Jane Maday's Art Blog

Art Journaling

2012-02-03T12:55:00.000-08:00

Ever since I got home, I have been compelled to paint, paint, paint what is in my heart. For a change I am not planning the art based on what I think will sell, but just trying to express myself. It feels so good and I am really feeling renewed.

I have starting art journaling, which is a lot of fun. I am going to try lots of new techniques in those pages. One of these days I will get back to painting my little birds and flowers, but right now I am just going to enjoy these days of simple expression.

Atlanta Gift Show

2012-01-21T14:11:00.000-08:00

Okay, so one of my New Year's resolutions was to keep up with this blog better...and then preparations for the Atlanta Gift show kicked in and everything else went out the window! The Atlanta show is the biggest conference for the gift market each year.

There are three huge buildings that comprise the AmericasMart. The tallest is 18 stories. This is the interior of one of them. Each building is full of showrooms of just about every manufacturor for the gift shop industry that you can imagine. It is so much fun to meet with clients and see my products on their shelves!

Here I am in the Legacy showroom with my 2013 calendar.

And of course I had lots of flags. You know how much I like designing for flags! This one is called "Strawberry Jam" and is a FlagTrends flag from Carson.

I like painting kittens just as much as I like painting birds! I'm starting to look a little overwhelmed here. We took lots of photos in the Carson showroom.

So I'm not even in this photo. Here is my new ceramics line, "Vintage Zinnias" available from, you guessed it, Carson Home Accents!

But it isn't all about showing off new products. One of the best parts of going is that I get to hang out with my artist buddies. Here is the whole gang at the Westin bar on Friday night after a busy day at the show. You can tell that it was like herding cats to get us all in one shot, but we were just so happy to see each other!

I came home from the show so inspired that I have hardly stopped painting since! Love it.

Winter is Here

2011-12-14T12:24:00.000-08:00

http://www.lowes.com/pd_226412-85418-11-1521-136_0__?productId=3434682&Ntt=flag&pl=1&currentURL=%2Fpl__0__s%3FNtt%3Dflag&facetInfo=

Here is my new winter garden flag from Lowes. It certainly has been chilly and snowy around here!

A Trip to Texas

2011-10-08T08:59:00.001-07:00

I'm home now from a trip I took to Austin, Texas. It is always so inspiring to visit other places and see new scenery. I feel really recharged and ready to get back to work. While I was there, I was invited to join in with my mother's quilting bee. I was so pleased that they were enthusiastic about my new fabric line, Wilderness Park. Here I am with Kathy Goff, who has already finished piecing the quilt top! Designing fabric is still a pretty new thing for me, and I am finding it a lot of fun. I still have so much to learn, and learning new things is always a good thing.

I was able to take my next fabric line down to show off. It is called "Seaside Rendevous". It will not ship to the stores for a few months, so they were getting a bit of a preview. I'm posting a few examples here.

I have been thinking a lot about social media and how it applies to my job. I find it hard to have enough time to get all the painting done that I need, but I think I should also allocate more time to the computer. I'd like to hear what people would like from my blog, and if anyone would like it if I created a Facebook page. I like showing new work, because I am excited about that. I also like talking about how I feel about the Licensing industry, but I am hesitant to publish "how-to's", because it is different for everyone. And now, I have to decide between doing housework and painting. No points for guessing which I will choose!

Colors!

2011-09-08T15:30:00.001-07:00

Is there anything better than a new set of paints?

I'm Back

2011-08-18T15:14:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a long time it has been since I posted anything! This summer has been a whirlwind. I am taking the plunge and trying a new art style. It is so hard to stay fresh and new in this business, and you don't want the clients to get bored! But now I have to play the waiting game while I wait and see what the clients think. I'm not very good at being patient! I wish I could show you the new work, but I don't dare until it is all tweaked and finished.

In the meantime, check out this ad from Easy Quilts magazine for my Wilderness Park fabric line. I usually paint very feminine paintings of birds and flowers, so doing the Lodge look is always a fun change, and people seem to like it.

Speaking of feminine looks, here is a new puzzle! My mailbox has been overflowing with samples lately, so soon I will post some cards and coasters. Right now we are so busy with family things. My son moved out into his very first college apartment, and next week my daughter starts eighth grade, so you can imagine all the excitement around here!

My Dear Friends Are Back

2011-06-09T12:02:00.000-07:00

One of my favorite things about Spring is that all my feathered friends come back from their winter homes. And the last couple of weeks have been full of new visitors as well! In addition to the bright yellow goldfinches, cosy purple finches, and dignified robins, over the past few days I have seen a Western Tanager, an Audubon finch, a Black-headed Grosbeak, and the Lazuli Bunting pictured above. At this rate my bird journal will be full by the end of summer!

I love to paint birds, My paintings for licensing tend to restrict themselves to the birds that everyone know and loves, like chickadees and cardinals. I would love to paint some of these new friends, but I am not sure how they would be received by the people who buy my work. What do you think? Should I add some new critters to my repertoire?

The Berry Patch

2011-06-01T06:49:00.000-07:00

I thought you might like to see my new fabric line from Wilmington Prints. It is called Berry Patch and will be available at the end of the summer. I just love how they are able to combine portions of my paintings to create whole new fabric designs. I am having difficulty uploading photos to blogger, so I'm afraid I can only show these three images. My mother can't wait to get her hands on these for quilting!

What Next?

2011-05-17T11:27:00.001-07:00

Today I finished the last piece of art for my 2013 calendar (it's amazing how far ahead we have to work), and now my thoughts are turning to what I should paint next. My assignments are all finished for a while, so I can paint what I want. The trouble is, my head is so full of ideas that I can't sort them out into which one I should start first! Does that ever happen to you?

I have been trying all sorts of new things, but I can't seem to settle on what fits me best, so then I think I should go back to my usual work. Then I worry that the clients are bored with that, so I am all in a muddle these days! I am looking forward to getting feedback from my agent when Surtex is over, so I can see which of my new pieces our clients responded to. Meanwhile, I will continue to paint what is in my heart, even though that changes from day to day!

Surtex booth #564!

2011-04-29T10:08:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again when most of the artists I know are in panic mode. That's right, Surtex is just around the corner! Surtex is one of the biggest shows for licensing artists. It stands for "Surface and Textile" design and all the manufacturors will be there looking for art to put on their products. My agent Debby will have all my work up in the Blue Sky Art & Design booth, number 564, so be sure to stop by! The National Stationery show is at the same time and in the same building: the Javitz Center in NY, so that is a chance to meet with all the clients who make cards and stationery products too.

I'm lucky in that I don't have to prepare my own booth, but I am trying to get as much new work done as possible. It's a busy time here as well, because Ian is graduating high school and there is all the excitement that entails! There are so many things to do; scholarships to find, housing to check into, proms, activities, it never stops!

Happy Easter!

2011-04-24T16:06:00.001-07:00

Happy Easter to all my friends who celebrate it, and happy Spring to everyone else! We are ready for Spring here. There was actually some snow yesterday, but it all melted and Mr Right had to do the season's first lawn-mowing today. Such is Colorado in April!

Juxtaposition

2011-04-03T13:08:00.001-07:00

Imagine my pleasure the other day when I walked into Michael's and saw my "Draw Baby Animals" book next to my dear friend Barbara Lanza's "Enchanting Elves" book! I wish we could have been standing side by side ourselves, but our books will have to act as stand-ins. It is very hard to get books placed in Michaels and Hobby Lobby (my book is there too). This is the first of my four books to make it there!

Underwater Astronaut

2011-04-02T15:09:00.000-07:00

Today was a very exciting day in Margaret's WAVE training. They were taken to the Scuba center to do the underwater training like real astronauts. Margaret had never tried Scuba diving, so she was very excited!

Here is Margaret's team: Kyle, Margaret, Mary, and John. They had to design some constructions that could be made with PVC pipe and then assemble them underwater. This taught them some very good teamwork skills, because you can't talk to each other down there! WAVE teaches the kids lots of skills that will be useful their whole lives: problem solving, teamwork, and leadership, as well as things like using the scientific method, etc.

The Scuba instructor, Gerry, gave them instructions beforehand. Margaret loved being able to breathe underwater, although all the kids had trouble with the pressure in their ears.

This picture is a little hard to see. They had a viewer that the parents could put in the water and look through to see what the kids were doing. I stuck the camera in there to take this photo. That's Margaret with the green scuba tank, and I think the other swimmer is Kyle. They managed to get their constructions together, although it took longer than the allotted time because the pipes kept separating. However, they were the last team in the water, so the teacher gave them extra time to finish because nobody else was waiting for a turn. Many thanks to Mr Peterson and Webber Middle School for setting up such a great program!

A Great Day

2011-03-19T12:10:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I felt like such a lucky girl. I got to go to Boulder and spend the whole afternoon with two wonderful, creative ladies: Sharyn Sowell and Leslie Ann Clark. I was so excited when Sharyn told me she was coming for a visit!

We went to the Boulder-Dushanbe Teahouse for lunch. Here is Sharyn, coming out with a full tummy! The teahouse is built in the traditional Tajikistan fashion. The parts were shipped over, and Tajik artisans came and put it all together. The tiles and painted ceiling are beautiful.

The food is beautiful too! This is what I had: Tajik Plov. It was delicious. I am trying to figure out how I can make it at home. Sharyn had a lamb kebab, and Les had stuffed grape leaves. Sharyn said it was some of the best restaurant food she had ever eaten, so I was so glad I had picked a good place!

Don't we look happy?

We spent the rest of the day on Pearl Street, wandering in and out of the cute boutiques and talking, talking, talking! What a great day.

Samples Galore

2011-03-13T11:25:00.000-07:00

I think our postman must have had very sore arms by the end of this week; every day he brought me big boxes of samples! Oh dear, what will I do with them all? I donated a lot of the kitten themed things to the local cat rescue, for their fundraising auction, but the day after I did that, another box of kitten flags arrived!

I'll start with a couple of floor mats from Carson Gift. I visited with them at the Atlanta show, and they are so very nice! There are garden flags that match these rugs as well. I put this one in the kitchen. Thank goodness Mr Right doesn't object to having cute things scattered around!

Here is a very Spring-like kitten image garden flag, also from Carson. They have quite a kitten collection of my work!

I also got lots more coasters! These are from Legacy. These are the twelve images that are on my calendar I did for them, and they decided to make these nice coasters as well.

This floor mat is from Evergreen Enterprises. This is one of my favorite paintings. There is a matching garden flag from Evergreen, and it is also available as a puzzle from Karmin.

Here are just a few of the flags I did for Evergreen. I still need to take photos of the others. It is fun to see evidence of my hard work! It makes me feel like I have proof that even though I feel like I am playing in the studio some days, I actually am achieving something! Back to the drawing board for me now; I am working of fabric designs this week, as well as a new puzzle. Variety is the spice of my life!

Linkies

2011-03-03T16:10:00.000-08:00

Gosh, I'm having a dickens of a time posting the links to everyone in the blog hop! I'm not sure why blogspot is being so stubborn. So I'm going to direct you to Brenda Pinnick's blog: http://www.brendapinnick.com/blog/. She has the entire list of participants. This was all wonderful Brenda's idea, and I'm so glad she came up with it! Lots of cool people have posted their inspirations, so make sure you check them out!

