Pottery

Nautical one of a kind pieces

of art on pottery 

Kolene Spicher 

I am working on a painting at the moment for a gentlemen who wants the Smeaton Tower painted 

from Plymouth, UK.  As I drew the lighthouse (and I will blog about it later), I was thinking this would be cute on a pot.  

I decided to put some of my Polkadots on this piece.  I have them on the opposite side of the lighthouse painting.  

This is slightly blurry, sorry! 

This little guy needs fired yet.  It is still in its basest form, almost! 

This also needs fired.  The colors will change.  Unfortunately, a lot of times as you fire, some of the colors are less vibrant.  What you paint is not always what you get, almost never, actually, LOL. 

The shape is slightly different from the other lamp bases, but I think it will go well with the one that I still have (in living room).  I will use it till it sells, smile. 

I loved the big round light that I sold at wilton.  Here is a peak!

This has a great gold lined shade, compliments of Restoration Hardware.  I love their shades, actually. 

This vase is hand formed from a slab.  The top is sort of irregular and this was done on purpose.  See how the rose sort of falls in that V.  

This vase in the front is porcelain.  The vase in the back right, which happens to be of the Bay (any bay you'd like), is earthenware.  I am really into the uneven top edge, don't know why, smile. 

These sort of speak for themselves.  But, you can see, there is a lot of artwork on these pieces.  They are all one of a kind.  

I got some mugs back recently, too, unfortunately they had some issues.  However, I know what I did wrong.  

Here are some pictures.  I have 8 more mugs ready to paint with similar imagery.  

This one with the green sails I LOVE.  The surface has some issues, though, so I will keep this one and make more that are similar because the imagery is good and attractive. 

Black sheep mugs for the farm! 

I love  making mugs.  They sell easily and they make people smile, that is a good thing.  People that have followed my artwork over the years know that I love primitive art.  I found this little girl so sweet.  This mug turned out, too! 

That's about it for now.  I will have some more to blog about next week because I have already started to paint my Christmas orders.  I have a good bit to fill so I will be talking away in the near future.  

Thanks for looking.  

 

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Dapper looking Sailor/Whaler

Worthy Whalers Wanted 

Navigating the Shoals 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/478764983/kolene-spicher-original-one-of-a-kind?ref=shop_home_active_1

This antique frame is in amazing condition with the exception of a few flaws in the corners.  It does not
affect the overall look of this painting.  

For sale on Etsy 

I love this #whalersailor look that I have painted over the years.  I have included this item for sale on my Etsy store because it helps the buyer to see how to include various paintings in group settings.  I happen to like the way this picture looks with the painting WORTHY WHALES WANTED,  also for sale on ETSY.  

https://www.etsy.com/listing/461914254/kolene-spicher-original-ship-painting?ref=shop_home_active_2
(This is the link for the top picture on ETSY) 

Using the antique frames is fun.  Often times you find frames that are one of a kind.  This gives your home a unique look that is not cookie/cutter, which I tire of quickly.

Navigating the Shoals 

Holding a book that has maps of the Shoals was very important in early America.  Many dangerous shoals, for example, surrounded the whaling port of Nantucket.  This painting is a story of a boy Sailor/Whaler who navigated the shoals of Nantucket.

These closeups show the naive style in which they were painted.  Not all of my paintings are done this simply, but this is correct for the time in which I am depicting.  It falls into that category of #folkart that was #selftaught and lends itself toward #outsider art.  

Also for sale on ETSY 

I feel that this frame is not photographing well.  The piece in person looks really unusual because it has specks of real gold leafing on it. I find it very pretty.   The pieces that stand out and are lighter are actually gold leaf.  Here's another shot.  (below) 

https://www.etsy.com/listing/474363435/kolene-spicher-original-mermaid-painting?ref=listing-shop-header-2

Thanks for looking today! 

ENJOY. 

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Kolene Spicher Original Mermaid Circus Painting - an UPDATE from 10/01/14

The Noblest 

of 

Art is that of making 

Others Happy! 

If you look at Oct 1, 2014, you will see a very different version of this painting 

So this morning, I got thinking about this painting.  I've had it for a while.  I decided that the painting (not this one but the first version of this one THAT I JUST FIXED) looked really FLAT.  It lacked what I call POP.  So, I sat down on the floor and began the process of tearing it apart.  It was time-consuming to fix but well worth it!  The first thing I did was replace the frame.  I had a really nice gold leafed one tucked away and decided that if it made this painting feel "happy" it might be worth the extra effort to fix it.  I began by painting a drape.  

