A few weeks before Christmas I was able to finish a pastel and an oil, and I've finally gotten around to uploading the images.  The pastel is of a spider plant in a blue pot.  The oil is more abstract, based on a photo of clouds that I took in October, and I used the date as the title.   I've started on another abstract sky painting, but have several layers to go before it's finished.  These tend to go through many revisions before I'm satisfied with the outcome.  The next one is replacing  a painting I was never happy with, and I'm reusing the canvas.

In other news, two of my pieces were sold as gifts for Christmas.  The first was "Where Are They Going?", leaving an empty spot on my wall above my dresser.  It has since been replaced by "October 11".  Also sold was "Acrokorinth with Spring Flowers", to the wife of a friend who took a Greek archaeology class with me, 20 years ago this spring.  Hard to believe it's been that long!  I revised this one a bit before shipping it off (packing it was quite the challange!), and I'm including an image of both the original and final versions.  I have now moved on from selling only to family to selling to friends as well.  It's a good step to take.

 The influx of Christmas money coupled with recent frustrations with pastels has sent me on an internet search for some new ideas.  I've been experimenting a bit with different papers, trying to find the most accomadating for my habit of laying down think layers, coupled with an easier method of framing.  Watercolor paper coated with pastel primer works well, but the paper can warp when the primer is laid down.  It also requires matting, and it's come to my attention that pastelists are trying to move away from mats in an attempt to make the paintings look more like wet mediums.  The theory is that this will make them more appealing to galleries.  However, this requires the paper to be very carefully mounted on a panel backing, again because of issues with warping.

As I had a few small canvas panels readily available, I decided to coat one with the primer and give it a go.  It works, but not as well as I'd like.  The texture of the canvas is too rough, making a bit hard on the pastels.  What I really need is a smooth surface, leaving me with two options: pastel board and hardbord.

Both are about 1/8" thick, which eliminates the need for backing.  All they require are spacers between them and the glass, and you're good to go.  Pastel board is already primed and ready, and comes in a variety of colors.  Hardbord is a wood board that needs to be primed, and is the less expensive of the two.  I think it may be more readily available as well, which is a big isssue for me, with nearest the art supply store more than an hour away.  I will give both a try, and see which works better.

 For one last bit of promotional material before the end of the year, I have started a Facebook fan page.  It's a public site, so you don't need to join Facebook to see it, but you do need to join to become a "fan".  Becoming a fan means that you get notices of updates, and you can post comments.  It's a bit like a more sophisticated blog.  

At the moment there isn't a lot on there, but I will be adding to it shortly.  The biggest problem with Facebook is that it does not protect copyrighted material.  This means that it's up to me to protect my images.  There are two ways to do this.  The most basic is to upload the images at very low quality.  This means that when someone zooms in close, the pixels are much more visible.  It gets even more obvious when the image is printed.  A second way is to imbed a digital watermark, which I have been doing with Photoshop.  So, there will likely be fewer images on the fan page than the web site, but it will be easier to have a discussion on the fan page.  Please feel free to stop in and start a conversation!

 I've gotten a lot of positive feedback about my black and white photographs, much to my surprise.  I mentioned earlier I was considering setting up an shop on etsy.com to sell prints, and I've gone ahead and done just that.  Within hours I had 6 hits and a note from a woman in Portland, Oregon saying she was planning on posting one of them on her blog today.   I didn't expect such an immediate response, but apparently etsy is even more popular than I realized.

 For those of you unfamiliar with it, it is modeled somewhat after ebay but without the bidding process, and everything listed is handmade.  It's a good place for small businesses and individuals to sell their wares.  A large proportion of the items are crafts, but there is a good bit of artwork on there too.  I've decided to take a step at a time and sell only the prints at first, and we'll see how it goes from there.  It is an interesting site to browse and there are some truly unique items on there.  I wish now I'd given it a try earlier to hit the Christmas shopping season.  I'm definitely still in the learning stage!  

Here's the link to my shop, I'll be adding to it over the next few days.  I'll have the link on my "links" page as well.

 I have finally gotten past my "crazy week" (three birthdays and Thanksgiving), so now I can settle into the normal routine of too much to do and not enough time to do it.  I did manage to complete an oil painting and a pastel, plus touch up another pastel in the past few weeks.  The oil painting has got me thinking about starting a series of "sky" paintings, something a friend encouraged me to do awhile ago.  It's been in the back of my mind for some time, but this painting has brought it to the front again.  I may not be able to get back to it until after the holidays, but it is now on my list of things to do.

Another thing on my list is a Facebook fan page.  I started on Facebook thinking I would talk about my artwork as well as connecting with friends, but it quickly turned to more personal chatter.  A fan page would be a much more professional approach.  I've been a bit hesitant though, since Facebook does not protect copyrights.  Photoshop Elemnents however, will let me imbed a digital watermark, making copying less appealing.  It won't eliminated the copying, but it does make me feel more secure about posting images.  It's really more of a concern for photographs than images of artwork.

Which leads me to the next thing on my list.  Once Elements arrives, I will post my b/w photographs to sell on etsay.com.  I printed a few on metallic paper, and like how they turned out, they are reminiscent of silver gelatin prints.  I'll let everyone know when all of this is ready to go, hopefully before Christmas.

