Recycled Record paintings are back!

Arabian Dance, Paint pens on 12″ vinyl LP, $95

Today I took several of my recycled record paintings on vinyl over to Bright Rain Gallery. Before I left the house I checked on titles and realized I didn’t have them here on my website, at all! I have now remedied that situation and you can find them HERE or in the above Portfolio tab, under “Recycled Vinyl”. I am working on getting them back into my Etsy shop too. I have been super duper busy with getting my artwork out into galleries! Received word on Monday that my prints have been accepted into yet another gallery, Fuller Lodge Art Center, in Los Alamos, New Mexico. Now that I’m done with the records for Bright Rain gallery, time to get moving on printing and packaging prints for the new gallery!

 

Gaining Momentum

I have been so busy since my last post! Since then, I have been accepted and dropped off paintings for another show at yet another gallery! The same day that I dropped my art off at that gallery, I visited another gallery in another town and have been asked to submit to them as well. I guess you could say life has been good lately! I have spent a bit more time in my studio recently, now that I have to get busy painting! I finally got the studio completely set up, with art on the walls and everything! I don’t have any new work to share just yet, though I have completed a couple of record paintings. I want to wait for now and reveal them all at once. Until then, I will share photos of my completed studio and some of the progress photos of pieces I’m currently working on.

Just of few of the projects I’m currently working on, just getting started.

Vinyl record paintings in progress, thanks to Ken at the Fuller Lodge Art Gallery in Los Alamos, NM, I’m trying out painting with paint markers. They work GREAT!

My first coloring tshirt! This is one I colored in to be used as an example on the website where they are being sold.

I’m really excited to announce that my coloring book designs are now available on t shirts! Using fabric paint or markers they can be colored in to make your own design! Endless possibilities! There are 4 different designs available and they are only $20! Check out this LINK to see them for yourselves.

Happy corner of my studio!

Meditation corner in my studio, I love my meditation chair!

The opening for the show I most recently got into is this coming Saturday in Madrid, NM at Metallo Gallery. It’s a miniature show and 3 of my “All About Love” paintings were accepted. The opening is from 4-8pm on May 4th. If you are in the area, hope you can make it!

Other side of the meditation corner

Purple wall with 3 of my “Exposed Emotions” series paintings.

 

On a Roll!

Me with Carolyn Carroll, owner of Bright Rain Gallery in Old Town Albuquerque. That’s my art on the wall in the background!

This has been a fantastic week for me! I am just super grateful for all the manifestations in my life this week! I have been working towards a goal I set at the beginning of the year, to have 5 galleries showing my art by June 2013. As of Monday, I have two! Friday I met with the owner of Bright Rain Gallery in Old Town Albuquerque to show her a few paintings and prints. I was pleased to leave Old Town with my paintings and prints now represented by Bright Rain Gallery! Of course, I came straight home and posted my good news on my facebook page and within a day I had received an email from another gallery where I recently submitted my art. High Desert Art & Frame is up near the Sandia Mountains at the intersection of Montgomery and Tramway. I met with them on Monday and will be their featured artist in July of this year!

My paintings hanging at Bright Rain Gallery

Yet another argument for following up with galleries once you submit. I sent email submissions to the first gallery in February. I didn’t hear back from them but decided to drop in while gallery hopping with a friend. I mentioned something to the gallery owner about my email while talking with her and she said she remembered my email and liked my work. She asked me to bring some paintings by sometime, which I did the next week. If I hadn’t followed up with her, my art may not be in that gallery. Another awesome note, I went by the gallery today to take a picture of my art on the walls (see above & below) and found out that since I dropped off my art on Friday, I had already sold 5 prints!

My prints are on the table below in a cute basket!

The second gallery was reminded to contact me  because of my post on facebook. So, another great reason to use Facebook. As if I needed another reason!

Acrylic painting on vinyl record, in progress

Needless to say, now that I have a show coming up in July, I have some painting to do. I have been slowly getting back to the studio, painting for what seems like the first time in forever (it’s actually been 7 months since I painted regularly!). Today I had a good friend call me to ask if I would mind if she came and watched me paint, so we had a great time painting alongside each other. (FYI, don’t ask to watch me paint unless you are ready to dive in and paint alongside me! I finished my first small painting in a while and worked on my record painting a bit more, almost done with it.

Joyful, 8 x 8″ oil painting

I ordered canvas stretcher bars this morning and plan to get going on a new series as soon as they arrive. It sure feels good to get back to my art! I have been having so much fun making music with my husband though! I just have to figure out how to make time for both. Easy peasy!

A day in the studio

Today I finally got back into the studio after a week. Spent a couple of hours working on a record/vinyl painting. Decided to continue that series again. Working on several ideas currently in my head. Have a gallery possibly interested in my paintings!

My drawing table today

closer view

Progress of my current vinyl painting

More progress by the end of the day

The view of downtown Albuquerque looking out my studio window today

Happy Spring!

I have recently moved my studio away from my house, AND my computer! This wonderful marvel of technology that has made my life possible has also sucked the life out of me at times! I am hopelessly addicted to the internet. There, I admitted it, which as they say, is the first step. Today we celebrate the changing of the seasons, an end of winter and the arrival of Spring! YAY! I have a project I am currently working on to make small hand bound books using my mini prints and different quotes. Here is the first one, I will do an online version as well. Enjoy and share freely!

 

Adding to our family

In December, my oldest son married his girlfriend of 3 years. I couldn’t be more proud of my son or happier with my new daughter in law. Though the wedding day was quite cold, I believe it was in the teens that day, the love shared between the happy couple and all the family that gathered to share in their special day made it feel much warmer. I figured I would share a couple of the photos with our newest addition to the family. It’s so nice to not be the only woman in the family anymore!

Me, my husband, our three sons and new daughter-in-law

Bryan and Karissa, the happy couple

The Varied Life of a Creative Person

I don’t consider myself “just” an artist anymore. I’m a creative person, always have been I guess! Now that I am working on my musical side, I can no longer claim to be a visual artist alone, I’m still an artist, but I needed a better way to describe what “I do”. Some days I’m a graphic designer, some days I’m a painter, some days I’m into social media or even a blogger and still other days, I’m a singer in a folk duo!

One of the most difficult parts of this creative life is finding focus. Especially when you do many different things! I used to think I could sharpen my focus to just one thing, now I know that is a cause of many a creative death! I am convinced I have attention deficit disorder, actually, I think we all have it in some form or another. I get bored easily. I move on to other projects to keep my inspiration. What makes this difficult is when it comes down to NEEDING to get my work done! I am a one woman business, well, really, with my husband we are a partnership, but there are no employees, no one to make sure everything gets done! Except ME. Perhaps one of these days I will figure it all out, but until then, I keep my to do list full of the multitude of creative projects and do my best to even it all out and keep some semblance of organization and focus! Just figured I would share this little tid bit about myself for all of you out there who think I have it figured out! NOPE! I’m just like every other artist out there, a work in progress!