Fine Art By Joan Swanson

a couple new paintings

2011-05-31T15:14:00.000-04:00

I have a couple new paintings to deliver to the gallery. The first is based on a photo by photographer Bill Glenn and is used with his permission. I have changed several elements from the original photo.

Cades Cove

Pastel 9"x12"

This second one is from a photo I took recently. This is Meigs Falls in the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. Easy to miss if your not looking for it.

Meigs Falls

Pastel 9"x12"

I hope that you enjoy, this is beautiful country I live n now and hope to have alot more coming soon. Thanks for looking!

Finished Taffy and a few more paintings

2011-05-17T23:23:00.000-04:00

I been very busy with several paintings. First I finished Taffy

And then I did a couple local scene paintings

First is Smoky Mountain Sky

This is a pastel that measures 12"x18"

And this one is Mountain Creek

It is a Pastel and measure 13"x10.5"

This next one is Fog in the Smokies

It is a Pastel and Measures 9"x12"

And thats what i have for you at this point, I hope you enjoy and thank you for looking!

More progress on taffy WIP

2011-05-10T15:16:00.000-04:00

Almost there with Taffy, about 75% done, hopefully I will be finishing her up tomorrow. Nothing like painting a big fluffy black dog in snow LOL this one has been quite a challenge for me and I am struggling a bit with the reference and the painting but it is coming along.

taffy, pastel, 18"x24" WIP

Miss Kitty Portrait and Taffy WIP

2011-05-02T20:05:00.000-04:00

I just finished a cat portrait and I am starting a new dog portrait. The cat is Miss Kitty and it was painted in Pastels. The painting measures 9"x12" and the client loved it :)

The dog I just started is still in that proverbial ugly stage but it is a big painting, 18"x24". It is still a work in progress and hopefully will be completed by the end of the week.

Trying to keep busy!

the pot of gold at the end of the rollercoaster ...

2011-04-19T23:12:00.000-04:00

Its been an emotional roller coaster week for me. Extreme sadness as my sweet Sienna passed away in my arms last Tuesday to being asked to be in a gallery in Gatlinburg today that is opening in June (and a possible job offer). There has been alot going on this week and I have fallen behind on my daily painting but try as I might real life gets in the way and sometimes that is not such a bad thing. God is good and this has been a boost when I needed one most. Now back to the easel tomorrow!

New Daily painting Blog

2011-04-14T18:00:00.000-04:00

Its been a sad few days for me, having lost my 5 year old cat the other day to a short illness, but I am going to try now and do a painting a day so I have created a daily painting blog. I have started it off with my first cow painting and I invite you to follow it at http://artbyjoni-dailypaintings.blogspot.com/

I will of course still post work here but i thought it better to have a separate blog just for the dailies. Here is my first offering to the daily blog:

"You Lookin' at Me?"
Pastel 5"x7"
Available

Rest in Peace Sweet Sienna

2011-04-12T12:07:00.000-04:00

Today I lost my sweet beautiful Sienna. She passed away in my arms this morning. She was a constant companion when working in the studio, in fact I once painted her for kicks as she lay under my easel once.

She will be dearly missed.

A month into my journey

2011-03-24T17:08:00.000-04:00

So I find myself still looking for the day job, I was expecting it to take about a month but now it has been abit over that. So I am trying very hard to market my artwork so I can keep myself in gas and food money at least, but it has been as big a challenge as the job hunt itself.

Since arriving in Tennessee I have cleared out my Art Fire shop and replaced all prints with original paintings which I have priced rather moderately as I would rather sell them then wait around for a big money ticket that may never come. I also joined Fine Art America which produces prints to order, even on canvas. I thought about restarting my Etsy shop or even my eBay shop but Etsy has been having issues that sellers and not happy with and eBay has just gotten very expensive.

Fortunately I do have a commission that will pay next months car insurance, but other sales have been fugitive at best. So to my facebook friends and those on twitter who feel I have been spamming you with links to either site, I apologize. I appreciate those that share and RT them for me getting them out to a broader audience.

In the meantime, while i continue to search for a job, I thank those who have supported my efforts at marketing my artwork and cheered me on in all I do. Thank you :)

More artwork updates coming in a day or two! Back to the easel!
Art Fire shop
Fine Art America

Getting it together

2011-03-18T20:02:00.000-04:00

Starting over can be rough and the unpacking never ending. All that time i thought I would have to paint has been taken up with unpacking, reorganizing, job hunting, exploring my new surroundings and some plain laziness. And a bit too much time on facebook and twitter. :)

I did however get a couple paintings done so far which I will post below. I am hoping to get more involved in plein air painting (painting outdoors) as there is an abundance of beautiful scenes, farms, cows, rivers, creeks, mountains and general outdoorsyness :). Right now, the few plein air paintings i have done have been .... rather um.. awful LOL. I know it takes practice. For now though here are a couple studio pieces, I am still rusty after being away from creating art for a bit over a year.

Morning Daffodil
9"x12" Pastel
SOLD

Smoky Mountain Creek
8"x10" Oil

Available

Newfound Gap
8"x10" Oil on Board
Available

I also reopened my artfire store and restocked it with just original paintings and it might be worth taking a look at as they are pretty affordable i think. I created a new fan page on facebook as well which you can find here, i invite you to check it out here.

Till next time :)

The move is over, time to start anew

2011-02-22T00:07:00.000-05:00

The move is over. Thank God! Moving is sooo exhausting, I am reminded of that every time I do it. So now I am in Tennessee, and it is so pretty here. I am still unpacking and have only begun with the studio but I hope to have that squared away in a day or two. Then the painting can begin anew. In the meantime, I have a few photos you may enjoy!

Smokey Mountains

View from my backyard

Another view from my backyard

time for a BIG change

2011-02-02T21:28:00.000-05:00

As always, I have neglected my blog, I can swear I will not do that anymore but we all know the truth LOL. Anyway, this past year has been rather dry artwise. My living situation has not been very conductive to creativity and has left me very little physical space to actually work. I did do a big push on some small paintings for Christmas and a few over the summer, but its been a lack luster year.

Things are about to change for me, and I pray for the better. I have been given an opportunity to move to Tennessee and stay for a time in a house that will give me alot of space for creating and painting. The area is beautiful and will hopefully be inspiring. It will certainly be more affordable :).

So anyway, all this is happening in 2 weeks, on or around Feb 17. I will try and make a point to blog it, but i know better then to make that promise.

As this is an art blog, and i have neglected it so long, I will post a few of the small paintings I did over Christmas, each 6"x8", thank for looking!

Finally finished those doggies.. on to the next..

