This was a tough word grouping. I survived and had a bit of fun. Again time seems to always be the big issue. Perhaps if this was every other week. Would you join in? In any case my results are here.
Next week I retrieved from my grab bag of words: Pencil Drawings, Spaghetti, and Cats
Pick two or three random words each written on strips of paper and try to combine them in some creative way. Let me know what happens! This last one was almost too random but I have an idea for the next bunch of incongruous words. We might be heading into Dali-land. https://penzart.com/week-3-of-creativity-gymnastics/
I’ve been working on this other blog. Creativity is one thing, the execution of the art is another. The random “likes and loves” words picked were Salt, Espresso and Photos. They inspired salt dough in the form of an espresso pot and beans and a very goofy cartoon.
See what I’m talking about here: https://penzart.com/creative-gymnastics.
Anyone else interested in Snagging the Muse? I’d love the company 🙂
I had most of my cards and little sketchbooks at a little rural shop. Perhaps that was my first mistake. People had to go there specifically for yarn and to see alpacas. Their focus wasn’t on art or fancy little art cards. Either that or my work is just not all that sellable. I can easily believe the latter – but I can’t seem to stop trying.
sales.penzart.com
These were so fun to create – yet another thing I couldn’t stop myself from making:
For me a calm moment enables me to do some fun artwork. It’s getting that moment to actually last long enough to create. With time and nothing pressing while I was on the island this past summer, I pulled out my paints and over a few days tried my hand at realism. Realism requires patience, not something I’m very good at – I tried. These are art cards that I put on my site. All the cards on that site are hand painted (no prints). sales.penzart.com
I’ve gotten on a theme of fuzzy flowers. A mixed media thing that I am wondering how to expand on. This one is titled Wildest Dream. The only reason I named it that was because I had one of those dreams last night that stick with you all day. It wasn’t at all about flowers but about an old friend that now has Parkinson’s and I haven’t talked to her in years. In the dream I told I was sorry that I hadn’t been in touch. Maybe these flowers are for her.
This is in the form of a greeting card on my site: sales.penzart.com
I’m slowly adding a few more paintings and cards to my site. I had a friend that died recently. He had a temper at times but he was loyal as heck. We laughed and ate dim sum and helped each other through life. To my friend – This card says: I have a prickly side, don’t we all? I’m blowing through life but I can blush red with love and loyalty. http://www.sales.penzart.com – where I thought it would be fun to mail original art to you friends and loved ones.
It’s been a tough fall and winter, but I’m slowly getting back to making some art and adding paintings to my sales site. sales.penzart.site
I had a thing for denim. There was so much of it being thrown away I couldn’t help but salvage some of it. Thanks for visiting! Enjoy!
The place I grew up was heavily wooded. It offered a place to escape, play, build forts and feel free. I had a route that I followed through the woods. In the winter it led to a frozen swamp that I skated on. In the summer I went to an outcropping of huge rocks that tilted towards each other to make a cave. It was one of my many secret retreats. I would always leave something in the cave like a button or ribbon. When I came back the next day it would be gone! Someone, animal or person was taking my cave offerings! Pretty sure it wasn’t a person.
This doesn’t look exactly like my cave but it’s close. Plus I can’t really remember seeing any purple trees in upstate NY. http://sales.penzart.com
Yes, a little corner of the paper it torn, the paint comes over the edge, and my corners aren’t square. I’ve always had trouble with perfection. Perfection requires patience, which apparently I don’t have 🙂 Having said that, how can there be life with no cracks, torn corners or smudges? It’s unnatural. So the question is, do I just not have the right amount of skill, talent or control over my art? Maybe I’m making excuses for not being good enough to pull off a perfect piece of art. Or do I like imperfection, like the philosophy of Wabi-Sabi? It’s probably a combination. It might be time to explore this more deeply. This is a painting on mat board sales.penzart.com
This is an unframed botanical watercolor, acrylic and colored pencil painting. It is floating on an 8×10 mat board.
I wrote a sweet little children’s book and am trying to decide what medium and style to use. It would be nice if the backgrounds didn’t overwhelm the main character – a cat. I’ve tried pen and ink and it was just a little too boring for a kids book for this particular story. Colored pencil mixed with graphite has captured my interest lately but I’m not totally convinced. Without knowing the story I can’t really ask for thoughts but I’d thought I’d share what I’ve been working on.
I made this card thinking about valentines day. I reflected on what that first dizzying few years felt like. It was floating in our own orbit, not much mattered but the magnetic pull between us. Even with rough times the pull was, and I guess, continues. This picture could also be I the last picture in my book the Glass Bottle. sales.penzart.com
Another card entry with description @ sales.penzart.com
For decades I was lost in my own head trying to figure out what life was all about. Why was it so difficult, and why don’t I feel like I belong? After a lot of reading and tons of meditation I figured it out! It’s all about opening up the heart chakra. Really! When that one piece is open the world opens. I found I didn’t have to struggle as much with judgmental relationships. As it turns out I was the one judging. Opening the heart allowed me to go with the flow and just live in a gentler place.
