artist

Life in miniature

| jennifer barrile

My “Life In Miniature” series is about daily observations, working on a smaller scale with limited color and using recycled material. It was my natural curiosity to utilize the everyday materials I had on hand; these include chipboard, packaging cardboard and watercolor paper.

My small works of art, 15 in total are currently showcased at Off The Wall Gallery @ Dirty Frank’s in Philadelphia alongside 5 very talented artists. The Mid Summer Invitational (A Passion For Painting!) Opening Night is Thursday, August 18th the show will run until October 7, 2022.

The art was inspired by my surroundings, my neighborhood, road trips, and walks in the Wissahickon Park. The smallest painting in my collection measures 1×2 inches.

Working on gesso chipboard, with a raw exposed edge

Manayunk 5″x2″(view from Main Street Post Office) Acrylic paint on recycled cardboard with wood backing.
In my studio preparing the art for display.

Solitude. 4″x2″(Acrylic paint & graphite on recycled packaging cardboard with wood trim, top/bottom edges exposed)

There is something about creating art with recycled materials—and elevating it to something special that just makes me happy.

Thank you for visiting and taking the time to view my art!

** To view the art in person, visit Off The Wall Gallery @ Dirty Frank’s -( NE corner of 13th & Pine) in Philadelphia or view all the works online:

Jennifer Barrile, Life In Miniature, art collection online

I’ve been away from WP and blogging for awhile, but I hope to get back to posting again on a regular basis.

Strange days

| jennifer barrile

Caught in a moment

spiraling

falling

into strange days

(Art inspired by song, Where Is My Mind by the Pixies : cut paper on chip board, marker and ink)

The past few months has been an adjustment for me, my time spent on social media slowed down, and I wasn’t creating blog posts. Making art came to a halt during the beginning of the covid pandemic. Over the Summer months I slowly began to paint again. My weekly family outings, surrounding ourselves in nature was a saving grace.

Forever Summer

Side trip to Slaughter Beach in Delaware, before heading home from Summer vacation. Plenty of shells, rocks and horseshoe crabs wash up on this beach.

(Illustration: watercolor, ink and graphite on watercolor paper. )

My sketchbook also accompanied me on my travels.

On the beach in Ocean City, Maryland

(watercolor sketch book, watercolor markers & ink)

Enjoyed many hot Summer days swimming (and sketching) at Garrison Lake in New Jersey. Beautiful scenic cedar lake with plenty of trees to escape the sun.

(watercolor sketch book, with watercolor pencils and graphite)

As a family we spent time walking, hiking and having picnics in various parks in our area. A favorite place to visit is the Valley Forge National Historic Park in Pennsylvania.

(Valley Forge Park: watercolor markers and graphite )
(Picnic in the park. Watercolor markers on watercolor paper)

And many days spent cloud watching from my deck..

(cloudscape: Acrylic paint on a recycled canvas)

I hope this finds you well, thank you for taking the time to read my post.

Additional information for the places I mentioned in my post:

Valley Forge Park

Ocean City, Maryland

Garrison Lake

Slaughter Beach, DE

Best parks to visit in Philadelphia

Reflection of inspiration

| jennifer barrile

The pursuit.

My favorite pastime is browsing antique shops and thrift stores looking for unique items, especially frames that will inspire a new creation.  During one of my thrifting adventures, I discovered a small golden mirror. The mirror was in great condition and perfectly suited for experimenting. 

 

 

About a week later I finally decided to paint directly onto the mirror. 

 

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 A photograph captured during one of my visits to  Norristown Farm Park,  with family was the inspiration for the mirror. It is always a pleasure to be out in nature, walking the trails and exploring the beautiful surroundings.

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Photograph captured by my daughter using a Canon Rebel T7

My process:

I painted directly onto the lower portion of the mirror using acrylic paint and allowing for the top of mirror to be exposed. Short strokes with thin layers of acrylic paint was the key to painting on this surface.  When completed the artwork was sealed with a clear finish.  

I was pleased with the look and feel of artwork, it was as if this mirror was made for this image. 

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A painting feels that much more special when adorned with a unique frame.

 This little gem made a debut at my recent art exhibit for the month of February and excited to say it has recently sold!  Yay!  Glad the art will be heading off to a new home. 

 

Thank you for visiting! 

 

 

 

One with art

| jennifer barrile

An art play date….

On a sunny November afternoon,  I was gathering with friends for brunch and an excursion to Old City , Philadelphia to visit art galleries. It is always an adventure spending time with a creative bunch of woman, and talented artists.  Inspired by the day, I created art around my observations.

 

One with art. 5×7″ (Ink, graphite, watercolor on cold press paper) Inspired by the Stanek gallery, exhibition Disrupted Realism

 

 

Creative conversations  (watercolor, graphite on cold press paper)

Inspired by the Muse gallery exhibition; Look Me In The Eye, portraits of homelessness

 

 

 

 

Caught my eye. 5×7″ ( acrylic paint, watercolor, graphite on cold press paper)

Outdoor view from inside gallery of The Center for Art in Wood  looking out the window.

