Pets and more - Commissions make great gifts!

I did a couple commissions for the holidays!  Always a pleasure to work with clients and create the best artwork I can for them.  I love doing pet portraits.  Above is Iggy, a Hemmingway cat, - check out the many toes!  Iggy is in a pensive mood and I tried to capture his mood and personality in this piece!

Here we have Harley - his eyes are very expressive!  I can do other animals as well, not just cats.  I would love the opportunity to do a doggie too!

Commissions are always a bit stressful, but it is all worth it when the client is happy with the finished product!

This portrait was done for a newlywed couple.  This photo was one taken for their engagement portfolio.  The groom commissioned me to paint this piece for his bride for Christmas.  I have since heard that the bride loved it!  I was really happy with all of these pieces too.

Commissions are always challenging and I learn so much doing them.  Gravel was a challenge in this one - had to stretch my creativity for how to paint it without painting every little stone. 

Each of these pics is done in acrylic, but I also do watercolors.  Feel free to contact me for any commission requests - I will be glad to work with you.   Email me at lmrspdr@dreamscape.com and I will send you all the details!

My art at the 2011 Emmy Awards with Joe Mantegna

I have to admit that I do love TV,  movies and some folks that star in them.  Because of this,  I occasionally participate in the GBK gift lounge at various award shows.  I create products to go in the swag bags that every celeb that stops by the table receives and also a table display item that may be photographed with a celebrity!  I do this via The Indie Exhibit.  The wonderful people there make sure that my products get in the hands of celebrities.   Their tag line is 'Elevate your Brand'.  It is good promotion and lots of fun!

For the 2011 Emmy Awards, I created a special double sided print just for the Emmy's.  Here are both sides.  I signed and numbered each print and included a certificate of authenticity.

Now, this is the icing one the cake!  Here is Joe Mantegna most recently from Criminal Minds holding the canvas print I used as my display piece.  I was told that he just loved it and couldn't stop looking at it!

This is the Indie Exhibit table in the GBK gift lounge.  You can see my Pont Vecchio canvas print on the right of the 2nd tier.  Nice looking display!!!  Celebs are starting to look for our table at events because it is different every time and they love handmade!

You can get prints of all these paintings on Fine Art America~

Next up is the 2012 Golden Globe awards - then I really must take a break - it is a lot of work preparing 95 swag bag items and a display piece.  Also a bit pricey :)  Thanks for sharing my experience.  I have seen my views and sales increase because of my participation - that is what it is all about!

A morning of inspiration from Hopper, Lichtenstein and Winslow Homer!

This morning I spent time with the masters!  I was lucky to find the Dayton Art Institute museum while in that fair city!  What a gem!  Their own collection (what small portion on display at this time) was amazing.  I am a big fan of 20th century art and they had a nice collection of American artists for me to enjoy.  In the pic below, the Indian in the distance is an Andy Warhol.  Say what you may about him, but he was innovative!  This gallery was primarily contemporary abstract art.  I love seeing pieces like these for the first time. 

This next piece is a Lichtenstein.  I have always enjoyed his bright colors and hard edged style.  I know you are supposed to look at art from a distance to really enjoy it, but I always have to examine 'how did they do that' up close and personal.  The best part was that I pretty much had he place to myself.  Probably because they were preparing for their Oktoberfest this weekend and there was no parking!

The piece below is by Edward Hopper, another artist I really admire.  I love his use of light in his pieces.   I get my love of light from him though we are miles apart in style.  Check out this site for more info on Hopper Artsy's Hopper Page.

 They had a wonderful special exhibit of Winslow Homer etchings.  Homer became a wonderful watercolorist later in his life, but he began as an professional illustrator for Harpers weekly and other publications.    His knowledge of graphic design allowed his drawings to be easily adapted to wooden etchings for printmaking.  This entire exhibit was lent to the museum by a single doner.  I was lucky enough to have her there this morning talking about her collection.  She was very proud of the pieces and had something to add to each one.

It was a great morning and I loved that I was there alone to be able to take my time.  Museum gift shops always have the neatest stuff too!  Thanks for sharing a little piece of what I saw today.  BTW - it was OK to take photos of their collection w/o a flash.   I was surprised about that - luckily I had my trusty blackberry!

We have a winner of the 50 custom Brochures!!

True Random Number Generator


Min: 1
Max: 10
Result: 5
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We have a winner of the 50 custom Brochures! Congratulations to Kalik Hamilton! Thanks so much for particiapting Kalik!!

Random.org picked #5 as the winning comment number. I will pass Kalik's info on to Uprinting and he can create and upload his design for his personalized Brochures!

Thanks to everyone that entered! Special thanks to Uprinting and Giveaway Blogs for providing the prize~!
Keep watch for more great giveaways!

New Giveaway! 50 Free Custom Brochures!

I am offering another great Giveaway sponsored by Giveaway blogs and Uprinting!

