↓
 

Art Naturally

Musings of my life as an Artist.

Art Naturally
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
    • Statement
    • Biography
    • Artist Resume/CV
  • RECENT WORK
  • ART SALE
  • ART PORTFOLIO & SHOP
    • Flower Portraits
    • Landscapes & Interiors
    • Designer Prints
    • Metal Prints
  • NEWS & BLOGS
    • Art Blog
      • Art Videos
    • Garden Blog
      • Garden Videos
    • News
  • STUDIO
    • In The Studiio
    • Art Work in Progress
  • CONTACT
    • Links
Home→Tags Digital Art 1 2 >>

Tag Archives: Digital Art

Post navigation

← Previous Post

What I Did After Art School

Art Naturally Posted on February 27, 2018 by Mary AhernFebruary 27, 2018 5

As I mentioned in a previous post, Professor Louis Finkelstein, the Art Department Chairman abruptly walked out on me at my senior thesis show when I mentioned that I was about to be a single mom declaring it to be impossible that I could also be an Artist. He previously had offered to sponsor me to the notable, Robert Pincus-Witten for a Whitney Museum Graduate Fellowship program but suddenly I was anathema. That event took my breath away for quite some time until I began to gather the pieces of me that felt flayed and strewn to the wind.

So what did I do to salvage my heart and soul? Since 4 years of art school didn’t train me for anything remotely connected with making a living, I knew I needed more education. I also found out that if you worked at a college your tuition was free. So I made a list of colleges I wanted to attend & found a job in the career services office at Barnard College. During my lunch hours, I attended computer programming classes at Columbia School of Engineering. Going from such intense right brain to left brain work was so difficult it often physically hurt.

Barnard at the time was a bastion of feminism and my boss, Martha Green guided me and untold numbers of other women into successful and rewarding careers based upon skills which, I for one did not know I had. She recognized in me untapped horizons and restored my confidence.

1986 Mary Ahern sells the Chyron Chameleon

Mary Ahern demonstrating the Chyron Chameleon electronic paint system 1986 at the Cablevision television studio in Woodbury New York

 

From the support and direction I received from the women surrounding me at Barnard, I launched my career into sales, because that’s where the money was, and computers, because that’s where the future was. I zig-zagged my career in computers over the years to capitalize on my Fine Arts degree by selling computer graphics equipment to the creative departments in the television broadcast and industries. My art helped me sell those systems.

So here I am, still painting, still an Artist, proud of having supported and raised my sons on my own. Now I work every day in my studio surrounded by the gardens I created that inspire my Art.

I kept my eyes and ears open and when one mentor slammed the door another mentor opened it for me so I could charge through. Success is the sweetest revenge. Thank you Martha!

Mary Ahern's studio February 2018

Mary Ahern’s studio. Still painting after all these years!


Share
Posted in Art Education, Business of Art, Career Changing, Musings | Tagged Art Education, Business of Art, Career Changing, Digital Art, Dream Chasing, Influences, Musings | 5 Replies

Photoshop is 25 years old this year but I have been digitally painting for 30

Art Naturally

The headlines herald the 25th Birthday of the introduction of Photoshop, the photo editing software that almost everyone has heard about and many have used. Photoshop was released on Thursday February 19, 1990, 25 years ago. I, however, began painting electronically years earlier on the Chyron Chameleon Paint System.

1986 Mary Ahern working on the Chyron Chameleon

1986 Mary Ahern working on the Chyron Chameleon at the Cablevision studios in Woodbury NY.

The Chameleon was a digital painting & editing system complete with dedicated hardware & software aimed at the Broadcast TV & production industry.. Primitive by our current standards but tremendously advanced at that time in the mid-1980’s.

In order to sell a paint system in the ‘80’s, since no one really understood the enormous creative possibilities of computer painting, I did demonstrations & lectures in order to sell this tremendously creative tool. It offered drawing tools & brushes, cut & paste, zoom, a removable hard drive, video outputs and 8 bits of color.

I have made a very good living using Photoshop, amongst other digital imaging programs, but I was able to apply my Artist’s vision first using the tablet & stylus of the Chameleon.