Sweet Inspirations

2011-03-03T07:53:00.000-08:00

Today's post is about artistic inspiration, so I thought it would be appropriate to feature an image from my Sweet Inspirations line, which is available as wall art from Old World Prints, and as coasters from Highland Graphics. This is part of an inspiration blog-hop, so tomorrow I will try to post links to all the other blogs participating. I have never done a blog hop before, so I hope I do the links right!

I have posted before about how much I like the Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady books by Edith Holden. I like both the delicacy and flow of her watercolors, and also the concept of this gentle lady keeping such beautiful sketchbooks of her surroundings. Look at the way the flower tendrils twine around the page. Isn't that pretty?

So I very much wanted to do a sketchbook themed collection. I think my art is not quite as graceful as Edith's, but I like the delicacy and vintage look that I achieved. That is the point of being inspired by another artist; what qualities can I include to make my own work better? What can I learn from a piece I admire? How can I apply those techniques or color palettes to my own vision? As an artist, every day for me is a learning process. I love the visual stimulation of going to shows. There are always artists and work that I admire, and that gives me the impetus to keep growing and developing in my own work. Every day there is something new and exciting to try and discover!

The Importance of Being Social

2011-02-12T06:31:00.000-08:00

This morning I am driving down to Denver to do one of my favorite things: joining up with my art peeps for a licensing club meeting. The artist's life is by and large an isolated one. My studio is my favorite place to be in the a whole world. It is a haven, a sanctuary. But I need the interaction with other artists too. One of the managers at Hallmark, where I used to work, had the opinion that when artists left the company to go freelance, their work became stagnant because of the lack of interaction with fellow artists. I made it my goal that it would never happen to me!

My job is kind of weird, I know that, and other artists understand the peculiar struggles that this career entails. I go to the meetings to cheer on my friends' successes, and seek answers for my (many) questions. I get inspiration from seeing their beautiful work, the colors, the compositions. It's all so exciting! I also belong to a couple of online groups for licensing artists. I usually spend a part of each day "chatting" about the issues facing us. Most of these discussions are business oriented: dealing with clients, legalities, making presentations, that sort of thing, although there is also a lot of cheerleading too!

Speaking of getting inspiration from other artists, there has been a lot of discussion in the art community lately about plagiarism and copyright violation. I think for certain parts of the community, it is very easy to get swept up in your admiration of someone else's work. You might think, "I want to do that!" when you see that someone's success. But the thing is, the key to having really appealing artwork is to have it come from your own mind and heart. My agent and I talk about this sometimes. We'll see art that maybe isn't as technically proficient as the piece next to it, but it is so much more beautiful because of the heart that shines through. It's been said before, but the real answer is to just be yourself.

Now I'm off to hit the highway!

It's Time For....

2011-02-07T14:13:00.000-08:00

How do you divide up your time? That is a question I have been struggling with. As a self-employed artist, I don't have a boss who sets a schedule for me. It is up to me to try and figure out the most productive use of my time. Time, there's never enough! How do you balance creating paintings that you are pretty sure will sell, and making time to try different, more experimental works? I know it is important to do both. If we all did the same thing year after year, we'd become pretty bored and stagnant. Yet the clients are always asking for the "same thing you did before that sold so well, except give it a fresh twist!" And are you like me, with a head that is just absolutely bursting with ideas that are crying out to be captured on paper? My agent says I should learn to paint with both hands at once!

More Gift Show Chat

2011-01-22T14:35:00.001-08:00

Here is a picture of me in Atlanta at the Legacy showroom with my Lodge calendar. This is my favorite show for so many reasons. All the manufacturors that I would like to work with are there, and it is so exciting to meet them, see their products, and find out how I might fit in. So many of my "art buddies" are there too, and so there is always a few minutes for socializing! The show is huge, though, and by the end of the day I am feeling pretty overwhelmed from all the sensory stimulation.

This year the License and Design section was in a new location, right in the middle of the action. Here is a picture of our booth, and my agent, Debby Leggat. For those who are interested, the booths are $25 per square foot, which is much cheaper than Surtex. I think this section will grow and develop. The space we were in was a little cramped (and hot), but the section has only existed for about three years, so there are still growing pains. The manufacturors sure seemed interested though. Of course, it will take several months to see what materializes. The clients can get so excited when they look through your portfolio, but then when they get home they drag their feet!

Here is my Lodge tabletop line in the Highland showroom. This uses the same images as my calendar, and shows the most important aspect of licensing: if you hold on to your copyrights, you can use the same images on multiple products. That means multiple royalty statements! (at least, we hope so!)

Atlanta Gift Show

2011-01-20T16:26:00.000-08:00

Just a quick post with a picture of me 'n' my peeps at the Atlanta Show. It is always so great to see my art licensing buddies! It was a really good show, with lots of positive meetings with clients, and I came back so inspired! (and with hints of fun new things to come, too!)

I'm back!

2011-01-09T12:13:00.000-08:00

Okay, I didn't actually go anywhere, but I certainly haven't been in the blogo-sphere for a while! I have been preparing for the Atlanta Gift Show, and combined with the holidays haven't had many spare minutes. But now I'm back with something exciting to share: my new fabric line! Ta-da!

These are only a few pieces, just to give you a taste. The line is called Wilderness Park and will be available from Wilmington Prints in the spring. Seeing my art on fabric is such fun!

My Clever Kids

2010-12-10T07:38:00.001-08:00

Here is my beautiful girl in the musical "Suessical" this week. She is taking musical theatre in school and the play was fabulous! All the kids worked very hard, and it was impressive how much talent there was in their little school.

Last week, Ian's AP art class had their big art show. (AP stands for Advanced Placement and is a college level class they can take in high school). Ian's focus has been surrealism, and he enjoyed talking to all the people who came up to ask questions. They had a very good turn-out, about 250 people. Ian was in charge of the lot of the organizing, so he was very tired when it was all over!

Sample Time Again

2010-12-03T12:04:00.000-08:00

Kind Jane Shasky sent me some photos of my Evergreen designs that she saw in her local gift shop. I was very excited to see them! I get to see samples as they are introduced, of course, and I see the royalty statements, but other than those two (very important) things, I really don't know much about what happens to my work. So it is always very nice to see the pieces out in the real world!

Speaking of seeing samples, this is a new stained glass design that is available from Amia. I am always happy with how their pieces come out. Right now I am working very hard getting ready to go to the Gift show in Atlanta next month. I want to have all new work to knock the clients' socks off!

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-25T07:17:00.001-08:00

This is just a short blog post to wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving. I hope today is filled with the people you love and lots of pumpkin pie! I'll be making my mother's special pumpkin chiffon pie recipe. I have modified it a bit, so it doesn't use raw eggs.

1 cup cream

1 cup canned pumpkin

1 envelope unflavored gelatin

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

powdered pastuerized egg white to equal 2 egg whites

1 pre-made graham cracker piecrust

In a double boiler, stir in cream and pumpkin. Add gelatin, mixed with 1/2 cup sugar, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Cook over boiling water, stirring constantly, until gelatin has dissolved and mixture is starting to thicken (about 8 min). Remove from heat and chill until cool, but not set. Mix up the egg white powder with water (as directed on package, to equal two egg whites) and beat until it holds soft peaks. Gradually add 1/4 cup sugar, beating until peaks are firm. Fold into pumpkin mixture, blending well. Pour into graham cracker crust and refrigerate until set.

Autumn Chill

2010-11-16T14:40:00.000-08:00

Harvest time is wonderful, isn't it? We are finished bringing in everything from our garden. The tomatoes have all been made into sauce, the spinach is in the freezer, the squashes are lined up in a row in the garage, the honey has been extracted from the hives, and Mr Right has lots of hot peppers!

Today it got windy and stormy, so it was time for the March of the Tumbleweeds to begin in the fields behind our house. They wait until they are all dry and ready to snap off their bases, and then when the winds blow, they roll in a parade across the field! However, it did mean that I had to drive a bit of a slalom course down the road when I went to do the school run!

Soon it will be time for lots of visiting family and friends, so here are some samples of coasters that just arrived from Coasterstone! We want there to be lots of places for people to set down their drinks, don't we. This weekend we are hosting the annual Mead-making class, so I expect about 25 people to show up. Fortunately I have done lots of other coasters too!

Things are Golden in Golden

2010-11-09T09:33:00.001-08:00

On Saturday, Ian and I decided to drive up to Golden, CO to take an art workshop at the Foothills Art Center. Golden is a very picturesque town and we did a lot of walking up and down hilly streets. The leaves are almost past their peak, as you can see in the photo, and I think our unseasonably warm weather might be over, so I'm glad we had one last warm sunny day to explore! After growing up in Florida, where the changing seasons don't really manifest themselves, I love watching the colors in the Fall. Do you have a favorite season?

3,2,1, Blastoff!

2010-11-04T08:54:00.001-07:00

Today is an exciting day for Margaret (she is the third from the left). Her school has a wonderful program called WAVE (Webber Aeronautical Ventures in Education). This is an astronaut and space science training program, and Margaret is heavily involved. There are only seven schools in the country that have this program, and it was set up by NASA. They have an actual space shuttle simulator. This year, Margaret was chosen as one of six astronauts. They do a lot of the same types of physical and simulator training that real astronauts do, and then they "fly" a mock mission. The launch was this morning, and they sleep in the shuttle tonight, so I won't see her again until tomorrow night.

Here is a picture of mission control, showing the launch. The pilot flew by hand, rather than autopilot, which is very hard to achieve, but he did it beautifully. Margaret is payload astronaut, so her job is to take care of the satellite that they will be retrieving. The teacher astronaut for this mission is Margaret's science teacher, who also happens to be the national liaison for teachers with NASA, so she is very knowledgeable and experienced. They are lucky to have her, and Margaret adores her. The launch was very well done, they all handled it very professionally. I might pop over again later-they have a camera feed to the inside of the shuttle, so we can see what the astronauts are doing. Ian says, "Mom, you know she's not a real astronaut, don't you?" but I can't help being excited!

Happy Halloween!

2010-10-31T09:07:00.001-07:00

Happy Trick-or-Treating, and beware the Zombie Apocalypse!

New Calendar

2010-10-21T13:24:00.000-07:00

Hooray, my new calendar is here! This calendar is being produced by Current and is available for $6.99 from their catalog and website. Putting a calendar together is a lot of hard work, but I am proud of how this one came out.

Teacups and Tobies

2010-10-19T07:01:00.001-07:00

Here is the china pattern for today: Waterlilies by Gladstone. This is another set from Mum; these were given to my grandmother for a wedding present. I included the sugar tongs just for fun, as the sugar basin is quite large and is obviously made for sugar cubes.

Here you can see the maker's mark on the bottom of the cup. This mark was used between 1924-1942, but I haven't been able to find anything else out about the pattern.

The last time I wrote about Toby jugs, there seemed to be a lot of interest, so I thought I would post some more. These are from Mum. The handsome fellow in the middle is the one that started it all, as he belonged to my mother's mother. He isn't a proper Toby, as he doesn't have legs, but isn't he lovely?

This photo shows Mum's only Japanese Toby, the pink fellow on the left. You can see the difference in art styles. The Japanese started making these for export in the 1930's. This one is stamped "Occupied Japan". Japanese jugs in general are worth much less than English ones. I'll post more Tobies on future teacup tuesdays, but I think this is enough for now, don't you? As always, thanks to Artful Affirmations and Martha's Favorites for hosting!

Guess What Day It Is?

