four things | fifty-four | Miss Mustard Seed

Between Thanksgiving break spent with family and trying to get my gift guides posted, I didn’t share my four things last week!  It’s that time of year when I start feeling a little crunched to post everything in a timely manner.  But I really love writing this post each week.  It gives me a catch-all place to share bits and pieces of my work and life.

Here are my four things for the week: Art & Fear, Dickensian, “they call it art”, and more pet portraits.

what I’m reading

Art & Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland.  Oh my goodness, this book blew my socks off, and I plowed through it in two days, taking copious amounts of notes.  This book was first published in 1994, when I was in high school, but it still felt so relevant.  There were some clues that the book was older, but some of the challenges and rewards of being an arist in the digital age seemed to be addressed even though most homes didn’t have internet.  I can’t recommend this book highly enough for working and hobby artists.

what I’m watching

I actually haven’t been watching TV very much lately, so I will recommend a series I love to watch this time of year – Dickensian.  It is a prequel series set in the world of Dickens.  It specifically features characters from Great Expectations, Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, and Bleak House.  It is helpful if you are familiar with those stories, but it is not necessary.  I love this series and, if you haven’t seen it, I would add it to your watch list!

what I’m loving

“In a darkened theatre, the man in the tuxedo waves his hand, and the pigeon appears.  We call it magic.  In a sunlit studio, a painter waves her hand, and the whole world takes form.  We call it art.”  Ted Bayles on Magic in Art & Fear

what I’m working on

Even over Thanksgiving break at my in-laws’ house, I worked on pet portraits.  I’ve been completing about one a day, so I can get all my Christmas commissions sent out by mid-December.  Once those are done, I’m going to spend a bit more time on some fun Christmas projects as well as paintings for my first original art sale next year.

Here are a few of my recent pet portraits…

If you’re interested in learning more about my process or just watching these paintings come to life, I’ve started sharing over on TikTok (just to test it out) and on my @marianparsonsart Instagram page HERE.

What have you been reading, watching, loving, and working on?