So I wish Photoshop a very Happy 25th Birthday but they are the young kid on the block. I have been digitally painting for 30 years.

Share
Posted in Art Technique, Artists, Being an Artist, Digital Art | Tagged Being an Artist, Digital Art, Influences, Photoshop

Living Color Art Exhibition – Sponsored by the Huntington Arts Council

Art Naturally Posted on April 4, 2013 by Mary AhernApril 4, 2013  

LIVING COLOR – ART EXHIBITION

featuring

“THE WORK OF FOUR EXTRAORDINARY ARTISTS EACH ONE FOCUSING ON THE UNIQUE AND VARIED WAYS THAT COLOR LIVES IN OUR LIVES”

– William Grabowski – Curator

Mary Ahern

Anne Gunthner

Stan Mehlman

Ray Rothaug


On View

March 26 – June 17, 2013
Art-trium Gallery. 25 Melville Park Rd, Melville NY 11747

OPENING RECEPTION

Friday, April 5, 2013. 5:30 – 7:00 pm
With music performance by Sally Shorrock and Friends

This Show is Sponsored by the Huntington Arts Council


SOME OF THE MIXED MEDIA PAINTINGS ON VIEW by the Artist, Mary Ahern

“Light Blue Iris in the Garden”
Light Blue Iris in the Garden - Mixed Media Painting - Mary AhernI grew these delightful light blue Iris germanica in my garden one year but they sadly haven’t come back with such beauty since. Iris borers and not enough sun perhaps. I solve this ephemeral behavior by painting the flowers from my garden. No pesticides, no fungicides, no weeding, no deadheading. They are in perfect condition all year round.
http://maryahernartist.com/galleries/mixed-media

“Lilies in the Garden”
Lilies in the Garden - Mixed Media Painting - Mary AhernAs a gardener and an Artist I’ve been able to combine both of these passions.Though my garden has been featured on various Garden Tours, I guarantee that it doesn’t look as good as the fantasy garden in this painting.

“Siberian Iris Trio”
Siberian Iris Trio - Mixed Media Painting - Mary AhernA small patch of these Siberian Irises were in the garden when I bought my home in 1989. They are short lived during the season but very long lived over the years.

“Daylilies and Rudbeckia”
I paired this combination of flowers on my canvas for the their jovial and robust colors. Noticing their form, color and bloom time I transplanted them to create a seasonal vignette in my late summer garden as well.

“Conversation Piece Azalea”
Conversation Piece Azalea - Mixed Media Painting - Mary AhernThese multi-colored flowers all bloom on the same shrub in my garden collection. Another nice thing about this cultivar is that it blooms a bit later than other Azaleas, thereby extended the colorful season.


MY ART BLOG

I wrote an article on my Art Blog recently describing how subconsciously I was influenced by the famous Matisse painting, “The Dance.”

Studying Art History for decades seeps into your creative mind and emerges in ways that you don’t expect. Though I majored in Art in college, it’s the years of continuing pursuit that really make the subtle and not so subtle differences in an Artist’s work.

You can read my article about the Matisse composition for “The Dance” here.


QUOTATION
A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust.

– Gertrude Jekyll  – Gardener, Designer, Writer 1893-1932


MY ARTIST STATEMENT
My Art is driven by the pursuit of multiple passions. In my garden I grow the delicate & ephemeral models which are the subjects of my paintings.  I transform them through a complex series of digital technologies and traditional mediums.

I have a degree in horticulture, a degree in Fine Arts and my entire career has been spent in Digital Imaging technologies. These are the tools I use to create my Art.

Creating and reinventing my gardens larger than life size demonstrates the profound importance they play in my own personal centering.


