Let Pastel Take a Turn

"Summertime" Pastel on blue paper

Let the blue be the midtones - I love these contrasts. Seen here in my Etsy shop: "Summertime" drawings of women

After the Kiss

This is one of the first paintings I sold online. It's now available as a print (Here's the link to my "Prints" page on Etsy: CGallaFineArt, Prints) and I think it will always be a favorite of mine. These little watercolors have always been my best sellers.

Oil Painting on Paper, "Cloaked"

Cloaked, Oil on Paper

Let me show you something (well, two things) I like to do. One is painting the figure, and the second is creating oil paintings on paper. Here's one, called "Cloaked,"  is an oil painting on watercolor paper that I took from a sketch of a live pose. The title evolved from the appearance of an aura around the shoulders and arms.

I'm happy with the way it turned out, but then painting on these papers is such a great way to mix it up a little bit.

This painting is for sale in my ArtFire Shop.

ArtFire: Who knew?

I'm going to stop in midstream here to tell you about the best-known secret of online artists and handmade craftspersons. 

As a relatively long time seller on ArtFire, I've only recently begun to take them up on their fabulous offerings, and now that they're leaving their beta stage, well, here's what I found out. I'll explain  in a moment, but first go read this, http://www.artfire.com/groupdeal come back, and we'll hit the highlights.

Hmmm...Let's see, what else can I tell you? Oh, yeah, this is the BEST DEAL EVER since I've been an ArtFire member. Here's why:

• It's cheap! Where else can you get unlimited listings to sell your artwork or handmade items for less than $6.00 a month with :
• No listing fees
• No final value fees
• The option to create collections of your work to post on blogs, in Facebook and in other social media
• A wonderful, friendly community of fellow artisans and "I'm on your side" admin staff
• A blog page
• A customizable studio 

Don't take my word for it. Go read up on it, make your comparisons, check out their admin posts. And...PS: This will be the best win-win since online selling began.

An Old Favorite

Tin Roof Barn - $49

Pastel Barn - $200

Joe's Barn Too - SOLD

This barn sits on an old farm property which is now the Joe Kurz Wildlife Management Area in Meriwether County, Georgia.  The landscape around the building has changed a lot over the last four years since I've been coming down here to paint it and little by little the surroundings are disappearing. The acrylic painting, "Tin Roof Barn" is one of my latest versions of my favorite plein aire location and it's more of a stripped-down version of the landscape and barn on a hot, bright day. 

This top right image is a pastel from about 3 1/2 years ago that shows the old fence and trees. As warm and inviting as it looks, it was painted on a very cold and blustery January day and I thought I'd gotten frostbite.

The last image, "Joe's Barn, Too" was painted in oil at some point during the time in between the first two works and gives a sense of the vanishing trees and old English privet which once encircled the building.

Rummaging

Here's one of the very first watercolors I sold on Etsy. I suppose unlike traditional watercolorists my love of "smooshing" the medium around (like I do with my oil paints) helped me with these layered effects. 

These little faces (they're almost all 4" x6" pieces) have been a great exploration for me. They're not always pretty girls and they don't always smile, but they look like our emotions. 

It's all about me, Part Two

People always want to know "more about the artist," so here's a little snippet about me. I ran across this photo (and no, I won't tell you when it was taken) while unpacking after my recent move and thought it offered a peek into my un-extraordinary upbringing. I was really into language arts and music during my high school years and my dad, who believed everyone must have a chosen profession (and a second set of skills to "fall back on") said he wasn't sure who would ever hire a French-speaking clarinetist.

At my school the cachet of being in the band outweighed any participation in the study of visual arts, and coupled with a total and complete lack of encouragement for budding artists this left me with a strong penchant for learning to play the E-flat clarinet and getting to know the boys in the brass section.

Fast forward to today: Painting is as essential as breathing. How did I get here? That's not as important as the fact that I paint now. Guess what - that was my "fall back" position. No one knew it but me.