ArtFest

Well tomorrow is the start of ArtFest. This year it is going to be held at Fair Park in Dallas. Friday night from 6pm to 9pm is a Winestroll, which sounds like it will be a very nice event. Saturday will be from 10am to 7pm and Sunday from 10am to 6pm. Parking is free!

I have been doing ArtFest since it moved to Addison a few years back, and am excited to be participating for the first time at Fair Park. This show was held at Fair Park for many years at Fair Park, and it is cool to see it back at the original location.

Stop by and see me. I will be on row C-4.

99 Cats and a Bird

I now own 99CatsAndABird.com It will be where I start posting updates for the upcoming 99 Cats and a Bird event. But first, I need to figure it out. But in the meantime, if you want to see the art as soon as I start posting, go to 99catsandabird.com and bookmark it. Because 2 paintings are complete and another one started. So I should be updating soon.

99 Cats and a Bird Show

So things are really starting to shape up with the show. Eastlake Pet Orphanage is willing to take responsibility for auctioning off 100 paintings in the name of saving a few loving animals. They are even talking about a special event centered around the show.l Now I need a venue to exhibit the paintings before they auction them off (they are talking about sometime around Valentines day) and money to buy the canvas.

James is talking about starting a website just for the show. But we can’t decide between 99CatsAndABird.com or 99Cats1Bird.com. Opinions wanted!

AlsoAs recommended Gillie on ebsq I started a ChipIn to see how far we can get with that.

When we start the website anyone that has made a contribution will get credit on the website (link to website if you include such with the paypal payment, if you don’t want credit, please state that you want the contribution to be an0nymous). If you make a contribution over $23 you will be listed as a sponsor on the back of 6 canvases and get one line in the program for the show. If you make a contribution over $50 you will be listed as a sponsor for 12 canvases and get a business card size ad in the program. if you contribute over $100, you will be listed as a sponsor for 24 canvases and get a 1/4 page ad in the program.
But a contribution as small as $5 will get you a link on the website as soon as we decide on a name.

Things I learned about Science Fiction Conventions

I am very sore this morning, because I was silly enough to volunteer to help out with setting up the art show at a local science fiction convention. But I did so because, I have never exhibited at one before and there seemed to be a lot underlining assumptions that were not spelled out for a newbie like me, that I needed to learn. And boy was i right.

The first things I learned were about the courtesy of shipping the art.
1.Make it easy for the folks unpacking and hanging your art.

This mean:
a) make the art easy to unpack. No weird packing boxes that are difficult to open, no having the art get stuck to the adhesive of the box, no packing methods that require destroying the box in order to get to the art. No packing material that is “messy”, this means nice sheets of bubblewrap instead of packing peanuts or shredded paper.

b) make hanging the art as easy as possible. Have the proper hangers on everything. Provide a hanging diagram, don’t send more art than can be neatly hung on the panel space you paid for.

c)Bribery will get you far. The sending of candy and small examples of your work in the form of bookmarks and similar to those that are hanging your work gets you prime hanging locations.

d)Annoying the people that are going to be hanging your work gets you relegated to some off the main traffic pattern spot. This means have all your paperwork filled out properly, don’t send rude notes with the art, please have everything labeled properly and that sort of thing.

Things are looking a little different around here

If you look around, you might notice a few changes.

Okay complete redesign might be a better description. The best part is that you can now view my website in most any browser.

You can now also buy art directly off the web site.

As I add art to the website, I am deleting it from eBay. Soon no more eBay store!

Part of me is excited about it. Part of me is a bit sad.

I got my start on eBay several years ago.

My first exploration in selling my creative expressions was selling hand crafted crazy quilt bags. They actually did rather well. But after my daughter was born, I no longer had a sewing room and I took up drawing again to stay sane. At the time it was mandalas. First ink drawings, then I pulled out those prismacolors that I used to work with in college and then watercolors and acrylics. That went so well, that I began to expand my subjects and mediums. Built up my confidence enough to start with the festivals. I had a lot of fun at those and did well. Gallery owners began to find me at the festivals as well.

So much has happened with my art in the last several years. And eBay was the start of it. But it seems that I have outgrown it in some ways. Maybe outgrown isn’t the right word. But it just doesn’t seem to be as good a fit for me as it was once upon a time.

So my next step is to focus on this site. I have had it for years. But I really haven’t explored making it work. This is it.

I hope you enjoy!

It is so nice when folks want your trash

This Saturday I am participating in the Lake Ray Hubbard Studio Tour. I figured that if anyone really wanted to visit my studio that I had better make a path to the front door. So today I trimmed the shrubbery that was taking over the walkway. When I was done and had a pile of excess branches, I just called James up at worked and asked who wanted the scraps. I have been able to pawn off 2/3 of the branches on his co-workers.

