Sweet Peony Original Oil Painting by Kim Smith

Peonies have always been an absolute favorite of mine and they are so much fun to paint!
This original 6"x6" oil painting on ⅛" gesso panel is available, unframed, for $100 here.

waiting for an adventure

This original 6"x6" oil painting on ⅛" gesso panel is available, unframed, for $100 here.

sweet peonies

Peonies are probably my very favorite flower to paint. Their color, softness, fullness, sweetness just exude love, don't they?
This original 8"x8" oil painting is SOLD.

fits and starts

Our busy lives are filled to the brim with fits and starts. Bursts of quick energy trying to get one thing done after the other. Sometimes for me, this can be a good thing. I started this painting yesterday morning and didn't have time to finish it before my day needed to begin. So I dove back in this morning and am happy that it worked out that way. Over night I had time to thing about the painting and really pay attention to clean colors and thoughtful brush strokes. If I had hurried to finish it yesterday I am certain I would not be as happy with it. So in our busy lives, fits and starts are okay sometime, as long as there are rests in between :). Fits and starts and rests....

This original 6"x6" oil painting on ⅛" gesso panel is available, unframed, for $100 here.

beets

Here are a few beet fun facts:

One of the earliest known benefits of the red beet is its use as an aphrodisiac during the Roman times. And it wasn’t all folklore, as it has been found to contain high amounts of boron, which is directly related to the production of human sex hormones. 

Beets contain betaine, a substance that relaxes the mind and is used in other forms to treat depression. It also contains tryptophan (also found in chocolate), which contributes to a sense of well being.
So by all means, eat more Beets!

Check out this fun website, Love Beets for more!

This original 6"x6" oil painting on ⅛" gesso panel is available, unframed, for $100 in my Etsy shop here.

filled with beauty

This original 6"x6" oil painting on ⅛" gesso panel is sold, unframed, for $100 in my Etsy shop here.

rose-breasted grosbeak

This original 6"x6" oil painting is available, unframed, for $100 in my Etsy shop here.

ranunculus

Ranunculus is an original 6"x6" oil painting on ⅛" gesso panel and is sold, unframed, for $100 here.

simply curious

A bit of simple curiosity is all you need to take a leap into discovering something new and fun in life, right? Always something to keep in mind, every single day...
This original 6"x6" oil painting on ⅛" gesso panel is available, unframed, for $100 in my Etsy shop here.
I hope you day is filled with curiosity!

zinnias

I am doing the Carve Out Time For Art five day challenge on instagram. Are you? Today's hashtag is #howicotfa (how I carve out time for art). And here's how: I get up each morning and create art before I run my daughter to the bus stop and then get myself off to work (I have an advertising & design business, tcg advertising & design, which keeps me super busy all day). Some morning 5:15 comes too, too early, but most days I wake up happy and ready to create!

Here is my morning creation:
Zinnias is an original 6"x6" oil painting on ⅛" gesso panel and is sold, unframed, for $100 in my Etsy shop here.

bluebird of happiness

This original 6"x6" oil painting on ⅛" gesso panel is available, unframed, for $100 in my Etsy shop here.

chasing happy

This original 6"x6" oil painting on ⅛" gesso panel is SOLD.

eastern phoebe

This sweet Eastern Phoebe is a 6"x6" original oil painting on ⅛" gesso panel and is available, unframed, for $100 in my Etsy shop here.

And on a side note, this was in my inbox this morning from Seth Godin, a favorite of mine, and it's something to think about so I thought I'd share it with you...

Defending myself (vs. offending my self) 

The reason it's difficult to learn something new is that it will change you into someone who disagrees with the person you used to be.

And we're not organized for that.

The filter bubble and our lack of curiosity about the unknown are forms of self defense. We're defending the self, keeping everything "ok" because that's a safe, low maintenance place to be.

The alternative is to sign up for a lifetime of challenging what the self believes. A journey to find more effectiveness, not more stability.

the bright side

Here's to springtime and looking on the bright side. Sometimes I find that so challenging, but warm weather and sunshine definitely helps!

This original 6"x6" oil painting on ⅛" gesso panel is sold, unframed, for $100 here.

are you listening?

This original oil painting of a sweet blue-gray gnatcatcher is 6"x6" on ⅛" gesso panel and is available in my Etsy shop here.

hope

This original 6"x6" oil painting on ⅛" gesso panel is sold, unframed, for $100 here.

Artopective blog interview

I had the opportunity to be a featured artist on the Artospective blog. Artospective is a small community of artists from Jaipur, India who are attempting to curate the work of modern artists from different genres of Art at one place to further studies by Art students and Art lovers, and they reached out to me to be featured on their blog. You can read my story here.