Today's Paintings 8.25.09

Pasture, Creek, and Stormy Sky
Original 16" x 20" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

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Twisted Apple Tree with Pink Blossoms XII
Original 30" x 40" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

Today's work includes a new composition: Pasture, Creek, and Stormy Sky, as well as the newest edition in the Twisted Apple Tree with Pink Blossoms series.

One of my favorite musical ensembles is The Roches. I've been listening to their music since the 1980s, and was listening to their music yesterday while I was painting. I decided to go to their web site, found an email address to write them, and told them how much I've enjoyed their music over the years. I also told them how much I relate to the stories told in their lyrics, having grown up in a large Catholic family on Long Island.

Lone Cow
Original Acrylic Painting

Well, to my surprise, their mother--who responds to fan email--wrote me back and gave me high praise for my work! I wrote her back and offered to create a painting for them. Again, to my surprise, Suzzy Roche checked out my web site and requested a new edition of my Lone Cow painting!! I can't tell you how thrilled I am that my work will hang in the home of one of my favorite musical artists!

Quote of the Day
"Everyone is good." --The Roches

Late Day Light, Creek, and Storm Clouds

Late Day Light, Creek, and Storm Clouds
Original 48" x 24" x 0.75" commissioned painting
Two 24" x 24" canvases
Golden, Liquitex, and Chroma acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

Today's work includes a commission I did in trade with a patron who's bought several of my paintings. The trade was for some of her beautiful handmade jewelry, available on Etsy (pendredkeller28.etsy.com). This commission is a reproduction of an original done on a single canvas. My patron asked for her commission on two 24" x 24" canvases. I hope to get more of her jewelry again in the future, so I hope she wants more paintings!

Tip of the Day
Marketing artwork you're selling yourself online requires some resourcefulness. Sales venues each have their own methods allowing you to generate more exposure for your work. Your options range from featuring your work on a per-listing basis, featuring several of your pieces through a "showcase" option, email marketing, purchasing ad space on related sites, etc.

Depending on where you sell your work, some research is required to determine what marketing options are available on those sites. Specifics on how to market your work are discussed in our upcoming workshop Selling Your Artwork Online. Please check back for dates, times, and availability for our live and online versions of the workshop.

Quote of the Day
"Be content with what you have; rejoice in the way things are. When you realize there is nothing lacking, the whole world belongs to you." --Lao Tzu

Prairie Creek and Sky VI

Prairie Creek and Sky VI
Original 72" x 36" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Atelier acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

Today's work included the latest in the Prairie Creek and Sky series on three 24" x 36" canvases. This painting's big sister, which I listed on my sales venues two days ago, sold this morning to a patron in New Hampshire who's bought reproductions of my work from artistrising.com. He also expressed interest in a commission (new original) of one of my compositions Red Cows, en route to Rollins Pass, which may be viewed in my online portfolio.

Tip of the Day
One of the issues with shipping your art to patrons is protecting your product during shipping. Let's face it--with shippers using automated equipment to move things along there is some risk involved shipping fragile items whether or not they're marked as "Fragile." I ship my paintings with extra cardboard cut to size against the canvas. Many people use bubble wrap or styrofoam peanuts (a.k.a. "ghost poop"), but those types of packing materials are a cost center too. I use newspaper for packing material. It's inexpensive, and a green alternative to plastic.

Quote of the Day
"Where you stumble, there lies your treasure." --Joseph Campbell

Prairie Creek and Sky V

Prairie Creek and Sky V
Original 88" x 28" x 0.75" painting
Four 22" x 28" canvases
Golden, Liquitex, and Atelier acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

I decided to go large on today's work--a four-canvas edition of my Prairie Creek and Sky series. The series is inspired by wide open spaces found in many parts of the country. Here in Colorado we have so many different kinds of ecosystems in one state: mountains, prairie, desert, and variations in the transitional areas between.

Tip of the Day
Photographing your work can be a time-consuming process, and depending on what you intend to use your photos for the choices you make in processing your photos make a big difference. If you're shooting photos for the web, keep in mind that many people don't have their monitors set for high resolution--so the size of your photos should be taken into consideration. Photos larger than 600 pixels high may require your viewers to do a lot of scrolling to see the entire image.

Also, color depth varies on monitors too, so your images may look great on your monitor and not so great on someone else's. My photos for the web are all 72 dpi. Brightness and contrast make a difference in what the viewer sees too, and since color rendering varies from monitor to monitor it's important that your images are crisp and clear. Since monitors vary so much it's necessary to find a middle ground for images that will work well for most viewers.