2010-09-08T12:10:00.000-04:00

Life has been busy with work, physical therapy (cant wait till thats over) and chiropractor appointments. I try and find time to paint when I can and I can happily say I finally finished the Weinaraners. Now to move on to the next one... the pressure is on as I need enough for a show by the end of the month.. procrastination is bad.

16 x 20 oil on Canvas

now to move on to the next...

It's been awhile...

2010-09-01T13:59:00.001-04:00

It has been a year and 4 months since I have posted to my blog and it was a tough year for me, both emotionally and physically. Fortunately things are getting better, slowly but surely.and I have gotten back to painting, of which very little was done in the last year.

For the time being, I have gone back to using oils although I expect to go back to pastels in the next couple weeks for a few projects. I am currently working on a series of dog paintings that have been inspired by trips to the dog beach this past summer. Here is one completed painting, and one WIP

9x12 oil on board

16x20 oil on canvas

Hoping to have an update very soon and will strive to not allow life to keep me from my art, or my blog again :) Thanks for looking!

Tree at the Bend

2009-04-08T14:37:00.002-04:00

I got a photo from a friend in Canada of a big sky and rainbow but i liked this small part of the picture much better. I also liked the format I choose for it. What attracted me to it most was the light and shadow that falls across it. I hope that it works.

Tree at the Bend
12"x4.5" pastel

a few new paintings

2009-04-01T12:21:00.004-04:00

Thousand lashes with a wet noodle, i have been neglecting my blog!
I have done a few paintings over the last week, first a very small 4"x6" painting out of my head

Rivers Edge 4"x6" pastel

Next is a boat on the bay at sunset, not sure about this one, maybe its to dark or just to boring...

Boat on the bay 9"x12" pastel

This last is based on a Marsh in Cape Cod, Ma. I embellished a bit because it was really very boring

Cape Marsh 9"x12" pastel

Today I am off to hang paintings for a local show i am in ( http://laureltonart.com/Festival_in_Art_2009.pdf ) and tomorrow one of my paintings is getting picked up for the Art Of Goodness art auction that I donated it for.

Anyway, off to hang paintings, thanks for looking!

Barnegat Sunset

2009-03-24T22:55:00.003-04:00

I finally got back to the easel after quite some time! This painting is of a sunset over the Barnget Bay in Seaside Park, NJ. It is painted in soft pastels on art spectrum colorfix paper. I am glad to be painting again and hopefully life wont keep me away from the easel anytime soon! Thanks for looking!

The Great Escape (from the talking heads)

2009-03-04T13:20:00.003-05:00

A friend of mine is a known painter of pears. He painted a series which he made into a book called The Secret Life Of Pears. So I was in an art chatroom with a bunch of artist and several of us realized we had never painted pears before so Joe challenged us to paint them.

I found them to be fun.. they are a fun shape, and very uncomplicated, which, in this very complicated world was quite refreshing.

It reminded me that I should turn off the talking heads, stop thinking about the tangled mess the world is in and paint more, simplify my world, my outside influences and focus on that blank canvas (which can be scarier then the crashing stock market..) and make a mark, and another till something beautiful or at least pleasing emerges.

So I painted the Great Escape, the one pear breaking away from his cello prison :)

And now I should turn off the news with all their doom and gloom and the sky is falling rhetoric and head to my easel!

and the winner is...

2009-03-03T10:14:00.004-05:00

Art Print Giveaway

WINNER is.....

Angie!

Thanks for participating, it was fun and will do another at the end of the month!
Results were determined on random.org

watermelon dreams

2009-02-26T20:09:00.003-05:00

CHECK OUT MY GIVEAWAY 2 POST DOWN
A customer had requested a couple crushed cans with watermelons painted on them so thats what I did today, tomorrow I get to do an Abraham Lincoln on a crushed can!

Artfire

2009-02-26T12:20:00.004-05:00

Enter My Giveaway (1 post down!)

ARTFIRE
I have been on artfire for a couple months now and I am amazed that according to google analytics my shop traffic has grown 890% in the last few weeks! I am now getting more views on artfire then on etsy! Someone is doing something right. Anyway, if anyone wants to join artfire, they are $7 a month for life, but they only have 1500 $7 spaces left. If you want to consider joining, i would appreciate it if you used this link
Register on ArtFire.com
So I can get credit for the referal. Anyway, happy shopping and selling.. im off to paint a few crushed can request.. I'll post them later today!

End Of Month Giveaway!

2009-02-25T09:30:00.007-05:00

Art Print Giveaway!

Its the end of the month and I have decided to host a giveaway of any print in any of my shops! Its simple to enter! Browse my shops located at 1000 Markets, Artfire and Etsy and leave a comment here on my blog about what you liked best!

I would also love to know what you would like to see me do more of! It would be great if you could blog and/or twitter about this giveaway! Be sure to leave a way to contact you so I can let you know if you won, winners will be choosen by random.org.

If you are the winner, you'll receive one print of your choice from the shops listed!
Contest Ends March 2nd, Winner will be announced March 3rd!

IF you find any item you would like to buy during this
contest in my shops, email me and I will give you
20% off the entire purchase!
artbyjoni [at] gmail.com
(use the @ symbol and let me know you came to my site through this contest)
Open to everyone, anywhere :)

Good Luck!

Gator

2009-02-23T15:05:00.003-05:00

This past week I did a portrait of my vets dog, I'm hoping he'll hang it in his office for customers to see and maybe, just maybe, get a sale from it. I do have flyers there, advertising my Pet Portraits. His name is Gator and he i a cutie. Unfortunately I only had a somewhat blurry photo to work with but I think it came out ok.

Gator
9"x12" Pastel

Gallery Opening on Saturday

2009-02-16T12:57:00.002-05:00

I had my gallery opening Saturday night and it was alot of fun. The theme is Red White and the Blues. None of mine sold that night but I did meet a lovely couple who purchased an $11,000 painting that night, a large abstract.. really large. The show runs till March 31st at www.jagfineart.com

This is my sister outside the gallery

A view of the Gallery

2 of my pieces

the flag is one of mine

New Painting Snow Creek

2009-02-11T19:04:00.005-05:00

I finally got back to doing some more serious painting and started off with an ode to winter. The snowfall we had last week inspired me to get out and get some reference photos. It isn't often we get more then a flurry or dusting down on the shore. It was good to be painting again and my next one is a dog portrait for my vet.

NEW Obama crushed can art

2009-02-10T23:57:00.005-05:00

I did some crushed art cans today, something to get me into the swing of things again. I went to lunch today with a friend and she suggested I do some Obama themed cans so I figured what the heck. So here are some
Obama cans for Obama fans

Click on photo for larger view and purchasing options
Planning on doing some real painting tomorrow so check back!

Lucky Day!

