NEW Seasons of the Soul print!

As I was putting the finishing touches on the painting for a new Seasons of the Soul print, I realized that it has been 25 years since the original version of the print was published. Wow!  That was kind of shocking!  So much has happened!  

During that time, over 4,400 of the lithographs have been purchased.   But perhaps the most interesting thing is how Seasons of the Soul has taken on a life of its own.  I am not quite sure how to describe it but people find their own stories within the narrative of the symbols. 

I will never forget the woman who was grieving the tragic death of her son.   She contacted me about purchasing a Seasons of the Soul print, after she had seen it in a therapist’s office.  She said she just wanted to stare at it.  I was so very deeply touched.  I thought about how one goes through cycles when grieving.  Cycles that repeat like the seasons…

The figure symbols that make up this artwork originated as individual doodles scattered throughout the pages of a sketchbook during a time of personal crisis.  It wasn't until sometime later that I noticed the doodles when I flipped through the sketchbook.  They seemed to be connected, so I drew them in a line and was amazed to see a visual story reveal itself. At the time, there were only ten figures, instead of the eleven that make up the finished piece.  Somehow I knew that the visual story was incomplete.  There needed to be at least one more figure... I had no idea what that figure would be.  The other figures had come to me without forethought.  After some time had past, I had almost given up on getting another insight.  And then it happened.  I was watching the television series, Fame, (this was the '80s, y'all).  There was a scene where Debbie Allen was rehearsing alone in a studio and dancing her heart out.  As she started across the floor, she struck a pose that instantly crystalized in my mind's eye.  That was it!

detail from
Seasons of the Soul
©1990

So I drew the figure and then added it to the end of the line of others and it completed the cycle!  My next challenge would be to find the perfect background...  After much experimentation, I ended up with a sky with clouds moving toward the golden sun.

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Seasons of the Soul
©1990 Stephanie E. Robinson

©2015 Stephanie E. Robinson
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watercolor and ink on paper
image size:  11 x 11 inches


Seasons of the Soul
25th anniversary edition

My plan is to produce a guided meditation cd to accompany the hand signed print.

Detail from
25th anniversary edition
Seasons of the Soul

CATS!

People love their cats every bit as much as people love their dogs.

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This painting was commissioned to give as a gift.  The cat on the left is no longer living but was loved and cherished.  There were only two photos of the cat to be found and they were not good for reference for a pet portrait.  So I had to think outside the box.



If you are interested in viewing my portfolio of pet portraits, click here:

petfriendportraits.com

Family Woods

This watercolor painting was commissioned by a friend I have known since elementary school.  She contacted me a few months ago to ask me if I would be interested in making a special painting for her mother's 80th birthday.  She said the family would be gathering at the beach in August for a big celebration (all 80 of them!).  

watercolor
image size: 16 x 20 inches
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She requested a mountain scene with groups of trees to represent the 3 daughters, the 17 grandchildren, and the 10 great grandchildren.  I sent her a photo of a drawing of the layout for the painting for her approval.

She liked the drawing and asked if I would add an inscription to the rock in the foreground.  The hawk soaring in the distance was my idea.

As I was adding the finishing touches to the painting, I got a message from her asking if I would add another tree to the great grandchildren group to represent the newest addition to the family!

Once the painting was finished, I took it to my printer to have a high resolution scan made so that after she presents the painting to her mother, family members can order a fine art print of the painting for a special keepsake.

Then I packed up the painting and shipped it to her.  

Earth Spirit

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original graphite drawing
image size:  14 x 17 inches


$175


Earth Spirit

It has been several years since I created the first drawing of this series... Each time one is sold, I consider it a challenge to come up with a new version.  This is my latest version.


"Treat the earth well; it was not given to you by your parents, it was loaned to you by your children.  We do not inherit the earth from our Ancestors.  We borrow it from our children."
                    ~ancient Native American proverb

Turtle Trio

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 original watercolor
image size: 6 x 13 inches


 $195

SOLD

This little watercolor was inspired by one of my many trips out to the Eno River.

