Join us for First Friday in Littleton, featuring Abbey Giedraitis
Whimsical Wilderness
2590 W Main St
03.01.2024, 6-9pm
Meet Abbey
As long as I can remember, I’ve had an obsession with creating. By the time I was in high school, I knew I wanted to pursue art in college! My biggest inspirations for my work are nature, travel, and motherhood.
Being a Colorado native has given me so much opportunity for majestic landscape artwork! I also love capturing other scenic places in my heart such as Arizona, California and Florida. Along with painting landscapes, I enjoy creating illustrations depicting my motherhood journey. I received my Bachelor of Arts in Fine Arts at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Since then, I’ve become a stay-at-home mother of two while creating artwork and running an online art print shop!
Artist Statement
I am a mixed-media artist, primarily painting with watercolor along with acrylics, creating nature-inspired artwork to bring the beauty of the outdoors indoors. My work reflects places, seasons, and experiences that have brought me peace and gratefulness. Being a Colorado native, I have been blessed with the mountains and the wildlife within them my entire life. Now being married to my husband from Arizona, I have become obsessed with the desert and how much unexpected life and color it has shown me. I love to use vibrant color palettes in my work to emphasize all the colors that make up even the simplest shadows or textures. I also enjoy finishing my paintings off with a bit of flare and magic by adding textures from colored pencils, splattered paint speckles, and even sometimes salt!
Learn more about Abbey Giedraitis in our Q+A!
How did your business come to exist?
During the pandemic, I had time to get my paints out and start creating artwork again, since my son was no longer a baby and I am a stay-at-home mother. Since then, I opened up a Catholic art Etsy shop, and this past year I was interested in getting back to making non-religious art. Now I can have both to share!
What is your biggest challenge?
My biggest challenge I’ve chosen to work on this year is embracing failure as a learning experience. I needed to be ok with making bad art, and knowing we all do it, along with overcoming artist block! I found solutions on how to become inspired again. I now choose to look at the art that I am unhappy with and still take something from it to better my next project!
What is the best piece of advice that you ever received?
The best advice I have ever received was from my friend who was already a mother of 3, while I was deep into being a first-time-mother and newly stay-at-home mom… she said “you can’t fill from an empty cup.” I didn’t realize how important it was as a mother to keep yourself a priority, and for me that means carving out time to paint or enjoy a glass of red wine with my gal pals!
What is your dream project?
My dream project is to write and illustrate a children’s book!!!!
Where do you find inspiration?
I find inspiration in travel, seeing life through the eyes of my kids and what they are amazed by, and the seasons of the year - how it changes the mood and colors around me.
If you had a choice between two superpowers, being invisible or flying, which would you choose??
Flying! Way cheaper to get around!
Get in touch with Abbey Giedraitis
Website: https://www.etsy.com/shop/AbbeyGiedraitisArt
Instagram: https://instagram.com/abbeygiedraitis.art
If you are a local artist/crafter/maker/indie business owner and would like to be featured on our blog, please fill out this form or contact Ashley at ashley@westandmainhomes.com with questions...we can't wait to learn all about you!
