Cowbell Stampeed!

It has been a Cowbell Frenzy in my Las Vegas Studio the past few days.  It started out with a request for a commission piece of a horse for the daughter of my cousin and then several additional orders were then requested.  I ended up almost finishing my 7th bell yesterday and I am happy to report that they are all sold!  I continue to be amazed and blessed at the popularity of these small pieces of art.  

I've pulled out 4 of my USPS medium rate shipping boxes and it is now time to get my assembly line shipping process in full swing.  I have (2) double orders and this box is perfect because I can ship 2 bells in the box for the same cost.  I have established an account with USPS and can order these free boxes in larger quantities to be delivered directly to my home.  I don't have to visit the local post office and hope they have enough boxes for me.  

Another great tool I have found just recently is invoicing on Paypal.  All I need is an email address and I can invoice the collector and they have the convenience of paying with a credit card.  The small fee that Paypal charges is well worth the convenience and security for me.  No longer am I waiting for a check to arrive in the mail before I can ship off the artwork.  This has really made the process less stressful for me.  I actually woke up this morning and sent an invoice to one happy client from my iPad while still enjoying the comfort of my bed.  What a day we live in!  Paypal also allows me print out a prepaid shipping label so I don't have to wait in line at the post office to ship.  I know that I can schedule a pick-up of my boxes but haven't done that yet.  I think this might just be the right time to see how that works.

The results of a weekend of cowbell painting!

The cost to order a cowbell is $65, which includes shipping if shipped in the continental US.  A $10 additional charge may apply if you are interested in a custom design.  Just message me you are interested in placing an order.  Mother's Day is coming and they make GREAT one of a kind gifts!

Every home needs one- A COWBELL IN EVERY HOME!

Introducing the opening of my newest website feature- THE COUNTRY STORE.  I have made my ever so popular cowbells available on my website by clicking this link:  COUNTRY STORE

Right now I have 5 unique cowbell designs available but hope to expand that shortly along with other hand painted gifts.  (Please allow at least 2 weeks for me to process and get your order shipped as their popularity has been a bit overwhelming.)   These attractive but sturdy cowbells make great gifts. Custom orders (a small fee will be applied)  are considered and you can contact me to discuss the possibility of me painting something very special and unique for you.

Locally these cowbells can be seen at the following locations:
     City of the World Gallery at 1229 S. Casino Center Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89104
     Boulder City Art Gallery at 1305 Arizona Street, Boulder City, NV  89005
     Valleys Edge Country Store at 4779 W. Bell Vista Ave, Pahrump, NV  89060

Here are just 3 of my designs to choose from:

Rooster 2

Sunflower 1

Cow 1

Stumbling over Cow Bells

Sometimes in life you just fall over an opportunity that becomes obvious and I think I have just had that experience these past two weeks.  I remember reading an entry a while back from a blog I follow by Xanadu Gallery owner, Jason Horejs referring to finding a "Bread and Butter" work that propels your art like nothing else.  Mr. Horejs states, "Sometimes this bread and butter work is smaller in size and sells at a lower price point. Sometimes there is something particularly bold or unusual about the work that captures the attention and imagination of potential buyers.... Often the bread and butter work sells as quickly as the artist can produce it."  Reddotblog.com

Last month I happened to be walking through a store and noticed a small display of cowbells.  I looked at the bells for a moment and being the country girl that I am, I thought to myself, "Wouldn't that look cute if I painted a little chicken, a cow or a barn on it?"  I bought one bell and it set in my studio for several weeks.  Finally, last week I talked to my husband and he prepared the surface for me so that it would be easier to paint on and I painted my first little rooster on it.  Within minutes of posting the first image on my Facebook account, the bell had sold and I soon had requests for three more.  This week I have orders for a total of 10 bells and I'm still painting chickens trying to keep up with the orders.  My plan is to have them available on my website and on display at all three galleries that represent my work ( City of the World, Boulder City Art Gallery and Janas Redroom ), but right now I'm just trying to keep up with the Facebook requests.

Today, I had a brain cell and decided to check the competition on the cowbell market and found other sights selling very similar items for $75-125.  Who would have thought.  I'm seriously considering my new pricing structure.  I do believe that I may have found my "LOAF OF BREAD" and it looks like I may just have fallen into a popular niche.  Cowbells will soon be available on my website at JulieTownsendStudio.com.  I will be creating a gallery options dedicated just to this type of art.

Here is a picture that I snapped last night with my phone of my most recent feathered flock pieces finished this week.  3 bells and one original painting on a 6x6 gallery wrapped stretched canvas.

