New Year Enthusiasm!

Happy New Year!

2018 the Year of Enthusiasm!

Hi Everyone!

I actually took some time off from blogging the past two weeks!

I spent the time with friends and hiking this amazing place I now call "Home"!

I am sure many of you watched on 

Facebook the "Elf on the Shelf" Promotion.

Just click on my Facebook page above for photos!

I had a ball and am pleased to say the little town of Sumpter received over 

50,000 views on Facebook!

I have heard that the town hopes the "Elf on the Shelf" will return and visit next year!

Over the holidays I had a great conversation with a friend.

 She asked me how I am always so HAPPY and Enthusiastic?

I answered the question for her but spent several days thinking about it later.

What makes me HAPPY?

I have come to the conclusion it is simply the way you look at life.

Starting five years ago I took the time and reviewed every aspect of it.

 I was exhausted!

My art career (wholesale/retail/and On Line Stores) were simply taking a toll.

I knew I had to make a change. 

So I first made a list of what I loved about my life!

I discovered the good the bad and the ugly.

But I still had so much enthusiasm for life and my career.

So I redesigned it all. I even moved to a place I knew very little about.

I replaced negative thoughts, people and simply walked into the unknown.

It took courage, honoring oneself, and most of all

 ENTHUSIASM for LIFE!

Now flash forward three years since I left my comfort zone...

I wouldn't change a thing!

I have learned most of all to live life one day at a time and keep looking ahead!

Take control of what "You Want and Your Destiny"!

I know I have grown and discovered my strength.

 My art is now continuing to change and grow just like me.

Such an exciting time for me!

The paragraph below written by Samuel Goldwyn sums it all up very well:

"Enthusiasm is the key not only to the achievement of great things but to the accomplishment of anything that is worth while.  Enthusiasm is a wonderful word. But more, it is a wonderful feeling. It is a way of life. It is a magic spark that transforms "being" into "living". It makes hard work easy and enjoyable. 

There is no better tonic for depression, no greater elixir for whatever happens to be wrong at the moment, than ENTHUSIASM!"

Happy New Year & Take on 2018 with Major ENTHUSIASM!

Your Artist Friend along the Creek,

Jennifer Lake

Original Art Week # 3! Tis the Season!

Original Art Week #3! Tis the Season!

Everyday this week I will be posting some of my

Original paintings for sale!

Who will be the lucky person SURPRISED at Christmas Time?

Will it be YOU?

Below is today's painting!

~The Jungle of Guatemala!~

 I had the fortunate opportunity to attend part of my high school at the

Colegio Americano De Guatemala School located in Guatemala City.

I traveled all over Central America and the place that captured my imagination the most was

 "Tikal".

The great Mayan Pyramids are located here.

The jungle surrounding the area was filled with life!

The Quetzal Birds were everywhere!

Though not common to the area we were lucky enough to see them.

Hummingbirds blended in with the wild orchids and fauna.

The scene was planted on my brain forever!

The painting was created for my "Flowers of My Life" 

30th Anniversary Show  in 2013.

The show was sponsored by the Sunriver Resort and the

 SHARC Convention Center.

The painting is painted on Masonite...a very hard surface.

The base of the painting has six layers of primer and is sealed with a bronze glaze.

When lights shine on the painting it glows like the jungle.

I remember the amazing hummingbirds and the sounds well.

If you look closely below you can see the bronze glaze and the minute detail of the plant life.

Orchids...Orchids...Everywhere!

Quetzal's are strikingly colored birds in the trogon family. 

They love humid areas. I love their tail feathers.

The graceful long tail feathers are said to have been used as

 currency by the Ancient Maya.

They are also the national bird of the area.

The painting measures 4 feet by 4 feet.

I hope you have enjoyed learning a little more about this painting.

The Retail Gallery Price is $ 18,000.00.

The Studio "Special Price" is $9500.00 now thru December 20th.

Contact: jenniferlakeart@gmail.com for further information.

Have a Wonderful Evening.

Your Artist Friend along the Creek,

Jennifer

Original Art Week #2! Tis the Season!

Original Art Week! Tis' the Season!

Everyday this week I will be posting some of my 

Original paintings for sale!

Who will be the lucky person SURPRISED at Christmas Time?

Will it be YOU?

Below is today's painting!

~Lillian Lilacs~

Lillian's Lilacs was completed for the "Flowers of My Life Show" held in 2013.

 The show ..sponsored by the Sunriver Resort and the SHARC was my 30th Anniversary show.  

Each painting represented a period of my life utilizing a floral theme.

Growing up in Michigan beautiful lilac bushes were everywhere.

My families property had many. 

You knew summer was amidst with the smell of lilacs filling the air.

Even now when I smell lilacs.. I can instantly be back at my childhood home in my mind.

The painting below was created on Masonite....a very hard and flat surface.

The base of the painting has 6 layers of primer and a Silver Glaze was added on top.

The Silver Glaze adds depth and interesting light.

All the detail took over two months to complete.

If you look closely you can see a Goldfinch watching me select flowers for my Grandmother Lillian.

I was very fortunate to grow up with my grandparents as neighbors.

They both were amazing and extraordinary people.

The closeup below shows you each brush stroke of each lilac petal.

Yes there are times I say "BUY A BIG BRUSH" and create "ABSTRACT"!

However as the years have gone on I have an obsession with minute detail!

I am fascinated by it.

The painting measures 4 feet by 4 feet.

I hope you have enjoyed learning a little more about this painting.

The Retail Gallery Price is $15,000.00

The Studio "Special Price" is $7500.00 now thru December 20th.

Contact: jenniferlakeart@gmail.com for further information.

Have a Wonderful Evening,

Your Artist Friend along the Creek,

Jennifer

Original Art Week! Tis the Season!

Original Art Week!

Everyday this week I will be posting some of my 

ORIGINAL paintings for sale!

Who will be the lucky person SURPRISED at Christmas time?

Will it be YOU?

The first two today are listed below!

"Whose Woods these are I think I Know"

I created the painting from a scene near the famous

 Black Butte Ranch Resort in Central, Oregon.

The title is from the famous Robert Frost Poem.

If you look closely you will see animals EVERYWHERE!

A coyote sits to the lower right. He has been chasing a small mouse which is hiding below in the rabbit brush.

A Great Snowy Owl spots the mouse and is headed down from one of the old Ponderosa Tree.

Deer are arriving from the back of the forest. Squirrels, chipmunks, hawks, cougar can also be seen.

If you look really close you can see a little mouse painting in a hole of one of the trees!

The painting is filled with life but from a distance...snow and the magnificent Ponderosa Trees.

The painting measures 30 X 40 and is a gallery wrap canvas.

Retail Gallery Price $12,000.00

Studio Price $5,000.00 now through December 20th only.

 The Malhuer Bird Refuge!

Oregonians are very proud of the Malhuer Bird Refuge.

The refuge is one of the most used bird flyways in North America.

Thousands upon thousands of birds pass through the area annually.

The refuge was created in 1908 by order of

 President Theodore Roosevelt to protect habitat.

The 187,757 acres is located 30 miles south of the city of Burns, Oregon Harney Basin.

Ironically the Donner and Blitzen Rivers flow through Malhuer.

No wonder this painting will be a great Christmas Present to find under the Christmas Tree!

The original painting measures 11 X 14 and is gallery wrapped.

Gallery Retail Value $1500.00

Studio Price Special $550.00 now through December 20th!

Have a Great Evening Everyone!

Contact ME: jenniferlakeart.blogspot.com

Your Artist Friend,

Jennifer