AS FEATURED IN BIRMINGHAM MAGAZINE

For those of you who are finding me via the May issue of Birmingham Magazine, an extensive gallery of my paintings, artist statement and contact information can be found on my website at www.lauraclarkartistry.com.

FINE ART FOR INTERIOR SPACES
PAINTINGS BY LAURA MIMBS CLARK

Please visit at
http://www.lauraclarkartistry.com/

 Thank you so much for your interest in my work! -lmc

  BEYOND

  36" x 48"

oil on gallery wrapped canvas

FIRST DROP - sold
 

PATIENCE

 

30" x 40"

oil on gallery wrapped canvas

TOES IN THE SAND

Last year, I decided my daughter needed a sandbox.  She's a digger, an explorer of sorts, and I knew I had put this off as long as possible.

When the word sandbox comes to mind, I immediately picture a large green plastic turtle like I remember seeing as a kid. . . okay, I just googled "green plastic sandbox turtle" and apparently Little Tikes has come out with a 33rd anniversary edition of this best seller (uuuggghhhhhhhhhh). . . So now that I have clearly dated myself I will get to the point.  As cute as sandboxturtle is in pictures, I was thinking of something a little less reptilian. After some thought, I decided that the best budget solution to having a fun place for the kids to play and one that "looks pretty" was to use a big galvanized tub as the sandbox.  I already had one that I had previously used outside for cold beverages during parties and BBQs.  It found a home in the garage as a catchall of sorts shortly after it began to leak.  I love it when I find a way to repurpose something I've been saving that the hubs has been trying to get me to throw out-SCORE!

The next several pictures were taken last summer of my little girl checking out her new sandbox. We've thrown some fun toys into the mix since then.

 (I thought a private beach would be a nice touch)

I didn't really intend for this to be a sit-in sandbox but who am I kidding anyway....took her about 2 minutes

now 2

Realizing that sitting in the tub is half the fun and that Naomi is only getting bigger, I decided to upgrade this spring when I saw this one at Home Depot in the lawn and garden section. It cost around twenty-five dollars and is even a bit bigger than it appears in the photos.

 You'll need to drill small holes in the bottom of the tub unless it's kept covered when it rains. Once those holes are drilled, though, you're stuck with either a sandbox or possibly a container garden.  Since it is galvanized, by design, it's not supposed to rust.  Also, be sure to get play sand at your home improvement store rather than regular sand. It is much finer and cleaner.

 

Now as for sand in the pants, I'm not sure how that can be avoided-even in skinny jeans.  However, I recently learned from a friend that sprinkling baby powder on coated arms, legs and feet will cause the sand to fall right off!  Why am I just learning this?


We are really enjoying our backyard and the weather right now before it becomes sweltering hot. I hope this spring and summer affords you and yours a whole lot of backyard fun as well!  -lc

HOW DOES YOUR GARDEN GROW?

The weather here lately has been A-MA-ZING.  Sunshine, mid seventies and relatively low humidity-for the South, that is.  I know that this weatherglory will be short-lived, so for now I am just going to  pretend that it won't get any hotter and enjoy my little oasis of a patio we've been working on.
I've started gardening flowers and herbs, and I have to say I'm happily obsessed.  I've always loved arranging cut flowers, but only recently have I started learning about different varieties of plants and how to care for them (basically, reading the plastic thingys that come stuck in the pots that tell you not only what plant you are buying but also how not to kill it). This new hobby has also given me a bit more incentive to get out of the bed in the morning.  Yes, truly!  I love having coffee out there before the kids wake up and pinching off spent blooms; "deadheading" is the proper term. There is something really therapeutic about that and literally seeing something grow day by day.

clematis

snapdragons . . . I mean WOW.

basil, thai basil hydrangea leaves in the back right and several varieties of moss

