The Art of ❉ Jennifer ❉ Lommers ❉

Painting In Process: 24 Pieces of Gold

2012-02-22T08:00:00.016-08:00

Since my debut of "51 Birds" at the Wild Arts Festival in Portland in November, I have been conjuring up all kinds of ideas of how to continue these type of block series paintings.

I love the idea of having a broader homogenous background coupled with an individual object as the focus of each block. And seeing the reactions of arts supporters in Portland (as well as the positive reactions I had with a couple of my smaller precursors on paper, "16 Birds" & "17 Fish" made me realize that other people do too!

"17 Fish"

"16 Birds"

As a result, I am currently in the middle of a fun garden series featuring a drawn image in gold on each block titled "24 Pieces of Gold". For an extra challenge, I am attempting to have a complete floral garden image that can stand on its own before adding the little gold pieces of butterflies, dragonflies, birds, bugs and such... So far I'm LOVING the results, so much so that I had to share a blog post before they are even done!

So.. let's take a look at the progression of this piece thus far.

Step 1: Prep each birch board panel with gesso and tape the edges to prevent the inevitable spill.

Step 2: Draw out the basic composition with India Ink Pens.

Step 3: Add color!

Step 4: Start to work each block individually as a floral piece, but with a landscape in the background.

Step 5: Draw the images to be used as image transfers for the "gold pieces".

Step 6: Create the Image Transfers using photocopies of the drawings and soft gel semi-gloss medium.

Step 7: Apply gold paint to the back of the image transfer, apply more gel to the block where the image will be placed, and press the transfer onto the block. Apply additional gel as needed for secure adhesion or added texture.

Step 8: Paint more gold highlights on the block.

Step 9: Finish with a coat of Polymer Varnish

I LOVE them so far, and look forward to many more similar series: goldfish (as suggested by my clever daughter), coffee cups, woodland animals, more birds of course, fruit, trees, fruit trees... what fun! My goal this year is to finish a series before each show I attend so that I can show off a complete set. I will try to offer the complete sets online briefly before each show to give anyone interested a chance at purchasing the whole thing before I start to sell the blocks individually at a show.

Now - off to FINISH this latest series in progress!

Fundraising Ideas Take Shape

2012-01-13T08:37:00.001-08:00

I have two specific causes I like to support with our local schools - physical activity and music. Being a painter, I wanted to find a way to have my artwork help in some small way fund programs related to these subjects. A couple years ago I painted two paintings specific to a running program at Adams Elementary in Corvallis called, "Adams in Motion", or AIM, and was thrilled to sell the originals (and a few prints & cards) and give the proceeds to this program. This time I'm hoping to create more general paintings themed along running and music that can appeal to a broader audience and make more print sales possible too, providing funding over a longer period of time. In order to create these paintings, however, I need some HELP!

These paintings will be evolving much as the 2011 Corvallis Fall Festival painting, "The Ride Home", where I will have images imbedded into a tree using the technique of image transfer. I've decided to use a slightly different and publicly interactive process for capturing the images this time. I plan to take photos of shoes and band instruments provided by my fans (or fans of Corvallis schools) and include a written first name, location, and possible quote from the person providing the photo. Instead of tracing the photos like I did for The Ride Home, I'll be using Photoshop to manipulate them into a black & white image and then type the text along with it (as shown with my shoe above).

Here's where YOU come in - I need your HELP! I'm hoping to acquire 30-40 images for each of these paintings. If you have a passion for RUNNING, HIKING, WALKING, MUSIC, PUBLIC SCHOOLS (40% of ALL sales including the original art will go to programs in the Corvallis School District), or just would like to be a part of ORIGINAL ART - PLEASE Email Me your image with the information to include in the text of the image or post it to my Facebook page.

And as always - THANK YOU for all your support!

Happy New Year!

2012-01-07T09:44:00.000-08:00

We're only 7 days in, but I'm thoroughly enjoying 2012 thus far and looking forward to creating in the new year! Towards the end of 2011 I had all these plans of posting a wrap-up review of the year, but now that 2012 is upon us and the ideas for new work keep coming, I'm pressing forward. With that in mind, here's what's coming for what I expect to be a productive and positive year ahead!

