Happy Holidays!

Wow! I can't believe it is almost here. Where has the time gone? I wish you and yours a happy and safe holiday season :)

I must admit I have been lax updating here. I have been trying to get my Etsy shop off the ground. It takes lots of promo time posting on the forums and adding new items. I am happy to say that after a month, I finally got my first sale, soon followed by several more.

I added some smaller gift art items that went over well. Here is a bookmark that has been popular. You can check out my shop at http://www.artbylmr.etsy.com/

Happy Holidays!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hugs, Lynne

Spanish Courtyard

I wanted to share a painting I recently finished. It is a little different for me. For one thing it is 9X12 and the other is it is on stretched canvas. I have been working a lot on watercolor paper and found that canvas has a nice feel to it.

This work is from a reference photo taken in Spain. The Spanish people take great pride in their courtyards. This one was particularly lovely and we came upon it on a bright sunny day. My husband and I travelled to Spain with a group of high school students from a local school. We were part tourist and part chaperone.

This piece is for sale on Ebay now here: http://cgi.ebay.com/Original-Acrylic-Painting-Garden-Flowers-Spain-Art-LMR_W0QQitemZ140184318697QQihZ004QQcategoryZ20158QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I must go clean the bathrooms and do some painting. I promised my husband a painting of a rabbit for Christmas. Don't know why - he just wants one.

Peace, Lynne

1000 Wells Project

A fellow artist and blogger, Mousewords, is organizing a charity auction to benefit Blood:Water Mission's 1000 Wells project. Blood:Water Mission is working to provide clean water in African communities, and in the meantime working to fight the spread of the AIDS virus.

Blood:Water Mission was founded by the band Jars of Clay, and is an amazing organization. Mousewords has organized the charity auction for November 24th through December 4th. BWM is a MissionFish charity, so that will be easy. I'm inviting all artists and artisans to auction artwork and crafts--handmade jewelry, dolls, anything. My theme is that people can do their holiday shopping, and be able to give twice with one gift.

For more information please read her press release here:
http://mousewords.wordpress.com/2007/11/15/press-release-woohoo/

This will be a great shopping opportunity!
Thanks, Lynne

Commission Work!

Hi - I am so excited. I finished a commission I have been working on. It is an 8X10 of a 1956 Studebaker for a car enthusiast. His wife contacted me to do a red and black version since he is restoring one in his spare time. After some back and forth about the right background, he even ended up being in the painting in a very painterly fashion.

I really enjoyed doing this and the customer was thrilled. It was done in watercolor per the customer's request.

Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate it! Have a great week and don't eat too much (I know I will)!

New Etsy Store

Happy Holidays! I say that because I have all my indoor Christmas decorations up except for the tree. I have so many that I like to put them up early. That makes all the work worthwhile.

I remember the Christmas I got my guitar. I think I was 15 or 16. I still have it, but have never learned to play it. I guess I just don't have the patience. I still think about picking it up once in awhile, but never do.

Just in time for the holidays I have opened an Etsy store. Etsy is a great site to buy handmade crafts and original art. Please take a gander at http://www.artbylmr.etsy.com/ I plan to do some Christmas shopping there myself!

Lynne

BOOO! Happy Halloween!

We have a tradition on Halloween. I draw the design on the pumpkins and my husband carves them. I admit that I have really put him to the test from time to time. This year he was out of town until last night so I took pity on him. I did a skull in a top hat and a sea turtle. He was questioning the scariness of the turtle, but he loves turtles so I thought it would be fun.

If you still need to carve your pumpkins, here is a cool site to check out for some stencils and tips:
http://www.pumpkincarving101.com/


Have a safe and spooky day!

Autumn still life

I wanted to post this autumn still life painting I did recently. It is currently for sale on Ebay. My Ebay ID, by the way, is lynner3.

This is a 4X6 OSWOA. You didn't think I would do another larger one right away did you? Thanks for looking!!

Finally Larger Art

Well, I finally worked on a larger piece, at least larger for me. This one is an 8X10 acrylic painting. That's huge in my book. It is painted from a photo I took last winter on the Barge Canal in Utica, NY. It was such a clear sunny day that the shadows were spectacular.

I am offering it in my Cafepress shop so you can purchase a lovely framed print or you can contact me if you are interested in the original. You can check it out here under 'Fine Art': http://www.cafepress.com/artgiftsbylmr

Fall, to me, means yardwork. I need to get my butt outside to rake and weed and cut down dead things. Luckily it has been raining so I have an excuse for procrastinating. I did get the halloween decorations out yesterday. Anyone else starting to rival Christmas with their Halloween stuff? My husband just loves Halloween so we do it up right. It took me all afternoon and then some to decorate.

Happy Haunting!

OSWOA Anniversary

It was one year ago today that the OSWOA art movement was born. Read on for some more info on OSWOA. The wonderful write up below is credited to the OSWOA founder Dustie Meades.

This is a special and highly collectable 1st ANNIVERSARY OSWOA ARTWORK! To learn more about the OSWOA art format, and why this work is so special, read on...EXACTLY ONE YEAR AGO TODAY a new art format was launched on Ebay by over 60 very talented artists!

