Art Blog for The Inspiration Place

I paint a lot of musicians, musical instruments and include piano music in my art. As a result,  I am always getting asked if I am a musician also. The truth is that although my childhood piano sits in my home and my kids both know how to play multiple instruments, I am not a musician. The music I make is on the canvas. My quick answer is to those asking is that because my kids are both musical, m...

A German friend recently told me that her country calls this time "between the years." I like that idea. After the grandiose Hanukkah and Christmas, we have some days before New Years where we can reflect on the retrospective of the last year and the promise of a new one. It is that build up of time that is considered "between the years." Resolutions, Threats, Promises Since Hanukkah came...

Last weekend, I drove up to see my college daughter perform in her orchestra. Now for those of you who have negative flashbacks to elemetary school orchestra and band concerts where you couldn't tell the difference between the music and the tuning... this was nothing of that sort. My daughter goes to a music conservatory where students are training to perform at the highest level.  Inspiration to...

Do you have a music lover in your house? I have a few! My husband is a record collector, my son plays sax and my daughter is a classical cellist. I am always on the hunt for cool music gifts to give my family and also the music teachers who touch our lives. Whether you are a serious musician or just enjoy it as a hobby, these musically inspired gifts are sure to please. You will find some musical...

watercolor print of Yo Yo Ma for sale on  imagekind in your choice of size and frame.

YO YO Ma at Carnegie Hall by Miriam Schulman, @schulmanArt

Today was one of those special days that I know I will remember for many years. My sixteen year old daughter plays the cello and hopes to train to be a professional cello teacher someday. So, when I found out that cellist Yo-Yo Ma would be playing in New...

from the pages of my art journal

I am not a soccer mom or a dance mom... but I can proudly call myself a music mom. Those who are not music moms, let me fill you in on what music moms have to do. This weekend is a typical weekend for a music mom. Friday night, I took my daughter (this is my music kid) to a concert to hear one of her teachers perform. Although this was a casual performance in a...

Moonlight Sonata, the tree bark is made of piano music

I am not sure when or how exactly this happened but I realized today that I am a classical music nerd. I was sitting in my car listening to the public classical music station when they announced that The Sorcerer's Apprentice was coming up next and I gave a little shout of joy. Most people know that music as the theme in Fantasia with Mickey...

Great gift idea for music lovers-- this one a saxophone!

Men are so hard to shop for but if your man is a music lover then gift giving is easy. These musical gifts were deemed masculine enough by my teenage son and are really awesome as music gifts!  Each cover is embellished with an original aceo sized mixed media collage art or a fine art print. The sides are painted and decorated with musical...

8 Gift Ideas by Miriam Schulman, @schulmanArt

1. Fingerless Gloves with Treble and Bass Clef These gloves are perfect for texting teenagers and also for musicians who may want to play their instruments even when the heat is low. Each pair is masterfully stitched by hand using soft  Fingering Weight 100% Peruvian Highland Wool You can get these through thingsthatclareknit

   Fingerless Gloves with Musical...

Naughty Notes by Miriam Schulman, @schulmanArt

The cellist Peter Seidenberg in concert

My daughter made me go to a faculty concert at her music school. The music was good-- I mean this being New York, the teachers are all seasoned professional musicians ...but me being me, my mind started to drift. First, like an immature school girl I began scribbling notes to my daughter about what I thought of...

Harmonic Herbology
by Miriam Schulman, @SchulmanArt

A Harmony of pale rose pink, dusky blue, burgundy and chartreuse green

When painting abstractly, it can be sometimes harder to arrive at the right colors than when painting more realistically. When painting realistically, I derive my colors from the visual experience often exaggerating what I see with my moods to convey a feeling. In this painting...