2009-02-10T00:46:00.002-05:00

Arts Afire recently had a contest to win a free painting to celebrate her 50th follower and guess what? I won :) Go check out her blog and etsy shop, she is a pretty amazing artist and apparenty it runs in the family. Her grandfather Jay is also a wonderful artist and has a shop on etsy too.

Thank you Sara!

As for me, I haven't been painting in the last 2 weeks but have a few paintings planned and ready to go. See you soon!

The New Show I am in at JAG fine art

2009-02-03T14:06:00.002-05:00

You are invited to an early cocktail reception at JAG Fine Art
on Valentine’s Day, Saturday, February 14th from 5-7 pm.
Wine, cheese and chocolate. Stop by before your hot dinner date.

“American Colors:
Red, White and the Blues“

Paintings and photographs that celebrate and critique American culture in a time of severe economic turmoil and great political hope under the first black President of the United States.
Remember to support the arts and artists of your community!

Painters: Gwen Gavios, Rachel Gavios, Melissa Bartlett, Katelyn Schuh and Joan Swanson

Photographers: John Andrulis, Ariana Lance, Gene Szucs and Alison Dunlap

Visit http://jagfineart.com/ for more information!

more soda pop art :)

2009-02-02T16:41:00.003-05:00

A few more crushed can designs I did this weekend. Im planning on doing some serious painting in the next day or two (since it is "supposed" to snow) as well as organize and begin marketing for the classes I will be teaching later this month.
All my crushed cans are available for sale on etsy.com

Classic Art.. on a crushed can!

2009-01-28T00:44:00.004-05:00

A couple of silly pieces I did, cartoony styled old master copies... on crushed cans LOL

Davinci's Mona Lisa (sort of) on a crushed soda can

Van Gogh's Stary Night on a crushed soda can

They both come mounted in the frame and available on my etsy shop and currently on SALE! :)

one of those days...

2009-01-27T17:01:00.000-05:00

Good news, the painting, New Beginnings was accepted into the show at the JAG gallery so I am pretty excited. When the show is over and if it hasn't sold it will be listed on 1km. (really hoping it sells). I'll post more details on the show when i have them.

Have you ever had one of those days? Days when you should probably have never gotten out of bed? Sunday was that day for me. Without going into a long drawn out depiction of the day, i scalded my hand with boiling water (it is mostly ok, ran cold water over it immediately), got a flat tire, while with someone else that day her car's battery died, and then to top it off, while carrying a 70lb air compressor down a set of stairs i missed a step and fell down the stairs. Banged up a bit but otherwise ok... what a day! Kind of afraid to paint now... i might poke an eye out with a brush or drink some turps! LOL

New Beginnings Oil on canvas 24"x12"

2009-01-22T14:30:00.006-05:00

Finished the painting and tonight will submit it to the show and see what happens from there. I named it New Beginnings because I started it during the presidential inauguration, a new age in America was beginning. The sunrise, a new beginning on a new day, and the tattered old flag kind of spoke to me about where we are now as Americans. Is this the new dawn of a bright future, or is it a beginning of the end? Only time will tell. It was fun working in oils again and with as much paint is left on the palette i think i will do one or two small paintings in oil in the next day or two. Right now though.. i have a date with a washing machine.

possible piece for an upcoming show

2009-01-21T23:19:00.002-05:00

I have been working on a piece that I am going to try entering into a local show. The theme is Americana, ironic or iconic, it has to be done in oils so I figured I could whip something up. I decided to redo a painting I have done before, since it was the most interesting flag reference I have. I did a more wide angle view and grabbed part of the sky from a different photo from the same shoot in hopes to add more interest. It isnt finsihed yet, but hope to finish it tomorrow. Submission is due by Friday, so I figure i will know in a few days if it is excepted since the drop off for the show is a week later. SO anyway, here are the WIPs so far. Tomorrow I will post the finished piece.

Brrrr... its cold out there! Good day to stay in and paint!

2009-01-16T17:23:00.002-05:00

I have been in a bit of an artistic funk lately and I think I miht be breaking out of it finally. It is bitterly cold here and yesterday we ot a bit of snow, around sunset I saw these awesome clouds over the beach and new despite it being 19 degrees out I had to go to the beach and shoot some photos. I got some nice shots and today I painted one of them, although i am not sure i am very happy with it.

After the Storm
9'x12"
Pastel

new shop at 1000markets!

2009-01-15T14:41:00.002-05:00

I just opened my new shop at 1000markets.com. Initially I was skeptical, thinking it was just another crafty site like etsy but I see they have alot of fine art as well so I am excited about that! I'll see what kind of traffic I get over there and may start movin more of my artwork there. Anyway I have spent the whole day on the computer working on promoting my shops and updating my site so I should get back to the easel!

Check out the shop at http://www.artbyjoni.1000markets.com

crushed can art

2009-01-14T16:59:00.003-05:00

a bit of a diversion from the norm, I decided to try something a little different. I came across a a guy painting soda cans and thought it was pretty neat so decided to try some and see if they sell on etsy. Here is a few samples :)

So I crush the can as flat as I can, of course cleaning them out first, and then paint the side to be painted with gesso. The I paint the imae with acrylic paints and sprays it with a clear enamel to protect the painting. I then glue the can to a piece of acid free mat board and place it in the frame.

So will give it a try and see if any sell.. the electric company is calling so I sure hope they do!! LOL

The waiting begins in the jurying process

2009-01-12T00:28:00.004-05:00

This weekend was a complete washout at work with the snowstorm that almost was but i did take 4 of my paintings in to be juried for the Monmouth Festival of Arts show in April. I should hear back by the end of the week if any paintings got accepted. These are the paintings I submitted, I think the sunset is the weakest.

new website design is up

2009-01-08T01:53:00.004-05:00

No art today but a bunch of art marketing, one thing I spent a great deal of time on is redoing my website so feel free to take a peak and let me know if you have any suggestions or if anything is not working :) It is i think alot simpler and not as busy as the old site was.

http://www.serendipityartist.com
Have a wonderful day!

Morning Sail

2009-01-06T22:32:00.003-05:00

Morning Sail 9"x12"
Available Here

Finished this one up today, enjoyed painting it. The reference I used was from a photo I took on my trip this fall to Cap Cod. Feel free to leave comments or critiques.

New WIP

2009-01-05T23:26:00.004-05:00

Finally got back to painting today, started a new piece but havent finished it yet. It is from a photo I took while in Cape Cod this past September. Here is the WIP as it stands now. I hope to have it finished by Wednesday.

Summer Carousel in Oils

2009-01-01T14:30:00.005-05:00

Happy New Year... glad to see '08 in the rear view mirror! The last few days I have been working on a piece in oils, first time i pulled the oils out in over a year. It was fun and I am glad to work in oils once again.

