Welcome to my artist’s blog! I invite you to jump into the usually playful, occasionally painful, deep end of art-making, with me.
I publish a few times a month, sometimes more. My topics are of particular interest to other artists and photographers, collectors, and journalists … but of course, everyone is welcome.
Pick a post below, or subscribe to my RSS Feed.
🎨🍷 Kunst und Wein gehören zusammen! Die Künstlerin Marlene Breitenstein stellt ihre Originalgemälde und limitierten Drucke von Kunstwerken und Fotografien aus. Das offene Atelier findet zeitgleich mit einem Weinfest im Dorf statt. Details >>
🎨🍷 Art and wine go together! Artist Marlene Breitenstein’s original paintings, and limited edition prints of both artwork and photography, will be on display. The open studio coincides with a wine festival in the village. Details >>
🎉 Marlene Breitenstien wins Landscape Nominee in the 10th Annual Fine Art Photography Awards, with a series of the Sexten Dolomites mountains. Check out the five gorgeous photos! Prints available.
But what is it? Multidisciplinary artist Marlene Breitenstein’s photograph—which causes quite a bit of confusion—is selected for inclusion in Wonder, a virtual juried exhibit at Colorado’s Center for Fine Art Photography. Read on for more information.
Win a print! My Artist’s Vision. A celebrity and an artist inspiration. Becoming the artist I always wanted. A muse-poem. Three articles on pastels.
During this process of unlocking myself as an artist, I wrote the following joyous plea to myself. In it, I remember how good it felt to be a creative child, and to be spellbound by both seeing and creating art.
Artist Tip! Did you know you can collect pastel dust and broken bits, and easily re-form sticks with it? Here’s a quick DIY guide on how to make pastel sticks from broken pastels.
This short poem, Memento, was inspired by something remarkable. Written in response to a creative writing prompt—anything in 50 words, using the term “gossamer”—I include the back-story, too.
A no-nonsense, straightforward guide to working safely with soft (chalk) pastels. I cut through conflicting information, draw on safety data from several pastel brands, and offer an inexpensive, highly effective solution for airborne pastel dust.
In my fourth set of experiments with painting over fine art photographs, I had fun applying pastels to layers of gesso, textured in interesting ways with a heat gun. Learn about the process and my key takeaways.
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I support social media that’s independent of the big dogs.
Okay, since you actually clicked on this, and I’m a bit of an ambassador for things I believe in, I’ll explain:
Mastodon is the most engaging, refreshing social media I’ve experienced. It is a social network based on a non-profit, ad-free model, designed to allow the user fine control over what they choose to see and who they interact with, while retaining full data ownership. It may be smaller, but that’s actually a benefit!
Glass is an image-focused social network, designed by and for photographers, using a subscription-based model, which also provides full user and data control.
Sometimes in the Washington, DC area.
Sometimes I’m traveling elsewhere.
Otherwise I’m near Landau in der Pfalz, in the Südliche Weinstrasse (Southern Wine Route) region of Germany, characterized by endless vineyards, and bordered by mountains covered with fairy-tale forests. France is 25 minutes away.
