Waiting to Inhale
My latest ACEO/ATC. I think the picture says it all...
posted by Deborah at
10:26 PM
>0 comments
Sunday, October 30, 2005
My latest ACEO/ATC. I think the picture says it all...
Online auctions
While people all around the country are watching football and various other sports on TV (well, the male people are)...I'm enjoying a peaceful and quiet day. Doing a spot of cleaning and reorganizing, messing around with eBay (as usual), and trying to figure out some text to put onto my website for my website designer. She says that the more text the better, so an odd phenomena has occurred. I can't write!
I can come in here and blab and blab away, but to actually put some script in place on my website??? This took me hours to come up with a few sentences to put into the scrolling marquee that she has added for me. Trying to think of things to have people DO, call to action, move them around the various sites that I have in place...all things that your professional marketer already knows how to do. Me? Moi? dee dee dee...there I am again...like a deer in the headlights.
It's no wonder that I haven't done better with my art sales this first year! I'm a marketing ignoramus!! I used to think that I really knew a lot about it because I did have my own service businesses and I was also a business consultant...also for service-related businesses. Selling a product, though, I have found to be a bit more difficult. Because you somehow have to convince the buyers that this item is something that they really need and want...unlike a service such as car repair or dental work, which they already KNOW they need (not necessarily want).
I've taken sales seminars for art this past year, computer marketing seminars, read books, and studied what I could from successful artists. It's like starting all over again from the very beginning as a marketer. What applies to one industry does not necessarily apply to another. Of course, a lot of this depends upon your marketing budget...and when that is severely limited, you have to get very crafty indeed. I spent thousands and thousands of dollars doing outdoor art shows, getting the set up and the vehicle in place...and if I were to start all over again as a brand new artist (a word to the wise here), I would start with online auctions from the getgo. You spend a lot less money, a LOT more people will see your art eventually, and it's a great way to test the waters and find out if your style of artwork is what the public is buying.
There are several online auctions these days...from eBay to Overstock to Yahoo to Amazon. And don't forget Wet Canvas and Cafe Press...actual stores. Yes, you will have to find ways to get people to go to your stores, but if you start out with the auctions...they will find you. You just have to expect to spend your money on the marketing. I see artists all the time who are penny-wise and pound foolish in their marketing endeavors online. They probably have never had their own business before and they invest in the wrong things and try to do it all as cheaply as possible. Nearly anyone can get started on one of these auction sites for a minimal amount of money...and NO you don't have to sell your artwork for less than you want. You can set up reserve prices...it will cost you a few dollars more to do it this way, but it's worth the investment. In the 6 months that I have been doing online auctions, I have learned a lot of things that I think will help me with future sales. I am still not solvent with this particular investment area, but it's a lot closer to being solvent than doing the outdoor art shows!
I can come in here and blab and blab away, but to actually put some script in place on my website??? This took me hours to come up with a few sentences to put into the scrolling marquee that she has added for me. Trying to think of things to have people DO, call to action, move them around the various sites that I have in place...all things that your professional marketer already knows how to do. Me? Moi? dee dee dee...there I am again...like a deer in the headlights.
It's no wonder that I haven't done better with my art sales this first year! I'm a marketing ignoramus!! I used to think that I really knew a lot about it because I did have my own service businesses and I was also a business consultant...also for service-related businesses. Selling a product, though, I have found to be a bit more difficult. Because you somehow have to convince the buyers that this item is something that they really need and want...unlike a service such as car repair or dental work, which they already KNOW they need (not necessarily want).
I've taken sales seminars for art this past year, computer marketing seminars, read books, and studied what I could from successful artists. It's like starting all over again from the very beginning as a marketer. What applies to one industry does not necessarily apply to another. Of course, a lot of this depends upon your marketing budget...and when that is severely limited, you have to get very crafty indeed. I spent thousands and thousands of dollars doing outdoor art shows, getting the set up and the vehicle in place...and if I were to start all over again as a brand new artist (a word to the wise here), I would start with online auctions from the getgo. You spend a lot less money, a LOT more people will see your art eventually, and it's a great way to test the waters and find out if your style of artwork is what the public is buying.
There are several online auctions these days...from eBay to Overstock to Yahoo to Amazon. And don't forget Wet Canvas and Cafe Press...actual stores. Yes, you will have to find ways to get people to go to your stores, but if you start out with the auctions...they will find you. You just have to expect to spend your money on the marketing. I see artists all the time who are penny-wise and pound foolish in their marketing endeavors online. They probably have never had their own business before and they invest in the wrong things and try to do it all as cheaply as possible. Nearly anyone can get started on one of these auction sites for a minimal amount of money...and NO you don't have to sell your artwork for less than you want. You can set up reserve prices...it will cost you a few dollars more to do it this way, but it's worth the investment. In the 6 months that I have been doing online auctions, I have learned a lot of things that I think will help me with future sales. I am still not solvent with this particular investment area, but it's a lot closer to being solvent than doing the outdoor art shows!
posted by Deborah at
2:56 PM
>0 comments
Doodles 9
This little ACEO was created to commemorate my recent membership in the eBay ACEO group. If you look closely at the wording on this painting...I put words inside the bird that closely resemble a lot of the late night ramblings that have been making me laugh so much in recent weeks. On several occasions now I have been sitting at my computer laughing so hard that I had tears rolling down my face.
The moderators in this group don't like us swearing and cussing, and they tell us to bark instead...so you will see these posts all the time that say nothing more than bark, bark, bark. It's a wild and zany group of people with close to 1,900 members now and you simply never know what you are going to read in there. The moderators have done a marvelous and commendable job of not allowing any fighting or any of the other more stressful dramos that people can sometimes get into. This gang actually makes selling artwork fun...
posted by Deborah at
12:51 AM
>0 comments
Doodles 8
What's sort of cool about this little ACEO is that it's crooked! I like that...a bit off center, just like me. AND I've made a discovery in recent years that following your heart can actually be a good thing, rather than always being so cerebral about life. I would never have become an artist if I had not decided to follow my heart............
posted by Deborah at
12:48 AM
>0 comments
Saturday, October 29, 2005
Oh happy day...
Today was a complete thrill for me when I received the rest of my order that I had made online from Cafe Press. I got a large t-shirt, a magnet, some cards, and a baby's t-shirt all done with Beezer's image on the front! What a kick that was. It made me so happy to see that little bugger smiling back at me on these different items. I can't wait now to get my Cafe Press store opened and operational. I was merely holding off on it all in order to see how these items would come out...because I wasn't at all sure that I had sent the correct size and type of images to Cafe Press.
About 6 times this week, I tried to get into my account on Cafe Press where I had already downloaded about 20+ artworks. Do you think I can remember what name I used??? I tried 4 different email address and 2 different passwords, and kept getting kicked out for trying too many times. I emailed their customer service people 3 different times and have yet to hear back from them...this, of course, does not make me overly thrilled. I didn't try calling and I didn't try sending them my phone number, either, so that will be my next step. Since I haven't yet opened up a store there, I can always start over from the very beginning, but I would rather not.
Whew...what a mess you can make in your life when you don't write things down! Another hard lesson learned. One way or another, though, I WILL get this other store opened up for business as soon as possible...now that I can see for myself that the quality of the items is very good. I have my Christmas frog, Herb, over at my photographer's right now, and as soon as he is ready, I can get his image downloaded in the Cafe Press store...I'm sure he will be a popular one with the holidays coming up.