2010-10-12T11:30:00.000-07:00

That's right, it's Teacup Tuesday! I have neglected it for the past few weeks, what with one thing and another. Since I have just come back from visiting my mother, I decided I would showcase some of her beautiful china for a couple of weeks. This cup is made from glass and gilded. The photo doesn't really do justice to the lovely teal green of the glass. The spoon is gilded to match.
My parents bought this set in the south of France early in their marriage (this was long before they emigrated to the States).

As you can see from the shape of the pot, it is actually a coffee service, but I like it very much. When I was a little girl I thought it was the most glamorous thing I could imagine! The set is handpainted; Mum says they bought it from the artisan who made it. She said it cost more on the duty to bring it from France to England than the actual set cost!

I'm Back!

2010-10-10T08:45:00.001-07:00

I'm back! I just had a wonderful vacation in Austin, staying at my mother's house. When you are tired and stressed, there is nothing so refreshing as a little TLC from mom! We stayed pretty close to home, making short trips to neighboring towns. My favorite was Salado, which is full of little galleries and boutiques in historic buildings. Everywhere had nice fall displays, like this pretty window.

I love Fall, and the weather in Texas turned very mild when I got there, thank goodness! Most of the time when I visit there I just melt! We went to great restaurants, and I visited my niece at UT, which has a lovely campus.

One of the best things was visiting my sister. She has been rather unwell, unfortunately. Do you see the missing "E" from the drug store sign? And see how big it is compared to the people below? Well, one very windy day, that E blew off the wall and frisbeed right into my sister, who was in the parking lot! It crashed right into her leg. She is very bruised and sore, but is gradually healing.

Now I am home and refreshed and ready to get back to my paint!

Samples

2010-09-19T14:13:00.000-07:00

Hooray, new samples are here! It is always so much fun to see how a product with my art looks when it is finished. Sometimes it takes so long that I have completely forgotten about it, and then when the samples show up at the door it is a lovely surprise.

Here is a new apron and kitchen towel that will be just perfect for Christmas parties. I especially like how the apron came out. It's my first one! Thanks Pacific Enterprises!

Next we have some new cards. Most of these are from Legacy, but the cute Christmas puppy is from Leanin' Tree. They always make such nice boxed Christmas cards with me, and I love sending them out. I have several out this year, so it will be hard to chose!

Here is a product I have never done before: light switch covers! There are so many of them!

Finally, we have a new rug for Autumn from Evergreen Enterprises. There is also a matching garden flag, but the photo didn't come out for that one. As you can see, last week was like Christmas around here!

A Teacup Tuesday Celebration

2010-09-14T10:57:00.000-07:00

A while ago, the thrift store near us needed to clear out some space, so they offered everything in the whole store for 50% off. I got this set of Royal Albert "Celebration" china for a pittance, and was delighted when I came home and found out that just one teacup goes for more than I paid for the whole set! However, I have no intention of selling, as I think the set is so pretty. I think I will save it until my daughter is grown up and has a house of her own.

Here is a close-up of the pretty teacup. This pattern dates back to 1969, so it is not an antique, but it does have a nice, vintage look.

This is the creamer and sugar basin. I think I will have to keep my eye out for the teapot next! It is always fun to have something to look for.

Hooray for Books!

2010-09-06T08:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we went to the Rist Canyon Richard Schmid Art Festival. We had a lovely time, and of course the art was all gorgeous. The show and auction is a benefit for the canyon fire department, and Richard has generously donated work every year. Local artists submit work to be juried into the show. I have never tried, but always intended to "someday". Well, Richard announced that this year would be his last, as he is getting older and his eyesight isn't as good as it used to be. It is really a great pity, as he is so talented, and I really looked forward to it every year. Hopefully the show will continue.

Another thing they have at the festival is a big book tent. This was my favorite find of the day: a vintage Winnie-the -Pooh cookbook (for only fifty cents)! I love the original Winnie-the-Pooh books, and have the original editions that we had in my family for years.

I think it is ok to show this inside spread for the purpose of this review. The recipes involved mostly involve honey, of course, which is great for us as we will be extracting the honey from our hives in a couple of weeks' time. I thought this Apricot Honey Bread sounded yummy! Some of the recipes are much too dated, of course, like the honey egg nog recipe that requires raw eggs in the drink. I know in the old days people thought that raw egg was good for you, but these days we are much more careful. One of my favorites was the "Recipe For Getting Thin" which was a blank page! I don't think that is a diet that I'd be able to stick to.

Templates?

2010-08-30T06:51:00.000-07:00

The use of templates to format your art for licensing has become a bit of a controversial issue. Some manufacturors say they are tired of seeing mediocre art slapped onto a template for a presentation, but I think the real issue there is the "mediocre" art! The fact is, some clients need you to format your work in this way. They have a set group of products that they need you to illustrate, and these cannot deviate in size or shape, due to the manufacturing process. You will gradually accumulate specific templates from your clients, and general ones can be purchased (check out Phyllis Dobbs' blog for this).

However, some clients aren't constrained by specific product shapes, and that is where product design comes in. I am just starting to try product design, and boy, is it fun! You have to have a certain knowledge of the manufacturing process, so you know which shapes are easy to reproduce (here's a hint: rounded shapes are easier than sharp, cut-in angles). Other than that, the sky, and your imagination, is the limit! Research your client's current line. You want to propose both versions of products they already make, and offer brand new ones that they haven't thought of yet. So now I'd better quit blogging and get back to the drawing board. Hooray!

TCT

2010-08-24T11:34:00.000-07:00

It is another Teacup Tuesday, and today is cool and cloudy, just right for a nice, hot cuppa. The cup I picked for today is German and has a picture of dear little birds on it. Isn't the handle an impractical shape, though? I got this very cheaply at a flea market a while back. The stamp on the bottom is unreadable, so I can only tell you that it is from Germany. From the style of the decoration, I would date it to about 1910.

I thought I'd also show a few more of my favorite milk jugs (I actually have more jugs than cups! Maybe we should start "Milk Jug Monday".) These are all mottoware from Torquay. I have decided to focus my mottoware collecting on seaside themes, which are a bit more rare than the cottage scenes. I may live in a landlocked area, but I just love the coast!

As usual, for more teacup fun, head over to Artful Affirmations or Martha's Favorites; links are at the right.

Taking a Hike

2010-08-22T15:38:00.000-07:00

Monday is our 24th wedding anniversary, so Mr Right and I decided to take some time off over the weekend and go for a nice hike and then out to dinner. There is a new park in the mountains called Hermit Park, and I hadn't been there yet. It used to be owned by Hewlett Packard as a recreational place for their employees only, but they sold it to the county and now anyone can go. The wildflowers were gorgeous. The photo doesn't really do them justice.

We saw lots of critters, including these bighorn sheep. Mr Right saw a bear up at Hermit Park once, but I was pretty happy to stick with things like birds and chipmunks!

Here is a view from the trail looking back over the town of Estes Park. If you look very closely, you can see the large white building which is the famous Stanley Hotel, where Steven King got snowed in and wrote The Shining. If you've ever watched "Ghost Hunters" on television, you'd know that it is a very haunted building! After we were done with our hike, we went into the town and had dinner at one of our fave resturants, a Mexican place called Casa Grande. We like it because they have a patio where you can sit by the river while you eat (the food is good too. I had a seafood quesadilla, yum! Mr Right had Carne Asada). I meant to take a picture, but we ate it all up too quickly!

Colors!

2010-08-13T07:22:00.000-07:00

Colors, colors, colors! How I love them. I've been spending so much time designing on the computer lately that it feels so great to get back to painting, drawing, playing with art supplies. I usually use my beloved watercolors, but sometimes it is fun to play with mixed media. I like the chalks that they make for scrapbookers. They can add a nice, soft blush of color.

And look at these lovely new paints that Plaid sent me. I can't wait to play with them. I used to write books for Plaid and like their products, so they still send me boxes of new products to try. It is always so nice to get a surprise package in the mail!

And the best color combinations are found in nature. Complimentary colors like yellow and purple, swallowtails and goldfinches on purple flowers... Later today I'm going to take some more flower photos in some of the display gardens at the University. Sounds like a perfect day!

Is It Tuesday Already?

2010-08-10T07:01:00.000-07:00

I don't know where the days go. Remember when summer days used to be endless? Now it seems like they go by at the speed of light. School starts next week and we are starting to look forward to Autumn.

Yes, it is way to early to be decorating with cornucopias, but I have been playing with some still life ideas. In my business, you have to think a season ahead, so I spend the summer painting Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas ideas, and in the winter I paint flowers! No wonder I am so confused! I thought for Teacup Tuesday I would use this teacup, which has an Autumnal feel, and is one of my favorites.

This cup is made by Myott Meakin. Years ago, when I was an illustrator at Hallmark Cards, there was a department store across the street called Halls (yes, it was owned by the same family). My friends and I would spend happy lunch hours there, taking advantage of the employee discount. One day I saw this set of dishes in the china department, and liked them so much I just had to buy them. I should look at the Replacements site, because this set has been well used, and some of the plates and things are broken.

Thanks again to Martha's Favorites and Artful Affirmations for hosting! Their links are on the right side of the page.

Just a Quickie

2010-08-03T12:05:00.001-07:00

This week's Teacup Tuesday post will have to be a fairly quick one, as I have a very busy day today. These are actually some more pictures from the Atlanta Gift Show. I have been enjoying designing teasets for a company called Thornberry Creek, and the first two sets debuted at the show. We wanted to have the Peaches design ready in time, since the show is in Georgia!

I also did a design with violets. I think the teapot and cup have a nice shape. There is also a taller, thinner teapot, but I didn't get a photo of that. Can't wait to drink tea out of these pretty sets! My friend Cherish Flieder designed the packages, which turned out well. The art world sure is a small one! Better go and get back to painting, but many thanks to Terri and Martha for hosting, as usual. Their blogs are at the right side of this page.

New Teacups!

2010-07-27T13:41:00.000-07:00

Here is something exciting for Teacup Tuesday: when I got home from Atlanta a great big package from Evergreen Enterprises was waiting for me. Inside, among other things, were these wonderful stacking cups in my Aeropostale design. Evergreen calls them expresso cups, but for me they are just right for tea. I got a kick out of using them to offer tea to a friend at dinner the other night.

Here is a closeup of the goldfinch cup. There is a goldfinch, chickadee, wren, and titmouse. Thanks for letting me share them with you! If you want to see more pretty cups, head over to Artful Affirmations or Martha's Favorites, our lovely hostesses (links at the right).

Vacation Daze

2010-07-25T08:32:00.000-07:00

I very rarely take time off work. I even tend to paint on the weekends. But last week we loaded up the whole gang and headed south. I had to go to Atlanta for the Gift Show, and Mr Right has family in the area, so we decided to tie in a family vacation to the business trip. Dear Sis-in-law has a lovely house in Georgia and was kind enough to put us all up, and then she took us to their lake house in Alabama.

We also stopped at the Tellus science museum, which was very good. It had a very impressive geology section, which Margaret was very interested in. They also had some great fossils.

Ian's favorite thing was learning to ride the jetski. He wanted to do it almost non-stop! Mr Right took me for a jetski ride, but I am wimpy and thought it was scary!

Margaret really liked tubing behind the boat and trying to waterski. If we had been there a bit longer I think she really would have gotten the hang of the skis!

