Still Life with Red Orchids

Still Life with Red Orchids
Original 18" x 24" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

Today's painting is a still life with the red orchids that my lovely daughters picked up for me for my birthday a couple of weeks ago. The colors are so vibrant that I felt compelled to paint them!

Quote of the Day
"If you concentrate on finding whatever is good in every situation, you will discover that your life will suddenly be filled with gratitude, a feeling that nurtures the soul." --Rabbi Harold Kushner

Today's Paintings 5.29.09

Having Gratitude
Original 30" x 40" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

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Moonrise on the Bay
Original 24" x 30" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

Today's work includes two new abstract compositions. Having Gratitude is healthy reminder to me that our time here is finite, and that I need to appreciate and be thankful for the things in my life. Moonrise on the Bay is a more realistic abstract piece celebrating beauty and our connection with all things. We are all part of the world we live in--there is no separation between the observer and the observed.

Quote of the Day
"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom." --Marcel Proust

Quaking Aspens - Winter Park, CO II

Quaking Aspens - Winter Park, Colorado II
Original 24" x 30" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

Today's painting is from a composition I did several years ago. I was at my husband's cousin's wedding near Winter Park a few years ago during the height of the fall colors, and the aspen trees were stunning.

Quote of the Day
"Deep down you must know that you are capable of being peace." --Thich Nhat Hanh

Commission Work 5.26.09

Yellow Tulips in Mid-Day Sun (Commission)
Original 54" x 36" 0.75" painting
Three 18" x 36" canvases
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

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First Dibs (Commission)
Original 36" x 36" x 0.75" painting
Two 18" x 36" canvases
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

These are two commissions I've done in the past few days. Yellow Tulips is a new original from my portfolio. First Dibs is an abstract composition that I created this year, and which a patron who's bought several of my paintings asked me to create as a new original diptych.

Quote of the Day
"Endure and persist; this pain will turn to good by and by." --Ovid

Spay and Neuter Your Pets!

My daughter Emily and three foster kittens

I'd like to take this opportunity to implore everyone to spay and neuter their pets. As many people know there are literally thousands of cats, dogs, and other animals surrendered at animal shelters every year--most of whom are put down because of ill health, a lack of space, and the resources to care for them.

My family and I do volunteer work at the Table Mountain Animal Center in Golden, CO to try and do our part for the animals there. TMAC is a non-profit shelter that provides services to stray, abandoned, and otherwise unfortunate animals in need in northern Jefferson County, CO. We foster cats and dogs to help them acclimate to living with humans prior to their being adopted.

Please take care of your animals by not allowing them to reproduce in a world that is already severely overpopulated with unwanted domestic animals. I also encourage each of you to seek out and support your local animal shelter in any way you can--be it monetary, or the gift of your time.

Thank you.

Patty Baker and Family

Monument Valley Sunset

Monument Valley Sunset
Original 24" x 36" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

My final post in the Memorial Day celebration includes my depiction of Monument Valley on the Utah-Arizona border. Monument Valley is on the Navajo Nation within the Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. This iconic landscape has been depicted in many feature films and photographs. My family and I had the privilege of traveling through there on our southwest odyssey two years ago.

Quote of the Day
"Walk on a rainbow trail; walk on a trail of song, and all about you will be beauty. There is a way out of every dark mist, over a rainbow trail." --Navajo Song

El Santuario de Chimayo

El Santuario de Chimayo
Original 24" x 36" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

Today's archival piece celebrates El Santuario de Chimayo in Chimayo, New Mexico. The chapel was built between 1814 and 1816 where, as legend has it, a crucifix was found buried in the soil in 1810 by Don Bernardo Abeyta, a member of the Penetente Society (Hermandad de Nuestro Padre Jesus el Nazareno). After three attempts led by Fr. Sebastian Alvarez to remove the buried crucifix and place it behind the alter at the Catholic churce in Santa Cruz, where each time the crucifix disappeared only to be found again at the Chimayo site, the chapel was built on that location. The larger, current shrine was built in 1816, after the site grew in popularity due to the miraculous healings that were purported to take place at the site.

El Santuario de Chimayo, photo by Ed Taylor

Legend has it that the soil in El Posito, the "little well" near the main altar, has curative powers. The adjoining Prayer Room contains photos, shrines, and testimonials of the cured, along with discarded crutches and other orthopedic aids that were no longer required.

For more information on El Santuario de Chimayo, please visit the following sites:

Wikipedia
Archdiocese of Santa Fe

Quote of the Day
"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle. The other is as though everything is a miracle." --Albert Einstein

Hudson River from Olana

Hudson River from Olana
Original 30" x 40" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

As we celebrate the Memorial Day weekend, I wanted to post some paintings from the archives that celebrate our great nation. This piece depicts the Catskill mountains from Olana, the estate of Frederic Church, of the Hudson River School of painters, located in upstate New York. The Hudson River School flourished between the mid-1830s and the mid-1870s. Its subject matter is often landscapes from the Hudson River valley, the Catskills, the Adirondacks, and the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

Church's Home at Olana State Historic Site

Church designed the landscape and his Persian style home on and around the same hilltop where, as an eighteen year old student, he sketched spectacular views of the Catskills and the river alongside his mentor Thomas Cole.

