TWO MORE...and a nap...

 Both are 16 x 20 on canvas. The tree has tissue paper used on it, both are acrylics.

I have had one of those lazy days...Got up...painted the tree painting..took a nap..got up..painted the girl painting...LOL..now, it's time to cook dinner, and clean the art room...Anyone that comes to help can have everything in there that doesn't have to do with painting. I wish that all the mixed media collage artists lived nearby..so they could come box this stuff up, and take it away..:::smile:::
Live Artfully!!

TWO TREE PAINTINGS--and THE NEW MARKETING BLOG

two tree paintings--each 9 x 12 inches, acrylics on wood.

I am now ready to start doing my 9 x 12's, 6 x 6's, and 8 x 10's...I will need at least ...oh I don't know....50 of each size should do me..LOL..I hope to be ready by April when the shows and the Chattanooga Market starts. These are MUCH brighter in person. I am not going to unprepared this year for shows.(Hopefully). If the pain in my shoulders will just stay at dull throb, I will be able to do it. I think I have been painting non-stop since the middle of February.

NOW..about my new blog..The marketing one, not the art one...It will definitely be a little different. The definition of marketing in Webster's is:

Pronunciation: \ˈmär-kə-tiŋ\

Function: noun

Date: 1561

1 a : the act or process of selling or purchasing in a market b : the process or technique of promoting, selling, and distributing a product or service.

Three year ago, I told a person --"we need to learn how to market our art...it's the only thing lacking. It's what we need." She then went off on a psycho binge of reading, obsessing, and reading more about marketing. I still to this day, don't know if she's marketed anything...LOL...I on the other hand chose a different path. I chose to MAKE ART, and SELL ART. So, I feel like a learned SOMETHING, and have done OK with it, and I want to share what I have learned.

So, basically I am going to tell you what I know. It may not be much, but it will be realistic. I can't teach you how to sell your art for hundreds of dollars, or how to get into galleries, how to get collectors that will pay you thousands. I can tell you how to set up for a show, how to talk to people, how to put yourself out there..because I have done it. I am not rich, nor famous, but having sold approximately 300 pieces of art (not including Nature Boy's stuff), and I feel that qualifies me for something...LOL....I have a WONDERFUL (secret) co-author, who is going to help with information about online stuff. Together, I hope we can show you how to sell your every day art. How to BELIEVE IN YOURSELF as an artist, and how to make a little money doing so.

I WON'T be 1.)competing with other "marketing" websites. 2.)PROMOTING other marketers or their books, cd's, dvd's, etc.3.) Making ANY money off of the site. I am not doing this to make money. I am doing this "to give back" a little to those whose have so wonderously followed my art, and made me happy every day! That, with some tutorials on art, is my way of saying Thank You! 

Anyway...Some of you have been asking about THE DOG THAT ADOPTED ME..the beautiful wolf/dog that was a fixture around here for a month or so...well, he left. I woke up one morning, and he was gone. I drove around looking for him, asking everyone if they saw him...but, he just simply disappeared. I still don't think that he was full blooded DOG..so maybe it's for the better. I do miss him terribly. Not as much as my beloved Petey the Wonderdog (who I STILL cry over), but it was nice having wolf-dog around. THEN..the other day....

These TWO babies showed up. DON'T TELL ANYONE...Nature Boy and I are running a secret over night DOGGIE HOSTEL..for strays..LOL..I was IN HEAVEN....Let me tell you!! I fell SO HARD in LOVE with this pair...it took about 3 minutes flat. OMG..they were SO WONDERFUL. They just showed up. I fed them, and they were starving, I got them some toys, and fluffed the big doggie bed...and NAMED THEM...(All in about the first 10 minutes of them showing up). I SWEAR..the MARRIOT wouldn't give such good service. I named them GIMP and NUB...just because it made me laugh when I said it. I loved on them (regardless of the SKUNK smell that they were obviously BATHED in..LOL LOL..)..they seemed happy. I had plans on bathing them the next day, and bringing them right on into the house to live, I made a vet appointment the following Wednesday (about a week away)..for them...I shut them in, (we have a "gate" on our large front porch)..I went to bed..and woke up the next morning---and THEY WERE GONE. Haven't seen hide or hair from them since....::::SIGH::::God, I want another Petey the Wonderdog. Please send me a house-broken beautiful animal who NEEDS a good set of  humans.LOL...I won't actively go "get" a dog. I want one, that wants us ....so, I will just wait...and PRAY.