 

Don’t forget to check out the wonderful art exhibitions currently on view at the galleries, visit the websites:

A guide to galleries in Old City

The Center for Art in Wood

Muse gallery exhibition;

Stanek gallery, exhibition

Mini adventures

| jennifer barrile

A Saturday afternoon excursion.

I just love mini adventures, a day trip to someplace new.  While visiting a farm with the family in New Jersey, I discovered a wildlife refuge a short distance away. The Edwin B. Forysthe National Wildlife Refuge was a great discovery and well worth the time to stop and check it out.

My family and I spent time walking through the marsh area, we traveled along the boardwalk, observed wildlife and we drove along an 8 mile loop through the wetland.

I created a few small paintings from the photographs I captured on our visit.. Let me take you on a little journey…….

 

 

A walk along the gravel pathway I stopped to observe the lone trees.  I enjoyed the slender shape trunks and bushy foliage of the tree tops. The October sun smiled warmly on us, surrounded by the quiet of nature, while the air danced softly with the tall grass.

(tall grass tall trees. 5×7″ painting on paper: watercolor, acrylic paint on 140 lb coldpress paper)

 

We walked along a gravel pathway that led to a long stretch of boardwalk over the wetland. All was still, the sun sparkled on the water, you could hear the soft chatter of birds and the buzz of insects flying around. Across the the marsh, there was a glimpse of the Atlantic City skyline in the distance.

(My husband & daughter observing the water. painting on paper, acrylic on 140 lb coldpress paper)

 

The best part of this wildlife refuge was an 8 mile loop car ride around the marsh area. The views were stunning, we stopped a few times along the way to take in the sights and climb a look out tower.

(The 8 mile loop, 5×7″ painting on paper: acrylic paint on 140 lb coldpress paper)

 

Photograph: wetlands with Atlantic City skyline in the distance.

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The look out tower with a telescope, magnificent views!

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This was beautiful and peaceful place, I didn’t want to leave!..

 

For more information visit the website:

Edwin B. Forysthe National Wildlife Refuge

800 Great Creek Road
Galloway, New Jersey 08205

Visit anytime of the year, sunrise to sunset:

The seasons of wildlife at the refuge  

Atlantic City, New Jersey

Going to California

| jennifer barrile

Well I’m not going to California but I was encouraged to use the song Going to California by Led Zeppelin as part of my 100 day project..

The song was a recommendation by a fellow Instagram connection. I was inspired by the music and soulful lyrics so I decided to illustrate it.. Thankful for the special song request and the curiosity to give it a try, because this art became one of my favorites on my 100 day journey.

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Mixed media artwork: The figure created with watercolor, pencil, cut paper, (map of California) layered on top of a 5×7″ chip board with acrylic paint

 

You can view my entire collection of 100 Days Of Songs Illustrated on Instagram..

Blog post about my 100 day project

 

(Video & art created by me, song is by Led Zeppelin. )

Six feet under

| jennifer barrile

During the month of August I will be posting some of my favorite illustrations from my participation in The 100 Day Challenge on Instagram

Day 85 of my 100 days of songs illustrated.

Song inspiration: Six Feet Under by Billie Ellish – “Our love is six feet under I can’t help but wonder if our grave was watered by the rain, would roses bloom?..”

 

 

In the video below I am using acrylic paint on 140 lb on cold press paper. If you notice a little difference in the drawing  at this stage, I decided to change up the figure midway through the process because the image wasn’t working for me visually.

 

 

Working with mixed media, here I am adding watercolor to lower portion of artwork.

 

Thank you for taking the time to view my art and process.

 

Previous blog posts about the 100 day project:

Day one

100 illustrations

 

*The artwork shown in the video is my creation, but the song playing in the background is not. Song by Billie Ellish, titled: Six Feet Under.

In the neighborhood

| jennifer barrile

I am everywhere and nowhere..

Creatively speaking I hit a rough patch recently,  I arrived at the point without a desire to create and my attempts to paint went awry.  Refraining from beating myself up over this dry spell (ok I admit to a small temper tantrum), I decided to make an effort to do other things. A brisk walk around the neighborhood is one of my favorite things to do to clear my head.  On occasions I would take time to observe, photographing interesting things  along the way.

One of the images I photographed was an old house in the neighborhood which I have passed many times. I always admired the structure and unique ornate features of the house. This image was the spark to start me off on my little painting adventure.

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Always fascinated with the stories behind the facade but alas the only information I could find on this old house was the date it was built, 1896.

 

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9″x12″  acrylic paint and graphite on wood panel

 

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I’ve been using a sta-wet palette, it helps keep my paints from drying out.

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Painting of the trees

Progression of painting

 

Thanks for stopping by and letting me take you on my little creative journey.

100 Day Finale

| jennifer barrile

100 Day Project 

A little late on the draw posting the images, but I finally completed all 100 days of art this past August.

My theme for this project 100 Days Of Cookie Cat, all cat illustrations were completed on 5×5″ format (140 lb watercolor paper), using a variety of mediums.

You can view the beginning stages of art #1-30 on my previous blog post 

#31-60

 

#69-100

 

Visit @JensImaginings on Instagram to view the collection of 100 Day art or use hashtag: #100DaysOfCookieCat

Thank you for stopping by!