Stephanie Corfee

vibrant, bohemian, and intricate art

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Catching up again

February 5, 2015 by StephanieCorfee

i think it’s just my MO. Blog regularly, settle into it. Find a rhythm. Then….get bogged down with a big project or deadline, and ignore it for a couple months. ugh. Maybe there is no use fighting it. i’m sporadic!

But, a lot has happened.  i’ve had a lovely holiday with my family, finished my new book, and survived 4 days of solo travel to a trade show in Atlanta to promote my upcoming gift line. Came home from said trip and fell ill for a solid 10 days with the worst combo of yuckiness i have ever experience. My hair hurt! : )

Recovered.

And now i’ve caught up on all the loose ends that followed that little whirlwind and i’m resetting my clock and  beginning to sketch daily and really create again. It’s an ebb and flow sorta thing.

So here’s a little smattering of images from the past couple months for a little catch up.

MillerGirlsChristmas2014

Christmas Eve with my sisters. Laura, Jodi, Lissa and me…. 

Read More »

Filed Under: commissions, Completed Works, etsy finds, New ARtwork, new studio, sketchbook, sneak peeks, Uncategorized Tagged With: America's Mart, art studio, baby art, christmas, DIY, gift line, greeting cards, home improvement, name art, name blanket, new art, nursery art, paintings, recap, sketchbook

My Workspace

January 7, 2013 by StephanieCorfee

New Year. Newly Organized Workspace.

i posted about moving my workspace a few months back. But this weekend i finalized a lot more of the organization in here to make it so much more efficient. i like lovely furniture, but honestly, this office is all IKEA, HomeGoods, Pier 1, or homemade. i beat it up. i spill paint on it. In here, i just try to get the most storage for the least cash.

In the photo above, the work surface is IKEA countertop. The drawers are all from the ALEX series. My printers and scanner are Epson. The computer is a MAC, of course : ) My graphics tablet is a Wacom Intuos 4 XL. The chest of drawers behind my chair is from Pier 1 a million years ago. The desk chair/ottoman and wire bins are from Home Goods. Can you tell i like a bargain? My husband built the lightbox table and attached it to the wall. He also put in all the overhead can light and task lights. (He’s an electrician. i know, i’m lucky.) He also wired my wall mounted tv all sneaky-like so i don’t have wires all trailing everywhere. My OCD wouldn’t be able to handle it. He also changed out the standard door on the room for the pocket french door shown. This gave me use of the wall space which used to be behind the door so i could house my monster easel.

Let’s see, in this view you can see the side of the monster easel and my drafting table which were both scored on Craigslist. That easel is the Cadillac of easels, man. Would have been way more than i needed, but i couldn’t resist the Craigslist deal. it has a ratcheted crank and pulley system to raise and lower my huge canvases. It totally rocks. The drafting table is pretty basic but it tilts and goes flat for watercolors and serves it purpose. My tripod was a Christmas gift this year from my parents and i LOVE it. Not sure how i lived so long without it. The octopus light is totally cheesy and i’ve had it since college i think? But it is just so darn useful, i never seem to get rid of it? The upholstered chair is about the only “fancy” thing in the room. Its pure wool and from some schmancy store back in the day when i was single and decided to splurge on a “cool” chair. i still like it ok, but i think a slipcover is in its near future. : ) OH!! and see my leather ottoman under the desk? best thing ever. Nothing as nice as propping your feet while you recline a touch, watch tv and sketch on the graphics tablet. That’s often how i spend my evenings. During the day, i tend to be doing more graphic design and keyboard work, so i sit up straight. Honest.

Here’s a better view of the easel area. The IKEA chest of drawers was a new addition this weekend. i needed it. My younger son, who is almost 2, would not keep his hands off the paints! Now they are all neatly stashed away. Phew! When i paint, i put one of my paper palettes and that tray of most used acrylics on the rolling cart and pull it beside me. My easel and my chair both adjust up and down, so i never have to hunch or stretch at the canvas. Occasionally, i’ll stand to lay down the base layer of the painting, but generally, i like to sit. it makes me feel more relaxed. Oh! And i always watch/listen to tv when i paint. i like the company. Radio makes me feel lonely when i’m painting. The only exception is if somebody sits and chats with me while i work. Then Pandora works out just fine : )

This part of the room is where i also spend a lot of my time. i stand here and trim, pack & ship all my orders. The lightbox has a glass top so you can cut right on it. i have all my tape, stamps, return address labels, gold paperclips (my favorite!) and business cards right in reach. i just pop into that white door to the left and access my storage closet for the shipping envelopes and art packaging. Here’s what that closet looks like……its not nearly as “pretty” in its organization…….what can i say?