This time we have 50 high quality custom Brochures. You design the brochures yourself!  Brochure templates are available to assist you with the design process. 

These print brochures are so versatile! You can create promo handouts, portfolios, cards, etc.. with your own images and text.

Giveaway Prize:

50 pcs Brochure printing for One (1) Winner

8.5" x 11"

100lb Paper Gloss

With Folding (Half Fold, Trifold/Letterfold, Z-Fold, Roll Fold, Accordion Fold),

Outside and Inside Printing

2 Business Days Turnaround

*Free shipping

Restriction: Limited to *US residents 18 years old and above only

I am really excited about this one! This giveaway is sponsored by UPrinting and I will receive brochure printing services for hosting. Visit UPrinting.com for more information about brochures and available brochure templates.

Contest ends 11:59pm on Thursday September 8th! You have multiple ways to win! All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on this post that includes your full name and email address or a way for me to have access to that info. Your address will not be used for anything other than allowing Uprinting to contact you if you win the prize. If you have any neat ideas on how to use the brochures, please include that too!

You can also blog about this giveaway, linking back here to this post. Leave another comment that you did  to get another entry. Tweet about the giveaway and leave a seperate comment that you did that too!

If you are the lucky winner I will pass your info on to Uprinting and they will contact you directly.

Thanks again to Uprinting.com and Giveaway Blogs for providing the prize~!

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GOOD LUCK!

The Healing Power of Art

'Sunflowers and Light'  Prints available at

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/sunflowers-and-light-lynne-reichhart.html

I have seen some references lately on the use of art as a healing tool, both by creating and also by owning and enjoying.  Imagery has been used to help cancer patients relieve stress which can boost their immune system to help them fight the disease. 

 We all know that color can produce certain responses, so artwork also has the power to soothe,  comfort, heal or even agitate.  I know that I surround myself with art in my home that makes me feel good when I see it.  Besides my own, I also collect other artist's work as well.  I love each and every piece for different reasons.  Some because the artist inspires me to improve in my own work, others because they remind me of places I have been and bring back good memories and still others because they depict something I love or I just enjoy the image!   I had a booth at an art fair recently and a woman picked up a print of a pig I had done for a child's room and she just had to have it.  She said it made her smile - a great compliment indeed! 

Art is also a great conversation starter, often leading to healthy debates!  Art can create strong emotions in the viewer. This can lead to relationships you never expected or just a better understanding of the art itself. 

I truly believe that art can have positive influence on our lives in so many ways.  I know that creating my art is a great outlet for me.  I must admit that no painting is easy and that there is frustration involved in each and every piece I do, but the satisfaction at the end makes it all worth while!

'Reflecting Panes'  Buy prints at

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/reflecting-panes-lynne-reichhart.html

Thanks for reading my latest ramblings!  I am going to try my darnedest to get on a schedule to update my blog weekly.  Life sure has a way of getting in the way of the best laid plans.

Feel free to comment with how art  makes a difference in your life!

My time at 'Girls Night Out'.

This was the first ever 'Girls Night Out'  event at the Rome Art and Community Center.  I was sceptical about a vendor opportunity that charged the patrons to shop, but it was a huge success!  We had smaller  spaces than I anticipated and I brought way too much stuff!  But I did manage to squeeze it all in.  As you can see below, my chair was not easy to get to.  Once I got in I didn't leave very often.  Good thing my friend Diane was in the next booth.  She brought me food and drink from the wonderful array of gourmet appetizers and desserts!

I wanted to take more pix, but again I was trapped in my booth :0!  My pendants were popular, both hand painted and glass tile pendants with teenie prints of my work.  I also sold several prints, cards, magnets and even an original or two!!!  All in all it was a lucritive venture and I would do it agian.    It probably didn't hurt that the patrons were drinking heavily ;)  We did luck out being in the room with the chocolate fountain too - very popular!

We had a nice group of neightbors and had lots of fun!  Here is my friend Diane with her booth - she had the right idea and brought less stuff!  The theme was the Caribbean and you can see that Diane wore her tropical shirt in keeping witht he theme. 

Things I learned doing this kind of show:

Play to your space - I wouldn't bring the grids next time - smaller items are the key to this sale.

PC also not necessary - I brought the PC in case someone wanted to use Paypal to pay.

Not sure if I need to take credit cards or not.  No problem this time though.

Chocolate fountains and selling don't mix.  Gooey hands and face kind of embarassing

Explain your work to the customers - this really boosted sales.  Engage the folks

Art featuring local images is popular and helps open a dialogue.

Risers are your friend!  The display looked much better when everything wasn't at the same level.

Have lots of change in all denominations - we won't have to get cash again for a long time :)

Most everyone wanted a bag so have bags in several sizes and be sure to slip in a business card with their purchase.

Just a few observations.  Maybe they will help with your next art fair!

Thanks for Reading!