1) Tubas - yes, you heard me - a tuba painting is in the works! Why, you may ask? Well, we recently became the proud owners of a tuba for my awesome 7th grade band student. He's in his second year of tuba, and we are so happy for this musically inclined kid to have found an instrument that he likes to play. I was a piano player many years ago (and still have the same said piano in our house) and have recently tinkered with guitar playing, so having another musician in the house is such a treat. I'm hoping to have a series of paintings related to various band instruments, starting with our Tuba. I also plan to donate part of the proceeds to our local school music programs. Can't wait to get started!

2) A Running Tree! Last summer as I was traveling for shows I had the opportunity to take the kids with me on an extended trip and go out to the John Day Fossil Beds. We had such a great time,and during our trip found this great big dead-ish looking tree along the main hwy filled with used tennis shoes. Since my son had on his running shoes from the last cross-country season which we were soon to replace for the upcoming season, he decided to add his shoe to the tree. Fun! And since I like to support the local running programs as much as possible, I thought I would commemorate this experience in a painted tree of shoes. (I'm thinking this could lead to bicycles too, as inspired by the bicycle decorated Christmas tree in China I saw online over the holidays.) Again, I plan to donate part of the proceeds to local running programs.

3) More blocks! My "16 Birds", "17 Fish", and "51 Birds" series have been my biggest inspiration coming out of 2011. I have more thoughts coming to me every day on how to create similar series, including woodland animals, poppies, bugs (yes, bugs), butterflies, fruit, coffee cups, more birds, and back to my music and sports themes. I already have a new series prepped for 24 blocks and plan to order more blocks as soon as that one is finished. I'm hoping to have 1 new complete series for every show I attend in 2012 - not sure I can keep up that pace, but we'll see how it goes...

4) A Book of Birds - It's not what you think. I am going on a bird watch, but not out in the wild, but in my paintings. I'm planning to name and classify the birds I find and turn it into a complete book of bird art. This is one of my larger, may take several years, projects, but I'm excited about the concept (inspired by those inquiring Audobon Society folks from my Portland show). What Fun!

5) And those pesky Unfinished ideas that are still milling around in my head...

painted series of Prime Numbers - yes, to my winners of my prime number contest last year, I'm still working on it!
Rocks and Minerals series - I'm planning another trip to the Portland area rock and gem museum to sketch out some abstracted landscape ideas that I had from my first trip there last year from looking at multi-colored the rock slices - so cool!
Image Transfer - I plan to slowly continue a series of image transfer paintings to represent various cities that have some meaning for me. From 2011 I have Edmonds, WA and Corvallis, OR. I'm hoping to add Seattle and Portland to the list this year. I also may use this technique for some of my music and running themed pieces.

Finally - I know I said I wasn't looking back, but some ideas just have moved forward with me into 2012! And, I do want to learn a few things from last year...

