Happy Holidays

  Happy Holidays my friends! I'm wrapping up today for the rest of this year . I wish you and your loved ones a warm, happy, fun holiday filled with all the tasty treats your belly can handle :)  Thank you for reading and supporting my creative endeavor on this blog, as well as my artistic journey through the art world and the world in general ...... a lot of traveling this year!   It's been an amazing year personally and professionally, and I thank you for all your love and support along the way. I will be taking a break for the holidays, and I'll see you back here in 2014! 

What is Father Christmas called in other languages and in other parts of the world? I found this poster on pinterest and I think it is right for my post here. Next year will do my own:) 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

XOXO,  Lana

Winter Vacation Destination - Miami South Beach

Miami night on Art Deco Ocean Drive 

the 12th floor at our hotel roof top

We stayed at the beautiful and elegant SLS. There are many great hotels in Miami and South Beach and all are located close to museums, shopping and attractions. I can say from my personal experience that almost everything you'll want is within walking distance. We stayed South Beach the week after Art Basel 2013 and our hotel has already booked their New Year's party ..... I think I would love to celebrate with a Latin flavor or a Gatsby style in Miami Beach. 

How is your weekend going so far? Love to hear about your shopping adventures and if all of your Christmas stockings are full.  If you travel to see your family this weekend stay safe and enjoy those precious, happy moments!  Best wishes to all!!!!  xx, Lana

MIAMI BEACH According to my IPhone

I think this holiday season is once again another extremely busy one for many different reasons.  Not only in trying to maintain your family happy, also as business owner and creator, in trying to keep my customers happy with happy purchasing experiences!  I would love to spend more time with my blog but it is seems like it gets the short end of the stick most of the time. I think I missed the last week of posting and it almost feels like I'm back to school and forgot my homework or deadline for an assignment!
I would love to share with you this week getaway trip to South Beach MIAMI to celebrate our anniversary. It was so relaxing, exciting, and fun, with exquisite food, amazing weather, lovely company, and extremely luxurious accommodation!

View from our room from the 9th floor Hotel 

One of two pools - This one is the party pool!

Tapas restaurant in hotel 

our room

one of few restaurants - The Bazaar 

Rooms are neat and comfortable

relax on the beach

private beach access for guests

Our stay here at the SLS Hotel was so inspiring!  I painted a few watercolors ... so stop by my store to check them out ....

Last but not least, I would like to say thank you dear bloggers for staying in touch with me and especially for featuring me in your blogs:

- Mike from  The Artistic Blog

- Duni from Duni's Studio

- Liz from What Dress Code

- My Teammates from  Etsy
(for your numerous treasuries and leaving your inspiring notes)

XX,  Lana

Giving Thanks

                                                 Hello my dear friends!

November is here already and it will be gone before we even notice it. In the midst of this busy time of everyone's life, I would like to say THANK YOU for:


* SEASONAL CHANGES 

( Which is always a perfect reminder that we aren't in control .... some days are sunny and bright, and some are rainy and windy......so let's be a very grateful for what is given us everyday!)

* FRIENDS 

(I'm so thankful for all of my new friends here. I learned a lot and I grew a lot with you. Thank you for being here for me when I have a stumble, and looking for help with my online enterprise. Thank you for motivating me moving forward and taking time to read my blog and leave your comments :)  You are a bunch of creative, determined,  and talented "followers".... and I'm thankful!)

woops....."old" friends, FAMILY, and loved ones ...please forgive me... you will get my "thank you" note personally!

* COLLECTORS AND BUYER 

Forever thankful for all my new "art lovers" and collectors who are totally awesome and help to keep me moving forward and push me to stay creative and excited about my craft. Love you all and hope to share with you my art for many, many years!

I think this list can go on and on ...but for now I'm busy with custom work, packing and shipping my sold orders, and generally busy with the creative process!

Stay tuned for more updates and Please leave me a comment and or like me on facebook, adding me to your favorites store on etsy, follow me here and on pinterest....   well you got the idea :)

CHEERS!

XoXo, LANA

NIGHT TIME PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS AND MORE

HELLO MY FRIENDS!  AS I MENTIONED BEFORE,  I RECENTLY ATTENDED A PHOTOGRAPHY WORKSHOP.  I LEARNED QUITE ALOT THERE BUT NEEDLESS TO SAY,  I'M NOT AN EXPERT ON PHOTOGRAPHY.   I TRIED TO DO MY BEST AND HERE ARE  SOME OF MY PHOTOS.

