We have been in and out of town since my last post and I just can't seem to get it together.
In a couple of weeks we will be heading to Florida for a series of shows in January and February. In the meantime I have a couple of orders to do, bills to pay, shows to apply to, medical and dental needs and the list goes on and on...... Where does the time go?
We are blessed to be in good health, have been favored by friends and family and being in the hands of an Almighty God. I really can't complain.
As is my usual during the month of December, I am doing some studio clearing out for new artwork, etc., so I have listed some items on eBay. Most of them are miniatures but a few large paintings also are displayed. Haven't gotten much response on the larger items which is typical for eBay but I thought I would try. I used to have a show in April where I could bring these items but the show has been discontinued.
If you are looking for a small gift or a great deal, you might check some of my listings below in ArtbyUs or eBay.
Have a very Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you. Thanks for being a great collector, interested reader and perhaps a member of my family. We love you. Guiteau, Elaine and Aaron.
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
On our way to Minnesota
Well we recovered from the destruction of our display and some of our art in Omaha and have moved on. We are again so grateful for all of those that stepped right in and took over helping us with our pile of rubble. I can't thank all of the artists and volunteers who were a part of this. But, thanks again to all.
We managed to have quite a successful show in Madison WI as well as Ann Arbor. The crowds were quite slow this year at Ann Arbor but overall we managed to come out with some nice sales.
Following Ann Arbor we tried a new show in Michigan. Everything was right about the show -- the promoter did a superb job, the perks were great, the setup and take down were relatively easy...but, lots of people and almost no sales. The setting was so picturesque, lots of trees next to beautiful Orchard Lake. Many of the 2d artists I spoke to had similar results to ours with some exceptions -- a metal sculptor with 2d wall pieces, a 2d mixed media artist and a photographer had decent sales. But, there were more than these 3 that I talked to that had zero sales or very marginal sales. I so wanted to have this show work out because of all of the positive aspects, but -- it will always come down to sales for those of us who make our living full time as travelling artists.
Our next show in Powderhorn Park will be interesting -- it was not great for us last year but we managed some higher priced items and between Guiteau and me we found it profitable. We will soon find out. We love coming to Minneapolis. We get here a couple of days early and spend at least one day at the famous Mall of America. This year will be no exception.
Pray for our health, safety, spirituality and income.... We appreciate the prayers and will pray for you out there wherever you are. God bless you richly.
We managed to have quite a successful show in Madison WI as well as Ann Arbor. The crowds were quite slow this year at Ann Arbor but overall we managed to come out with some nice sales.
Following Ann Arbor we tried a new show in Michigan. Everything was right about the show -- the promoter did a superb job, the perks were great, the setup and take down were relatively easy...but, lots of people and almost no sales. The setting was so picturesque, lots of trees next to beautiful Orchard Lake. Many of the 2d artists I spoke to had similar results to ours with some exceptions -- a metal sculptor with 2d wall pieces, a 2d mixed media artist and a photographer had decent sales. But, there were more than these 3 that I talked to that had zero sales or very marginal sales. I so wanted to have this show work out because of all of the positive aspects, but -- it will always come down to sales for those of us who make our living full time as travelling artists.
Our next show in Powderhorn Park will be interesting -- it was not great for us last year but we managed some higher priced items and between Guiteau and me we found it profitable. We will soon find out. We love coming to Minneapolis. We get here a couple of days early and spend at least one day at the famous Mall of America. This year will be no exception.
Pray for our health, safety, spirituality and income.... We appreciate the prayers and will pray for you out there wherever you are. God bless you richly.
Monday, June 30, 2008
Omaha Weather ends our Summerarts early
Yesterday we returned home to Houston to assess all of our damage and regroup for the rest of our art exhibits.
The storms that blew thru downtown Omaha were not officially classified as a tornado; however, from 80 mph to 110 mph wind gusts are severe no matter what you call them -- I believe they called them direct line winds. Anyway about a dozen artists had their booths, displays and much merchandise destroyed during this event. Also the amount of rain than came with it had much of our artwork floating in water.