So all of this was very fun and exciting for me today and to top it all off the weather was fantastic! Not a cloud in the sky. No humidity. Upper 70's temperature wise. It just makes me feel uplifted to have weather like this, which is why I could never live up north again with all the grey-skied days up there...I get too depressed from all of that. And that is probably why 4 billion people are moving down here to Florida every month...
AND...progress is being made on my new, improved website! It should be operational any day now and I'm very excited about that, too. It's days like this that make being alive all worthwhile!!!
posted by Deborah at
6:50 PM
>0 comments
Friday, October 28, 2005
Revamped Maude
I tried valiantly to download the earlier version of Maude, but since I had already deleted her from my computer files, this was a task that I was not able to accomplish. The earlier picture of Maude is on my Oct. 14th blog posting, and as you can see I changed the background on her. Since she didn't sell during my auction, I thought that I would spruce her up a bit more and make for more contrast, and I like the changed and improved background a lot better. I think it gives more interest to the mini-painting.
In the future when I do this, I will SAVE the earlier version so that I can put the before and afters side by side in the blog and thereby give readers a chance to see what happens with artists' artwork. Heck, I have a couple paintings that I revamped 8 times! One of them ended up being one of my best pieces and I sold it, too, so there are times when redoing artwork is a really good thing to do.
posted by Deborah at
3:20 PM
>0 comments
Auction frenzy
I never thought I would find myself sitting and watching the clock ticking and refreshing an auction page so that I could get in at the last minute and snipe something away from someone else. Oh yes, sniping on eBay is an activity that occurs routinely! I have lost dozens of things due to these last minute bids by other people. It drives me mad!
I'm trying to learn how to do this technique because I have gotten completely and hopelessly addicted to some of these tiny little ACEO's! SOMEBODY STOP ME!!! I have it all justified, of course, because I am an avid art lover, and with these cards I don't need a lot of room to store them in, and they are more affordable, and...and...and. The truth of the matter is, it's a riot. I have fallen in love with so many different styles of artwork, and I lust after the images. I have to have them! (Yeah, like I really need more artwork!!!)
But like I said...this takes up no room at all. I even have an album that I can put them into and make my very own 'art book' and put the images into it that I really want to have. Unlike other art books that you buy...this one you can piece together on your own, and thus end up with only works that you really, really love. See...I'm crazed. And I'm in there fighting like a banshee to own these eensy little images practically every day now.
I started out on this eBay project to get my feedback rating increased and also to help promote my own artwork with 'cross-promoting'...that is, if I list an ACEO of my own, I can then hopefully get buyers to go look at my store or my other listings. Things have been going along fairly well, and suddenly and unexpectedly I have found myself crazed on purchasing other people's ACEO's. There are even some hall of famers in the ACEO group who have sold their ACEOs for up to $200 each!!! Yowza...that's a devoted following, I must say!
Meanwhile, I am still bouncing all over the place on my images that I am creating. Trying this and that and changing styles every couple days. Sigh. I guess it is simply a process that I must endure until I start to hone in more on what I like doing the best. I'm still in that stage of liking to vary my style all the time. Well, back to the drawing board.............
I'm trying to learn how to do this technique because I have gotten completely and hopelessly addicted to some of these tiny little ACEO's! SOMEBODY STOP ME!!! I have it all justified, of course, because I am an avid art lover, and with these cards I don't need a lot of room to store them in, and they are more affordable, and...and...and. The truth of the matter is, it's a riot. I have fallen in love with so many different styles of artwork, and I lust after the images. I have to have them! (Yeah, like I really need more artwork!!!)
But like I said...this takes up no room at all. I even have an album that I can put them into and make my very own 'art book' and put the images into it that I really want to have. Unlike other art books that you buy...this one you can piece together on your own, and thus end up with only works that you really, really love. See...I'm crazed. And I'm in there fighting like a banshee to own these eensy little images practically every day now.
I started out on this eBay project to get my feedback rating increased and also to help promote my own artwork with 'cross-promoting'...that is, if I list an ACEO of my own, I can then hopefully get buyers to go look at my store or my other listings. Things have been going along fairly well, and suddenly and unexpectedly I have found myself crazed on purchasing other people's ACEO's. There are even some hall of famers in the ACEO group who have sold their ACEOs for up to $200 each!!! Yowza...that's a devoted following, I must say!
Meanwhile, I am still bouncing all over the place on my images that I am creating. Trying this and that and changing styles every couple days. Sigh. I guess it is simply a process that I must endure until I start to hone in more on what I like doing the best. I'm still in that stage of liking to vary my style all the time. Well, back to the drawing board.............
posted by Deborah at
1:24 PM
>0 comments
Thursday, October 27, 2005
Doodles 4
This is part of the new series that I have created for my eBay ACEO listings. I call this series "Doodles" because I am pulling ideas from some of the doodles and sketches that I did in 2003 while I was taking care of my dad during his illness.He and I spent many hours, days, and weeks in hospitals and doctor's offices and the best way for me to pass the time was to sketch and draw. Sometimes a person would appear that would catch my attention and sometimes it was some thing. And others...I would just doodle things out of my own fertile imagination and they would look like nothing in the physical universe.
Poppa wasn't much into art, so I never showed him my work very much. We had plenty of other things to discuss and laugh about or yell about. Just looking back thru my 2 little sketch books brings back lots of memories of those times that he and I shared together that year. We had days when he would be watching 2 different games on his 2 tv sets and a 3rd one on the radio...we wouldn't even be talking (who the hell could be heard over such a racket?) and I would be sketching. Silly little moments like that, but they are fresh in my mind because of the sketches. Some people write poetry, songs or stories to 'capture' these moments.
I know for certain that people will ask me what such and so sketch came from...and it's all of the above. Some surroundings, some imagination. There's no real 'story' attached to any of them. I suppose I could make some up just to answer peoples' questions...
posted by Deborah at
11:46 AM
>0 comments
What was I thinking?
After many, many years of dreaming about how wonderful life would be were I in a position to make a living as an artist, I have to laugh at my dreamworld of old. I had forgotten, of course, about those days from hell when you find yourself in a completely apathetic state and feel as though you can't deal with anymore problems anywhere.
I had been self-employed before...several times. But for some reason I thought that living an artist's life would be different and I would feel so much more satisfaction or something...I honestly don't know what I was thinking. But I guess it is like this for all of us daydreamers...we think that IF ONLY such and so would happen, and then one day it does, and it's just not exactly what we had anticipated. Sort of like getting married.
Yesterday I couldn't even blog or write in my own personal journal...a thing which no one will ever see because I would have to kill them. Several days had gone by and I couldn't get things completed because of one stop or another, and I finally locked myself in my home and stayed away from people as much as possible. I didn't finish any painting...I didn't post anything on eBay...nothing. I watched a couple of painting videos and dvd's, listened to a couple of lectures about life on my cd player, and sat quietly. At least when life is kicking you in the teeth, as a self-employed person you have some control over how much of it you can shut out.
My website person has assured me that the new changes to the website will get downloaded tomorrow (Friday). My email is working again finally today. I have to make my 3rd trip to the framer's on this blasted mess that the gallery made of one of my paintings last week. And I want to make some new artwork for eBay...small and simple things. I'm trying to break myself of old painting habits that I picked up years back and I want some diversity in my work, so I'm going to make some 'studies'. No, that's not what this guy calls them...quick studies is what he says they are...all done in an hour or less. His theory is (and he's been teaching for 30 years) is that you can learn more from 30 quick studies than you can in one large painting.