I hope to see you at my show opening and if not please visit me on my website,
or on Facebook: http://facebook.com/MaryAhernArtist
…mary

Share
Posted in Art Shows, Botanical Art, Business of Art, Digital Art, Garden Artist, Mixed Media Painting, Press | Tagged Art, Art History, Art Shows, Artists, Being an Artist, Botanical Art, Bricks & Mortar Galleries, Business of Art, Digital Art, Exhibitions, Gallery Shows, Influences, Press, Selling Art | Leave a reply

The Composition of the Matisse Painting of The Dance Influenced my Blue Iris Painting

Art Naturally Posted on March 20, 2013 by Mary AhernNovember 12, 2013  

Studying Art History seeps into your memory. Countless visits to the many museums and galleries that New York City has to offer has crept into my subconscious. This lifelong study has taken me through so many happy surprises as well as quite a number of dead ends.

Often Artists are asked who their influences have been for their Art style. Trust me,  never would I have answered Matisse. I’ve never appreciated his sketchy use of paint, his lack of detail and apparent lack of a “finished” quality to his work.

And then, when I least expected it, I reimagined Matisse’s iconic painting, “The Dance”.  Using flowers from my own garden, I picked up the exuberant rhythm that makes his work such a delight. This work is so light, buoyant and a wonderful interpretation of what spring means to me.

As I was creating the composition of Irises I remember somewhere, behind my eyes, trying to make the circular floating connections of the frilly irises that was suspended somewhere in my memory. I have stood so often in front of the Matisse painting at the Museum of Modern Art, loving the composition while not liking the paint quality. I’ve returned so often to view that painting in the original hoping to find what I missed.

I absorbed his painting just by being there and looking. And looking again. And again…Mary Ahern Artist and Henri Matisse Painting Composition

“…man is a bundle of relations, a knot of roots,
whose flower and fruitage is the world…”

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Mary Ahern Artist - Mixed Media Painting - Light Blue Iris in the Garden

Share
Posted in Art Education, Art Technique, Being an Artist | Tagged Art, Art Education, Art History, Art Technique, Being an Artist, Creativity, Design, Digital Art, Flowers, Influences | Leave a reply

Mary Ahern Invited To Exhibit Her Art by the Huntington Arts Council

Art Naturally Posted on February 24, 2013 by Mary AhernFebruary 24, 2013  
Daylilies and Rudbeckia by the Artist, Mary Ahern

Daylilies and Rudbeckia, a Mixed Media painting by the Artist, Mary Ahern.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Mary Ahern Invited To Exhibit Her Art by the Huntington Arts Council

Northport, NY. – February 24, 2013

Mary Ahern, the Northport Garden Artist, has been invited by the Huntington Arts Council to display her Mixed Media paintings in the show titled, “Living Color”. These bold & bright, large-scale paintings are interpretations of the gardens she tends surrounding her studio on Long Island.

Mary Ahern, who has shown her work and been collected extensively on Long Island and many surrounding States, is pleased to have been invited by the Huntington Arts Council to participate in the “Living Color” show. Ahern states, “The title of this show perfectly describes my own large colorful floral portraits. It is a perfect fit.”

The Huntington Arts Council show will be held in the Art-trium in Melville, Long Island, NY. This spacious setting is ideal for Ahern’s large-scale powerful statements.

The show will be held at the Art-rium Gallery at 25 Melville Park Rd., Melville NY. Her Fine Art will be on view from March 26 – June 17, 2013.

Meet the Artist at the opening reception, which will be held on Friday, April 5, 2013 from 5:30-7pm.

Contact Information:

Mary Ahern

Phone: 631-757-9459

Email: mary@MaryAhernArtist.com

Follow the Artist & her work on her website & blogs at: http://MaryAhernArtist.com

###

Share
Posted in Art Shows, Botanical Art, Mixed Media Painting, Press | Tagged Art Shows, Bricks & Mortar Galleries, Digital Art, Exhibitions, Gallery Shows, Garden Artist, Selling Art | Leave a reply

Art League of Long Island Art Show

Art Naturally Posted on November 13, 2012 by Mary AhernNovember 13, 2012  

The 57th Annual Art League of LI Member’s Exhibition is

November 11 through November 25, 2012
11-4pm each day

The Art League is located at 107 East Deer Park Rd. in Dix Hills NY 11746

Tom Stacey is the Coordinator of the show and can be reached at 631-462-5400

The ALLI website is www.artileagueli.org

The piece that I’ve submitted for the show is “Passion Flowers with Bamboo”.