FLOCKS OF FEATHERED FRIENDS

The old saying is true, "Birds of a Feather, Flock Together" but in this case my flock is one of great diversity.  I was sitting here this morning, drinking my McDonalds coffee, considering doing some blog entries that features my artwork in a collection format.  I didn't realize how many times BIRDS are the focus of my painting efforts but I see that I actually have quite a few pieces that feature my feathered friends.  All of these original pieces are available for purchase (except number 4 "On the Hunt" that has found a new home in the Netherlands) on my website at JulieTownsendStudio.com. I hope you enjoy this BIRD VIEWING AREA

Sometimes Life is Pretty Black and White

but I have a tendency to use both colors way too much when it comes to painting.  I have been trying to learn more about color and so I'm really studying the book titled "Color Harmony" by Margaret Kessler.  Ms. Kessler addresses the use of white and black on page 15 where is says that, "If you lighten a color, you reduce its intensity. But, if you do this with tubed white (a cool color) without modifying it with hints of warm color, the result looks chalky" and regarding the use of black or paynes gray to darken a color, Ms Kessler cautions that the result may look boring or unnatural.

Now I do know this and yet this head knowledge sometimes escapes me when I'm in the "Zone" and I'm thoughtlessly dipping my brush too often in both the white and paynes gray.  Repeat after me....Highlights from the sunlight are not really white and shadows cast are not really black or paynes gray.  That is just my lack of understanding of color and letting my preconceived idea of how things appear rather than real observations.

A good example is that of a recent painting I did that I'm calling "Feisty Fowls".  I took the piece to my painting lesson with my friend Lily Adamczyk for a critique and as usual there were a number of corrections that needed to be made and just like homework I took the time to make the suggested changes.

Here is the BEFORE:



Corrections made:
  1.  removed the darkness from their faces. I had used paynes gray...BAD! BAD! BAD! I used burnt sienna and dioxadine purple mixed with the red to give the darker tones to their faces
2.  removed the white...BAD! BAD! BAD! on the edges of the combs and used orange as the highlight instead
3.  brightened the grass with a glazing of thinned yellow green
4.  removed the intersection of the background hills that put the second rooster in the cross hares or bulls-eye.
5.  brightened the stones and squared them up to give them more of the appearance of a stacked stone wall

AFTER:

Sometimes it's CHICKENS and Sometimes it's FEATHERS

A hard reality that I'm certain that most artists have faced is that unless you are independently wealthy most of us actually want to sell our work....Probably so that we can buy more paints and a couple more canvases.  I hear artists talk about "The Good Old Days" before the economy failure and collapse, when there were collectors out there that actually paid money for your artwork.  Unfortunately, during that time period I was busy pushing a 10-key and was stacked up to my eyeballs with paperwork, working as the business administrator for a large private Christian school and church.  Painting was a far distant memory and the dream of being an artist was pushed so far down in my heart that I really didn't even give it serious consideration.

That all changed a couple of years ago when I decided to finally take that drawing class at the local community college.  For years I attended college classes there and online with University of Phoenix but each class always consisted of either being business or accounting related and it wasn't until I had gotten my BSBA did I even think I could take a "FUN" class.  With drawing 101 under my belt, I decided to give some online painting lessons a try so that I could try to resurrect that skill that I had so long let lie dormant. I went through the 12-week landscape lessons presented by Tim Gagnon (timgagnonstudio.com) and my excitement and confidence was reignited and the past three years are history.

So I have been retired from my "day" job for 6 months and now I'm painting full-time.  I've sold a couple of things this year but like all the other artists I know, I want to sell much more.  So I have my work hanging in a little co-op gallery in town and have packed up my "inventory" and hauled it out to a number of art shows.  I've created a nice website and paint almost daily.  I've decided that I'm going to offer smaller pieces that I can produce in less time and hopefully sell in a price range that will entice potential buyers to dig into their wallets.

Yesterday, even though I prefer to paint much larger, I created my first 8x10 masterpiece that I spent about an hour painting.  I chose chickens as the subject matter because I have witnessed the reaction that my fellow artist and friend Anna Norris got from the public when they saw her "Rainbow Roosters".  annanorrisfineart.blogspot.com  So I'm going to be offering 8x10's for about $50 instead of my normal price range of $150-$300.  This piece I think I'm going to call "Chicken Little" and it will be the first of a number of smaller pieces I'm going to paint in the next few months.  I hope you enjoy.

"Chicken Little"- 8x10 Original Oil

Faces and Feathers

At the beginning of April I started an oil painting that I found to be very fun to paint.  Using a reference photo that contained 7 or so roosters full of attitude, perched on a stone wall and the flavor of a favorite Robert Duncan piece I came up with my own creation of the scene.  I even used a palette knife to lay in the stonewall and that is a first for me.  I had to put it aside as I worked on a large commission piece and so this week I was finally able to get back to give these guys some faces and feathers.

I'm trying to remember to use brighter colors and I think that the mountains came out looking pretty good.  Even though they are close I laid the colors loosely and didn't try to focus not as much on detail as impression.  This is a technique I'm going to use again for sure.

I think a nice barn wood frame is in order and as soon as it drys a coat of varnish will finish it up.

If you are interested in purchasing any giclee prints of this particular piece visit my Fine Art America site at:Julie Townsend- Feisty Fowls