Now let’s move outdoors. Outdoor photo subjects include elaborate lighting and decoration on houses, stores, and streets. Again, if you want to capture the lights themselves, don’t use your flash! One other tip for outdoor lights – you’ll get the best results when you shoot at twilight. That way, you’ll capture some color in the sky, rather than the pitch-black tone that will be recorded on film later at night. But what if you want to take a picture of your friend in front of a brightly lit display?

You want to capture both the bright lights and your friend. If you use flash, you get your friend, but you’re in danger of minimizing the bright lights behind. On the other hand, if you don’t use flash, you get better detail of the lights but your friend is reduced to a silhouette.

There is an answer. Many of today’s point-and-shoot cameras both film and digital have a funny-looking setting that looks like a person with a star in the background. This setting tells the camera that you want the flash to fire (which will light your friend in the foreground), but that you also want the lens to stay open long enough to record the lights in the background. In fact, the symbol for this setting on many cameras is sort of a hieroglyph that tries to indicate “person at night in front of lights.” Your solution to getting light on your friend’s face and capturing the light display is to use this setting. The flash exposes the face. The long exposure captures the lights.

Savannah, Georgia 

But, again, watch out here. The long exposure – typically, one-quarter of a second long – requires that you steady your camera to avoid camera shake. Once again, I advise you to use a tripod.

So, This is your summary for today:

• Turn off your flash unless you have a very good reason to use it.
• Use a fast ISO – we suggest ISO 800.
• Avoid camera shake.
• Use a tripod…or, at least, brace the camera. Trust your camera’s built-in meter.

MORE PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS AND GREAT INFO ABOUT PHOTOGRAPHY HERE. 

I hope you like my post.  Please leave comments or questions if you are interested in learning about my humble experiences at my SCAD photography workshop :) 

HAPPY WEEKEND TO ALL!!!

XX, LANA

5 Things Super Successful People Do Before 8 AM

  

Rise and shine! Morning time just became your new best friend!!!
Love it or hate it, utilizing the morning hours before work may be the key to a successful and healthy lifestyle.  -  By Jennifer Cohen 
That’s right, early rising is a common trait found in many CEOs, government officials, and other influential people. Margaret Thatcher was up every day at 5 a.m.; Frank Lloyd Wright at 4 am and Robert Iger, the CEO of Disney wakes at 4:30am just to name a few. I know what you’re thinking - you do your best work at night. Not so fast. According toInc. Magazine, morning people have been found to be more proactive and more productive. In addition, the health benefits for those with a life before work go on and on. Let’s explore 5 of the things successful people do before 8 am.

1. Exercise. I’ve said it once, I’ll say it again. Most people that work out daily, work out in the morning. Whether it’s a morning yoga session or a trip to the gym, exercising before work gives you a boost of energy for the day and that deserved sense of accomplishment. Anyone can tackle a pile of paperwork after 200 ab reps! Morning workouts also eliminate the possibility of flaking out on your cardio after a long day at work. Even if you aren’t bright eyed and bushy tailed at the thought of a 5 am jog, try waking up 15 minutes early for a quick bedside set of pushups or stretching. It’ll help wake up your body, and prep you for your day.

2. Map Out Your Day. Maximize your potential by mapping out your schedule for the day, as well as your goals and to dos. The morning is a good time for this as it is often one of the only quiet times a person gets throughout the day. The early hours foster easier reflection that helps when prioritizing your activities. They also allow for uninterrupted problem solving when trying to fit everything into your timetable. While scheduling, don’t forget about your mental health. Plan a 10 minute break after that stressful meeting for a quick walk around the block or a moment of meditation at your desk. Trying to eat healthy? Schedule a small window in the evening to pack a few nutritious snacks to bring to work the next day.

3. Eat a Healthy Breakfast. We all know that rush out the door with a cup of coffee and an empty stomach feeling. You sit down at your desk, and you’re already wondering how early that taco truck sets up camp outside your office. No good. Take that extra time in the morning to fuel your body for the tasks ahead of it. It will help keep you mind on what’s at hand and not your growling stomach. Not only is breakfast good for your physical health, it is also a good time to connect socially. Even five minutes of talking with your kids or spouse while eating a quick bowl of oatmeal can boost your spirits before heading out the door.

