My third solo exhibit is coming to a close

It's been a busy summer of art fairs and gallery shows! Tomorrow I'm heading to the Galerie Henri Nadeau in St-Francois, NB to take down my solo exhibit. This is my third solo show already, and 15 of my paintings have been hung there since July 5th - a whole two months! Here's a photo from the main entrance.

I also participated in the Rendez-vous des Artistes in St-Leonard this year, which is always an amazing time!! It's my 5th year in a row there, and it's something I look forward to the minute it ends.

I sold 6 paintings already, just in those two venues alone... I also sold "Rolling Clouds" and "Irish Moss" this summer on Etsy. I really need to get painting so I can fill up my walls again!

SOLD - "The Odd Couple" - 8 x 16"

SOLD 

This is what I love the most about Still Life painting - the chance for me to tell a little story. In this case, I'm adding my own social commentary using Lemons and Limes, but the viewer can interpret this scene any which way they'd like. Are they an interracial or gay couple? An older gentleman with a younger woman? And which one of these IS the "odd couple", anyway? You decide!

SOLD - "Living on the Edge" - 14 x 18"

As promised, I'll be posting some of my latest works that hadn't yet made it to my blog. Here's one of them, titled "Living on the Edge".

SOLD 

I started this painting last summer; it was the piece I was working on during a local Art Show, and had really struggled to finish it that weekend. I love going to this show... it's outdoors, and you get to meet your collectors face-to-face, which is always great! Plus, we usually set up our easels and paint while folks are admiring and shopping... something I always find interesting myself when I go to shows. I love seeing how each artist works.

However for me, being the social butterfly that I am, I almost never get to paint during these events because I'm too busy talking to everyone! And this is one of those paintings... started, but never finished. I finally brought it back to my studio and managed to finish it months later. And I'm so pleased with the final result!

The original photo (taken by my husband during a past trip to Tijuana, Mexico) was very dull and lifeless. I love bringing my sense of color to such drab scenes. That's where us artists really get to be artists :)

SOLD - "Gossip Queen" - 12 x 12"

I've been busy working on a few projects this summer, and haven't been updating my blog as often as I'd like to! But here's a recent addition to my gallery, titled "Gossip Queen".



SOLD 

I've been wanting to paint Raspberries for a long time, and wanted to paint it in a similar style as my "cherries" painting from a few months ago. I just loved the bright, juicy reds against a stark white background.

So outside I went to take some reference photos, and settled on this arrangement. The way the berries were placed, it looked as if the one on the right was whispering in the left one's ear. And the left one was making an "OMG" face - LOVED that! So that's where the title comes from - "Gossip Queen" :)

SOLD - "The Cherry Gang" - 16 x 8"

Here's my latest painting, "The Cherry Gang". I really loved painting this one. My goal for this painting was not to do it quickly, but rather try and focus on each brushstroke, and why it needed to be there. All too often, I get wrapped up in the tiny details. This time, I stood back and squinted, thinking before I applied paint to the canvas. I wanted it to remain fresh and loose. I was very happy with the final result! :)

This Original oil painting was sold during a recent Art Show.

Spring into Art!!

It's such an honor to be part of VAST (Visual Artists Street Team) at Etsy! It's a great feeling to be part of such a talented group of artists... and tonight, we'll be hosting our very first Trunk Show! This is so exciting! Here's a glimpse into what you might see tonight, in our Spring-related theme:



"Macro Cabbage", which is available as a Giclee reproduction in my shop, is one of my favorite paintings. I love painting vegetables, and it was fun to find the different colors in all that green! This painting also won me 2nd Place in a regional art show.

---

Another favorite is my "Swan Reflections", an ORIGINAL watercolor painting. I loved the peacefulness of this swan, wadding around in the famous Swan Pond in Boston, MA. In my shop, you can find both the Original painting, as well as a Giclee print of this one.

---

Hope to see everyone at the "Welcome Spring" trunk show tonight at 7pm (EST) in the Gallery Room. You can also browse my Etsy shop for even more wonderful art, in a wide range of prices.

"I Love Maine", ACEO Challenge

I don't typically get involved in these types of challenges, especially since I had never really done an ACEO** before. Since I try to support my favorite ETSY team as much as I can, I thought I'd give it a try. How FUN!!!! The challenge was to create one (1) ACEO with a “Maine” theme using recycled or upcycled materials. It did not have to be 100% recycled materials, but as much as possible.

