Happy Valentine's Day!

It is Valentine's Day this week, so I am taking the opportunity to send my love to you all. This is a cropped portion of a recent painting. I have tried lots of new techniques lately. On this painting, I have collaged in some of my fabric. I have never done much collage, but it is lots of fun. I also tried watercolor crayons for the first time. Did you know you could use them on top of acrylics? They make lovely washes. I have used watercolor pencils many times, but I always thought that the crayons wouldn't blend well enough with a wet brush, so I was happily surprised. I can't wait to use them more in depth.

My daughter was in my studio the other day looking at the supplies gathered on every surface and said, "You sure have a lot of paint!" I looked and thought how happy it makes me to be surrounded by so many beautiful colors every day. Is there anything nicer than art supplies?

Art Journaling

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

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

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

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!

Is there anything better than a new set of paints?

I'm Back

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!