Fargesia robusta Green Screen

“Passion Flowers with Bamboo” a Mixed Media Painting by the Artist, Mary Ahern

This painting is a Mixed Media piece created using digital and acrylic painting. The finished work is a 20×24″ gallery wrapped canvas with a 1/5″ depth.  The purchase price is $549.

The original models for this work were some Passiflora caerulea commonly known as Blue Passion Flower. I grew them in my deck planters where they entwined themselves on a craftsman style trellis on the sunny outside wall of my home.

The bamboo is also from my garden and is Fargesia robusta ‘Green Screen’. It is a clump forming bamboo and is said to reach a height of 12-15 ‘ but it hasn’t done so in my garden so far. I have it planted on a berm just behind a Japanese maple. For a further description of this Fargesia check out www.bamboogarden.com.

Share
Posted in Art Shows, Botanical Art, Digital Art, Mixed Media Painting | Tagged Acrylic painting, Art, Art Shows, Being an Artist, Bricks & Mortar Galleries, Digital Art, Exhibitions, Flowers, Gallery Shows, My Garden, Selling Art | Leave a reply

Digital Printing Has Killed the Limited Edition Print.

Art Naturally Posted on September 2, 2009 by Mary AhernSeptember 3, 2009 1

The historic use of limiting editions of prints was during a time when prints were made from art carved or drawn onto stone, wood or other surfaces that degraded with use. As more impressions were made the surface wore out and the image became less crisp. Limiting the quantity of the printing run helped to control the quality of the print and of course the value.

Digital printing does not suffer from this problem since there is no degradation in resolution, or crispness, from one print to the next. In fact, what can happen as technology evolves and equipment gets better and faster, later prints may be of higher quality then original prints made years earlier in the cycle.

New Technology Offers New Forms of Creativity

So how do I offer my customers a solution to their desire for a unique piece of my Art rather then the Open Edition pieces I generally offer?

red-rose-custom

Custom Art Work Created Just For You

Custom Editions brings my customers into a collaborative effort in the artistic process of helping me to create a unique Art Work specific for their home or office design ideas.

Here’s how:

You select a piece of Art from my array of Standard Digital or Traditional Paintings.

  1. I can print your selection on different surfaces like Fine Arts Paper or Canvas.
  2. I can put different finishes on each canvas print, i.e. Matte, Semi-Gloss or Gloss.
  3. My standard work is designed in a 3×4 aspect ratio, i.e. the height to width relationship. I can customize the composition to fulfill specific sizing.
  4. I can print at any size that would work for the space you have in mind. Super-size up to 64 inches and mini-sizes for grouping.
  5. I can customize the colors, most particularly, the backgrounds, to suit your design ideas.
  6. I can combine traditional paint with your digital print to make a truly one-of-a-kind Art Work.
  7. I can customize framing or do away with framing altogether using the Gallery Wrapped canvas style.

If you can think of it I can probably do it.

Let’s get started on your Custom Editions collaboration. Visit my website for additional information.

Call me, Mary Ahern at 631-757-9459

Or email me at mary@MaryAhernArtist.com

Let’s make Art together!

______________________________

Share
Posted in Being an Artist, Botanical Art, Business of Art, Digital Art, Traditional Art | Tagged Art, Being an Artist, Botanical Art, Business of Art, Creativity, Design, Digital Art, Selling Art, Traditional Art | 1 Reply

Krinkled White Peony

Art Naturally Posted on July 23, 2009 by Mary AhernJune 9, 2016

I’ve just created a series of digital paintings of a Krinkled White Peony that was blooming in my garden this past June.

For my inspiration I chose an herbaceous white single peony that was introduced into cultivation in 1928. The plant grows to about 3 feet tall and wide. This year with all the rain it grew so very tall that I had to add a peony cage to one of them since it was so heavy due to the huge amount of flowers that it produced.

A single white "Krinkled Peony" which grew in my garden this June.

A single white “Krinkled Peony” which grew in my garden this June.

The petals are so delicate they remind me of crepe paper that I used to use when I made my paper flowers as a child. The golden yellow stamens add a dramatic accent.

