Etsy Seller Feature & Giveaway: Kirameku

Today we have a really great etsy shop feature and giveaway!  Maxime is truly one of the sweetest etsy shop owner's I have met.  She has been super busy with college and exams and still found the time to create a special art piece just for this giveaway!  Also, she has generously offered our readers a 10% discount for her etsy shop - just use the code: AUFEMININ.  She is so talented and I'm really excited about sharing her talent with you!  I love her watercolor artwork and my favorite is definitely Revised Columbine - in love with that one!  Check out how to enter the giveaway below and enjoy!


A little bit about Maxime: My name is Maxime Pagé and I am the proud owner of Kirameku, nice to meet you all! :D I am situated in the city of Montreal, in Quebec, Canada and I have a wonderful shop full of colors and sparkling pieces! I sell handmade jewelry and original artworks.

When did you start creating?  I started drawing as far as I can remember and the creative aspect of it somehow it translated in a lot of what I do, from decoration to cooking, you name it! I started to take concentration classes 6 years ago and have two degrees in my domain, one in Fine Art and one, now completed, in Illustration and Design. My mediums are very wide, I can paint with any medium and do digital illustration. Along my favorites mediums, you will find graphite, watercolor and acrylic paint. I have explored many venues in the last ten years and I am always seeking out new approaches and new medium to widen my knowledge and abilities. I am in love with anything colorful and archival! :D I spend about 8 to 35 hours on a piece, depending on the theme and size, so I want to make sure it will last a long time! :D I usually choose my mediums on the type of effects that I want to create in a piece or the deadlines I have to meet.

What is the most time consuming part of your art?  I would say that the most consuming part of my work in not to actually do the research and all the thumbnails development, but to make all the color variations samples to achieve the color palette that will depict as closely as possible the feeling I want to translate in my work. And after that you have the actual coloring, which in my case is thin layers of paint added one after the other. So first thing I know, ten hours just went by and I barely start to see my volumes appearing. But let me tell you that it is so worth it! :D

Where do you create?  I create mostly in my small atelier at home, surrounded by tons of references book and a hard drive packed with inspiration from all around the world to study the compositions and coloring techniques from different cultures. There I have my precious drawing table and mabef easel.

Do you have any advice on how you have made your business grow?  My piece of advice to painters that are beginning would be to keep reading on their medium and favorite artists. The technical aspect of your medium is as important, if it is not more, than the practical aspect of it. You will learn so much about colors and conservation and you will be able to make crucial choices in your palette simply because you now know which type of color mix is better or which color is not archival and will disappear within two or three years. You will be amazed on how much it is important! :D

Maxime is giving away this beautiful original watercolor that is named Spring Dream, and it is ink on yupo paper, about 5x7 inches; signed on the back.  

To Enter to win this beautiful watercolor by Maxime:

Just leave a comment below with your email address!

Extra Entries and chances to win (Leave another comment for each additional item for extra chances to win!):

1. Follow this Blog
2. Leave a comment stating your favorite item from Maxime's Etsy Shop
3. Become a follower of Kirameku on Twitter

4.  Become a follower of Maxime's Blog
5. Share this Giveaway on Facebook and Twitter!

You have until Sunday, July 17th to enter to win this giveaway!  Winner will be announced Monday, July 18th so check back!