Summer Carousel 12"x16" oil
Available for sale here

I look forward to a prolific new year and hope to advance my art marketing skills for 2009, do a few shows, sell a few paintings :)

Happy New Years!

no new paintings but some internet research

2008-12-24T01:06:00.004-05:00

Merry Christmas Eve! :)

I havent had time to get any painting done but I did do some internet research on places to sell art online. I found Artistful.com and looked interesting so I signed up for that and you can find me here http://www.artistful.com/artbyjjoni_gallery (i accidently added an extra j when signing up, after christmas I'll ssee if they cant fix that..)

And I also signed up for ArtFire.com and you can find me here http://www.artfire.com/modules.php?name=Shop&seller_id=15368

Anyway, back to wrapping gifts and stuff, hopefully more painting coming soon!

Nobska Lighthouse

2008-12-20T23:22:00.003-05:00

Been doing some paintings that i can't show just yet because they are Christmas gifts, but here is oone I worked on most of this past week i hope gets excepted in the Monmouth Festival of Art when i o in for jurying in January. The photo was taken at night and it has been so gloomy lately i will have to wait till next week to get a good shot on the daylight. But for now...
Nobska Lighthouse
18"x12" Pastel

one more dog portrait

2008-12-16T23:41:00.004-05:00

Got in another dog portrait and also started a landscape which i hope to finish later this week, i'll post a photo of that when it is finished. For now here is "jessie" 9"x12" pastel

2 dog commissions

2008-12-11T21:38:00.003-05:00

I was asked to do these two dogs by a friend of mine and she gave me one photo of each dog so not alot of wiggle room. Both are in Pastel on Canson (smoothside) and both are 9"x1

Josher

Petey

Sunset Beach

2008-12-11T01:06:00.003-05:00

Here is a small one I did, trying to capture the light but I dont feel I was very successful this time, but I learn from each painting and I will try again in the near future.

5"x7" Sunset Beach

The Christmas Giraffe

2008-12-09T17:48:00.004-05:00

I think it is safe to post this here as I'm sure my sister doesnt look on this blog (not sure anyone does LOL) anyway, Im workin now on some Christmas gifts, it is handy being an artist in a bad economy, at least you can always make a gift :) . This is a gift for my sister, she collects giraffes and I know she is expecting a painting of one for Christmas.

It is 10.5"x13.5" in pastels

New Wildflower painting and yesterdays update

2008-12-05T16:07:00.005-05:00

Today I tweaked yesterdays painting and bit, adding more shadows and clouds in the sky, so here is an updated photo, taken in daylight so better color as well!

Then I decided to do a fun fluffy piece, loosely painted wildflowers from a photo I took while vacationing in cape cod this past september.

Fall Wildflowers
8"x10"

Available on eBay

new one for today

2008-12-04T21:57:00.000-05:00

Took yesterday off from paintings but got in another today. Im hoping i can get in a couple that I can enter in the monmouth festival of the arts which i need to get that application in by the 8th. Nothin like waiting for the last minute, althouh the show isnt until spring. Anyway, here is todays offering, it is 12"x18" on wallis. Not sure if it is finished yet, havent signed it just yet. Might add clouds... still debating. Feel free to comment and add any sugestions.

LBI Beach Path

2 more in 2 days

2008-12-02T23:54:00.000-05:00

Started off the month right by getting in some painting, so far so good, 2 paintings in 2 days

The giraffe is a study for larger one i'll be doing soonish, this one is 5"x7" You can bid on this one here

The Sunset Lake is from a photo I took in Falmouth, MA (Cape Cod) this past spring, Im hoping to get a few paintins done for an upcoming juried show. This one is 12"x18"

What I have been up to lately!

2008-11-30T20:03:00.000-05:00

I have again neglected my blog, shame on me! I do have some news though, sold a few paintings, and one to the TV show "The Beast" staring Patrick Swazyee that will air on A&E channel in January. It will be in episode 6. One of the set designers saw the small one I did on ebay and ordered the same but larger, 18"x24" and much tighter. Pretty neat eh?

Here are a few that i have recently sold on ebay:

I have also started doing Pet Portraits

I have a few other new paintings but i will leave them for another day. November wass a pretty dry month for me, i am hoping it will be a more productive December! Feel free to leave comments, i absolute value everyones opinions and critiques :)

Old Glory Sunrise, Red Cross Fund Raiser!

2008-09-12T11:50:00.000-04:00

Old Glory Sunrise
5"x7" pastel on matboard

I am donating 25% of the sale of this painting to the American Red Cross to help victims of recent hurricanes, you can find it for sale on eBay
Thanks for looking!

2008-09-11T16:00:00.000-04:00

REMEBERING

5"x7" pastel on matboard

2008-09-10T08:56:00.000-04:00

Here is my latest, not quite a "daily painting" as i worked on it for 2 days. This is my friend Gary's pup Lewis, an adorable boxer.

13.5"x10.5" pastel

2008-09-08T12:05:00.000-04:00

I have allowed life, work and a tropical storm to get in the way of doing my daily paintings but I am back at it. This is actually one I started on Saturday and finished this morning. It is of my birthday flowers that my friend Tassia gave me. :)

5"x7" soft pastel on matboard
Birthday Flowers

I listed it on eBay

Summer Sunset

2008-09-04T14:01:00.000-04:00

SUMMER SUNSET

This is todays daily painting, a sunset I captured a week ago from the balcony of my apartment. It is 5"x7" soft pastels on primed matboard.

I also have listed my daily paintings on ebay

New Daily Paintings

2008-09-03T12:34:00.000-04:00

Wow been ages again since i posted here. Now that the summer crazy schedule is over and I have a bit more time i am planning (once again) to start daily painting. I began tuesday September 2nd.

I really need to work harder at my art AND at marketing my art. I am planning on doing some plein air painting, in fact i am going to cape cod for a few days sept 22-24 to do just that. Im very excited to take my first painting trip :)

Anyway, here are my first 2 daily paintings.

Swan and Baby, 5"x7" pastel

And this one is a study for a future larger painting
Shark River Boats, 5"x7", pastel

NJ photos for fall painting..

2007-10-23T18:54:00.000-04:00

I know, im aweful about keepin up with this blog!

Anyway, I'll write a catch up blog soon, today I went out and about all the way across the state of NJ lookin for decent fall foilage and just general cool photos of natural New jersey. Everywhere I have ever lived I always get some people who believe that NJ is just one big city. Today i drove around for 4 hours and didnt see a single city :)

Anyway, here are the photos taken in various spots in Central Jersey today, i plan on using some of them for paintings in the future.

Im still here!

2007-08-22T23:52:00.000-04:00

Hola! Im still here, I know I havent posted in eons but Im hoping to get back into the routine very soon. This has been a busy summer, between work and spending time with family and doing outdoor things i feel like i havent had much free time at all lately!

