Tonight is THE night! The 6th annual Big 400 opens today.  I have been sharing all 10 of my art pieces as I have been making them but if you are in the Portland area- this is Portland's largest art show. There are over 400 artists participating in the show and there is generally a really long line to get into the art show. I have been participating in this art show since the beginning and it started out with 30 of us and now 400.  Tim and I got a sitter for tonight so that we can swing by the art show and go out for a bite. What are you up to this weekend? PS More details about the show are listed below. Want to see previous work for this show?  Big400 / Big 300 / Big 200 / Big 100 Details About the Art Show: Date: December 14th- 2 p.m. and runs until January 21st. Location:   Peoples Art of Portland Gallery 700 SW Fifth (3rd floor) People's is Suite 4005, Portland, Oregon There are over 400 artists participating in the 6th Annual Big 400 Show and all art is $40. ...
Aren't these photos breath taking? Kristy Mitchell is a UK fine art fantasy photographer and this is from her latest series "Wonderland".  This series has been ongoing for over 4 years.  Her mother passed away from a brain tumor and she channeled her grieving process into her passion for photography.  I love how mythical and magical it is and takes you to a new place, and feels so authentic.  All of the costumes and set is all constructed by hand and takes months to create- but what's amazing is the amount of detail and care.  She also keeps an online diary while she is making and creating. ...
It's sort of funny that when you have kids- one gets motivated to do the traditional things.. cut down a Christmas tree.. put some holiday lights up and of course the family Christmas card. I'm always a fan of doing something extra special and here is our card this year. Tim thinks it's a little on the dark side but who doesn't love a bad Santa especially one with rainbow laser beam eyes with his side kicks killer dolphins and in outer space? I think it turned out pretty perfect:) Holiday Photo Challenge...
I think Winston is happiest when he is running and his ears are flapping back.  He is the watch dog of the house and the best cuddler around.  I can't believe he is going to be 8 years old this year and he doesn't look a day over 5 :).. well at least in his heart. His beard is starting to go white and snores a lot louder these days.  I'm already convinced he will live forever.  Nora loves Winston and Winston tries to sit in Nora's lap and when he tries they look to be about the same size. I can never get a good pictures of the two of them together. This weekend Tim is out of town and I am finishing up some commissioned paintings :) I am doing commissioned portraits for the holidays and only have a couple of spots left open so if you are thinking about it for the holidays then now is the time. More details here .  We also got our first sprinkle of snow!  Doing anything fun this weekend? ...
1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 I have done so little Christmas shopping, and I can't believe I haven't even come close to finishing yet. The holidays have snuck up this year because of the late Thanksgiving but I feel like now I am in a rush to start shopping... like I really need a reason to shop. :) So here is my Christmas wishlist for myself and if Santa happens to bring me any of these items I would be extremely happy. I normally do all my shopping pretty early or at least have some sort of game plan but this year- I don't know I am trying to be the spontaneous shopper. You know that shopper that whats for the last minute and sees what she gets. How's your holiday shopping going?...
This is the last and final painting for the Big 400.  I can't believe I have painted them all and I always think it's going to be easier every year but nope I'm work it's a challenge.  I have always loved this bowling alley's sign and now it's owned by a chain but I am so happy that they kept the big glowing retro sign and they have kept it in really good condition.  Back in college one Tim and I favorite things to do was go bowling! and Tim is the funniest bowler.  He sort of bowls like he pushes the ball with all of his might and falls over when he releases the ball.  Just thinking about it makes me laugh and it's almost as awesome as his dance skills. Today is a Nora day- she has been up all night the last couple of nights with teething and has been chewing on her crib.  So we are off to her favorite place the library and then planning on baking some cookies.  What are you up to today? Oil Painting on 8X8 wood board.    Want to see previou...
It's never to early to find the perfect gift, now is the time to order commissioned portraits for holiday gift giving.  For this holiday season I am going to be doing a limited number of commissioned portraits and pet portraits.I think the most special gift you can give someone is a painting because it's handmade, extremely special, one of a kind and it's something that is going to last forever.  I would be thrilled  and honored to paint something extremely special for you. I am going to be doing a custom 8 inch by 8 inch painting on cradled wood panel with free shipping.   I am only doing a few of these this year so please order early.  If you have any questions please contact me at erikaleesears@gmail.com. How it works: 1.  Purchase your painting. 2.  I will contact you with information and details that I need in order to complete the work. 3.  The painting gets mailed out. ...