This guy, Craig Nelson, has a book and a tape showing how he works, and I like his style. Robert Burridge paints in a similar manner and he says he does about 9 small pieces at one time...just slathering paint around in front of him with all 9 paintings together, and this is the method that he uses to 'warm up' when he begins painting. My objective in all of this is to get my work to loosen up...it's too tight!!! I keep screaming about 'too many details' and how I don't have the patience for it, and yet when I make my artwork it's so tight that it squeeks! Even my quick sketches look too tight.
I feel that this is indicative of how my life is moving (or not). I want more freedom and free-spirited activities...more FUN! Perhaps I have the wrong idea about this, too, and having a looser, more-free flowing life will not be the ultimate happiness, either. It's just time for a change...past time for a change! And if I can loosen up on the painting...maybe I can loosen up about life, too...if there is a connection??
I had been self-employed before...several times. But for some reason I thought that living an artist's life would be different and I would feel so much more satisfaction or something...I honestly don't know what I was thinking. But I guess it is like this for all of us daydreamers...we think that IF ONLY such and so would happen, and then one day it does, and it's just not exactly what we had anticipated. Sort of like getting married.
Yesterday I couldn't even blog or write in my own personal journal...a thing which no one will ever see because I would have to kill them. Several days had gone by and I couldn't get things completed because of one stop or another, and I finally locked myself in my home and stayed away from people as much as possible. I didn't finish any painting...I didn't post anything on eBay...nothing. I watched a couple of painting videos and dvd's, listened to a couple of lectures about life on my cd player, and sat quietly. At least when life is kicking you in the teeth, as a self-employed person you have some control over how much of it you can shut out.
My website person has assured me that the new changes to the website will get downloaded tomorrow (Friday). My email is working again finally today. I have to make my 3rd trip to the framer's on this blasted mess that the gallery made of one of my paintings last week. And I want to make some new artwork for eBay...small and simple things. I'm trying to break myself of old painting habits that I picked up years back and I want some diversity in my work, so I'm going to make some 'studies'. No, that's not what this guy calls them...quick studies is what he says they are...all done in an hour or less. His theory is (and he's been teaching for 30 years) is that you can learn more from 30 quick studies than you can in one large painting.
This guy, Craig Nelson, has a book and a tape showing how he works, and I like his style. Robert Burridge paints in a similar manner and he says he does about 9 small pieces at one time...just slathering paint around in front of him with all 9 paintings together, and this is the method that he uses to 'warm up' when he begins painting. My objective in all of this is to get my work to loosen up...it's too tight!!! I keep screaming about 'too many details' and how I don't have the patience for it, and yet when I make my artwork it's so tight that it squeeks! Even my quick sketches look too tight.
I feel that this is indicative of how my life is moving (or not). I want more freedom and free-spirited activities...more FUN! Perhaps I have the wrong idea about this, too, and having a looser, more-free flowing life will not be the ultimate happiness, either. It's just time for a change...past time for a change! And if I can loosen up on the painting...maybe I can loosen up about life, too...if there is a connection??
posted by Deborah at
11:25 AM
>0 comments
Monday, October 24, 2005
Wilma who?
I'm sure that there are people out there today wishing that they had never heard the name Wilma and never want to again. She's probably raising holy hell in many locations, but she's not doing much here in the Tampa Bay area. We had a lot of rain last night and there are definate high speed wind gusts today, and just to be on the safe side, our government offices are closed today. Wouldn't want them to hurt themselves, right?
We got lucky. Some people might say that luck has nothing to do with it, but I don't know what I think anymore about that particular part of life. Like I said before...timing and positioning. I try to keep myself out of the line of fire, I do know that much.
The Magic Painting Shirt continues to blow my mind...225 people have gone in there to look at that auction so far, and I am trying to find out from eBay whether search words are counted from the body of the description as well, or just the title. If it's just the title...then something else is happening with that bloody shirt. I sent out my weekly newsletter today, but only 21 of those folks have gone to look at the Magic Painting Shirt...so another 200+ people have come from somewhere! Very interesting...I try a little humor added into an auction listing and I get this sort of response? You mean people actually think I am funny? Well, I hope so...that would be a very good thing to be. Funny haha, not funny peculiar.
The switchover on my hosting service is still underway today and it's driving me mad. I can't get my regular email service to work at all, and this really dampens my enthusiasm. I started having trouble with it yesterday and probably rebooted my computer 12 times just to get my email to work for a few minutes at a time, but today it's dead completely. I've been on the phone with my website designer already this morning and she assures me that once this transition is completed later today...the email will be back to normal. Or as normal as Outlook Express can ever be.
I used to listen to techno-geeks bad mouth MicroSoft stuff all the time and I could never quite understand what all the bruhaha was all about. And now I do...after 10 years or so of trying to work with their various programs and being forced to do so because it's the only software that you can get in your computers when you buy them...well, there are major bugs in the MS software and now I complain right along with the geeks...as if I really knew what I was talking about. I don't really even like the Outlook Express email service that I have, so I might just get my computer gal to set me up with a new service.
All of the changes!!! I guess that is what bothers me the most...changes. I really have to work at learning how to use new things and then when that gets changed on me, I don't always make the transition smoothly. I certainly will be glad when all of this computer stuff is completed. I will be set up then to sell things right from my website, which is something that I have wanted to do for about a year. And it also means that I have more work to do to get that all set up smoothly. :)
We got lucky. Some people might say that luck has nothing to do with it, but I don't know what I think anymore about that particular part of life. Like I said before...timing and positioning. I try to keep myself out of the line of fire, I do know that much.
The Magic Painting Shirt continues to blow my mind...225 people have gone in there to look at that auction so far, and I am trying to find out from eBay whether search words are counted from the body of the description as well, or just the title. If it's just the title...then something else is happening with that bloody shirt. I sent out my weekly newsletter today, but only 21 of those folks have gone to look at the Magic Painting Shirt...so another 200+ people have come from somewhere! Very interesting...I try a little humor added into an auction listing and I get this sort of response? You mean people actually think I am funny? Well, I hope so...that would be a very good thing to be. Funny haha, not funny peculiar.
The switchover on my hosting service is still underway today and it's driving me mad. I can't get my regular email service to work at all, and this really dampens my enthusiasm. I started having trouble with it yesterday and probably rebooted my computer 12 times just to get my email to work for a few minutes at a time, but today it's dead completely. I've been on the phone with my website designer already this morning and she assures me that once this transition is completed later today...the email will be back to normal. Or as normal as Outlook Express can ever be.
I used to listen to techno-geeks bad mouth MicroSoft stuff all the time and I could never quite understand what all the bruhaha was all about. And now I do...after 10 years or so of trying to work with their various programs and being forced to do so because it's the only software that you can get in your computers when you buy them...well, there are major bugs in the MS software and now I complain right along with the geeks...as if I really knew what I was talking about. I don't really even like the Outlook Express email service that I have, so I might just get my computer gal to set me up with a new service.
All of the changes!!! I guess that is what bothers me the most...changes. I really have to work at learning how to use new things and then when that gets changed on me, I don't always make the transition smoothly. I certainly will be glad when all of this computer stuff is completed. I will be set up then to sell things right from my website, which is something that I have wanted to do for about a year. And it also means that I have more work to do to get that all set up smoothly. :)
posted by Deborah at
12:49 PM
>0 comments
Sunday, October 23, 2005
Waiting for Wilma
Here I thought that I was being so fresh and creative...using a headline like Waiting for Wilma on today's blog, and I just saw the same title on one of the news reports. Nothing seems to get the news media worked up into a lather quite like a good old hurricane...can you believe these people? There must not be anything else happening in the world today outside of this hurricane.
