My Creative Year in Review

Here we are again; at the end of another year. I’m so grateful for 2015 and all of the blessings in our lives. 2015 was a great year for my fine art website and my art ed website. I sold art, hosted paint paint parties, created new art ed. resources, traveled and participated in some fun events that inspired me. Here’s a review of my creative year in pictures.

In February, I had the pleasure of participating in a Drum Circle at the Latibah Collard Greens Museum. It was fantastic!

We released a brand new art resource that introduces young artists to great African-American artists.

In May, I enjoyed painting at a wonderful poetry reading at the Indian Trail Cultural Arts Center.

This summer we visited Asheville, NC and drove through the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. I love beautiful landscapes

In the fall, I was blessed to finally visit the Dr. Martin Luther King monument in our nations capitol.

I also enjoyed participating in a special event at the Harvey Gantt Center with some amazing artists and authors.

I love the ocean and had to chance to take this beautiful picture while celebrating my best friend’s birthday in Cancun, MX. The ocean inspires the use of blue in my artwork.

Finally, I had the pleasure of hosting some great paint parties this year. My sister helped me facilitate many of them. The participants were outstanding.

This year was fantastic and I look forward to an even better year in 2016. Have a blessed holiday season and prosperous new year!

 

 

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3 Inspiring Artists

A couple  weeks I noticed a tree changing colors and I was reminded that fall was almost here. Today, the lower temperature reminded me that fall is officially here. But I don’t mind. We had a wonderful summer and fall is an inspirational season. It’s been a long time since I posted because there have been so many events occurring in my personal life. From moving into a new home to traveling to saying goodbye to those we love, life has been busy. Since I’m finally getting back to writing a new post, I wanted to share three amazing artists that inspire me.

1. Tiffany Brooks is an amazing interior designer who creates beautiful spaces for her clients. Her ability to breath life into dull interior spaces is spectacular.
2. Tamara Natalie Madden is a phenomenal visual artist who creates inspiring works of art that feature beautiful portraits. Tamara is also a prolific photographer.
3. Osnat Tzadok one if the most successful artists I know about. Her abstract art is fantastic.

Make sure to visit all of these amazing artists websites.

New Year, New Party

Happy New Year! Happy African-American History Month! It’s been a while since I’ve posted anything. So here are a few updates.

1. I had a chance to go to the Guggenheim for my birthday this past December. It was fantastic. There was a beautiful abstract exhibition on display which made me very happy.

2. I designed some original Valentine’s Day cards. Click on the link below to see one.

http://www.zazzle.com/my_heart_is_yours_greeting_card-137918141782666275

3. I wrote a new book!!!! YAY!!!!  I am having a virtual book release party to celebrate my new art book entitled Great African-American Artists Coloring & Activity Book. The book highlights talented African-American artists such as Jacob Lawrence, Elizabeth Catlett and Jean-Michel Basquiat.  Make sure to stop by my website and bring a friend. Have a great rest of the week!

Charlotte Book Fair Highlights

This past Saturday, I was invited to be a vendor/presenter at the Charlotte Book Fair held at the Little Rock AME cultural center. It was a beautiful sunny day and perfect weather for the event.

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There were a diverse group of presenters and performers. My favorite performers included a group of active 55+ drummers from the McCrorey YMCA and an inspirational interpretive dance from Oneaka Mack, founder of the Oneaka dance Company.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New Yorks Times best-selling author, Omar Tyree did a presentation about literacy while a Buffalo Soldier of the U.S. 10th Calvary  told captivating stories about his amazing experiences serving the United States.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The vendors at the event were diverse and interesting. I was fortunate to sit between two talented and kind authors. Tia Capers is a children’s book author while Ruth King is a meditation teacher and leader. I also met the talented and sweet designer and owner of Burkinabe Designs,  Eemi, who had a table full of handmade, eye-catching accessories.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a fantastic day of community, culture and education. I want to give special thanks to my beautiful friend Emiene Wright, who allowed me to participate in this wonderful event. Make sure to click on each participants name to visit their websites and learn more about their great products/information.

 

Beautiful Crown Book Launch Highlights

Last Saturday was an awesome day. We celebrated the release of my new book Beautiful Crown at The Last Word bookstore. Words cannot express how grateful I am for the support and love that I received both in person and on-line. While the video below gives you an overall idea about how fun the party was; I wanted to share a few extra special highlights.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was so blessed to find out that the event was featured in a local magazine called Creative Loafing. A good friend of mine, who writes for the magazine connected me with one of the editors. I submitted the info for the event thinking that it would only be highlighted on the website.  It was so exciting to see my actual picture in the magazine.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Several of our friends bought their beautiful babies to the party. They are so cute.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was blessed to meet two fellow authors who came to support the book launch. Psychotherapist, Gigi Hamilton-Butler wrote a book about marriage. She was so sweet and supportive. Professional cosmetologist, Yesenia Hernandez also attended the launch and blessed me with a copy of her fantastic book/workbook entitled The Book of Natural Hair Questions & Answers. Her personality is warm and inviting.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here is a picture of  my sweet mother (in the blue blouse). She extended her visit with us so that she could attend the book launch. My handsome husband took a lot of pictures. Our friend Tony also took a lot of pictures which are also shown in the video below. Make sure to visit www.aliciamcdanielfineart.com to order your copy today.