The drape had to be blue because it compliments the frame. 

Next I added a stripped flag.  Remember, I wanted things to POP. 

Thirdly, I added a saying in the water "If you are Smiling, I've succeeded." 

This painting is so happy now.  It makes me want to keep it.  You know, sometimes when things aren't the way they should be, you have to take the extra time to fix them.  Ask someone to do the parts that you don't like.  For instance, I had my son Ian tear the picture apart.  I hate removing the framers points.  

Recently, I received some bad news, I said to myself, what can I change about the way I am looking at this that is making me unhappy??  I decided that I need to switch my focus.  So I am focusing on making others happy.  Like life, No painting is perfect.  But sometimes if you add something colorful and intricate, it takes your eye and focus away from what is flat and, forgive this word, dead.  That is what I am doing, focusing on something different!  My perspective has changed and I can't wait to see who I make happy (through this painting). 

Finally, I painted the HULL black.  Wow, that really brought it together. 

This was the way it WAS.  What a difference! 

Finally, I wouldn't be telling the whole story if I didn't mention that the saying on the flag came from the circus man, himself,  P. T. Barnum. I think it would make him happy to know that I felt this painting needed some of his wisdom.

Enjoy! 

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19th Century Reproduction Antique American Folk Art Child's Portrait

Lizzy

The Silver Spoon

She Was Barely One! 

She loves anything that moves and makes noise
hence the bird!  

This is a portrait of a little girl.  Actually, this is my niece and I will be giving this as a first birthday gift!  She is the most amazingly beautiful little gift and I couldn't wait to illustrate her likeness. 

She was Barely One! 

Everyone loves polka dots and this girl's personality can carry off Red like no other!  Full of fun and smiles, she is the best little baby! 

Why did I give her a silver spoon.  Well, this part is sort of tongue in cheek.  She's blessed.  She has so many people that adore her and she was so very wanted.  Everyone is happy to see her ALL THE TIME. But mostly the reason for the silver spoon is her incredible love for eating.  I have never seen a baby get so excited when she saw a jar of baby food.  She is in love with eating! 

This one's a gift from me! 

Thanks for looking!  Have a great day! 

Check out my Etsy store KOLENESPICHER.  Right now I have a miniature portrait for sale: 

The little round one! 

Enjoy the snow! 

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Portrait of a boy

Living with American Folk Art 

Charles Wm. Poor 

My very first large painting 

Let's face it, in life you end up with some stuff that you want to keep but don't know where you want to keep it.  You keep shifting it around…This painting is an example of that!   I happened to have a real love for American Folk Art.  I got it honestly, too.  My mother was an avid collector of New England Antiques.  

Back to this portrait~the story goes like this.  In my attempt to make this look really authentic, I distressed the canvas to achieve a 'stretcher mark.'  Well, the customer that had ordered it didn't want the stretcher mark, so I had to paint another.  This was back in the late 80s, early 90s.  This painting is about 25 years old.   

My customer had great taste and had been influenced by a lady that many antiques people still remember today--Nina Fletcher Little.  This portrait (the real deal) was in her collection.  Back then it sold for like $250,000 (that's a guess, maybe it was half that, but it was still a lot of money).  That is why folk art that is reproduction is appealing.  If you want that look, you can have it and for a fraction of the money.  

As I said, this portrait over the years has been moved all over my house.  I never thought to hang it over my bed until just recently when I decided to pick up some new Flannel bedding.  Now I have some new nail holes to add to my others :(  

To me, this just 'works'. 

I really love how the golds pick up the golds in the painting.  To get the photo colors correct, I had to sort of add red which turned my wall cover more purple.  But, you get the idea.  

I think antiques will always go with today's styles.  You just have to be determined to give it a try~you have to be willing to 'live with them.' 

On the left side of the bedroom, I have these two pictures below.  The wall is a little bare, to tell you the truth, but I like how it all looks and goes together. 

Blue Birds (with more of that gold)
I have already blogged about this one. 

This painting was one that was sold to Nantuckeet Country

I like how this looks, especially, in front of the old dresser with the ivory key holes.   The flow blue dishes were bought years ago.  If you look around, you can find them today very underpriced.   Love the stone fruit!  Live with what you love, love what you have (dust it), and give what you can (to the needy).  That way, we all have some cool stuff.  That's my motto!  

Enjoy!

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