Galleries do work for me as a venue when I choose the right ones! Thanks to the good work of the Art Study in Seattle, WA and the Currents Gallery in McMinnville, OR, they have made me realize that I need to be more proactive getting them work and supporting them, and also expand my efforts to 1 or 2 more galleries. I'm already working on adding the Schack Art Center in Everett, WA to that list as they have been a huge supporter of mine over the years and helped me get my start.
Let someone else do the framing! I have always enjoyed painting on paper all the way to the lovely deckled edge. These paintings definitely look best when float framed so that it shows off the entire image and paper. I have also always hated framing them. I have FINALLY come to the conclusion to leave this job to the professionals! There will be a LOT less cursing in my house if I stick to this rule (yea!) So, I'm happy to report I found the perfect local framer to help me out - he does a great job for a reasonable price and can even build my stretchers for me too! If you're in the Corvallis area and need someone to frame your work, let me know and I'll send you his way.
Don't do more shows than I can support - I'll hoping to do a better job preparing in my off-season (Jan/Feb) with surplus inventory so that I can stock a fuller booth over my show season as well as weed out unproductive shows. I had too many shows this past year where I felt like my booth was sparse and missed selling opportunities because I didn't have enough options for my buyesr. Along these lines - I had many people who were looking for my note cards, but I never had enough time/funds to properly keep them stocked. Not in 2012 - I plan to have a full booth every show!
Organize my Print-shop. I moved my print-shop area a couple times over the year and filled it with such clutter during other show-prep times that it was difficult to process and package my prints efficiently. For 2012 I have a whole new set-up and am planning to purchase some shelving next week to help keep in organized.
Buy a new Printer! I plan to purchase a larger format printer during my off-season - so look for larger print as I hit the shows this year. I will then migrate my current printer to full time card production. Yea!
Be more visible. I'm often asked why I'm not a member of various local art groups. I don't think I could have said it any better than when a fellow artist (and art show director) said, "Jennifer's not really a joiner." Yes, it's true. I'm a bit of a solitary person for the most part. This year, however, I'm going to find other ways to become more artistically social - step 1 - dropping in on the local weekly life drawing class! I'm sure this will inspire a whole other line of work to boot!

Well, it's looks like I'm off to an inspired year full of creating. Hooray! I hope 2012 brings you all much inspiration as well. Happy New Year!

SALEs at my Etsy Shop!

2011-12-13T18:31:00.000-08:00

Don't miss the great deals over at my Etsy shop - thru Thursday only! Save on originals, prints, and more! Priority Mail shipping will get your gift to you in plenty of time for the holidays! Can't decide what that special someone would like - how about an Etsy GIFT CERTIFICATE for my shop!

Purchase PayPal Gift Certificates for my ETSY STORE here!

* As of Friday, my Etsy shop will be closed for the holidays, re-opening Jan. 3. *

Painting a Day 2011 - The Wrap up!

2011-12-11T08:23:00.000-08:00

The last of the paintings to go up on ebay... Enjoy!

"Tuning Up"

Acrylic on Canvas

8 x 8 x 1.5 inch

Painting a Day 2011

No 28

Available on eBay

"A Pansy Pair"

Acrylic on Canvas

8 x 8 x 1.5 inch

Painting a Day 2011

No 29

Available on eBay

"Summer Showers"

Acrylic on Canvas

20 x 20 x 1.5 inch

Painting a Day 2011

No 30

Available on eBay

Painting a Day 2011 - Triptych!

2011-12-08T12:26:00.000-08:00

Catching up on my "Painting a Day 2011" event with this peaceful little landscape triptych. Enjoy!

"A Quiet Afternoon" no 1, 2, and 3

Painting a Day 2011

No 25, 26, & 27

available on eBay

December 7, 2011

Painting a Day No 24

2011-12-05T20:26:00.001-08:00

We have a new coffee shop in town - Imagine Coffee. They are very arts oriented and you can often find people drawing, spinning (yarn, that is), and performing in this delightfully cozy little venue just off the main drag of Hwy 34 (aka Philomath Blvd) on the way to the coast in Corvallis, OR. They also have some yummy treats to go with their coffee (in these festive holiday mugs). Today I chose the cherry pie! And to make it an even sweeter deal, they're a not-for-profit! Find out more about their founding in a recent article in the local paper (the Gazette Times) HERE.

I may have to make a weekly habit of this pie still life thing...

Eat up and Enjoy!

"Imagine Cherry Pie"

Acrylic on Canvas

8 x 8 x 1.5 inch

Available on eBay

December 5, 2011

Painting a Day 21, 22, & 23!

2011-12-04T11:51:00.000-08:00

Notes: These paintings were created during the OSU Holiday Marketplace in Corvallis, OR on Dec 2 & 3, 2011. Since I'm behind on my "Painting a Day" promotion I decided to demo and catch-up while at the show.

All 3 paintings will go up on eBay today, December 4, 2011, between 4-7 pm. I hope you enjoy!

Only 7 Paintings to go!

