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Showing posts from 2023

Merchandising Your Art

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"Dairy Queen" If you have lived in Texas, you might love Blue Bell. Even our cows do.  I hope you have considered merchandising your images. Not only is it fun to see products with your artwork on them but it is lucrative and makes a longer lasting impression of your intention and talent. It's a great gift from you, as well. Where can you get this work created? One artist website is Fine Art America. I let the people at Fine Art America print my images on notecards, prints of all sizes and on surfaces of all kinds. For example, tote bags are a popular item. Many folks aren't collectors of hanging art but they like color and uniqueness in other areas of their homes. Mugs are  another popular item because they are practical and inexpensive as a gift. You can include beach towels, tapestries, masks and notebook covers and more. Pros: It doesn't cost much, (I set my own prices) and it is working behind the scenes making income for me. You can order personally from he

Ideas from Maui ...

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 It has been a month of travel for us! I brought a small tray of paints and some favorite brushes and did a little doodling on flights but for the most part, I enjoyed other artists' works. Time for my creating later. Some very clever ideas are out there if you go into galleries that feature local artists. I did that in Maui last week mostly at the Lahaina shops on Front Street. The restaurants are not bad either! Shouts out to Duckine, Mala and Star Noodle for their creativity with food and drinks. And did I mention the scenery is breathtakingly beautiful? Don't forget to take a sunset cruise...it's amazing. And soooo relaxing... Artists on site : I was very impressed with some of the local artists' works in an especially competitive arena. Tourists were invited to cool off and shop in lovely settings with many featuring artists on hand to chat while they explained some special details about their works. This always increases the activity in the gallery and likely resu

Round Top Treasures... a lesson on painting reflections

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 A funny story here...my girlfriend , Nancy Kay, might be the world's greatest Christmas enthusiast. Not only is there A LOT of stuff inside and out but it is lovingly hung just after Halloween, annually refreshed and then carefully stored ( for a short while anyway) in mid January. The traditional party mix is a baking ordeal done early and given to lucky recipients. It has so much bacon fat, its best to take an antacid before munching. The candy, the wrapped staircase, the tree, the music, the smells!!! are all at their home displaying an abundance of Christmas ambiance. This silver service is always draped with pine cones and a bow and has a place of honor in the Dining Room which is lavishly decorated , set for immediate guests or for a potential drop in by royalty. This year , in June, ( painted in April) will be the Malone's 50th wedding anniversary so I decided to paint this "family heirloom" minus the pine cones for them and asked the "story" behind

Glorious Succulents come alive on paper!

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 March 3 and 4 was a very fun time for 9 students and myself at the Lost Pines Art Center in Bastrop. We all recreated a complicated garden scene that included succulents of various shapes and sizes on a patterned background. We also threw in a garden hose and faucet just for fun! It was based on this original of mine titled "Low Water Crossing" , a 22'x30" painting that would take a longer time period. Instead I took sections of it and sketched these onto 140 # Strathmore watercolor paper (11x18) using a graphite transfer method. Low Water Crossing                                                       3 beginners to this medium were in my class with intermediate and even advanced watercolor painters. The workshop is geared toward beginners but not kindergarden...this is a college level approach for adults who have had some experience in other genres , sketching and painting and even pastel and colored pencil. They were amazingly adept and we reached our goal of havi