I need to get my but into gear for making money this fall/winter and im hoping to work on making ebay work for me this time. Also starting on Monday August 27th Im planning on starting a year of daily paintings. Im planning on starting a newsletter and taking the chance I have right now to build up a following and reputation.

Big plans, now to get them into motion...... more to come

Im Moved!

2007-06-07T10:43:00.000-04:00

it has been a crazy month with moving across country and the move is finally done!!! I am now living on the new jersey shore :). for now Im staying with my parents as a way of saving a bit of money and plan on having a place of my own by this fall. What i need to do is to work out a place to paint right now, my parents place is abit crowded.

Next week I start my job airbrushing at seaside heights, hopefully that will be a profitable summer. Anyway, the move wass exhausting and long and i have a little journal of sorts on this site http://www.artandartistry.com/index.php?showtopic=7912

Once I get back to making some art I can get back to posting here!!!

its official, im in a gallery

2007-05-03T11:37:00.000-04:00

Not been getting too much artwork done recently, but on the good side, I spent alot of time this past week or so packing and mailing about 12 paintings to LMR Gallery in Pahrump Nevada. Here is a newspaper article announcing the opening and listing me as one of thier artist http://www.pahrumpvalleytimes.com/2007/Apr-27-Fri-2007/news/13872873.html

Still working on housing arrangements for when I move to NJ, I *think* I will be mostly living at my sisters, at least for the summer. Will need to organize her porch as a studio for me. After summer I will most definately have a place of my own. Anyway thats whats new today... going to do the Scottsdale artwalk tonight I think as wont have too many more oppertunities to do so.

back to packing... i hate moving.. i will be glad when it is over! :)

keeping busy....

2007-04-27T01:34:00.000-04:00

Not finished yet but getting there, i think i last worked on this on Sunday. This has been a busy week, I had a 90 shirt order to do and I finally finished packing all the paintings getting shippped, hopefully they will all arrive safely. Went and saw a really really really really bad movie with Brian on wed, good thing it was free. It was Day of the Dog or something. Just really bad.

Anyway, hopefully i will get a chance to paint this weekend.. tomorrow I need to take back my house, it is a DISASTER. I'll post an update soon as I get to paint again....

here duck duck duckie!

2007-04-21T01:34:00.000-04:00

I started a new painting today. Something nice and soothing after a troubling week.

16"x16" gallery wrap canvas

checking in

2007-04-19T22:08:00.000-04:00

Well no new art this week, got bitch-slapped by the IRS monday night, went to the zoo and got alot of photos, got a friend visiting from out of town and sinus headaches because of the 7% humidity. Excuses, excuses......

Getting my paintings ready to ship to the gallery, hopefully Monday or tuesday. Just waiting on the contract. Im also going to get busy doing some more packing and thinning out of my belongings beforfre moving back to NJ. 42 more days.....

Hopefully i will get some art made in the next couple days......

Desert Morning

2007-04-13T16:27:00.000-04:00

Another offering of my mini Arizona series in Pastels.

Desert Morning 9"x12"

Arizona Orchard

2007-04-12T18:35:00.000-04:00

Think I might do a small Arizona Series before leaving so here is my first offering,

Arizona Orchard 9"x12" pastel

I have not forgotten you....

2007-04-08T23:41:00.000-04:00

bad Joni!!! Letting the blog go this long! Well the past is past...

Happy Easter! I have done a few pastels this week. I meant to do one today but I got lazy.. well it is a holiday so I guess im entitled to an occassional lazy day.

This past friday was first friday Artwalk and I brought some old paintings and put them out for $10 - $30 just to get rid of them... I made $90 on paintings that otherwise would have gone too the dumpster. It was a good nite :)

I got some good news this week but... Im not going to go into details just yet but it looks like I got accepted into a Gallery. More details on this later :) Im excited though!

So anyway..... Here are the last few pastel paintings I have done in the last week.

Mossy Beach 27"x21.5"

Lilies #2 9"x12"

Beach Grass 9"x12"

big big big pastel

2007-04-02T02:10:00.000-04:00

Yesterday i went to a yardsale at an artist home and although there wasnt very much there besides a ton of art magazines, books and frames, i did get 3 large sheets of sanded pastel paper. So I decided today to try a large pastel painting. The paper measure 27"x22" (i think ... i'll have to remeasure to be sure)

Here is where i got today, this is the easy part, the hard part is next...

2007-04-01T17:59:00.000-04:00

hmmm well I got a bit of ....advise concerning my latest painting of the boats so I made some changes, think you can tell whats missing? :)

Dinghies and baseball butts :)

2007-03-31T00:09:00.000-04:00

finally finished the dinghy painting, this one was alot harder then i initially thought it would be. Even so though i enjoyed doing it.

Dinghies 16"x16" gallery wrap canvas

Ever since I got to Phoenix almost 3 years ago I have wanted to go to a spring training game but never had anyone to go with so never did. Today i went to my first spring training game and i went by myself. In the nick of time cos i think today was the last day of spring training here. I saw the San Diego Padres vs the AZ Diamondbacks. The Diamondbacks kicked booty! 14-8, it really was a great game and even alone i had fun and took alot of pictures. No art today but i had fun anyway... :)

current WIP

2007-03-29T01:21:00.000-04:00

Got a more done on the boat painting, this ne is taking a bit longer then i anticipated and throwing a few challenges my way. Also distracted myself by going to a movie, Reign over me. Pretty good movie, so many street shots of NYC it really made me homesick. Anyway here is my current progress...

Current WIP

2007-03-27T01:09:00.000-04:00

Catalina Dingies

16"x16"

Sahuaro Ranch Reception

2007-03-25T20:51:00.000-04:00

Friday night I decided to go to the reception at the Sahuaro Ranch Show in Glendale. It was really nice, good food and I even had some wine. Both my paintings, Rock Pool and Beached will hang this weekend but Monday I need to pick up Rock pool cos it wasnt juried in. beached will hang till April 15th.

Also, her eis a painting i finished up today... although i think i need to reshoot the photo tomorrow in the daylight

Joe's beach 20"x24" oil

rain rain rain :)

2007-03-23T00:40:00.000-04:00

Wow today was a fun day! It rained! And not only did it rain but it HAILED! thunder, lightning, downpour and a steady rain all evening, it was lovely :) The humidity even felt good :) What better way to spend a rainy day then painting? So today I worked on and finished up (i think) Joe's Beach

18"x24"

Since it rained all day I couldnt get good lighting for the photo so I'll reshoot it later this week.

Tomorrow is the reception for the Glendale show. I suppose I should go, kind of expensive though....

In other news, 70 days i think till i make my jersey move.. yay!

