Atlanta Gift Show 2013

Time for another trip to Atlanta for the winter gift show! I love going to this show. It is so stimulating to see new products and I am always so happy to hang out with my artist friends! Since I work at home most of the time, getting out to shows like these is just vital. The America's Mart, where the show is held is huge. There are three buildings that range fro 15-18 stories tall. There are 5000 permanent showrooms, and 3000-5000b temporary showrooms.

 

This gives you an idea of the size of the Mart. This was taken on the 18th floor at the top of the escalator, and yes, it was very scary to hang over the edge and snap the photo!

 

 

And here is a view of the temporary showrooms.

 

 

One of the most fun things about the show is finding the products with my art. So, to show that I am not a snob when it comes to which products I will license to, let me present: Toilet Tattoos! Ta-da!

 

 

Of course, there were lots of flags showcasing my art. This is one of my favorite product categories. I love designing for flags.

 

 

 

Evergreen has come out with a nifty new product; greeting cards with an enclosed flag. What a fun thing to get in the mail!

 

 

It is always fun to design for home decor. Here is a pillow from C&F Enterprises. They did kitchen towels as well.

 

 

And mugs are always fun. The Rustic Lodge line from Downeast concepts also has matching stationery products.

 

 

But "hangin' with my peeps" is always one of the best parts of the show. But yikes, I look a bit drunken there, don't I! Believe me, I only had iced tea that night! What a wonderfully kind and talented group of friends I have made through this career I have chosen. I am very blessed. In this photo are Joy Molina Hall, Sharon Himes, Terri Conrad, and me when we went out to dinner on Friday night. Three days of laughing, hugging, and inspiration, and now I am ready to get back to painting, hooray!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A Product Review

 

Last week, the kind folks at Martin F. Weber sent me a packet of their new Mijello Mission Gold watercolors to try. I'm in the middle of an acrylic painting, so I haven't done a lot with them yet, but I couldn't wait to at least give them a try! I have to say, if you like really bright, intense colors, you should check these out. One thing that is nice is that they don't fade very much when they dry. I didn't have a lot of luck with lifting out, but it could be the paper I was using; I have had trouble lifting out on Strathmore paper whatever brand of paint I use. The colors went on very smoothly and dispersed well in water washes. I'll definately be playing with these some more.

I also tried out my new Copic fountain pen. I didn't realize Copic made these as well as markers. I had a little trouble with the ink line petering out before I was done, as if the ink wasn't flowing as smoothly as it could have. It could be that the pen has to be used a bit more to get the ink really going, or perhaps it was because they had been stored flat, rather than point down. So the jury is still out on that one!

A Trip to England continued

A trip to England wouldn't be the same without a stop in busy, bustling London! It was exciting to be there during the run up to the Olympics, although it did mean that some areas were off limits, and other areas were very busy. We managed to get all the priorities done though! The Tower of London, Tower Bridge, Big Ben, Buckingham Palace, St James Park, The London Eye, Covent Garden, etc, all in one day!

I have always been fascinated by ancient graffiti. One thing I like to do when visiting very old castles and buildings is to see what is the oldest graffiti I can find. In the prison cells of the Tower of London there are beautiful, intricate wall carvings. Some were done by the prisoners, others were done for the prisoners.

One thing I really enjoyed in many of the places we went were the "living statues". Mime artists who paint themselves and create really elaborate poses.

And of course, there is just so much prettiness and visual interest wherever you go.

York is full of interesting carvings like these, that date back to the time before most people could read. The shops would have a carved sign to indicate what they sold; a sheep for a wool shop, etc. This devil's imp shows that this shop was originally a printer's. The boy apprentices who ran around delivering the work were called printer's imps!

Of course, I can never stay in cities for too long, so we headed for the coast. This is the castle on Lindisfarne, an island that can only be reached at low tide. At high tide the road is completely covered, so you have to time your journey carefully so you are not marooned!

From there we drove to Seahouse, where we could hop on a boat to the Farne Islands, a bird sanctuary. I was in bird watching heaven! We were very lucky with the weather; as you can see, the North Sea is quite calm, which is unusual!

We saw so many wonderful birds. PUFFINS! of course, and terns, guillemots, razorbills, just about every sea bird you can imagine. It was one of the best days I have ever had.

And to top it all off, after we left the island we saw seals!

A Trip To England (part one)

I have been gone for a very long time, but for a very good reason! I took my daughter to England to visit our relatives and to introduce her to her heritage. We stayed with my aunt and uncle at their 500 year old cottage, which is in a picturesque village.

Actually, all the villages in England are picturesque! This is Kersey. It is a pity that there are cars in the photo, but you can't fight modern life, I suppose.

It was important to me to show my daughter all the places that are special to me. This is the spot where my dear hubby proposed, all those years ago. (26 to be exact!)

There are so many photo opportunities, of course.

One thing you really notice is just how green everything is. There is really nowhere else quite like England.

We visited castles, of course. This one is in Colchester, Britain's oldest town.

And we went to Beatrix Potter's cousin's house, Melford Hall. This is the original toy that Beatrix saw and based her Jemima Puddleduck books on! I never knew that.

And here is the pond where she did her paintings for Jeremy Fisher. I confess, I got a bit geeky about being around all of Beatrix Potter's things! My daughter said I was annoying, but hey, that's what mum's are for.

It is always good to be with family!

Whew, that is enough photos for now I think. I will post more later, including our trip to the Farne Islands to see the PUFFINS!

Sketching

Do you keep a sketchbook? I am addicted to the thin, softcover ones from Moleskine. They come in packs of two and are perfect for keeping in my purse. I like that they have fewer pages than the other sketchbooks because it is so satisfying to finish one up and then start on the next one! I haven't decided what my favorite pens are. I tend to use whatever is available!

Summer Days

Where do the days go? I can't believe it has been so long since I have updated my blog. Life has been busy, but now we are getting in to the swing of summer. For Father's Day we took our special fella to do what he loves best: go to the mountains! We have a friend who owns a 70,000 acre ranch in the mountains. We started by fishing for trout in the pond by the barn.

Then we thought we would go to a different portion of the ranch where we could do some nice hiking. But when we went to move the car, it was sunk in deep sand with a rock stuck underneath! We were completely bogged down and afraid that the rock would rip out the bottom of the chassis. So John and the ranch manager had to dig the rock out from under the car, then everyone had to push with all their might to get us free. John is showing his dominance over the rock by Tebowing next to it.

Once we finally hit the trail, we hiked back to where there were the remains of some old cabins. I wonder what they looked like while they were still intact. It was fun to explore.

We took our new dog Mollie with us. Even though she is 7 years old, I don't think her previous owner had ever taken her out into nature before. She was excited, but a little afraid of some of the new sights and smells. She was certainly a tired pup by the end of the day!

There is lots of wildlife out there and we found some deer antlers, which is always fun. John is modeling them. Finally we walked along the top of a ridge, from whence we could see Pikes Peak and a view for miles.We love living in Colorado!

Say Hello to My Little Friend

Join me in welcoming my new little studio buddy!