Just A Little Progress

"Circus Train" - wip
8" x 10"

I made just a little more progress on this . . . but it's almost done.  Stay tuned . . .

Randy Higbee Gallery

I didn't get much done on my Circus Train painting today as I had students and some other things to attend to, so this post is a little redundant (forgive me) . . . however these two paintings are up for sale at  The Randy Higbee Gallery's "6 Inch Squared Show."  You can view these paintings and others by clicking on the link.

Thank you for stopping by -- hope you have a good day.

Circus Train

"Circus Train" -- wip
8" x 10"

Short post . . . here's my progress for today.  Thanks for stopping by!  

New Workshop, New Painting, New Prints and a Shameless Plug

Good grief!  How'd ya' like this post's title?  I would LOVE to share with you the painting I'm finishing but alas I can't.  It's a gift and I'm not sure if the recipient reads my posts. So to be on the safe side, I'm just going to have to wait until after Christmas. But believe me it's all I can do to contain myself . . . in fact I'm having a heck of a time keeping the secret. This is why I can never shop early: I get so excited I want to give out all my presents early.

Oh . . . and so I'm sure you're wondering why I have posted a picture of "Steam Heat." I've decided that this is going to be the subject of my next Watercolor Workshop. You can read about the specifics of this 5-week course under "workshops" located on the navigation bar above. Students can choose their own "wallpaper" and color -- so at least they will have some choice while we all tackle basically the same project.  I think it should be fun and am really looking forward to it.

At the end of January I'm also presenting a workshop at the Concord Art Association on online marketing and social media -- sharing all I know about blogging and Facebook, DPW, printed marketing materials, how to make a website, and anything else that could help artists sell their work. I'm still learning myself, as it's a very long and never-ending process, but I'm looking forward to passing along to other artists, whatever I can, including great resources I've found. I'm finding the journey into becoming a "self-employed" artist VERY challenging, but extremely exciting and rewarding. And I just love and appreciate all the online support from other artists and art-lovers (you all!) and want to share what a positive online experience I've had with others. You can read about my upcoming workshops and other shows under "news and events" on the navigation bar above.

Hmmm . . . what else . . . oh yeah, the "shameless plug" part.  I just want to remind you that I have calendars and notecards for sale -- they can make great teacher gifts and/or stocking stuffers. And I also have a few prints. So check out the nav bar above for links to these items. In fact below are four new small prints. They are $10 each (plus tax and shipping where applicable). I'll be putting them up with their specs and links for purchasing later today or tomorrow -- so keep checking back. You can always email me if you'd like to make an order.

"Fireside Chat"

"Best Friends"

"What Not To Wear"

"Nostalgia I -- First Day of School"

Sorry for the long post -- just lots to catch up on!  Thanks for visiting!

Randy Higbee - 6" Squared Show

I hope all my U.S. friends had a wonderful day yesterday.  I'm still feeling a little stuffed but it's all good . . . we had a great visit with my dad, brother and sister-in-law, her folks and brother.  Everything was wonderful - food, company and a lovely, welcoming home.  My brother and sister-in-law always "do it up" just beautifully.  And when we returned home, the doggies were all snuggly and seemed to have enjoyed their afternoon/evening without incident.  :)

And now onto business . . . I'm pleased to announce that these two paintings will be included in the Randy Higbee Gallery's "6 Inch Squared Show" in California.  So if you are in the vicinity, click on the link to find out when you can stop in and see the show.  Unfortunately for me, it is just too inconvenient a commute!  :)  Have a pleasant day and thanks for stopping by.  Oh . . . and let the carols begin, eh?!  So fun hearing the Christmas music on the radio again.  As my friend June would say, "it just puts you in a good mood!"

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone celebrating!  I am thankful for many things this year, one of which is you, my viewers.  :)  So here's to you!  Wishing you all a very happy day.  Thanks for stopping by.

Just A Trim

"Just A Trim"
6" x 6"
watercolor on aquabord

Click here to bid.