This weekend I went thrifting and I had such a great haul.  Such a good haul that when I came home, Tim asked me what I was doing with all of this junk.  :) One of the things I am always looking for when thrifting is storage solutions or some type of basket solution because even though I love old things- I don't like a whole lot of clutter. I found this at an estate sale for a couple of bucks and thought this would be perfect storage solution for Nora's books. We go to the library at least once a week and she loves to pick out her own books.  She loves reading or at least pretending to read and I have caught her a few times flipping through my books and reading. Since library books are generally hard backed and coated in plastic- it seems like they take up more space then regular books and I had the books stacked on an end table but it just seemed like they were getting in the way and the stack was getting larger and larger. This is an old magazine holder I think from a...
I can not believe I almost done showing you all of my paintings for the Big 400. It is seriously my favorite art show that I look forward to every year.   I always paint a few vintage still life and they are usually my favorite because I love going on the hunt for old things. I envision each vintage piece has some sort of past life and an amazing story behind it like a secret story that I will never really know.  I think what draws me in most about painting clocks, typewriters, and radios is that they are every day items that really marks the time period of when and sometimes where they came from. I have been thinking a lot about thrifting lately and where I live Portland, Oregon- thrifting is extremely competitive because people love old things here.  So competitive that I have heard of people starting fights and other people getting banned from even going into estate sales.   I generally thrift for things in the 1960's or older which if you go to a thrift stores here you pay t...
Content and/or other value provided by our partner, Target. One of my favorite times of the year because I get to be around my whole family! We are all a little spread out among a few different states and thanksgiving is one of the few times of year that we all manage to be all under the same roof.   Even though it tends to be a bit of zoo because there are so many of us and pets included! I love having my family all around me. One of our biggest traditions is that all the ladies huddle in the kitchen working on their specific dishes and I since I am the youngest I am typically the official taste tester which I have to say is the best job ever. My other big job for thanksgiving is being in charge with setting the table and getting all the forks and knives in a perfect arrangement and I always seem to second guess which side the fork goes on. Since I am in charge of the table-scaping I always make a big effort in coming up with something new at the table each year to mix it up and...
When I was a little girl, my mom and I would always be canning or preserving things from our family garden like corn, green beans, pickles and of course my all time favorite pickled beets. Over the summer I seem to have been wanting to get back into canning and preserving things especially since my parents have a pretty large garden that I am constantly taking vegetables from and we also love the farmers market. There is nothing better then fresh local ingredients- so why not learn and get better at canning and do more than just jelly. I have been going the last couple of months to the Portland Preservation Society which is a group that gets together once a month and swaps their latest home made goods.  So if you made a ton of pickled beets or maybe made a ton of peach jam then you can trade for delicious goodies. I have to say I have gotten some amazing things in the swaps such as Kim Chi, smoked salmon and fig mustard.  The Kim Chi was so good that Tim has been pestering me to ...
I think this is my favorite camera painting to date and usually my favorite vintage cameras are the minty or turquoise ones. Sometimes I change the color in the painting to make the still life a shade of blue or green but this time I wanted to keep that beautiful candy apple red. This is a vintage 1950's Imperial Mark XII with flash and I love collecting old cameras but never really used them.  I have a DSLR camera, my Iphone and a mini Instax that I use but never really starting using actual film cameras.  I know the mini Instax is technically film cameras but it's not really old.  I recently picked up an big old Land Camera at an estate sale and I have the itch to take it out and give it a whirl.  I don't think I have used actual film in an camera since maybe college, which seems like a long time ago.  I remember my very first camera that my mom bought me it was one of those long skinny cameras in hot pink and I was totally embarrassed by it because all the other kids h...
Have you seen the documentary Salinger yet? I watched it over the weekend and now all I want to do is re-read all of J.D. Salinger books or I should say all of Jerry's books.  I think my first memory of even hearing about JD Salinger was when I was in 8th grade and the school was making us read Catcher in Rye. Yes making, I've always loved books but some of those books in school I could barely keep my eyes open to read them.  To be honest, I don't really remember that much of the story other than it was about a coming of age story and it was set during World War II. I don't even remember loving it or hating it but chalking it up to a book that I read in school. This documentary is about putting together the pieces of J.D. Salinger's life because with the fame of his book Catcher in the Rye, he started to withdraw and hide from the spotlight.  His fans would drive 100s of miles and wait outside of his gate of his home just to try and meet him or even get a glimpse ...