That white door also opens up to the SINK!!! i get easily excited. The best part of taking this room in our house as my studio space is that its actually the master bedroom. It’s on the first floor, sort of the left “wing” of our house, if our house was big enough to actually call it a wing! So this room has a master closet (the storage closet) and a sink behind that first white door…..then a toilet and shower behind a second door. Its very self-contained and i could hole up back here for quite some time if i keep bottled water and the candy drawer stocked! Having the sink so handy for craft cleanup and brush rinsing has made me so cheerful about creating. Its the little things.

Here’s the SINK part of the room.

So that’s it! If you have specific questions about any parts i missed, shoot me a comment. i’ll do my best to answer!

-xo,s

Filed Under: new studio, sneak peeks, that's SO me! Tagged With: art studio, artist studio, creative space, office space, workspace

Major Catch-Up

October 2, 2012 by StephanieCorfee

SO much has happened since my last post.

Had lots of doctor visits. Had 2 bouts of sick kiddos and one LONG round of sick mommy. Threw 2 surprise parties on consecutive weekends. (Pic above from my folks’ 40th wedding anniversary with my siblings and their spouses.) Created new art for my very first application to a large juried art show. Tried my best to create some new illustrations. Fridge broke. Central AC died. Pulled out about 1/8th of my hair and chewed my fingernails down to the nubs. Hubby (and i) survived a crazy month of random-lots-of-overtime-and-weekend-hours schedule. C started first grade-all day. (sniff*)

And we heard a tiny little heartbeat for the very first time. : )

And that’s just the highlights!

Here is a little visual diary of some of the above.

Free Printable post on Lil Blue Boo

PEAPOD – 24×30 x1.5″ – $425 on etsy

BUBBLEBATH – 36x36x1.5″ – $995 on etsy

Kids Book mock-up illustration

Sneak Peek of logo in progress

Digital Art

PRINCESS MONSTER – 8×8 print – $18 on etsy

3-RING CIRCUS – 36x36x1.5″ – $995

BALLERINA – 36x36x1.5″ – $995

SING – 16x16x1.5″ – $495

C on his First Day of First Grade (double sniff*) : )

Peace out!

 

 

Filed Under: Completed Works, freebies, sneak peeks, works in progress Tagged With: first day of school, illustrations, logo work, news, paintings on canvas

settling in

July 1, 2012 by StephanieCorfee

After a few weeks of living in limbo between 2 workspaces here in our house, i am finally all in one room. Studio and office spaces melded into one, with attached bathroom (read: brush-cleaning sink!). i hope this will make me so much more productive with everything i need organized in one spot.

But i might be even happier that my family now has my old office space to use as a den/computer room/reading room, and the boys have my old basement painting space to use for all kinds of messy crafts! Now THAT makes me smile ear to ear. Being spread out was starting to make me feel like i was taking up the whole house!

The above painting is the first one i’ve started since we got everything in place back here.

Here are some progress shots of the space if you like that sort of thing : ) i will repost purdier photos once curtains and pictures are hung and all the finishing and wire-hiding is complete.

-xo!

Filed Under: new studio, sneak peeks, works in progress Tagged With: abstract painting, art studio, home office, new office, studio space

productive days creating

June 5, 2012 by StephanieCorfee

Nothing can put an actual, noticeable spring in my step as much as a super-productive day of creating….even better when some of the hours are billable, right? : ) On days like that, i sorta feel like the stars are aligned, and everything will be alright with the world. i’ve got glitter under my nails by bedtime (hopefully the kids didn’t eat any with their lunch?!), and i’ve got a big stupid grin on my face.

i had one of those days yesterday. It was so needed.

i was so grateful for it.

Half client work that miraculously hit zero snags, and half creating artwork for my shop and fun projects. Do you guys also have that magical recipe? that perfect storm of little things that add up and make you feel so happy and content just to BE?  The kind of day that makes you feel like a good night’s sleep is on its way? i’m so interested to hear….for real-real! i swear, sometimes it just a day of sunshine and breezes that can do it! Or a day when the baby sleeps soundly during his nap and the house is peaceful for a bit. AH, the little things!

Anyway! Here are a few little tidbits of what yesterday’s creative sessions entailed…

~ a new print for the etsy shop

~ and the start of some sketching for the next in that same series

~ a bit of sketching for a commisioned t-shirt design

~ and little sliver of a peek at some free, BOY-FRIENDLY art you’ll be able to download over at Lil Blue Boo.

Hope you all had a great day too, and more of the same today!

