Portraits, too.

Until now, this blog has been concerned with my watercolor bird and botanical art, but now I'd like to show an example of my work in portraits. I have just finished this colored pencil drawing of a wheaten terrier (called "Reilly", by the way). I worked from the customer's photos, which is the usual situation. She e-mailed me four images, and told me which was her favorite. Since that particular image was somewhat out of focus, the other images helped to fill in the blanks, so to speak. Using a combination of the images provided, I was able to create a completed portrait of Reilly showing him looking his best. The customer was delighted, I might add.

I Just Can't Stop Painting Downys

Here is my latest watercolor, inspired by the deep red sumac berries in fall, and the ubiquitous downy woodpecker. I enjoy painting fall and winter scenes, because I admit that though I love botanical art, I prefer not to paint green leaves. It seems contradictory, but a lot of green gets, well, tedious. The reds and browns are more appealing to me, and don't compete with the bird either. Here is a preview:

It Doesn't Take A Lot. . .

So, I got a voice mail from a customer from Art in the Barn who bought the "Cardinal and False Indigo" painting. She called to let me know how much she loves the painting, how good it looks in her home, and that she appreciates my art. This keeps me going! Thank you , Renee, for thanking me. I'll do some more painting in the off season.

End of Shows

The 2008 art show season ended today, on a positive note. I haven't been commenting lately on this blog, because, well, I hadn't had much to say that wouldn't sound negative. It's been generally a negative year. Fine art just hasn't been a priority for most people lately.

The Art in the Barn show, which was this weekend, was extremely well attended, but most of us felt that customers were not confident in spending much. My sales were better than the other 2008 shows, though. All that aside, I was in the "upper barn", which really is a barn, minus livestock, but with many residual barnlike characteristics. It was good to be inside (though the weather outside was good this year), but there was a definite lack of natural light. More lamps and extension cords will be necessary next time. I enjoyed the company of my neighbors.

What about next year? It remains to be seen. . .

Best In Show!

Yep, my first ever Best In Show award! What an honor it was to be selected by the committee to be the best of 114 artists at the Glenview Art League show last weekend. I'm always thrilled to get an award of any kind, but this was even better.
We had excellent weather, and it was well attended as it always has been. The sales weren't so special, but it has been a trend this year, and I'll have to wait it out.

I Can't Believe It's Been Over Three Months. . .

At last I have a new entry in this blog. The NSUC show was fun, but sales were not too great. In May, the Reed-Turner Botanical Artists held their show at the annual plant sale, with excellent results, with more members having a chance to produce and sell digital reproductions of their work. It was an example of finding a "target audience" for our work, plant lovers, or course.

My next art show, in an abbreviated schedule for 2008, will be the Glenview show on July 26 and 27.

Until then, after much delay, I am revealing my latest original watercolor, shown above.

It's called Cardinal and False Indigo, begun last winter and finally getting its finishing touches a few days ago. It's framed more elaborately than most of my paintings, and I feel it makes a significant statement! I'll be displaying it at my next show.

The Demo

Recently, I gave a demo to an art league on how to draw pet portraits using colored pencil. I'm not used to drawing in front of an audience, especially other artists, while keeping up a running commentary. In addition, I had to actually produce something attractive and informative in a short time! It was easier than I thought it would be, and I hope the 20 or so attendees took something away from the experience. I drew (pun, get it?) on my lessons from long ago on how to produce a three-dimensional effect using form, shadow, overlapping lines, etc. I stressed the importance of knowing the correct anatomy of the subject, while constantly reminding oneself to keep superficial details secondary to the overall form. I'd like the opportunity to try this again. Now, however, I'm stuck with a partially-drawn portrait of Charger.

The Reed-Turner Group Show- We Rocked

What could be better- a beautiful show with an official opening reception: food, wine, a presentation by a botanist, lots of guests, press coverage, and even some sales! We're proud of our work, and it's gratifying to have others appreciate it. The artwork will be there for a while, until March 13, so why not take a look?

This show will be special!

Our botanical artists' group is preparing for the show opening on Feburary 3. I'm proud to have one of my paintings on the promotional postcard. There is so much artistic talent in this group!

The Dead of Winter

I'm doing some re-framing of some original art in preparation for the ASBA show, and because I've finally accepted that good framing makes a definite difference in the appearance of artwork. It also helps that I work at a custom framing company, and have access to excellent materials, especially the $1.00/ft discount specials. The old reliable metal frames just don't do justice to original art, so I'm making the transition this winter. Time to get the printer ready, too.