Posts in art
Vining Clematis and Painted Lady Butterflies: Garden Delight for the 2022 Tea Towel Calendar
Vining Clematis and Painted Lady Butterflies: Garden Delight for the 2022 Tea Towel Calendar

Designing a tea towel calendar each year has become a tradition for me. This is the 6th year I’ve created one.

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art, calendars, fabricAnne ButeraSpoonflower, Spoonflower Design Challenge, Spoonflower Tea Towel, Spoonflower Tea Towel Calendar, tea towels, tea towel calendars, botanical watercolor tea towels, 2022 Tea Towel Calendar, Watercolor Clematis, watercolor clematis fabric designs, embroidery, botanical embroidery design, clematis embroidery, Wallhangings, Spoonflower wallhangings, watercolor clematis, creative projects, creative traditions Comments
Why I Love Sketchbooks and How I Use Them in My Art Practice
Why I Love Sketchbooks and How I Use Them in My Art Practice

This week I finished filling up my 16th sketchbook.

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art, art classes, sketchbooks, houseplantsAnne Buterasketchbooks, Sketchbook Playground, Dana Barbieri, developing a sketchbook practice, developing a creative habit, developing as an artist, Anne Butera's Sketchbooks, my history with sketchbooks, why I love sketchbooks, how I use sketchbooks, my favorite materials to use in my sketchbooks, about me, my story Comments
How a Sunflower Painting Brought Back My Creative Joy: Behind the Scenes in the Studio
How a Sunflower Painting Brought Back My Creative Joy: Behind the Scenes in the Studio

Right now zinnias, dahlias, cosmos and marigolds color my garden and feed the bees, butterflies and hummingbirds.

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art, creativity, inspiration, joy, sketchbooksAnne Buteraart process, painting, changing season, seasons, garden, butterflies, hummingbirds, watercolor, watercolor painting, painting process, sketchbook, sketchbook practice, sunflowers, watercolor sunflowers, inspiration, following inspiration, developing as an artist Comments
Celebrate Summer Joys: Sketchbooks! Week 4 of a Month of Gratitude Practice
Celebrate Summer Joys: Sketchbooks! Week 4 of a Month of Gratitude Practice

It’s hard to believe this is the last week of my month of gratitude. August has flown by.

I think back to childhood Augusts with school looming and days of freedom dwindling. Back-to-school was both exciting and welcome but also tinged with sadness for the ending of summer.

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art, art classes, creativity, inspiration, joy, sketchbooksAnne Buterasketchbooks, Sketchbooks, sketchbook practice, summer sketchbooks, Dana Barbieri, a class with Anne Butera and Dana Barbieri, sketchbook class, Sketchbook Playground Mini Class, Free Mini Class, Free online art class, free class with Anne Butera and Dana Barbieri, gratitude practice, gratitude, a month of gratitude practice, joy, celebrate summer joys, summer joys, summer, August, collaboration, collaborative sketchbook, creative journey Comments
The Story Behind My Beautiful New Marigold Botanical Embroidery Designs
The Story Behind My Beautiful New Marigold Botanical Embroidery Designs

Today I’m pinching myself because my first embroidery kits and digital pattern are here!

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embroidery, sketchbooks, artAnne Buterabig dreams, don't give up on your dreams, creative dreams, making our creative dreams real, Laura K. Bray, Laura Bray, embroidery kits, embroidery kit design, embroidery patterns, embroidery, embroidery as sketching, creating embroidery kits, marigolds, gem marigolds, marigolds embroidery pattern, marigolds embroidery kit, PDF embroidery pattern, digital embroidery pattern, popular posts Comments
Behind the Scenes This Week: What it's Really Like to Run an Art Business
Behind the Scenes This Week: What it's Really Like to Run an Art Business

Do you ever wonder what it’s like to be a full-time, self-employed artist? Although I frequently share what I’m working on here on my blog, I don’t think it gives a comprehensive picture of what it’s like to run an art business. Are you curious?