One of the very rare sunny spots in my garden hosts the peonies

One of the very rare sunny spots in my garden hosts the peonies.

I’ve been tending this plant for over a decade and a few years ago moved it from a rather shady location where it bloomed each year but didn’t flourish. Though most of my garden is in some percentage of shade I decided to divide and transplant this perennial into the sunniest part of my garden. Since then it has more than tripled the amount of flowers it produces.

In this series of work I’ve decided to augment the dramatic simplicity of the single peony with different colored backgrounds. Each of these pieces will work individually but they also work as a group.

Single White Peony series of digital paintings

Single White Peony series of digital paintings.

As with many of my other works, I offer these digital paintings in a variety of sizes and framing treatments. These Fine Art works are available on Fine Art paper and also on UV treated canvas either framed or gallery wrapped.

If a specific design plan comes to mind, I can also customize the color backgrounds to suit the creative intent.

I will be showing these Art Works for the first time at the Northport Art in the Park, Saturday, July 25, 2009 from noon until 5pm.

Hope you can stop by the show and say hello. If you can’t and you would like to find out more about my work, you can contact me on Facebook, Twitter, my website MaryAhernArtist.com and here on my blog by posting a comment.

——————–

Share
Posted in Art Shows, Being an Artist, Botanical Art, Business of Art, Digital Art, Garden Artist, My Garden | Tagged Art, Art Shows, Being an Artist, Botanical Art, Business of Art, Digital Art, Exhibitions, Flowers, Garden Artist, My Garden, Selling Art

The North Shoreian Magazine Cover and Article

Art Naturally Posted on April 8, 2009 by Mary AhernApril 8, 2009  

The North Shoreian has just published their April Home and Garden issue with my “Single Yellow Daffodil” on the front cover.
A delightful article about my work is featured inside this publication which is a magazine covering the North Shore (of Long Island) Arts, Culture & Politics.

The Column is called  “The Creatives”

Mary Ahern: Capturing a Moment in Art

by Shaughnessy Anne McKenna Dusling

If you’d like to read the whole article please click here and visit the Press section of my website.

If you’d like to see an online version of The North Shoreian  magazine please click here.

The North Shoreian April 2009 Home & Garden Issue
The North Shoreian.  April 2009 Home & Garden Issue

This is an exerpt of the article:

Classically trained painter, and Northport native, Mary Ahern, has spent the past twenty-five years studying and mastering digital painting and design. Mary’s interest in digital painting was stimulated when she was working for a company that created graphic technology for use in the television and production industry. Beginning as a salesperson in the early 1980’s, Mary began learning about the newest advances in this medium. As technology progressed, these high-tech digital systems became a practical expense for the small business owner and were readily available. In the early 1990’s, Mary invested in her own system and created her own graphic design company, Online Design. Her company was 100% digital which was unique at a time when paste-ups and mechanicals were still the norm in graphics.

Champagne Poppies on a Brown Background
Champagne Poppies on a Brown Background

In addition to graphic design, Mary has combined her interests and talent in painting to create her own style and method of art. Her digital paintings are created by using the computer as her medium. Mary trades in her paintbrushes and paints for a pressure sensitive stylus and graphic tablet…
Mary’s abilities as an artist are not limited to digital painting. As a traditional painter, Mary is very talented. Mary mixes mediums, such as watercolor, oil paints, pastels, colored pencils and graphite, to create her works of art. She has been doing traditional painting and drawing for over thirty years and her work reflects many hours of time and commitment to the art.
In addition to art, Mary is very devoted to growing a private garden. She spends many hours cultivating the soil, planting, pruning and nurturing her flowers. Not surprisingly either, she adds a degree in Ornamental Horticulture to her already impressive resume.

