'Strawberry Roan' 2005

24 X 24 X 1.5" 

Acrylic on canvas

SOLD

Wingate collection, Tucson AZ

This is 'Shortcake, the strawberry roan'  ©. She is one of 3 horses I created in 2005. She, along with 'LaLa, the appaloosa' ©, and 'Firefly, the grey Chincoteague' ©, have always shown up in my equine paintings since then. They are the horses I never got to have as a kid.

Today I seem to be stuck. Mired. Motionless. Blocked. I simply can't paint a thing I like and I'm pretty sure I know why. Today I find myself caught up in the dreaded comparison trap. 

"You shouldn't compare yourself to the best that others do."...author unknown

That's the first line from 55,  a note I posted on my 56th birthday summing up some of life's lessons that I've learned while having the privilege of spending 5.5 decades living on this marvelous/perilous planet!

You shouldn't compare yourself to the best that others do. 

I find that if I start to compare my paintings with the work of those artists that I'm most in awe of,  I open the door and invite in for a spell, one of an artist's worst enemies, the self-doubt monster. And while he's visiting, his influence on my painting is paralyzing. The faster I show him the door, the better. By allowing myself to be inspired, not intimidated, by the the work of my favorite artists, I come away lighter, free to let myself explore where I fit into the big picture.

How boring if all artists painted exactly alike. I have a friend whose paintings hang all over her own house. She does beautiful landscapes. But her palette rarely changes, her style stays consistent. While I'm visiting, I find myself looking for that one painting that's a bit different. Her paintings, when hung with other artist's, stand out. But walls and walls of just her stuff leaves me searching for something.

In this big old art gallery of a world, there's plenty of room on the walls for all of us. Explore! Learn from others. Be inspired by others, but be careful not to put out your creative fire by comparing your work to the best of the best.  We all have something to offer!

Ahhh..sometimes, just putting things into words helps. So now, if you'll excuse me, I've got a monster who needs to be shown the door.

'Autumn Rooster' 2005

18 X 24 X 1.5"

Acrylic on canvas
SOLD

McCourt collection- Boulder, CO

Janie, the owner of this little rooster painting, called me today to let me know he was the star of a party she'd had recently. Asking me if I had any other barnyard critter paintings in the works, she reminded me of several ideas I've got along those lines. Thanks Janie. Great hearing from you my friend!

click image to enlarge


A YEAR IN THE LIFE-  January recap and progress report

I spent this first month going full steam ahead on this one year project to introduce myself to the online art community. There was way too much time spent at my computer, rather than my easel, and that was a bit disconcerting. I kept having this nagging thought that I was building a beautiful store, but with little time spent painting, the shelves were going to be quite bare. Then I would remind myself that every bit of  what I was doing was important to the larger picture, so I stayed to task. Now as I do my January recap, I realize I really did accomplished quite a bit. I know my YEAR IN THE LIFE project kept me going in the right direction and I did finish two paintings.

My list of online to-do's was extensive. After all, this was the first month of my journey. Many of the things on my to-do list, once established, will require minimal upkeep, but the process of setting things up does take a good chunk of time. I was pleased to discover I have some pretty good instincts and was already applying some basic fundamentals to my blog and art marketing.

So, here's a recap of what I accomplished this first month. Blog building, using the How To Create an Insanely Popular Blog for Your Art broadcast, was the focus for January. My goals to tidy up this blog, as well as build a new blog for my 'The Daily Painters of Arizona' endeavors were among the things I completed. I also:

