Thank You Beth

Close up view.

Last few weeks I have been very busy. Running your own business is not an easy task….at least it has not been for me. In this small company of mine I wear many hats….trying to do it all and keep your creative juices flowing is a balancing act. Add to it that while many often wishes they could work from home….one must have the ability to put all things on the side and actually work from home. I try to balance this out by working several hours in the morning…..get to my chores and dogs then back to work. …this I have found to be the most difficult challenges of all. A struggle to keep it all going….a schedule. Add to that there will be those times when outside help with certain tasks will have to occur. Then….of course while your busy doing all of these things that must get done…..you are not doing the work that will earn you an income….which of course leads me to say support you local artists

Feeding the creative side of the brain…..now here is the most interesting part of it all…..one must “nurture” their creativity. I must look, see, feel….I must make the time to do those things that truly awaken….inspire me. If I get too bogged down with all of the other aspects of business, which happens often enough….I feel a very slight panic as I sit trying to sketch, paint or even look through my view finder. Imagine the feeling of nothing……the pencil hits paper and all of a sudden I cannot come up with a sketch….I am seeing “nothing” through the viewfinder. Yes, scary indeed that feeling of nothing. So…time to feed the creative side of the brain is so important….in other words….one must take the time to smell the roses so to speak.

So, this morning finds me putting it all on hold. The web site date with which it should be up and running has come and gone….little frustrations here and there and oh my…..I just have no creativity left in me this morning….so…the sun is shinning….cool autumn morning… the dogs and I will go exploring a bit and I have no doubt that I will return feeling a bit more like me.

Clearly I am not the only one that gets this panic feeling of nothing….or am I??????

(more…)

I paint the NY skyline because I remember…

The view from the bridge….so wonderful…

I remember.

I remember a young boy,
so cute, so sweet.
I remember….my first kiss.
We were friends stayed in touch…
He was a Son, a Father, Husband, Brother…Friend.

I remember a young man….kind, decent strong, giving….

A fireman.

He too was a Son, Father, Husband, Brother…Cousin, Friend.

I remember a sweet young woman…her children miss her every day,

Her family misses her and her friends miss her.

So many on that day woke, showered and simply

went off to work….another day.

I remember watching….I remember the pain, the loss…the heartbreak….

No, not just another day!

So, I paint the NY skyline because I remember.

 Updated Tues. 8-21: I received a few e-mails on this….some wanting to see a closer look. I know….the images are too small…well just ask and I’ll share So…here is a little closer view, still very much a WIP.

 On the Easel….Young love….do your remember? So sweet, so innocent…so pure….but one wonders…will she love me back???   She loves me, she loves me not…

 So…Dad’s Birthday and Mom suggests a Personalized Tee shirt and Mug…what better then a quick colorful painting of his two adorable children.                                                                                                                                                                                                Dad is going to love his gifts!

Today I spent a good part of the day pulling items out of the booth….will do the same tomorrow. I hope by this weekend all products and paintings are removed from the booth. I decided to move to a little better location for the Holidays. Yep….it is time for folks like me to start reminding everyone who will be wanting to give portrait paintings as a gift to start thinking about this now

The new location will not be an every weekend thing, but rather once or twice a month. I really want to open with all new paintings….both Gallery wrapped and framed. I have about five Gallery Prints left that I will be posting in a day or so….sale prices will range from $150.00-$650.00…as will there be 20% off all paintings found on the blog (there are a few paintings not for sale).

The new location is in mid town and will showcase my portraits while at the same time selling a few of my paintings (floral paintings, landscapes and portraits), along with a few photographs. Breed specific items will also be sold…tee shirts, sweat shirts, greeting cards and of course coffee mugs….as will all products be on sale through my web site and blog….stay tuned

Did my best to finish a few things on the pc….the mind kept wandering mid afternoon. I was just not able to concentrate. So….looked around at the puppies….all napping…Niki kept looking up at me wanting to go swimming….which, by the way we eventually did. Picked up the sketch pad and found myself just scribbling away….I find this helps to un cloud the mind…and relax me. Never did get back to the PC so as to show that I just did not goof off all day going to share my scribbles….the good, bad and the ugly….if you look at the middle page, that is the view I have from my chair…picture my chair in the middle looking down. I am always surrounded by fur and love. I guess I was just tooooo relaxed for it seemed to me to be to much of an effort to go into the other room, turn the scanner on….grabbed the camera and just photographed instead….too lazy even for that….set the camera to auto (folks there are rules to follow when photographing in bad light, a white BG with a digital camera….I did not follow any). These images will be used in a class as an example of what Not to do (yeah, like that was really my intention…yep the lazy days of summer are upon us)…..maybe tomorrow I’ll show how to do it correctly…better yet, just maybe I’ll turn the scanner on

A simple portrait of a beloved family member…a WIP. There will not be much color in this painting…the beauty of the cat will just have to stand out on it’s own. Cats, well they have wonderful eyes and if you bring them out with color and just the right amount of high light that is the focus of attention. I will be completeing this in the next day or so.

On the easel for today is a quick WIP, will do my best to finish today or within the next few days.  In the process of closing the booth so must get rid of the remaining night lights and several original paintings ranging from $475.00 and up, Gallery wrapped.  Day Dreamin is one of the paintings (for all of you golden lovers this is a must have). These are the originals and only one, or two printed.  We are moving to Mid Town and want to open with all new prints.

I will post more info on this during the week.

Last of the daylilies.