"Looking for Blue Skies"

Acrylic on Canvas

8 x 8 x 1.5 inch

"Immersed No 2"

Acrylic on Canvas

20 x 20 x 1.5 inch

"Dragonfly"

Acrylic on Canvas

8 x 8 x 1.5 inch

Painting a Day 18, 19, & 20!

2011-12-04T11:43:00.001-08:00

"Poppies Along the Pasture"

Acrylic on Canvas

8 x 8 x 1.5 inch

Available on eBay

"PEACE"

Acrylic on Canvas

8 x 8 x 1.5 inch

50% of sale to be donated to the Heartland Humane Society

available on eBay

"Spring Rain"

Acrylic on Canvas

8 x 8 x 1.5 inch

available on eBay

Painting a Day 2011 - No 16 & 17

2011-11-27T08:29:00.001-08:00

Notes from the studio come first today...

Yes, it's true, I've made a squirrel painting. Isn't he cute?! I have always had a soft spot for those little woodland creatures ever since going to the University of Washington and spending my time between classes sitting on a bench and feeding them. At least when I was there, the squirrels expected people to feed them, and would come right up and demand what was rightly theirs. If I was ever having a bad day, they could always cheer me up.

I am also planning a new woodland animal series (similar to "51 birds") and I needed to see if painting a squirrel was something I could do. I now need to practice a bunny, a mouse, and maybe a chipmunk or two.

More notes - I forgot to bring my lights back from the garage (where I unloaded after my show in Portland) to my studio, so I had to move things around a bit to get more light from the window. Unfortunately, that means in the video that the light keeps changing as I move in front of the window. Also, since I had the misfortune of video-taping myself knocking my easel over (not to worry, no canvas was harmed in the act), I thought I would slow down that section of the video for everyone to enjoy! Oops.

Without further ado - here are paintings No 16 & 17 from "Painting a Day 2011". I hope you enjoy!

"Blue Autumn"

Acrylic on Canvas

12 x 24 x 1.5 inch

starting bid: $27.00

available on eBay

"Squirrel Picking Daisies"

Acrylic on Canvas

8 x 8 x 1.5 inch

starting bid: $12.00

available on eBay at 4pm

Nov. 27, 2011

Painting a Day 2011 - No 14 & 15

2011-11-26T21:32:00.001-08:00

"Black, No Cream, No Sugar"

8 x 8 x 1.5 in

Painting a Day 2011

No 14

Available on eBay

"Garden Joy in Red"

20 x 20 x 1.5 in

Painting a Day 2011

No 15

available on eBay

Painting a Day 2011 - No 11, 12, & 13

2011-11-26T16:57:00.000-08:00

"Sunflower Bouquet"

Painting a Day 2011

No 11

Prints available at my

Imagekind shop HERE

"Green Apple"

Painting a Day 2011

No 12

Prints available at my

Imagekind shop HERE

"An Autumn Walk"

Painting a Day 2011

No 13

Prints available at my

Imagekind shop HERE

Painting a Day 2011 - No 8, 9, & 10

2011-11-12T12:17:00.000-08:00

"One Cloudy Day"

Painting a Day 2011

No 10

Gallery Price: $185

Auction Opening Bid: $12

Sunday Nov 13, 2011

on EBAY

"Ode to the Ritual of Morning"

Painting a Day 2011

No 9

Gallery Price: $165

Auction Opening Bid: $12

Thursday Nov 10, 2011

on EBAY

"Dining on Brussel Sprouts"

Painting a Day 2011

No 8

Gallery Price: $400

Auction Opening Bid: $27

Wednesday Nov 9, 2011

on EBAY

Notes from these painting days...

No 8 - I had a beetle crawling on my easel distracting me and had to really work to get brussel sprouts that looked interesting to me, being the first time I've ever painted this yummy (yes, I say yummy, although my kids weren't impressed) vegetable.

No 9 - I had a cold angry bee chasing me in the studio. I was very surprised when I viewed the video that he (or me dancing about wildly) did not get in the demonstration. I eventually coaxed him out the window, as I'm not big on squishing things.

