Preparing to Show My Art: A Nature Inspired Booth

There is so much going on in my art room right now... 

It's a chaotic mess to anyone looking in.  It's kind of a chaotic mess to me!  Somehow, I'm preparing for my first time selling art in public.  Okay, I must say, it's not really my first time.  It just my first time in over ten years!  Now, I'm ready to jump back in and present my artwork in public again!





In June of 2015, I felt this strong desire to begin exploring my artistic skills again.  I've got my list of goals written down but over time, I've discovered these goals take longer than I'd first imagined.  My family has patiently and lovingly tolerated (and supported) me as I take on the project of preparing to show my artwork in public again.  On top of the framed original watercolor paintings and the packaged Giclee art prints, I've added some other items to my merchandise.  I know I've got to play this out right in order to be successful.  High ticket items are a tough sell next to other items sold at the arts & craft fairs.  I need to have a strategy for more affordable price points for selling to a wider range of people and pocket books.  You'll see that I've been thinking through this thoroughly!  This place has been a madhouse with so many projects going at once.

Gathering items to build my booth displays.

My furry companions are worn out!  They napped for me.

Lucy takes a comfy spot nearby.

Pigment Choices That Last

Watercolor pigment is a major player in this artistic adventure!  In the past week, I found myself exploring the Diane Sutherland Botanical Artist blog.  Her work is just beautifully detailed.  In her post, About Watercolor Paint, she talks about the pigment labeling and what it means.  I was enjoying her post so much, picking up some great tips.  Then I read what she shares about lightfastness.  She gives links to other websites (I'll share at the end of this post) where test results are given for many watercolor pigments.  I had to go dig deeper.  Next thing I knew, I was sorting through my stash of watercolor tubes.  This had me wondering about my own supply of paint!  I can say I was not in a panic.  This is not an emergency.  It is information I'd like to understand.  I want to be informed for future art supply purchases.  I want to use this knowledge as I add to my pigment supply.  Here's an artist's point of view on quality of materials.

In the past year, I've been making a transition to all professional grade watercolor pigment.  I was so frustrated with myself for realizing I'd recently purchased two more tubes of student grade watercolor pigment.  That had not been my intention.  Mistakes happen, I guess.  I'm trying to make a commitment to all artist grade because it matters to me.

In my research, I found I have three tubes in my supplies that are questionable for fading.  Now, anyone who has artwork they wish to protect will most likely not hang it in direct sunlight.  That makes sense, right?  Watercolor artwork should be matted and framed behind glass and hung out of direct sunlight.  It's still wise on my part to reconsider using pigments that may fade or change over time.  The time spent choosing and mixing pigments, along with the time spent applying the individual layers of that painting...pigment choice matters.  I invest so much of myself that it's worth making changes to which pigments are on my palette.

Giclee Print in the Art Studio

I can't wait to share the news!
I've got Giclee prints here now.  They arrived a few days ago and now I'm preparing to list them on Etsy.  If you live in our area, I'll have them in the studio for purchase.  There's a bit more work to do before they'll be ready to leave the studio.  I'll be signing, packaging and photographing them.

Just arrived this week! Giclee fine art prints of my work. Only a limited number of each; I will have a few of each in the studio for now. These will be ready for purchase locally next week. Soon after, they will be added to the Etsy shop as well. #watercolorprints #christysheelerartist #giclees #artstudiotoday

A photo posted by Christy Sheeler (@christysheeler.artist) on May 6, 2016 at 3:57pm PDT

 The lilacs are blooming and I ought to grab my camera before they finish their show.  It all changes so quickly!  Our family will be heading closer to the mountains this weekend for an afternoon of picnicking, kayaking, and maybe even a campfire.  I'll take my camera and maybe a few art supplies!  Are you enjoying some time outdoors this weekend?  Be sure to take some time to see what's happening in the nature around you!

-Christy
she must make art.

Art Studio Update March 2016

Let's chit chat about works in progress

I've been a busy girl, wanting to get it all done now, when there's not enough hours or energy to keep up!  There isn't a specific to-do this for each day.  That probably needs to change.  I have a mental list of tasks and goals but no real game plan for each day.  It feels like a bit of chaos.  

I'm sidetracked so easily!  In fact, I've got quite a bit to share so here we go:

1.  Etsy shop new listings

The final two poppies watercolor paintings are now listed in the ChristySheelerArtist shop on Etsy.
These are the originals, 8" x 10" in size, on 300 lb. Arches cold-press watercolor paper.  

Poppies Sunlit Blooms 2016

Christy Sheeler Artist at Society6

Another avenue for my watercolor artwork

It brings me much excitement and joy to share my artwork is uploaded and available to purchase online.

Christy Sheeler Artist on Society6:  A great selection of art design items!!!