Today is the Big Day!

Today is the big day as we celebrate the release of my new book Beautiful Crown. I want you to come to the party. If you live in the Charlotte, NC metro area, then meet me today at The Last Word Bookstore from 3-5 p.m. If you do not, then go to the virtual party on my website: http://www.aliciamcdanielfineart.com. Bring a friend with you. See you at the party.

International Feature

With just one more to week to go before the celebration of Beautiful Crown, we are busy and excited. Even though there is yet a lot to do for the party, I wanted to stop by and do a quick post about some great news. One of the art activities from our art education website is being featured today on the international blog, http://lesamisdebeauforddelaney.blogspot.fr . This blog is dedicated to sharing about the life of talented painter, Beauford Delaney. Our Beauford Delaney Crossword Activity is being highlighted in the post. We are so thankful to the author of the blog, Monique Wells, for sharing this activity with her audience. Click on the links to learn more. Have a great weekend!

Beautiful Crown Book Launch Party

I’m so excited about my new book entitled Beautiful Crown. The journey to create this book began almost 20 years ago when I wrote a poem about the beauty of naturally textured hair. Throughout the years, I created many different versions of natural hair illustrations and paintings. I finally began a series of natural hair paintings that really compliment the words of the poem. Beautiful Crown is an inspirational book about the beauty of the different textures of hair. As a women who loves her naturally kinky hair, this book is very near and dear to my heart.

To celebrate the release of this book, we are going to have a party on September 13, 2014. What’s even more exciting about the party is that we are partnering with Hair 180 and Chocolate Covered Delights. Hair 180 is a company that sells amazing natural hair care products while Chocolate Covered Delights specializes in creating gourmet desserts. Make sure to visit http://www.aliciamcdanielfineart.com to RSVP for the party and to order your copy. 

Also visit: http://www.hair180.net and http://www.chocolatecovereddelights.com 

#booklaunchparty #artbook #Unity #AliciaMcDanielFineArt

Merci………….. Part Trois (3)

In this final installment about our trip to Paris, I’ll let the photos do most of the talking.

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking at a picture of the Eiffel Tower does not do it justice. It is an amazing structure that is best seen in person.

 

     

 

 

 

 

 

Paris has so many beautiful historical buildings and monuments. The stained glass windows in the Notre Dame Cathedral and Sacre Coeur are exquisite.

    

 

 

 

 

 

One of the best things about Paris is the metro system. We bought a 5 day pass which took us all over Paris. It was so exciting to walk out of train station to discover a famous landmark or area.

 

    

 

 

 

 

I LOVE FRENCH FRIES and CROISSANTS and I ate them everyday.Visiting Paris was one of the best experiences I’ve had so far. I’m so thankful that we were blessed to experience this wonderful city.

 

Merci…………… Part Deux (2)

Even though I’m back to my everyday routine, I’m still basking in the afterglow of my trip to Paris. My main focus for the trip was to visit some of the major museums. Of course the Louvre was my first stop. When we first walked up the stairs from the train station to the outside of the Louvre, I was ecstatic. First of all, it is a beautiful and massive. Secondly, it exceeded my expectations. Of course my first goal was to see the Mona Lisa. Once we got into the museum, we made our way to see her. There were so many people crowded around the portrait, that I had to be a little aggressive in order to get to the front. There is a gate that won’t allow you to get to close to the painting. I took the photo with my phone so it came out a little fuzzy. Meanwhile, My husband learned that he really likes classical Greek sculpture.

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

We also visited the Musee D’Orsay. This museum is housed in a beautiful renovated train station.  There was a great exhibition featuring Van Gogh. They also had a replica of the Statue of Liberty and a beautiful view of the Seine river from the inside of the  large clock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last museum we had the opportunity to visit was the Musee Rodin. There was a beautiful exhibit of Rodin’s sculpture juxtaposed with Robert Mapplethorpe photographs. The Rodin Museum is divided into three different in-door facilities and several out-door sculpture gardens.

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the best investments that we made was to purchase a 2-Day Museum Pass. The pass covers admission for over 60 museums and historical sites. It also allowed us to move to the front of the line at all of the museums; this especially came in handy at the Louvre, which had ridiculously long lines. Stay tuned for my next post about our amazing adventure in Paris.