The Artist Mary Ahern with some of her Digital Paintings
The Artist Mary Ahern with some of her Digital Paintings

Finding something that inspires is one of the most important steps for Mary as an artist. Mary states, “It is very important that I really like the subject that I choose because I spend so much time with it…

Mary’s clear dedication to her garden transpires into her devotion to her art. On Mary’s impressive and self designed website, you can visit her two blogs. One is devoted to art in general, touching on her visits to various locations, book reviews and her journey as an artist. Mary also has a blog devoted to gardening, in which she posts photographs of her beautiful plants as they grow and transform, and even shows the plants alongside her art that she has created in homage to the specific bloom…

If you would like to learn more about North Shoreian Artist Mary Ahern, her garden, her masterpieces or to purchase her work, visit her website: http://www.MaryAhernArtist.com

Share
Posted in Art Shows, Art Technique, Being an Artist, Botanical Art, Business of Art, Digital Art, Garden Artist | Tagged Art, Art Shows, Being an Artist, Botanical Art, Business of Art, Digital Art, Exhibitions, Garden Artist, Selling Art | Leave a reply

Art League of Long Island Show Opening

Art Naturally Posted on January 13, 2009 by Mary AhernJanuary 13, 2009  

The Art League of Long Island, also known as, ALLI,  has a show titled, “Double Take” from January 10 through February 1, 2009 in Huntington Township, NY.

The juror for the show is Peter Sloggatt, an artist, editor and freelance writer.

Art League of LI two tiered art gallery, Huntington NY
Art League of LI two tiered art gallery, Huntington NY

All media are represented from oil painting, to watercolor, digital painting and photography. There is sculpture, graphics and mixed media work on display as well.

The reception for this show was Sunday, January 11, 2009 from 3-5pm. Considering the extreme cold and ice, the attendance was extremely high.

Huntington is an art loving community and it is reflected by the vast contributions and involvement by the residents of this town in NY.

I entered my digital painting, “White Rose Pyramid” in a 16×20″ format, which was on display on the ground floor. I stayed awhile at the reception meeting folks and discussing my work.

By the time I headed for home the Giants had lost the playoffs and NY fans were in mourning.

Digital Painting, "White Rose Pyramid" by Mary Ahern
Digital Painting, “White Rose Pyramid” by Mary Ahern

Share
Posted in Art Shows, Being an Artist, Botanical Art, Business of Art, Digital Art | Tagged Art, Art Shows, Being an Artist, Botanical Art, Bricks & Mortar Galleries, Business of Art, Digital Art, Gallery Shows | Leave a reply

MOCA-Museum of Computing Art-Inaugural Exhibition

Art Naturally Posted on September 1, 2008 by Mary AhernAugust 20, 2018  

I was pleased to join an international group of digital artists at the inaugural exhibition of their brick-and-mortar gallery at MOCA, the Museum of Computer Art, in Brooklyn NY. The show was on display at this well lit and airy space located in Park Slope from Sept 2 – Sept 18, 2008. Though no longer there the amazing work of digital artists worldwide can still be seen at the MOCA online virtual gallery.

Don Archer & Mary Ahern at the inaugural show of the MOCA:Museum of Computer Art.

Don Archer & Mary Ahern at the inaugural exhibition of the MOCA:Museum of Computer Art

MOCA was established in 1993 by computer artists Don Archer and Bob Dodson to promote digital art in its various forms and manifestations, including 3-D rendered art, fractals, enhanced photography, animation, mixed media, computer-painted and -drawn art, etc. Many talented artists have given them access to their work, and what you see in their archives and exhibitions are some of the best work that they have solicited. Some of it may be of technical or historical interest, some of it may be innovative and unusual, and some of it may have potential (dare we say it) as high art.

As an online museum, MOCA is host to hundreds of world-class digital artists and thousands of their images, all available for viewing online. It is one of the most heavily-trafficked, comprehensive, frequently-updated and respected computer art museums on the Web. The goal is to keep abreast of the latest and best in digital art. Both beginning and advanced artists frequently visit the site, if only to see what the competition is doing.

Visit the MOCA Virtual Museum at: the MOCA Museum of Computer Art and take a look at what’s new in the world of Digital Art.

Share
Posted in Art Shows, Being an Artist, Business of Art, Digital Art | Tagged Being an Artist, Business of Art, Digital Art, Exhibitions, Gallery Shows | Leave a reply

Looking closely

Art Naturally Posted on May 28, 2008 by Mary AhernMay 28, 2008  

Muscari armeniacumGrape muscari, otherwise known as Grape Hyacinths live close to the ground. For years I never took much notice of them except for the little spots of brilliant purple that bounced so nicely against the bright yellow daffodils they bloomed along with in April.