Live Artfully (Sorry the post is SO LONG!)

I WILL TEACH YOU TO FLY

Hello!! I have been working on this for a couple of days now, and finally got it to the varnishing stage. It's HUGE...24 x 36..acrylic on wood..$275. Hope you like it!
Live Artfully!

THREE NEW PAINTINGS

This one is 12 x 12. Acrylic on wood. $60.
"MAN"--I am not sure that I like this one at all. It's 12 x 12 acrylic on wood. $40
This one is also 12 x 12, acrylic on wood. It is SOLD already!

I also wanted to thank the guys at the Chattanooga Market for helping me get the word out for our show. You guys ROCK!! Also, Thank You to the Dalton Daily Citizen and Chattanooga Times Free Press for your write-ups on my show!! Thank you so Much!!!
Live Artfully!!

WANT A CHANCE TO GO TO ARTFEST?? CAN'T AFFORD IT?? CHECK THIS OUT!

I was just over at Teesha Moore's blog, and she has something wonderful going on. Check it out for a chance to go to Artfest!! Click HERE! What a wonderful way to Pay It Forward!!!

AN OUTRIGHT BRAG POST..I HAVE SOMETHING AND YOU DON'T!!! MY FIRST SOLO GALLERY SHOW! LOTS OF PICTURES

Ok..Good Morning..As you all probably know..last night was Nature Boy and I's FIRST SOLO Gallery show...and let me tell you....I AM GONNA BRAG..I have something that NONE of you have...that you CAN'T have...that you probably will NEVER have as long as you live. I have it ALL!!!! I am the bomb!!!! I am the Queen Mother Superior, because I Have IT and YOU don't...Is it talent???? NO... A lot of you have talent that FAR exceeds mine. Is it the SHOW?? NOOOO...many of you (I hope) will have solo shows if that is what you desire....IS it FAME, FORTUNE...NOOOOOOOO...I am not being followed by crazy people with cameras (THANK GOD!)..and I am certainly not rich....hehheheh

WHAT I HAVE THAT YOU DON'T IS ...

BILL.
More SPECIFICALLY...What BILL does for me. hehehee..(teasing you..teasing you...)
BILL ROCKS MY WORLD. Bill and his life partner, Paul are great friends of mine and Nature Boy's. (more mine though..cause they love me best...heheheh) BILL HAS this TALENT...that would make any woman in her right mind SWOON..and makes me (who's not in her right mind)..just giggly with school-girl crush-like emotions for what he does...HE does it better than ANY man that I have ever met. It makes your knees all watery, and shaky...and makes you feel magical things...ANDDDDDDDDD..



HE DOES IT BETTER THAN MY GRANDMOTHER (God bless her soul). NOW, I KNOW you have your curiosity up...Ok...I will tell you..I know that the suspense is killing you. I know you are sitting on the edge of your chair, and wondering if Nature Boy is steaming with pent-up jealousy...heheheehe....

Bill...






BAKES.



Not just anything. BILL BAKES homemade, FROM SCRATCH, mouth-watering, buttery POUND CAKES. Bill bakes these for ME. (See the heart in the middle..hehehe) This baby is 6 inches thick, and the size of a small car. See the crumbly goodness on the top. See it's perfection, and how it is just ready to be eaten off of the top before the rest of the cake. I tell you. If you aren't eaten up with jealousy...you should be. Thank you Bill! Chuck and I (especially me) loves you and Paul with all of our hearts!!!



