Nude

Small and sweet..."Nude", acrylic, 5"x7".

This is taken from one of the sketches I did while at the GAC on 1/3/11. Sometimes, it seems the quick, not finished or refined sketches have more life to them then the ones I do from the long poses. Sunday, 1/15/11, at the GAC the class was for the long pose, 3 hours of the same pose. It was interesting and challenging but lacked the life and interest I get from the shorter poses. I have posted a few pictures from the 1/15 class on my facebook page. Go check them out and you will see what I mean.

Well, off to make dinner which is a challenging and creative process all on its own. Happy creating!

La Vida

So, I gave into my craving last night...a lovely pastel if I do say so myself. La Vida, 7.5"x3.5", pastel on paper.

I was still a bit cranky today since I still want to PAINT!! But at least I was able to draw last night. It was just what I needed so I think maybe another one for tonight.

Have a great night and happy creating!

Back to Work

Today, was the first work day of the new year and I was so sad. Don't get me wrong, I like my job and the people I work with, in fact this is one of the nicest jobs I have had. But today I didn't want to work, I wanted to paint! After such a wonderful day of drawing at the GAC yesterday it was so hard to get back into reality. Even now, as I sit here and type...my eyes wonder to my sketchbook and my heart yearns to do just one quick drawing. But alas, I know that there is no such thing as one quick drawing so the dilemma becomes give into my craving to create or do what I need to do in order to be ready for the morning?? Well maybe one quick drawing, what could it hurt and besides you only live once.

Give into your creative urges and happy happy creating!

Let It Snow

My favorite little artist and I had a lovely painting day on Sunday. It felt wonderful to be back in the studio. While I painted, my little one worked with clay. She experimented a bit with it to see how it worked and molded, then she created leaves.

It was so interesting to watch her work as she tried out this new medium. So like and yet so unlike play-doh. It took her a bit to figure out what she wanted to make but once she started there was no stopping her. She cannot wait for another day in the art room, so she can paint her creations.

As for me, it felt great to break out the paints and to dabble a bit in pencil. When I was an undergrad I loved working in pencil but then as time when on and I discovered paint well the poor pencils where all but forgotten about. So Sunday, I dusted off the box (the same one from undergrad and the same pencils), sharpened a few and had some fun. I may do a few more snowman cards in pencil since I liked it so much. But I also realized that they are easy to bring with me when I do one of the 3f's.

So, I asked my favorite little artist if I should do another fair and without hesitation she voiced her opinion. A resounding "NO!". Then she told I should do a home fair which is interesting since I will be doing. On December 5th, I will be hosting The Sunday Soiree, featuring art and jewelry. It should be a fun event, watch for the invite.

Well, that is all for now my friends. I promise to try and post more often and not let the "real world" derail me too much. Happy creating!

It's Not Easy Being Green

So, do you remember while back when I mentioned that there is a mom at my favorite little artist's school who sends her children to school with garbage-less lunches? Well, guess what...I now also send my favorite little artist to school with garbage-less lunches...well very close to it anyway :-)

I thought it would be hard but after conversation with my sister and a look at how I packed up her lunches, I realized it was do-able. All it really required was a shift in thinking. For instance, I so hate plastic shopping pages so I use re-usable bags, yet I would use plastic sandwich and snack bags everyday for lunch. Do you see the hypocrisy in that? So, lunches are now packed with all re-usable containers and it's not very hard. In fact, it is easier in some respects and now sandwiches never get squished.

So in honor of my breakthrough on the being green front, here is the picture for today, although it was done a few weeks ago, called "It's Not Easy Being Green", mixed media, 10"x12". However, the irony is that it is not as hard are we may think.

So make a little change for Mother Earth...reduce, re-use, recycle. And with that I step down from my soap box. Happy creating!

It's Friday!

I cannot believe that it is Friday! This week and last have just been a blur and to top it off I haven't accomplished everything I wanted. However, this week marked the beginning of a new beginning...I am no longer "in transition"...woo hoo. I started a new position on Thursday and am once again part of the gainfully employed.