GOT A PAINTING JURIED IN...

2007-03-22T02:27:00.000-04:00

OK I got the good news in the mail, actually it was half good news and half bad. Rock Pool was rejected but Beached (the conch Shell painting) was accepted into the Glendale Arts Council Juried Fine Art Competition. This is a tough show to get into so im glad just to have gotten in. My friend and mentor Bill Martin got Best of Show.

Anyway, started a new painting. The referance is from my friend Joe and is of Santa Barbara i think. Just a start and the lighting was pretty bad for taking a picture...

18"x24"

Help! I've fallen and I cant get up!

2007-03-20T02:39:00.000-04:00

Thats kind of what I feel like this past week or so. Im in a serious art funk! I have not painted in either oils or pastels although i did finally finish the drawing of sienna.

In an interesting turn, today is the day that they juried the show I submitted 2 paintings to and I will find out if im in or not wed or thursday most likely... but tonight I went out for Chinese food and in my fortune cookies was this fortune...

hmmmm so maybe i will get at least one in.. and maybe one will sell? We shall find out I suppose. In the meantime.... I'll work on my artist block...

swelting...

2007-03-17T00:53:00.000-04:00

Hottt! Wow today wass by far the hottest day, it hit 100 today! And back in jersey it is snowing and sleeting in a nor'eastern. I almost am envious of the cold weather. I broke down and put on the A/C

Today I dropped off 2 paintings for the juried Glendale Show which is a very popular show, expensive to participate in ($20 per painting/limit 2) and hard to get into. Lots of great competition but this show hangs all paintings for one weekend which has a great record for sales. It will be nice it at least 1 gets juried and 1 sells :) I entered the Conch Shell i did in pastels and The Rock Pool (scroll 2 post down for this one) which is oils.

I havent been doing any art, in a funk or something but i am working on this drawing of Sienna. I have a party to airbrush at tomorrow so hopefully i can get back into the groove of painting this coming week.

slow week

2007-03-14T14:21:00.000-04:00

Howdy .. bad Joni.. ignoring her blog. Well ya know.. havent had anything exciting to say or show. I did have a reception on saturday night for a show I got juried into, even though I didnt enter my best pieces.

On both panels mine is the bottom ones.

I havent created much art this week, been slow but i did do a pencil study of some calla lilies and then did a pastel using canson paper... wow, canson pastel paper really sucks to work with.

On Friday i have another show to enter, this one is kind of expensive and harder to get in but we'll give it a shot anyway, i'll know by March 26th if I was accepted or not. Anyway... I hope to get some art done or something this week. I'll check back when i do :)

busy week, juried show and new painting

2007-03-04T01:20:00.000-05:00

wow been awhile since i posted ... didnt realize I went this long! Thousand lashes with a wet noodle for me! Anyway i been busy with this dat and da udder thing this week. My cat Sienna had her tummy tuck and pedicure this week, had classes to teach at Michaels and I went back to the Phoenix art Museum for the Rembrant exhibit and attended an art association meeting. Also particpated in the downtown phoenix Artwalk on friday, it was slightly better then normal as I sold a few prints and a small painting (normal is selling nothing).

First Friday Artwalk

The good news for this week is that i got juried in for the Celebration of Artist show in Peoria city Hall. i didnt enter my best paintings as there was issues with size and another show in Glendale overlapping this one, but I guess what i entered was good enough!

Rock Pool (work in progress) 16"x20 oil

Since posting last time I havent really done much art.. i reworked the Winter Sails painting a bit on Monday and on thursday i started the Rock Pool painting which is almost finished. Both in oils. I'll be doing more pastels this week coming i hope.

Finished Lil Princess and added a seascape

2007-02-24T01:37:00.000-05:00

Yesterday i finished the Lil' Princess, she is much improved from the previous version! It was fun working on this one though!

Today i did a small seascape in pastels for kicks and giggles ;)

It was a pastel Day...

2007-02-22T01:48:00.000-05:00

I felt like doing something different today so I pulled out the pastels and decided to do attempt doing a conch shell I found in the wetcanvas referance library. I think it came out pretty ok so I started another which is more challening. A friend gave me a photo of her granddaughter and im attempting to paint her in pastels. Having a few issues with proportion and finer details with big pastels. This one is still a work in progress. Anyway both of these are 9"x12" on wallis paper

Winter Sails (almost finished)

2007-02-20T01:54:00.000-05:00

Close up:

For now it is finished but in a few days when it is dry i will try and glaze that hill back a bit so it doesnt stand out so much (hopefully). Need to move on to the next challenge...

getting there....

2007-02-19T00:13:00.000-05:00

Almost finished, this one is taking along time.... maybe 15 hours into it now... i ought to start keeping track of that.

2007-02-15T23:48:00.000-05:00

I drew this out on Monday but didnt get to paint it till today (thursday). I worked on it most of today and I will go back to work on it tomorrow. Im hoping if it turns out ok to enter it into the Glendale show next month. that of course remains to be seen.

Rembrant Exhibition

2007-02-12T00:29:00.000-05:00

Today i went to the Phoenix Art Museum, one of only 3 Museums in America hosting the Rembrant and the Golden Age of Dutch Art exhibition, and wow what an incredible exhibition it was! It was very impressive, mostly highly realistic, most paintings were dark in color (not mood) and often with a limited palette. I was quite humbled and inspired. It is Phx till May and then it is heading to Portland, OR.

This is the book about this exhibit if anyone is interested, I bought a copy today at the museum. Also in the Museum currently is the exhibit Fierce Reality: Italian Masters from 17th Century Naples.. another wow exhibit .... humbling, inspiring.... wowsers

Anyway, it was a good day

a couple new ones

2007-02-11T01:45:00.000-05:00

A couple of paintings I did today...

Sleepy Head 6"x12" oil on canvas

Heron 8"x10" oil on canvas

Now it is time to get serious and start the painting for the Glendale show... but I think tomorrow im going to the Phoenix Art Museum to see the Rembrant Exhibit.

A few smaller new works

2007-02-10T01:54:00.000-05:00

I've been busy this week setting up a new online gallery which i invite you to view at www.yessy.com/artbyjoni and redesigning my website so i have only gotten a few smaller works done this week. Next week Im going to get busy preparing for the Glendale show which will be a tough one to get into.