No 10 - After drawing several birds onto blocks for a "50 Birds" painting I'm preparing for a show next weekend I felt like I could use some more practice at painting the actual wing and tail shapes and colors, so decided it was a good time to focus my painting a day on this lovely little, what is supposed to be a, Tanager.

Painting a Day 2011 - No 7

2011-11-09T08:13:00.000-08:00

"Winter Poppies"

Painting a Day 2011

No 7

Gallery Price: $350

Auction Opening Bid: $27

Tuesday Nov 8, 2011

on EBAY

Notes of the day: No time for notes today! Painting, painting, painting...

Painting a Day 2011 - No 6

2011-11-07T15:43:00.000-08:00

"A Gift of Thanks"

Painting a Day 2011

No 5

Gallery Price: $185

Auction Opening Bid: $12

Monday Nov 7, 2011 at 5:30pm PDT

on EBAY

Notes from the Day: It looks like Mondays will be my bouquet inspired day - and what a lovely way to get fresh flowers in my house/studio once a week! I finally figured out (I think) how to strip out the background noise. I'm still working on adding in my own music, but realized I need to record something a little longer (and maybe without so many mistakes!) Maybe tomorrow... In the meantime, I'm still working on loading up a video, but it should be ready by auction time. Thanks for looking and I hope you enjoy!

Painting a Day 2011 - No 5

2011-11-04T13:35:00.000-07:00

"Garden Blue"

Painting a Day 2011

No 5

Gallery Price: $585

Auction Opening Bid: $37

Sunday Nov 6, 2011 at 6:30pm PDT

on EBAY

Notes of the day: I love whimsical garden shapes falling in patterns across a canvas. This painting is not exception! I knew when I decided to paint bigger today that I needed to fall back on my favorite subject matter. I also noticed today that the studio light warms up the image a bit so the colors are actually cooler (as shown in final pic) than in the video. Live and learn, I suppose! And as for the continuing irritating background noise - I'm working on fixing that. I've recorded some piano music for the next video (also played by me). Yea!

Thanks for looking and I hope you enjoy Painting Day 5!

Painting a Day 2011 - No 4

2011-11-03T14:21:00.000-07:00

"Bird and Artichoke"

Painting a Day 2011

No 4

Gallery Price: $185

Auction Opening Bid: $12

Friday Nov 4, 2011 at 6:00pm PDT

on EBAY

Notes of the day: I woke up this morning thinking, "I need to paint a bird on an artichoke!" I have no idea where that came from, although I have been meaning to get a bird painting in the mix and I did notice the artichokes at the store the other day when I was picking out my pears for day 2. Hmmmm, maybe I do know where that idea came from! And now I get to enjoy some yummy artichoke dipped in butter. Too bad nobody else likes it in my family. Lucky me!

On another note - you'll see that the final painting (shown above) has a little more work to it than what was demonstrated. After I stopped the video I realized I wanted to work on the legs of the bird a bit more which caused more peachy-yellow to spill out onto the top left of the painting - oops! I love how it turned out, though, and hope you do too!

Painting a Day 2011 - No 3

2011-11-02T15:53:00.000-07:00

"Autumn Mist"

Painting a Day 2011

No 3

Gallery Price: $165

Auction Opening Bid: $12

Thursday Nov 3, 2011 at 5:00pm PDT

on EBAY

Notes from the day: It was a lovely misty morning as I drove out to the studio today and I couldn't help but abandon my still life plan for a misty tree landscape. It took me quite a few tries and an unexpected scraping method (as you will see in the demo) to get the misty feel I was attempting. I hope you enjoy!

Painting a Day 2011 - No 2

2011-11-01T19:41:00.000-07:00

"Lean on Me"

Painting a Day 2011

No 2

Gallery Price: $185

Auction Opening Bid: $12

Wednesday Nov 2, 2011 at 4:30pm PDT

on EBAY

Of special note on Day 2: In the video, yes I'm painting the sides of the painting and trying to use up left over paint. Also, the pauses are simply from me backing up to take a look at the progress or working on mixing the next color. I'm still trying to get the right angle too, as I'm still getting a glare and my arm is in the way of watching the actual brushstrokes. On the bright side, I should be an expert by the end of the auction though! Thanks for looking and I hope you enjoy "Lean on Me".

