Today I decided to do some painting. Not painting walls or doors this time, but rather something artistically inspired. For my birthday, I received some brushes and paints. Probably because I kept using our oldest daughter’s paints for ages and she was getting annoyed with it.

I do enjoy painting. I love to share memories through my art. Usually I like to do scenes and scenery. Mainly of things that bring me joy.

Today I painted an image of a painting I used to see all the time as a child. My parents once owned an oil painting by an artist named “Shelley”. The original painting was large and cumbersome- at nearly 4 feet by 4 feet in size. I went through a bunch of old photos and pieced together the image I remembered so clearly.

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I decided that I wanted this image hung in my home. Only on a smaller scale. After some research online, I discovered that “Shelley” did similar paintings, in the same fashion. With prices for the paintings ranging from $650-$1200.

Here is my painting inspired by “Shelley”. There’s something about the browns and yellows that I always liked on the original. As a child, I often laid on the couch staring at the painting. I understand why my parents sold the painting. It was rather large and clearly screamed 1970’s. It wouldn’t always compliment the walls or rooms of the houses we lived in. I think my parents got rid of it in the late 80’s/early 90’s.

The way the artist signed the painting we owned had a big impact on my written style. I usually write in capitals with straight edges on letters that would normally be curved. Such as the letter “S”. I also tend to use the lines to join the letter in my name like “EF” or “HA”. I only noticed this today when I began searching online for images of their art. It seems “Shelley” had a variety of signatures. But the one we had was the biggest impact to my development.

Does art inspire you? What makes good art memorable?