The Chess Player

Here's one I thought would do well on eBay, and then didn't sell. Oh well...



This one is up now, keep your fingers crossed for me :)

and another...

Here is another of this little ACEO's I have been doing for ebay. They are very addictive. Several people have asked where they can trade cards. The group I am a part of is : artist trading cards on yahoogroups.com Everyone is welcome to join in the fun! This group is for trading, not for selling. So they make ATC, and not ACEO... whole new vocabulary here!

ACEO / ATC - a new hobby!

I've discovered a new hobby. Trading ATC (art trading cards) and have joined a great yahoogroup that has group and individual trades. I've also put up a few ACEO (art cards editions and originals) on ebay to see how they do. The pink orchids above is one of the eBay ones. They are so much fun to make. The only real rules are that ATC are traded, not bought and sold. ACEO can be bought and sold or traded. They must be 3.5" x 2.5" Other then that, the sky is the limit in terms of creation and materials. I usually do watercolor, but I have received some beautiful college and needle word ATC in trade. I bought two colored pencil ACEO that I have had framed and hang in our hallway. Anyone else out there into ACEO / ACT?

Morning Glories!

They have been so beautiful this year! These are the blue.. there are fuschia in the backyard, and deep purple by the front door. I am sure these will end up in a painting at some point! That's Schnapps and Bailey peeking out from behind the vines.

Duochrome Stargazers

I've been in the mood to paint some fun paintings, instead of such serious work. Experiment a little with color and paint. This is a stargazer lily. It's from my neighbors yard..they are used to me crawling around and taking photos in their yard. I painted it fairly traditionally at first, and then played with some duochrome paint from daniel smith that I got for Christmas this year. They are so beautiful, and think I went a little over board with them! My favorite is the Autumn Mystery..its a gorgeous copper color. I've got this one up on ebay, keep your fingers crossed for me! (My id is ejmstudio if you want to check it out.)


It's hard to get the shimmer to show up on camera, but this shows it a little bit.

Pears and Crystal

This is the latest crystal painting. It's a redo of one I did a few years ago. Not too thrilled with the pears, but I am calling it done before I work it to death. Moving on to a sunflower painting. I will try to do a step by step of this one.

We went to the farmers market this afternoon and got peaches, tomatos and corn. Wonderful! Trying not to eat it all before I can get some photos taken.. the peaches are just gorgeous and smell even better. I just know that heaven either smells like summer peaches or my mom's chocolate chip cookies baking...

Little Pink Rose

I'm starting to add a few smaller works and studies to the website. These are paintings I do to practice with a new tube of paint, experiment with a technique or just have fun! This little rose is 5 x 7 and available here: http://www.ejmstudios.com/site/watercolor-paintings-gallery-smallerworks.htm

PaintAmerica Competition (aka always read the fine print!)

I have received several post cards and emails about this competition. I just got a prospectus in the mail. If you read the information on the back, it looks to me like you are signing over ALL rights to reproduction of the work. Not just for advertising like most show, but any reproduction and the use of your name... and this is just for entering the show, not for the winners. So with the entries, the have a built in library of images to make prints and any other item they choose. They say they will give the artist 10% royalty on limited edition items, but flat rates on things like posters and note cards. For posters and note cards they could sell millions of, you get $50-$100 flat rate.

Scary world out there for artists! Always read the fine print, and never, ever give away your copyright!

Comparison Pricing!

watercolorpainting.com has added a new page: price guide

It's a printable price comparison for watercolor paint at all the major online art supply stores. Love this website! Check out the rest of it while you are there.. lessons, featured artists and lots more. (No, I'm not associated with them, just a fan :) )

New Art Book!

I love art books...and add to my collection whenever possible! Nita LeLand who is one of my favorite art authors has a new (well revised, but new to me) book that is just coming out: New Creative Artist I can't wait to get my copy. You can read more about it on Nita's site here. I think I might have to save mine for my mid-winter slump.. when I need all the creative help I can get.