Visit the Olana web site at: www.olana.org.

Photo of Church home and portions of this post are courtesy of the Olana State Historic Site web site.

Quote of the Day
"Life has got a habit of not standing hitched. You got to ride it like you find it. You got to change with it. If a day goes by that don't change some of your old notions for new ones, that is just about like trying to milk a dead cow." --Woody Guthrie

Pink Blossoms and Spring Meadow II

Pink Blossoms and Spring Meadow II
Original 30" x 40" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

This painting is the latest in the Pink Blossoms and Spring Meadow series. The first in the series sold on the first day it was listed, which is always a pleasant outcome. This edition is larger than the first from the series, and includes more defined flowers in the foreground.

Tip of the Day
"Patience is the mark of true love." --Thich Nhat Hanh

Today's Paintings 5.20.09

Still Life with Lilacs
Original 14" x 18" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

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Oriental Blossoms (Commission)
Original 48" x 30" x 0.75" painting
Two 24" x 30" canvases
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery wrapped canvas

Today's work included Still Life with Lilacs, and a commission from the Oriental Blossoms series. Not a day goes by that I don't feel grateful for being able to support my family doing something I love to do.

Quote of the Day
"They always say that time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself." --Andy Warhol

Today's Paintings 5.19.09

Pink Blossoms and Spring Meadow
Original 18" x 24" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

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Honey Locust and Blue Sky
Original 18" x 24" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

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Oriental Blossoms X
Original 18" x 24" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

Today's work includes two new compositions: Pink Blossoms and Spring Meadow, and Honey Locust and Blue Sky, as well as the newest edition in the Oriental Blossoms series.

Quote of the Day
"You cannot find yourself by going into the past. You can find yourself by coming into the present." --Eckhart Tolle

Today's Paintings 5.18.09

Back Road Through Prairie Grass, East of the Rockies
Original 24" x 36" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

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Twisted Apple Tree with Pink Blossoms VIII
Original 24" x 36" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

Today's work includes a new composition featuring a big sky, Back Road Through Prairie Grass, East of the Rockies, and the latest edition in the Twisted Apple Tree with Pink Blossoms series.

Quote of the Day
"The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them." --Ernest Hemingway

Today's Paintings 5.15.09

Utah Sunrise - Manti La Sal National Forest VIII
Original 60" x 40" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

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Hudson River from Poet's Walk VI
Original 30" x 40" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

Today's work includes the newest editions in the Utah Sunrise and Hudson River from Poet's Walk series. I just sold the previous two editions of Utah Sunrise, and a commission of Poet's Walk for a patron buying a gift for her daughter's college graduation. I continue to have new commission work, and appreciate my patrons' business.

Tip of the Day
If you're going to make a business of selling your art you'll need to do some research on what the market is looking for, and what prices it will bear. Let's face it--in this market, if people are making choices between paying the mortgage and buying a painting the mortgage will win every time. So what's the solution? Working hard, smart, and having faith that you can make it happen.

Quote of the Day
"The greatest gift you can give to somebody is your own personal development. I used to say, 'If you will take care of me, I will take care of you.' Now I say, 'I will take care of me for you, if you will take care of you for me.'" --Jim Rohn

Today's Paintings 5.13.09

Still Life with Sunflowers
Original 30" x 40" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

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Spring Path II
Original 24" x 36" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

Today's work includes a new still life composition and the newest edition in the Spring Path series. My husband gave me the beautiful sunflowers for Mother's Day that I used in the still life, and I wanted to paint them before they started to fade. My lovely girls gave me some orchids that I want to paint too.

Tip of the Day
Increase your exposure by optimizing your listings and web site with key words and key word phrases. Search engines catalog your web site and in some cases your listings on sales venues by the key words and key word phrases you use. The title line of your home page, as well as the first paragraph or so of text are what they generally pick up on to catalog your site, so be sure to include your name and the type of art you're selling in your title and in the initial content of your home page or blog. Sales venues such as Etsy have documentation on how your listings are cataloged by search engines. Don't miss this valuable opportunity to get the word out about what you do!

Quote of the Day
"I claim to be a simple individual liable to err like any other fellow mortal. I own, however, that I have humility enough to confess my errors and to retrace my steps." --Mahatma Gandhi

Back Road Through Rolling Hills

Back Road Through Rolling Hills
Original 30" x 40" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

Today's work includes a new abstract decorative composition Back Road Through Rolling Hills. I like the flow of this piece, and enjoy working with the earth tone palette. I see a new series in my future.

Tip of the Day
Certificates of authenticity are a good way to establish credibility for your art, and for private collectors they are documentation that proves they've bought the real deal from a real artist. The format is secondary, but be sure to include your name, the title, dimensions, materials used, and a photo of the piece itself.