Here's another painting from my "Little People" series.  Below is the painting I put up yesterday and the link to its auction.  Thank you for viewing my work!

"Bucket O' Pumpkins"
6" x 6"
watercolor on aquabord

Click here to bid.

Bucket O' Pumpkins

"Bucket O' Pumpkins"
6" x 6"

in progress

I thought I'd post this in-progress shot of my new painting, "Bucket O' Pumpkins."  I'm sitting on it for the evening -- not literally, sillies . . . I just want to be sure it's done before I post it on DPW.  Will probably do that tomorrow.  Have a good night and thanks for stopping by.

The Fruits of their Labors

Well our first workshop finished up on Monday night and I wanted to share paintings by two of my students.  Unfortunately weather and sickness got in the way of my other two students, so we ultimately ended up with a class of two -- but had a merry ol' time anyway!  I'm very proud of them and their hard work.  Above is an example of their cards . . . below are their paintings.  If you are in the area of central Massachusetts and would like to participate in my next class, I'm anticipating running a new one at the end of January, so be sure to check back here under "Workshops." I hope to have my new description up within the next few weeks.  I think for my next class I will pick a subject and we'll all paint it . . . so stay tuned!  In the meantime, check these babies out:

"Winter Cardinal"
by Cheryl M.

"Christmas Bulb"
by Donna S.

Aren't these great!!??  Thank you Donna and Cheryl!  :)

P.S. -- the PayPal link on my "2013 Calendars" post works!  Yippee!  So if you haven't already, check out my last post and my new calendars.  And if anyone out there needs help creating their own PayPal button, just let me know, it's not that hard.

2013 Calendars

Styles

Wall Calendar (8.5" x 11") $20.00 USD Desk Calendar (4" x 8") $12.00 USD

Oh my goodness . . . I have no idea if this is going to work . . . so please bear with me while I travel the crazy and foreign roads of online marketing and ecommerce!  As you can see from the photo above, I've had some calendars printed up for 2013 -- great Christmas gifts, by the way!)  :)  The image for each month is shown above.  I have two styles to choose from, a small desk size and a wall calendar size (as described in the "Styles" drop-down menu above -- how fancy is THAT!?)  If you would like to purchase your calendar please click on the "add to cart" button.  If it proves to be a nightmare and I can't make this work, then I will have to forgo the button.  (This is my first time trying this PayPal button thing . . . so I may be asking for your help out there fellow bloggers/internet sellers if I somehow foul this all up and can't figure it out).  In the meantime, if there is trouble and you would like to purchase a calendar -- please drop me an email and just let me know your order.  It looks like shipping will be between $3 - $5 based on the quantity you purchase.

P.S.  I'm very anxious about this, as I go to click "Publish."  Wish me luuuuuccckkkk!   

Backyard Sunlight

"Backyard Sunlight" - wip
12" x 12"

I'm moving along with my backyard painting -- still messing with the foliage.  Foliage is really not my favorite thing to do -- ugh.  It's a lot of trial and error for me.  Many layers when trying to achieve depth and create pockets of sunlight.  You can see where I'm pulling out pigment.  Hopefully I'll get there soon.  Thank goodness for soft-pressed paper!  

And in case you noticed, since my last posting, I've changed the name of this painting.  I think I like "Backyard Sunlight" much better.  Now to get some more sun in there.  Have a great day . . . and thanks for stopping by.

Time Flies

"Bathed In Sunlight" - wip
12" x 12"

I can't believe I haven't blogged since Tuesday -- Yikes!  I stayed up waaaay too late to watch the election and thus was utterly useless all day Wednesday.  I really do need my 8 hours.  But I did manage to get a new painting started and I kind of finished "Just A Trim." I say "kind of," because I think I may have jumped the gun adding the black outlines on the wall decals before my under-values were all set.  (Gaaahhh . . . WHY do I do that?!)  And so now I'm a little worried that it's a bit muddy.  BUT on the flip side, I started thinking that I've learned a valuable lesson, better understand the values now and could really make a better painting if I started over.  Yes.  I actually thought that.  So that's what I did.  I'll post soon.