Birds have always fascinated me. When I was about three or four years old I very clearly remember asking my mother when I would get wings so that I could fly. She said she was sorry but people don’t get wings. I thought to myself what use is a body that can’t fly? I asked her if I could get rid of this body that felt like a lead weight and get a body with wings. She was not at all happy with that idea. I was crushed.
sales.penzart.com
So many rules to selling oneself! I’ve been told to tease the product, which in this case is hand-painted greeting cards. Then I’m to hash tag the f…k out of every nuance and thought about the card (which for some reason to me is like eating spaghetti left handed in a tornado). Anyway, here is the tease progression for one card that’s on sales.penzart.com
I am spending glorious time in the studio making mixed media cards and I can’t stop! Consequently I need to get rid of them…don’t I? My little card shelf is full!
I have a new sales site where they are mostly all listed. penzart.square.site
These are a few new ones but as you can see I’ve kind of gotten into it.
Send someone a love you letter! Then tell them to wear a mask so you can continue to love them! Support the USPS before it’s too late!
Great Falls Va. has a community of artists and crafts people. My table will have hand-painted cards, all my kids books (five now and counting) watercolors and a few mixed-media/embroideries (sounds complicated but it works!) Here is an example:
Love to see you there if you’re in the area. Not sure which building I’ll be in but enjoy it all!!
On my daily walks with our dog, I saw some crocuses. Spring is just around the corner. So fun when all the color bursts out of the ground and from the trees! It made me want to do a loose, free painting.
I liked that one so much I did another!
I love just swinging the brush around!! Splash, swipe, sketch, sketch….voila!!
I am trying to learn self-promotion. First question: how do I know I’m good enough to promote myself? Originally the point was to get rid of art that I call closet stuffers, or insulation. But, silly me, I doing the whole social media thing with digital downloads which doesn’t help get rid of anything! So again, why bother? I hate to say it but maybe I need the acknowledgment, or social acceptance? Would I go as far as to say I need praise? Jeez – pathetic.
The process to me is so far from the artistic process that it becomes cumbersome. Like the sizing and editing of prints in photoshop – pixels, inches, resolution etc. Yet here I am putting my silly little paintings (cartoon-ish looking animals) on Etsy, and Pinterest while promoting them on Instagram. Nauseating somehow, but necessary. Wait, why is it necessary? I can’t imagine that I can make a living off my goofy little digital downloads. This all must be in the hopes that people (publishers) might explore further and buy (want to publish) a book or two? Yes, I do write fiction.
Well, here’s a glimpse of the goofiness:
I’m so honored when friends stop in to support me at the art show and say hello. But boy am I uncomfortable selling my art to them. Don’t you give stuff to friends? I love my friends and want to give to them, not take their money. . It’s the way I give gifts, which I don’t otherwise give. I really suck at gift giving. So this is really perfect…isn’t it? They pick out what they like, I give it to them – everyone’s happy!! When I explain that, the thought and sentiment behind it, is brushed off.
Then to top it off I had one young lady fall in love with a painting. When she asked how much I wanted for it she lost it. “That’s too low!” she gasped “It should be at least double what you have marked here!” …and then proceeded to pay the lower price. ( -.- shrugg). oh well.
Okay big lesson – add ten dollars to each tag. ok, $20. but that’s as high as I’ll go!
The top picture and at the bottom of the other pic, is a new little kids book I’m working on. It’s about an Ant and an Elephant. Before it’s even done I’ve gotten some interest. Actually someone wanted to buy that unfinished little sketch book. Wohoo! They also like the one about the seagull that gets kicked out of Bologna cartel. He then gets a kid to help flood the market with bolgna to ruin his former comrades. Once that’s done, he starts a new gang that seeks out and hords peanut butter….something like that.
I’m gearing up to do the annual Spring Art Show in Great Falls. May 5th and 6th. I was reluctant at first but with some encouragement and incentives I’ve decided to go for it. They want to set up a time for me to read my children’s book. I’m not sure which one, maybe both? If enough kids show up, that makes it more of a community event rather than a sales event. I also have a dozen or so watercolors to hang up. I’ve been matching the paintings up with fabric and scraps of paper, like this:
Some are more elaborate than this one but they’re already under glass making it harder to photograph. All but one out of the dozen or so, are in an 11 x 14 black frame with the same off white mat-board. Hopefully it will look professional and enticing. Of course there’s always insecurities but I guess I just have to suck it up.
My older sister once said, in her most snide voice “Why are you always drawing trees?” I was stunned and didn’t know how to answer. I love the trees, I thought to myself but she, being the big sister must right. So, I stopped drawing trees or at least was very aware of all my seven year old obsessive tree drawing. Continue reading
…or as my very adult daughter says about the first one it’s Fairy Cotton Puffs.
I’m trying to be strong, up-beat and pro-active. I’ve written to my Congressperson four times in the last few days. Then I listen to the news and the storm clouds roll in…..
Fun to let go, smear, spray, drip and drizzle paint…
pennyrossburk 