When we planted the thing, I had thought it would be nice to for our own family’s use. But the darn rosemary grows so fast that it is taking over and I think I could provide the entire neighborhood with enough rosemary for all their cooking needs.

Anyone have any recipe ideas for rosemary? I still have lots left over.

Cattitude finds a new home

I am very excited that Cattitude now lives at the East Lake Pet orphanage on Northwest Hwy in Dallas.  They have a wonderful art collection and I happy that Cattitude has been added to the collection.

Things are busy around here as ussual, but I do have a few week until my next show.  On Dec. 9&10th I will be at Market Hall in Dallas for 500 inc.’s Holiday Market.  I do hope to get one new painting done for the show.

This past weekend I was at Kismet on Saturday night and at the Pet Fair near White Rock lake on Sunday afternoon.  I enjoyed both events and got a chance to meet some really nice folks that liked my art.  I need to find time to do more events like these.

I am also working on updating my cafe press store with new items.  I did add ornaments with the Yule cat on them.

Also it is about time for the annual Early Works sale.  I need to go through the paintings that I have done in the past, that I haven’t yet gotten listed on eBay and start listing them at great holiday prices.

On a more personal note Ravyn our border collie/Lab mix puppy has been diagnosed with hip displasia.  We are at a point of trying to decide if she need surgery or should be put on suppliments.  I feel bad that she suffers so. Only 9 months old and already with hip issues.  Now I know why she isn’t as active as Wolfie.

Huffines Art Festival

This past weekend I was at the Edom Festival of the Arts. It was a nice little show and I am looking forward to going back next year if I can find some grunt labor for Friday set up.

Saturday a fellow walks into my booth with his wife and they are looking through my prints, and I notice a card sticking out of his back pocket that looks very familiar. So me being the rather blunt go getter that I am asked him if I could see what he had in his pocket. I was right, that was the top of the hat from my Party Cat Painting. The flyer was for Huffines Art Festival, which is the up coming weekend. I never knew they were using my painting for the flyer this year.

The image is reversed and the colors are a bit off, but that is understandable since they were copying the image from a 35mm slide.

Also I got to see a wonderful performance by Dreamsicles at the show.  The music was great and several of the songs had me giggling nonstop.  So I did have to acquire their entire collection of CDs.  My favorite CD is Cary’s Yellow, but James prefers their self titled CD.

Happenings!

Well I am excited to announce that there is a new retail store carrying my prints and note cards in Arlington, and soon possibly some original works of art as well.  It is Mystic Moon Mansion at Cooper and Park Row, just a hop, skip and a jump from the University of Texas at Arlington.  Luna is wonderful to work with, and I really enjoyed meeting her this week.  I am also hoping to acquire some of the items in her clothing line. There was a jacket there that I am not sure I can live without.  She also carries Laurel Burch hand bags.  There is a part of me that secretly wants to be Laurel Burch, with artwork on scarves, handbags, journals, and note cards.  But for now I am content to have my work hanging in the same lovely shop.

Also this weekend is the Great Steak of Texas show.   The show opens at 10am tomorrow and goest til 11pm that night and is open 10am to 6pm on Sunday.  And I am debuting some new prints at the show.  Dallas and Texas Wine Country.  I will also have some prints that I mentioned here, but never got a chance to put in my eBay store.

Texas Wine Country

Things have been very crazy around here with my son’s biopsies and art festival season beginning, and working on the mural for the Kellam’s nursery.  I will have to get photos of that once they get all of the furniture in there.  And now that they have confirmed that it is a girl, I have been given permission to go in next weekend and paint pink and violet flowers in the fields with the sheep.   Anyway I am looking forward to Nov. when my life slows down just a bit.

Speaking of Novemeber……The original In The Spotlight painting ($885 retail) will be raffled off at Kismet on Nov. 11th.  I believe that each person gets a free raffle ticket with admisssion and can buy extra tickets to increasee one’s chance of winning.

eBay Listing and Relisting

Well eBay got a bee in their bonnet yesterday and decided the term “fee hike” was a form of keyword spamming and removed my GreedBay Queen listing.  I just think they couldn’t handle a bit of humor directed at them.

Anyway I relisted GreedBay Queen.

And I did something new last night too.  I painted my ever popular Sweet Dreams on a mirror frame.  It is a bit kitsch, and I love it.

10×10″ Acrylic on wood framed mirror.

She of course can also be found on eBay for now.

Due to the recent changes at eBay and their censorship, James has become seriously motivated to create a store right here on www.bemusedart.com.  I don’t know about you, but I am excited about it.  hopefully the store will be up for business by October 1st.  If I can talk James into letting me participate in the Lake Ray Hubbard Studio tour, I might trya nd push for having the store open in time for that.  Use the tour to promote my new online store and all that.  I need to get to work cleaning out my new studio space before August 1st if i am going to participate.