The GREATNESS of fellow artists was so apparent with so many helping us dig through the mud and water to lift apart our panels, tents, artwork, etc. I was in a daze and not much help. I was between shock, awe, disbelief and stood paralyzed not doing much good at all. The number of people including volunteers who helped us and MANY others in our situation was overwhelming. Thanks to all of you!!
We initially assessed our damage to be about $30,000 counting the retail prices of our artwork and the loss of sales at the event. However, after unloading yesterday in our studio, it appears we can salvage many of our panels, get one new tent and use good parts of both tents to have another tent to use. Most of Guiteau's artwork was severely damaged and that will be costly; however, we will put one foot in front of the other and move on. My closer estimate is about $15,000 counting damaged artwork, frames, panels, hardware (our steel support arms for the panels were bent in two!). Since we have no insurance we will have to deal with this on top of rising fuel costs -- but, we will start today with a positive attitude and move forward.
My dear husband Guiteau reminded me of how much worse this would have been if it had occurred at the beginning of our travels the first of May. We might have had more show revenues lost.
In spite of all that occurred (there is more to the story), I love Omaha and the shows there are very good and we will be back..... if invited.
p.s. The "more" to the story is that while we were setting up our booth on Thursday, some neighborhood thieves broke our hotel window and screen and stole my grandson's relatively new laptop computer. Our homeowner's policy has a $1000 deductible so with depreciation we wouldn't get anything for it.
I will update the blog once we are back on the road. God bless you. We have much to be grateful for. We have our home, studio, vehicles and most of all good health.
The storms that blew thru downtown Omaha were not officially classified as a tornado; however, from 80 mph to 110 mph wind gusts are severe no matter what you call them -- I believe they called them direct line winds. Anyway about a dozen artists had their booths, displays and much merchandise destroyed during this event. Also the amount of rain than came with it had much of our artwork floating in water.
The GREATNESS of fellow artists was so apparent with so many helping us dig through the mud and water to lift apart our panels, tents, artwork, etc. I was in a daze and not much help. I was between shock, awe, disbelief and stood paralyzed not doing much good at all. The number of people including volunteers who helped us and MANY others in our situation was overwhelming. Thanks to all of you!!
We initially assessed our damage to be about $30,000 counting the retail prices of our artwork and the loss of sales at the event. However, after unloading yesterday in our studio, it appears we can salvage many of our panels, get one new tent and use good parts of both tents to have another tent to use. Most of Guiteau's artwork was severely damaged and that will be costly; however, we will put one foot in front of the other and move on. My closer estimate is about $15,000 counting damaged artwork, frames, panels, hardware (our steel support arms for the panels were bent in two!). Since we have no insurance we will have to deal with this on top of rising fuel costs -- but, we will start today with a positive attitude and move forward.
My dear husband Guiteau reminded me of how much worse this would have been if it had occurred at the beginning of our travels the first of May. We might have had more show revenues lost.
In spite of all that occurred (there is more to the story), I love Omaha and the shows there are very good and we will be back..... if invited.
p.s. The "more" to the story is that while we were setting up our booth on Thursday, some neighborhood thieves broke our hotel window and screen and stole my grandson's relatively new laptop computer. Our homeowner's policy has a $1000 deductible so with depreciation we wouldn't get anything for it.
I will update the blog once we are back on the road. God bless you. We have much to be grateful for. We have our home, studio, vehicles and most of all good health.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Pittsburgh Festival Soon
We are getting worn out. Just finished a show in Buffalo NY and arrived today in Pittsburgh. We took a couple of resting days off in Buffalo and went to see Niagara Falls on a cold rainy day. Nevertheless, my husband and grandson Aaron have never been there so I felt it was a must see.
Somehow I remember the falls as much larger but the last time I went was about 50 years ago (wow!). That was when I was much younger.
The 3 Rivers Festival in Pittsburgh is a show we have not done for quite some time and I am hoping it was gotten somewhat better. Anyway, we have a great hotel room at the Radisson nearby for a great rate.