 I've uploaded a new pastel, one inspired by my recent trip to the Florida panhandle for a cousin's wedding.  It's an area we frequented when I was growing up, although it's been a number of years since I've been back.  A front was passing through that weekend, making for some spectacular sunsets, but this view from my parents' 15th floor hotel room caught my eye.

This is one of the pieces I took to the critique last weekend.  I thought it was finished, but maybe not quite right.  It's numerous flaws were pointed out, and I've put a lot of effort into reworking it.  I now wish I'd taken a "before" picture, the difference is remarkable.  The sky and ocean were once nearly indistinguishable, so I focused on defining the two with texture, color and light.  Again, a little extra care has made all the difference.

As far as I can recall, this is my first seascape in pastel.

 This weekend I participated in a workshop at the Cincinnati Art Club.  It was basically a marketing class for artists, taught by Jennifer King, a local artist.  I am still in the beginning stages of my career, so I wasn't sure how much the information would apply to me, but I thought it would be a good resource for future reference.  It most assuredly was that, and more.  The two day event was packed full of ideas and goals: I have yet to process all of it.  Some of the thoughts had already occurred to me, but I've been moving towards becoming a professional in starts and fits.  I'm hoping that having specifics will help me focus better.  I recognize that my biggest problem is that I am terribly unorganized and have little self disciple to keep on task, a common problem with artists!  In the end it's really up to me to get there.

After the workshop Jennifer offered an optional critique I decided to take advantage of, as I'd never had my work critiqued before.  I took down four different pieces, taking care to include a mix of oils and pastels, landscapes and still lifes.  She pointed out a number of things that I needed to work on.  In particular, I need to pay closer attention to the way color and light react differently on different surfaces.  She also suggested I work on my basic drawing skills.  Ouch, that one hurt a bit.  She's absolutely right though.  My time for art is limited, so I've been rather impatiently working as quickly as I can, and have been ignoring the fundamentals.  I think I will try to spend about 15-30 minutes every day on a simple pencil sketch, and see if that helps.  I will also need to take the time to make sketches before starting on a piece, to work out not only the composition, but the values and perspective as well.  On a happier note, when I asked if she saw potential in my work, she reassured me there was.  People have been telling me this for years, but it's nice to hear from a professional artist.  Thanks Jennifer!

 I've only just realized that the link to the Pilgrimage show is broken, but I've since found a new one that should be good while the show is up.   The Starving Art Show is also taking place at the Preble County Art Center where I have five pieces hanging.  30% of sales goes to the Center, 50% of one them.   I believe there are 10 other artists showing right now, all of them from the Preble County area.  

At the moment I am preparing for a quick trip to Florida for a cousin's wedding this weekend.  I'm debating taking art supplies as there will be some down time on the beach.  I've never painted on the beach before so I'm not sure what would work best.  I'm thinking about watercolor pencils or acrylics - maybe both.  Hopefully the weather will be on our side.

 After a busy week, things have slowed down.  So far I have not heard anything about whether my painting sold at the "Fun Razer" in Cincinnati, nor have I received any additional information about the Pilgrimage show in Newark.  I have been preparing for next month's group show at the Preble County Art Center, having chosen 5 pieces for hanging, but I still need to prepare a statement and additional business cards.

Last week I had a unique photography opportunity when I attended a U2 concert in Chicago.  With places right at the catwalk that came out from the stage, I had a chance to get some great shots of the band.  The unusual lighting effects, which included spotlights and a jacket covered in laser lights was quite challenging for my point-and-shoot camera.  A special thanks to Katie who suggested the fast speed and wide apature settings.  It worked well for the black and white photographs, but I had to use presets for color, as the camera was having trouble focusing in the low light.  The "children" setting worked quite well, though "sports" likely would have worked too.  I've uploaded about 20 pictures to my Flickr account as they are probably of little interest to the non fan, but my favorite is here after cropping and playing with the exposure a bit.

I've also added an aster to the color photograph gallery and a small pastel of an even smaller vase to the still lifes gallery.

 A lot has been happening for me this week art-wise.  The photography show at the Preble County Art Center is up and running for this month.  I also got a call this week from the president of the association.  Seems the scheduled show for October fell apart, and a replacement is needed.  She's decided to give a hand to members who are or are trying to become professional by giving a group show, and has asked me to participate.  I've never been part of a group show before, so this should be an interesting experience.

I've had a painting accepted into a show in Newark, Ohio, centered around the earthworks there and the idea of them as a place of pilgrimage.  This was a bit of a challenge to find an appropriate piece and write the required 250 word essay that will accompany it.  Thank you to those who gave me feedback on the essay.  I'll post more info on the exhibit as I get it.

Yesterday I dropped off another painting at the Women's Art Club of Cincinnati.  They are having a "Fun Razer" sale to benefit the club.  This is an organization I've considered joining, but I wish it was closer so that I could take better advantage of what they have to offer.  There is a thriving art community in Cincinnati and although it's a bit of a haul for me to get down there, it isn't unreasonable, especially since I have a friend who lives in town and we are always looking for excuses for a visit.