• Launched my YEAR IN THE LIFE chronicle here, posting Part 1 and  Part 2.
• Joined and started posting on 'The Daily Painters of Arizona' blog~ for this I created a second artblog dedicated to posting only on DPOA. Probably spent more time than I should have on the header for this blog, but I liked the way it came out. And I learned a few more photoshop skills along the way, so the time was well spent. See this new blog by clicking here.
• Redesigned this blog~ Wow! This took a big chunk of time, but blog-building was this month's focus. I changed templates, creating a customized version of 'Watermark'. I also played around with a new header for this blog, and although I'm still not crazy about it, it'll have to do for now.
• Created a Zazzle store and an Imagekind store for my paintings. 
• De-cluttered and organized my blog's margins. I got rid of outdated links and added links that are currently relevant for me, such as links to my newly created Zazzle store that sells greeting cards, mugs and totes with images of my artwork on them and my Imagekind store, where prints of my paintings are available with a variety of sizes and options.
• Became a professional member of Contemporary Fine Arts International. I had to write and send a bio of myself along with 15+ images of  paintings for my Artist Page found on their website. All the images needed resizing before I could send them (more photoshop time), but writing the bio was the hardest thing for me. I waited 'til the morning it was due to write it and I'm sure a few months down the road, I'll be wondering what the heck was I thinking when I wrote it. But it is what it is for now.
• I also entered 3 paintings in the CFAI  monthly painting challenge. This is a first for me! These are all archived works, but were relevant to this month's challenge theme, FRIENDSHIP. See all the paintings (including mine) submitted here. Submitting art to be judged is not as scary as I thought it would be. The results of this competition won't be announced until early March. I've got my fingers crossed.
• Had some success with my blog building adventures, increasing my blog followers 20% this month.I'm at 25 now. I am also timidly approaching a few other artists who's blogs I love, asking if they might consider adding my blog to their blogroll lists. I am surprised and delighted by the friendly reception I'm receiving. My humble thanks to Carol Nelson, Dana Cooper, Jennifer Woodburn, Lisa Walsh , Carol Schiff and Gwen Bell.
• Speaking of blogrolls, I expanded and improved mine, adding more great artists. I've also added links to some fun Art Challenges I've found online. My plan is to also add links to suppliers and art resources as I put together my lists of companies I love doing business with.
• I only completed two paintings, but did play around on a few others. I organized and cleaned my studio, and I created a new still-life staging area, that's going to be great for my daily paintings of everyday stuff. Yippeee!
• "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans" - John Lennon ~A lot of life stuff went on in January, including two of our granddaughters' birthdays. I read a book. I gardened (well, I cleaned up my garden after a pack of javelinas tore it up). And, I spent almost a week paralyzed, watching, along with the rest of the country, the events unfold here in my beloved Tucson, after a madman went on a shooting rampage. Read my related blogpost. 

When I started A YEAR IN THE LIFE, I thought I'd be covering two radio broadcasts a month. Well, I can already tell that's not a pace I'll be keeping up with. I spent way too much time away from my hubby and my painting this first month. Time spent applying what I'm learning from each broadcast to my own endeavors, as well as keeping up to date with the chronicle, is a bit much. Instead, I'll cover one broadcast a month, relevant to what's next on my list of things I need to do. 

Website building is on my list for February. My website is self-built, and embarrassing. I hope to find the resources I need for building an affordable website I can be proud of through Artists Helping Artists. I especially need to have a gallery to display my available (and sold) paintings. Do any of you artists out there have any recommendations for a Fine Art website builder? I could sure use some suggestions for a good one, or warnings if you've had a bad experiences with a bad one. Oh, and I need to be able to post and edit my new paintings myself as needed, so it needs to be somewhat user friendly. (I do have a grasp of html and css)


Once again, thanks for visiting....and happy painting!

"Emma's Fireflies" 2011

10 X 10 X 1.5"

Acrylic on canvas

Original not for sale,

but prints are available here.

click image to enlarge

Yesterday, our oldest granddaughter turned 17.  An amazing, gifted singer, songwriter, piano and guitar player, she already 'glows'. She likes fireflies, so I decided to do a little painting for her birthday. As grandparents, we love to pass on words of wisdom to our grandchildren and I feel that through this painting that I will be able to 'speak' to her for many years to come.

I'm making prints to give to my other 6 granddaughters. If there's someone in your life you think would also like to have one of these, you can ORDER PRINTS HERE  through Imagekind. I also have matted, signed prints of this painting available by contacting me directly HERE . This painting is also available HERE on mugs, greeting cards and totes through Zazzle.

'Red Sentinels' January  2011

20 x 24 x 3/4

From my Tall Trees Series.  Highly textured tall trees with many layers of glazed colors, this style has  been a favorite for my collectors for years. I've done these trees in many  different colors, including greens, golds, rusts and reds. I think this latest warm red version has a rich, Old World look and feel.

Click here to Zoom

SOLD

Dawson Collection, Tucson, AZ

Here's  the canvas during the texture phase. Trees are loaded with texture and there is a subtle fern-like texture throughout the canvas.  Glazes of color are added a layer at a time. This one has rusty, warm red tones. The gloss finish really highlights the texture, especially the fern relief. Camera isn't doing this one justice.

