Have you read any good books lately?  Or should I ask if you have read any books at all?  What is that one book you have read and you consider it to my your all time favorite book?  For me personally, I love to read but I consider myself a slow reader.  I will confess that it has been a while since I have read a book.  These days my time is pretty much taken between creating art, marketing my art and watching grandchildren.  I do miss reading so I might try to re

Over the years, I have read many books that I thoroughly enjoyed. I have actually read the book "Shepherd of the Hills" by Harold Bell Wright 5 times over the years.  It is a great story and I would consider to be one of my favorites.  Other good books that jump to mind are "Christy" buy Katherine Marshall, "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Bronte', "Anne of Green Gables" by Lucy Maud Montgomery and anything written by Jane Austin or Janette Oke.  

I may not have read a book recently but I have included them in several art pieces.  You might find them entertaining so let me share them with you.  I hope you like mice in artwork because it seems that if I draw a book I must add a mouse sitting on top.  

First Painting of 2021

"Bitsy"- 11 x 14 x 1.5 acrylic on canvas

 It's hard to believe that we are already into May of 2021 and I'm just now talking about my first painting of the year.  Now don't you think that I've been sitting on my artist laurels, because that is far from the truth.  You see, I invested in a new iPad Pro tablet and my very first Apple Pencil at the end of 2020 and I've just been having a blast learning how to use these new tools.  I've added a ton of new drawings to my inventory along with 2 more coloring books.  All thanks to my iPad and the amazing app Procreate.  

As much as I enjoy this new medium, there is something about picking up a painting brush or pencil and covering the white of a canvas or paper.  No, I'm not going to abandon my first loves.  So that is why we are almost half way through the year and I'm just now talking about my first painting.  

This cute little goat is one of the new spring goats birthed at Galloping Gerties in Glenns Ferry, Idaho.  I think her name is Gumbo Lil but for my painting I decided to title it "Bitsy".  Katie Lenni takes the best goat pictures ever and I'm blessed that she lets me use them as a reference for my artwork.  You are AWESOME Katie!  Give her Etsy Shop some love and check out all her great goat soap- Galloping Gerties- Etsy

I do have this original painting available at the moment as well as prints, cards and magnets of this little sweetie.  Here is a picture of me holding the original painting for a little family photoshoot taken out towards Lake Mead.   If you would like to give "Bitsy" a new home or want to get cards or prints of her then just hop over to my Etsy Shop- Bitsy -Julie Townsend Studio Etsy Shop

Let me end today's blog with a picture of the cutest art model ever.  

NO HONOR AMONG THIEVES

 

They might as well have broken into my home and stole my dearest possessions because stealing of an artist's work is like stealing a piece of their heart.  It is no little matter and I feel very violated by the whole thing.

 It was only a few short weeks ago that I was blissfully drawing little angels and stuffed nursery toys, having no idea that a thief was lurking in the shadows of  Amazon.com and other corners of the world wide web.  

I recall clearly that night, just taking one more quick peek at my Facebook wall to see if there was any new news about a dear friend who was gravely ill.  Swiping down though my feed, I noticed a sponsored ad appearing on my wall that showed a cute little goat on a metal sign.  I like goats of course since I paint and draw them all the time but this goat made me stop and take a second look.  My initial thoughts were that this goat looked very familiar.  I snapped  a screen shot of it to remind me to check into this matter more closely and I headed off to bed. 

The next morning, the ads appeared again and this time it was the same goat but the background had changed.  This company was advertising all over my Facebook feed and the same goat was always there smiling up at me.   I walked right into my inventory room where I have all my original painting hanging on the wall that are currently for sale on my Etsy Shop.  Right there, front and center was my original little 8x8x1.5 inch acrylic painting I did last year that I titled "Silly Little Goat".  I held it up and compared it to the goat on my phone.  Just as I had suspected,  I realized at that moment that I was the victim of intellectual property theft.  What has followed since that time is hours and hours of me working to get all these listings pulled down. 

One company had this little goat listed 32 times and another one had it listed 14 times.  I found 4 Etsy Shops and about 20 different listings on Amazon.  I still have no idea who stole it first but because there is no honor among thieves, they just steal from each other.  It's like a stage 4 cancer that has metastasized.   It's discouraging to say least, but I have to stay diligent and address each infraction as I find them.  I keep a Google doc file for "Stolen Artwork" where I keep the URL and the company name.  I make a note when I email them the cease and desist letter.  So far almost all of them have apologized and removed the listing.   I'm sure they are more sorry that they actually got caught than being REALLY SORRY.  I then cut and paste the URL to my "Resolved" list.  

Anyway...I thought I would share the herd of goat imposters and have you compare them to the original.  As you can see, adding a little dandelion in the mouth isn't enough to disguise their treachery.

IMPOSTERS-

   

 

 

 

THE REAL "SILLY LITTLE GOAT"