This is my third attempt at posting today's blog and I haven't been happy with anything that I have written so far. It ends up getting trashed...and rightly so. My humor today is weak, and this could perhaps be because I had to strain so hard to write something funny for my Magic Painting Shirt eBay auction. Maybe I only have a certain amount of humor left in me, and now I need to rebuild that store for my next hilariously funny creation.
I admire comedians and how they seem to effortlessly get out there and crack one-liners one right after the other. Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, Whoopie Goldberg...they seem to make it look so frickin easy, when I know that it really can't be. And how about Ellen Degeneres? Talk about not being able to confront something....I would rather die than have to get out there every day on TV and have to show yourself to millions of viewers. Kill me now!
Well, since I can't seem to come up with anything worth yapping about, I am cutting this one short.
This is my third attempt at posting today's blog and I haven't been happy with anything that I have written so far. It ends up getting trashed...and rightly so. My humor today is weak, and this could perhaps be because I had to strain so hard to write something funny for my Magic Painting Shirt eBay auction. Maybe I only have a certain amount of humor left in me, and now I need to rebuild that store for my next hilariously funny creation.
I admire comedians and how they seem to effortlessly get out there and crack one-liners one right after the other. Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, Whoopie Goldberg...they seem to make it look so frickin easy, when I know that it really can't be. And how about Ellen Degeneres? Talk about not being able to confront something....I would rather die than have to get out there every day on TV and have to show yourself to millions of viewers. Kill me now!
Well, since I can't seem to come up with anything worth yapping about, I am cutting this one short.
posted by Deborah at
3:28 PM
>0 comments
Saturday, October 22, 2005
The Magic Painting Shirt from the back...
See? My Magic Painting Shirt auction is going to sell a similar shirt to the highest bidder on eBay.
That link is here:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=7359944759&ssPageName=STRK:MESE:IT
posted by Deborah at
3:04 PM
>0 comments
My Magic Painting Shirt
Late last night as I was perusing some eBay listings and thinking about how funny 'the black leather pants and the man in a wedding dress' auctions had been...I decided to list a Magic Painting Shirt. I made a shirt for myself 1 1/2 years ago and there is a picture of me wearing it on my website: www.debcompany.com
Everywhere I go, people are commenting on my Magic Painting Shirt, and recently someone asked me to make one for her...fine. She even suggested that I go on eBay and auction shirts like it to see what happens, and because she has given me good advice in the past, I mulled it over for a few days and finally took action on it last night.
Today, less than 24 hours later...there have been 67 hits and 6 'watchers' on the Magic Painting Shirt. Go figure...I paint and paint and have to beat people over the head with the artwork, and what gets all the attention...a Magic Painting Shirt. I've said this a billion times, and I'll say it again...I don't know WHAT the public wants. Everytime I go shopping in a Walfart store, I see items there and think to myself 'Who the hell would buy that?'...and years ago when I worked in a Walfart on the midnight shift, I couldn't believe what people were buying!!!
It all seems to be a matter of timing and positioning...if you are in the right place at the right time... Although, I even managed to blow that one because I was in the real estate business down here in Clearwater back in 1999 before all hell broke loose, and I decided to get out of that business and go with a .com business that I had stock in. And we ALL know what happened in the .com world soon after. Meanwhile, the price of real estate down here has increased by 20-30% steadily for the past 5 years. Yepper...I have that magic touch.
I've read many books on various successful people in my lifetime and they all seem to have one thing in common...they have tried MANY things. Even Michael Jordan says that he has missed a lot more shots than he has made. Persistence is a key factor, and I think I may have that one down...but only time will tell. I do know, though, that I am not at all interested in going into the clothing business again...been there, done that. This Magic Painting Shirt is designed to attract attention to my artwork and help me with my branding. A sensahuma has to be a part of my branding, too!
Everywhere I go, people are commenting on my Magic Painting Shirt, and recently someone asked me to make one for her...fine. She even suggested that I go on eBay and auction shirts like it to see what happens, and because she has given me good advice in the past, I mulled it over for a few days and finally took action on it last night.
Today, less than 24 hours later...there have been 67 hits and 6 'watchers' on the Magic Painting Shirt. Go figure...I paint and paint and have to beat people over the head with the artwork, and what gets all the attention...a Magic Painting Shirt. I've said this a billion times, and I'll say it again...I don't know WHAT the public wants. Everytime I go shopping in a Walfart store, I see items there and think to myself 'Who the hell would buy that?'...and years ago when I worked in a Walfart on the midnight shift, I couldn't believe what people were buying!!!
It all seems to be a matter of timing and positioning...if you are in the right place at the right time... Although, I even managed to blow that one because I was in the real estate business down here in Clearwater back in 1999 before all hell broke loose, and I decided to get out of that business and go with a .com business that I had stock in. And we ALL know what happened in the .com world soon after. Meanwhile, the price of real estate down here has increased by 20-30% steadily for the past 5 years. Yepper...I have that magic touch.
I've read many books on various successful people in my lifetime and they all seem to have one thing in common...they have tried MANY things. Even Michael Jordan says that he has missed a lot more shots than he has made. Persistence is a key factor, and I think I may have that one down...but only time will tell. I do know, though, that I am not at all interested in going into the clothing business again...been there, done that. This Magic Painting Shirt is designed to attract attention to my artwork and help me with my branding. A sensahuma has to be a part of my branding, too!
posted by Deborah at
2:44 PM
>0 comments
Friday, October 21, 2005
friday afternoon hysteria
Have the planets gone out of alignment? Full moon? Is Mercury in retrograde again? Is there someone or something somewhere that I can blame for the insanity that has been happening in my life today? Yeow. I can't think of one single thing that I have done this whole day that has gone the way that it was supposed to go, and I managed to make it thru without crying...this is a good thing. Of course, the day isn't over yet.
We all have days like this when life seems to gang up on us, and we feel like we are all alone in the world. So just being able to talk to someone about it makes a big difference, because irregardless of what we THINK...we all go thru things like this. Some people, the poor dears, have a whole life that consists of one wrong thing after another. I have definately had long periods of time in my life when I felt like I was cursed from the depths of hell and being punished for I knew not what.
As I am now older and a teensy bit wiser...I know that periods like this happen because I get a LIVE one on my lines somewhere. This means that somewhere along the way, I have come into contact with someone who is Mr. Nasty (or Ms. as the case may be). And this person has no redeeming qualities whatsoever that I can think of. Things just happen to go wrong around them and people around them don't do well, either.
A very small percentage of people on this planet today are like Mr. Nasty, thank god. But in a lot of cases, all you need to do is come across them in your everyday activities and unbeknowst to you...all hell breaks loose and you feel like you are quickly losing your mind. I can't ALWAYS tell who the Mr. Nasty is...but it's a dead giveaway when things are going completely nutso, that recently I have been in contact with one!
So when I have a day like I have today, I start to look around and take a closer look at who I have talked with and gauge that off of my past experiences with that person...if I have had earlier encounters, that is. If too many of these encounters with that person have been negative, that person is gone from my life, but pronto. Why bother? Why make excuses and try to be 'understanding' and democratic about it...this is MY life and I want to have a good life and not have any Mr. Nasty's around. If I am in doubt as to whether or not someone is a Mr. Nasty...I don't usually even give them the benefit of the doubt. Cut and run! Run for your life, because as insane as these people are...your life means nothing to them whatsoever.
