Ashley Stuart
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From the Dayton Daily News

7/9/2020

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Artist Ashley Stuart in the Dayton Daily News
What a wonderful reporter to work with. And my heart is filled that I can be so "close" with my hometown community while abroad. A huge thanks to Don Thrasher and the Dayton Daily News for sharing my story and artwork. Much love to you Dayton, always and forever!
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From the In Your Area Newsroom

7/9/2020

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High-fives all-around. The news is apparently out... so exciting! Hopefully this draws more people to find the beauty just outside their doorstep.
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In Your Area Newsroom photo
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From the Peterborough Telegraph

7/9/2020

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Feeling the love from Peterborough Telegraph! Thanks for sharing news about the launch.

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The Just Beyond Pre-Launch Has Started

4/9/2020

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Excitement and nerves are running high as the Just Beyond collection nears the official launch date. The pre-launch has started and collectors have been browsing the shop and virtual exhibition since this morning. The press is releasing the news across the world, literally (EEK!). On Sunday, we are hosting a family-and-close-friends video cheers which will be the perfect way to seal the launch (pic will be posted!).

​This has seriously been such a trip. So much painting. So much learning. So much planning. And above all else, so much fun. Pre-covid I was a stay-at-home mother of two looking for ways to get back into career-life. Now I've launched an online shop showcasing my previously-private works of art. I have a wonderful network that has pushed me through to success. So to all of you, thank you. And to myself, THANK YOU.

If you would like to join the fun, sign up for The Collector where you will instantly receive your early access code plus 10% off.
Join the Fun
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Forest Bathing: Self-Care as Launch Nears

1/9/2020

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The Forest at Nene Park
The trail I walk most often, taken at sunset in Nene Park.
Peeling myself away from my studio is necessary for both self-care and inspiration. But sometimes difficult, especially as a launch nears and the to-do list lingers. Nearly everyday, either with the dog or the entire family, I walk through the forest that surrounds our village. It is an easy place to wander and let the dog off-lead while the kids can run aimlessly. But recently I learned that this act has a name and science behind it. It is called Forest Bathing.

Our nearby forest is dense, green, and  lush. Sounds of birdsong and moving river water intertwine. Horses whinny, children cheer, paddle-boarders glide, roots trip, snails cross (or hang on to an impossibly thin stem), steam trains chug, and vast land suddenly appears through small openings (see Nene Park Trail painting).

​By taking the time to experience these aspects of the forest, I have been unknowingly (at least in my brain, my body is always more clever about these things) partaking in this relaxation method. It's a wonder I'm so attracted to this point in the day as it offers more than I thought! 
Here are some tips:
  • Leave your device behind
  • Slow your pace (and your heart rate)
  • Slow breathing
  • Consider what you see, hear and smell
  • Touch the leaves or bark as you pass

According to Forestry England, this is a Japanese method of relaxation called shinrin yoku. The translation of this term is "Nature therapy". Breathing deeply while taking in nature with all senses and maintaining quiet can de-stress, boost health, and improve wellbeing in both children and adults.

Another benefit of forest bathing is the phytoncides, a chemical produced by trees that aims to ward off disease, unwanted bugs, and so on. When humans come in contact with this chemical, it can boost our immune system and be used as a preventative treatment. 

​If you partake, let me know how you get on!

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Live Q&A on September 7th

31/8/2020

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JOIN ME
Instagram Live Q&A Session

​Monday, September 7th, 2020
6:00pm London / 1:00pm EST
@AshleyStuartArt
Join In

Bring your questions, comments, or simply listen in while I give insight to my process, my next steps, and more.

If you can't join on Monday and wanted to, you can still send me an email and I'll give my best response.
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Create a Virtual Exhibition for Your Artwork

28/8/2020

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Collectors will have the chance to browse the Just Beyond collection in a beautiful and modern virtual exhibition space. By using a computer mouse or keyboard arrows, one can "walk" through the space and view the artwork on the walls. 
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Creating this space was incredibly easy. After hatching the idea to digitally showcase my work in more than just a scrolling gallery page, a simple Google search and follow-on research led me to ArtSteps. This site is an incredible interface that offers templated spaces or a building and design option to customize your space.
I'll be reshooting my artwork this weekend (morning light has beens superb lately) and get my art into the virtual gallery in time for the Collectors-only pre-launch on September 4th. I'm considering one wing for the framed originals and one wing for giclée prints.

​If you build an exhibition, send me the link as I never turn down a gallery visit.
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Just Beyond – Releasing September 6, 2020

26/8/2020

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The new collection Just Beyond, featuring original landscape artworks from England, will be available to the public September 6th on ashley-stuart.com. The exhibition features 10 original watercolor or mixed media paintings and limited edition giclée prints that will be available until December 2020.
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Art was my method of de-stressing during lockdown and I found opportunities to look for inspiration closer to home rather than around the world. “Just Beyond” is the result of my lockdown exploration, featuring UK landscapes nearby my home in Peterborough. I enjoy exploring expansive space viewed from first-person and guiding my viewers towards passageways to somewhere unknown. Each piece aims to be an avenue for nostalgia, while evoking curiosity about what might be just beyond the frame of view. 
 
Using layers of visceral brushstrokes to create a fluid base, I applied watercolor pencil or graphite overtop to create depth, definition, and texture. My work focuses on figurative landscapes that are often devoid of people. With this collection, I hope to encourage viewers to embrace the beauty of life right outside your doorstep.

