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Tuesday, March 11, 2014

A Happy Mermaid

I am taking Monica Lee's Smart Creative Style class and I am just getting blown away. In the course you really discover WHO you are and WHAT you like. As an artist, I love everything! I have enthusiasm for every style of painting and every subject.

Anyway, so I used to think I liked to paint pretty things.

But now I know it is so much more than that.

I want to paint romance, tenderness, bliss, and gratitude.


...but how do you do that?


I am in between a lot of commission projects right now. Totally awesome; no complaints here! But I had to take a moment and just flow with some good ole' inspiration.

I knew I wanted a mermaid. But as I looked at all of the beautiful illustrations of mermaids I felt so sad. All of the girls want to be human. They long for feet and dancing. But don't they realize that there are girls with feet that daydream of having fins? Why weren't there any mermaids that we HAPPY to be where they were. And then I knew: my mermaid had to be delighted with exactly where she was.

And when I think deeper about it, don't we all? There is so much to be sad about and yearn for, but what God has blessed us with in this very moment is something to be thankful for.


© Heatherlee Chan 2014
 
 
 
Isn't she just too cute? This is how I would be if I were a mermaid for a day! I would delight in the present!
 
It is so easy to be annoyed or displeased with your current place in life. My six year old son broke his leg on January 2nd and is STILL in a cast. For a couple weeks I was pretty bitter about it. It has not been easy. But there were lots of things to be thankful for. He could have gotten hurt much worse, he could be in cast longer, and so on.
 
 
 
So instead of being like these gorgeous and sad mermaids, just be gorgeous and happy!
 

3

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Spring Watercolor Collection

Here is the new Spring Line for my shop!

It's all about flowers, feminine colors, motherhood and friendship.


 
I love how all of the colors really go well together. There's a lot of blue, turquoise, pink, purple, and green, and dashes of yellow. Even some of Pantone's Radiant Orchid! This sofa is so adorable. I wish I could have this in turquoise for my house! It is the Charlotte Sofa from Urban Outfitters.
 This blue pattern makes me so happy! I really wanted to do a loose pattern painting. Of course I had to add a collection of flowers to the bottom ;)

This watercolor painting is made up of dahlias. Oh, I love the patterns and variations of dahlias. They can be perfectly round with intricate pattern, they can get loose but still keep the design, or they can just go wild and let loose.


I am in looooove with the flowers on this peony painting! It is matched up with another Urban Outfitter piece--the Plum & Bow Callin Daybed.
 I just love Louisa May Alcott. This quote really touches me because sometimes things DO happen in storybook fashion. I have realized that when I try to make up stories for my kids. I will tell them a real story, but when I tell it, oh, how beautiful life sounds. God is so good.


 The Spring Reader. So many people love The Reader in fall colors. I knew I had to do a fresh Spring version.

Friends... Oh how dear the true ones are. No matter how stormy life can get, when you are together there is always sunshine and fun to be had.
The Mother and Child. My babies are all grown up (ha ha...not really! 3 & 6 but definitely not babies). I miss these tender moments of motherhood.
Sisters. Need I say more? But honestly, this could be sisters or friends. There is something so special about the comfort and closeness with female companionship.


I have another painting I just did that fits in perfectly with this line, but I think it deserves its own post. It's that special to me. Overall, I am really excited about these new paintings. The ones I have done prior had more reds and these have a light pink tone to them. But alas, us females always like to change things up!

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Favorite Spots in My Home

I went around with a camera today to find some favorite spaces and objects in my home.

I learned a lot.

Like the fact that there is this one green wall that I cannot stand. It is in my favorite room, and I couldn't even bear the thought of taking a picture of it because it bothered me so much.

But, I really loved the neutrality of the rest of my pretty living room.




This is a very long front room with an office behind the French doors. Currently it is being used as a bedroom.

This is the main bathroom. We call it The Bird Bathroom because there are birds on the shower curtain. It is also a long bathroom.

My workspace in the garage:

And that is all I have for now. I will add more as I clean the house, ha ha, just kidding (no, I'm not).

Sunday, February 16, 2014

Nature Photography

For a class I am taking we had to go out to a local nursery and take pictures. These are from our local Lowe's....almost all of these were taken with the camera on my phone! :)


 










 
 
 
Here's a couple extra that I have taken in the past:
 My sweet little girl at the beach.
 
all photos copyright © 2014 Heatherlee Chan

Saturday, January 18, 2014

New Business Cards

I ordered 100 Mini Moo cards from moo.com when I first decided to start sell my paintings. They had a fabulous offer going on at the time. They are so cute. I was able to put one of my paintings on the back and information on the front. I like them because they are printed on really thick cardstock and feel beautiful--the finish on them makes them feel soft and lovely.

When I ran out, I decided to try Overnight Prints. I wanted to make them a little more neutral so they could coordinate with all of my paintings when I ship them in the mail. Here's the finished product!

I purchased the value business cards and they are printed on a nice cardstock. I thought it was really great quality for the price. I also tried Vista Print and I think that was a waste of money.You could see all the pixelation and my image was not clear, whereas Overnight was clear and had no pixelation. Overnight Prints is affordable, high quality, with lots of options for upgrades like rounded corners and premium papers!