 

Filed Under: Dashes, sketchbook, sneak peeks, works in progress Tagged With: chracters, commission, downloads, sketch, work in progree

Recent Sketches courtesy of instagram

March 15, 2012 by StephanieCorfee

 

i was a latecomer to instagram, now i couldn’t bear to live without it. the quickest and super cutest way to share vignettes of my sketches on the fly….here’s a peek inside my sketchbook of late.

…..yeeeahhhhhh…..i haven’t decided which filters are my faves yet : )

Filed Under: Dashes, sketchbook, sneak peeks Tagged With: artist, characters, children's illustration, custom illustration, fashionista, girls sketches, illustration, pencil drawing, personality, sketchbook

Experimenting

January 30, 2012 by StephanieCorfee

This past weekend was time for some experimenting. i found myself in the painting studio in the wee small hours just itching to open up all those dyes you see lined up on the easel. i dug through my stash of silks leftover from my old wedding gown design business and found a suitable piece of habotai silk. i ripped it to a 36″ square and taped it to the back board. White duct tape. Classy. i’m certain it would have been nicer to stretch the silk onto a frame for painting, but did i mention it was the wee small hours? And i was just experimenting after all, what’s the worst that could happen? A few hours and a few episodes of PSYCH later ( i really love that show!) and i came out with what you see on the board.

The next day, i used fabric markers to add doodles all over the silk as well and here is what resulted.

It was so interesting to see how the intense looking colors in the jars translated to such watery, transparent colors on the fabric. i used Dye-na-Flow silk paints from Dharma Trading. i chose them because they seemed the most user friendly for beginners and are just heat-set with an iron. i am a very low maintenance kinda gal. If you start talking about crafts that require lots of odd ingredients and equipment, i sorta zone out. PLUS! they have a really nice variety of shades and colors….PLUS! they are economical enough to get a whole bunch to experiment with…under $3 for the small jars! My parents actually gave these to me for my birthday in november. Mom is awesome about getting you just what she knows you wanted! Thanks mom & dad!

The silk project was super fun and it made me want to try another project that i cannot believe i’ve put off so long! Lino Block Stamp Making! i have made all sorts of mickey mouse temporary stamps in my day out of potatoes, corrugated cardboard, foamcore etc….but never tried carving linoleum before.

EPIPHANY!!!!

Even though i just picked a simple design for my first time out, and wasn’t super meticulous cutting it, i know i’m hooked! Now i have visions in my head of shelves and shelves of unique patterns and such. Cutting the block is just so relaxing!

Here is the first little bitty block i cut.

And since i didn’t have a specific project in mind for it yet, i just added a few plunks of this design to the background texture of a new painting. Can you find it? i sorta obscured it with other designs….but the stamp will have its day in the spotlight sometime soon. Definitely.

“BLUESY” – 12×12 acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas.

And what’s REALLY weird is that when i logged onto Facebook the day after i posted this, there was a very matchy-matchy post right below it in my feed!

Its the Pantone Spring Color predictions for what’s gonna be hip & happenin in 2012!? i am SO not hip & happenin. How did my brain know to use just about every color in this palette? Must’ve been all the PSYCH i was watching rubbing off on me. : )

Filed Under: New ARtwork, sneak peeks Tagged With: art experiment, blue whimsical painting, Bluesy, fabric dyes, fabric markers, fabric painting, hand painted scarf, kids room art, navy blue, nursery art, painting, pantone, pantone 2012, pantone color prediction, pantone palette, PSYCH, scarf, silk painting

digital study for a new artwork

July 12, 2011 by StephanieCorfee

i continually find amazing uses for my graphics tablet. Lately, i’ve been using it a TON to develop digital compositions, color studies and concepts for all the ideas i have swimming in my head for artworks.

Sometimes i like the digital comp so much, i don’t even want to go paint the painting! But that seems wrong. : )

Here is one i created last night, while sitting here in my office/studio and watching Little House on the Prairie. It was the episode where Adam is in an explosion, which restores his sight. Then Mary is all worried he’ll leave her for a gal who can see. Then the poor guy gets mugged and beat over the head so he misses his law exam…..i mean, c’mon,  that’s just good tv, yo!

Anywhoo…i like this one a lot. i think i’m a gonna have it printed to a big ol’ canvas to hang in my office.

Happy tuesday!

Filed Under: sneak peeks Tagged With: abstract painting, colorful painting, digital painting, drip painting, rainbow

Peek

July 1, 2011 by StephanieCorfee

Finishing up the last doodle book project. This is likely the final project peek! One more round of content to go and then i’m done! Happy Friday everyone!

Filed Under: sneak peeks

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