I've been applying some of the same elements of design I use in my artwork to my gardening: color arrangement, composition, movement, and texture- as well as a whole lot of trial and error. It's probably a big gardening "no no" but I will dig a plant up and move it after a few days if I think it will look better elsewhere. A few tips I've discovered are to group flowers for maximum color effect and to plant in triangles of color- meaning if you look at the entire garden you can loosely draw an imaginary triangle between plants of the same color. It just makes the overall composition cohesive. Placing plants of complementary color combinations next to one another also makes them pop visually.  For example, placing yellow flowers next to purple ones for maximum color effect. Yellow is the complementary color to purple; it is the color opposite it on the color wheel. These colors tend to set each other off in a good way, like, orange and blue (WAR EAGLE!) and red and green (Merry Christmas!). Also, using plants of varying heights adds interest and appear more like they are growing naturally.  I was going for that English garden kind of feel here, not necessarily indigenous varieties but lush and spilling over. 

l to r and front to back-oregano, wire (angel) vine, hydrangea, pink verbena, violas (bluish purple), wallflower (yellow), petunias (white), diascia (coral),wallflower, dusty miller, ornamental kale, salvia, basil,dusty miller, diascia, clematis (vine on trellis), violas, snapdragons, petunias, gardenia bush, oregano, cinnamon sage

Color Wheel

Rather than placing the herbs in one area and the flowers in another, I chose to blend the two together for a more natural look and feel. I really like the way it turned out.

this ornamental kale is inexpensive and covers a lot of area. It also does well in the early spring when there are occasional cold spells.

what can I say? this girl never misses an opportunity for a closeup

diascia "Darla Orange"

salvia

These are some of the few annuals (plants that bloom only one season) that I purchased because I couldn't resist the color. I've learned to budget garden by purchasing perennials (plants that bloom every year) for the most part. I would say I am about a 80/20 perennial/annual planter. 

 Sonflower ;)

 

This last picture is my favorite. Partly because of the colors and also that one little bud (center right) and flower on the left is in focus. The more I looked at this one I realized it reminded me a lot of some of the photos my grandfather used to take. He was a well traveled photographer (even before photography was cool) and having photographed some of the most breathtaking places in the world, he still had an eye for capturing the beauty in the simplest and most ordinary things. . . It just occurred to me (having reread this post several times) that the previous sentence seems to sum up my intent for this blog as implied in the header.  Hmmmm. . . interesting. I'm going to have to think on that a bit  for a possible later post.

Lastly, I realize it has been quite awhile since my previous update.  I've been working hard on a particular project that I look forward to sharing in detail in the next few weeks.  

Thanks for reading!-lc

MAY YOUR HEART BE LIGHT

I've not been much of an aspiring blogger lately. I'm actually thinking of changing my blog header to "shades of beige: an artist's musings on her day to day.... or at least every few days and quite possibly only once a month".  Considering the holiday season, I'm sure it is easily understood that things have been a bit busier lately.  In all the rush, there have also been brief periods of calm. I've been trying to recognize those, enjoy being in the moment and, seriously, resist the urge to post all of them to facebook.  I love hearing of life's randomness from friends and hearing from random friends. I love feeling a bit more connected to family I don't get to see often. I love sharing snippets of life in photos and being able to revisit them whenever I want.  Facebook certainly encourages all of that, but as with everything, there is a balance to be found and I'm usually standing on one foot wobbling and flailing my arms.  I've been making an effort to "log out" a bit for the holidays in an attempt to focus on my family and also my faith-or lack thereof.  I would say I most identify with man that cried out to Jesus in a desperate attempt to save his own son, "I believe, Lord, help my unbelief!"  I love the honesty in that plea and how he acknowledges Jesus as Lord in spite of his faltering faith. Thankfully God loved this desperate father and backsliders like myself enough to take the form on infant, born in a dirty stable, who would live and later die to reconcile sinners to their Creator- THE TRUE REASON for the Christmas season which over a third of the entire world celebrates.
 I love so many things about Christmas.  I  especially enjoy decorating for Christmas and playing dress up with the house.  Although it does seem to take awhile,  I still love every minute. It challenges me creatively in a different way and affords me a little time to think about what it is that I am really doing-decorating for the biggest birthday party of the year!  Here are a few shots from this year's bash...

brown paper packages tied up with ribbon from Sam's....

 these are vintage chandelier crystals  I bought at an antique store a few years ago. They make beautiful icicles that reflect the tree lights.  I also hung a few from the light fixtures around the house.

jingle bells similar to ones we had growing up

I didn't have this mirror last year, and was glad to find a way to incorporate our family's initial into the decor.  Apparently, it also made for an excellent target as evidenced by the nerf bullet rings left on the mirror.

okay, so "bash" may be a little extreme.....I think it might be more of a soiree.