Here are the 3 small pieces I did in the last few days

Pelican 8"x10" acrylic on canvas board

Long Beach Siamese 8"x10" oil on canvas

Seagull Sunset 5"x7" oil on Masonite

My cruise adventures

2007-02-08T11:14:00.000-05:00

Well I am back from my vacation (for several days now). I left on Saturday and spend Saturday and Sunday with my friend Jennifer in Long Beach, CA. We just hung out at home on saturday nigght and on Sunday we met and had lunch with Diana (Rosequeen from wetcanvas) and then went shopping at art stores. First we went to Artist Supply Warehouse (http://www.artsupplywarehouse.com/) and then we went to Pearl Paint (http://www.pearlpaint.com/) i was good and didnt buy anything.. well i bought a couple brushes on clearance for .99 cent each and an earaser. And then Monday after a breakfast at Denny's with Jen I headed over to the Los Angeles Port and to the ship, Monarch of the Seas.

There I met up with Sue and her husband Hank who was dropping her off and we jumped through thier security hoops and ladders and finally got on the ship. I wasnt on the ship 30 seconds before I had a drink in my hand, a bahama Mama. They had a cart with drinks all ready to go and you could keep the glass. Im on vacation so what the heck. I only had 2 drinks the whole cruise :) While partaking in lunch onboard while still in port in LA I realized i left my umbrella in my car while chatting with my dad on the phone. I almost went out to get it but then i would have had to go through security again, so i figured i'd take my chances.

We shoved off about 6 pm and theen got read for dinner at 8pm. If was fun dressing up for a change. The food was awesome, i never ever ate so well. Spent the evening exploring the ship and went to bed about 11.

The next day we pulled into San Diego and it was raining and cold. We did the old town trolley tour and a perfect rainy day activity, the San Diego Museum of Art. Nice little Museum but the Phoenix Art Museum is better. Ended at the seashore village a few blocks from the ship where i visited a wyland gallery (the marine artist). I took alot of seagul pictures and we walked back to the ship looking like a couple of drowned rats. We grabbed lunch on board and then found out it was formal night for dinner that night. Once we left port the duty free shops opened and we went shopping. Dinner that night was as fabulous as every night was.

The next day we pulled into Catalina Island and it was raining.. again. Just drizzling this time and chilly. We took the skyline tour, which I had once swore to never do again but I thought Sue might enjoy it and it was very informative to the history of the island. The tour was as scarey as i remembered it, scarier cos the bus was bigger. But I love Avalon, it is such a charming little town with great galleries and awesome scenery. We walked all over town and the sun finally came out just before we headed back to the ship. Got back a bit late for lunch but they always have some food and they had a pizza place onboard so we grabbed some pizza (all this food is included in the cruise price). We sat on deck for awhile drawing seaguls in pastel and then the ship shoved off and it got dark soon after. Went to a show and then dinner and a bit of casino play :) . Then from 11:30pm to 12:30 am they had a chocolate buffet. Yummmmmmm. I tried to be good and only had a little bit of several different chocolate treats.

The next morning we pulled into Ensenada, Mexico, and hour late because someone fell the night before and broke a leg so they had to go back to San Diego to transport that person to a local hospital. Mexico was pretty much what I expected mexico to be. At least the touristy part. It was a nice day, despite the overcast drizzly sky, again. The Mexican folk dancing was interesting. Street vendors every 10 ft all trying to sell the same ol things. I did trade a print I brought for a painted shell. Got back on board in time for lunch and then did some photographing at the only decent sunset we saw the whole cruise.

I went down and got ready for dinner and went to a show before dinner leaving Sue to work on a watercolor painting she started. At dinner Sue didnt show up so i called the room and she was seasick. Violently so... It was quite choppy and the boat was moving around alot. So poor sue's last night aboard was spent throwing up and sleeping. Unfortunately she didnt get to packing till the morning so she was a bit frantic and snippy come morning when we had to be packed and be out of the stateroom by 8am. Then we had to wait around till like 10 am to get off the boat and go through customs.

The drive home was long and i was tired, i was worried about staying awake but i did and we were home by 8pm.

Overall the cruise was awesome even with all the rainy and overcast weather. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

2007-01-27T03:19:00.000-05:00

Took a better picture i think. Im up later then i intended and gotta leave in the morning for vacation. I'll post vacation adventures and pictures when i get back.

The Casino in Avalon

2007-01-26T00:12:00.000-05:00

I'll get a better picture in the daylight tomorrow. "Casino" 16"x20" oil on canvas

a bit more progress and who i think is a cylon...

2007-01-24T01:15:00.000-05:00

I worked on this for several more hours today, it isnt near finished yet but figured i would post my progress anyway. Im enjoying this one and yet im not... i feel pressured because I wanna finish it before the cruise and because thehere are so many details. Heh, imagine if i left all the boats in there!

Anyway, im a huge battlestar Galactica Fan ( the new show on Sci-fi) so anyone who doesnt watch or doesnt care just stop reading here because you'll probably not be interested anyway :).

So who are the final five cylons? It'll be a while before they tell us that but they are going to reveal at least 1 this season and it is pretty hotly debated as to who it will be. I saw alot of viewer comments and I saw alot of people say it would be Baltar, or Helo, or Starbuck. I have thought about it and I think this last weeks episode gave a big clue when D'Anna saw the face of one of the final 5. She said something to the effect of "Im sorry, i didnt realize" which leads me to believe it is someone she had dealings with.

Im also keeping in mind that I think Baltars cylon blood test did work and i think the final 5 need to be people who came after and werent tested OR were in a position to avoid having the test taken. They were still relying on that test when Bulldog escaped and arrived on the Galactica.

Back to the identiity of the one D'Anna saw. I have thought back, who has she had dealings with in the human community, who would she feel she needed to appologize to.. Adama? maybe but I dont see Adama being a Cylon, he has a verifiable history going back too far. Laura Roslin and Col. Tigh, I think is same situation as Adama. Both are also too easy. Baltar.. no, way way way to easy, and would be to convienant for him. It is what he wants, it is the only way he'll have a family or be accepted by a race of people now. It wont be Baltar. Tom zarak... I doubt he is a cylon but i think it would be cool if he was. I used to think It might be Ellen Tigh, Im still entertaining that possibility for one of the 5...

I think that the Final 5 cylon they will unveil this season will be the doctor. He I think could easily have avoided the shot as he was always busy being on another ship (like when Adama was shot) or saving peoples lives, obeying orders without (much) question. He is much admired and almost the perfect ideal doctor, saving liveswithout reguard of wether they are human or not. But ultimately what made me think it is the doctor is the confrontation D'Anna had with the doctor on New Caprica just before the liberation. I cant think of another "human" she'd dealt with on such a level that she'd feel the need to appologize.

But now, they have boxed her so she'll never say who she saw.

The doctor would be interesting though.. what a conflict in loyalties that would cause.. and with one cylon aligning with humans.. and possibly another with number 6 now on the Galactica.. could we be seeing a new trend? :) Anyway, thats my prediction for the 1st final 5 cylon revelation.

