"Smoke" Portrait is Done!

I have just finished the portrait of "Smoke" the Korat cat and here it is above. This is done in graphite pencil with the eyes and the background done in colored pencil. To make the whiskers, I use white acrylic paint and a very thin brush. I find it works better than trying to do it with colored pencil or graphite pencil. Another interesting thing I discovered while doing this portrait. I discovered that turpenoid works well with graphite pencil too. I will have to explore this technique a bit further. This is the first time I have tried to mix graphite pencil with turpenoid.

As soon as I get the check in the mail from my client, I will mail this portrait to her.

The Leavenworth Bakery Building & The "Smoke" Portrait

I have been so busy working doing yard work and cleaning out the garage that I haven't really done much art work until this past weekend & today. Pictured above is another piece in the series I am doing on the Bavarian Village of Leavenworth, Washington. This is the Leavenworth bakery building. I wanted this to be more than just a boring picture of another Bavarian shop, so I made it look like it was inside a colorful colidascope.

I have almost completed my portrait of "Smoke" the grey Korat cat. It should be done this week or next at the latest. I will post a picture of it when it is done. My client said she is going to mail me a check for this portrait. I hope to receive this check next week and I am looking forward to that.

A Sudden Change of Plans!

A sudden change of plans! My husband and I decided to postpone our weekend in the Sawtooth Mountains until the first weekend in June. This was due to bad weather everywhere, including Stanley, Idaho, and due to my husband's hectic work schedule. So I will be staying home this Memorial Day weekend, but I don't mind. Mother Nature often decides to be uncooperative around Memorial Day and I would much rather go to Stanley when the sun in shining. I was fortunate to be able to change my hotel reservations to the weekend of June 6-7 because this hotel is usually booked solid throughout the summer.

This new schedule means that my art reception for my accepted piece, 'Autumn at Hidden Lake' at the Art Source Juried Show will be the night before we leave for Stanley, Idaho. That will be a busy night.

I have some good news. After two months of waiting, I finally received a photo from a client in Montana who wants me to do a graphite pencil portrait of her cat, "Smoke." The cat is a grey short-haired cat with green eyes. Funny but the last cat portrait I did which was just a month ago was also a grey cat. Two grey cat portraits in a row. What's up with that? This commission came from the cat show that I did way back in March. I have a list of about five other people from that cat show show that told me they wanted pet portraits but have chosen to wait a few months until they are in a better position to be able to purchase a portrait. I think everyone was broke in March after the long winter and the holidays.

Anyway, I am a bit relieved that I don't have to rush around like crazy tonight preparing last minute things for my vacation. I am well ahead of the game so now I can relax and actually do some artwork!

Marketing Mania!

Things get busier and busier as the day approaches for my weekend vacation to the Sawtooth Mountains in Stanley. (I head out this Friday.) I haven't found any time to sit down and create art because I have been too busy preparing for art shows and doing the marketing end of things. I just delivered six prints to the Rediscovered Bookstore for their art gallery. I also had another pleasant surprise. During my appointment today with my chiropractor, they gave me some money for a print of mine that sold. I have about 3 framed prints of my art that are hanging up in this office and I change them out every now and then.

I recently joined an organization called CIVA, which stand for Christians in the Visual Arts. I just received my membership packet in the mail this week. This organization helps to connect and network with other artists in the country. It also is a resource for artists to market their art to others. The artwork featured generally has a theme related to Christian ethics and teachings with positive and inspirational subject matter. Their vision and purpose is very much in tune with what I do, so I decided to join. They have an art registry that you can post your art on that is used by others who are looking for artists to commission. I plan on becoming a part of that when I get back from my Memorial Day vacation. Their website is www.civa.org

Preparing Art for the Sawtooth Artisan Gift Shop & Art Sales at Rediscovered Bookstore

I have almost completed preparing the artwork & the paperwork that will go into the Sawtooth Artisan's Guild Gift Shop in Stanley. This coming weekend (Memorial Day) is when I and my husband take our annual trip to Stanley, Idaho and the beautiful Sawtooth Mountains, to delivery my art and to take a weekend vacation. I am really looking forward to this being that I don't get out much these days!

