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Michael Wurm Jr.

@inspiredbycharm

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Artist, creator, recipe maker.

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Gardening is such a funny thing. A season full of little victories, unexpected disappointments, and plenty of moments when I swear I’m not putting myself through it all again next year. Ha! But then I look at these blooms, all their incredible colors and shapes, and I wonder how I could possibly imagine a summer without them.

There’s something so lovely about bringing a little piece of the garden inside. Filling vases, arranging flowers, finding places for them throughout the house. And even better, having enough to share with others.

So, as this season winds down, I’m feeling especially grateful for every bloom that made its way into a vase, every arrangement that brightened a corner of my home, and every little bundle I was able to pass along to someone else.

Here’s to another beautiful season of dahlias, and hopefully many more to come. taken in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by @inspiredbycharm

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4 days ago

Back to work on my minis!
My goal is to paint 100 of these, and including the five here, I’m officially at 61. So... basically 40 to go. Ha!
Since I use lots of thick, luscious oil paint, they also take FOREVER to dry, which means I really need to get a move on if I want all 100 ready to release as part of my holiday collection.
Good thing I absolutely love painting them. They’re so much fun to make, and I’m loving how this little collection is coming together. taken in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by @inspiredbycharm

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6 days ago

Well, we made it! Day 30. Strada Easel Challenge complete. 🎉

I thought I might do a full-on oil painting today, but I’m still feeling the crunch to get a few more of these minis finished, so I went with a couple of those instead. Plus, I put together a second dahlia arrangement yesterday that was basically begging to be painted.

I used a blue and white transferware pitcher for this one, and I just love how it translated into these little paintings. So good!

Thank you all so much for following along this month, and for all of your comments, likes, and encouragement along the way. It really does mean a lot.

And with that… challenge complete.

Day 30 #stradaeasel
#stradaeaselchallenge taken in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by @inspiredbycharm

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19 days ago

It’s crunch time for my collection of mini oil paintings. They need plenty of time to dry, so it’s kind of now or never. 🤪

I went out to the garden and cut a few dahlias. I’m savoring every second of this season because I know it’s going to be over far too soon. I arranged them in a vase, set up my paints, and added two new minis to the collection.

I really love how these turned out!

Day 29 #stradaeasel
#stradaeaselchallenge taken in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by @inspiredbycharm

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20 days ago

Settling back in after a long and fabulous weekend away so I thought ink and watercolor might be my best approach for the day. It’s hard to believe this challenge and month is coming to an end. Just a couple more days.

Day 28 #stradaeasel
#stradaeaselchallenge taken in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by @inspiredbycharm

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21 days ago

Another little flower study with friends.

Day 27 #stradaeasel
#stradaeaselchallenge taken in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania by @inspiredbycharm

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22 days ago

Spending the day with my Artsy Crew. We did a little exploring this morning, then came back home to do some painting.

I brought along a few arrangements of dahlias from my garden, so naturally, that’s what we painted. I did another timed painting from life today. Just 20 minutes.

Day 26 #stradaeasel
#stradaeaselchallenge taken in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by @inspiredbycharm

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23 days ago

Watercolor with my Artsy Crew! A group of us are spending the weekend together and we did a fun painting challenge today. I snuck in this ink and watercolor of our host’s centerpiece. Fun day!!

Day 25 #stradaeasel
#stradaeaselchallenge by @inspiredbycharm

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24 days ago

The nights are getting colder, but the dahlias are hanging on. 🙌🏻 I know their end is coming soon, so I’m trying to capture them while they are still here. A little ink and watercolor study for today.

Day 24 #stradaeasel
#stradaeaselchallenge taken in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by @inspiredbycharm

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25 days ago

I decided to set up a cute little still life for today. Clementines! 🍊

6x12 oil on board
Day 23 #stradaeasel
#stradaeaselchallenge taken in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by @inspiredbycharm

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a month ago

20 minutes.

I returned to the same still life and the same exercise today, but tried to approach it a little differently. I think I succeeded to some degree, though it’s funny how quickly you can fall back into the things that feel familiar.

Either way, I like where this one landed. There are a few things I like better here than in yesterday’s study, so I’ll take that as progress.

I think it would also be interesting to do one of these and then give myself another 15-20 minutes to do details and refinements. I’ll have to try that!

I used a limited palette of cad yellow light, quin rose, and ultramarine blue. Before I started painting, I also used those colors to premix my secondaries.

Day 22 #stradaeasel
#stradaeaselchallenge taken in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by @inspiredbycharm

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a month ago

20 minutes. I did these studies for weeks two years or so ago and haven’t done them since so I decided why not try again. I’m feeling a bit tight for time this week so a timed exercise seemed to make sense. I only used three colors, plus white. Set a timer for about 20 minutes and go. I love this because there’s no time to think. And overthinking is my biggest downfall. Ha!

I’m feeling a bit rusty with these, but I’ll get back into the flow. Also, I had a horrible glare on my panel that I didn’t notice until I got going. All that said, it’s not too bad. And it sure was fun! I think I will do more and play around with changing the variables: brushes, strokes, how much canvas to cover, colors, etc. See what happens. Should be fun.

There’s a timelapse if you swipe the image above.

Day 21 #stradaeasel
#stradaeaselchallenge taken in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by @inspiredbycharm

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a month ago