A format that brought original artworks to collectors everywhere, artworks that did not have to be framed to be appreciated, and yet could easly be framed if the collector so wished. Artworks that could be kept in attractive photo albums to be shared with friends and family, beautiful artworks, all original and all from the heart of talented artists world wide!

As an OSWOA artist I'm happy to report that the OSWOA format is alive and well on this, it's 1st Anniversary. It is known as OSWOA, An acronym for ORIGINAL SMALL WORKS OF ART, and collectors far and wide have begun collecting these charming small works.Collectors can bid on an OSWOA knowing that they are going to be originals (There's no such thing as an OSWOA print), that just the right size to fit into a 4 x 6 photo album sleeve for easy collecting, and that they are a wonderful and true representitive of that artists talents!

In the last year OSWOAs have been sold by artists and collected by art lovers in the US, Canada, England, Wales, Germany, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and Venezuala! A year ago if you had done a search of OSWOA in Google, you would have gotten back 11 references, just a handful of sites, most in a different language. Today, do a search of OSWOA in Google, and there are 66,100 references and NEARLY ALL PERTAIN TO ORIGINAL SMALL WORKS OF ART - OSWOA!

Many wonderful works of art that never existed in the world before, exist now because of OSWOA and many talented artists are becoming more well known thanks to OSWOA! OSWOA is proving to be a wonderful way for art lovers to collect affordable original artworks and a wonderful way for artists to share their talents with the world now and far into the future!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY OSWOA....AND MAY THERE BE MANY MORE TO COME! SEARCH EBAY FOR OSWOA 1 TO FIND MORE 1ST ANNIVERSARY OSWOA ARTWORKS! Each will be marked on the back, just as this work is, to commerate the one year anniversary of this exciting collectable art format!



The OSWOA artists were tasked to create an OSWOA representing the 'First' of something. I procrastinated as usual and quickly did this watercolor yesterday called 'First Steps'.

Memories and Halloween art

I was inspired by May another blogger here. You can check out her blog from my favorite links! She has been sharing memories and that sounded like a good idea.

For those of you who hate dentists and people messing with your teeth you may not want to proceed. I was one of those kids that had to keep wiggling my teeth when they were loose. It was a tell tale sign that one was ready to come out. I hated going to visit my great grandmother when I had a loose tooth because there was the off chance that my great aunt would be there. If she noticed that I had a loose tooth, she was, for some reason, required to take care of it. To her that meant tie a string to my tooth and the other end to a door knob. She then proceeded to slam the door, thus yanking out the tooth whether it was actually ready or not. Now I know why I hate dentists so.

Now on to some art talk. I have been adding lots of new Halloween designs to my cafepress store using some of my ACEO's (Art cards, Editions and Originals: 2.5" X 3.5" in size) and my OSWOAS (4 X 6 in size). You can see a sample to the left.

Check them out at: http://www.cafepress.com/artgiftsbylmr under holidays and occasions.

Cheers!

The sky is the limit!

I wanted to share some photos from a balloon ride we took in the 1000 Islands New York. You can see the St. Lawrence River and some neat ground fog.

It is like you are not even moving up there. It is so quiet and peaceful. Well, that is until a grumpy lady came out in her jammies and yelled at us for blasting the flame and waking her up. We also have some farms to stay away from since apparently the sound spooks the cows and they won't give up their milk right away.

Keep in mind that this was 6:30 in the AM so I wasn't at my photographic best.

Painting and Ebay

Hey, I've been busy painting and camping. The summer has flown by. Where does it go? Those of you in warmer climates can't imagine the anticipation of summer and then to have it go by in the blink of an eye. I love Fall and I enjoy winter to a point. It should end after Christmas and on with Spring!

I have been working on some larger pieces for a juried watercolor show. Don't know if I will get in, but I need to try. I forgot to scan them before I had them matted so no Pics :(

I do have a couple pics to share. I have been doing Halloween post cards which are so much fun! I also worked on a 5X7 acrylic floral piece that comes framed in a vintage gold frame.

Ebay has not been kind to me. Sometimes it gets me down to the point where I just want to chuck it all. I list works I think are good just to have them flounder and not sell. I am having more interest in the Halloween stuff, but still only 1 sale. I guess I have cried on your shoulder long enough. Next entry I'll post some pics from a balloon ride hubby and I took. Really fun!

Cheers.

T-Shirts, Garage Sales and Weddings.

I have been going crazy trying to get ready for an out of town wedding, pull stuff together for a community garage sale and do some art. of course, It is the art that suffers. I did try a mermaid since they are all the rage now, but it turned out pretty bad. Not really my cup of tea so to speak. Maybe I'll give it another go at a later date.

I also try to keep my cafepress shop fresh by adding new designs regularly. I made one using the tiger in the post below with the tag line 'I'm just a pussycat!' It came out pretty cute. Couldn't seem to upload the image though. So here is another example - Sweet cow drawing which reads 'I need more cowbell!' Love that SNL sketch with Christopher Walken.

Anyhoo, you can check out all my designs by clicking on the cafepress link on the left. You won't be disappointed!