Quote of the Day
"The happiest people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have." --Ari Berstein

Today's Paintings 5.7.09

Spring Cherry Blossoms
Original 24" x 36" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

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Abstract Poppies IV
Original 24" x 36" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

Today's paintings include a new composition, Spring Cherry Blossoms, and the newest painting in the Abstract Poppies series. The cherry tree in my back yard is almost in full bloom, and I can't wait until it really pops. It's been getting quite warm here lately. My husband had to put his brush and palette down to mow the lawn today. He's learning a lot and three of his paintings have already sold! I'm grateful that we have this opportunity to work together--we really compliment each other, and work well together.

Tip of the Day
Advertising--how do you know what's working? How do you track it? Google Analytics is recommended by Etsy, and I started using it a few months ago to get more information on traffic to my web site, blog, and Etsy store, including numbers, sources, etc. The site is easy to use, they generate the code you need to plug into your web site, blog, etc.

Quote of the Day
"When your mind is simply trapped by the image out there so that you never make the reference to yourself, you have misread the image." --Joseph Campbell

Eastern Shore, Hudson River

Eastern Shore, Hudson River
Original 30" x 40" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

Today's work includes a painting depicting my native land of New York. I spent my teenage years in the Hudson River Valley, and loved to go down by the river and look west at the Catskill mountains. For me, this painting is a little slice of home.

Tip of the Day
Include business cards with your artwork when you ship it to your patrons. They may have friends or acquaintances that may be interested in buying your work too. My business cards include my email address, web site and blog URLs.

Quote of the Day
"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent." --Calvin Coolidge

Today's Paintings 5.5.09

Poppies on Yellow VII
Original 72" x 30" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

Close-up of canvas 2, Poppies on Yellow VII

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Poppies on Blue Sky XII
Original 30" x 40" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

Today's work includes two new paintings in two of my Poppies series. I included a close-up of one of the canvases in the triptych to show the "fat" paint on the poppies. It adds some relief to the composition, and my patrons really love that.

Tip of the Day
Marketing your work online has many facets. Whether you're putting your work up on your own web site, blogging, or selling on a specific venue, keywords and keyword phrases are what identifies you and and your work for search engines. Do some research on Google or other search engines for how to best utilize keywords in your online presence.

Quote of the Day
"I know you've heard it a thousand times before. But it's true - hard work pays off. If you want to be good, you have to practice, practice, practice. If you don't love something, then don't do it." --Ray Bradbury

Today's Paintings 5.4.09

Oriental Blossoms IX
Original 66" x 28" x 0.75" painting
Three 22" x 28" canvases
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery wrapped canvas

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Spring Sunrise V
Original 24" x 36" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

Today's work includes two new originals from my signature series Oriental Blossoms and Spring Sunrise. The Blossoms series has been doing well for me, and Spring Sunrise V has a sister painting that I did as a commission for a client.

Tip of the Day
Archive photos of your work. Regardless of the medium you work in, and whether you have a web site, blog, or use a web site for hosting your portfolio, keep copies of the photos of your work. This is your real portfolio. Your resume in the art world. If you work in 2D media you may want to consider investing in a digital camera that captures images in the RAW format, which is supposed to render true colors. You can convert these to high resolution TIFF images, which you can use for print reproductions of your work.

Quote of the Day
"Internal and external are ultimately one. When you no longer perceive the world as hostile, there is no more fear, and when there is no more fear, you think, speak and act differently. Love and compassion arise, and they affect the world." --Eckhart Tolle

Flower Garden Against a Yellow Sky

Flower Garden Against a Yellow Sky (Commission)
Original 48" x 64" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

Today's work was on a large commission from my signature composition Flower Garden Against a Yellow Sky. This patron requested a commission of the second painting in this series (see May 1 blog entry), only much larger. Given the size of the painting, he requested that I send it rolled.

Another patron bought a small painting (16" x 20") from one of my sales venues today, and also requested that I send it rolled. She will be shipping it to her home country, Lebanon, and wanted to reduce her shipping costs. I am always happy to accommodate special requests from my patrons.

Announcement
I've done a breakout of the topics to be covered in each of the four two-hour sessions of my workshop Selling Your Artwork Online. You can view the topic breakout by session on my web site.

Quote of the Day
"In a time of anger or despair, even if we feel overwhelmed, our love is still there. Our capacity to communicate, to forgive, to be compassionate is still there. You have to believe this. We are more than our anger, we are more than our suffering. We must recognize that we do have within us the capacity to love, to understand, to be compassionate, always." --Thich Nhat Hanh

Note
A dear friend died today, someone who fought and won against his own personal struggles, and who gave selflessly to others to help them rebuild their lives from the inside out. Jon Marsh--thank you for all you have done.

Autumn Path Commission

Autumn Path (Commission)
Original 72" x 36" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

Today's post includes the completed version of the Autumn Path commission for my Canadian patron. She approved the Autumn Aspens piece, so I'm on to my next commission--a 64" x 48" version of my Flower Garden Against a Yellow Sky series, shown below.

Flower Garden Against a Yellow Sky II
Original 36" x 24" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

We're expecting cool rainy weather over the weekend here in Golden, so I'm going to put on some tea, play some Joni Mitchell, Iris Dement, and Rolling Stones, and get some painting done!

Quote of the Day
"I find hope in the darkest of days, and focus in the brightest. I do not judge the universe." --Dalai Lama