4. Visualization. These days we talk about our physical health ad nauseam, but sometimes our mental health gets overlooked. The morning is the perfect time to spend some quiet time inside your mind meditating or visualizing. Take a moment to visualize your day ahead of you, focusing on the successes you will have. Even just a minute of visualization and positive thinking can help improve your mood and outlook on your work load for the day.

5. Make Your Day Top Heavy. We all have that one item on our to do list that we dread. It looms over you all day (or week) until you finally suck it up and do it after much procrastination. Here’s an easy tip to save yourself the stress - do that least desirable task on your list first. Instead of anticipating the unpleasantness of it from first coffee through your lunch break, get it out of the way. The morning is the time when you are (generally) more well rested and your energy level is up. Therefore, you are more well equipped to handle more difficult projects. And look at it this way, your day will get progressively easier, not the other way around. By the time your work day is ending, you’re winding down with easier to dos and heading into your free time more relaxed. Success!

Happy Weekend My Friends!

I hope you 're all having a sweet and sparkly Saturday! 

Here are some of my new favorite watercolor sketches from my Fall collection 

"Memories Wrapped In" 

I made them Paint-fully Pretty :)

I hope you like it:) 

xx, Lana

Monkeying around with PicMonkey!

 Today I had fun playing around with PicMonkey and creating the layered graphic shown here.   If you haven't used PicMonkey yet, I definitely recommend it! You can use it for so many things!  

Here are a few easy steps to make a graphic overlay using Pic monkey:

1.   You can find the site here:  http://www.picmonkey.com/

2.  Create an account...once you have signed in click on Edit photo.  Also, you don't have to create an account to use the basic options here.  I did this without an account. 

3. Once you have opened your photo, look to the left under Basic Edits and click on the Butterfly icon which will pull up all of the overlays.  You can choose "Your Own" to upload from your computer as I did, or use Pic monkeys examples.  It even offers shapes to layer on top of it.

4.  Once you have done this a box will appear and you will be able to pick your overlay colors and transparency of the image.

5.  Once you are satisfied with your photo click save.  You have now saved your Masterpiece!  

 Here is my "collage" of the photos I completed in my Savannah workshop. Here is the simple way to go to PicMonkey and select "create a collage". You can use one of their designs or you can design your own. Then you can drag your uploaded photos in to the collage until you are done. (When you drag them, you can see where to place the photos as you move them around.)

It's a fun tool to use. You can change the width and color of the grid lines between the photos and then save the completed collage as a jpeg on your computer. Post your collages any social media, it is easy to post to Facebook, Pinterest, and Google+ and more! Create a collage to show off your pictures you created and please leave me a comment or link and let me know your experience!

xx, Lana 

Happy Creating!

Inspiration: October in Pink

This inspiration is from  Molly my fellow artist from Etsy featuring my watercolor. Love this combination of pink and black ... very contrasting.  Thank you for a lovely post!   I feel like its almost end of October and I was preoccupied with a different posts so my favorite color of this month felt neglected. With this note of apology, I think I will give a last minute shot of tribute to my pinks, corals, and especially bright pink and definitely some of my favorite images from my pinterest inspiration board.

Via

via

lanasart.etsy.com

Keep Moving to a Deep Fall

    Happy Tuesday everyone! 

I hope you had a wonderful and restful weekend and ready for the workweek!  I did!  Today I packed all my 'sold' paintings from the weekend, sent the free print to the lucky winner in California from my free print give-a-way, signed up for a photography class at SCAD -  so look for new improved photography and photography tips soon! 

If I can touch a life, if through my paintings I can show something previously unseen, if I can reveal something old in a new way, if I can enrich a soul on its own journey - I feel complete. 

"Secret Garden" series is a concentration on new composition, and an impressionistic approach to a  floral motif. I wanted the flowers in this composition to exit the picture plane, to spill off of the canvas. I utilized the muted cool colors which helped to "set up" an opportunity to make the much stronger coral colors really "pop". In this case the buyer requested that the bright colors and flowers remain the main focal point of the composition.  

well, I'm really happy with how it turned out! What are your thoughts?   

 Love to hear from you! xx, Lana