Well, gotta go wrap up the gifts for the wedding. Must make them look pretty.

Camping and Colored Pencils

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer. I spent last week at the family camp in the Adirondacks. The weather was a mixed bag. We had some sun for canoeing and hiking and some rain for reading and art.

I usually take my colored pencils to camp since they are easy to transport. Here is the offering from last week. We had guests most of the week so there wasn't much time for art.

This little tiger looks so cute and a little sad. I think he is looking for his mom.

Colored pencils are not just for kids anymore. Check out this site for great colored pencil artists.

http://www.fabcolorpencil.com/

Tall Ship and Sci Fi

It's hot hot hot here in Central NY. 90+ and humid. I live in an old house with no central air. Thank God for window air conditioners.

I am a bit of a Sci Fi geek. You can tell from my bio pic if you are familiar with Stargate SG-1. That is me with Michael Shanks (Dr. Daniel Jackson from the show) . Unfortunately, the show is over. Not quite yet to me though since I still have the last couple of shows on DVR to watch. I hear they are going to make straight to DVD movies though to keep the show alive. Yay!!

Back in the real world, I have a new 4 X 6 watercolor. I love tall ships. Unfortunately skies and water are a bitch to paint. This is my attempt titled 'Tall Ship Sunset'.

New Watercolor

I finally got a new painting done. This is again a 4X6 work. I need to do some larger paintings to build a portfolio. I just love working in the smaller formats though.

I hope some of my friends return to give me an opinion on this one. It brings back memories of taking ballet as a girl. I think every girl wants to be a ballerina at some point in her life.

Thought I'd be daring and try a new format for my entry. Until next time...

Lynne

My other passion!

Garage Sale hunting for Ebay resale is my 'You gotta eat' past time. I just love it. I use the money for art supplies, classes, books and even some clothes, DVD's and such.

Garage saleing can be an addiction! It is so much fun finding an old toy you grew up with that you know sells well on Ebay. I sell mostly collectibles, records and other unique items. I recently found a complete spirograph game from the 60's. These are hard to find complete with the pens and pins. For those that aren't a child of the 60's, spirograph is a drawing toy. You can create cool abstract designs using graphic tools.

I just made a squidoo lens on garage saleing for Ebay. You can find it at http://www.squidoo.com/GarageSale4Ebay/

Ebay is really slow right now though. I stock pile a lot of inventory for winter when there are no garage sales.

I never thougt I would be a garage sale hunter, looking through other people's throw aways. I had exhausted my own inventory for Ebay selling so I had to get more stuff! This is the most fun way to do it. I like to pick each item individually and sell a variety of things.

This does take time away from my painting, but as I said 'You Gotta Eat'!

New painting - pansies

It is another picture perfect day here in central NY. Big deal, you say? We have so few of these around here that it is a big deal.

For some reason I signed up for golf lessons. I learned that I am doing everything wrong and that it really is hard to teach an old dog new tricks! Once I tried swinging like I was told to I had muscles hurting that I didn't know I had.

Anyhoo, above is a new painting (OSWOA 4 X 6) It is a response to a photo challenge in the OSWOA group on Ebay. I chose this photo because I loved the colors and it reminded me of chintz. I call it 'Dusties Pansies' since it was her photo. BTW it is a watercolor on 140 lb. watercolor paper. I will be lising it shortly on ebay. My Ebay art link is on the left.

I have to run. I need to drop by the zoo on my way to golf to drop off a painting. This weekend is the annual 'Wine in the Wilderness' festival and they are having an art show for the first time.

Take Care.

Lynne

YouTube video

Yesterday I took a crack at Window Movie maker. It is so easy to use. If I can do it, anyone can. If you have been avoiding You Tube, give it a try.

I made this video in a couple of hours and I'm sure that the next one will be easier. It highlights some of my art to a soundtrack of Warren Zevon. Warren was taken much too soon. I ordered his biography written by his ex from Amazon. It sounds very interesting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FR8nWj62ZZA

Please check out my video and make a comment so I know you were there.

Lynne

What this is all about.

I am finally jumping in feet first and giving blogging a try. I plan to post musings, useful info, my latest artwork, my latest Cafepress designs using my artwork and whatever else might be of interest. Bear with me as I get wet and acclimated to doing this.

I have a long hill near my home that I walk up on occasion. This winter there was a great old chevy truck parked in a driveway on the hill. It never moved. Once it warmed up some, I took my camera along to snap a pic. It is the subject of my latest painting...above. It is an OSWOA which is an Original Small Works of Art. They must be 4 X 6 (or vice versa) and fit in a standard photo sleeve. They are very affordable and collectible. It is on sale on Ebay right now under my Ebay ID lynner3. I also sell collectibles so check it out!

I am a proud Cafepress shop owner as well. Check out my shop at: http://www.cafepress.com/artgiftsbylmr

I use my drawings and paintings to create cute designs for t-shirts and other fun stuff. I need to learn more about graphic art so I can create more digital designs. I don't know how people do it. I can draw them by hand, but they don't look as professional as some do.

I guess that is an introduction of sorts. I'll update soon with more news!

Lynne