A Family's Beach House

In case you missed it, this past Sunday was Mother's Day. I was fortunate enough to spend the day with my mom - going to brunch, walking around the farmers market and enjoying dinner outside on the patio. I know very well that the time we spend together is so much more meaningful than any gift. That being said, I made sure to get her a little something, too.

While my mom received gifts to pamper herself, another mother received a gift specifically tailored to her. A beach house. Let's rephrase that. A painting of a beach house.

What's special about this house, or I should really say 'home,' is that it's been in her family for many years - spanning over generations. And as this may be the last summer spent in this house, she now has a physical reminder of the time spent there.

Painting people's homes is something I truly enjoy. It's a peak inside their life and you know that getting those little details right makes all the difference.

Cerulean Blue Flowers

Blue is and always had been my favorite color...cobalt, navy, sapphire, turquoise, robin's egg, cerulean; I love them all. So on Monday night, with a stomach full of cheese (because that's all I had in the fridge), I decided to play around with my favorite color. While some of my paintings turned out a bit more "abstract" than I was hoping, I finally stared down at a finish product I was quite pleased with. And just like that, Cerulean Blue Flowers was born!

You can now buy this as a print on my Etsy page and better than that, you can buy it in multiple sizes, including 8.5x11" and 11x14". See for yourself on my Etsy page.

Be Mine?

If you've walked into any store recently, you know that Valentine's Day is right around the corner. Heck, if you walked into any store a month ago, you would've known.

Despite, Valentine's Day being a commercial holiday, I have always celebrated it - whether it involved wine and heart-shaped pasta with my college roommates or a nice dinner out with my boyfriend - I haven't shied away from the holiday. I also tend to fall right into the hands of retailers, buying little gifts and cards for friends and eyeing extravagant bouquets of flowers. It's the hopeless romantic in me! 

Over the past couple weeks, I've been whipping up some sweet little paintings just for Valentine's. Along with some new prints, the 'Be My Galentine' and 'Candy Hearts' watercolors are available to download and print on Etsy!

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Cardinal in a Cherry Blossom Tree

As Valentine's Day approaches, I find myself painting with shades of pink and red. When mixed onto paper, these colors swirl around and somehow always end up in the form of flowers.  It's almost as if whenever I've sat down to paint recently, I haven't been able to think of anything else but flowers - roses, tulips, hydrangeas, anemones and peonies.

So, unusually, a little birdie popped into my most recent painting: a cardinal perched on a cherry blossom tree. For me, cardinals have always ignited some nostalgia within me. Whenever I spot one of the bright red birds, I think of my grandmom.  

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Sweet Home Virginia

Winchester, Virginia, to be exact. The town of Winchester is home to Rachel's mom and being the thoughtful daughter she is, Rachel asked me to paint a few places of meaning as a Christmas gift for her mom. 

I love working with Rachel (she was one of the first people to commission me) because she always has an idea in mind. For this project, she knew that there were four places of significant meaning to her mom and she wanted to focus on those places rather than the geography of everything. So instead of doing a map of the town with location markers, I painted each of the four locations: the house, the high school, the landmark and the church.

Madeleine Frances on Etsy

Last weekend my Etsy shop opened for business. I thought I'd add a little tinsel to the tree by listing my art prints at special prices for the week. 

I've already had such fun receiving orders, packaging them up and shipping them off to their new homes. I can only imagine how new mothers feel when sending their children off to kindergarten (I'm sure it's very similar).

Mintwood Home Art Shop

I was so pleased to be featured on Mintwood Home's Art Shop!  A selection of my prints are now available to buy on their beautiful site. 

This is my first batch of art prints for sale and I couldn't be happier to have worked with Mintwood. These girls really pushed me to make a business out of my passion and for that, I'm forever grateful. Having people telling you "You can do this." may be the most valuable motivator. It helps you take the leap you were too nervous to do on your own.

The other great part about all of this? It's just in time for the holidays and wouldn't your mom/sister/friend/aunt/grandma/coworker just adore some new art for their home? I think so, but I'm biased. I also think you should probably buy a print for yourself because it's been a long year and you deserve it.

You may also want to keep your eyes peeled for another launch of my very own, on Etsy! And, perhaps it's a slow day at work? Read my Q&A with Mintwood!