Now that you all are jealous, and your mouths are watering...Here's pictures of mine and Chuck's first solo show...I want to thank EVERYONE at the Dalton, Georgia Creative Arts Guild for such a beautiful, fantastic reception last night. I appreciate each and every one of you! Thank You!




















It was so nice. They had tables of food and wine, and a lot of people came. We had sold 5 pieces before it started ...which was a wonderful feeling! The exhibit will be in Gallery 111 at the Arts Guild until the end of February, so if you are nearby, I hope you'll stop in and see it.
Live Artfully and eat pound cake!!

THE ART IS DELIVERED! HAPPY ANNIVERSARY NATURE BOY!!

Hi! I don't have any pictures today..Sorry! We got up today, and took our art over to Gallery 111 in the Dalton, Georgia Creative Arts Guild. The place is VERY NICE. It's large with a HUGE main gallery, and then the gallery where will hang is on the side of the main gallery (like a 10 x 20 alcove). The place is just wonderful. The people were wonderful, and Nature Boy and I are excited. I will go early tomorrow, so that I can take pictures of everything for you. We left our work there today, for the gallery to hang.

Today is also our 8th wedding anniversary, we went out last night to celebrate, then went out again today for lunch. If I have made one good decision in my life, it was marrying Nature Boy. It's been a great 8 years!!! I love you sweetheart!!
Live Artfully!

MY NEW HAIR COLOR..hehee.

Please Check out the next post below this one. Thanks!!
Live Artfully!!

MY HIGH SCHOOL FRIEND RESCUED THIS DOG-- MEET PAYTON.

Please go HERE to read about my high school friend, Richard Campbell and the little dog that he rescued. Peyton was hit by a car, which broke (I think) both of his hind legs. Thank God that Richard and his big heart was there. If you wish, please donate. If not, just keep the little guy and Richard in your prayers. Thank you!
Live Artfully!

THREE DAYS UNTIL MY SOLO GALLERY SHOW!

Remember the painting above? I did it in Aug-09, and was quite ok with it...well, for my solo show Friday night, I redid the painting in 24 x 24 inches!!!! (see below.) It was quite a labor of work, painting that large! But..here it is..It amazes me, how much I've changed in such a short period of time...Speaking of which..do you ever go back and look at your blog/journal/notes from exactly a year ago from the day you are looking? It's quite amusing to do this..(at least to my nearly lost, bored mind..) I was looking back on last year's February 2nd, and it's strange that the entire year of 2009 has gone, it's already February, and it's 2010! Time sure does fly.

Please keep Marsha from Tumble Fish Studios in your prayers. She is going through a VERY hard time right now, and needs everyone's love and support.

I had this long, humorous post planned out. But, I am whooped, beaten, exhausted...so I am going to bed...
Live Artfully!

GOOD MORNING HAPPY MUSIC POST

I found this video on Ingrid Dijker's blog, and am borrowing it from her, because I start my every day off watching this...it is so COOL. I love the dancing, the visuals, and the song. I LOVE it so much that I can ignore the fact that the man is dressed like a 1980's high school student..LOL..This makes me want to dance..heeheee. To let you in on a BIG secret..NATURE BOY..well, he's gonna KILL me for telling this....and I may have to come and live with one of you, so I can hide from him...
but, he DOES dance (if you can call it that) to this. It makes me laugh so hard that I almost..well..You women KNOW...LOL LOL...
Live Artfully!!

