Pumpkin Carving: Peeling Teeth

 

Help settle a $20 bet - vote for A or B as your favorite

Happy Holloween! Above are our attempts at carving pumpkins this year. My 17 year old daughter and I each think the one we carved is the best. I bet her $20 that my pumpkin will win!!! If I lose, she gets $20.  :-(

I really like the peeled teeth on both pumpkins. Gives it a little more depth and interest. It was kind of like peeling a thick apple with a knife.

I will be collecting votes here in the comments, on facebook and twitter! Let the games begin :-D

The winner will be announced on Wednesday Nov. 6 to give people a bit of time to vote AND to keep my daughter waiting for her $20 (in case she wins!).

THANKS for playing along!

Let's Backup a Bit - What Do You Do for Backup?

So many images - even more files!

Happy Friday everyone :-D Bottom line, I want to know how you handle backing up all of your art files. On top of that there are loads of mocked up art on products, actual art on product files, contracts... you know what I am talking about!

Before art licensing days, when I just had graphic design clients I started out with a pile of CDs, then DVDs, and finally an external hard drive (or two...). I would back up twice a month. It was always a pain to copy the new work onto the back up drive.

Within this last year I signed up to use Crash Plan. crashplan.com. Nope, I don't work for them or make any money mentioning them here.

Over time it will cost me more than buying an external hard drive. I signed up for the $4 a month plan, They also have $2 & $9 plans, business plans....

I did the FREE 30 day trial. It works great on my MAC. AND it backs up everyday, behind the scenes. You can set it up to not interfere with you while you are working on your computer etc. I have restored lots of stuff and all looks wonderful. The back up is off site and I still back up to my external drive every month, just in case.

SO, the other day I realized there is this thing called Time Machine on my MAC for backups. Anybody use it? Do you like it? I completely forgot about it.

Thanks doodlebugerz for your two cents worth. I really appreciate knowing how you handle backups.

Artist Spotlight - Sarah Hudock

I bumped into Sarah on Linkedin and we met up at Surtex in NYC last spring - I KNOW you will love her roosters! Find out more about Sarah below — Be sure to check out her website!
(click images to see them larger).

Tell us a bit about yourself: Did you go to school for art? Are you self taught?
I spent most of my early childhood either drawing and painting, with my nose in a book, or with animals. I lived a very solitary, inward life during those few years, but then as I grew up and left home, subsequently I lost my artistic way. The world has a way of redirecting us when we don’t know who we are, and for much of my adult life I painted very little. I took it for granted that “I can draw” but it took me decades to figure out how to put it together; to overcome life’s difficulties and to do what I believe I was meant to do. I consider myself extraordinarily fortunate now, to have the opportunity to live with that kind of artistic focus again, and to share it with other people.

What inspires you / where do you get inspiration from?
I have to say, animals. I suppose I could expand that to include all of nature, because that is true, but really at heart it’s my love for animals and my relationship with many of them. There is something about each of their souls that I am always trying to capture – and the look in the eye. They are such sentient beings who share the world with us and I like to call attention to them in ways that make people stop and look.

Do you work in just one medium? Several?
 Mostly I work in watercolor, but have also been gravitating towards gouache and acrylic lately. My style has been changing now that I get to paint whenever I want, and I am getting better at it. It makes me want to try all sorts of new products that I see other artists using. At some point when I find time, I want to take some art classes to try out new mediums just for the fun of it, to open myself up even more. About a year ago I also learned to use some of the features in Photoshop, and that has revolutionized my options as well. I have startled myself with how much I enjoy creating effects digitally.

What are you working on now?
In July I got my first art license (thank you agent Carol White!) – a series of six Rooster Chef images is licensed to AD Lines Eurogroup and will be sold as art prints. It looks like Amia, Inc. is also interested in a series of my butterfly images to use for their glass products. I see a beginning here, and have spent this past year running to catch the art licensing bus, so to speak: I either work in Photoshop or I paint all day, almost every single day to build my portfolio, to practice, and to learn as much as I can. I just recently finished a new series of inspirational Rooster images with detailed patchwork tail feathers (above) that I really love and have high hopes for, as well as a series of Christmas roosters caroling for my greeting cards (and also art licensing.)

Anything else you want to tell everyone?
I stagnated for too many years, and now here I am with 50 years of artwork pent up inside of me! Watch out, world. It’s all an exciting mystery, this Life thing. Isn’t it?

Are you an early riser? or night owl?
I seem to work naturally in cycles. I focus intensely on a project for 2-3 weeks, going to bed at 2 AM every night, waking up at 7 to feed the animals and then diving back in to my artwork until 2 AM again. When I finish, I flop down and sleep for several days, clean the house, check to see I didn’t miss paying any bills, and regroup. Lots of ordinary chores fall by the wayside, but I’ve learned that life is short and you shouldn’t waste time doing dishes when there’s something important like painting chickens to be done!

What is your favorite food?
My favorite food. Hrmm. I guess I would have to say bacon and eggs.



