Anticipated Reveal!

Hello Everyone! I was finally able to get pictures! Yippee! What you see here is called "A Path to Anywhere." It is 10 inches wide and 8 inches high. I just keep thinking that while you are sure to enjoy the wildflowers and trees that line the first half of the path, once you get past those trees... where does it go? You get to answer that question and the answer can change everyday if you want it to! Enjoy! Today, while running, I saw a couple new interesting scenes to contemplate for painting. One scene included some older pines that have since lost their needles amongst a batch of younger pines. The commentary there could go many places. I also saw a winding creek slightly frozen over. Right now, it doesn't seem to have much charm but perhaps if we get more snow, it could tell and great story too. Now I'm off to finish the last of my four fields. I shall share another painting tomorrow! I'll see you then!

Until next time...

It's Wednesday!

Hello! Let's see. Today was full but not very exciting. We had terrible wind last night and today which kept me from two things... one, sleeping last night... resulting in another finished painting (yippee). And two, being able to take pictures today. My best light is outside but with nature flying everywhere, I did not chance it. So, I look forward to having a new picture of a new painting tomorrow. Until next time...

Hello Tuesday!

Today, I finished two of my four "tree and field" paintings. I need to give them titles and take some pictures when they dry a bit. I hope to have a picture or two by tomorrow so you can see what I've been up to! If you've been to my website, you may notice that many of my earlier paintings are very Southwest and my newer paintings are Midwest inspired. A little history may help explain this phenomenon to those who are new to me or those who just never heard the story. It is a bit of a long story, so I apologize if this post is a bit wordy!

It started in college (I got my BFA at BGSU). I was privileged to have the opportunity to student teach art on the Navajo Reservation in Arizona. There the people are called Dine (pronounced din-nay). "The people," I believe is the translation. I fell in love with the land and the people, especially the children I taught. I did quite a bit of hiking and on one of my early trips, I asked a Dine gentleman selling jewelry in Monument Valley, "which do you think is the most beautiful view?" He answered, "none of them." Flabbergasted, I continued admiring the towering rock formations and fantastic reds, golds, and blue, blue skies. I related this story to my mother that night and she asked me, "what do you think is the most beautiful part of Ohio (where I grew up)?" I couldn't come up with a good answer. Lesson, if you are surrounded by it all the time, it becomes just a part of the background -it isn't anything special. I started painting landscapes of Arizona and Utah. They were fantastic subjects and I could use the bright and bold colors that I loved. I was able to make those special landscapes come alive in my paintings. After three years teaching in Arizona, I married my husband and moved to Oklahoma. Teaching took up most of my time, so painting was put on hold.

Then we moved back to Ohio. I have been able to paint full time since I have been here. I continued painting the Southwest though because it continued to inspire me. However, now that I've been in Ohio about three years, I have started to become attracted to the local landscape. But now I can answer my mother's question. I see things in Ohio now in the kind of light I saw the Southwest. I am able to pick out what is so special about these scenes. I am able to find interesting trees and rocks and fields that I never took notice of before. Actually, painting these new scenes has added some spark back into my painting. These are new and exciting challenges: How do I paint grass, leaves, clouds, and flowers in bold and expressive ways? We are about to find out together! And now you know! Thanks for reading!

Until next time...

Happy Monday!

Today was, as many Mondays are, a bit of a prep day for the rest of the week. I have paintings, a custom quilt, and maybe, if I can sneak it in, a basket on my creative agenda this week. So, today I got to go shopping for supplies. I was missing a couple luscious blue fabrics for my quilt and of course you can rarely leave without picking up at least one extra item that you may or may not need! Actually, I found some very beautiful glass beads on sale... inspiration for a future basket... more on that later! I came home, washed my new fabrics and started cutting out my quilt. I also discovered that the first layers of my latest "trees and fields" paintings were dry. I have four small paintings started that just have fields left to paint. I cleaned my old paints off my pallet and mixed brand new colors for tomorrow. And this is where I leave you for now! Until next time...

Sunday, January 27, 2008

Hello! This will be my very first "real" blog! I am quite excited and just want to start today with a short meet and greet! I am Amy Kaye. I wear several hats, as most of us do. As far as family hats, I am a wife, a daughter and a sister. As far as professional hats, I am an oil painter, which, in this blog I will probably be writing most about. I paint fantastic landscape paintings that are expressive in nature, telling a story about a particular scene, and use nothing but bright/ bold colors to tell that story. I love playing with contrast allowing my landscape subjects to pop! Other professional hats I wear on occasion include quilter, basket weaver, and framer. I enjoy hiking and those adventures typically become my paintings! I am also a runner, now training for a half marathon in April. Wow! Until you write them out, you just don't realize how many you wear (and I'm sure I'm missing one or two!)!! And now I have just tried out my blogger hat! I think it's going to be a fun new one to hang out in! Thanks for looking! Until next time...

Welcome to my blog

Welcome to the blog of Amy Taylor, Fine Artist and Quilter.

I will use this as an opportunity to describe my artistic process and keep you updated on the latest works and inspirations for my paintings. Please be patient with a beginner as I get started with this project.

Currently, I am working on building my new series of Midwest landscapes. These works are on display at the Groveport Municipal Art Gallery, along with several of my Southwest landscapes. All of my available works can be found on my website at www.amykayetaylor.com.

Please take a look at my website and tell what your favorite piece is.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you will come back soon.

Amy