My originals are available for purchase on Etsy ChristySheelerArtist now.  This one, titled Poppy Single hasn't been added to the Etsy shop yet...but soon.
In time, I'll have my own website and ready to have them purchased there.

How great would it be to have my art on a tote bag, an iphone case, a coffee cup...

Well, that is reality as of today!

This will be a project in the making...my work is cut out for me.  If there is a painting you've seen here and would really love to have available on the Society6 site, please comment or send me an email!  

                                      

                        Coffee Mug                          Mobile Device Cases                        Throw Pillows



                                           

                     Tote Bag                                        Rug 3 sizes                                  Fine Art Prints  




I am absolutely in LOVE with this Poppy Single artwork, as you can tell... it's the one I chose to take on this adventure.  So, now there are many more to come...

Thank you for visiting today!

You never know when I'll have something new I can't wait to share!!!

Have a fabulous weekend!

-Christy

Watercolor Poppies Complete Art Process

Overview of Poppies Watercolors Series

The inspiration for these paintings began with a neighbor's garden!  Lynn has one of the most green thumbs on our block.  As I've shared before, I keep a close eye tuned to the gardens throughout our little town.  Many a trip, toting one of my kids somewhere and back again, means I can spot the local views for inspiration.  In the past, Lynn has been great with me taking photos of her sunflowers as well.  I remember years ago...photos gone with a hard drive crash...taking some photos of magnolias she was growing in her living room.  Last summer, I visited Lynn's garden when the early evening sun brought out their beautiful glow of oranges and yellows.    The petals are like tissue paper, so delicate and thin.  For my artist's eye, these are just too lovely to resist!  I've looked forward to painting them and found they were worth the wait.  There are a total of four paintings in this series.  I'll be showing photographs from the stages of completion but not always from the same painting.

As I've shared in passing a photo on my phone of my current works in progress, many people have commented that poppies are their favorite as well.  With photos sorted and favorites chosen, I began the process with the value sketches.  The composition is very important in the planning stages.  I must admit I broke some composition rules in two of these paintings.  I did not place the focal poppy where it ought to be BUT I believe I was able to pull it off.  This should not be my regular habit; the unusual composition appeals to me.  My art critic husband is strongly drawn to the more traditional compositions.

I did not want to do the value studies/composition planning!  Like brushing teeth...it doesn't take that long and it's painless, but it sure prevents future problems.  I have been aware that these little quick sketches are important.  I wanted to get right to the painting sooner.  It wasn't torturous and I will begin implementing this in my process on a regular basis.  It's really not THAT bad.

I have been making my sketches directly on tracing paper.  Maybe I ought to be sketching on drawing paper in the sketch book first.  What thought do you have?  I suppose a sketchbook is a longer lasting record and easier to flip through later.  Well, I made the sketches on tracing paper.  I had purchased a thicker tracing paper and this was my chance to try it out.  I think I prefer the thinner weight.  Is it because it's what I am familiar with, that's undecided.  

Sketches are transferred with graphite paper onto the 300 lb. watercolor paper.  This saves the paper from multiple eraser marks and pencil lines indented in the paper.  If you have not made your own graphite paper before, you should give it a try.  You only need a few items and you most likely have them on hand now.  Comment and let me know, I would do a how-to demo to show how it's done.

What You See Is Not Always What You Get: Art Prints

so i might want to make prints...

I've been back and forth on whether to have art prints made for quite some time.  It's not an easy decision for me to make with my own artwork.  I read an article online, (it's a thread on Wet Canvas) How to Produce (and Sell) Prints of Your Artwork, by David B. Sullivan.  Click on the previous sentence and you can read through it yourself...if you are another artist trying to think through your options as well.  

After reading what David B. Sullivan has to say on the subject, I found myself more at peace with the options of ordering art prints of my work.  This led me to do more research on my options.  Most options are very hard to afford.  FinerWorks is the company I decided to try out in order to get a start in the process.  I spent quite a bit of time learning about photographing my artwork.  There are quite a lot of skills to be learned without a large sum of money backing these ventures!  Learning this process was very good for me by the end of it.

My photos looked great!  I uploaded to the FinerWorks website and made my order of prints.  When the order arrived, I wasn't completely surprised at my disappointment.  The prints were much darker and muted than the originals.  I felt this could happen after reading through the faqs on the website.  The finest details were there but the contrast is very much off.  

I went over them with a trusted advisor, my husband; he was so encouraging and supportive even though we'd just put money into this print order.  On the FinerWorks website, I had read about artists needing to calibrate the monitor for better results.  The company offers a couple of options for adjusting for better prints.  The most inexpensive option is $3.95 for a calibration print on a specific type of paper/surface.  The website offers complete instructions for how this works.  For $19.95, the other option is the Starter Kit, including samples of all their papers and a $20.00 gift card.  That's the option I chose; it's hard to choose paper types without a sample.