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As I mentioned before, I am lucky enough to live near some of the most beautiful beaches on the East Coast in NC. Because of that, I have been working lately on painting water, focusing on the ocean water. There are so many colors, reflections, and shapes seen in the flow of the ocean, especially over rocks. My latest piece, ‘On the Rocks’, is centered around a group of rocks, and the lively ocean pounding against, and moving over them. The ocean can be overwhelming and so beautiful as the same time. It does make me want to jump on a boat and sail the open seas just like a pirate! (I will just make sure to sail clear of those gnarly looking rocks)

I am a country girl at heart, and I will always be – and I love to fish. One of my family’s favorite places to fish is at the Kure Beach Pier. Anyone who regularly visits this lovely pier in Kure Beach, NC, may be familiar with a certain pelican that loves his crowds and his fame. My daughter calls him Perry the Pelican. On our last fishing excursion there, I got some pretty amazing shots of Mr. Perry Pelican (oh, how he does love to pose for the camera!) I looked through each one of those shots, found one that spoke to me, and decided that because of his regal profile, the stoic pier, and the wonderful houses in the background, I had to transpose this image onto a canvas! That is one of the joys of being an artist ❤︎ So, here is Mr. Perry Pelican, my newest piece, in all his majestic glory, perched on the pier on canvas in acrylics. ❤︎ #Seascape #Ocean #Sea #Saltlife #Bird #Pelican #Fishing #Beach #Pier #Kurebeach

“Growth is the only evidence of life” – John Henry Newman Just like a single tree, even if it is lost in a forest of many others, new growth means it is still alive, still thriving, even when the others are threatening to choke it out. Everyday day since I really began my journey on the road to artistry, leading towards the beautiful horizon of creativity, I grow a bit more everyday. I grow with each step I take out of my safe comfort zone. I grow with every brushstroke of a newly mixed hue on a new canvas. I grow with every word I speak to someone about my pure love of art. I grow with each keystroke of a keyboard, spilling my soul’s obsession with transforming into the very best artist I can be, into a blog to share with others. New growth also can mean change – from changing my focus and views on a certain style of painting to changing my blog and how it relates to where I feel I am currently in my art odyssey. I wanted to begin a blog that is more about my roots, my renewed art focus on creating art with a bit of old Southern charm, and my continued growth in my artistry and how it helps me as a person grow in my daily life. As, for the new title – I am a big fan of Bob Marley, and I love his song, ‘One Love, One Heart’. That is exactly what art becoming to me – my true love, my very heartbeat, my very essence. I am now living this one life to create. We only are blessed with one life; use it to chase the one thing that makes your soul burn. And art sets my soul on fire. And I want to share it with the world, through my art, and through this blog. Til the next moment in time, I bid you good evening. #bobmarley #world #growth #soul #daily #change #blog #love #life #heart #inspiration

SSM? “What in the what-to-what is that? Why, I am talking about Seaglass Salvage Market, an ecclectic artisan haven, located here in beautiful Eastern North Carolina, and I spent all last weekend experiencing and learning while hanging out with my art wall and sharing it with the masses.     To start this episode, let’s talk about a massive learning curve called – “Artists; Why Can’t We Just Freaking Paint??” I quite honestly did not take into consideration all the other things I had to learn to do as an artist – like framing, marketing, public speaking – Dang, I just wanted to paint! Yes, this young grasshopper has much to learn. There may be times in a fledgling artist career where an artist may research, may even Pinterest for hours, or watch You Tube instructional videos til their eyes bleed, but sometimes that still cannot teach one as well as jumping in the cold water with both feet; learning by just some good ole’ trial and error.     Quite frankly, I did those things, have been doing those things, for quite some time – trying to be the best artist, trying to present myself, and my art the best way that I possibly could. I read how to frame, how to mat, even watched videos on how to approach people about my art ( Alas, I am an introvert – the stereotypical reclusive artist that is more comfortable behind the canvas, speaking through my art than actually mingling with the masses, speaking of my art). But you know what? I had it all planned out – that is, until I started actually matting, framing, and talking to the masses about my art. With trial and error, and the help of my awesome mom, I learned how to make my own mats and frame my art. I cut, had to toss mats I cut wrong, had to start over; but I learned.       I measured, incorrectly might I add, sawed, nailed, got angry, had to toss the frame that I broke; but I learned.       I measured some more, cut and bent wire, screwed the completed wire hangers to the frames; and I learned. I quietly smiled at people that passed by me and my wall, I missed opportunities to hand out my cards, finally growing a pair, I started saying ‘Hi’, whipping out my easel, starting making some art while interacting with more people to the point where you couldn’t shut me up; and still I learned.     The things I have learned by ‘just doing it’ in the past month at my first official art venue have made me grow just a bit more as an artist. I feel that if everything went according to my plan – that meticulous, by the textbook plan I had laid out in my head – I would not have gained the confidence I have over the past month as an emerging visual artist. (it’s just an ounce more, but those ounces add up!)

Evening everyone. I have been busy, busy, busy! Been having some pretty exciting adventures lately and it has been a heck of a ride so far. //www.youtube.com/get_player  First, I am elated to announce that Terry Ganey Art will be available at Seaglass Salvage Market in Leland, NC, for this month, June, and July! If you have not checked this nifty place out yet, you are truly missing out (probably on a killer handmade necklace). It’s an eclectic mix of artisan wares and all other sorts of wonderful things! Their next open market, in which yours truly will be attending, is May 20 – 22. Visit their website, www.seaglasssalvagemarket.com for more info. Stop by for a bit during the market in May and I will love to show you my art, while chatting you up. Next segment..speaking of segments, I did make my first mini art video! It’s small, but it’s fierce! It’s a clip of me working on my next big thing – and by that I mean one of the biggest canvases I have tackled in a while. Wanna see the completed piece? Stay tuned for the next post, my loves… TGA out.