That is also one of my newest floral paintings in the background! Prints are available in the shop.


This shows what the front and back look like:


And a size comparison between the Mini Moo card and the basic Overnight Prints card:


Sunday, December 8, 2013

New Bird Painting and Free Giveaway

Celebrate good times!!

Lady Poppins hit 100 sales in the shop. Small beans to some people, but for me this feels amazing. I was so excited to hit my tenth sale and every number after. Thank you to all of you that are making this happen!

Go over to my facebook page and like Lady Poppins, comment under the most current photo that says there is a giveaway and on Wednesday I will announce the winner having used the random number generator. So easy. You don't have to share, tweet, instagram--anything!! Just comment :)

The winner will be able to choose any 8x10 in my shop :) 

Here is my new 11x14 watercolor painting called The Bird Lover.





Saturday, November 30, 2013

Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Weekend Sale!

Basically it's a sale that will last now until Tuesday, December 3rd! (I made it longer because the 3rd is my birthday :) 28 years young!

Make sure you type in the code at checkout or the discount will not take effect. I want you to get a deal this weekend!

Just head on over to the store and take a look at what is in stock.

Also, you can check out my new Super Sale section. All of the paintings in that section are already marked down to 50% off.

I am clearly clearing house.

Happy shopping, friends!

Monday, November 18, 2013

In a little town called Sun City



Imagine a town where you must be 55+ to live there. Golf carts are permitted to roam the streets alongside cars, a shoe shine shop still exists, an organist plays in the local restaurant, people still wear pastel polyester pants, and women go to the hair salon to get their hair set.


That is the town where my grandma lives.

In fact, it is less than ten minutes from me in Southern California.



As described by Wikipedia:

Sun City is a master-planned community for senior citizens over age 55. The four-square mile residential community has two public golf courses, two recreation centers with tennis courts and swimming pools, and a commercial center of small shops for resident consumers.

Originally built in 1960, it was one of four "Sun Cities" designed by Del Webb who later created retirement communities in Arizona, Nevada and Florida in the 1970s and '80s. The Del Webb company opened Sun City Palm Desert, California east of Palm Springs in 1991.


My husband is really the one I should be interviewing to talk about it. In the 1980s they built a little subdivision adjacent to Sun City and that is where his father bought a house and where he grew up. He knows every street thanks to his childhood years of exploring on a bicycle. My grandma didn't move there until the late 90s and even then it felt like you were in a different land. It still does!

Although they are not considered their own city now that Menifee became incorporated, we still call it Sun City. In its main shopping center they hold the best library in our area and the only nearby McDonald's, so of course we frequent it often!

After a library trip one day, I drove around and snapped some photos of the AWESOME houses. This is from only going down a few streets. Can you imagine if I had my nice camera instead of my cell phone? Or if I had a whole day to explore?


In this little city rock lawns are normal. It's more surprising if you find a house that features grass. I can't blame them though! If my husband didn't mow the lawn I would want a rock garden.


A lot of times they will be lined with the scalloped brick. Cute additions like the fake well aren't unusual either.

Fruit trees in the front and/or back (my Grammy has a persimmon tree and grape tomato plants).


Cacti are perfect plants for our sunny and dry weather.

Garages usually only have room for one car. If there is no garage, there is a car port.


Potted, hanging plants adorn porches.
 

 
 
 

This one has a cute little weather vane added to the top and the rocks were painted green.


 Little statues parade across the rocks.




 Now what do you do when you want a lush, green lawn but don't want the maintenance that comes with it? Simple!

Astroturf.



Did you always dream of a little pink house? Here you can easily find one!

A rarity: grass.
Not so rare: pink flamingos.

 I think this is a great example of a Sun City house: rock lawn, potted plants, sculptures, hanging doo dads, and a golf cart. There is a golf course that runs through the city.



For example, here is a golf cart in the town shopping center.
 The shopping center contains lovely stores like this Comfort Shoe Center.


 A truly awesome library.

The Action Mobility Center for all your mobility needs (wheelchairs, walkers, scooters).

Or get your couch reupholstered.

But be warned: there are a lot of senior citizens behind the wheel. And worse: the town center is so wacky!! One way streets, random intersections with no signs, single lane alleys. You have to be on high alert when you drive there!

The citizens are also very concerned about young folks driving too fast. These beauties are stationed around the town to ensure the safety for all. Once my husband was driving us down a street and there was a man sitting on a bench holding a megaphone yelling that he was going too fast. I agreed with man. But I love that he decided to be proactive about people like my fast-paced husband.

And on some streets there are even rounded curbs. No more tire marks on the sidewalk!
 
But I saved the BEST homes for last!
 The statue and fake flower garden.


 And the famous Raiders house.

 
 
From a younger person's perspective this place seems otherworldly, but heck, when I get old I wouldn't mind living here. I want a pink house and for there to be no noise after 6pm. My kids and I love to visit. Their Great Grandma lives there. The library is the nicest out of all the local cities. Old ladies always delight in seeing my children and offer them candy while simultaneously telling them not to take candy from strangers. The estate sales are pretty cool. You want vintage? Come here! Although, usually the items have not stopped being used for the last 50 years.