I enjoyed swimming in the lake and riding in the boat. They let Ian drive the boat a little bit too! (but I think he was most impressed by the ride in his uncle's Corvette). The trouble with taking photos on boats is that you have no makeup and your hair's a mess!

John was impressed by the dock, as he is used to little Wisconsin ones that have to be taken out of the water each winter. All those stairs (the photo only shows about 1/4th of them)! I managed to wake my niece up by making a big crash falling down them one morning, but nothing was hurt except my pride!

Finally we had to wind down the water fun and head back home. We had a little time before our flight, so we went to this Hindu temple called a mandir. It was amazingly beautiful. Every inch is marble carved into beautiful figures and shapes. Inside it was cool and peaceful. It was fascinating. And now I have lots of work to catch up on, so it's back to the drawing table for me, yay!

Atlanta Gift Show

2010-07-23T07:33:00.000-07:00

Did you miss me? I have been in Atlanta for work and play. It was time for the summer Atlanta Gift Show. The summer show isn't as big as the winter one, but it was still a very busy time. People were certainly in the mood to buy, which gives me hope for the continued upswing of the economy, and I had many positive meetings with clients.

Highland has manufactured several sets of coasters with my designs. I really liked how they came out and the display stands look good too. I'm going to have enough coasters to last for the rest of my life once the samples arrive! I was especially pleased to see the Sweet Inspirations line pictured in "Gifts and Decorative Accessories" magazine.

And here is my line "Aeropostale" in the Evergreen Enterprises showroom. They have added new pieces to it since the January show. I'm very proud of it. (I am drinking my tea out of one of the cups right now. I'll show them on Teacup Tuesday).

After a long busy day a group of us met for drinks. I enjoyed seeing everyone so much, and meeting some of my "internet friends" for the first time was great. Back row from left to right:
Pudgy little me, Terri Conrad, Martha Collins, Joyce Shelton, Phyllis Dobbs, Sue Zipkin. Front row: BJ Lantz and Carol Eldridge. Kathy Weller, Tammy Browning Smith, and Janet Wecker Frisch were also there, but unfortunately didn't make it into the photo. Getting together was the highlight of the day!

A Tuesday Bonus

2010-07-13T06:43:00.000-07:00

One of the benefits of Teacup Tuesday is that I get to play with my camera and try to set up a nice still life with the teacup. Someday some of these pictures might even turn into paintings! Isn't this teacup pretty? It is English, by Roy Kirkham. I got it at the discount store a couple of weeks ago. It is rather too big for tea, actually, but it is good for hot chocolate! I have placed it with some of my seaside souvenirs; a sea urchin from Maine, starfish and sea sponges from Florida....

Here are a few more Kirkham cups. As you can see, I have the mug that matches the teacup. I have a weakness for things with pictures of birds! The tray in the background is from my Aeropostale collection from Evergreen Enterprises.

Thanks again to Artful Affirmations and Martha's Favorites for hosting! Their blog links are on the right side of this page.

Brambly Hedge

2010-07-07T08:51:00.000-07:00

Everyone seemed to like my teacups I posted yesterday, but I was surprised at how many people had never seen the Brambly Hedge books by Jill Barklem. I just love them. Her attention to detail is amazing! Here is the cover of a book I have, which I highly recommend. It has four of her stories, and a section at the beginning where she talks about her work and has drawings from her sketchbook. If you like Beatrix Potter, you will definately like Jill Barklem.

Here is an inside spread from the book. Please remember that these images are copyrighted. I am only showing a couple for the purpose of this book review, which I think I am allowed to do. Someone tell me if I am not! Look at the fantastic detail of the food and dishes on the shelves. That is one thing that impresses me most about these books: she has planned out every detail of her characters' lives. She mentions in the interview that the things they do and make are all physically possible. If you would like to learn more, her website is :
http://www.bramblyhedge.co.uk/

Guess What Day It Is

2010-07-06T12:27:00.000-07:00

That's right, it's Teacup Tuesday!

Today I am featuring two very special cups. These cups are from Royal Doulton and they have Brambley Hedge artwork on them. Have you ever seen the beautiful Brambley Hedge books by Jill Barklem? I just love them. These cups are the ones that my daughter and I used to use when we had special tea parties. She's too old for that now, so now I imagine her using them with her own daughter some day. The Queen Elizabeth II coronation jug was my mother's and is another one I rescued from the Goodwill pile. The blue and white jug I bought at a flea market just because it was so pretty! The fabric in the background is from my "Purrfect Garden" line.

Here is a closer view of the cups. This style of cup is called a "beaker" in England. Someday I should probably look on Ebay for the remaining two in the series! Thanks for visiting me! As usual, if you want to see more teacups, head over to Martha's Favorites or Artful Affirmations.

Happy Independence Day!

2010-07-04T07:15:00.001-07:00

Happy Fourth of July, everyone. It is shaping up to be a great day here. A lot cooler today, with a high of maybe 70 degrees. I am getting ready to go outside and watch the neighborhood parade. All the neighborhood kids gather at the clubhouse by the pool and decorate their bikes and scooters with streamers and balloons, then parade around the neighborhood. One of the Dads has a big drum, so he sets the pace. It is the most adorable thing you've ever seen. Our neighborhood is great for that kind of thing. It has a very friendly, small-town feeling. We have summer movies on the clubhouse lawn, Christmas cookie exchanges, a book club, etc. Then later today we are going to a cookout at a friend's house, then back here to watch the fireworks.

Hope all of you have a great day too!

Teacup and Tobys

2010-06-29T09:54:00.000-07:00

Its Teacup Tuesday again! I haven't participated in a while, what with one thing and another, but today I thought it would be fun to photograph this pretty Royal Albert teacup with a few of my Toby Jugs. The backdrop is the quilt that Mum made from my fabric. Don't you love the pretty flowers inside the cup?

Toby Jugs came into fashion in the 18th century. One school of thought has it that they were named after a famous drunkard who had acquired the nickname "Toby Fillpots". The jugs are sometimes referred to as Phillpots or Fillpots. Toby jugs are always a seated, chubby cheeked man with a tricorn hat, which forms the spout. Sometimes he has a pipe, but those usually get broken! If you see a jug that is just a head, without the body, those are called "character mugs", although they are frequently misnamed as Tobies.

If you want to see more teacups, head over to the Artful Affirmations blog here:http://artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com/.

The Love of Drawing

2010-06-26T14:44:00.001-07:00

Isn't drawing a great activity? I find it so relaxing, just to scribble away, without worrying if a client will like it or not. I like to use watercolor pencils when I am working loosely like this. They are very portable, that's for sure! I need to give myself permission more often, to just stop stressing about deadlines and just relax and be creative.

Ian, on the other hand, likes graphite pencil. This is a drawing he has done of the lead singer of the band the Black Veil Brides. Ian actually looks kind of like Andy Six! see? Sculpture isn't the only thing he is good at!

Here is a page from Margaret's drawing pad. Don't you just love these sea creatures? I can't decide if the seahorse, crab, or squid is my favorite. What the heck, they are all so cute! On that note, there are some very pretty flowers blooming in the garden right now...so where did I put my sketchpad?

Where Bloggers Create

2010-06-20T08:17:00.001-07:00

Its a studio tour! "My Desert Cottage" blog is having a Where Bloggers Create party here:http://mydesertcottage.blogspot.com/. I thought I would join the fun; a little late, but that is fashionable, right? It is a pity it isn't a "messiest studio" tour, because this is what mine looks like after I have tidied it. I have sort of a mish-mash of furniture that I have picked up here and there. I look at some of the beautiful studios in magazines and drool over them, but my little messy space works for me right now. Maybe someday I will be more glamorous!

Here is my drawing/painting table. I like to do so many things, so I have so many supplies! You can see that my drawers are full to bursting. And all the brushes! Who can bear to throw out an old brush? It might still be good for something!

I bought some organizer cupboards from Michaels this year and assembled them without too much trouble. So I have managed to put my watercolors in order by color, which makes me very happy. No more rooting through a jumble of paints to find the right tube!

I keep my brushes and pencils in old jugs and tins. These are just a few. You can see the edge of my new curtains, made from my very first fabric line!

Here are some antique shelves on top of my paper cutting area, which is the top of an old map chest where I keep papers. Collecting antiquarian books is a weakness of mine, but they are very useful for research purposes! I also have so many still-life props. I only have room to keep a few in the studio. The rest are scattered throughout the house.

Here is a closer view, so you can see the lovely portrait of Ian, painted by Victoria Lisi, author of "Vibrant Children's Portraits". You can see her portrait of Margaret in the background of the top photo.

One of the best things about my studio is that it is here in beautiful Colorado. We spent the day hiking for Father's Day today and now I am pleasantly tired and can't wait to get back to painting tomorrow. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone else's studios too!

Motto Ware

2010-06-18T08:39:00.001-07:00

I love pottery and I especially love Motto Ware. Motto ware was made in Devon, England for the tourist trade from the 1880's to the 1940's. Each piece had a colloquial phrase on the back (I have turned the teacup so you can see it a little bit). The most common decoration was the cottage scene- each one is slightly different because they were hand painted. However, I really like pieces with a seaside theme, such as the lovely sailboat above. The pretty lady in the photo is Nettie Watts, Mr Right's grandmother.

I have turned all of them around here so you can see the mottos. My favorite phrases are written in the local vernacular, such as the "Don' ee be 'fraid o' it now" jug.

This is the jug that started it all. It was my mother's and she used it all through my childhood for milk or custard. A few years ago she said she was going to give it to Goodwill and I was horrified! I decided it needed to grace my table, so that my children would grow fond of it too.

Last week I saw a lovely motto ware teapot for sale online for a very good price. I was thrilled, as I had been looking for one that I could make my morning tea in. I was so sad when it arrived smashed! As you can see, the handle and spout are broken. There were numerous chips in the rim, and a long crack in the body of the pot. The lid was broken into six pieces.

I got out the Gorilla Glue and started piecing it back together. It will never be useable for tea again, and is best viewed from a distance, but at least it might be a good prop for a painting. A lot of the broken pieces were pulverised, so there are still a lot of chips and gaps. I couldn't find the tip of the spout or all chips that came from the rim, and I had trouble getting the lid to go back together too, as some of the pieces were very small and fiddley. But I managed not to stick my fingers together with the glue, so that's something! I'll just have to start teapot hunting again. It is fun to have something that you are searching for when you go antiquing!

Hooray For Art Supplies!

2010-06-13T15:58:00.001-07:00

Don't you just love art supplies? Today I have had one of those days where the art just doesn't want to turn out the way I want it to, but at least I have the fun of playing with my "stuff". Oh, fresh, clean, white paper, juicy paints, and nice pointy brushes! So I decided I would periodically tell you about the favorite products I have found over many years, (and many dollars) spent!

My favorite brushes are made by the Silver Brush company. They can be a little hard to find, but I usually order mine from MisterArt.com, or directly from the manufacturor. I should mention that I have done demonstrations in the Silver Brush booth at trade shows, but I am not being paid for this endorsement. These really are the best brushes if you want to paint tiny details, like I do. The ones above are the Silver Ultra Mini Golden Natural Designer Rounds. Those very fine lines were painted with the #12 round, so you can see what a tiny point it has. But since it has a big body, you can really load the brush with paint so you don't have to keep dipping it.

This brush is very useful for painting fur. It is a Ruby Satin Filbert Grass Comb. You can see how the bristles are uneven lengths and slightly separated. This means you can paint many hairs with one stroke. I mostly use watercolor, but these brushes are good for acrylic too.