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art, business, studioAnne Buteralife as an artist, what it's really like to run an art business, what it's really like to be a working artist, behind the scenes, behind the scenes in my studio, this week in my studio, art projects, art exhibit, art openings, Joy Letter, newsletter, art classes, embroidery, embroidery kits, creating embroidery kits, Viva Gallery, Viva Gallery in Viroqua Wisconsin, Viroqua Wisconsin, Viroqua Food Co-Op, Writing a book, watercolor, painting, botanical watercolor painting, botanical art, columbine, watercolor columbine painting, process, sketchbooks, Dana, creative classes, popular posts Comments
Painting Violas and Pansies: in My Studio with Spring Garden Inspiration
Painting Violas and Pansies: in My Studio with Spring Garden Inspiration

For me, springtime in the garden always means violas and pansies. They’re some of the first things to show up at garden centers and one of the first things to bloom in my garden.

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art, garden, inspiration, paintings, seasons, studioAnne Buteragardening, artist gardener, violas, pansies, viola watercolor, viola paintings, pansy watercolor, pansy painting, garden inspiration, painting inspiration, inspiration from the garden, spring garden inspiration, pansies and violas, spring garden, inspiration from the spring garden, flowers, favorite flowers, my favorite flowers, my favorite flowers to paint, my favorite watercolor subjects, watercolor painting subjects, botanical watercolor, botanical watercolor painting inspiration, spring botanical watercolor paintings, springtime in the studio, springtime in the garden Comments
Botanical Embroidery Design: an Exciting New Direction For My Art
Botanical Embroidery Design: an Exciting New Direction For My Art

Sometimes the universe nudges you forward when you’re not quite ready. This happened a few weeks ago when I checked Spoonflower’s list of upcoming design challenges and saw one featuring embroidery.

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art, fabric, paintings, studioAnne Buteraemboidery, studio, painting, watercolor, fabric design, spoonflower contest, spoonflower fabric designer, Spoonflower, Spoonflower Design Challenge, spoonflower challenge, clematis embroidery, watercolor clematis, embroidery kits, embroidery kit design, Laura K. Bray, Laura Bray, 6 inch embroidery hoop design, Spoonflower Embroidery Template Design Challenge, watercolor butterflies, art process, inspiration, how to vote in a spoonflower contest, botanical embroidery design, possibilities for artists, surface pattern design, watercolor surface pattern designs, botanical art, botanical watercolor surface pattern designs Comments
Why I've Stepped Away from Instagram: My Problems with Social Media
Why I've Stepped Away from Instagram: My Problems with Social Media

It’s been a busy week. Our warm spring weather disappeared, replaced by dark dreary days. We even had a couple of mornings of snow. Not unusual for Wisconsin and I haven’t minded. I have lots of projects I’m working on in my studio.

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art, FAQs, businessAnne ButeraInstagram, why I'm stepping away from Instagram, quitting Instagram, why I'm quitting Instagram, the price of social media, the price of Instagram, artists quitting social media, creativity, Inspiration, making meaningful connections, time is precious, meaningful connections, blogging, why I dislike Facebook, my problems with social media, why I stepped away from Instagram Comments
Why Protecting Creative Time and Space is So Important for Your Creativity
Why Protecting Creative Time and Space is So Important for Your Creativity

Today I was supposed to be wrapping up the Get Re-Inspired Creative Retreat. I planned to share my finished papier-mache pieces and sum up the lessons I learned over the course of the month.

But as this week approached, I realized I wasn’t finished with the retreat. So I’m giving it one more week.

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art, creativity, inspirationAnne Buteracarving out time for creativity, creativity, protecting creative time and space, reclaiming creativity, reclaiming inspiration, March Creative Retreat, patience, practicing patience, going slow, skillshare Comments
An Invitation to Join Me in the Get Re-Inspired Creative Retreat
An Invitation to Join Me in the Get Re-Inspired Creative Retreat

On February 16 before I did anything else in my studio, I sat down and worked on a page in my sketchbook. Since then I’ve started every workday with sketchbook play and have only missed one non-work day because of a migraine.

