin

Come see me at Artscape at the Dallas Arboretum

Flying into Spring at the Dallas Arboretum

Happy Spring to you!  Almost.  My work with butterflies has evolved into something I never imagined.  About 5 -7 years ago I had imagined a watercolor of a multitude of butterflies flying all around with me in the center.  I could never get it on paper.  I have posted about this before.  Trying to get the idea of a kaleidoscope (that is what a group of butterflies is called) of butterflies in flight.  I started with butterflies on flowers, then went to butterflies in flight, then a single realistic butterfly, then single "watercolory" butterfly to now a kaleidoscope of butterflies in flight.  Trying to capture the fluttering wings on video let alone paper is hard!  I have been blessed now with noticing butterflies wherever I go.  Sometimes they stay in my presence for so long, it is too much to video. My son and I had the pleasure of watching and video taping a beautiful butterfly in our garden feasting on the pollen in the flowers for over 20 minutes.  He (the butterfly) was so happy with our garden.  I think I wrote on my facebook page about what kind of flowers were in our garden that the butterflies like. I am pleased with what my art has evolved into at the moment.  I thought it was interesting how it came about.  I have posted some samples of the journey here with most recent first.  Some have already sold from when I posted on instagram or facebook or at Cerulean Gallery.  The others, plus new ones that have yet to be created will be at Artscape at the Dallas Arboretum April 28-30.  Be sure to go because I, too, am like a butterfly, I never know where my wings will take me.  I did not do Artscape last year because I was preparing for a gallery show.  So come this year!!!!!

all original watercolors by Liana Yarckin

To see the most recent works follow me on instagram or facebook.

www.lianayarckin.com

Artscape - Dallas Arboretum

April 28 - 30