I never used to believe in such things as Mr. Nasty's, and severing ties with people...but I have learned this lesson the hard way. And I am fairly ruthless about it now. I don't have that many years left in this lifetime, so I want to make the most of them.
We all have days like this when life seems to gang up on us, and we feel like we are all alone in the world. So just being able to talk to someone about it makes a big difference, because irregardless of what we THINK...we all go thru things like this. Some people, the poor dears, have a whole life that consists of one wrong thing after another. I have definately had long periods of time in my life when I felt like I was cursed from the depths of hell and being punished for I knew not what.
As I am now older and a teensy bit wiser...I know that periods like this happen because I get a LIVE one on my lines somewhere. This means that somewhere along the way, I have come into contact with someone who is Mr. Nasty (or Ms. as the case may be). And this person has no redeeming qualities whatsoever that I can think of. Things just happen to go wrong around them and people around them don't do well, either.
A very small percentage of people on this planet today are like Mr. Nasty, thank god. But in a lot of cases, all you need to do is come across them in your everyday activities and unbeknowst to you...all hell breaks loose and you feel like you are quickly losing your mind. I can't ALWAYS tell who the Mr. Nasty is...but it's a dead giveaway when things are going completely nutso, that recently I have been in contact with one!
So when I have a day like I have today, I start to look around and take a closer look at who I have talked with and gauge that off of my past experiences with that person...if I have had earlier encounters, that is. If too many of these encounters with that person have been negative, that person is gone from my life, but pronto. Why bother? Why make excuses and try to be 'understanding' and democratic about it...this is MY life and I want to have a good life and not have any Mr. Nasty's around. If I am in doubt as to whether or not someone is a Mr. Nasty...I don't usually even give them the benefit of the doubt. Cut and run! Run for your life, because as insane as these people are...your life means nothing to them whatsoever.
I never used to believe in such things as Mr. Nasty's, and severing ties with people...but I have learned this lesson the hard way. And I am fairly ruthless about it now. I don't have that many years left in this lifetime, so I want to make the most of them.
posted by Deborah at
4:57 PM
>0 comments
Thursday, October 20, 2005
Phoebe
Here's the story on Phoebe:
She is all girl; make no mistake about that.
Her favorite color is pink.
A full-body frog massage is a weekly appointment for Phoebe.
After that comes the frog facial and lunch with her girlfriends.
posted by Deborah at
12:10 PM
>0 comments
thief gets the boot
Last week I posted about some criminal who was copying original artworks on eBay and having them printed out and repainted by some Chinese people. He was probably paying these people 50 cents a day, because he was selling these 'original' artworks for less than $50 most of the time. The way this got discovered is that the fool took the image that he downloaded from eBay...complete with copyrights and the artists names on some of the work, and used the same photos to post his own listings. That's how stupid criminals can be!
Anyhow, eBay kicked him out. Unfortunately, we all know that this doesn't stop a criminal. He could very easily be doing the same thing there under another name/ID. The good news is that eBay took quick action this time. In the past, a few years back, this wasn't the case. But now things have changed and eBay has been sued and lawsuits cost money. Plus, I think they finally realized that this is a violation of the law and it's a federal matter. I am very glad to find that eBay is protecting the legitamate customers and keeping things more ethical. Hurray! It's about time some big businesses do this, don't you think?
I used to be in the clothing business, and knock-offs and copying are happening all the time in that industry. An original idea? What's that? Considering, though, today's modern technology and how images and ideas are 'saved' for hundreds and thousands of years...sometimes you get the idea that it's nearly impossible to even have an original idea.
That's what I love about art. An artist has the opportunity (if he wishes to use it) to interpret things as he sees them. I shy away from Realism, as such, because I think I can take a picture of something with a ding-dang digital camera that would be WAY better. As much as I admire Realism, I simply don't have the patience to sit there with a 3-haired brush making thousands of tiny strokes for months on end. YIKES!
I love to see the brushstrokes in Impressionism and Abstract art. That, to me, is the artist's individual communication...the way that he presents his own interpretation of what he sees...whether it is in his mind's eye or across the courtyard from him. Pastels, watercolors, pen and ink, acrylics, oil, gouche, casein, colored pencil, spray cans...I don't care what medium an artist uses! I love looking at all the various art pieces in galleries, museums and even online. I'm lucky to have a very nice computer screen and can't live without cable, so my images download fast and many times they are magnified for better viewing. What a treat!!!
Anyhow, eBay kicked him out. Unfortunately, we all know that this doesn't stop a criminal. He could very easily be doing the same thing there under another name/ID. The good news is that eBay took quick action this time. In the past, a few years back, this wasn't the case. But now things have changed and eBay has been sued and lawsuits cost money. Plus, I think they finally realized that this is a violation of the law and it's a federal matter. I am very glad to find that eBay is protecting the legitamate customers and keeping things more ethical. Hurray! It's about time some big businesses do this, don't you think?
I used to be in the clothing business, and knock-offs and copying are happening all the time in that industry. An original idea? What's that? Considering, though, today's modern technology and how images and ideas are 'saved' for hundreds and thousands of years...sometimes you get the idea that it's nearly impossible to even have an original idea.
That's what I love about art. An artist has the opportunity (if he wishes to use it) to interpret things as he sees them. I shy away from Realism, as such, because I think I can take a picture of something with a ding-dang digital camera that would be WAY better. As much as I admire Realism, I simply don't have the patience to sit there with a 3-haired brush making thousands of tiny strokes for months on end. YIKES!
I love to see the brushstrokes in Impressionism and Abstract art. That, to me, is the artist's individual communication...the way that he presents his own interpretation of what he sees...whether it is in his mind's eye or across the courtyard from him. Pastels, watercolors, pen and ink, acrylics, oil, gouche, casein, colored pencil, spray cans...I don't care what medium an artist uses! I love looking at all the various art pieces in galleries, museums and even online. I'm lucky to have a very nice computer screen and can't live without cable, so my images download fast and many times they are magnified for better viewing. What a treat!!!
posted by Deborah at
11:51 AM
>0 comments
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
ACEO???
This stands for Art Cards Editions and Originals. What is an Art Card? I covered that in a post a few days back...ATCs or Artist Trading Cards began several centuries ago, and have recently made a resurgence. Some of these little originals are actual 'studies' that artists make prior to painting the larger original work.
Along came BoneDiva, an artist on eBay. She started this ACEO group there one year ago yesterday...originally there were 10 members. As of yesterday there were nearly 1,800!!! It is a great group of people all working to help each other out. Most of these artists paint or create in larger formats as well, or even in different mediums.
It's also a good way to check out the response to your original concept prior to initiating the larger work. Hopefully this will help me to prevent making some of the mistakes that I have made in recent years...painting large paintings that never sell! I don't know of many artists, though, who haven't gone thru the overstock problem...where to put all the paintings that aren't selling.
Sales are up and down all over the place and it doesn't seem to matter what you are making and selling, or even who you are. As an artist you have to continue to create and market and just keep goooooiiiinnnngggg. I'm very, very lucky that we now have this online auction and website format available, so that I can communicate to other artists around the world, share ideas, and the ups and downs of life. Sometimes people get the idea that living an artistic existence is all fun and games, or else that you are starving to death. Both ideas are far from reality.
However, because these ideas and false datums exist...many other people are discouraged from pursuing their artistic dreams. I even heard someone say this weekend that there are 'too many artists'...??? Are you nuts? How could there ever be too many artists on this planet? If anything, there aren't enough!!! If more of us were to shed the incorrect ideas about living life as an artist, and were to jump the fence and dig in there and make it happen...the world would be a better place. Simply because more of us would be pursuing our DREAMS!!!