Then I got down. Hands and knees down.

What a surprise! How intricate the little flowers are. Little bells dance around a central stem forming a small pyramid. This inflorescence changes shape as it ages and can be more and less tightly knit.

The individual purple doesn’t seem to change on each bell but the overall purple varies when viewed at a distance based upon the tightness of the overall flower.

Muscari azureumI enjoyed these 4″ bulbs so much in my garden that I bought a bag of them from Costco one year and low and behold the next spring the flowers that bloomed were very different from my originals. They were more blue then purple and had a more rounded then pyramidal over shape.

So I googled Grape Muscari and found a world of cultivars I didn’t previously know existed. That’s one of the things that is so much fun about gardening. You are constantly in a learning mode. You are in for surprises every year and every season. The knowledge and information you acquire just keeps on growing, along with your garden.

So now I know that so far in my garden I have Muscari armeniacum and M. azureaum. Next year I’m sure to have more.

Digital Mixed Media Painting - Grape MuscariWhen I made my Digital Mixed Media Painting of my Grape Muscari I was careful to recreate the basal growth of the leaves. It would not have been accurate if I’d placed the leaves higher on the stem. The painting would have looked like a plant Frankenstein. As a Garden Artist, that is not what I’m trying to create.

You can view this Grape Muscari piece in my Store.

Share
Posted in Being an Artist, Botanical Art, Digital Art, Garden Artist, My Garden | Tagged Art, Bulbs, Creativity, Design, Digital Art, Flowers, Garden Artist, Garden Design, My Garden | Leave a reply

Dicentra spectabilis

Art Naturally Posted on May 1, 2008 by Mary AhernApril 1, 2009  
Dicentra spectabilis vignette

Dicentra spectabilis vignette

Isn’t that a fantastic name? Dicentra spectabilis. It just rolls out of your mouth in a lilting singsong kind of rhythm doesn’t it? I love to say it quietly under my breath as I walk around my woodland garden in May. Not too loud so as to scare the birds and the neighbors (and myself for that matter.)

I love their color pink. I have some white ones, , but the pink ones are just so luscious. They reseed very freely for me and I’m able to reposition the offspring into springtime vignettes.

Dicentra spectabilis close-up

Dicentra spectabilis close-up

When I bought this property in 1989 there was one plant of Dicentra native here and I’ve managed over time to spread the wealth around my own garden and also with other gardeners. What a treat!

I don’t mind that they die back in the summer because it gives me another planting opportunity but some of the holes they leave behind can be very BIG planting opportunities…all the more opportunity for creativity to kick in.

I made a Digital Mixed Media Painting, which I call, “Dicentra Necklace”. I think of these joyful little gems in my garden, decorating the light greens of spring with their pink heart shaped “jewelry”.

Dicentra spectabilis necklace by Mary Ahern

Dicentra spectabilis necklace by Mary Ahern

Share
Posted in Botanical Art, Digital Art, Garden Artist, My Garden | Tagged Art, Creativity, Design, Digital Art, Flowers, Garden Artist, Garden Design, My Garden | Leave a reply

White Daffodils

Art Naturally Posted on April 26, 2008 by Mary AhernApril 1, 2009  

Entry Garden DaffodilsI have a number of varieties of White Daffodils growing in my garden but I don’t feel that I ever have enough. Since I am over run by squirrels I try to focus away from crocus and my beloved tulips. (After all, both my parents were born in Holland!) Squirrels consider the bulbs as an entrée and the flowers, if they arrive, as delectable garnish but they leave my daffodils alone.

The abundant shade in my garden causes challenges to many of my daffodil plantings but I still crave the color in early spring. One of the fun parts of designing gardens is figuring out how to hide the declining leaves on the daffodils as they absorb the chlorophyll for next year’s growth.