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art, creativity, inspirationAnne ButeraCreative Retreat, March Creative Retreat, get inspired, get re-inspired, join me in creativity, how to be more creative, how to be more inspired, how to be creative, how to make room in your days for creativity, sketchbook, daily art making, daily creativity, be creative every day Comments
Shake Up Your Self-Care and Recommit to What Truly Brings You Joy
Shake Up Your Self-Care and Recommit to What Truly Brings You Joy

Back in November I vowed to fall in love with winter. And I did, for a while.

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art, creativity, joy, life, sketchbooks, fabricAnne Buteraself-care, winter, sketchbook, play, fabric design, Spoonflower, spoonflower contest, spoonflower challenge, recommit to self-care, dreaming of spring, garden dreaming, seeing the beauty of winter, rescue dog, February, Feeling sick of winter, feeling weary, feel your feelings, botanical fabric design, nasturtiums, watercolor nasturtiums, nasturtium fabric, vining nasturtiums fabric design Comments
Are You an Artist? Writing an Artist's Manifesto
Are You an Artist? Writing an Artist's Manifesto

The shop was a jumble of art, jewelry and funky secondhand furniture. Although the town’s population was tiny, it was crowded with people attending the local art festival. I browsed, more curious about what was for sale than because I wanted to purchase anything.

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art, inspiration, joyAnne Buterainspiration, artists, what does it mean to be an artist?, who is an artist, what is art, Artist Manifesto, Artist's Manifesto, creative encouragement, we are all artists, are you an artist?, Melanie Falick, Making a Life, Ellen Dissanayake, Laura Bray, Laura K. Bray, Vincent van Gogh Comments
Art by Other Artists in My Studio: a Partial Studio Tour
Art by Other Artists in My Studio: a Partial Studio Tour

I’ve been wanting to show you around my studio but instead of giving a full tour, today I’m sharing one corner where I’ve collected art from other artists.

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art, joy, studioAnne ButeraJust a Card, independent artists, art, artists, support artists, support small businesses, supporting artists, my favorite artists, studio tour, studio, studio cat, Quin, decorating, art collections, embroidery, Golly Bard, Holly Ward Bimba, Abigail Halpin, Natalie Wargin, Mary Woodin, Regina Lord, Ginny P Worsley, Stacey Ann Cole, Dana Barbieri, Ashlie Blake, Oh Chalet, Caroline Kelly Saganich, ATCs, artist trading cards, UPPERCASE Circle, UPPERCASE Magazine, Scrabble, Scrabble messages, Scrabble word art, Leigh Anna Newell, Helen Hallows, Katie Daisy, Stephanie Ryan, joy Comments
10 Lessons from 10 Years of Learning How to Paint
10 Lessons from 10 Years of Learning How to Paint

You’ve quieted your mind and listened to the whispers. Your heart longs to learn something new, to be creative, to craft a different life.

Now what?

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art, creativity, inspirationAnne Buteraadvice for artists, creative advice, 10 years of learning to paint, 10 years of watercolor painting, 10 years of learning watercolor, creativity, creative doubts, creative inspiration, Creativebug, skillshare, developing a creative habit, Elizabeth Gilbert, Georgia O'Keeffe, Vincent van Gogh, joy, enjoy the process, being a beginner, give yourself time to be a beginner, advice for creatives, Let creativity take over your life, have fun, enjoy yourself, enjoy creativity, enjoy creating, creative challenges, creative classes, creative community, focus, Lilla Rogers, development as an artist, developing as an artist, creative dreams, creative development, 10 Year Painting Celebration, 10 Years of Learning How to Paint, How to take your art to the next level, 10 year painting celebration, popular posts Comments
10 Year Painting Celebration: Nudging You Toward Your Dreams
10 Year Painting Celebration: Nudging You Toward Your Dreams

My heart raced and I held my breath. I felt a flutter in my stomach as I sat down with a set of watercolors, some paper and a brush to paint for the first time.

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art, art classes, creativity, inspiration, joy, lifeAnne Buteracreativity, painting, watercolor, learning to paint, learning to paint with watercolor, self taught artist, self-taught watercolor artist, teaching myself to paint, teaching myself to paint with watercolor, 10 years of learning to paint, 10 years of learning watercolor, 10 years of watercolor painting Comments