GOOD MORNING RANT POST TO AMUSE YOU

I thought that I would wake up, and just get out of my system things that I CANNOT STAND. Then we can proceed the rest of the day with happiness and light hearts....hehehe.
1. WOMEN, especially those over the 40 year mile marker that call themselves "girl". GET REAL.. it isn't making you look any younger, smarter, or cuter....Accept your old age, and get over it.
2. Colon cleansing commercials...PLEASE..if my colon needs cleansing, I will search you out. I don't need you interrupting NCIS, and fantasies of Mark Harmon with your crap. No pun intended.
3. Reality shows that are NO WHERE near my reality. I want to see "BORING Housewives of Jackson County"..how are other women coping with living in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by rednecks?? I do not want to watch a bunch of rich, spoiled women cat-fighting over who has the best dinner party..I am living amongst rednecks, ones that shoot innocent animals, and you are worried that your yacht and mansion don't match??? (This includes anything having to do with wifes, surviving,high school reunions, etc..can't you just make ONE reality show? It could be called Housewives of Orange County from High School that Survived...)
4. Online "marketing" people...HELLO!! I am not stupid enough to not know that since you couldn't sell your OWN product, you will sell "marketing". I am not paying you $1, or $1000 for you to tell me how to "market". There is nothing that you can share with me that I can't figure out for myself. So, PLEASE stop sending me emails, twitters, facebook, etc...I think you need to market your own stuff..before you tell me how to do it. (Oh..and saying the word "buzz" doesn't immediately, magically make a million people run to you..just so you know.)
5. People that hurt animals. Hell, you want to beat up something...come up here--I will set you up with some wonderful rednecks..You can even tie antlers to their heads and make them run in front of you, while you aimlessly shoot your gun at them.
4. Artist that act like their techniques and projects are top-secret, national security needed, ideas straight from the vaults of the National Mint. PLEASE..art needs to be shared! I have emailed a man on FLICKr THREE TIMES. All I want to know is HOW you get images blown up to 3 feet tall, come on..spill the secrets!! There's nothing you can do that is SO wonderful, SO magnificent, that it needs to be kept secret. I bet Michelangelo would have shared with us the painting of the Sistine Chapel..so what's so special about your stuff that you cannot share???
5. Cashiers in retail establishments that talk on the phone while ringing up your order. It takes all I can do, not to tell them that the removal of that phone from in between their buttocks is going to hurt A LOT more than the insertion. HELLLLOOOOOO... ME SPENDING my money in your store is providing YOU with a JOB...GET OFF THE PHONE!!

Ok..five RANTS are enough...I basically need to turn off the TV, do ALL my shopping online, and stop looking at other artists' ..and my life would blissful..Have a great, happy, wonderful day!
Live Artfully

FINISHED PAINTING..SO EXCITED!!

This is what I did today. I MEAN ALL DAY!!! Good God, this thing is big, and took me a very LONG time to finish. I think it's one of my better pieces, and it's ALL painting. I didn't collage on it at all...I loveeeeeeeeeeeeee painting biggggggggg.........I am exhausted though..feel like I have been in a marathon...it took a lot out of me..
Live Artfully!

::::SIGH::::

Wow...it stormed like crazy last night, enough to wake me up several times. I need a nap..Of course, I need a nap every day (just like a pre-schooler...LOL). It's one of the guilty pleasures of my otherwise mundane life..LOL. I love to sleep, and I love to nap. Almost every day, I will be lying on the couch, bundled up, and Nature Boy will ask me if I am going to sleep..and every day I say..."no honey, I am just cold"..(doesn't matter if it's winter or summer..hehehe) Then, I go to sleep. He must ask me out of habit...LOL...and obviously I just answer out of habit, because we always have the same conversation..and the result is always the same...zzzzzzzzzzzz....a nap.