Here's my entry, which it simply titled "I Love Maine". It's made entirely of found and recycled objects. I started with real Birch bark as the background, then created a pine tree using leftover silk flower petals. The blue fabric across the bottom depicts Maine's coastline, along with a few seashells. I then added a few autumn leaves stickers at the bottom, and a gold snowflake as the sun.



This was so much fun to make and assemble - I hope I've captured the full essence of what Maine means to me (lush forests, gorgeous coastlines, and the four seasons). You can read more about this challenge, which ends on February 26, 2009. Good luck to all the other participants! :)

** What is an ACEO you ask? A.C.E.O. stands for: Art Cards, Editions and Originals. An ACEO is "always" 2.5 x 3.5 inches in portrait or landscape orientation. Small collectable pieces of original art or a signed "Open" or "Limited" Edition reproduction print by the artist. Designed on the Artist Trading Cards (ATC) which are 'traded' ...ACEO's are for sale to collectors. They allow people all around the world to collect and sell art because of their affordability and that the miniature size provides ease of shipping.

"Beauty of the Heart" makes it to Etsy's Front Page!!

How excited was I when I saw one of my original collages on Etsy's front page!! It's so nice to see that... I had been featured a few times already, but never for my Art, so this was truly an honor!!

This original collage can be purchased through my Etsy shop.

Hangover? Grab some Egg and Toast...

What a happy discovery I made this morning when I saw my Egg and Toast painting appear on Etsy's main Blog article! This painting has always been a popular one, and I'm so glad that it also got the attention of the Etsy community! Thanks to their admins for putting it front and center!

You can purchase the original painting here in my Etsy shop. I'm also selling Giclee prints of this painting as well, which you can find here.

Autumn Shadows - 10 x 14"

Fall in New England is something else... there's no way to really describe it unless you've been there. Having lived in the northeast my entire life, we sometimes take this for granted. One day, as I was driving through some backcountry roads, I came across this scene - tall, colorful trees casting these long purple shadows in the road... it was so beautiful!!! I had to capture this in a painting. The photos here don't do it quite justice... the painting is much brighter in real life!

This painting can be purchased through my Etsy shop.

On the Etsy front page... again!!!

Alright... I guess three time's a charm! I was once again featured on the Etsy.com front page this week. How exciting!! And not surprisingly, it was one of my Birch products that got the attention.

Although my primary art takes shape in the form of Paintings, I am having a lot of fun experimenting with Birch lately. Of course none of it comes from living trees, but from piles of dead trees found in the woods behind my house. I never realized how much of a trend the look of Birch was these days... but seeing that the holidays are coming, I presume that lots of folks (like me) enjoy the rustic, warm feeling that they bring.

So once again, my work has caught the attention of Etsy Admins!! Gotta be happy about that, right! Now, if only some of my artwork can make it up there...  ;)

My famous purse...

I was hoping for the day that my Birch purse would make it to the Etsy.com front page, and it finally did! I got a nice note from one of my customers telling me that my purse was being featured - how exciting!!!


I went to a local craft fair yesterday to shop for Christmas gifts and got inundated with questions about my purse (not this one, but one of my other models that I carry around). It seemed that everyone wanted one! I ended up giving away quite a few business cards - I wonder who will be the first one to purchase it!! :)

Black Friday... it's not a myth!

Well, after a few months of having my own storefront on Etsy.com, it finally happened... I sold an original painting, and a hand-bound blank journal... all in the same day!

I've sold journals and paintings in the past, but this is the first time that someone has bought a painting of mine online. I was more than ecstatic, and I'm sure my customers will be very happy with their purchases. Here's what recently sold on my Etsy.com shop...

My "Autumn Leaves" oil painting - an original 12 x 16:

And one of my hand-bound blank journals:

Thank you to everyone who helps to support the "handmade movement". I personally made a pledge this Holiday season to buy ONLY handmade items... for both adults AND kids! You'd be surprised what you kind find out there, and you're helping the local economy at the same time.

I was featured on the Etsy Front Page!!!!

Yes, you read correctly... and for anyone selling on Etsy.com, this is an amazing honor!! Most of the front pages are curated by other Etsy members using the Treasury feature (where we each showcase our own favorites), and if we're lucky enough, Admin will take note and select one of these Treasuries as their Homepage.

Well, this particular one was selected by Admin itself. Just a really nice selection of miscellaneous items that shared a common color palette, is where my Birch Bark tube found a home. Although me being featured on the FP didn't result in a sale (yet!), many items in my shop received many "hearts", and the added traffic certainly can't be bad!!