My artwork is selling at the Rediscovered Bookstore in Boise! For a long time, the only sales I made was around the Christmas season. Then because of the sluggish economy, I sold nothing at all after Christmas. But this week I got a check in the mail for $44.00 for sales I had made in March and April. This is a good sign that the economy is doing better. My assignment for this week, before I go on my trip to Stanley, Idaho, is to bring in new artwork and replace what has been sold at the Rediscovered Bookstore.

Barbie Dog and the Welcome Center Sign

The above two photos are projects that I have completed in the past few months that I just now got photos of. The top photo is the completed rock animal portrait I did of "Barbie" the cocker spaniel dog. The client wanted Barbie's portrait to include the pink T-shirt that she was wearing. I was very pleased with how it turned out and so was my client.

The bottom photo is the banner that I helped to design for the Vineyard's Welcome Center. The director of the Vine Arts Program at the Vineyard, Jessie Nilo, helped me to design this and then I painted the artwork for this banner. The lettering and the final composition was done using Photoshop and Illustrator some of the Vineyard Church's graphic artists. Jessie Nilo turned it into a large vinyl banner that is used each Sunday morning to welcome newcomers to the church. The original artwork was done in watercolor because it is a fast medium and they needed this sign in a hurry. Sorry I couldn't get a better photo of it. Some day, hopefully this year, I will get a digital camera that will take better pictures and I won't have to rely on my old fashion 35mm film camera.

Summer Art Shows in Eagle & Boise

This week I have been working on finalizing my art show schedule. I applied to be in a series of art shows in Eagle, Idaho, which is just a few miles away from where I live. If I do these shows, I will be exhibiting about once a month from June - August. I may also have a few extra shows at the downtown public market in Boise. I am suppose to be in a program downtown called the "Visiting Artist Program, but the lady in charge of these shows is very difficult to communicate with and doesn't return my phone calls or send out letters to the artists because she says she is too busy. I guess I am suppose to develope ESP skills. So because it is already the middle of May and I haven't heard anything from her yet about this program, I decided to go down to the Saturday public market and I find this woman (because she works there) and make her answer some of my questions. I am not impressed with how this program is being handled at all. My impression is that this "Visiting Artist" program is operating in a state of chaos and that doesn't give me much of a feeling of confidence. I have decided that I will try to arrange one show and if it doesn't work out, I will terminate my association with this program and this art show coordinator until they can get someone who is more competent and actually has time to communicate with the artists.

The other thing I have been working on is painting lots and lots of rock animals--some of which I will personally deliver to the gift shop in Stanley, Idaho. I have posted a photo (above) of this gift shop. (That's me standing in front of it.) I also have to prepare a few prints for this gift shop. I am excited because my trip to the beautiful Sawtooth Mountains in Stanley is only two weeks away! And with our fragile and limited budget and the horrible gas prices, this may be the only vacation I get this year.

I Got Into The Art Source Juried Show!

Well I am a happy camper! I just got word last night that I got accepted into the annual Art Source Juried Show! This show is an international show and is hard to get into. They accept only about 30 entries out of 250 or more, so it is an honor just to be accepted. The piece that got in is "Autumn at Hidden Lake" (above) which is the first in a series of art works I am doing that document my trip to Leavenworth, Washington last October.

The reception will be June 5th at the Art Source Gallery in downtown Boise on Main Street. I will be there with bells on!

Preparing My Art For the Sawtooth Artisan's Gift Shop (and other projects)

My annual trip to Stanley, Idaho takes place this Memorial Day weekend, and I have been busy making Stone Critters rock animals and prints for the Sawtooth Artisan's Gift Shop & Gallery in Stanley. There are only two gift shops in Stanley and this one has been selling my artwork since about 1993. This gift shop is only open from Memorial Day through Labor Day, but I always sell a lot of my art in those few months. This trip is both a vacation and a tax write-off.

This week I have been involved in another home decor project. I am in the midst of adding some decorative punch to my backyard patio. I have added some blue stenciling to my backyard patio, around the windows. The stencil is a bamboo plant with some Japanese characters next to it, which is appropriate because my patio has a kind of Asian theme to it. I also plan to replace my plastic white patio furniture with the wrought iron patio furniture.