How many businesses do you know that actually make a profit in their first year or two? More of them fail than succeed. Many more. So why be afraid to give it a try? You can still do a regular workaday job and do the art thing part-time or even occasionally. At least then you can say that you are working towards attaining this dream that you have kept hidden away from everyone most of your life, right?
Along came BoneDiva, an artist on eBay. She started this ACEO group there one year ago yesterday...originally there were 10 members. As of yesterday there were nearly 1,800!!! It is a great group of people all working to help each other out. Most of these artists paint or create in larger formats as well, or even in different mediums.
It's also a good way to check out the response to your original concept prior to initiating the larger work. Hopefully this will help me to prevent making some of the mistakes that I have made in recent years...painting large paintings that never sell! I don't know of many artists, though, who haven't gone thru the overstock problem...where to put all the paintings that aren't selling.
Sales are up and down all over the place and it doesn't seem to matter what you are making and selling, or even who you are. As an artist you have to continue to create and market and just keep goooooiiiinnnngggg. I'm very, very lucky that we now have this online auction and website format available, so that I can communicate to other artists around the world, share ideas, and the ups and downs of life. Sometimes people get the idea that living an artistic existence is all fun and games, or else that you are starving to death. Both ideas are far from reality.
However, because these ideas and false datums exist...many other people are discouraged from pursuing their artistic dreams. I even heard someone say this weekend that there are 'too many artists'...??? Are you nuts? How could there ever be too many artists on this planet? If anything, there aren't enough!!! If more of us were to shed the incorrect ideas about living life as an artist, and were to jump the fence and dig in there and make it happen...the world would be a better place. Simply because more of us would be pursuing our DREAMS!!!
How many businesses do you know that actually make a profit in their first year or two? More of them fail than succeed. Many more. So why be afraid to give it a try? You can still do a regular workaday job and do the art thing part-time or even occasionally. At least then you can say that you are working towards attaining this dream that you have kept hidden away from everyone most of your life, right?
posted by Deborah at
10:13 AM
>0 comments
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
Beezer
BeezerJust look at that face!
Have you ever seen such an ornery character as Beezer?
No worries…he’s every bit as much
fun as he is cute.
posted by Deborah at
11:41 AM
>0 comments
Monday, October 17, 2005
Another ACEO
My latest mini-painting/ACEO/ATC. Oh gees, I said I was going to post something soon about ACEOs (Artist Cards, Editions and Originals). Well, it's not going to be today because I have too many other things that I need to take care of after my show this past weekend.
posted by Deborah at
11:50 AM
>0 comments
Friday, October 14, 2005
another ATC/ACEO
This is Maude.
The colors here are close, but not exactly what the original miniature painting looks like. I showed her to a friend of mine last weekend and she said 'What are you doing painting me?'
Well, Maude is not my friend's name, and I wasn't thinking of her when I painted Maude, but if she thinks so...that's fine.
I love doing these caricatures! My whole Headboard Series is devoted to various personalities that just popped up out of nowhere and became (to me) real people.
posted by Deborah at
12:15 PM
>0 comments
Thursday, October 13, 2005
ATCs
I posted my first Art Trading Card on eBay last night. This little 2 1/2 x 3 1/2" original painting that I call Julia. These paintings are also called ACEOs (Artist Cards Editions and Originals). The History of ATC'sArt Cards have a very long and very interesting history. Art cards or miniatures were the rage in the 16th century. They were mostly portraits and they were sold, not traded or given away. They were the first wallet "photos". Men would have nudes painted of their Mistresses on art cards (without their wives knowing)--usually by the same Artist that would do the big family portraits of their wives. Miniature Portraits would be used for exchange when rich people arranged marriages.
The French artists were the first to come up with advertisement on the art cards. It wasn't until the mid-1700's that the English picked up on the idea of using the Art cards for advertising. The Art Cards of Europe are slightly larger than ours and their standard deck of playing cards is much larger than ours.
During the Impressionist Age artists traded art cards among themselves to study each other's style and techniques. They also traded or sold the art cards as necessary for supplies, food and lodging.
In 1887 "baseball" cards started to appear. These early cards are now very rare and it is uncertain what they were made of. They were not mass produced. During the period 1902 - 1935 baseball was in its golden years. Cards during this time were usually sold with bubble gum, chewing tobacco and cracker jacks. As they were marketed with different size products, baseball cards were different sizes and it was not until the 1960s that the modern 2.5 x 3.5 size was standardized.
I got this information from the www.art-cards.org website. I will soon be posting a bit about the ACEO movement.
posted by Deborah at
11:11 AM
>0 comments
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
website
I'm so happy today that I could sing...and I have been, actually. Thank god noone is around to hear my croakings! I've found someone to advise me on website upgrades and improvements and get me hooked up and linked here and there so that my search engine presence will finally begin. I've had this fun website for over a year now, and love it, but it goes nowhere. The only way that I can get people to go visit it is with the advertising on my van, thru the art shows when I hand out postcards with my address on them, and via my newsletters.
This has very limited workability, and now that I have someone who knows what they are doing...she can advise me what to do and handle the various technical actions for me. WHEW! What a relief this is!!! I'm even going to get set up to take credit cards from my website and probably PayPal, if I can. Suddenly my 'store' will be out there for all the world to see. So for the past year my website has simply been sitting there, stagnant and inactive for the most part.
The other nice part about all of this is that this person that I have hired to do these improvements actually speaks English! Not techno-speak...well, to a limited degree, of course. But this is the biggest stumbling block for me to getting my marketing program kicked into high gear...the language barriers. I even took some webmaster classes about 4-5 years back, and I still go blank when I talk with some of these techno-nerds! WTF becomes a part of my daily language when they start yapping at me...and I simply wander off into dreamland because I am really, really bad at foreign languages anyhow...and techno-speak is definately a foreign language.
I'm an artist, for god's sake!!! Would a techno-nerd know what the hell I was talking about if I started yapping about 300# watercolor paper, stippling, washes, and mixed media??? No, they would not.
So to have this sweet gal working on my marketing lines for me and using plain old English...god love her...
This has very limited workability, and now that I have someone who knows what they are doing...she can advise me what to do and handle the various technical actions for me. WHEW! What a relief this is!!! I'm even going to get set up to take credit cards from my website and probably PayPal, if I can. Suddenly my 'store' will be out there for all the world to see. So for the past year my website has simply been sitting there, stagnant and inactive for the most part.
The other nice part about all of this is that this person that I have hired to do these improvements actually speaks English! Not techno-speak...well, to a limited degree, of course. But this is the biggest stumbling block for me to getting my marketing program kicked into high gear...the language barriers. I even took some webmaster classes about 4-5 years back, and I still go blank when I talk with some of these techno-nerds! WTF becomes a part of my daily language when they start yapping at me...and I simply wander off into dreamland because I am really, really bad at foreign languages anyhow...and techno-speak is definately a foreign language.
I'm an artist, for god's sake!!! Would a techno-nerd know what the hell I was talking about if I started yapping about 300# watercolor paper, stippling, washes, and mixed media??? No, they would not.