Visit Sarah's website:  http://sarahhudock.com     email: info@sarahhudock.com
Carol White of Artworks! Licensing: http://artworkslicensing.com

If you are interested in being spotlighted - email me: anntroe@cox.net
You might also like this post: (click) Artist Spotlight - Peggy Wilson

Thanks doodlebugerz for reading and posting your comments. MAKE MY DAY and follow this blog :-D

Paint a Simple Pumpkin Mug

Visit your local paint your own pottery place

First I painted the inside white - you don't have to, but I wanted to be able to scrape off any blobs I didn't like easily. Let each step dry a bit to make things easier.

Next I painted the outside of the mug a light orange. Just one good coat - I wanted some of the brush strokes to show.

Then I mixed some of the darker orange in with the light orange paint and painted with a wide square brush vertical stripes on the mug - you can see the stripes bend a little with the pressure on the brush and that is OK :-D I just painted one coat of the mixed color of orange.

Now use a smaller brush - I like the square brushes for stripes. Use the darker orange paint to paint a stripe down the middle of the wider stripes you just painted.

Paint the handle black. 2 coats will work. black is a very strong color.

With a number 2 pencil, I lightly drew the face I want on the mug - Painted it black. 2 coats

I used an old tooth brush and splattered black paint on the inside and to make "blush" on my pumpkin face. Then I used a small round brush (you could use a 'writer bottle' too) and made the black drips that run from the rim of the mug down the inside a bit. There are a few blobs on the backside of the mug too.

Last thing I did was to use a round brush handle and dip the handle into the darker orange paint and made dots on the black handle of the mug :-)

Enjoy! - Make my day and follow my blog :-D Post a link or send me your Halloween pottery painting project. anntroe@cox.net

Blogging - What I Have Discovered, (so far)

Confessions of a Right Brainer

I thought about blogging for a long time. I knew it is important to post on a regular basis - at least that is what folks who are experts on blogging say. I worried (still do a bit) about how will I come up with stuff to write about that may be helpful.

Blogging is great for marketing.  - Well, I am focusing mostly on other licensed artist. I would think manufactures etc. would be the ones to purchase my art... Of course I never know who is reading my posts unless they comment.

Reading/writing and spelling were my worst subjects in school - I thank god every day for spell check! :-D

So why did I start blogging? I wanted to have a record. A way to look back at what has happened to me in the last year(s) in the world of art licensing. Yep, I was focused on me :-) I find that when I am feeling like I am getting no where fast, It is great to look back and see what I did accomplish. Sometimes I let the bad things out way the good. Crazy that we do that. (Did you notice I lumped you in with me? :-) I also thought some of my graphic design stuff might be useful to other artists.

What I discovered is that I need art friends! This blog has connected me with so many more creative people in 6 1/2 months, than I have had since my college art days. (I am pert near 50 years old). I love it! The emails, comments and social media connections are fabulous. It is great to get other points of view.

(Sorry all you tough guys out there...) This is a great BIG, fuzzy, gushy THANK YOU for your support and input.

Make my day and follow this blog! - Thanks in advance for commenting :-D

Artist Spotlight - Peggy Wilson

I recently met Peggy through this blog. I checked out her work and I am amazed with her use of several mediums AND her range of work! Be sure to click Peggy's website link at the end of this post.

Tell us a bit about yourself: Did you go to school for art? Are you self taught?
Mostly self taught, but come from a long line of artists, my Dad was my early teacher.
I have taken college classes in figure drawing and a couple watercolor classes, and recently have studied with a local retired art prof.

What inspires you / where do you get inspiration from?
Driving around in the beautiful countryside can inspire a landscape, or watching the antics of animals may inspire a cartoon drawing, but often my cartoons come directly out of my head and I usually don't have a clue what triggered them.

Do you work in just one medium? Several?
 I do work in several mediums, for landscapes and still life oils and acrylics.
For my cartoon images, I usually sketch them old school on paper with pencil, then scan them and color them in either Adobe photoshop or Corel Paint. Occasionally I draw on a Wacom Tablet.

What are you working on now?
Right now I am doing commissioned Xmas card designs, one of a sock monkey rock climbing and another of snow shoe rabbits both cartoon and realistic.

Anything else you want to tell everyone?
 I love the variety of working in various styles and mediums, maybe that makes me hard to "Brand" but that's how I work best.
 
Are you an early riser?, or night owl?
I'm an occasional insomniac so I may be up at night, reading or sketching, and if that's the case I'm not up early, I guess. I have an irregular schedule, but since I work at home this works for me. Love waking up and brewing strong coffee to get my motor running.

What is your favorite food?
 So many, its hard to narrow it down, my Mom was Danish and made the best breads, and crepes....so crepes with fresh peaches as filling.

Visit Peggy's website: http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/peggy-wilson.html
Contact: peggywilsonartist@yahoo.com

If you are interested in being spotlighted - email me: anntroe@cox.net
You might also like this post: (click) Glass Artists and Painter Anne Nye

Thanks so much for reading and posting your comments. MAKE my week and follow this blog :-D

Pottery Painting - VW Bug Bank

I post pottery that my daughter and I have painted for fun :-) We go to our local "paint your own pottery" place where they fired the painted piece.

This is a VW Bug Bank. Banks make great gifts and you could personalize it with the person's name. Fun Fact: It easily holds $50 in change!

Thanks so much for reading my blog. Make my day and follow this blog!