New House Mural Coming January 21st!

I am SOOOOOO excited to work on my next room mural in my sweet and lovely old house! We signed for her on 1/21/20 then 1 year later I painted my office with a yellow and white floral theme, and now to celebrate our 2nd anniversary I’m updating the powder room with a wrap around mural with this design I created, inspired by some 1940’s wall paper I found on the interwebs. 

What do you think?

Stay tuned and watch the live painting happening over on my personal FB page @FilomenaJackArtist.

Here’s a sample from my gift site! The pattern I designed can be added to lots of fun clothing and home items. 

Filomena’s designs!

 

Art classes on demand

 Hey there art lover! Did you know that you can watch a few of my art classes FOR FREE over on my YouTube channel? It's true!

Here are just a couple, but check out all my playlists for more art fun!

(Here's me, excited that you're going to make art!)

(oh, and my blouse can be found on my art gift site:

PUMPKIN WEATHER!!! (yes, I'm shouting!)

 I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE the fall. The air! The trees! The best holidays of all (Halloween and Thanksgiving!)...and an official holiday: Inktober. 

Inktober if you don't know, is a world wide inking/art challenge where you create an inky art piece everyday in October. I've participated each year since...um, I can't remember, but it's been a lot of years.

Here's an option for your sketches this year (it's from my art collection on my gift page):

https://www.redbubble.com/i/notebook/Midnight-in-the-Pumpkin-Patch-by-FilomenaJack/28491552.RXH2R

Here are the 2021 Inktober prompts and hashtags associated with the event. I can't wait to see what you create!

What a good dog!

 I recently completed a painting of the very charming and patient Gaya pup! Look at that pitty smile! I took this painting in a new direction...less folk arty and more photo realistic. What do you think?

Newest Mural Complete!

 Wow! What a fun time I've had working on a commissioned mural for the Watkins Glen Area Camber of Commerce! 

Yesterday was the ribbon cutting and I really felt like I was living my best life (I am!).

Thanks to my friend J.D. Iles for the photo!

I'm looking forward to new projects coming soon...including some spray paint excitement!

Thank You Dear Patreon Supporters!

Filomena Jack Studio on Patreon

Hi there art lovers! I’m running a special promotion over on my Patreon page...become a patron and I’ll send you your tier gift PLUS a fabu art postcard this month. This promo ends August 20th, 2019. Tiers begin at just $2 per month. It’s an easy peasy way to stay connected and support the arts!

Your support allows me to help bring free and low cost art programming to the world. THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY ARTY HEART! I’M SHOUTING!

Hi! Hello! How are ya?  Did you see that on the events page at Filomena Jack Studio there are new classes?! Some of them are free, others have a fee...all well worth your time! Hope to see you in a class or two :)

Gracie, Nigel, and Rebecca say hello!

Make Friends with me on Sat. Feb. 9th from 12-2 at my studio in Hornell. $25 per person, all supplies including snacks, tea, and laughs supplied :)
12 Broadway Mall Hornell, rear of the building under the black fire escape. Bring a friend, make a friend! Email today to save your spot: FilomenaJackStudio@gmail.com

Back in the Studio!

Notice that I used a capital “S”...’cause I feel like my studio has it’s own personality and presence. It’s where I experiment, get sh*t done, teach, nap, snack, create, explore, entertain...it means so very much to me!  

Here’s a sample of one of my upcoming classes...sooooo pretty!

I’ve been traveling for the last couple of weeks, and now I’m back, hitting the ground running! I’ve got a lot of new classes coming up, including an entire series at the YMCA in Hornell, NY. So excited!

I’m also prepping my talk to a group of teenagers in Elmira...I’m trying to channel my inner Tony Robbins. Yes yes yes!! (Booming voice!)

...and then there are the 2 “secret for now” projects I’m producing. I can’t wait to chat about these with you...stay tuned!

What sort of projects are you working on?

“A Seat At My Table, Red”
1 of 2 of my pieces that you will see at the upcoming group Sanctuary Show at the Evelyn Peeler Peacock Gallery in Corning.
Reception Feb. 23rd 5-8pm. Join us!

Wow! There is A LOT of art going on! My mantra/dream/re-occurring hope was to have a Life Full of Art. I can say that I have accomplished just that. I find that I have to force myself to step away from all things art every few days (weeks?). Between teaching, preparing to teach, arting, publishing about arting, consulting with other artists, watching art documentaries, reading arty books, listening to arty podcasts...

Let’s just agree...it’s a lot. And I love it! Mostly. Like 98%. The other 2%? Grown up stuff like taxes, technology issues, and (ugh!) framing. I feel proud that I’ve been able to extend my arty reaches and look forward to where the future takes me.

...Like to residencies! I just applied to my 1st one, and will be applying to more. One day I will be able to host other artists on my lovely land. Cabins full of people doing creative stuff!! Woot!