Everything happened so fast and I am still trying to wrap my head around it. One thing I do know is that I need to continue to work on my art and building GarnetOriginals. My small little business must survive! There are some good things coming together for GO...professional pictures will soon be done and then quality greeting cards will be printed. It will be exciting to have an inventory to work with and see if any local stores will carry the cards.

Tomorrow will be an art focused day once soccer mom duty is over. My favorite little artist and I are looking forward to some quality time in the art room.

This Sunday I will be at the Bayside Arts Festival which should be lots of fun. If you are local I hope you will stop on by.

Last but certainly not least...my wonderful friend made it through her surgery and is a breast cancer survivor. Don't forget...October is breast cancer awareness month so get your pink on!

Love to all and happy creating!

To the dogs...

Today was Hounds on the Sound...it was a puppy filled day. Unfortunately for me, my products didn't quite work with the dog-lovin' crowd. I sold some items but not enough to break even which was quite depressing. Next weekend if the Arts & Musical Festival at the Playland Boardwalk which I think will be a better venue for me. It is a two-day event so lots of opportunities to sell my work and network.

October is breast cancer awareness month. Please take a moment to send positive energy to all those friends and loved ones who are battling this disease. Also, ladies be sure to get your "girls" checked out...early detection saves lives!

Love to you all and happy creating!

Do you like the pink pic? Found it here. Thanks self-tanning queen.

Baby Butterflies

Preparation for the Patriot's Day Flea Market continues. The latest addition to the product line is the Baby Butterflies. Four are featured here and I have one more to do. Ideally, I'd like five variations for each notecard subject matter. I did paint five butterflies but, unfortunately, it ripped when I was removing the tape. I was able to cut it out, however, I am hesitant to glue it onto another card...I think it will look cheap. I am also at a loss for what other subject matter to use for the notecards.

Tomorrow, is the first day of school for my favorite little artist. She will take the bus and I will meet her at school. Her uniform is all ready along with her favorite color socks (purple, in case you're interested). It is hard to believe that she is starting kindergarten. We can't wait to meet her teacher and see who from her pre-k class will be in her class.

For me, tomorrow will be a painting day. One more butterfly to do and then maybe begin work on a mixed media piece. It will be so strange to not have my favorite little artist with me during the day. The goal will be to stay busy while she is in school and countdown till the bus drops her off.

Well, that is all for now. Hope you enjoy the butterflies. Happy creating.

Z

Here is the latest installment to the alphabet by Garnet :-) I am slowly painting each letter so possible clients can see an example of what it looks like. Of course, since it would be a custom piece their version would be one of a kind (OOAK). Ideally, once the alphabet is completed I'd have cards made of all the letters.

Also, I received today all the cards I ordered for the Flea Market on Sept. 11. They came out beautifully. I am really excited for the flea market, it will be my first one and I am optimistic that there will be a market for my cards.

In addition, to the photo-cards I am working on individual hand-painted cards. The Little Mommies" are the first installment but there will be many more. My thought is to do at least five variations on each theme. So, there are two more mommies to paint and then figuring out what to do next. Maybe more angels and butterflies?? Possibly some trees? So many options. But I really need to make sure I plan things out well since I need to be ready for next Saturday.

Well, that is all for today, my friends. Happy creating!

The Little Mommies are HERE!

On September 11, 2010, I will be participating in my first flea market. For info on it click here.

The focus of the flea market will be to see how much interest there are in the photo-cards based on my artwork. Then I got to thinking on how nice it would be to have actual handmade cards as well. So I experimented with printing out Blue Angel and decoupaging her onto card stock. Not my best idea. Then when I was sitting outside with my favorite little artist yesterday, I decided to create a mini drawing based on my mother theme. I liked it so much that I painted it on 3 of the cards. The paintings are small, 3"x4.5", but they really do look lovely.