'Hooked' 2005
18" x 24" x 1.5"
Acrylic on canvas 
SOLD
Smith collection- Iowa City, IA
 

Thanks to my cousin Tom Hapgood for the awesome black and white reference photo of this old hook in Chad's Ford, PA.

Click image to enlarge.

A YEAR IN THE LIFE-  part 2

Joining The Daily Painters of Arizona meant creating a separate blog dedicated to art posts only. With that in mind, I was looking for ways to make the blogging experience better for my visitors. An entertaining, informative, less cluttered, more functional, pleasant blog experience. One that will develop a good following with visitors who are also willing to leave a comment or two now and then. We art bloggers gotta admit, we love comments. They help us know we've found an audience who likes what we're doing.

So, I went to my trusty new friend, Artists Helping Artists, and found just the show to help me tidy up my blog sites. Originally aired on 4/22/2010 I found Leslie Saeta and Dreama Tolle Perry's broadcast,  How To Create an Insanely Popular Blog for Your Art. That sounded like just the ticket, so I grabbed my java and my notebook and started listening. Fun and informative! What a nice group of artists! An hour well spent!

I found tons of good ideas for improving the overall appearance, feel and functionality of your blog. ( If you have an hour, I encourage you to listen to the broadcast). In the meantime, here are the highlights. I've already started applying these suggestions, and I'm liking the results:

• Look at your blog as if it's your very first visit.
• Put beauty in your blog- include photos of your art. Use consistency in style and post format. Put your art photos in the same spot on each post. Make return visitors feel comfortable.
• Talk to your audience through your blog. Your audience will probably include other artists, collectors, friends and family. Talk about your feelings, your passions, and opinions. Be yourself. Let people know what you're thinking.
• Art is an emotional buy, so tell stories about your paintings. Use humor whenever possible. People like to chuckle.
• Use a creative, intriguing blog post title/headline to draw your visitors in from other sites.
• Revisit and simplify your blog's sidebars with a new eye now and then. What may have been relevant 6 months ago may not be anymore. De-clutter. Simplify.
• Review other blogs you like. What do you like about them? Would these ideas work for your blog? Are they using widgets and gadgets you like that you could apply to your blog? Mentioned on this broadcast was the 'Link Within' widget. At the bottom of every new post this widget shows 3 links with photos to archived posts from your blog. Great way to increase visibility of past work.
• Make your blog easy to navigate. Use labels, and links, that can take you to and fro whenever possible. Make it easy to return home to your blog from your other sites.
• Use keywords to increase your web search engine visibility.
• Add links to your blog. To other artists, galleries and the art suppliers you love.
• Share the great tips, ideas and art secrets you've learned. I've provided a link on my sidebar taking visitors to my blog page how I keep those small, unruly canvases in place while I'm painting.
• Edit your posts. Give the maximum amount of info with the least amount of words. (Ahhhh, I need to work on this.)  :O)
• Have a contest. Give something away. Notecards or a mug featuring your art, or perhaps a print of one of your paintings.
• Use Facebook and other social media to promote your blog.
• Ask to be linked to other artist's blogs.
• Leave comments on other blogs.
• Visit other non artist blogs and sites that relate to your subject matter. I paint VW vans quite a bit, so I'm going to visit a few sites where other VW enthusiasts like myself hang, let them know I'm always looking for neat photos and invite them to send me a photo from one of their van adventures. Offer a free print if you use their photo for a painting. Or maybe they'll want to buy the original.
• Add your blog's URL to your business cards. Mentioned on this broadcast was Vista Print, where you can get 250 free business cards online. They have quite a few freebies on their site. I'm going to order the free business cards using an image of one of my paintings as the background.

Comments on our blog posts are a way to help us know we're connecting with our audience.

Here are the highlights of the ideas and tips they mentioned to help get the comments flowing:

• Make it easy to comment. Make sure you enable comments through blogger. It's easy to do and the settings will still let you filter SPAM. None of us like that mystery meat showing up unannounced! Enable email notification to yourself when a comment's been left so you can respond in a timely, courteous manner.
• Find a few blogging buddies willing to comment with some regularity on your blog. They'll help break the ice for those who don't want to be the first to comment.
• Ask a question.  How does the painting make them feel? What do they like about it?
• Ask for suggestions. Encourage. Suggest they share their own story.
• Ask people to help you name a painting.
• And last, but not least, acknowledge all comments left on your blog posts. Show gratitude for comments left. Say thank-you.