Do you have any favorite brushes for painting details? I would like to try the Winsor and Newton designer rounds one of these days, to see how they compare. Designer rounds have longer bristles than regular round brushes. and I feel like they give my strokes a better flow.

Favorite Things

2010-06-08T11:04:00.000-07:00

It is Teacup Tuesday again! The days sure do fly by. This teacup isn't antique and I don't have a special story about it, except to say that I think it is so very pretty! I drink a lot of tea, and I especially like all the accoutrements that go along with it: Teaspoons, pots, and strainers, sugar tongs and basins, and above all, milk jugs!

Today I decided to photograph just the blue and white ones, as I have the most of those. I'm very fond of these, and I love to include them in my paintings. As you can see, I use them for more than just milk too! Am I the only one who takes milk in her tea, or do any of you do that too?

Yes, We Have No Tomatoes

2010-06-07T06:41:00.000-07:00

Well, I had a minor disaster over the weekend. I decided I would try to dye some of the gray out of my hair (oh, what price vanity!). I bought a box of nice, warm brown dye with a picture of a very pretty lady on the front. Well, somehow, either the wrong dye was put in the box, or they left out some ingredients, or the lady on the box just wandered randomly into the shot, because my hair ended up RED. Tomato red, ketchup red, radioactive Cadmium red. As I tried to rinse it out, the shower looked like that scene in Psycho where the blood is running down the drain.

Hubby comes home later, and manages not to say anything, although he might have been tipped off by my covering my head with my hands and screaming "Don't look at me!" So I need to go to the grocery store to buy some dark brown dye to try and cover it up. #1 Son decides to accompany me and convinces me to stop at a car dealership, since he is shopping for his very first car. I was so embarrassed! Especially because the radioactive red had only covered some of my hair, so I had gray patches showing through.

The dark brown now covers most of the red, although it still shows through. I feel like one of those 90 year old ladies who should have white hair, but dye their hair as dark as they can and think that nobody notices. Mum says maybe its a sign that I should just give in to the gray!

A Typical Day

2010-06-04T06:14:00.000-07:00

One of the art chat rooms I belong to is having a discussion about an artist's typical day. It has been interesting to read about how my day is similar to other art/moms, and so nice to feel like there are other people like me out there! So I thought I would write about a typical day for me and see if it struck any chords with any of you.

6:00 A.M. Time to rise and shine. I thump on my teenager's door on my way downstairs to make sure he gets up and is ready on time for the carpool to school. (There are no school buses to the schools we go to, as we are kind of in a no-man's land between two towns). I read my e-mails while I eat breakfast.

6:30 Drag preteen out of bed (sometimes literally) to get her ready so we can be ready for me to drive her to school at 7:15. Get home at around 7:30. At 7:35 get call from preteen that she has left her flute/mathbook/homework behind and I need to go back and deliver it.

8:00 Start work. Get computer stuff done first, like research, business correspondence, blog,etc. If it is going to be a hot day, I'll usually take a walk about now, while it is still cool. When I get back I turn to the BBC radio on the computer so I can listen to comedy and radio drama while I work. American radio doesn't seem to have those sort of shows, and I do enjoy them. There is usually an Agatha Christie mystery, or an episode of Dr Who, and there are lots of comedy shows.

9:00 Start painting. I usually bop back and forth between the drawing table and the computer. While a layer of paint is drying I can be Photoshopping on something else, or scanning in finished pieces. I have been so very busy lately that I have to use every minute! I could really use an assistant, but I don't earn enough to pay one!

10:00 Time for a cup of tea (and usually a cookie (or two), which is why I don't lose any weight!)

Check e-mails again, then back to the drawing board.

11:30 Lunch and a shower. Brief conversation with Mr Right (he is an editor and works at home too)

12:30 Start painting faster as I'll need to stop soon!

1:30 Leave the house so I can get grocery shopping or other errands done quickly before driving the afternoon carpool. I have to go to two different schools, so we don't get home until 3:30. I'll try to get a little more work done, unless kids have activities or appointments that they need to be driven to. It will make my life a lot easier when the senior offspring gets his driving license!

5:00 start dinner, 6:00 eat dinner, 7:00 help with homework.

8:00 Before I quit for the day I will start sending any high res files to clients. I have to do this overnight, as it bogs my computer down too much to do it during the day.

Even on the weekends though, the art is never far from my mind. It drives my kids nuts the way I have to take reference photos whenever we go anywhere! Now it is summer, so the schedule will change a bit. I'm trying to get up earlier so I can get more work in before the kids get up and need to be driven to their activities and stuff. Somehow though, I still manage to squeeze in a painting a week. I know a lot of people who are faster, but my work is very detailed and takes a while. What are your days like? I wonder how Blogger will re-arrange everything I have written this time? I keep trying to lay it out properly, but whenever I click "post" it just rearranges itself.

Teacup Tuesday

2010-06-01T06:27:00.000-07:00

It is time for Teacup Tuesday again! This time I have decided to go into full sentimentality mode. I have a lot of Blue Willow china. Way back when I was getting ready to go to college, the grocery stores were still doing things like giving away free place settings when you did your weekly shopping. So Mum gathered a full set of Blue Willow for me to take to my first apartment (which was a tiny little beach shack which was later condemned, but that's another story). I still use those plates as my everyday china, a couple of decades later. Mum and Dad thought it was fun when they were antiquing to look for blue willow bits and pieces for me, so I have lots of fun serving pieces and these nice teacups. Lo and behold, the gold rimmed plate behind ended up belonging to both my Grandmothers before it was handed down to me. My dad's mother had them first, and when she died they were given to my mother's parents.

For the photo I decided to place them on a doily that my aunt made for me and put the whole lot on the carved African chest that Mr Right had made for me as a wedding present. Isn't it fun to use such pretty things! If you want to see more teacup Tuesday offerings, head over to Martha's Favorites Blog at: http://www.marthasfavorites.com/2010/05/tea-cup-tuesday-no-14.html

Summer? Already?

2010-05-30T07:21:00.000-07:00

I think we are going to skip Spring altogether this year. Two weeks ago we had snow, and yesterday we had to put on our shorts! I was looking forward to several weeks of shirtsleeves and jeans, but at least this means we can get our garden going. Mr Right bought me some new rosebushes for Mother's day, and we managed to squeeze them in. Maybe today I'll tackle the crowds at the garden center.

So, of course, now that Summer is here, it is time for me to stop painting summer images! It is rather difficult to get used to, but in this business the clients always work a long way ahead, because it takes so long to get the products to the marketplace. My clients are starting to think Fall and Winter and I need to paint accordingly. It is so hard to paint a snowman when you are hot and wearing shorts! And to paint snow in general when you are surrounded by the brightest flowers that are just begging to be captured in watercolors! I still have a few clients who will be asking for summer scenes for a couple more months, but many have wrapped up their summer catalogs.

Quilting Fun

2010-05-24T10:25:00.000-07:00

Blogging has been very sparse lately, I know. I have been taking some days off work to spend time with my dear mother. Mum is a talented quilter, so she was very excited to get my very first fabric collection, "Purrfect Garden".

Isn't she lovely? I am supposed to save the quilt for my first grandchildren, so I'll need to make sure I store it carefully, rolled up in a pillowcase.

Here it is draped over another heirloom; the rocking horse my brother made. He's a very good woodworker and even made his own boat! I sure seem to come from a clever family. I am very sentimental and love surrounding myself with things made by my loved ones.

Pretty Bird

2010-05-18T07:18:00.001-07:00

Look at this pretty dove that I got from Michelle Palmer! (her blog link is at the right). She has been making these sweet little drawings on vintage linen. Don't you love the eggy border? Now I just need to figure out how to frame it. Does anyone have an idea of how to mount it onto acid-free matboard without damaging the linen or having any adhesive show through?

It has been like Christmas around here. In addition to Michelle's dove, the postman also delivered a big box of samples, yay! Just in time for my mother's visit. I hope she has plenty of room in her suitcase to take some goodies home! These are just a few of the items from the line, which is called Fruit Stand and is made by Highland Graphics. I couldn't resist using some of them to serve treats at Bunco last night. Getting samples always makes me fired up to paint extra hard, so I can do some more fun products!

(Does anyone know why Blogspot tends to move things around in my posts? I'll get all the pictures placed, and spaces between my paragraphs, but when I click "publish post" everything seems to shift on its own accord!)

Challenges

2010-05-13T05:35:00.000-07:00

This past year has been a time where I have faced a lot of challenges, both professionally and personally, and I feel like I am growing stronger as a result. One task I set myself was to learn how to use Photoshop, and I am so thankful that I persevered! I am a bit of a techno-phobe, and I am sure my friends got tired of me calling and asking advice and whining about how intimidating it all was! But I really think now that if you want to be involved in Licensing, a basic knowledge of Photoshop is a must. I am still using Photoshop Elements, which is so much cheaper than the full edition, but it has everything I need. And thank goodness, because today I have a new challenge. A client has asked me to design the display where my products will go, and I have never done that before!

On another note, this is a small portion of a painting I recently licensed. The client, however, didn't like the wren (he does blend in a little bit, but I do love wrens!)

Thanks to Photoshop, I was able to change the wren to this bright Blue Jay, which the client liked. A book I would recommend to someone who isn't experienced with PS is "Art and Design in Photoshop" by Steve Caplin. It is very visual and easy to follow.

Now I just have to hope the snow melts (yes, more snow!) because I am having a sample sale of my products this weekend. Wish you could all stop by!

Teacup Tuesday and Love Letters

2010-05-11T07:44:00.001-07:00

This is my first time participating in Teacup Tuesdays sponsored by Artful Affirmations(http://www.artfulaffirmations.blogspot.com), so I chose my absolute favorite teacup to show you. This teaset belonged to my grandmother and was left to me by my dear father. Aren't they so delicate and lovely? The little milk jug and sugar basin are so tiny, I just love them. They are from Royal Doulton and are very rare; I always look in antique shops for more pieces, but have struck out so far. The only ones I have been able to track down have been in Australia!

I also just have to share this wonderful book I got yesterday. By "Love Letters" I meant that I have really gotten into typography lately (lame pun, I know). I think it stems from my collecting antequarian books. My favorite period is the late 1800s-early 1900s. This book is from 1906.

This is the frontispiece. Look at how decorative and gorgeous it is! These days I think most publishers think it would be cost-prohibitive to pay an artist to create something so elaborate. Maybe that is one reason that vintage designs are so popular: people appreciate the time and effort that an actual person spent creating something lovely.

And here is one of the alphabets that I thought I would post for you to share. The German alphabets always seem to be very ornate! The book has a great variety of alphabets. They will be such fun to use in my collages!

The Birds are Back!

2010-05-06T15:55:00.001-07:00

Does anyone remember the old Far Side cartoon where the people are looking at their garden and saying, "The slugs are back, the slugs are back! Yay, it's Spring!" Well, I kind of feel like that. The birds are starting to come back to the yard again. Redwing blackbirds, gold finches, house finches, hooray! And our apple tree has blossoms on it for the first time ever. I will be so excited if we actually get some fruit.

All of a sudden there are blossoms everywhere. Yesterday I got a call from a client saying they needed a promo photo. Well, I think I am terribly unphotogenic, but decided that I would see if we could take some that weren't too frightening. Ian does a pretty good job with the camera, so we found some trees that were in bloom and gave it a shot in between gusts of wind. Oh dear... well, at least I have a good personality!