Viewings of original artwork may be arranged by appointment-only.
Press Release
Artist Bio
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JOIN ME ON INSTAGRAM LIVE
  • Q&A event
  • @AshleyStuartArt
  • September 7th
  • 1pm EST / 6pm London
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Collection Work is Underway

15/8/2020

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The shop is closed as I focus all of my energies into preparing the Just Beyond collection. The shop will re-open on September 4th for The Collectors community only and September 6th for the public. If you would like to be added to the invitation-only private viewing of the latest collection, join The Collector community.
Add Your Name to the Invitation
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#InTheStudio

29/7/2020

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I have been focused on the Just Beyond collection artwork and building my small business. Illustration has been set aside and, oh! how I miss it. When I woke up this morning I decided to squeeze in an hour of sketching. Those sketches turned into macrame plant holders, caught fish on the dock, a reading list, and a zen cup of tea. Using my favorite three colors, I worked as I always do: little to no sketching prior, laying down fields of color, and then giving form and shape with watercolor pencils. After doing some additional iterations, prints of the best will be put into the shop come September.
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The Collector

22/7/2020

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The Collector is my newsletter connecting a community of people that all have one thing in common: an appreciation of art. You'll be part of exciting conversations, see glimpses of works in progress, hear first-hand of new products and studio news, and ultimately, a chance to really connect with me and my artwork. As a token of my appreciation for your subscription, I'm also offering 10% off the first order to those who join. So will you join?
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We are RADIKL

22/7/2020

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Underwater Sunrise, 2020
Recently I joined We Are Radikl, a group that fiercely supports female founders and it has been awesome. I've received guidance (already!) for some business practices and it is really lovely to hear of other women's achievements, struggles, and practices. And one of the best bits, I've met another artist who has graciously offered her advice which is worth more than anything. A huge thank you.

I'm so excited to see where this takes me and my art. Support in anything you try to conquer is required so if you're trying to start something new, dig your heels in and find some help. No shame, only growth.
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The life behind windows

21/7/2020

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Sketch of a hotel building across from my balcony in Honolulu, HI
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Window view in Bath, UK
I have always had an interest what lies behind windows: who lives there? why do they put certain belongings on display? what does this say about them? what do they hope it says? why do some people leave curtains open all night and others leave them closed all day?

My fascination started as a photography project in Charleston, SC. The primary focus was nighttime as the homes façade looked so different with various rooms lit. The project never took off as I really didn't want to walk the fine line between artist and creeper. But my fascination has remained. I've moved to sketches and, more recently, paintings. This sketch is from a trip to Honolulu, Hawai'i. A huge sky-rise hotel was situated across from our balcony and each morning and each evening I would study the life that was on display or wonder about the life that was hidden.

My latest IGTV Monday featured the first painted window – check it out. This was a window from a Georgian home in Bath, UK. It had the loveliest front garden, full of color and life. And my children's shoes on the seat matched the palette.
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Mother and Child Relationship

8/7/2020

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(Flow of consciousness entry) Exploring the qualities of the complex relationship between mother and child, in addition to the self (adult female and mother). My initial thoughts are to create representational shapes of the roles. How do they interact? How do they interpret each other? Maybe think magnets - cycle of repelling and drawing closer, repel, draw, repeat. What shape is a child? What shape is a female or a mother?
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Yesterday I took my children to Nene Park visitor centre where we each bought a drink: two apple juices and a coffee. As the girls played, I sketched the juice and coffee and maybe found my representational shapes: Rectangle and circle.

This morning at the coffee shop, following a call with a dear friend, I explored these shapes briefly. How does a female's body change throughout pregnancy? What shapes is she comprised of? What does it mean when one shape is forced into another shape, only to birth yet another shape? Sketches below.
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In response to a quick sketch exercise created, a friend mentioned 3-D glasses. This has stuck with me as I think through how this relationship would be best described or transcribed or created or... . The layering of two colors, the creation of another color where overlapped is quite representational of this relationship. Cyan and yellow, green? Magenta and yellow, orange? Is magenta associated with female too often? Would blue be too strong or infer different meaning? Could I use ink? Watercolor? Screen print? My brain is completely overflowing right now! More to come.
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Inspired By: louise Bourgeois

7/7/2020

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"Bourgeois uses the spider, both predator (a sinister threat) and protector (an industrious repairer), to symbolise the mother figure." ​
Tate, The Art of Louise Bourgeois, accessed July 8, 2020, https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/louise-bourgeois-2351/art-louise-bourgeois.

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Maman, 1999, Bilboa Spain
I am in the yellow on the right, trying to be brave and touch the sculpture. It didn't work.
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Spider, 1997, Washington DC
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Nearly under Maman, heart pounding.
I first learned of Louise Bourgeois in the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Gardens in Washington, DC. This was in our pre-kids era and we used to go for jazz and sangria on hot summer nights, dipping our toes in the pond. Wandering through the gardens, my intense fear of spiders kept me from one of the most fascinating interpretations of the "mother". It wasn't until I visited the Bilbao Guggenheim that I really felt a connection with these sculptures (still couldn't touch them though) and the artist Louise Bourgeois.

​Quietly exploring her exhibition space along, my husbands rocking our sleeping one year-old, I realized some of my negative feelings and experiences toward "Hollywood" motherhood were being validated in an unexpected and pleasing way. Even now, thinking back, I'm not sure I can put the experience into words; I just remember the experience being quiet and loud, and eerie and comforting, simultaneously. To say the very least, it was unforgettable.
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