I think you can tell a lot about a book especially when it's good when the cover is curling back away from the book because it has been rolled so many times from lounging and reading, which happened to my copy of this book. I just finished reading Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail by Cheryl Strayed. I've actually heard mixed reviews about this book, one friend told me it was a little on the dark side and another said it was an intense read. I think what drew me into this book is that its about a woman who hikes alone on the Pacific Crest Trail.  The PCT is a hiking trail that goes from the Mexican border all the way up to the Canadian border, and there is also a counter part on the opposite side of the United States called the Appalachian Trial.  I actually had a friend who hiked the PCT recently and it took her about 5 months, but most people do parts of it because it is quite a journey and lots of preparation.  In the book she didn't do the entire tri...
Happy Monday! I had such a busy weekend and am actually looking forward to the routine of the work week. I know sounds crazy- a person looking forward to Monday but sometimes the weekend just get to full.  Over the weekend I helped and went to the PNW Holiday Brunch Meet up .  I was in charge of organizing the goodie bag which is obviously my favorite part since I love prizes.  If there is a prize involved I'm totally in.  The goodie bag was pretty great and some of my favorites included sunglasses from Sunglass Warehouse, goodies from Land of Nod and lots of craft supplies which means a lot of DIY things in the near future.  Don't worry I'll share them as they happen. It was this amazing space called Union and Pine which is located in SE Portland which is very old warehouse vibe and there were bloody mary's, mimosas, baked treats and of course there was a photo booth. This painting is of Mary's Club which is a gentleman's club but it's a place that has...
Happy Halloween! I didn't even realize it until I went to write this post but the word "flicker" is very Halloweeny. Don't you think? I always think Halloween really marks the point in fall when it's about to turn into winter with the leaves crunching beneath your feet, all the orange pumpkins on the porches and that cold brisk wind. We have owls by where I live and if you listen very carefully at night time you can hear them and if you are lucky enough you might spot one swooping over a field. So this week creative word was "flicker." I immediately thought of a candle or something fire related but I thought what sort of animals have a sort of flicker in their eyes. Even though owls look incredibly cuddley and adorable- they have big beaks and dangerous claws but they are so lovely to look at but do love that sense of danger behind their eyes which is the whole point of flicker. Tonight is Nora's big night and we are taking her trick or treati...
I can not believe it's already Friday but I am so looking forward to this weekend.  I have a lady thrifting date planned and hopefully I will find some vintage treasures.  We are going estate sale-ing and I have to work on the map- so that we can maximize our thrifting experience.  lol doesn't it make me sound hard core, but I learned with a little research and planning - I can hit the best estate sales. I have gotten into the habit of setting up a thrift date once a month for the last couple of months and I look forward to it. Not only do I get to hang out with my gal pals but I love finding things to inspire my art work.  We all meet up at my house and we go early at least early for the weekend and then we get a fluffy coffee and then we head out to hunt and gather. :) I have been in the studio a lot of this week and working late but I have to say isn't this little camera adorable? I particularly loving the mint and the flash.  I finished painting this last night aro...
I am drawn to the ocean- the sound of the ocean waves, the birds skimming the water and walking in the wake. Going to the coast is one of the most relaxing places especially when your toes are buried in the sand and if it's a warm day with the sun warming the sand.  My parents live out on the coast and we visit them quite often.  It's one of the best escapes.  The dunes that lead up to the ocean swirl up toward the sand and it fells like your walking the path in a Robert Frost poem- it is that beautiful and romantic. My dogs get so excited to clammer up the path to the ocean getting more and more excited to run their feet in the soft wet sand.  I did a drawing of the beach by my parents house with high weedy dunes and there are lots of critters hidden all over the place.  I think I have seen everything from black bears, deer, and the biggest blue birds I have ever seen in my life- in fact they are so big you take a handful of peanuts and put it out and they swallow peanuts i...
Happy Tuesday! I always do some vintage type still lifes especially meant for this show.  I started painting vintage little treasures maybe a couple of years ago and now I just love looking for everyday old items to paint. I think my favorites are clocks, radios, cameras and typewriters. The real clock I found at an estate sale for 50 cents.   I think my favorite era of time to thrift is the 50's and 60's and just love the use of color and how much personality it has.  Tonight I am having a few lovely ladies over to screen print- yah! so excited.  What are you up to today?  Oil Painting on 8X8 wood board.    Want to see previous work for this show?  Big400 / Big 300 / Big 200 / Big 100 Details: Date: December 14th- 2 p.m. and runs until January 21st. Location:   Peoples Art of Portland Gallery 700 SW Fifth (3rd floor) People's is Suite 4005, Portland, Oregon There are over 400 artists participating in the 6th Annual Big 400 Show and all art is $50.  It is a cas...