"I've known rivers;
  I've known rivers ancient as the world
    and older than the blood of human blood
     in human veins.
  My soul has grown deep like the rivers."                  

                                                     ~Langston Hughes

                                                  

3 DOGS

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image size:  16 x 12-1/2 inches


Dozer, Marty, and Jake

This is a watercolor painting for commission.  The client requested that a reproduction be made which I am having professionally printed.  The print will be virtually identical to the original and printed on 100% rag cotton paper (very similar to the watercolor paper which the original is painted on) with fade resistant archival inks.  I will mat and frame them both.  The client plans to gift one of them to his daughter who is the owner of the English bulldog.

Before I began the painting I created a detailed drawing from the photograph the client provided.

DASH the chiweenie

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image size: 9-1/2 x 11-1/2 inches

DASH

This is a watercolor done from a photograph.  One of the most important things to keep in mind when working from photos is to try to capture the personality of the pet.   I don't want to end up with a painting that looks like a photograph or looks like I tried to copy a photograph.  The personality is there and it is my job to let it shine through!

Before I begin the painting, I do a detailed drawing from the photograph.  This is an essential part of the process.  It helps me identify contours and shadows when I begin the painting.

more art coming soon...

WINTER ART SHOW & SALE

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watercolor and mixed media
image size: 15 x 30 inches


STREAMS OF LIFE
NORTH CAROLINA'S
40,000 miles of
creeks and rivers

STREAMS OF LIFE is now available as a fine art print. The prints are made using archival fade resistant inks on acid free paper and each is hand signed by the artist.  Price: $75 each (unframed).  Framing is available.  For purchasing information, please email me:  sots11@hotmail.com     

 

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detail

more art coming soon...

WINTER ART SHOW & SALE

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wall sculpture in 3 separate pieces
mixed media and found objects
size: 11 x 36 inches

$695



Eye of the Cave

more art coming soon...

WINTER ART SHOW & SALE

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acrylic with mixed media on board

framed - 17-1/4" x 21-1/4"

$275

Heart Chakra

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watercolor

image size:  approx. 11" x 11"

matted and framed (w/glass)
17-1/4 x 17-1/2 inches

$275

Treasure Beneath My Feet

more art coming soon...

WINTER ART SHOW & SALE

click on image to enlarge
mixed media with watercolor
image size: 14 x 14 inches
framed size: 22 x 22 inches
black mat with brushed metal frame (antique bronze)
& glass

$295


Duality

more art coming soon...

WINTER ART SHOW & SALE

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mixed media with watercolor
framed size:  9-1/4 x 9-1/4 inches
$140
OPEN HEARTS

Open Hearts is a numbered series of mixed media works that I started making as a personal response to the tragic events of 9/11.

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more art coming soon...

WINTER ART SHOW & SALE 2014

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image size:  8 x 6 inches
framed size: 12 x 11 inches
watercolor and guache
$225

Winter Memories
in an
antique frame

more art coming soon...

'Tis the SEASON OF THE SOUL...

 Recently I was contacted by a woman who lives in California.  She told me that she had something that belongs to me...

About twenty or so years ago, I was vacationing in Provincetown, MA, a small tourist town at the tip of Cape Cod. I was on cloud nine because a gift shop there (Womencrafts) had just accepted my Seasons of the Soul prints to sell. I had left some prints with the clerk to show the store owner.  Someone from the store called me at the b and b I was staying to give me the good news.  I remember running down the street to the store like Forrest Gump!  When I got to the shop and walked in the door, the clerk was just handing a customer one of my prints that had just sold!  This account would turn out to be a phenomenal sales source for me over the next several years.