Next week we go to Omaha after stopping for a night in Columbus, Ohio. In Columbus we are going to dinner with some dear Christian friends that got married last year (or two) and it will be wonderful to catch up with their lives. They are expecting a new baby girl very soon.
We have the challenge then to get to Omaha via Iowa. The poor unfortunate people in Iowa have been devastated witih constant flooding and rains. I am in a dilemma which way to travel but perhaps by then the waters will have receded.
Some of our shows have been excellent and some disappointing but overall we are still paying bills (and there are plenty). God is so good that he gives us the privilege of creating artwork and being able to meet all of our needs.
God bless any of you who reads these infrequent blogs. The only thing I always keep pretty up to date is my show schedule. My website www.contemporarypictures.com will probably not be updated as it is more complicated for me to figure out.
Pray for my daughter Tami that her lungs are healed and the growths are benign. Pray for strength, healing and God's hand upon her body, spirit and soul.
Somehow I remember the falls as much larger but the last time I went was about 50 years ago (wow!). That was when I was much younger.
The 3 Rivers Festival in Pittsburgh is a show we have not done for quite some time and I am hoping it was gotten somewhat better. Anyway, we have a great hotel room at the Radisson nearby for a great rate.
Next week we go to Omaha after stopping for a night in Columbus, Ohio. In Columbus we are going to dinner with some dear Christian friends that got married last year (or two) and it will be wonderful to catch up with their lives. They are expecting a new baby girl very soon.
We have the challenge then to get to Omaha via Iowa. The poor unfortunate people in Iowa have been devastated witih constant flooding and rains. I am in a dilemma which way to travel but perhaps by then the waters will have receded.
Some of our shows have been excellent and some disappointing but overall we are still paying bills (and there are plenty). God is so good that he gives us the privilege of creating artwork and being able to meet all of our needs.
God bless any of you who reads these infrequent blogs. The only thing I always keep pretty up to date is my show schedule. My website www.contemporarypictures.com will probably not be updated as it is more complicated for me to figure out.
Pray for my daughter Tami that her lungs are healed and the growths are benign. Pray for strength, healing and God's hand upon her body, spirit and soul.
Monday, April 28, 2008
Springtime at Art Shows
Over 2 months since my last post....shame on me. Just can't get back in the groove. Perhaps after doing 3 shows in a row -- the last 2 being 10 days total is why I am out of steam. Guiteau exhibited in Fort Worth this year and then we went to OKC for the 6 day show where I sold my acrylics. Both shows were very exciting in many ways. Fort Worth on Thursday night faced severe storms, wind and hail. Fortunately none of the artists experienced any damage. The hail had diminished in size by the time it reached downtown.
For the first time in awhile, the OKC show had only one bad (but not terrible) weather day -- on Wednesday of the show.
Sales for the last 3 shows were surprisingly good -- enough to keep travelling for awhile. We are now home for a few days to add to our inventory and then we are off to Dallas.
Next week I will attend another middle school visiting artist program. Hopefully it will go well. Pray for me... I am new at this. God bless you all.
For the first time in awhile, the OKC show had only one bad (but not terrible) weather day -- on Wednesday of the show.
Sales for the last 3 shows were surprisingly good -- enough to keep travelling for awhile. We are now home for a few days to add to our inventory and then we are off to Dallas.
Next week I will attend another middle school visiting artist program. Hopefully it will go well. Pray for me... I am new at this. God bless you all.
Monday, February 11, 2008
Visiting Artist Project
About a week ago I volunteered to visit one of the middle schools in Fort Myers as part of their visiting artist project. It was the first time I had done this so I was somewhat concerned but also very excited. I only had one hour (and that flew by) to interact with the art class and try to encourage and inspire them to love creating art through painting.
The class was somewhat reluctant in the beginning (you know how peer pressure is), but one by one many of them joined the painters and worked on a couple of canvasses I brought with me. While we had very little time to work, I wanted them to get the feel of applying good quality paint to canvas and watch the transformation from a basic beginning outline and the various steps would be seen when i brought it back to completion.