What are you up to this weekend? Fall is in full swing and the weather has been amazingly warm and the leaves are changing. It's been so warm that almost no jacket required. yah! When the weather is like this I could spend all day at the beach, drinking hot coco from a thermos and looking for seashells in the sand.  Sometimes I just want to freeze time like in this photo. ...
Happy Thursday! This week's A Tiny Bee's project was "speckle" and I have always thought speckled is such a pretty word . It's sort of funny that words can be pretty or maybe even delightful or even bring a little sparkle of joy, that a word can convey a feeling versus the meaning.   I think what's sort of special about this word is that something speckle-y is usually involving polka dots and my mind immediately goes to a bird which bird eggs are usually have some sort of speckles and they are usually pretty adorable little eggs that are tucked deep into a nest.   So I painted this lovely fat sparrow which is one of my favorite birds.  Do you ever watch the tv show Portlandia? If you haven't seen it- it's a tv show based upon where I live because Portland is a pretty unusual place.. a special place but lots of strange and unique.  I adore the show and have had my artwork in it the last couple of seasons, which is sort of crazy to think about.  Anyway...
I know what your thinking.. no not the Palms in Vegas but this is the The Palms in Portland, Oregon. :) This motor hotel is a cheappie place out on the east side of town and I have always loved its sign. There is a little glowing monkey that is climbing up the palm tree and the arrow lights are just plain awesome because of the way they glitter. I still have 6 more little paintings to go for the Big 400 show and still feel like I have a long way to go.  I always start out painting like I can totally make all 10 of these and it's going to go by so quick and then when I hit the middle I feel like I'm not painting or working fast enough and I will never be able to make the deadlines. I know I can do it! but who needs sleep? especially when I am chasing around a 15 month old during the day. The weather has been pretty incredible the last few days and Nora has insisted going on her daily nature hike down the street. We found a caterpillar the other day and she was so tickled pin...
I love to read and I love a good delicious book. but a lot of my free time is sucked away into making art. Painting is were my heart is. So I realized I can either make art or read and even though I love to read- making art always wins.  In my studio I listen to a lot of music and records but I have started listening to podcasts because I since I am not able to really read why not start listening to podcasts? I have never really been into books on tape or talk radio and I was craving something a little more substantial.  I mean lets just say it reading books makes your brain smart and I don't know about you but when I am reading I feel my brain getting smarter. lol- So since being a mom and making art and having no time to read anything and my free time is dedicated to my art.  I had a friend suggest to me to start listening to podcasts and it's something you can do while creating something.  I am just going to be honest listening to something like talk radio reminds me of my...
This week's assignment was collection. The first thing that pop's into my brain when I think of collection is of that Little Mermaid song- when she is a mermaid and she is looking at all her treasures that she has collected from human ship wrecks like a spoon, a fork and a thimble. Do you remember that song? I am so going to get that song stuck in my head. Well I have to say I am a collector! I love to go thrifting and to estate sales and auctions... I love a good hunt for old things.  I have learned over time to let myself collect a few certain things versus everything! because I secretly want everything. This is one of my favorite things- its an old Oliver typewriter #5 that mom gave me last Christmas.  I love typewriters- and I have about 4 now but I used to have a lot more.  This one is extra special because it's so much older than my other typewriters - it was made in 1909- which is crazy to think of something as over 100 years old and still works and types. I love...
Here is my next one for the upcoming holiday art show the Big 400 .  I have been sort of obsessed with painting portraits lately and have been getting the face images from Busted.  So if you have gotten in trouble with the law- your mug shot is public record. yikes! I just think it's really funny looking at the pictures and some of the people are smiling! I've never been arrested but I would probably be crying my eyes out if I did.  I did called for jury duty once and I didn't get picked for the jury but it still freaked me out just being in the building.  I am afraid of danger :) lol.  It is also interesting to me the people who look just bored and that they look like they have a little bit of guilt in their eyes but they have to put on this bored exterior to survive it all.  I think that's like a lot of people- even the ones who haven't gotten into trouble. It's gorgeous weather here today and we are getting out of the studio to enjoy some of that beauti...
Oh this place. This is the place that when you would stay out all night long way past my bed time now and would go get breakfast or greasy burgers at 3 in the morning. I remember my friends and I would pile up in my 1987 Honda and go wait in line for burgers or breakfast. Even though it is called the Hot Cake House- we would call it the Pancake House and it's one of the few places in the city that is open all night long. The line to get in this place was always long after 2 am and while you waited in line you could see the cooks on the griddle cooking like crazy people and I can still smell the grease. :)   I have been painting a lot of Portland at night lately because I love the glow and the electric signs. I also have to paint the electric wires more delicately.  What are you up to today?   Want to see previous work for this show?  Big 300 / Big 200 / Big 100 Details: Date: December 14th- 2 p.m. and runs until January 21st. Location:   Peoples Art of Portland Gallery ...