So to have this sweet gal working on my marketing lines for me and using plain old English...god love her...
posted by Deborah at
1:20 PM
>0 comments
hump day
A friend of mine said that she envied me being able to stay at home to work and create and this actually reminded me of how lucky I am to have been able to achieve this state after dreaming about it for years and years. I've been self-employed before, so in some ways I take it all for granted...I really can set my own schedule--which often means 7 days a week. I can work in my pajamas or sleep in my painting clothes---I really am a bohemian when it comes to that. I can walk with pride knowing that I am my own boss---even when the bank account is low and the bills are high.
Sure there are still the sleepless nights, no perks and benies, vacations only when things are covered which can be downsides to having to work for a living, period. Lord knows that I have tried punching the clock and working for others, but this is an unnatural state for me. I used to hate the routines, having people screaming at me, and doing things that I didn't want to do. Now when I have to do something that I don't want to do, at least I know it's absolutely necessary for the survival of my business.
I do not make a good junior; ask any of my old bosses. I have had more different kinds of jobs than probably a dozen people. I often see this in 'artistic type' personalities...they don't seem to conform well at all. It stifles the creativity of an individual to have to march to someone else's tune. And thank god there are enough creative/artistic people in the world!
My son, Shawn, is coming to visit me today. I requested that he make an appearance and install my scanner/copier for me. I'm sure that I could figure out how to do this on my own, but not without having a psychotic break in the process. One area where I am NOT creative is in the area of working with electronic equipment/machinery and the like. People who can do this amaze me to no end.
I was over at Border's Books yesterday having a bi-weekly latte and reading art magazines. I don't know how I managed to get out of there without purchasing several, but due to the fact that I have been dekludging my belongings repeatedly this year, I didn't want to drag more STUFF home. My new favorite artist is Will Wilson...the man can paint like the old masters and he infuses some awesome compositions, humor and storylines into his work. He is moving up very fast in the art world due to his extraordinary talent and unusual subject matter. I saw his work in International Artist magazine and American Art Collector magazine.
By the way, if you are reading this and you are also an artist, you can purchase these wonderful 10 minute DVDs with John Lovett painting in various mediums and they only cost $7.50 each! Only the essential material is on these DVDs and I think they are grand...I now own 3 of them on Impressionistic style painting. The link is www.internationalartist.com and if you have a firewall on your computer...you will have to shut it down to get into the site...I learned this the hard way! No, I am not getting a referral fee or even an affiliate link, I simply love the magazine and what they are doing.
The world will be a far better place if more and more of us follow our creative dreams, don't you think?
Sure there are still the sleepless nights, no perks and benies, vacations only when things are covered which can be downsides to having to work for a living, period. Lord knows that I have tried punching the clock and working for others, but this is an unnatural state for me. I used to hate the routines, having people screaming at me, and doing things that I didn't want to do. Now when I have to do something that I don't want to do, at least I know it's absolutely necessary for the survival of my business.
I do not make a good junior; ask any of my old bosses. I have had more different kinds of jobs than probably a dozen people. I often see this in 'artistic type' personalities...they don't seem to conform well at all. It stifles the creativity of an individual to have to march to someone else's tune. And thank god there are enough creative/artistic people in the world!
My son, Shawn, is coming to visit me today. I requested that he make an appearance and install my scanner/copier for me. I'm sure that I could figure out how to do this on my own, but not without having a psychotic break in the process. One area where I am NOT creative is in the area of working with electronic equipment/machinery and the like. People who can do this amaze me to no end.
I was over at Border's Books yesterday having a bi-weekly latte and reading art magazines. I don't know how I managed to get out of there without purchasing several, but due to the fact that I have been dekludging my belongings repeatedly this year, I didn't want to drag more STUFF home. My new favorite artist is Will Wilson...the man can paint like the old masters and he infuses some awesome compositions, humor and storylines into his work. He is moving up very fast in the art world due to his extraordinary talent and unusual subject matter. I saw his work in International Artist magazine and American Art Collector magazine.
By the way, if you are reading this and you are also an artist, you can purchase these wonderful 10 minute DVDs with John Lovett painting in various mediums and they only cost $7.50 each! Only the essential material is on these DVDs and I think they are grand...I now own 3 of them on Impressionistic style painting. The link is www.internationalartist.com and if you have a firewall on your computer...you will have to shut it down to get into the site...I learned this the hard way! No, I am not getting a referral fee or even an affiliate link, I simply love the magazine and what they are doing.
The world will be a far better place if more and more of us follow our creative dreams, don't you think?
posted by Deborah at
11:30 AM
>0 comments
Sunday, October 09, 2005
weekend adventures
The days of October seem to be flying past very quickly as nearly everyone is now beginning to focus on the holidays. Yeegods...it's all upon us once again.
Lots of people start to gear their artwork towards holiday themes now, but I am not joining in. I painted Herb, my Christmas frog, last fall and he will have to suffice for my 'getting into the spirit' token for this year, too. I'm more concerned with figuring out what style I want to focus on...and I am still buttered all over the place on that one.
This weekend I completed about 4 new ACEO's that I will be posting on eBay this coming week. As if I didn't have enough other artwork to complete, I have now started a whole new thing. But I get fascinated with various projects, so why fight it?
I had to buy myself a scanner/copier this weekend in order to get copies made of these little teensy art paintings. 2 1/2 x 3 1/2" doesn't lend itself well to being photographed. I suppose I could lie them on the floor and shoot them that way, but I think the scanner will do it better...at least I hope it will.
I've found some ACEO artists on eBay this weekend that have gorgeous work! I'm following this one painter because I love her style. She reminds me in some ways of Maxfield Parrish, but with a different palette. She has obviously built up quite a following on eBay and gets close to $100 each for these little paintings. I can tell that she puts in close to 10 hours on each one...the work is exquisite.
I had coffee last evening with a friend of mine who will be turning 75 this month. We have known each other for about 25 years, I think. She's one of the most memorable characters that a person could ever meet anywhere....used to be a model in Europe years ago. I always enjoy our coffee and tea times.
Lots of people start to gear their artwork towards holiday themes now, but I am not joining in. I painted Herb, my Christmas frog, last fall and he will have to suffice for my 'getting into the spirit' token for this year, too. I'm more concerned with figuring out what style I want to focus on...and I am still buttered all over the place on that one.
This weekend I completed about 4 new ACEO's that I will be posting on eBay this coming week. As if I didn't have enough other artwork to complete, I have now started a whole new thing. But I get fascinated with various projects, so why fight it?
I had to buy myself a scanner/copier this weekend in order to get copies made of these little teensy art paintings. 2 1/2 x 3 1/2" doesn't lend itself well to being photographed. I suppose I could lie them on the floor and shoot them that way, but I think the scanner will do it better...at least I hope it will.
I've found some ACEO artists on eBay this weekend that have gorgeous work! I'm following this one painter because I love her style. She reminds me in some ways of Maxfield Parrish, but with a different palette. She has obviously built up quite a following on eBay and gets close to $100 each for these little paintings. I can tell that she puts in close to 10 hours on each one...the work is exquisite.
I had coffee last evening with a friend of mine who will be turning 75 this month. We have known each other for about 25 years, I think. She's one of the most memorable characters that a person could ever meet anywhere....used to be a model in Europe years ago. I always enjoy our coffee and tea times.
posted by Deborah at
6:48 PM
>0 comments
Friday, October 07, 2005
Big Willie
This is a photo of a mask that I made of my mother's face about 20 years ago. It is coated with blue and white colored sands and mounted on canvas. I shot the mask from the side and put it into my Paint Shop Pro program and enhanced it first by changing it to black and white and then changing the texture of it somehow...I can't actually remember what I did to get the background swirls like they are. But I liked the final product enough to save the image on my computer...I love taking pictures of things and monkeying around with them in PSP or Adobe Photoshop. Both programs are amazing in that you can do so many different things to an image.
posted by Deborah at
4:35 PM
>0 comments
painted furniture
Today I made a run over to the International Shopping Plaza in Tampa to see some of my favorite painted furniture in there...it's made by a company called Sticks and is carried by Nicholson House in the mall there. I am doing homework and looking for ideas to paint some furniture for a friend of mine who wants a dining table and chairs done in a whimsical style.