So I will post them on Artfire and see what happens. Then the day of the flea market, I will deactivate the listings and see how it goes. Oh and I did get some nice feedback on my work from a woman on Artfire. She is opening a shop in Ohio and is interested in possibly showing some of my work. Stay tuned for more on that since I don't really know how it will pan out.

That is all for today. Happy creating!

Blue Angel

I decided since there are so many people out there who love angels, I might as well do another one. So now I have two angel designs to be used for cards, journals, etc...

Golden Angel belongs to my cousin but Blue Angel (shown here), 7"x9", acrylic, is up for grabs. If you like her let me know.

Happy Creating!

Two Almost Complete Paintings

Here are the two pieces referred to in this post.

Today was a good art day. Other than applying the gloss medium, I did two paintings. The gloss medium I lent to my sister and I will pick it up tomorrow. Once glossed, I will photograph and post both pieces. It was wonderful to spend some quality time in my studio. It is a good break from the monotony of searching for a full-time job. Supposedly, the economy is getting better but I don't see it. All I find is that the same jobs are reposted repeatedly. There is one position that has been on the jobs for over ONE year! Is the employer really hiring? With the amount of unemployed individuals I find it really unlikely they haven't found a qualified individual to fill the spot. Especially, since the position isn't one that requires rare skills.

Tomorrow, I will continue my search and hopefully will find something that will match well with my skill set. I also hope to go to the library and start a new green mixed media piece.

Happy creating!

Green is Good

For anyone who knows me, I have some green tendencies. Mind you, I am no Ed Begley, and I could certainly do many things in a more green focused way but for the most part I do try and be environmentally friendly.

A couple of months ago I received a packet from a prior employer. The amount of paper contained in the packet was appalling and really uncalled for. What is worse, if I was still an employee of the company the packet would have contained even more paper! Now, understand that there are federal laws and regulations that require employers to send employees certain information, however, it does not always have to be in hard copy. In fact, my colleagues and I tried desperately to avoid having to drown employees in this much paper. Unfortunately, we lost the battle to one very stubborn individual who pulled rank on us.

I really hated the thought of putting all this paper in the recycle bin. But what could I do with it? The answer...create a mixed media work. So today is the unveiling of my first mixed media piece which incorporates re-using a small portion of the mound of paper received from a past employer. The work is called "Green is Good", 10"x12", decoupage and acrylic.

The title comes from a tag line that I include on all my e-mails. To be honest, I copied it from a wonderful woman I used to work with. It is short and sweet and hopefully reminds people to think before printing e-mails, etc.

I hope you enjoy today's piece. Happy creating!

New Sketchbook

It really is an amazing feeling when you finish one sketchbook and begin anew. I started a new sketchbook today which is happiness. The crisp white pages that call draw on me draw on me! So sitting outside I did three new sketches which have the potential to be lovely paintings. But it is not only the excitement about starting a new sketchbook that is invigorating but also the feeling of accomplishment as you look at the finished book.

I took a look at the first sketch I did in the now finished sketchbook, it is of XO, the piece that placed 2nd in the open juried show sponsored by the Art Society of Old Greenwich. :-)

I also continue to work on my mixed media piece, it is not working out the way I had hoped. But I will work through it since sometimes the pieces that give you the hardest time work out the best in the end. Here is to optimism!

Well, enjoy your weekend and check back soon for an update.

Happy creating!

Opening Night

First, a big thank you to Al at the Sapphire Lounge...he did a great job on finalizing the hanging and made us feel very welcomed.

The night was a mix of good and bad so after wallowing a bit, this post is only going to focus on the positive. I was fortunate to have my hubby and my good trusted friend take the trek to NYC with me for the opening. We walked in and the lounge was like a different place from when I saw it on Wednesday. All my works were hung on the walls and the lightening was just right. Candles completed the ambiance and the DJ announced the show a couple times, too.

We enjoyed good music and were able to talk with some of the patrons who visited the gallery space. The favorite comment of the evening was from another artist who told me he was more into my work then his own. What a way to inflate my ego :-)

The time spent at the lounge was easy and mellow. It was also filled with many laughs. All in all I will remember it fondly. My first solo exhibit, it looked beautiful and I learned a lot.