And boy, was it windy the other day! We had gusts up to 100 mph. The roofs of both the rabbit hutch and the beehive blew off, but fortunately the residents stayed inside where it was cosy.

More Mess!

2010-05-02T09:32:00.000-07:00

Its official, the basement is starting to overflow, so it is time for another sample sale (and sale to try to shift a bunch of other stuff too!) I really need to get to the basement and organize and price everything. I wish I had bigger folding tables!

These are just a few of the puzzles stacked up. I probably do more puzzles than any other category, and I usually get six samples of each design, so they add up really quickly!!

There are boxes and boxes of cards-way more than I could ever send in my lifetime! (and not just because I don't know that many people!)

And let's not forget the flags! These are just a few. I have about twenty designs, and I get samples in both large and small sizes. They are in very slippery plastic wrappings, so they are difficult to stack and usually end up sliding off the shelves onto the floor. (Someday I'll get a hanging rack.) I tend to give the proceeds of selling samples to charity, so I need to decide where to send it this time. Last time I supported Wounded Warriors and felt great about that, so I will probably just continue to do so.

So I will be spending my Sunday downstairs, where I hope the spider population has diminished somewhat over the winter. At least it is supposed to be a rainy afternoon, so I won't feel too guilty for being indoors!

What a Mess!

2010-04-26T11:42:00.001-07:00

What a mess! When you get very busy, do you find that the papers seem to just stack up and up? I'm drowning in a sea of reference photos, sketches, paintings, etc. I keep intending to tidy everything up once I finish a current project, but the next project comes along so quickly that I don't have the time! ( at least, that is what I have been telling myself)

Look at this stack of finished paintings waiting to be put away! It may not look like it, but there are 23 paintings in that pile! Well, posting these photos has made me realize I should stop making excuses, and just get everything taken care of. I know I will work much better once everything is tidy....

Clever Girl

2010-04-21T06:36:00.001-07:00

I'm a proud Mama of both my kids. My son is a very talented artist, and so is my daughter. This is her first design that she had licensed. It is a set of cards from Papyrus. She sketches designs in her sketchbook, and then we sit together to add color. She loves getting her royalties checks in the mail, as you can imagine! Poor thing got her braces put on yesterday, so she is hurting a bit today. She is keeping an amazing attitude about it all though.

Blogging will probably be fairly light for a little while. I am absolutely swamped with work, since Surtex is approaching so quickly!

A Gray Day

2010-04-17T06:00:00.000-07:00

It is a gray and cloudy day today, chilly too. On days like this it is lovely to curl up in a nice warm house, wearing the sweater Mr Right gave me for Christmas, and look through the family photo albums (and probably do a bit of painting too, naturally!). The cool dampness makes me think of England, where my extended family lives. I have been thinking of them a lot lately, so that is the album I chose.

This is my aunt and uncle's house, with my little angel out front. (okay, the picture was taken a long time ago!). The house is about 600 years old, I believe, although the site has been occupied since Roman times. This cottage has to be one of the most tranquil places I have ever been, and I will always remember it as one of my favorite spots.

This is where Mr Right proposed, all those years ago. It is called Willy Lot's Cottage, and features in one of John Constable's paintings. It is a famous spot, and last time I was there they had turned it into an art center. There is a river that runs in front of it, and Mr R and I were in a little rowboat when he went down on one knee (since life isn't like the movies, the boat didn't tip over). We hadn't seen each other for the whole year before that, because he had been teaching in Africa, and we got married six weeks later. I think my parents were quite worried, as I was only twenty and still in college, but we are still in love 24 years later so I think it was the right thing to do!

Trade Show Talk

2010-04-13T11:49:00.001-07:00

Spring is trade show time, so I thought I'd write a few tips for first time attendees. Attending shows is an expensive proposition, so you don't want to waste any money. the first thing you should do is pick which shows are the best fit for you. for example, if your dream is to do greeting cards, you would probably want to go to the National Stationery show in New York. So here is a list of shows (I might have missed some, as there are conferences for just about every niche you can think of).

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1. Atlanta Gift Show, January, Atlanta, GA : this is my personal favorite show. It is held in the Merchandise Mart and it is huge! The show covers most of the three buildings that comprise the Mart. There is a license and design section where artists can have a booth to show their work, although this is new and hasn't quite reached its potential yet. The manufacturors there represent anything you might find in a gift shop: Cards, figurines, garden ware, tableware, gift wrap, etc. There is also a summer show, which is in July this year. It is a bit smaller, but still good.

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2. Craft and Hobby Association Winter show, January, California (I'm not being specific on location here, because this year it was in Anaheim, but next year I think it will be in L.A.): CHA is geared towards all aspects of crafting and hobbies, so you will find fabric, scrapbooking, stickers, stitchcraft, puzzles, paint-by-numbers and just about everything else you'd see in a store like Hobby Lobby or Michaels. Attendees are mostly craft shop owners. There is a license and design section where you can have a booth, and one of the nice things is that the organizers bring in art directors (from all categories)especially to attend the licensing section. There is also a summer show, in July in Chicago. It is quite a bit smaller, and does not have the licensing section.

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3. Toy Fair, February, New York: Okay, so February in New York is not the ideal time for a show, but if you are interested in this category, the show is huge. This is geared to anything you might find in a toy shop, so potential licensees are puzzle manufacturors, craft kits, stickers, paint-by-numbers, etc, in addition to toys.

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4. Surtex, May, New York: Surtex stands for Surface and Textile Design. This is one of the biggest shows of the year, and runs at the same time as the National Stationery Show, in the same building. It is huge. Surtex has agents' and individual artist's booths, where clients browse to look for licensable art. The Stationery Show has manufacturors of all stationery products: cards, gift wrap and bags, journals, partyware, all paper products. This is a huge show for artists and clients to connect. However, it is also the most expensive as far as booth space, and attendence has been down the last couple of years.

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5. International Licensing Expo, June, Las Vegas. This will be my first year attending this show (and I really don't like Vegas much, but I will suffer for my career, I suppose!). This show is heavily weighted towards character licensing, although the other categories are growing here. Many artists and their agents have booths here (in addition to all the manufacturors' booths), and the attendees are both shopowners and manufacturors.

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The most important thing to remember if you attend the shows (walking the show rather than having a booth), is that for the exhibitors, this is probably their biggest expense of the year. Wandering around with a portfolio hoping to snag someone's attention is really frowned upon at Surtex (and may result in you being asked to leave). At the other shows, make an appointment to speak to the manufacturors first, and you can bring some work to show, but never interrupt anyone when they are talking to someone else. The prime reason for all the exhibitors being there is to make money. If you see someone who is alone, you can chat for a moment and leave a business card, but excuse yourself right away if a customer comes up. The most important reason to walk the show is to get a feel of the marketplace, see what is out there and how you might fit in, and gather information to follow up on later. Shows are extremely stimulating and exciting, and I know I have gotten overwhelmed by them, but as long as you bring comfy shoes you are in for a great experience.

Feeling Proud

2010-04-09T15:33:00.000-07:00

I'm feeling proud today, and for lots of reasons. I just got the samples of my new tabletop line. Here is my favorite piece, the oil bottle. Didn't they do a great job making my birdie into the stopper? The whole line is called Aero Postale, and it is from Cypress Home. There are all sorts of things; wine glasses, dessert plates, cutting boards, mugs, etc. I'm pretty excited about it.

Another thing I'm proud of, and that is that I actually stood up for myself! Those of you who know me know that I am very meek and hate confrontations. Well, last week a client was really trying to strongarm me into doing something that I was really uncomfortable with and that I thought was unethical. And I actually stood up to them and put my foot down and really told them what I thought-it was quite a phone call. And yesterday they called to apologize! I stood up for myself and it worked!

And the thing I am most proud of is that my high school son has made his first real professional sculpture sale! He sold a scuplture to the 3M corporation-they want it for their corporate headquarters in Minnesota! Here is a picture of him with it:

Sigh

2010-04-07T08:10:00.000-07:00

This is what we woke up to this morning- more snow! I had just noticed daffodils poking their heads out, and was thinking that Spring was here... That's Colorado for you! Still, this is a nice reference shot that will make a good painting. Do you think the birds nesting in that lopsided little house feel vertigo?

Today is one of those days when it seems that there is never enough time for all the things I want to do. I have a hard time giving myself time to relax and refresh, so it is good that I have this blog. The time I spend on here gives me a nice little break from the busy world. That is why I like visiting other people's blogs as well- it is like a mini-vacation. Sharyn Sowell's blog is especially good for that. Her photos are always lovely, and her gentle, soothing soul shines through. (There is a link at the side of this page). I also like blogs that give me creative inspiration, like Diane Knotts'. I don't do the paper-crafting that she is so good at, but seeing how productive she is, and the lovely results she gets, is very inspiring.

Paintin' Peonies

2010-04-05T15:13:00.000-07:00

I am in a sunshiny mood today, so I am painting peonies. These are some of the photos I am using as reference. I took them last summer when I visited Hilldene in Vermont. Hilldene is the beautiful home built by Abe Lincoln's son, and they have a peony festival every year in their lovely garden.

I love peonies. Don't they have beautiful ruffles? Such fun to paint! One of the other things I like about peonies is the symbiotic relationship they have with ants. A lot of people look at all the ants crawling over their peony bushes and think, "Yuck, I've got to get rid of those!". But actually, without ants, you won't have any flowers. The buds secrete a sweet sap that the ants chew off. If they don't chew it, the buds can't open. To me, things like that are wonderful signs of God's work. Aren't the inter-relationships in nature marvelous?

Happy Easter!

2010-04-04T06:39:00.000-07:00

Happy Easter wishes to all my blogland friends! It is finally Spring here. The last of the snow has melted, leaving everything green, and little sprouts are starting to show. Its time I went out and pruned the roses! I know a lot of people do it in the Autumn, but Spring seems to work for me. I haven't managed to kill them yet, anyway! Does anyone know a good mail-order place for plants? I would very much like to have a bittersweet bush, and my local garden shop don't even know what I am talking about. I would also like a wild-type rose that gets the really big rosehips on them. They are called dog roses in England (rosa canina), but they don't seem to be available here. My priority in planting new things seems to be dependant on how much I would like to paint them!

Tapestry

2010-04-01T07:00:00.000-07:00

I got some lovely samples last week, and I was so excited! This is my first woven blanket and pillow set that I have done. They came out great! After many years of specializing in cards and puzzles, etc, I am so pleased to be getting into home decor. That is one of the most fun things about this job: all the variety of different products that need designs!

Here is a close up of the pillow. Maybe for my next giveaway I should pick something for the home. I have a winner for the garden flags giveaway! Ta-da, the winner is Rosanna! I'll contact you privately and we'll arrange for you to get your prizes. Thanks to everyone who commented! I'm so happy about it that everyone will get one flag as a bonus prize. Can you all e-mail me with your addresses? Hooray, this is much nicer than an April Fool's prank, isn't it!

Getting Started In Art Licensing

2010-03-29T15:20:00.000-07:00

Ten years ago, when I started licensing my art, I thought that it meant that I could paint whatever I wanted, and someone would love it so much they'd put it on their products. Well, a decade later I have learned that isn't the case. I have learned that I have to gear my paintings to the manufacturors' needs if I want my art to get accepted. Yes, you should paint the subjects you love, but you have to keep in mind that you are creating the art to go on products. A lot of the artists that I meet tell me they want to get started licensing their art, but they seem to think that it is easy and takes very little effort. Rather like someone who told me once that she wanted to be a children's book illustrator, but she only wanted to illustrate the books that she herself had written. I suppose it boils down to if you consider art licensing a career or a hobby.

