Blog — nature
Can you smell it? Introducing my olfactory artwork collection!
Darya Karenski aromatic plants flowers fragrance fragrant plants gardening gift giving gifts home inspiration nature olfactory painting perfume scent small business watercolor
Fragrant flowers, perfume notes, fragrance art - oh my! I'm so excited about all of this. Great smelling things are my passion. I have been meaning to dive into perfume art for a while. It actually, started a few years back when I created my Aromatherapy design and lots of its derivatives. By the way, you can find the main Aromatherapy print as a silk scarf and kitchen towel in the shop, as well as wall art. Back then, I made an elaborate list of all things fragrant including flowers, fruits, nuts and... moved on to my pattern design work and what...
Let's talk about true inspiration
Darya Karenski antique artist life flowers gift giving gifts inspiration nature painting postal art postal stamps silk scarf slow fashion slow living staying true to yourself sustainability vintage watercolor
I'll tell you a little secret dream of mine: I would really love to illustrate a stamp. I sent my submission over exactly a year ago to USPS (United States Postal Service) art commission and even received a reply from Washington DC that they'd put me on the list. Even though it seems virtually impossible, I'm not losing hope! I draw a lot of inspiration from snail mail (and "the old ways" in general!), vintage ephemera and botanical illustration. I have combined all these things in my Postal Reminiscence design. (It had been completed a couple years before I submitted my art to USPS!) It took a...
Rural Living Inspiration
Darya Karenski cozy home everyday gardening home inspiration memories nature roots shabby chic slow living
Another important aspect of Rural Living for me is my childhood. I have always been a city girl but every summer my parents took me to my grandmother's house in the south of Russia where life just seemed to slow down. That house was a time capsule with linens from the 50s, vintage perfumes, vinyl records and vintage wallpaper. All those things fascinated me. I helped in the garden and did lots of household work including sewing, cooking and cleaning. It wasn't all fun and glamour - oh not at all! Forget the dishwasher and other modern day wonders. But...
Rural Living art collection launch
Darya Karenski artist life cozy home everyday gardening home mindfulness nature New England painting slow living watercolor
As I'm preparing for my very first original watercolor art collection drop, I wanted to share some inspiration behind this creation. What does Rural Living mean to me? And why did I choose it as my very first original art collection? Is it the cottagecore trend? Not really. It's that my life IS rural and New England countryside plays a huge role in my creative flow. Long walks in nature are my meditation and recharging process. Seasonal changes spark my creativity and influence my working process - always. I have a flower garden that I started from scratch and I...