Painting a Day 2011 - No 1

2011-10-31T16:41:00.001-07:00

"Sunflower in Blue"

Painting a Day 2011

No 1

Gallery Price: $185

Auction Opening Bid: $12

Tuesday Nov 1, 2011 at 4pm PDT

on EBAY

Painting a Day No1 is complete!

Lessons Learned

1) My iPad only LOOKS like it's videotaping in reverse. (Take a look at the beginning of my Youtube video - yes, that's me actually writing in reverse on the canvas because I was confused - oops!)

2) Write down the steps you take to edit the video in order to repeat the process without re-learning how to do it again!

3) Move the camera and lights to prevent so much glare (thought I had that one fixed during my testing phase, but it definitely could use more work).

4) Using a still life for inspiration on the little paintings seems to help me with my design elements on the smaller canvas size - look for vegetables and coffee cups in small size too!

5) Lesson learned BEFORE today - get the web address correct for your promo before printing up the fliers! FYI - For those of you looking at my flier, please go to the link above (or search seller id: jenlo262) on ebay. OOPS!

I hope you enjoy my inspiration and my painting! Happy Bidding!

4th Annual ORIGINAL Art Auction Begins Nov 1

2011-10-07T10:59:00.000-07:00

My annual Art Auction is back

November 1 thru December 10!

30 ORIGINAL Paintings

painted in 40 days and listed

on EBAY

Every day (except weekends and holidays) I will paint a NEW painting and list it on EBAY the next day. Listings will most likely start between 4 and 7 pm PST. Listings will end Sun - Thurs.

I will attempt to list "the making of" videos or pictures of the daily paintings with each listing as well as on youtube and facebook. The paintings will all be on stretched canvas most sized at 8 x 8 inches with a few 12 x 24 and 3 LARGER 20 x 30 canvases mixed into the auction. Each piece will be made with my usual fine art quality materials and careful consideration despite the faster nature of painting daily! (In general, I usually paint pretty fast.)

I will pack and ship as carefully and quickly as possible, as I realize this is the season of giving. With that in mind, gift wrapping and a personal note can be included at no extra charge - just ask!

Keep updated on the latest paintings by

watching my EBAY LISTINGS
following my updates on FACEBOOK
or on TWITTER

* First painting will be painted on October 31 and listed on November 1 *

Square Review

2011-09-13T08:56:00.000-07:00

As many of you know my trusted CC machine of the past (now on it's 6th year) died right before my Bay Area art show. Bummer! Fortunately for me, the lovely customers of the King's Mountain Art Fair took pity on me and still bought with that good old fashioned method of check and cash - LOVE you King's Mountain fans!

So... with another show coming up the following weekend I needed to decide what to do, and FAST. Since I had been thinking about getting the Square (and had been quizzing fellow artists about theirs all summer long) I decided that there was no time like the present.

I'm not a cell phone user. I have one. It's a PPD phone. I use it rarely. Therefore I couldn't see myself buying a new phone (with a phone/data plan running me a min. of $90 per month). All I really wanted was to be able to run my CC, check emails, and remove originals from my online shop during a show. So I put the savings from NOT getting a monthly phone plan into buying an iPad to run my Square processor and choosing a $20/mo data plan (so that I could process transactions via a cell line when Wifi isn't available).

Must say it - LOVE my new iPad.

One of the cool benefits of using the iPad with the Square is being able to load and track inventory. Not a complex system of doing so, mind you, but I can pre-load prices by product type and even photograph original work and have it listed in my available inventory with the Square. The receipt (which can be emailed/texted to your customer) then has the pic of the item(s) purchased as well. Cool.

Now - to the actual results.

1) Set-up: I bought my iPad on a Wednesday and downloaded the square app that afternoon. I could manually process CC by Friday morning after they ran a test transaction (a debit and credit of a few cents) thru my bank account. I didn't have an apple store near me where I could just pick-up the card reader so I had it mailed to me. Unfortunately it arrived on Monday so I had to manually process my CC over the weekend which comes at a higher % rate and deposit amount limits. Bummer. Oh well, at least I could take CC.