So, I thought I would talk about what it takes to be successful in licensing.

1. Do your homework! Remember, licensors are commercial artists. Manufacturors use our art because they want to sell their products. That means doing research to find out what actually sells on a particular type of product (and they are all different). For example, I do a lot of garden flags, which are vertical in format, so that's the kind of art I send.

2. Pay attention to what the clients say. After you have been doing this for a while, you will come to see that some of your work is more popular than others. Pay attention to that! For me, for some reason, clients seem to like the way I paint cats better than dogs (other people might be way more successful with dogs, I'm just talking about me here), so I paint more kittens than puppies. I have another client who doesn't like the color orange, so I don't send them any paintings of nasturtiums!

3. Build up your portfolio until you have a decent sized body of work. That way, if a manufacturor calls and asks for a specific subject matter that they need to do a presentation for their clients, I can send them several examples without having to do new work on spec. Its really frustrating to create a piece of work especially for a client's presentation and then they don't end up using it!

4. Be patient. Someone once told me that she was going to quit her job and start licensing her art, because she had enough money to live on for a year. I hated to tell her, but a year isn't long enough. Even if you got a contract tomorrow, it can take a year for the product to appear in the marketplace, and then another quarter before you begin seeing royalties. Someone told me once that on average it takes three years to become an "overnight success", and I must be kinda slow, because it took me longer than that (and I still have a long way to go)!

So what I am saying is that art licensing is a job, and you need to think of it that way. Like all jobs, it takes hard work and you need to educate yourself continually. However, it can be wonderfully rewarding too (and I'm not just talking financially here). The people who make the big bucks are few and far between, and of course we all admire them for their success. But licensing has other benefits to think about. I get to work at home, so I have no stressful commutes, and I can be around for my kids. It is very exciting to see my art on products. I get to meet fantastic people who work in the field. And best of all, I get to spend all day doing my favorite thing: painting!

My First Giveaway

2010-03-24T07:08:00.001-07:00

So, this is what we woke up to this morning...(that thumping sound you hear is the kids jumping for joy because there is no school today). I hope our bees are all snuggled up to keep warm in their snowy little hive! No matter how long I live in Colorado, I don't think I'll ever get used to how quickly the weather can change. We can get snow here no matter what the season, even if it has been toasty warm the day before.

So, in that spirit, I thought I would do a four seasons give away. I'll be sending four garden flags to the winner!

Oops, you can see the tips of my toes in this pic! (toes are not included in the giveaway). To enter, leave a comment on this post. To enter twice, mention it on your blog. I'll do a random drawing on April 1st. Good luck!

Agent Appreciation Day

2010-03-23T07:07:00.001-07:00

There is a lot of chat amongst my artist friends about whether or not to have an agent, so I thought I would add my two cents. I have always had an agent, and the busier I get, the more I am grateful for having one!

To start with, my theory was that as I have no head for business, it would be wise to have someone to represent me who understood contracts and financial dealings. I have sat in on meetings with my clients, and as soon as they start talking about production runs, mass market versus specialty, royalties, skus, oh, my head starts to spin!

Now that I have been in this business for a long time, I have started to see other benefits.

1. Agents generally know the track record of the companies they work with, so even if a client is new to me, my agent can tell me what to expect from working with them.

2. Agents get "calls for submissions" from the clients. Maybe if I was famous, the clients would contact me directly with what they need, but generally they have a pool of agents, and when they need something they send out an e-mail asking for it. This doesn't mean that I create something new on the off-chance that it will get picked. Once you've been in the biz for a while, you end up with a big stockpile of images. So if a clients asks for apples, for example, my agnet will send them five or six apple paintings from my portfolio.

3. Agents can tell you about general trends they are seeing from their clients, and that helps me decide what new work to create. I can keep track of things like color trends, but sometimes there is a certain subject matter that all of a sudden everybody seems to be looking for.

4. My agent also helps me keep track of what I need to do. My work is a balancing act of painting what I want to paint, and fulfilling requests from clients. My agent helps me prioritize, otherwise I would be in a complete tizzy. Right now I spend a lot of time just keeping up with the clients' needs, and sending files, and making tweaks to designs, and generally keeping my paperwork in order. I can't imagine how much more time I would spend on that if I had to represent myself as well. I would never have time to paint!

Of course, everyone needs to decide what is best for them. Some people are much better at the business side of things than me, so they would be reluctant to pay an agent to take care of that for them. Licensing agents generally take 50% of the income, so it is an important financial decision to make. I have been lucky to have worked with some really great women, who have made my career much more succesful than it would have been without them. So that's my two cents.

We're Back!

2010-03-20T06:15:00.000-07:00

I know this is supposed to be an art blog, but I can't resist posting pictures of our wonderful trip to Florida. We just got back yesterday, coming home to a nasty Spring storm! We wanted to turn around and go right back again. We went to Epcot the first day. I haven't been since I was a teenager and it had first opened, and it sure is a lot different now.

We went with my brother John. He is the best brother anyone could ask for and we all adore him. He and I frequently take vacations together. We have been to Maine, Vermont, and England so far, as well as all over Florida and Colorado.

I was so excited to see one of my flags for sale in one of the Epcot gift shops! As you can see, it is one of the ones for which I just received the samples that I posted about last time. They were having a flower and garden festival so they had lots of garden themed stuff for sale, so the flags might not always be there. Still, I was thrilled, is that totally dorky of me?

We liked the World Showcase area of Epcot best. This is Paris; you can just see the Eiffel tower in the background.

We also went to Cape Canaveral to the Kennedy Space center. Here is my lovely Margaret looking at the shuttle on the launch pad. She really wants to have a career involving space or astronomy, so our main reason for going to Florida was to take her to Kennedy. There was supposed to be a shuttle launch while we were there, but it got postponed. We were so disappointed, because one of the shuttle astronauts this time is from our hometown and graduated from our high school!

So now I'm home and its back to work for me. I really want to paint lots of beach scenes and seagulls and stuff (I love shore birds), but there is lots of stuff on my to-do list before I can get to that!

Now Let's Celebrate the Men

2010-03-11T05:32:00.000-08:00

So we just had a day to celebrate the women, and I thought that the men in my life deserved a mention too. Here is a picture of my beloved Mr Right. I look like the something the cat dragged in here, but isn't he adorable? I am very lucky to have found a man who thinks of his wife as a partner rather than a chattel.

And here is my super-cool teenage son, Ian. This is a picture to make the girls swoon, isn't it! So today I am going to try to make my men-folk feel special. That's true liberation, isn't it, when you can just reckon that everyone is equally special, and not have to constantly remind yourself that women didn't have the same rights as men until relatively recently. That is the world my daughter is going to grow up in. I just had to explain to her why there was an international women's day, and the concept that once women weren't considered equal came as quite a surprise to her. I know that women's salaries still lag behind, and that in some professions there is still a glass ceiling, but I am seeing a gradual erosion of that every day. Life is good.

Today is Our Day

2010-03-08T15:15:00.000-08:00

Today is International Women's Day. Time to celebrate how far we've come (okay, I know there are a couple of men who read this blog, but bear with me). When I told my parents that I wanted to go to art school, they thought that being an artist wasn't really a career path, but that it would be okay as I would be a housewife who just did little paintings as a hobby. Well, years later, I'm still a pretty lousy housekeeper, but my paintings are much more than just a way to pass the time! I'm so grateful that I can have an actual career (and that I don't have to wear a corset). So today I am sending much love to all the wonderful women I have worked with over the years; art directors, publishers, agents, artists and all.... okay, all you gentlemen, I love you too.

A Lucky Find

2010-03-07T06:25:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I took some books to trade in at the secondhand bookshop. Of course I had to browse around, and look at the lovely book I found! I already had "The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady", which came out about 20 years ago , but I never knew that they had found another of her sketchbooks and published it.

Here is the page from March. I love some of the country quotes she writes in for each month. For March, there is "As many misties in March, so many frosties in May". I truly hope that one isn't true, as it we are having a very misty morning here! On this date in 1905 she "Picked Colt's-foot and Procumbent Speedwell. Groundsel in flower and Chickweed. Rooks busy building their nests." Isn't Procumbent a wonderful word? I'm going to have to look that one up in the dictionary and add it to my regular vocabulary. I do that to tease my children who would much rather I spoke like the brain-dead parents they see on television.

Isn't this an adorable painting? I think loose watercolors are lovely. I try very hard, but my paintings seem to come out very tight and detailed. I just keep noodling away at them! Which is fine, my clients seem to like it, but I wish I could paint both ways. I think I will just have to practise more and build my confidence.

Now I'd better go get busy. We are going to see "Alice in Wonderland" this afternoon, and we have friends coming over this evening, so I'd better do something about the big pile of laundry so that we're not eating dinner surrounded by socks and underpants!

Waiting For Spring

2010-03-05T08:30:00.001-08:00

Okay, it isn't quite Spring yet, but we're getting there. Today is chilly and rainy, so I am working on creating Spring themed garden flags. My mind is a little bit scattered-I've been having the weirdest dreams lately. Last night I dreamed that we were having a party and this monster was attacking all my friends, but that you were safe if you wore a sheep on your head! Not even a lamb, a great big sheep. Every now and then someone would get tired of that so they'd let their sheep go. It would trot off, baa,baa,baa, and then the monster would swoop in. I never did get back to sleep after that!

Nature Walk

2010-03-03T09:37:00.000-08:00

My favorite form of exercise is to take a nice walk in lovely weather. I sometimes go with dear Rosanna, and she thinks I am quite crazy, because by the time I get home my pockets are full of dead bugs and things! I just can't resist nature's little treasures, and I have a couple of drawers in my studio devoted to my finds. And yes, they do often end up in my paintings! (by the way, I never kill bugs to bring home or anything, but I will pick up their little bodies if I find them. You can all say "Yuck!" very loudly now).

This photo is of some of my Autumn finds. Look at the variety of sizes of acorns! The giant acorn cap is from a Burr oak. And I love dried seedheads, like the poppy and teasel shown here. Soon I will be looking for Spring things, hooray!

Little Treasures

2010-02-28T08:16:00.001-08:00

I am very sentimental and save everything. My excuse is that I will use all my little treasures in paintings someday. Yesterday I decided to get these little pill bottles and old keys out of a drawer and put them on display. They belonged to my Grandmother, who was a great believer in homeopathic remedies. I love tiny little bottles and jars.

I took another picture with a penny in it to show the scale of how small the bottles are-with tiny little pills inside! Some of the bottles still have their original boxes. I never knew my father's parents, as my parents emigrated to this country when I was very young and left their families behind. It has made my family extremely close, as we moved frequently and all we had was each other. But I like to hold objects that belonged to my ancestors and try to feel close to them.

A Touching Find

2010-02-25T15:19:00.000-08:00

In addition to collecting antequarian books and magazines, I also love other paper ephemera, especially old postcards. I bought this one at a flea market because I liked the "Merry Christmas and Happy New year" calligraphy. Sometimes I'll scan that sort of thing in and use it in my digital collages.