 May you enjoy many quiet moments with your loved ones this Christmas, celebrate Jesus, and know the joy of believing in the one true Savior.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

"The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."

John 1:14

TWO SPARROWS

I'm excited to share this new series of decorative paintings, and just in time for the holidays!  Each piece is an original design, hand painted on a gallery wrapped linen canvas. These works are custom painted to be displayed individually or in multiples for a grouping effect. Inspired by my own "two sparrows", this idea has also been growing over the last year and I am happy to present it to you as a meaningful option for gift-giving. (or receiving ;)

robin's egg blue and feather pink

painted for a family of five

wall, shelf or tabletop display

bold silhouettes against the understated natural linen complement both traditional and modern interiors

triptych-one work on three panels

wrapped and ready to go for a baby girl's nursery

 I hope to post some pictures of these pieces hanging in their new homes soon.  If you want some little birdies for Christmas, please let me know ASAP!


www.lauraclarkartistry.com

FROGS, SNAILS AND PUPPY DOG TAILS

It seems that my friends with baby bumps are all having...BOYS!  Oddly enough, they are even due the same week in December. I guess it makes sense then that I would host showers for both around the same time as well.  Actually, it works out nicely because I only have to deep clean once. (thought ahead about that one.)  I'm holding out hope that the kids don't make a total disaster of the house before Friday.
Here are a few shots of some of the decor from the first baby shower this past Sunday afternoon. I wanted it to have a bit of a vintage feel and also reflect the thoughtfulness of my sweet friend, Heather, and her attention to detail.

 

that's a mason jar I bought at a garage sale and $12 worth of babies breath

I love fresh flowers and miss being surrounded by them daily.  I had that luxury when I worked as a floral designer for a few years out of college. Having done so, I am all too aware of the general disdain for baby's breath when used as a filler flower in your standard vase of dozen roses (think FTD ugly).

When used abundantly, though, it's really pretty, sweet and ethereal looking -perfect for a shower!  After all, it IS "baby's breath" which, by the way, just so happens to be a little bit stinky.  Though not at all noticeable outside, I would recommend using it sparingly inside if it's not already dried.

 "Handkerchief Napkins" 

 (beverage napkin folded with paper doily)

Planning to do something entirely different for this next one...

FALLING LEAVES

The trees right now are gorgeous!  I know it won't stay this way for long so I wanted to capture a few of these beauties at their peak. I snapped these photos on the way to the grocery store yesterday and with some minor cropping, you would think I was in the mountains of Tennessee rather than the suburbs of Birmingham, Alabama.  I especially love the Bluff Park area of Hoover where I grew up and now live.  I like the thought that these are the same trees I've seen change colors for the last thirty years and now my children are appreciating their beauty.

I've never really been drawn to the color red.  I  don't wear it or have it anywhere in my home - I usually don't even decorate with it at Christmas. There is only one painting I can think of where I have used it abundantly, and that piece was a kind of "pushing my limits" exercise.  I realized yesterday that it's not that I don't like the color, but that it is most beautiful when found in nature, and that's where I truly appreciate red's boldness.

 

I've been spending some time catching up with a dear friend I've known since childhood.  She recently returned home after living in south Florida for the last nine years.  We are often running errands together, and she is constantly oohing and ahhing as if she is seeing the landscape for the very first time.  It has really been a joy to experience her delight... not sure if she has seen me giggling next to her in the car.  Unknowingly, she has encouraged me to take a closer look at the beauty all around me that I've become accustomed to and be thankful.

   I'm convinced this is THE most beautiful week we'll have this fall. We made plans over breakfast for a family hike this weekend to really take it all in...gotta get outside and hug a tree!

Green Valley

  ^" You will go out in joy

   and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
   will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
   will clap their hands."

Isaiah 55:12