2007-01-22T23:42:00.000-05:00

Had a very nice day today, had lunch with Bill and Carol, got some photo paper at staples and came home and painted a bit. Then I got a headache and ended up being lazy the rest of the night. So much for getting this painting done .. well there is always tomorrow. I still have a headache :(

rainy day in Phoenix

2007-01-21T02:09:00.000-05:00

Another rainy day in Phoenix today so instead of going to an art festival, i went to a life drawing session instead. It was fun, i experimented in pastels and black paper. Kind of looks like the velvet Elvis effect... cheesey :) But reguardless, it was fun. I might go to the art festival tomorrow since it is supposed too be nice till evening, then possibly more rain. I need to be inspired...

Less then a week till i leave for my vacation, a cruise to San diego, catalina island and ensenada mexico. Im spending a few days in long Beach with jen before hand, and meeting with Diana and Joe, the local WC'ers, should be fun. Im hoping the weather will be better then it is now! Gonna see if i can figure out a way to sell some prints while on vacation :)

2007-01-19T22:44:00.000-05:00

Today was the first real rainy day I've seen in Phoenix in probably about a year. Rained pretty much all day long, it was a nice change! So I spent this rainy day working on and pretty much finishing the catalina island painting. While working on the painting my cat smeagol jumped up on the table i have set up next to my easel in case i decide to do still lifes so I decided to paint her... and quickly cos cats dont usually pose willingly or for very long at all. So i grabbed a small canvas and spent 15-20 minutes till she got off the table doing a quick oil sketch. She fell asleep halway through messing the pose up a little but by then i had alll the main stuff down.

So anyway after that quicky i continued to work on the catalina paiting and I think it is finished. I definately need to reshoot it in better lighting though as it was dark and dreary (and rainy!) here today. I almost started another painting but couldnt quite decide on what to do next. Tomorrow im "probably" going too life drawing session in scottsdale as it is supposed to rain again. There is an art fair in carefree I might go see if it isnt raining (or i can go sunday). Anyway this is todays endeavors.

finally got a WIP

2007-01-18T21:02:00.000-05:00

I have been keeping busy this week although very little painting has gotten done. In fact until today it was pretty much none. But i did go to life drawing session last night and got my studio completely cleaned and reorganized, prepared several canvases and started a Catalina Island Painting.

Oh today I got my rejection notice from artlink... hmmm only a whole month since they were supposed to notify artist. It was a form letter and didnt even address me, just dear artist, we're sorry.. blah blah blah. IS all good though as I knew I wouldnt fit in with that group. With them, the weirder the better. I did send out an application today for a Juried art in the part event in Cape May this July. No idea when I'll hear from them but this will be fun if i get in.

Anyway, enough of this babbling, I should get back to the catalina island painting!

the best laid plans..

2007-01-15T22:38:00.000-05:00

I finished the pastel and im about to post it for sale on artbyus.com I think. I didnt end up doing anythhing I said i would, but instead I created my colorwheel project for the kids drawing class tomorrow, airbrushed some shirts for a customer, and cleaned and organized the studio and took an inventory of canvas.. wow i have 57 canvas's... i need to get busy both painting and selling! Anyway, the scottsdale thing i will probably do on Wednesday. I feel busier now then when i was working full time! (sheesh it's only been a day!)

New year, new start!

2007-01-15T01:18:00.000-05:00

I'll start off with the pastel im working on. This is my first pastel and i know it needs work. 9"x12" soft pastel on wallis.

New year, new start. Today was the last day of my full time job, airbrushing at the mall. Im soooo finished with the rude people. They are so rude they were making me rude. New year, new start. Im going to become a working artist this year. A working fine artist. This year is all about growing as an artist, learning to market and sell my work and becoming self sufficent with my art.

This year is also going to be a big year of change. Im moving back to New Jersey in May in order to reconnect with family and friends. I miss the hometown, the salt air, the arguements on Christmas. I Miss the trees that turn colors in the fall, the smell of rain in the spring and fireworks on the beach in summer. I dont miss much at all about winter. No in winter i'll be missing Phoenix :).

So today, well technically tomorrow begins my new life as a soon to be starving artist. Thats ok i guess because I can sure stand to lose some weight! My first order of business is a meeting at 10:30 am with a potential client for a small airbrush job. Then I will muck about with that pastel im working on, i have found several glaring mistakes that may or may not be fixable. blah blah boring i know.. but now is the excitng part! I am going to tour both the Celebration of Fine art and Arizona Festival of Fine Arts AND THEN.. if thats not enough, im planning on going to my first life drawing session at the Scottsdale Artist School. Im going to try and go every monday night.

Anyway Im making alot of changes, this week is a week in transition, next week i'll get busy and then the week after that I'll take off and go on a cruise :) (planned and paid for months ago). I hope to get alot of groovy referance pictures while cruising (San Diego, catalina Island and Ensenada mexico). More about this later.

2006-01-27T16:01:00.000-05:00

I grabbed a couple hours to paint this morning before I leave for work and this is where I am on the sunset painting. Anyway this is 24"x24" on masonite (oils of course!) and just figured I would toss this out there.. Having some trouble i think with the top portion of the sky.

Website Is back up and running!

2006-01-26T13:35:00.000-05:00

For some reason my website went down for about 2 weeks, so I moved the hosting to mydomain.com and hopefully I wont have to deal with disappearing websites anymore! Several things have happened in the last 2 weeks, the big news is that I got juried into an art show! Liquid Sunset and Reaching for the sky (a new painting) were juried in on January 19th into the Celebration Of Artist show presented by the Peoria Arts Commission. The show runs till February 2nd at the Peoria City Hall.

I have also started my classes at GCC. This will be an interesting next few months, if not exhausting. Im hoping I can find the time to paint between school and work, so far it has been a bit elusive. Im hoping as I settle into the schedule i can find a few extra hours here and there to paint.

I currently have this sunset painting on my easel, it is 24"x24" on hardboard. I was inspired by some fellow forum members at www.artandartistry.com Marty and Brainless for thier magnificent skys. I hope when it is done it will look half as good as thiers!

Well thats all that is exciting and new that I have the time to type about right now. :)

new site is up

2006-01-04T15:16:00.000-05:00

Well the new website is up and although I have a few more things to do on it before it is complete it is together enough for the public :) Now i need to get to the business of painting. Today I spent the morning working on an airbrushed portrait .. not sure how this will turn out since the referance photo is like a postage stamp... Perhaps I will post a picture of it tomorrow (it isnt finished yet). Anyway would love some feedback on the new site?

Welcome

2006-01-03T14:47:00.000-05:00

Today Im redoing my website and adding a blog, i hope to actually keepr up with this! Life has been busy and I havent painted in awhile but hoping to remedy that this weekend! Thanks for stopping by and I hope to have something new to show very soon!