On a different note, I am attempting my first mixed media piece. It is exciting to add a new element to my style and the best part is that the additional element is from re-using wasted paper. I'll elaborate more once it is complete.

Happy creating!

Garnets & Sapphires

Well tonight is the big night, my solo exhibit opens at the Sapphire Lounge. My works will be up through Sunday.

My mind is a jumble of thoughts as I write this. I am excited, nervous, apprehensive all at the same time. It hasn't been the smoothest of processes so I do hope the end product is worth it. If nothing else this was an eye-opening learning experience, one I am not likely to forget. But for now, I am focusing on the positive...a great night with friends and family!

If you are local I hope you will stop in for a bit. I will be there from 8-10pm.

Happy creating!

Busy Monday

Today was a busy, productive day. My favorite little artist and I started the day by meeting with a photographer to start pricing out having my works professionally shot. Also, it is confirmed, they can convert the slides I have to digital images...WOO HOO. We then returned home to work a bit in the art room before I began the process of picking out the pieces to be shown at the Sapphire Lounge. I am getting excited about the show.

We also managed to sell our old stove, it will have a new life somewhere in the Caribbean. Then it was off to the doctor's office for my favorite little artist's 5 year check up and vaccinations. The check up went well, the shots not so much...I am sure her screams of bloody murder could be heard in China. But in the end, a trip to Dunkin Donuts was all that was needed to make everything right again.

So tomorrow we are off to the Barn Gallery to pick up some pieces which will be part of the Sapphire Lounge exhibit. It is going to be a busy week!

Happy creating!

Smudged

Today's piece is called "Smudged", 8"x10", acrylic on bristol. She was created as a new piece to include in my show at the Sapphire Lounge. I am loving the colors, sometimes they just seem to flow. Although, I am annoyed about the smudge in the piece but it does give it some character. Can you see it, or is it just me? It seems to scream at me.

Anyway, I am thrilled to have a new piece to show and if all goes smoothly this week, maybe I'll be able to create another one before hanging the show on Wednesday.

Yesterday, was such a beautiful sunny today and today is overcast and rainy. But it is ok, I have a pot of gravy (for those non-ItalianAmerican folks that would be tomato sauce) on the stove, fresh mozzarella and brushetta for a yummy dinner so all is good with the world...LOL. Somedays, I totally think with my stomach.

I hope you enjoy today's piece and happy creating!

GO Logo

The week is ending on a good note...

I finished the painting I will use as the GO logo. I am happy with the way it turned out. Hopefully, when it is professionally photographed it will capture all the nuances of the piece.

Monday, my favorite little artist and I meet with a photographer to start pricing out services. After our meeting we get to go to her 5 year check up. She will not be happy when she realizes she gets a couple of shots...ouch.

The focus over the next couple of days will then be in preparing my works for the show at the Sapphire Lounge. If you are local I hope you will join us. It should be a fun art and music filled night. Check out the invite on my Facebook page.

Well, I hope everyone enjoyed this beautiful summer day. We had a great day, aside from painting, we had an impromptu visit with cousins. Sun, water and watermelon...life is good.

Well, enjoy your weekend...happy creating.

A Church and a Bar

Ok, my title sounds like the beginnings of a bad joke...so there was "a church and a bar".... But in reality it refers to two venues I am looking at.

First the church, a local church in White Plains is holding a flea market in September so I've reached out to them for more details. The hope is that it gives me some exposure to see if there is a market for my greeting cards as well as my artworks.

Now the bar...you've gotta love Craig's List, I have found some really great places to show my work though the art section. So...drumroll please...I will be having my first solo exhibit at the Sapphire Lounge in NYC. It will run from Thursday, August 19th, through Sunday, August 22nd. It should be a fun experience. So mark your calendar and come "party" with me next week.

Well, that is all for now. I am going to pick up my favorite little artist from camp in a few minutes. I hope she wants to work in the art room today since I am in the mood to paint!

Happy creating!