In other news . . . I've also been itching to try this little composition.  I say "little" but it's actually quite a bit larger than what I've been painting lately and it's on paper -- my favorite Fabriano soft-pressed.  I was so "jazzed" about it . . . (yes, you read that correctly, I actually used the word "jazzed."  I think I did that once before here.  It's so lame.  Forgive me.) . . . that I woke up at 3:55 this morning (early enough to have met the nun from my church at the gym, whom I've ridiculed for getting up so early  --  I'll have to tell her she made it into my blog -- oh and it's probably not a good thing to ridicule a nun.  I digress.) . . . all excited to paint!  Isn't that grand?!  Or insane.  Since I took the photo above, I've done a little more work on the foliage but you'll have to wait to see the next step.  Heh-heh!  :)

So that's the news here.  It's about 9:30pm now and I didn't even nap today!  My poor Teddy-dog was so excited this morning at 4:00am when he was served his "early, early-bird breakfast special" but then turned completely pathetic when his belly was full and it was only 4:02.  He was too pooped to pop and could barely keep his eyes open to climb back onto his bed and take his morning nap.  I'm kind of feeling like him right now.  :)  Cheers!

My Other Life

June's Bakeshop postcard

I had wanted to post yesterday but sometimes I'm doing other creative things.  In any event, the little "painting" above (most of which was manipulated in Photoshop from a painting I did a long time ago), is serving as a marketing postcard for my friend's Christmas Open House.  (I'm sure you could've figured that out on your own!)  :)

June's Bakeshop looks just like this, perched in her beautiful yard.  She bakes cookies and cakes and is basically an artist of confectionary delights.  Her cookies are amazingly crafted and clever and taste just as good as they look.  If you are in the area I urge you to stop by her Open House: it's truly an experience.  You can find more information about her cookies and where to find her shop at www.junesbakeshop.com.

So anyway . . . getting back to my Post Title -- this is "my other life" -- designing June's advertising.  I also built her website (my first one) and have built a few others including my own, www.backroadsstudiotour.com and www.kleinedlerstudios.com.  They're not really fancy, but they get the job done.  So sometimes when it seems like I'm "hiding" from my blog, I'm working on design things and updating sites.

"Pumpkin Cart"
8" x 8"
watercolor on aquabord

(what this painting could look like framed)

Click here to bid.

In other news, I think I'm just about done with my pumpkin cart painting.  I may tweak the wood a little bit more, but you get the idea.  I haven't signed it yet, so I threw up a "signature" in Photoshop.  And below is my new little people painting.  It's just a small one.  I'm hoping to finish up this one while I also work on finishing the 3 larger ones I have.  I also have another Fisher Price painting (8" x 10") "on deck," not to mention the other 6 or so paintings that need finishing!  Yeeouch!  Busy, Busy, Busy!  :)

Have a great day -- thank you for stopping by!

"Just a Trim"
6" x 6"

P.S.  I'm glad haircuts only cost 25 cents at this barber shop because this little boy only has 3 strands of hair!  :)

Getting There

"Pumpkin Cart" - wip
6" x 6"

Still pluggin' along.  I'm having trouble getting the colors right on the computer -- the cart is actually just more neutral and I have no idea where that crazy green came from.  I tried to correct it on Photoshop, but it just started throwing other stuff off, so I decided to just leave it.  I'll try to get a better image next time, when I'm (hopefully) done.  :)  

Have a great weekend . . . thanks for stopping by.

Step By Step

"Pumpkin Cart" - wip
6" x 6"

Sorry about the poor quality of the photograph . . . I didn't feel like toiling over photographing this.  So about the painting, I'm getting there . . . but still have lots of tweaking to do.  I'll be darkening up the background more -- pushing it further back and obscuring it more so that the focus remains on the pumpkins.  Anyway . . . that's all for now just wanted to share my progress.  Thanks for stopping by.  :)