Abandoned Art In The Arms of A Pirate

I am having a lot of fun with this Art Abandonment idea and looking forward to my next one. It is quite entertaining to be skulking around with a piece of art that is tagged with information about the Art Abandonment project, knowing you are going to do an ArtDrop in a stealthy manner so that no one sees you.

Yesterday this ACEO magnet found its way into the arms of a pirate in an indoor galleria mall in Georgetown, SC.  He was waiting in the hallway at the door of a shop there.  AAAArrrrgggghhhhh!  I wonder who would have had the nerve to pluck it out of his arms.  I hope someone found it who was very, very brave.

We are on the road right now and working our way slowly northward.  This makes it even more fun.  Today we spent the afternoon along the beaches around Wilmington, NC.  It was very windy, but nothing actually blew away surprisingly enough.  I am amazed the the pretty little beach umbrellas stayed in place.  Didn't see even one of them go flying off!

Art Abandonment

My first Art Abandonment "ArtDrop"
a "Palm In Paradise" Limited Edition ACEO Magnet

I am going to abandon some of my art.  Really.

I'm getting ready to find a creative place, take a picture of a piece of my art in this location, leave a brief note and walk away for the first time.  This is called Art Abandonment.  If you're on Facebook, you can drop in and read all about it here:  https://www.facebook.com/groups/ArtAbandonment/

I first became aware of this group a week or so ago when I read another person's blog post, Etsy artist Stacey Merrill of Artsnark .  She had abandoned a piece, and then another and another within five miles of where I'm sitting right now.  I'm curious about who might have found her artwork, and thought this was a nice thing to do for the sake of art and for others, and decided to join in the fun.  You can find Stacey's blog here:  http://artsnark.blogspot.com/2012_06_01_archive.html .  The initial post about Art Abandonment was June 17th.  Go have a look, but please come back!

I started this post last night, but today at lunch I made my first "ArtDrop".  I left one of my ACEO Limited Edition magnets in the decorative fishnet handicap parking marker at Dockside Dave's in Madeira Beach.  The sign was decorated so great already, I just added my little decorator ArtDrop.  I hope someone finds it.  It would be really fun to hear what happens, how they came to find these pieces, and where and how they used them!!!

This is the site of my first "ArtDrop" at Dockside Dave's in Madeira Beach

As I'm writing this, the internal voice in my head has changed to what sounds very much like a TV reporter keeping his voice very low, so that no one will overhear.  LOL.

Happy finding!  Coincidentally, as I was making my ArtDrop, I made my first sale of an ACEO magnet in my shop on Etsy, and I love the happenstance of this.  It's pretty cool!

Daffodils Usher In Spring

Spring's Happy Dance

11 x 7.5 inches
watercolor

For me, daffodils are the number one signal that Spring has arrived!  In Colorado where I was raised, crocuses, and even hyacinths, always arrived before it really was Spring and they poked their buds out of the snow.  Not that it didn't snow occasionally on the daffodils, but by the time the tulips arrived, it was May and almost time for summer.  In a state where winters are long, but thankfully intermittent, the arrival of Spring was always special.

Now we live in the Tampa Bay area and are experiencing the gentlest of winters this year - fantastic after the last two years where it was not so nice.  I know it's all relative, and Florida winters do not compare to icy, cold winters in the higher latitudes of the continent, and that's what makes me so genuinely appreciate the lovely winter we have had this year!

Gorgeous sunset on the Gulf

I chose this photo, because of its simplicity.  There is a ritual every evening that the weather is nice, there are always lots of people celebrating sunset on the beach.

Back to Spring's Happy Dance -  This painting is available in my Etsy shop, DreamON. It has been painted, for Spring, in watercolors and gouache on Arches 140 lb. Cold Press watercolor paper.

Tulips For Spring

I worked on this watercolor off and on for a couple of years, and I feel such a sense of accomplishment to have finally finished it. Sometimes a painting comes together quite fast. Maybe it's because it features a subject you have painted many times, but honestly sometimes it just seems to almost paint itself. Then again there are the paintings that you start and put aside, pick up later and work on and then put aside again, over and over. You like what you've started, but something about it doesn't compel you to finish it. Sometimes you're just waiting for that special something inside you to come and let you know how to finish it, aka your muse. That was Tulips by Midnight. It took a very long time for my muse this time!

Tulips by Midnight

So. . . have you ever had anyone ask, "How long did it take you to paint that one?" What exactly are they wanting to know, do you suppose?  I dunno.  Maybe it's just a simple question, but my analytical side doesn't quite accept that. Is it that they are asking how long it took so that they can multiply the number of hours you say by what they assume your work is worth per hour? It is that the painting looks so basic and easy that it probably took about 5 minutes and so the price would be very, very cheap? Could it be that it's just so good that they think it took you a very long, long time? Hmmm, well yeah! Of course, there is the tried and true answer that it took a lifetime. That is the real truth, because it is the sum total of an artist's education, their travels, time spent in the studio and en plein aire painting, exposure to other artists and mentors, and most important of all - their life experiences - the good, the bad, the ugly and the ho hum!

Tulips by Moonlight may be found in my Etsy shop, DreamON.

My Happy New Year starts in February this year

Well, not really!  Since I had surgery the first week of January, January is what you call a lost month.  Everything went fine, and I am happy to be up and mobile again.

I have painted a number of new paintings, and now I can share some with you.  I have been experimenting with ghost flowers in the background.  This painting is called Poppy Shadows.  It was painted on a gold toned piece of watercolor paper 11 3/4" x 10 1/4".  I used a technique called color sanding to add some texture in the painting. I have just listed it in my Etsy shop. Click on the painting name under the first illustration to go to the listing.

Poppy Shadows

I put one of these new poppy ghost flower paintings into the Artists' Guild Gallery, and last week I was notified that it was sold.  Yay!  It's title was Ghost Poppies.  It is shown below.

Ghost Poppies

Ghost Poppies was painted on a toned sheet of watercolor paper that had been textured prior to painting.  Then I added some texture with a roller before painting the poppies.

Enjoy!