Sketchbook

I am excited to announce my very first give away. While I dream of giving away goodie bags loaded with awesomeness, you are just going to have to bear with me and we will start small together.

For my very first give-away your prize will be my oversized wall calendar. This way you get many lovely images (if I do say so myself, and you know I do) and you get something for the new year.

Now for the rules.

First answer this question (in the comments, not just in your head):   If you could own any painting which one would it be and why? If you would post a link that would be even better. Although it won’t help your chances of winning it will make it much more enjoyable for us all .

How this works: I will put the number of comments into a random number generator, whichever number that baby spits out will be the winner (if I can’t figure out how those work then I will have The Man pick a number between 1 and the yet to be seen number of comments, not fancy but it works).  I will then ship the calendar to you.

I will most likely do a top 5 comments as well. You won’t win anything, but it’s an extra way for me to thank you all for participating.

I will start, I would love to be able to look at this Pasini every single day.  It has that quality that just makes me sigh. Everything is in place and it all seems to hum together. Don’t even get me started on the gorgeous spot of teal. In real life it is lovely.

The winner will be announced next Wednesday! Good luck!

(p.s. I’m so excited.)

(p.p.s. Sept. and Nov. will have full size images by next Wednesday)

Why? Because what else are you going to do on a Tuesday.

Just for fun:

Fresh baked chocolate chip cookies in a minute and a half? Sign me up, please.

http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/oatmeal-chocolate-chip-waffle.aspx

Marketing:

http://emptyeasel.com/2007/04/30/7-tips-for-selling-art-online-how-to-help-buyers-find-your-artwork/

(Katie, Sharon, lurking Artists at large, et al ^^^^check this site out^^^^,  on the home page you can submit your art for review, i.e. publicity.)

http://joannemattera.blogspot.com/2009/11/marketing-mondays-youve-been-asked-to.html

Contests:

http://artistsonline.biz/wordpress/?p=61

Art:

http://danidraws.com/2009/11/09/why-i-share/#more-2110 (blog)

http://www.dailypainters.com/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00p4gq5 (So You Think You Can Make Art?)

I am now painting abstract.  While this is not a permanent change, painting abstract images allows me to challenge myself and experiment with out a lot of pressure. It also allows me to offer paintings at a greatly lower price because they are smaller, faster to create, and not my typical style.

In other news I opened an Etsy shop! I am very excited about this and I have been working all day and most of last night on it.  With this shop it will be easier to buy on-line so stop by and say hi!

My friend Kristen asked me for links to blogs I read, so of course, I thought I would post them here for everyone to enjoy. (This is not all inclusive and don’t forget the links that have earned permanent status on the side bar.)

With out further ado and in no particular order:

Ginny Stiles has some pretty good tips and I like to look at her sketchbook pages.

• http://ginnystiles.blogspot.com/

Myrna Wacknov is always trying something new and I love her ideas. It’s fun to watch her process.

• http://myrnawacknov.blogspot.com/

I like the look of Donna Zagotta’s blog and she has interesting things to say.

• http://donnazagotta.com/blog/

I love looking at Errezart’s work. I found this blog on Illustration Friday.

• http://errezart.blogspot.com/

Another blog from Illustration Friday. I really love the illustrations here. They are so simple, yet perfect.

• http://gellatinouslaser.blogspot.com/

A fellow AAART Allumus

• http://www.jasonseilerillustration.blogspot.com/

One more IF discovery.

• http://joebluhm.blogspot.com/

Finally two business blogs:

A recommendation from Sharon of ArtBySAW

• http://www.bootstrappingblog.com/

I don’t remember how I found this one…

• http://ittybiz.com/

Look at me….all fancy. Thanks to Sharon I have a logo! I’m very excited to share this with everyone. Sharon took my handwriting, made it legible and turned out a lovely image. And she did it all with a very quick turn around time.  As soon as I make a bit of money I am going to have her do my blog and twitter background!..So get your  original art work for the holidays now! LOL

Last weekend was so much fun.

I shared a booth with Cheryl Roberts. We quickly found out that we both probably had enough work to fill a booth by ourselves. The weather was perfect and the music was great. I can not wait until next year.  The traveling was tiring, but getting to see my family both during and away from the festival, gave me enough energy to keep going.

I didn’t sell any original painting, but I am less disappointed than I thought I would be. I considered lowering my prices the second day, but I could not bring myself to do it.  Painting is my profession and I have a degree. It’s not a hobby. I do not think my prices were too high for my paintings, just the location. A lot of people haggled or said they couldn’t afford something that was $100.  That’s also why I brought prints and postcards.  If someone loves a painting enough, but they can’t afford it, I want them to be able to enjoy it anyway. It’s also why I offer all of my paintings on any of the products at my cafe press shop.

I handed out all of the business cards that I brought and I received 17 new names for my mailing list.  I also had a lot of great feed back from other artists that came to enjoy the festival. Of course there were some people that balked at the price or made a snide comment here and there, but it was pretty rare and much less than the positive feed back.

Cheryl does a lot of abstract work. I thought we complimented each other pretty well and we didn’t have to worry about competing with each other’s sales because we were so different.
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I can not wait to do the festival again next year. I am thinking about adding two or three more during the summer.

I am currently cataloging all my paintings and I am about to add new images to my American Frame shop. I think before the night is over I will be updating the images on my business cards as well.

Note: Originally posted on 9/17/09 at blog.limitedpalette.com

Here is a look at my business cards.