2) Funding: As noted, I manually processed CC over the weekend (meaning punched the numbers into the iPad instead of swiping them - Amex, Visa, MC, Discover - all at the same rate). The weekend transactions were then processed in bulk on Monday and arrived in my bank account on Tuesday. I was relieved to see that the $1000 threshold for manual transactions was actually treated as 2K for the weekend. The remaining funds I will receive in 30 days, per their agreement. (PLEASE NOTE - this is ONLY DUE to the fact I was MANUALLY processing. They do not hold funds for swiped cards, as I understand. I'll test that theory out at the next show, I hope!)

3) Use: Even though I had been very excited to make use of the inventory items I set up on my "shelves", I found that I only actually used the inventory items a few times, and then manually entered the $$ most the time. I think this is just a matter of getting used to using the new system, though, and having the manually enter cards instead of swiping them. I'm hoping to make better use of the inventory system next time. I also found it interesting to be offering email/texted receipts to people. Most customers didn't seem to mind, and some even delighted in the technology. I think this will just become part of the norm at craft shows in the coming years, and soon customers will just begin to expect electronic receipts instead of the paper ones. I also liked that I was emailed for each transaction with the details of the transaction and the total $$ processed accumulatively. I can also run my cash transactions thru the square for my record keeping, which is great too!

Overall
I would give this new system an A.
NO MONTHLY FEES (well, at least LOW monthly fees, as I now have a $20/mo Verizon bill instead of the $25+/month+annual fee of my old CC processor) is a big plus for a seasonal business owner, such as myself, and I like all the added benefits (like now having an iPad when I travel and tracking my sales and inventory electronically). It was easy and fast to set-up and worked exactly as advertised, if not better. I'm all in! Now if I can just keep those kids from using it to play Angry Birds!

In the market for a new CC processor? Check out their website here: SquareUp.com

(And no, they didn't give me anything for this good review!)

Crayons, India Ink, and a little Snorkeling Fun...

2011-08-04T09:10:00.000-07:00

I love to snorkel among the little fishies - especially when the water is warm and I'm surrounded by sun, sand, and palm trees! One of my favorite places to go, even if it is quite touristy, is a little beach on the dry side of the Big Island of Hawaii called Kahalu'u Beach Park. The best part for me is that I don't have to deal with a bunch of surf (unlike my surf lovin' husband - not might forte) and can easily just float around and see a lot of fish and even a few green sea turtles! (Especially if you go early in the day.) The only concerns from my latest trip - a recent tiger shark sighting and nesting Triggerfish (apparently they bite when in this mode). At least a helicopter fly-by confirmed the shark had moved on... but I swear those Triggerfish (aka Humuhumunukunukuāpuaa) were after me!

As long as I was visiting these lovely Hawaiian waters AND I had an outstanding request for a fish painting series, I decided to practice my hand at drawing the little reef dwellers while I was there. With my sketchbook in hand, a guide book for reference, a handy box of 64 Crayola Crayons, my favorite India Ink pen, and No 2 pencil, I went to work! Here's a few of the results. I hope you enjoy - I know I did! (And look for the "16 Fish" series coming very soon)

More Fabric Swatches from Spoonflower

2011-07-14T12:51:00.000-07:00

I admit some of my ideas are a little slower to take shape than others... and this is one of them! While I had visions of getting all kinds of fabric designs loaded onto Spoonflower.com over the winter, it seems art shows and painting have taken precedence. So, for those of you who have been waiting for more fabric - my apologies for the delay!

Now... here's my latest swatches and my thoughts on them.

1) Cherry Blossom with Sparrow fabric

I like the deep rich colors of this one although not as much as my first sparrow design. The size is about right for the sparrow which is a little smaller than the original painting. Overall, I think it will work well and I can post it for sale (HERE).