The back was so closely written I didn't even bother to read it...at least, not until months afterward. What I read was deeply touching. It was written in 1918 during the terrible infuenza epidemic (and such a coincidence that I should buy this just as everyone was so worried about H1N1!) The author is writing to her cousins to tell them that her mother, father and their friends are all suffering from flu. She is afraid that school will not re-open, due to the epidemic. She also speaks of just receiving a telegram saying that her brother Charley had been wounded just before the Armistice in WWI.

How I wish I knew that the family had survived and recovered from their winter ordeal! Next time I go to our local museum I will donate this. Perhaps they can trace the descendants, which would be very interesting. And I did end up using the calligraphy in a design, which has been made into Christmas ornaments!

Start With a Sketch

2010-02-23T12:12:00.000-08:00

I keep a sketchbook because I am always getting ideas for future paintings. I know that sometimes it might be a while before I can get to the actual painting, since I usually have a long to-do list (both artistically and mommy-wise). I tuck snippets of research in the sketchbook too, to remind me of what I was thinking. As you can see, my sketches are so rough, that any memory-jogger would help! This sketch has a dividing line because I wasn't sure what format I would end up painting in.

Next I look through all my photo reference to find just the right birds. I have stacks and stacks of photos that I print out at 8x10 and keep in three ring binders so I can just flip through each book when I'm searching. The binders are divided by category: I have several for birds, one for cats and dogs, one for floral, and one for still life. I add to them all the time.

I knew I wanted the painting to have a sandcastle in it, so my daughter and I got out the Moon Sand (which is great stuff, much more fun than Playdoh) and the bucket of shells that we collected in Florida and started playing with it. We had to make lots of different sandcastles before we had it "just right", of course!

And here is the final result! This is just a snippet of the final painting, which actually is horizontal.

Product Mockups

2010-02-21T06:31:00.000-08:00

About a month ago, I bought a set of product mockup templates that Phyllis Dobbs designed. (a link to her blog is in my "favorites" list to the right). These templates are so easy to use! I had never bothered making mockups before, because I didn't know how to do it. I just figured that the clients would be able to visualize my art on their products without me spelling it out for them. In a lot of cases, that seemed to be true, but now the licensing competition is tighter, the art director's time has become shorter, and the economy makes everyone wary of risk. It seems like the more I can do to make the clients attracted to my work, the better. The templates make it very easy to just drop in the artwork. They have shading and everything! So I'm very pleased with my new "toy".

Gotta Paint

2010-02-18T11:46:00.000-08:00

I couldn't imagine why I have been so grumpy lately. It is really unlike me! But then I realized that for weeks I have been scrambling to create designs for clients, and to make changes in Photoshop, etc, but I haven't had a chance to sit down at my desk and lose myself in a painting that comes just from my heart. I think I need regular trips to the "art planet" in order to feel like myself. Maybe all the ideas and inspiration just can't be kept bottled up until I have a convenient time to let them out. I always have a to-do list a mile long, but I think its important for artists to give themselves permission just to be creative. If you don't keep your mind fresh, the art won't be fresh either. So there, I've rationalized it, now I'm off to paint!

A Closer View

2010-02-17T08:25:00.000-08:00

Yesterday when I posted the how-to pages for the kitten, the pages ended up looking quite small. They work if you print them out, but I thought I would try to post larger pictures today.

I used Canson Mi-Tientes paper for these drawings. When working with charcoal, you want a paper that has a little bit of "tooth".

Make sure you leave plenty of white paper for the white fur, so the kitten doesn't look dirty. It is a good idea to put a piece of tracing paper under your hand when drawing so you don't smudge the paper.

And..we're done! One of my favorite techniques is to cut the end of a click eraser with a knife, so you have a very sharp edge to "draw" white lines into a dark area.

Now I'd better get to work! I'm designing teapots today, which is fun because I'm a huge tea drinker. I always make tea properly in a pot, rather than microwaving it. It makes kind of a nice ritual. I like English Breakfast tea best, but in the afternoons my new fave is Chamomile Vanilla from Celestial Seasonings.

Draw Baby Animals

2010-02-16T09:39:00.000-08:00

I have written several "how-to" books for North Light and this one is my favorite. It is also my most recent, so I guess it takes me a while to get the hang of things! I have noticed that several of my favorite blogs post tutorials sometimes, so I thought I would post one of the step-by-step articles from this book.

There are several ways of creating your intitial drawing. This example shows the basic shapes method, which in this case is based on ovals. You could also use the grid method, where you copy your reference onto a gridded paper, working one small square at a time. Sometimes people find it easier to break their drawing down into smaller parts, so they don't get overwhelmed by the whole thing.

I like to use charcoal pencil if I am trying to get very soft, dark fur. I used a regular tortillon for blending this drawing, but I must tell you about one of my favorite blending tools. They are called Fantastix. They are a sort of plastic pencil with a soft foam tip. You can get a bullet tip or a brush tip, and I like the bullet tip best. I keep a separate one for each color of pastel I use, so the colors don't turn to mud. They are a little hard to find, but I saw some in the stamping section of Michael's the other day.

Happy Valentine's Day

2010-02-14T07:00:00.000-08:00

Today is Valentine's Day and I am feeling so blessed to be surrounded by people I love so much. Dear Hubby and I have been married for 24 years (yes, I was a toddler when we married). He spent the year before we married teaching in Africa, and we could speak once a month on the phone (if we could get a line through), and we got married 6 weeks after he got back. And now we have two beautiful offspring (they don't like me to call them "kids" any more!) and we are still going strong.

Well, that's enough of the mushy stuff for now. I still have housework to do and my paints are calling me! Later I have to take the senior offspring downtown- he and his friends are dressing as Zombies to pass out Valentines to the passers-by. A teenager's mind is a wonderful thing to observe.

Purr-fect Garden

2010-02-13T08:18:00.000-08:00

I haven't done much fabric design, so I was pretty excited to see how my first fabric line came out. The name of the collection is "Purr-fect Garden" and it is from MMFab/Wilmington Prints. My mom is making a quilt from this fabric, using the free pattern on the Wilmington website. I can't wait to see how it comes out!

I think I am going to use the white daisies to make curtains for my studio. My sewing skills are pretty nonexistant, so that's about as complicated a project as I can tackle!

Something for You

2010-02-12T06:04:00.001-08:00

I love to collect illustrated antequarian books and magazines. Some of my favorites are about fashion and design for ladies. This alphabet is from an 1874 edition of Peterson's magazine. I'm putting it here as a gift-feel free to copy it and use it in your crafting or scrapbooking. Would you like me to post more ephemera for you to use? Leave a comment and let me know.

Here is another picture of my son's sculpture. It is made out of tape, which is why it is transparent. Scotch is having a packing tape sculpture contest for students. If you like his sculture, would you like to vote for it? Here is the link: http://www.offtherollcontest.com/main/GalleryDetail.aspx?contestEntryId=64

I'd better get busy. I'm preparing some presentations for some really big clients and I need to do a really good job. I'm excited, but a little intimidated too!

My Studio

2010-02-11T07:30:00.001-08:00

I know I love looking at pictures of other artist's studios, so I thought I'd post some of mine. I have been trying to get organized. I tend to work on so many projects at once that I end up with piles of research and sketches all over the place, and I end up having to tip-toe between them! I built the white cabinets over the weekend (with much help from the family who rescued me when I assembled bits upside down or backwards).

I have various antique shelves and drawers as well. I use this one to store some of my still life objects and a few examples of my large collection of antequarian books. The watercolor in the background is of my son, and was painted by Victoria Lisi, who wrote the book I reviewed a few days ago. The small clock was a wedding present that my grandparents received 80 years ago!

I collect pottery from places I visit and use it to store brushes and pencils. This is one of my favorites. It comes from Maine, where my brother and I took a fantastic vacation a couple of years ago. I adore my brother, and we frequently take little vacations together. I love going to the coast, so I am setting my sights on Nantucket for our next trip!

Coyotes

2010-02-10T06:14:00.000-08:00

A few years ago, we moved from town to a house that backs up to a nature preserve. We have a lovely view of fields and hills, and the best part is watching the birds and animals. When we get snow, we tend to see the coyotes a lot more frequently. I don't know if their pattern changes when it is cold, or if they are just more visible! Yesterday this lovely fellow was right behind our fence. I love watching them listen for the field mice under the snow, and then...pounce!

Samples, woo-hoo!

2010-02-09T06:04:00.001-08:00

Yesterday I got a big box of samples, hooray! It is always such fun to see how the finished products come out. This is an example of one of my flags. One of these days I think I am going to have to open a shop, because my basement is full of samples. The flags and cards don't take much room, but the puzzles are stacked all the way up the walls. Someday Hubby will come downstairs and find me buried under an avalanche of boxes! Last year I had a sale of samples to benefit Wounded Warriors, but this year I'm going to have to have it in a better location, as my living room just didn't cut it!

If you have time today, check out Michelle Palmer's blog (the link is at the right) and see the collages she has made of vintage paper ephemera. I collect that sort of thing too, so I love seeing what she has done with it. And she is having a nifty giveaway too!

A Book Review

2010-02-08T07:16:00.000-08:00

These pictures sre from my friend Victoria Lisi's new book. The beautiful girl in the hat is my daughter Margaret! This is a really great book for anyone who wants to paint portraits. Vicki is a hugely experienced illustrator, and she also teaches art at the local college, so she really knows what she is talking about. The things I found most useful were her tips on things like painting hair (why is it that I can paint hair on kittens and puppies, but when I paint people it looks like they are wearing a wet possum for a hat?), and her color charts for mixing skin tones. And I love the homemade splayed brush.

It has been one of those mornings that always seem to happen on a Monday. Woke up to more snow (and I am so ready for snowdrops and crocusses!), a sick child, and a computer monitor that is on the fritz. All of a sudden, the top half of the monitor has gone dark, while the bottom half is fine. Adjusting the brightness doesn't help. Does anyone have any tips? I think I'll have to give working on Photoshop a miss until I get it sorted out. Oh well, my paints have been calling to me anyway!

A Cozy Day

2010-02-07T06:31:00.000-08:00

My teenage son Ian is a wonderful sculptor and very creative. This picture is of a school project he did. They took it down to Old Town on Friday night and set it up. All the passers-by were admiring it and asking questions and Ian was really the star of the show that night. I'll post more pics when I get them. Our camera battery died, naturally, but Ian's teacher took lots of photos.

Brr, its cold today! Our house is cocooned in snow and fog. I am the first one up, as usual, and I am enjoying the quiet time in my studio with a hot cup of tea. It is the perfect day to stay indoors and be busy. I am re-organizing my studio, finally, after it got so bad that I had to keep the door shut when people came over because I was ashamed of it! The trouble is, art supplies are so cool, and so much fun, that I accumulate a lot of them. I have bought some do-it-yourself cabinets to put together and soon my favorite room will be all spic and span!

My Very First Post!

2010-02-06T12:04:00.000-08:00

Well, I have finally entered the modern world this year. I have learned how to use Photoshop (love it!) and now I have my very own blog. I plan to use this space to talk about art, inspiration, and the beautiful Colorado scenery. (And I might brag about my kids a little bit too)!

I feel like I am getting a fresh start this year. A new agent, new clients in addition to my "regulars", new looks in art. I love painting birds, flowers, and animals. In addition to my traditional paintings, now I like to use Photoshop to add vintage elements from my huge collection of antequarian books and magazines. The picture above is a little example.

I'm really looking forward to this new adventure!