The back has the painting title, size, and medium. I put a different painting or image of my sketchbook on each card. I did this for a few reasons, one if someone is interested in a painting I can give them the business card with that image so the know why they took the card in the first place, two I have a mini-portfolio on me all the time, and three why wouldn’t I take the opportunity to put my artwork where ever I could. It’s nice to be able to show someone my artwork right away instead of telling them to go online later.

Yes, it’s a simple design, but I like simple and with the images on there anything busier would be distracting. I had to do the template in inDesign and go step by step. I’m very happy with the way everything looks and I can change it whenever I make a new painting.

Note: Originally posted on 7/25/09 at blog.limitedpalette.com

The Fair was a bust. I did not even get the chance to sell anything. It was really windy at first so I had to weight my prints down so they were flat on the table. A lot of people just walked passed. Then Joe’s mom brought me a clear plastic box to stand them up in. This was fortunate because not 10 minutes later rain started pouring down. Luckily there was enough room for all my stuff and Katie and Laura’s stuff as well. Before this I also had to run back to the house and get the key to the cash box that I left in my other pant’s pocket. After the initial downpour I decided to go to the store and pick up some tarps and clamps to attach them to the tent. Literally as we finished one of the fair organizers came over and said there was a much worse storm coming in less than an hour so we should pack it all up. Since everyone else was packing up to leave we did too. We thought there wouldn’t be anyone walking around. Well of course as I was driving back to Laura’s house we hit a huge downpour, that lasted maybe 10 minutes. It didn’t rain the rest of the day. It was quite the adventure and the only thing we could really do was laugh. I was sad that I didn’t even get the chance to sell anything, but it will be a very good memory of a crazy day with my friends.

It’s just one of those days. At least I have lots of prints for the next one and most everything is taken care of.

‘Til the next fair…

Note: Originally posted on 8/18/09 at blog.limitedpalette.com

I framed two paintings and spent most of the day designing business cards. Who knew that it would take 8 hours to design a 3.5 X 2in. card.

One more day before I get to see my dancer painting framed and ready to hang. I am very excited. I hope it fits in the car.

The man of the house finally installed some shelves in my studio. I have been begging and pleading, crying on the bathroom floor patiently waiting for over a year for some shelves.  Getting these beautiful additions to the studio meant I had to spend a little more time rearranging all my junk tools of the trade.

I worked on opening an online store for merchandise that I will unveil very soon. I am just waiting on a sample of one of the products to make sure it is good enough.

I also re-wrote my artist statement and read some more of a fabulous self-marketing book that I will write about once I finish reading.

I did not get to paint at all this weekend. Time went by so fast and I was busy non-stop. I still have so much more to go, but that’s the nice thing about being your own business, there’s always something to do.

I am relishing all of these little things. Making my business cards, while frustrating, was so exciting. Reading about the ways I can market my artwork sparks so many ideas. These are the things that show I am running a business. Painting is only part of the package. These odds and ends that I have to do day to day are the support system and building blocks that surround my artwork. It’s a little like parenthood (I think), yes, you have the baby (or painting) but then you have to feed it, change it, make sure it gets into college, etc. If you really love your baby (artwork) then these things should be at least somewhat of a pleasure because you are nurturing what you really love. Even the tasks that are such a pain (as is matting) give me a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction knowing I am one step closer, I have one more thing checked off my list and I am about to show my stuff to the world (and by world I mean friends and family of my fellow graduates.)

I know one day this excitement will wear off, but right now I am enjoying the newness of it all, the realization of such a big goal. I am at a turning point and it feels good to live in the moment of it all.

Note: Originally posted 7/20/09 at blog.limitedpalette.com

This Too Shall Pass

Explanation: The last few months I have felt the loss of my mom more strongly than I ever have. It’s been a knot in my chest. The depression that has accompanied that has been very difficult to shake.  While I was much more productive the last semester of school than I had been since I was diagnosed with severe depression almost three years ago, many people did not see that. These people focused on the surface. These people do not really know me and they judged me by their own standards and just what was obvious.
Many times when I am depressed people will try to cheer me up and say, “Just do it,” or “Let that stuff go,” “You are only focusing on the negative.” Sometimes while trying to motivate me they will add, “Everyone else can do it, why can’t you?” None of these help. I say things just like that to myself all the time. Being depressed makes me really angry. I just want to work on my paintings and live up to “my full potential.”  When I try to take care of myself, i.e. make sure I get enough sleep, people think I am just being lazy. People think I am just being lazy quite a bit actually. That is the most common judgment.
I chose the bright white light on my should to represent these accusations and judgments. I wanted the light to be harsh, unrelenting, and biased.  I wanted to show that by being in the dark of depression that the harshness of these allegations is painful, a shock to the system, and impossible to accept. I have to pull away from that light because the judgments are not fair and they are being brought on by people who do not understand.
The bare chest is to show vulnerbility.
The shadows represent depression and grief.
The painting as a whole shows these emotions and public reactions to it.
I chose this subject because it has been a huge part of me for the past few months and also because it’s really the only way I can express the depression to other people. I may try to tell someone, if I am close with them, but even then I can not fully explain how I feel. I know that the depression will pass, just as it always has in the passed. Art is nothing if not a way to express one’s self.

Note: This was originally posted on 5/5/09 on blog.limitedpalette.com.  Recently I read a quote by Edward Hopper, “If I could express it in words, I wouldn’t need to paint.” That is exactly how I feel about this painting and the emotion behind it.