Yesterday, I painted two large paintings. I am learning some new things...One, painting LARGE is MUCH easier than painting small. Two, it is definitely easier painting when your painting is in an upright position and your arm is slightly out in front of you. I have always painted with the wood lying flat on my art table, and since I am rushing to get enough paintings with a show (I have done 8 this week!!)...and they are larger paintings than I am accustomed to..I am having to change my evil, lazy ways. I have been a lazy artist this past year, and I say this because it is much harder on your arms and shoulders to paint the proper way, with your painting standing in front of you...but it's better. I was stressing because stupid me sold my easel last year, thinking that I never used it, so why have it sitting around....and so I have been painting right handed, while holding my painting on the table with my left hand. This was murderous to say the least...LOL..So, I had to find a way to work. I asked Nature Boy to PLEASE build me a tabletop contraption to lean my paintings on...and as he was doing this, I spotted a big wooden thing that we had picked up at an estate sale a longgggg time ago. I had bought this large, heavy triangle shelf thingie..and it has been sitting in our garage for years. It wasn't practical to use the little shelves, and so there it sat..until yesterday. It's about 3 feet tall, weighs a mega ton, and is only about 12 inches wide. It's triangular, with the backside being straight up, and it works beautifully!!. I just had Nature Boy put it on my tabletop, and now I can prop my larger pieces with the greatest of ease!!! It should increase my production by 100% at least.

The devil painting above is acrylic on wood, and it's HUGE...29 inches long. It was fun, fun, fun to do..I am going to continue to paint larger. I like it!

Well, The DOG THAT ADOPTED ME ran away. He left about 5-6 days ago, and hasn't returned. I am not sad about it. He was more wild than domesticated, and needed his freedom. We did look for him, and we went to the county animal shelter and made sure that he wasn't picked up, or taken in. He wasn't there, but I think I am going to start volunteering there one day a week. It'll be good to get out of the house, and I can love all of those animals, and not get two attached.

On the bloggie front. I have compiled a list of all the things that you all wished for, and am going to be working some tutorials up for you all as soon as I get this gallery showing out of the way.

That's about all folks..I have rambled about useless nothingness for long enough this morning. I need to do one of two things...I either need to go paint, or take a nap..I wonder which it will be..hehehe.
Live Artfully!!
suzan

NEW PAINTING

Working, working..back to work...
Live Artfully!

HARROD and HARROD...

This is Harrod. He is a large 15 x 15 painting that I did last night, on the request of Nature Boy...who for some reason wanted a large bald head...(I guess the one on his shoulders isn't enough--hehehhe). I like how Harrod turned out. The colors are good, and I am ok with this painting. BUTTTT.......................

I was playing with Harrod in Photoshop..mainly because I was bored, and it was late, and I was procrastinating going to bed....and I LOVE WHAT CAME OUT!!! I love "altered" Harrod, love him so much that today, I am going to try to actually paint altered Harrod. He just makes my heart sing.. I think I love him...Here he is...
Live Artfully~!!~
Suzan

IF FACEBOOK GAMES DON'T GET ME...FLICKR WILL...

The HOURS I spend looking through flickr, and playing facebook games....that's ALL I'm saying..LOL.

EEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!!!

Hello! Above is the same picture that I had previously shown, except this one is played with in Photoshop...just messing around...because the Lord knows that I haven't been very creative at all...BUT NOW...I have news....The "EEEEEEEEEEKKKKKKKKKKK" is because I have 15 DAYS to put together...are you ready?? ....I have 15 days to put together...my.....
FIRST GALLERY SHOW

Oh my God..I am hyperventilating...excited...scared..terrified...

I just got a call from a friend and he wanted me to do a show for the whole month of February!! It will be at the Creative Arts Guild in Dalton, Georgia in Gallery 111. They have two galleries, and I (and Nature Boy's assemblage pieces) am in one of them!! By ourselves..Alone...in 15 days..WHOOOHOOOOO!!!

This is so exciting...

Live Artfully!!

EVOLUTION OF A PAINTING...

Ok...started with this. (I showed it to you all a few days ago...) Watercolor on paper. Regular paper--not even watercolor paper.

Then I mounted (glued) it to wood, and added some acrylics....HATED IT.

Then tonight, this is what I did to it...same picture, same painting..just painted over the entire thing, except the face.

Live Artfully!

TA-DA!!!

hehehehe...::smile:::::taken by Nature Boy in our "backyard"....