2) 16 Birds fabric

I wish my swatch covered a larger area so that I can see how well the yellows/greens translated, but I do like the vibrancy of the blue and orange. I was worried about the dark border, but I think it will work well too and will be posted for sale on spoonflower (HERE). I may load up another version, though, with white.

3) Watching the Clouds fabric

Again, my swatch unfortunately fell over an area that's hard to see if the colors worked out well (with only a tiny little pie piece of poppy showing). I do think it needs to be smaller, which I'll adjust and then reload. To see the fabric on Spoonflower you can go HERE.

I remain impressed with their fast service, level of color saturation, and weight of fabric. If you haven't yet checked them out, I would give them a try - and even design your own - HERE.

You can see my other posts about fabric swatches and spoonflower HERE.

Facebook for the Artist

2011-06-28T09:00:00.000-07:00

I admit it. I love using Facebook! While I appreciate and enjoy connecting with friends and family using this modern method of communication, I mostly use Facebook as a feedback and promotional tool for my art. My most recent series of posts on a set of 16 little bird paintings is a nice little example of how Facebook can help us connect with our collectors, fans, and other artists. ** promote, promote, wink, wink, check out all the posts about my 16 birds on my fanpage HERE **

1) The Process
Art is a creative process. And while I can envision how to take an idea from start to finish, I often forget that this process can be an interesting mystery for others. While I've posted videos and slideshows on Youtube showing my process, I found that doing so on Facebook was more effective for allowing me to share what I do and receive immediate feedback on along the way. I also seem to create my best work when I know I'm being watched, which is why I will often paint at shows. Having others interact and react forces me to slow my process down and be more contemplative.

(images as shown on Facebook)

2) The Feedback
With facebook I can immediately tell which pieces make a greater impact on my fans than others. My fans also have inspired me to keep going and working on a piece. Looking at the number of hits/posts/likes also helps me to plan which images to print more of for a show and which images I should frame and display. I feel like I don't have to wait for the show itself to know what customers will like. (You do have to keep in mind the timing of your posts, as this will definitely affect how many people see/comment as well.)

3) Promoting
OK. Here it can get tricky. I know I can sometimes over-promote and lose a fan here or there along the way. At the same time, though, I try to keep my audience regularly engaged in what I do, and give them several different options for following or purchasing my work. Since I have a variety of followers, too, interested in both my art itself and the business of art, I try to mostly use Facebook as a means to promote my work, but I also try to have educational posts as well. In fact, it was my Facebook fanpage that made me realize how many people are curious about the business side of what I do after posting a few income/expense charts showing %s. While all artists operate differently, our work life is a mystery to most people. People will often expect that I spend my days blissfully painting away in my studio every chance I get. Well, as nice as that sounds, I do my best to get into my studio a few hours every other day. The rest of the time I'm preparing prints and other merchandise, scanning, uploading, purchasing supplies, promoting, packaging, shipping, filling out forms, keeping my show calendar up to date, and balancing books. I'm sure I'm missing a few things here too... The more people know about our professional lives, though, the more engaged I feel they become.

4) Interacting

Since my 16 Birds were so well received on Facebook, I also felt what better place to ask my followers' opinions about what comes next... sheep, fish, chickens, houses, or?? It will be my first Facebook poll, so I don't know what to expect, but I hope it will again keep me inspired and painting and engaging! (Vote on my fan page, if you like and become part of the interaction)

5) and MORE
Personally, since I'm a rather private person and a wife and mother of 2 kids as well as being a full time artist, I try to make sure to separate family from work. Thankfully, Facebook makes this easy by allowing us a Friend page and a Fan page. For artists, I highly recommend making use of the Fan page to promote their work. Also, people will often want to be my friend on Facebook when I don't know them personally since they follow my work. I just direct them over to my fan page so that I can keep my friend page personal. It works great! That way my art followers aren't inundated with pictures of my kids :-)

So - if you are an artist, artisan, aspiring artist - check it out and see if a Facebook fan page is the right thing for you!

"16 Birds"

The complete set of originals available for a Limited Time on ETSY

Prints available on ETSY and IMAGEKIND