LOVING my studio space!

"There are always flowers for those who see them." --Henri Matisse

And I want to see A LOT of flowers! 

One of my artist heroes is Ashley Longshore. Photos of her studio in New Orleans always show huge bouquets of exquisite flowers. I'm following her lead in my studio. How can you NOT be inspired with these lovelies lookin' at you all day?


I am having a great time working in my new studio space in Hornell. I feel really lucky to have found it!

 Here are a couple of paintings I started working on during my art trip in Lucca Italy. I want to create more works like this, on paper with lots of paint. My dear friend MG (also a fabu artist) says (something like): "People don't use enough paint!" She's right! Let's use ALL THE PAINT people!! (oh, and my scarf is one of my creations that can be found on my Redbubble shop)


What have you been up to? I've been busy with happy art stuff and teaching fun classes...please do check out my Instagram feed to see more...it's purdy over there! :)

Holy Ribbon Cutting Batgirl!

Don’t you just love this young artist and her bunny ears! She’s a new friend and a keeper!

Thanks to the group for helping me celebrate! 

Holding the end of the ribbon is the amazingly talented Bridget Bossart van Otterloo. 

Look her up and buy her art/take her classes!

(All the !!!!)

So much love!!

So a lot has happened in the last month...went to Europe to take a class with the fabu Carmelo Blandino, rented an “official” art studio in Hornell, NY, and celebrated said space with friends (new & old!) and family :)

Cupcakes made by the fabu Sweet Sarah’s Kitchen in Corning, NY :) Vegan delish!



My Redbubble shop merchandise is slowly growing and I’m excited that people are choosing to wear, use, and gift my artwork. I truly feel “HASHTAG BLESSED”!  Click on the link below to head over to my shop. :) Thank you!

www.redbubble.com/people/filomenajack

New Items in the Shop! :)

I just uploaded new artwork to my RedBubble shop. Have a look see :) The products I've been testing have been really well made, bright and colorful, and just feel good...I can't stop petting my new pillow covers lol :)

Thanks for supporting the art! :)

I loved painting this mermaid. The original painting is still available for adoption :)

Cheers!

FJ! :)

Ever Expanding Brain

I'm in NYC again and doing my best to take advantage of all the learning, culture, and snacks while I'm here.

A couple of days ago I attended the New York Foundation for the Arts "Artist/Entrepreneur Boot Camp" at their Brooklyn headquarters. Met some inspiring artists and soaked in as much good advice and encouragement as possible. I'm thinking about working with a marketing professional...it sounds so fancy! (And expensive?).

Last night I attended the NYC Podcast Meetup for a session intended to help newbies like me launch a new podcast. I feel like I have a better grasp on my next steps was inspired by the content creators in the room. Smart people everywhere!

Attended an opening at the Booth Gallery a few days ago. Impressive! I am loving the sculptures by Ronit Baranga. The show closes September 9th, check it out!

3 Weeks of Learning: Week 2 update

Busy busy busy (and also restful and meditative)

I participated in an online meditative hypnosis session with Mind Valley Academy led by Marisa Peer a couple of days ago. It was pretty neat. I put in my earbuds, closed the drapes, and sat back on some comfy pillows. It was relaxing and opened up some some new portals of understanding about what makes me tick. Interesting stuff!

I'm also about half way through the Mindy Lacefield baby animals class (painting tutorials). I'm happy to report that my sketching abilities really seem to be advancing! High five!

We were *supposed* to be painting on small 6" squares...but you know me...I always feel the need to change things up...so I'm going with 16x20" canvases LOL!

I had intended for this to just be a sweet lil' puppy looking bashful, but, as you can clearly see, it looks like a sweet lil' puppy taking a poop. C'est la vie!  It makes me laugh!

3 Weeks of Learning: Week 2

I wonder if I'm making as much progress as I would have liked...or if perhaps my "to do" list has just morphed a bit from where I thought it would be.

In the last couple of days I've started a new painting (which I don't as yet love), began work on 2 online classes (hands and baby animal portraits), partially conquered a pretty major panic point (i.e. dog parks), and began to conduct artist interviews that will become a podcast series.  All while battling some wicked sinuses and artist/life glumness (and a full moon!)

Oh, and technology ...still working through some new apps and software to get things rolling. One of the projects includes migrating this here blog over to Wordpress. Light a candle for me! :)

That's a lot to report, right? Not bad for just 7 days! Here's to the next 2 weeks of learning!

3 Weeks of Learning: Day 4 recap

Yesterday I learned that sinusitis plus diphenhydramine will knock you on your ass.
Bummer. Day lost.