I’ve been known to hide them using daylilies, Siberian iris and ornamental grasses. I’ve stopped braiding the leaves since it seems so demeaning to their dignity.

I created a Digital Mixed Media Painting from one of these white daffodils. I love the way daffodil leaves have a slight twist to them. One of things I kept in mind when composing the piece is that the stem is offset where it enters the back of the flower, unlike a tulip which is a straight up vertical.

Another issue is making sure that I paint the shadows different from when the “light” hits the round stem vs. when it hits a flat leaf.

You can see this Single White Daffodil in my Store. I created various sizes for purchase. I think it has a rather heroic feel to the composition.

Single White Daffodil by Mary Ahern

Single White Daffodil by Mary Ahern

Share
Posted in Art Technique, Botanical Art, Business of Art, Digital Art, Garden Artist, My Garden | Tagged Art, Creativity, Design, Digital Art, Flowers, Garden Artist, Garden Design, My Garden | Leave a reply

Yellow Daffodils

Art Naturally Posted on April 18, 2008 by Mary AhernApril 1, 2009  

My garden is often the source material for my Digital Mixed Media Paintings. Though I am not a Photographer, I like to use my digital camera to record the progress and changes in my garden from day to day and year to year.

Entry Garden Yellow Daffodils

Springtime is such a hectic time since I’m always late uncovering the perennial beds. These jolly yellow daffodils came up in my entry garden and I was lucky enough to catch the early morning light behind them.

My entry garden is still in need of some tidying but putting the pansies into the pots and baskets takes my mind off the leaves from last fall.

My Entry Garden in April

Though I like to create gardens and like to create Fine Art using my garden, in the garden I get messy and dirty while my Botanical Art is clean and stylized.

This Digital Mixed Media Painting is a very popular piece that surprisingly sells all year long, not just in the spring as I would have imagined. People buy this Single Yellow Daffodil as an individual piece and also as a grouping along with some of my other daffodil Art Works. You can see them in my Store.Yellow Daffodil by Mary Ahern the Artist

Share
Posted in Botanical Art, Digital Art, Garden Artist, My Garden | Tagged Art, Bulbs, Creativity, Design, Digital Art, Flowers, Garden Artist, Garden Design, Gardening, Influences, My Garden, Selling Art | Leave a reply

Post navigation

← Previous Post

Art & Garden Connoisseur’s Newsletter Sign-Up


Have you missed some of my Events, Lectures and Shows?

Why not sign up for my newsletter and be the first on your block to get the latest and greatest News about my upcoming new work, Art Shows and lectures.

Plus you will receive a free downloadable Art Book with my latest work, motivations & influences for you to keep!


Like you, I respect my privacy, so I don't share any of your info anywhere, anytime! I Promise!

Like Me on Facebook



Categories

  • Art Education
  • Art For Sale
  • Art Shows
  • Art Technique
  • Artists
  • Being an Artist
  • Book Reviews
  • Botanical Art
  • Business of Art
  • Career Changing
  • Digital Art
  • Garden Artist
  • Meet the Artist
  • Mixed Media Painting
  • Musings
  • My Garden
  • News
  • Pay it Forward
  • Press
  • Public Speaking
  • Studio
  • Traditional Art
  • Video

Top Posts

  • Aspect Ratio in Fine Art Painting
  • Selecting Lighting for my Painting Studio
  • Art Festival Booth Chairs
  • Northport Art in the Park Annual Art Festival Event
  • Jacqueline Penney Art Gallery & Studio

Archives

Tag Cloud

Acrylic painting Art Art Education Art History Artists Art Shows Art Technique Being an Artist Blogging Books Botanical Art Bricks & Mortar Galleries Bulbs Business of Art Career Changing Color Creativity Design Digital Art Drawing Dream Chasing Exhibitions Flowers Gallery Shows Garden Artist Garden Design Gardening Illustration Influences Life Drawing Musings My Garden Oil Painting Pen & Ink Pencil Photoshop Poetry Press Public Speaking Selling Art Time management Traditional Art Traditional Painting Video Watercolor

Subscribe to my Art Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 151 other subscribers

©2019 - Art Naturally - Weaver Xtreme Theme
↑