I have put the 2 finished paintings on my blog because I felt the success of these paintings was partly due to the interaction I had with the students. I hope they will be encouraged to try painting again and not be intimidated by mixing colors and painting over when changes are needed.
This past weekend we exhibited at the Boca Raton Museum Festival of Arts. We were fortunate to have had only a brief rain shower at about 4:15 pm. That sent the people scattering and we got to go home (hotel home) early. The crowds seemed to be good but also reluctant to purchase large ticket items. Between Guiteau and I we made a small profit after expenses of the booth fee, hotels, rental car, etc. We don't count food expenses because we have those at home too.
We will be moving ourselves down to Miami on Wednesday and will be there for about 12 days. I have already begun some new paintings and will work down there in between the shows.
We continue to be in good health and stay blessed. We ask God for traveller's mercies and provision for our daily needs. May He also bless all of you who take the time to read this.
The class was somewhat reluctant in the beginning (you know how peer pressure is), but one by one many of them joined the painters and worked on a couple of canvasses I brought with me. While we had very little time to work, I wanted them to get the feel of applying good quality paint to canvas and watch the transformation from a basic beginning outline and the various steps would be seen when i brought it back to completion.
I have put the 2 finished paintings on my blog because I felt the success of these paintings was partly due to the interaction I had with the students. I hope they will be encouraged to try painting again and not be intimidated by mixing colors and painting over when changes are needed.
This past weekend we exhibited at the Boca Raton Museum Festival of Arts. We were fortunate to have had only a brief rain shower at about 4:15 pm. That sent the people scattering and we got to go home (hotel home) early. The crowds seemed to be good but also reluctant to purchase large ticket items. Between Guiteau and I we made a small profit after expenses of the booth fee, hotels, rental car, etc. We don't count food expenses because we have those at home too.
We will be moving ourselves down to Miami on Wednesday and will be there for about 12 days. I have already begun some new paintings and will work down there in between the shows.
We continue to be in good health and stay blessed. We ask God for traveller's mercies and provision for our daily needs. May He also bless all of you who take the time to read this.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Greetings from Sunny Florida
I am getting very lazy about keeping this blog up to date and my discontinue it if I am not current. Who would want to bother to read this anyway. My website was just recently updated with my current show schedule.
So far we have had only one bad show in Florida and our sales, while slightly down from last year, have been surprisingly decent. That is a good thing since our expenses continue.
Tomorrow we will drive an hour up to Fort Myers in preparation for that show this weekend. We are hoping for good weather once again. Monday following the show I signed up for the Visiting Artist Program. It will be a learning experience for me as well as the middle schoolers.
I hope I can inspire them in some small way and will focus on teaching them one or two aspects of painting. I plan to let them practice on my canvas. That should be interesting. I may bring my camera to get a few shots of the students at work.
I have one more show to apply to today which is in Belleville, Illinois. I almost forgot the deadline for this show so will be very busy getting to the post office.
I will post again after Fort Myers and try not to wait for 6 weeks again.
God bless you wherever you are. With all the bad weather in the Midwest, I pray for traveller's mercies for you.
So far we have had only one bad show in Florida and our sales, while slightly down from last year, have been surprisingly decent. That is a good thing since our expenses continue.
Tomorrow we will drive an hour up to Fort Myers in preparation for that show this weekend. We are hoping for good weather once again. Monday following the show I signed up for the Visiting Artist Program. It will be a learning experience for me as well as the middle schoolers.
I hope I can inspire them in some small way and will focus on teaching them one or two aspects of painting. I plan to let them practice on my canvas. That should be interesting. I may bring my camera to get a few shots of the students at work.
I have one more show to apply to today which is in Belleville, Illinois. I almost forgot the deadline for this show so will be very busy getting to the post office.
I will post again after Fort Myers and try not to wait for 6 weeks again.
God bless you wherever you are. With all the bad weather in the Midwest, I pray for traveller's mercies for you.
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