Plus the WiFi was down (first world problem,  I know), so I started a new sketchbook.  One of the online classes I am enrolled in is all about learning to draw hands but I am unable to connect until the tech issues are solved so I just started tracing and shading.  Welcome back to 1st grade y'all!  ;)

3 Weeks of Learning: Day 3 recap

Hey! Did you know about the CUE Art Foundation? Me neither! But now that I do I'm going to collaborate with the fine folks running the joint as often as possible! They are a gallery, artist resource  center, and event space on 25th St. in NYC. I was just casually walking down the street and boom! There they were! I heart New York!

Yesterday I found another video editing app called FilmoraGo.  Looks pretty fabulous, but of course now I have to add "learn to use FilmoraGo" to my list for this 3 week project. Yikes!

I started researching how to create endplates for my YouTube videos (you can see my latest video, as of today, here).  I'm already doing this but would like to figure out how to put clickable links to other videos...I think that because I'm using iMovie as an app, as opposed as on a "real" computer, that my funcationality is different than the tutorials I've been watching.

I bought a new-to-me color of golden acrylic yesterday at Blick. I kinda want to eat it straight out of the tube. Iridescent Bright Gold (Fine).  It's seriously drool worthy!

3 weeks of Learning: Day 2 recap

Yesterday I went to my first New York City Podcast Meetup. Wow! Now THAT'S how you throw a meetup! Lots of interesting folks and convo, fun space, experienced speakers, no tech issues, and not a muggle to be found! Snacks and drinks too, not bad!
Winner!  Thanks to Prescott at the Busy Creator for a great event! (Check out his site and podcast here!)


The big takeaway: I need to work on my mailing list game.
Ahem! Did you know you can sign up to my mailing list here? Thanks from the bottom of my creative heart :)


I learned a lot a lot a lot! I left truly inspired by the creativity and momentum in the room. I feel good that, for the most part, I could keep up with the discussion...I guess I know more than I realized about marketing, and software, and such. I have a nice set of business cards with folks I am excited to reconnect with, and handed out my cards to people that may actually use them, LOL!

I also sketched a bunch yesterday. I'm really excited by this new (to me) set of shapes I'm making on the page. Elongated ovals making up body segments. I reacently read Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert and she says something like writing is potentially a really inexpensive hobby/job because all you need is a pen and paper. I am reminded of that when I get into my sketchbook. Just a pen or pencil and some paper and I can create universes. Yes!!!

I stopped by the Macy's flower show yesterday. Has it been downsized? I'm not sure, but in any case it was fun and screaming with color (which you know I love!) Y'all should go if you're in the neighborhood. It ends on April 9th.

3 Weeks of Learning, Day 1 recap

I hit the ground running yesterday...spent a lot of the day working on my podcasting skills. I feel like there are 2 ends of the recording spectrum you can go with in this genre...techie tech tech, or low brow.  I *thought* I was going to use garage band on my beloved iPad Pro...but after spending a couple of (years), NO, just hours (I can be So dramatic!)...I just can't seem to do the stuff I want to do. More practice and touching of screens will need to happen.

I watched a bunch of YouTube videos and then found something called Boss Jock Studio.

So today I will go through the entire experiment again with this app. It was $10 and if I can get it to do what it advertises it can do it'll be well worth it. Stay tuned! (Ha! Podcast humor!)

After all this research and poking of screens I had a headache and decided to take Ruka Dog out for a walk. FLOWERS! FLOWERS! FLOWERS! Within seconds of being in Bryant Park my headache floated away and I felt this amazing zap of Prana...Woot!

Segue to flowers...last night I went to a live drawing meetup at the National Arts Club (ritzy!). Ugh. And Ah! But mostly ugh. Best model I've ever worked with, for sure! My drawings are abysmal. Where do the flowers come in? Well, I drew this beautiful woman so badly I should send her flowers to apologize. At least I stayed the entire time and didn't bolt during the break. I did, in a moment of "whoa is me", have a baby cry after the session, as I walked the streets of Manhattan. NYC is great like that, you can openingly cry and no one will really bother you about it.

Neil Gaiman has this great speech/book about feeling like a fraud...that the creative police are going to come and round up all your creations and supplies and throw you out of the club.  Exactly the way I was (am?) feeling. I gotta just let it go (queue that terrible song).

Tonight I'm going to a podcast info meetup. Wish me luck...I'm sure there will be less tears 😜

3 Weeks Learning New Stuff, Day the First!

I am dedicating the next 3 weeks to taking online classes, going to workshops and drawing events, and learning to put together a podcast.  I'm also working on some soul searching. Thinking about what the future looks like for me and my family and honing in on what I really want, and what needs to be allowed just to float away.

Already, as I am putting this post together, I'm learning that my iPad doesn't want to sync up with my photos in the way I thought it would...com'mon! I haven't even had my coffee lol :) Challenge on Universe!!

(Ha! Figured it out) Take that!!