If you have a favorite art book, please share!

Fun site!

http://www.jacksonpollock.org/

Great stress relief! It will look like a blank page, move your mouse across the page, click to change colors.

(Found on a recent artcafe.net thread)

Daisy Jar 5

Almost done here.. still a few little details I see now that it's on the screen. Not sure if I should take the darks darker, or leave them be. I'll put it in the studio and stare at it a while...make that decision in a few days.

Back to working on pears and crystal.

Daisy Jar 4

Continuing to build up the darks and work on the jar. I'm not sure about the checked cloth at this point.. we'll see where that goes. Still working capture that feeling of light in the daisies and glass. I think I might put this aside for a day or to and work on the next fruit and crystal one...a re-do of a pears and crystal. This time in a larger size for the print people.

I sent off a packet to a gallery in NY that requested some slides and information. I've never really worked with a gallery before, and I hope I sent the right information. I already feel I didn't send enough slides. Funny how just sending information to NY can make me feel like a country bumpkin LOL I'm not really, I grew up right outside Washington, DC and now live in Charlotte (which while not a big city, does hold it's own :)) There just something about "new york gallery" that can strike fear in the heart of an artist! Please keep your fingers crossed for me... maybe they will like my work, even if I didn't have the packet just right.

Watermelon Art

Just shows, art comes in all shapes, sizes and mediums! I wish I knew the artists, but this was sent to me in a forwarded email...I have no clue where it originated, but wanted to share.

Daisy Jar 3

sorry the photo came out a little whopsided on this one!

I consider this painting to be in the ugly adolescent stage.. all my painting seem to go through this. Just have to grit my teeth and keep painting and hope it all turns out okay in the end. Working on adding darks to the leaves, starting to work on the jar and shadows. Darkened the back ground and added shadows to the daisy petals.

Pentecost, A. Wythe,tempera, 1965

A few weeks ago, Dev and I went had dinner with some of our fellow rock enthusiasts. It was a wonderful evening of good food and better company. Our host is an avid collector of minerals..museum quality. He has a stunning collection. However, while the other guests were ooooing and ahhing over the rocks, I was blown away by what they had over their couch. It was a signed Andrew Wythe print of fishing nets blowing in the wind. I am sure I have seen the painting in books, but seeing it full size just stopped me in my tracks. I must have stared at it for 10 mins.. it was like having a painting class to be able to see the painting so close. I tried not to leave any nose prints on the glass!

Daisy jar 2

Have the first layer on the stems and the cloth painted. Next will be the daisy centers and some of the shadows. Shadows on white flowers are always tricky.. keep your fingers crossed for me.

Dev and I just finished two weekends of rock and gem shows. One in Charlotte (our home club) and one in Asheville. I couldn't believe how "arty" Asheville has become since I was a kid. I enjoy the shows and meeting people, but I am glad to be home and excited that tomorrow is my painting day! (after filling orders, and vacuuming.. ah the life of an artist is so glamorous!

The Daisy Jar - Drawing

Drawing on paper.. photo darkened so you can see the lines. Painting the stems through the glass should be an interesting challenge!

Grapes and Crystal II - finished

This is another in my series of fruit and crystal. Didn't take progress pics...sorry! If you would like to see a larger image and a close up, you can see them
here.. just click.

Trying something a little different and working on a seascape next! I'll try to get progress pics of that one.

Didn't do progress shots on this one. I love the shape of calla lilies and did this a break from an new crystal still life I have been working on.

All done...

All done and have it up on the website if anyone is interested :) Working on a grapes and crystal painting. Hopefully I will be doing a step by step of it also.

Just click here to visit the website

I got a new quilter's sewing machine for my birthday and took a little time off from painting to play with it. So much fun...a different kind of creative. Here is a jacket I just finished:

almost done

Finally...another step! This is getting close to done. I need to darken the markings on the petals and maybe a few more edges here and there. Soften the edges where I removed the masking. That's about it. I have an idea for a new painting and I am anxious to get to it!