I started painting for the 6th annual Big 400.  I started painting for this show when there was only 30 artists and now it has grown to over 400 artists, hence the name the Big 400.   It's still crazy to just  think how small it was and now how big of an art show it is.  I am so grateful they want me to be apart of the show every year because its one of my favorites.  Its a show that's gotten so large that people line up hours before just to get their hands on artwork.  I sold out my artwork the last couple of years and last year my work sold out opening night.  Each artists can choose up to 10 paintings to have in show, and I always feel a little bit of pressure for this show because I want to make amazing work... well I guess I feel the pressure every time I make something lol. Each artists get 10 pieces of wood all of the same size and all the paintings are hung together in no particular order and there are no signs with no names.  It's a cash and carry show- so you ...
I can't believe that I have already been doing A Tiny Bee Project for four weeks and can't tell you how rewarding it has been to do a creative assignment once week.  It's rewarding because I feel sometimes I get so wrapped in other projects and this project can be anything I want it to be.  No limits on creativity.  I think sometimes I worry a lot about my work being good enough and now I am realizing what does being good enough really mean? Good enough to whom? or to what? I think what's refreshing about doing this project is that everything I am making is just me and I am not over thinking anything and focusing more on the making. This weeks assignment is Feathering and what I immediately thought of was "Birds of a Feather Flock Together. Where do birds flock? The flock on a wire and on a telephone pole.  Since it's fall I know birds are getting together to fly south for the winter but they seem to always congregate over on the phone poles near my house a...
I was talking with a friend of mine and she was telling me that she was thinking about showing her art work.  and I said "You totally should!"  She responds with that her parents wouldn't like it and she comes from a pretty conservative background and the only thing that kept going through my mind was- "What is she waiting for?" She has all the important stuff figured out- has 2 beautiful girls, a home, a job ect.. What is she waiting for?  I get it, something that I have struggled with for a long time is that I am in charge of my own life. When I wanted to quit my job and pursue art- I knew my parents wouldn't be for my decision.  I remember sitting down with my dad and having a talk with me and to this day he asks me if I will ever go back to the financial world- at the time I was doing Mortgage Underwriting and Processing. I know super fun. :) I think what was one of the biggest and toughest hurdles in my life was deciding I wanted something else for my...
Here are more paintings for the upcoming show  88 Strong  and I have to say one of my latest painting addictions is painting portraits.  One of the theme for the show is Busted- and Busted is a newspaper (and it's online too!) of mugshots.  Since mugshots are public record, they are available for anyone to view.  I have never been arrested- the closest I have ever come to a run in with the cops is getting a speeding ticket when I was 21. I know I lead a pretty wild and crazy life!  I think what I find the most interesting is this little moment in time that someone who gotten caught for something- guilty or innocent.. a moment you are caught and are in trouble.  Looking through the photos I mostly saw guilty faces, the occasional smirk and some in a haze.   I picked busted pictures from Portland which makes me wonder if I will ever see these in real life faces.  I am particularly drawn to painting these faces since I am not much of a trouble maker.. maybe at times a naughty i...
I am an extremely goal oriented person and I always feel like I am always trying to achieve those goals. I think something I am looking towards achieving is focusing even more on my drawing and composition before I start to paint.  I think sometimes I just rush into the painting process because I love it so much and skip all of the prepping to painting.  I have been thinking about giving myself a drawing challenge because then I know it's something that I will have to stick with and if I make it a goal it's something that I would like to achieve.  Here is one of my little drawing from my sketchbook of Mr. Fox. Next week's assignment is "Feathery."  How ever you want to interpret it :)  Feel free to check out and link up with  12 Oz Bee House ...
I have been feverishly working in my studio getting ready for this upcoming show! I can't believe that this is the third year that I am participating in this show.  I think the best part about the show is there are so many themes (88) and I can paint in any of those themes.  The show is hung by theme which is pretty neat seeing all the different art in each category because it's a lot of art and super fun themes. This is a painting of the Hollywood Theatre which is a pretty famous and old spot in Portland.  The theatre was built in 1926 and it used to show silent movies - it has since had a few face lifts since and supports independent movies.  I think one of my favorite things about the old theatre is that it still has all of the intricate architectural details- and sort of reminds me of the La Sagrada Familia in Spain.   I would love to do a big painting of this one day but I love how this turned out. About the Show: Location: The Goodfoot      2845 SE Stark Street, ...