Last week I had tried doing woodburning and routing designs into a wooden frame and painting the designs in black and doing colorful and fun acrylic colors on top of that, leaving the black lines there for an outline effect. I couldn't believe how much work was involved with this particular method!!! They are very cute when done this way, but I am going to use black paint and make outlines on the wood rather than do any carving into the wood. Trying to do a table and chairs with a method like that???? Faggedaboudit!
I've also done further research on the ATC (art trading cards) and ACEO's (art card editions and originals) on eBay, and I'm going to try painting a few of these teensy little cards and use them to hopefully drive more traffic into my regular paintings on eBay. People seem to have gone absolutely crazy with this ATC/ACEO action...one fellow had over 1,000 visitors look at his card!!!!!!!! And I have seen a couple of them sell for $200 or more. Which is what you can expect to pay for large canvas paintings on eBay, too.
I still haven't settled on one particular style of painting, and sometimes I wonder if I ever will. It's so handy to be able to paint in one style so that you work becomes recognizable, but it seems that that would get very boring indeed. So I still experiment around and everytime I see some cool craftsy item...I want to make one like it.
I think most artists like to experiment and use different mediums and methods of creating...I'm not alone there. Apparently someone was just trying to locate me thru the local artist supply store and wanted to hire me to hand-paint some tiles. They had my wrong phone number on file, so I never heard from the guy...but how did he find out about me and the tiles that I carry? They aren't even hand-painted...they are done on heat presses...one of my best-selling items at my outdoor art shows.
Well, after looking at all the artwork that I have seen today, I have to get busy and create something...feels like it's coming out of my pores now.
Last week I had tried doing woodburning and routing designs into a wooden frame and painting the designs in black and doing colorful and fun acrylic colors on top of that, leaving the black lines there for an outline effect. I couldn't believe how much work was involved with this particular method!!! They are very cute when done this way, but I am going to use black paint and make outlines on the wood rather than do any carving into the wood. Trying to do a table and chairs with a method like that???? Faggedaboudit!
I've also done further research on the ATC (art trading cards) and ACEO's (art card editions and originals) on eBay, and I'm going to try painting a few of these teensy little cards and use them to hopefully drive more traffic into my regular paintings on eBay. People seem to have gone absolutely crazy with this ATC/ACEO action...one fellow had over 1,000 visitors look at his card!!!!!!!! And I have seen a couple of them sell for $200 or more. Which is what you can expect to pay for large canvas paintings on eBay, too.
I still haven't settled on one particular style of painting, and sometimes I wonder if I ever will. It's so handy to be able to paint in one style so that you work becomes recognizable, but it seems that that would get very boring indeed. So I still experiment around and everytime I see some cool craftsy item...I want to make one like it.
I think most artists like to experiment and use different mediums and methods of creating...I'm not alone there. Apparently someone was just trying to locate me thru the local artist supply store and wanted to hire me to hand-paint some tiles. They had my wrong phone number on file, so I never heard from the guy...but how did he find out about me and the tiles that I carry? They aren't even hand-painted...they are done on heat presses...one of my best-selling items at my outdoor art shows.
Well, after looking at all the artwork that I have seen today, I have to get busy and create something...feels like it's coming out of my pores now.
posted by Deborah at
4:22 PM
>0 comments
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
Sunday, October 02, 2005
Kissimmee weekend
So here we are in the Orlando area...just a few miles from downtown Disney. And we have had ourselves a whee of a time so far. Like a couple of kids let loose for the first time in years...we have just been wandering around and doing whatever we feel like.
The Cirque du Soleil show last night was spectacular!!! Not an ounce of disappointment there. Live and in person, these shows are even more memorable than when you see them on TV. I cannot believe how talented these performers are. Singers, dancers, acrobats of all kinds...it's like being in a world of make believe.
There were so many things going on at one time on the stage last night, that I couldn't begin to take it all in. The place really hops with a spectacle of continual movement with lights dancing all over people and costumes and the music and singing lending a mood of magic to the whole performance. The people in such productions must be very proud of their accomplishments.
When we got into the Orlando area yesterday, we discovered that there was an outdoor art festival happening in nearby Celebration (a small town)...so we journeyed over there and I bought myself a knitted and crocheted scarf of reds and purples that truly matches (in my mind) my perceptions of myself as a being. Little fibers sticking out all over and lovely long fringes of different colors and shapes hanging from the edges. Wow...it's a work of art. Just like me...I may be old and fat, but inside I'm just like a kid all over again.
It's so much fun to be out roaming around the countryside, and now that I have a sidekick with me this weekend, it makes it even more fun. We get to do whatever we want to do...it's no wonder that retired people go off and start enjoying their retirements by traveling and seeing and doing various things...after years of being worker-bees and parents, spouses, etc etc...they/we finally get the freedom to be and do whatever we want. It's exhilarating.
I'm so lucky to be an artist! And by building up my business on eBay and working to gain a good reputation, I am making a future for myself where I can earn a good living and continue to meet great people and move around as much as I want. That's why I like my recent decision to make smaller artwork...it's more portable. Large pieces are way cool and I prefer painting large, but the storage and the immobility that comes with them makes them less than desirable for me at this point in my art career.
Well, it's time to go and see what we can come up with to do next!!
The Cirque du Soleil show last night was spectacular!!! Not an ounce of disappointment there. Live and in person, these shows are even more memorable than when you see them on TV. I cannot believe how talented these performers are. Singers, dancers, acrobats of all kinds...it's like being in a world of make believe.
There were so many things going on at one time on the stage last night, that I couldn't begin to take it all in. The place really hops with a spectacle of continual movement with lights dancing all over people and costumes and the music and singing lending a mood of magic to the whole performance. The people in such productions must be very proud of their accomplishments.
When we got into the Orlando area yesterday, we discovered that there was an outdoor art festival happening in nearby Celebration (a small town)...so we journeyed over there and I bought myself a knitted and crocheted scarf of reds and purples that truly matches (in my mind) my perceptions of myself as a being. Little fibers sticking out all over and lovely long fringes of different colors and shapes hanging from the edges. Wow...it's a work of art. Just like me...I may be old and fat, but inside I'm just like a kid all over again.
It's so much fun to be out roaming around the countryside, and now that I have a sidekick with me this weekend, it makes it even more fun. We get to do whatever we want to do...it's no wonder that retired people go off and start enjoying their retirements by traveling and seeing and doing various things...after years of being worker-bees and parents, spouses, etc etc...they/we finally get the freedom to be and do whatever we want. It's exhilarating.
I'm so lucky to be an artist! And by building up my business on eBay and working to gain a good reputation, I am making a future for myself where I can earn a good living and continue to meet great people and move around as much as I want. That's why I like my recent decision to make smaller artwork...it's more portable. Large pieces are way cool and I prefer painting large, but the storage and the immobility that comes with them makes them less than desirable for me at this point in my art career.
Well, it's time to go and see what we can come up with to do next!!
posted by Deborah at
9:36 AM
>0 comments