Well, that's all for this installment of A YEAR IN THE LIFE. I'll fill you in along the way on how these tips are working for me. One positive sign would be an increase in my blog followers numbers (currently at 20), and more comments of course (currently about 1 or 2 a post).

Let me know if you like this chronicle along the way. Any ideas for making it better? Any idea that's worked for you on your own blog that I didn't mention? If you've been here before and can see the changes taking shape, let me know what you think of the new look... oh, and.... ahhh, leave a comment if you'd like! :O) ...thanks for visiting!

Tucson's tragedy

'Shortcake and Jen' 2005
24" x 24" x 1.5"
Acrylic on canvas 
SOLD
Walker collection- Ruffin, NC







click image to enlarge




I love my Tucson. I have lived here since I was 17 years old. 40 years this December.

Because of last week's Tucson tragedy, I won't be posting the second installment of 'A YEAR IN THE LIFE' quite yet.

The events that occurred here, a week ago today, have caught me so off guard, I've just been sort of going through the motions all week.

Our granddaughter's 11th birthday party was scheduled for that same day. While the kids played at the local pizza place, the adults' attentions were fixated on the TV screens mounted everywhere. It was surreal. In this noisy pizza arena, surrounded by dozens of simultaneous celebrations of life, we learned that one of the victims was a 9 year old little girl. Surreal...and so incredibly sad.

A word about our town. We are a vibrant, eclectic mix of cowboys, college kids, retirees, young military families and everything in between. And, we are the biggest small town you could ever live in. There's not even 6 degrees of separation here. I'd say about 3 at the most. Everyone here really does know someone who knows someone.

I hope my Tucson isn't to be remembered just for this horrible crime, but also for our wonderful townsfolk who showed us their amazing courage, their decency and the resilience of the human soul. We will never forget the victims, the survivors or the heroes.

We stand strong and proud of our city, bent by this forceful wind of crime, but not broken.

 Click image to enlarge

A New Year, replete with the promise of New Adventures!

...especially for this shy, hermit-like, self taught artist.

The last few months of 2010 have presented me with new opportunities I hadn't dreamed of. Artist Laurie Justus Pace invited me to join The Daily Painters of Arizona, for whom I'll be posting art weekly, and  Contemporary Fine Art International (CFAI), a fabulous group of artists.

Also in late 2010, while visiting the blogs of a dozen or so other artists, not only did I discover a wonderful world of online art, but these artist's refreshing insight and helpful hints as they chronicled their own painting adventures were entertaining, delightful and informative. I also discovered Leslie Saeta and Dreama Tolle Perry's weekly radio show chock full of valuable information to help other artists, appropriately titled Artists helping Artists.

As I was listening to one of the broadcasts, thinking about how I might apply what I was learning to my own artistic endeavors, I had an idea. Let me use their sage advice for a year and see where it takes me. That said, I've decided to launch 'A YEAR IN THE LIFE', a one year chronicle (2011) of this non business savvy, extremely shy, *AAADD afflicted artist's journey. Using guidelines, links and suggestions found on the weekly radio show 'Artists Helping Artists', and applying the vast array of information found there, I hope to step outside the comfort zone of my cozy studio and explore the world. 

From each broadcast, I'll take notes, creating a list of weekly/monthly goals to apply to my own art endeavors. Then, I'll keep you up to date, through this blog, on my successes as I go along.

How much growth can I achieve, artistically and personally? Can I increase my number of blog followers each week? Will my name recognition increase? Will I continue to grow my art sales, both online and locally? What successes will my January 2012 recap reveal?

Drop in now and then and follow my progress. I'll be sharing all the neat stuff I find.

So here I go!
A YEAR IN THE LIFE-  part 1

From the Artists Helping Artists  radio broadcast on 12/30/2010  - "Goals for 2011"

This show appropriately dealt with setting goals for 2011. It was the last show in a 5 week series on goal setting. There are many archived shows I haven't listened to yet, but plan to catch up on as soon as possible. I encourage all of you to check out these archived shows, conveniently found on their Artists Helping Artists blog.