Back to the story... A woman who was staying at the same b and b offered to help try to find me a store to sell them on the west coast.  She was from California.  When I got back home, I packed up some prints and shipped them to her.  She wasn't able to find a store.  I remember her contacting me to say she was moving and she was leaving the prints with a friend.  After that I lost track of the prints and chalked them up as a lost cause.  

It turns out, the friend with whom she left my prints, passed away back in 1997.  A friend of hers ended up with them and when recently, she was cleaning out some old things, she came across them and looked me up on the internet.

I was so touched that she had kept them safe and secure all these years.  When I mentioned the cost of shipping them, she offered to pay for the shipping, saying it was something she wanted to do.  She said she had one of the Seasons of the Soul prints hanging in her home and had enjoyed it for many years.

The packages were delivered today.  Two large boxes containing fifty prints in mailing tubes and eight matted and shrink wrapped.  The box with the eight matted ones was the original box I had shipped them in.  I could see my handwriting on it.  I opened it and pulled out one of the matted prints that I had last touched over twenty years ago.  It was kind of like opening a time capsule.  I can't believe I sent so many prints!  I must have been out of my mind with optimism!  And to think they would have been returned to me more than two decades  later in the same condition I sent them out...

But since Seasons of the Soul has taken on a life of its own over the years, it gets some of the credit in this story.  And I want to share the love with a special offer for the holidays for those who like to share the print as a meaningful gift.

'Tis the SEASON OF THE SOUL 

SPECIAL OFFER

25% OFF!!!

Hand signed SEASONS OF THE SOUL prints

$30 

(regularly $40 each)

 free shipping within the continental US

shipped in mailing tube

sale ends Dec. 12th

click on image to enlarge
Seasons of the Soul
image size:  29 x 7 inches approx.

Contact me for purchase information.   My email:

sots11@hotmail.com

I use paypal for online purchases.

Please let me know if you prefer another method of payment.

PET'S EYES PORTRAITS

Over the past several weeks since I announced the beginning of the new series, I have been trying to figure out how to come up with an offering for those who wish to have a watercolor portrait done of their pet's eyes.  

My neighbor Bob, who owns Isabel, helped me to see how powerful the image of the eyes of the beloved pet can be to the owner of that pet.

I had shown Bob the first pet's eyes painting of my sweet cat, Boo.  I mentioned my interest in doing a painting of Isabel's beautiful eyes.  He indicated a desire to purchase it when it was finished.  So when it was done, I took a photo of it and emailed it to him while he was at work. His response was "I love this.  Has your artwork ever made anyone cry before?  Because it happened just now.  Those are the eyes I imprinted on 12 years ago, and now I know I will always have them... you captured something that doesn't come across in photos.  Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful.  You are the new trend in animal portraiture!"

I matted and framed the painting for him.

click on image to enlarge

framed size: 13 x 20 inches approx.

For those who are interested in having a Pet's Eyes Portrait of their beloved pet, the cost is $275 matted and framed.  The cost for the painting unframed is $195 (matting included).

Shipping is free within the continental US.  One of the key factors in creating a successful pet's eyes portrait is providing me with a good high resolution photo of the pet's eyes.  Please allow 3 to 4 weeks for completion.

A Dog Named River

Recently I received a request to do a drawing by a vet tech who works for a local veterinarian.  The vet had taken in a dog that had serious heath issues.  The vet adopted the dog and gave it the special care it needed to survive.  When the dog did finally pass away, the people who work at the office took up a collection to have a drawing made of the beloved pet.

"River"
image size: 9 x 11 inches

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Callie's Eyes

watercolor

image size: 6-1/2 x 13 inches


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 Callie is a sweet dog whose owners I do not know, but they were kind enough to let me photograph her for my series.

I am still in need of good photographs of pet's faces so I can continue my series...  Photographs made at high resolution and in natural light (but not direct sunlight) are what I am looking for.  Also, I need the pet to be looking directly at the camera (or whoever is taking the photo) so I can get the image of looking directly into the eyes of the animal.

Thanks everyone for your help!