Quote of the Day
"There is an art to living life fully and paying attention to the details." --Anne Copeland

Creek in Autumn

Creek in Autumn
Original 22" x 28" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Atelier acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

Today's painting was inspired by photos I took last fall. While I'm anxious for warmer weather, spring and autumn are my favorite seasons to paint. This is a new composition for me, which I hope my patrons enjoy. The soft touch of the clouds and red leaves, and the illusion of space are the challenges I enjoy when creating a painting like this one.

Tip of the Day
One of the first things we discuss in our workshop on selling your art online is defining your goals. Why are you putting your art online? Are you establishing an online presence for your work? Hoping to sell your work online? Do you want to put your portfolio online? Increase your exposure to galleries, publishers, and patrons? It's important that you define your goals for putting your work online, so that you have a clear direction on what it is you hope to achieve, and so you can take the necessary next steps to realize your goals.

Quote of the Day
"Be winged arrows aiming at fulfillment and goal." --Paul Klee

Today's Paintings 4/3/09

Sunrise Poppies VI
Original 18" x 24" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Atelier acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

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Prairie Creek and Blue Sky
Original 30" x 40" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Atelier acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

Today's work features the latest in my Sunrise Poppies and Prairie series. The prairie landscapes feature large expanses of blue or red skies, sometimes with or without the creek. My patrons from all over the US have expressed their interest in the paintings from this series, and I enjoy painting them too.

My husband and I are starting a series of classes on selling your artwork online. There are numerous venues, strategies, and opportunities for artists and craftspersons to sell their work and quit their day jobs, depending on how much time, effort, and diligence you can bring to the table.

Starting next week I'll be featuring a Tip of the Day for how to sell your work online, so stay tuned.

Quote of the day: "Technical skills can be learned by almost anyone who has the determination to pursue it, but innovative ideas and the ability to express them come from some place beyond the material world." --Carole Ann Borges

Today's Paintings 3/14/09

Red Prairie Sky and Creek IV
Original 30" x 40" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Atelier acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

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Asparagus
Original 12" x 36" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Atelier acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

For today's work I decided to paint a variation of the Prairie Sky and Creek series featuring a red sky. There was a quote on the wall in the painting studio at CSU, my alma mater, which stated: "If you can't make it good, make it big. If you can't make it big, make it red." I always loved that quote.

The second painting I did today is on a tall (36") canvas depicting asparagus stalks. I've done quite a few culinary-type paintings over the years. Back in December I had a patron who is a chef purchase several of my smaller pieces depicting fruits and vegetables. These paintings are often displayed in my patrons' kitchens.

Incidentally, I varnish all of my paintings, and mount hanger wire on the back so that they're ready to hang right out of the box--no framing required. Although I have had several patrons who have chosen to frame their pieces. The varnish protects the paint, so if you do hang your painting in a high-humidity environment as kitchens tend to be, the paint is protected from the higher humidity levels or the occasional splatter if you're a little more flamboyant in your cooking style.

Quote of the day: "Art is not what you see, but what you make others see." --Edgar Degas

Today's Paintings 3/12/09

Prairie Creek and Sky IV
Original 24" x 30" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Atelier acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

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Springtime Garden II
Original 24" x 30" x 0.75" painting
Golden, Liquitex, and Atelier acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

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Poppies and Blue Sky IX
Original 54" x 24" 0.75" painting
Three 18" x 24" canvases
Golden, Liquitex, and Atelier acrylics on gallery-wrapped canvas

Today was one of those painting at dawn kind of days. I have been working on commissions for weeks now, as well as painting new pieces to list on my sales venues. Today's paintings are recreations of compositions that do well on my sales venues. The Poppies and Blue Sky series is hot right now.

I have two more commissions in the works right now, and requests for a few more in the works. My job rocks! I love to paint, and have taken on an apprentice (my husband), who up to now has been my back office guy--he does the accounting, computer stuff, and shipping. It'll be interesting to see how that works out. I was thinking the other day that I take things like how to hold a brush for granted.

We're also lined up to teach classes on selling your art online. One of our classes starts next month at Colorado Free University. We're also in the process of developing a webinar to teach how to sell art online. More information is available on my web site.

Quote of the day: "Without atmosphere a painting is nothing." --Rembrandt