Pour yourself a cup of your favorite brew, and get ready to learn. I'm taking notes and sharing what I'm learning. I'm not going to stick to any particular order of broadcasts, but rather, refer to their list of archived shows, and listen to what show will work best for me at the time.You'll be able follow my progress here on my 'YEAR IN THE LIFE' chronicle.

Now, as Leslie and Dreama, suggested, I'm sharing my list of:

2011 Art Goals:

• paint daily (explore new subjects)
• expand and create new 'series' works
• paint ahead (for my weekly posts on Daily Painters of Arizona)
• blog weekly (I'd actually like to blog bi-weekly, but we'll see)
• build my blog followers (currently at 18, can I hit 50 this year?)
• improve my portraiture website (it's embarrassing) 
• increase painting sales (list one painting a week minimum)
• build a client email list
• enter a painting competition (a first for me)
• enter one local exhibition (another first for me) 
• organize my studio (minimize the studio space my artglass uses)
• continue to add helpful resource links for other artists through this blog (how to, where to, etc)

There is wonderful calm that I have found as I've gotten older. My fears seem to be melting and instead of being afraid of how my paintings will be received, I'm excited at the prospect of sharing my paintings and hearing what others have to say.

 

I have found that there are many things that make me happy, but painting is one of those things that makes me happiest.

This new recipe of  2011 Art Goals sprinkled with a pinch of new found confidence, hold the shyness, has the potential for making 2011 a truly HAPPY New Year!

*AAADD-Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder :O)

click image to enlarge






"First Christmas" 2004
11" x 14" x 3/4"
Acrylic on canvas
Livingstone collection- Tucson, AZ

A portrait I painted of our grandson, Trevor.  

"Winter Trees" 2005
15" x 30" x 3/4"
Acrylic on canvas
Livingstone collection- Tucson, AZ

Wow, how can it really already be December?!

Decided to paint some pine trees for a different twist on my Tall Trees series.  Pretty, cool colors with
really neat texture found throughout, 
especially on the tree branches.



Click cropped detail below to see tree texture a bit better. Wish I'd taken better photos of this painting.
It was so much prettier in person.

 Another from my archives
My son, Chip, and his family (7 of our grandkids) came to Tucson last week for Thanksgiving. They live in Colorado Springs now. While visiting, a few of the grandkids were caught up in this painting I'd done in 1995 of John Lennon and Stuart Sutcliff. Chip and I told them the story behind the painting and I mentioned I had featured it on this blog in 2008. I told them I'd repost it so they could read it when they got home. So here it is. Click image to see a larger version.



"JOHN AND STUART" 1995
16" x 20"
acrylic on canvas
artist: Jenna Millward Corkill

The Art War ~ a friendly competition 
My son, Chip, is also an artist, with a degree in visual communication from the University of Arizona... while he was still in college in 1995, we were both employed by the same company....about 75 employees worked there. One day Chip and I happened to be in the break room at the same time, along with several other employees... everyone knew Chip and I were artists, and on this particular day we were discussing our current art projects... well, this child I'd brought into this world, started talking smack about who was the better artist, me or him!... back and forth it went for a few minutes until someone there suggested we have a little 'art competition' to see who was the best... so a few guidelines were decided along with a deadline and the 'art war' began.

It was decided we had 30 days to paint a 16" x 20" black and white of any dead rock and roll artist... we would then display these 2 paintings in the break room and let all our fellow employees vote for their favorite.

The day of the unveiling was so fun!... I was completely blown away by Chip's painting of Kurt Cobain (seen below) and tickled by his positive reaction to my portrait of John Lennon and Stuart Sutcliffe... when the votes (60+) were tallied after a few days, Chip was the winner, by one vote!... I teased him that I had voted for him, so it was my vote that won it for him... then he revealed he'd voted for me!... that's my son~son!

My painting was based on an Astrid Kircherr photo taken in 1960... George Harrison was in the original photograph, but he was still alive in 1995. Since this painting could only include deceased rock and roll artists, I had to leave him out of the painting.

 

"CURT COBAIN" 1995
16" x 20"
artist: Chip Cole

If you look closely in the shadowed area of Chip's Kurt Cobain painting, you will see a skull.

Below is a detail of my painting for the competition... I love painting guitars...heck, I just love guitars... look at Stuart's big ole Hofner hollow body bass and John's famous Rickenbacker Capri 325.... I am currently learning to play bass guitar and loving it, but that's a story for another day.