This beautiful spring weather we have been having here in South Eastern North Carolina inspired me to do this latest painting, called Spring Blooms. It has been done in acrylic on a 16×20 stretched canvas, and is available on Etsy in my store, terryganeyart. Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

I know what you must be thinking when you glanced at that title. No, it’s not what you think. I am talking about the size of your art haven, where the ‘magic happens’, your creative office: boys and girls, I am talking about your art studio. Look, here’s the deal. My family and I currently reside in a small townhouse. I love the gorgeous area, the awesome, laid back neighbors (you rock, Rick), and even my little patio that my kid says looks like the Amazon now. But, alas, I have no official studio for my art to call it’s own. Listen. My art studio struggle started out in our front bathroom downstairs. That’s right, ahaha, go ahead and get your laugh on. But here’s the thing – for a while, it was the perfect mini studio. For a bathroom, it has tons of natural light, thanks to the large window in front. Yep, thank God for blinds. For artists, natural light is like the heavens opening up and smiling down on us. Now, in my bathroom/’bout to be office/studio, there was already a large shelf in it for storage of my canvases and supplies. Score. So, I said, ‘Hey, let’s go with it’, and moved all my stuff, including my precious easel and a small book shelf for my art book collection, into my new space. And guess what? It worked nicely for a while. It was great cause I could literally lock the world out and loose myself truly in my art. But of course, this was all before I decided to give in and buy the one think I have always wanted in my art arsenal – a drafter’s table. I had already purchased the amazing easel I had always wanted, but I needed this one last piece of ‘art’ furniture. Ya know, the easel fit perfectly by the lovely window in my new mini-studio, but the drafting table? Eh, not so much. Back to the drawing board. (hey, I’m an artist, I love to draw ) After surveying all the options I had (even the jungle patio), I knew I just had to make a little sacrifice. If this career as an artist is truly my heart’s desire, my soul’s passion, I have accepted the fact I am going to have to make sacrifices – whether it’s extra sleep, social time with friends and family, TV, Candy Crush, or simply sacrificing a small corner in my dining room. So, I did it. I moved my drafter’s table to one corner of my dining room, set up my lights, stocked my book shelf beside me with my supplies and books, and tucked my easel in the same corner. And you know what? I found my place, my art space, my art oasis. I have everything I need to create out on my table – my brushes, paints, pencils, and even my Ipod on a docking station to jam out some creativity boosting tunes. I don’t care if anyone thinks it’s tacky, it’s my space. It’s amazing how having a dedicated space can make it so easy for you to simply sit and create. It is so easy for me to walk through the door, grab a canvas, and immediately start pouring over a new piece of artwork. For me, for now, it’s perfect. I realized I don’t need a huge 1000 square foot studio space to create amazing art – just a small, perfectly set-up corner in my dining room. Maybe one day I can have that big studio in the sky, but for now, I am creating in the mini-form of that. Gotta start somewhere, right? Bottom line of this story is no, size does NOT matter. It is not about the size of the space you create art in, but the art you created in that space.

Recently I found myself in my local arts and crafts store browsing around for a new paint palette to test out my new tubes of acrylic paint on. I came across this specific palette – one that is made to keep your paints wet for longer than the old standard glass/plastic and spray water bottle. But the outrageous price? As an up and coming artist just learning to keep a tight grip on her overhead costs, I said, ‘Not TODAAAY!’ I immediately consulted the all-knowing Pinterest universe, and guess what? I found a simple solution to create my very own stay-wet palette using materials that were pretty inexpensive. Here’s how to make your own as well… paper towels baking parchment plastic container with lid (ex, Tupperware container) water Step 1 – Fold up a couple of pieces of paper towels so they sit comfortably, covering the entire bottom of                  the tray. Step 2 – Add a little water to the bottom of the plastic container, enough to completely wet the paper towels. There’s no need to flood the container with too much water, but be sure to add more water if                         the paper towels start to dry out as you are painting. Step 3 – Cut a piece of the parchment paper approximately to the size of the container. Step 4 – Place the sized parchment paper on top of the wet paper towels. Step 5 – Now, drop some paint down on that wet paper! Step 6 – When you are done, close the lid down tightly on the container to keep the paints wet. Whenever I am done with a session of painting, I lightly spritz the paints with water for good measure, and seal them up by closing the lid tightly. The longest I have actually kept paints wet in my DIY palette was one week! And instead of paying $30 or more for the one sold in art stores, I kept the costs under $10. How’s that for being cost conscious? Alright, kiddies- hope you will enjoy this as much as I enjoy using it! Stay tuned for more tips!

Until next time, America..

Puppies and ballerinas? Whatever do they have in common? Well, let me explain. Thus, ladies and gents, the real reason behind my late post. (I am not going to try to cop out with the old ‘puppy ate my blog post’ spill) I can say I am now back on track after learning once again to juggle new the mom-dom with work, and all the other things we ladies have to do. I am currently working on some new drawings, and will be posting them for you guys shortly. Til then, I bid you farewell, and I hope your week is off to a great start. (gah, who really likes Mondays, anyway?)