Thanks a HOLE PUNCH

I have shared before that one of the little "BRANDING" touches that I use when packaging up my art sales is what I call my "FARM CONFETTI".  I have invested in a couple of paper punches and my favorites are of a cow, a pig and a small heart.  Farm animal paper punches are hard to find and I would LOVE to add a Goat and a Chicken paper punches to my little collection.  You would think these companies would realize how popular farm animals are and get on the "HAY WAGON" and make more designs.

The pig punch is my favorite but, while the PUNCH BUNCH paper punch plunks out pink pigs proficiently (I dare you to say that fast 10 times) it is rather stiff and puts a real strain on the old carpal tunnel.   

On the Punch Bunch website,  they actually sell a lever device that they call their POWER PUNCH for a whopping $60 bucks.  I love my pink pig paper confetti but not that much!

After showing my husband the picture of the "Power Punch", he decides that the thing for him to do is to make me one from all his scrapes of things he has lying around in his garage.  So while it might not be as "PRETTY" as the one selling on the Punch Bunch website, this device works just as well.  

I can now PUNCH PINK PIGS to my hearts content.  I just have to say that my husband is so supportive of my artwork that I just had to do some BRAD BRAGGING today.  THANKS A HOLE PUNCH HONEY!

The Start of Something Big....

So as part of my Year Of Art in 2016, I want to create a portfolio of sketches.  Don't worry, I will continue to paint on canvases and cowbells,  but I want to develop my skills in the illustration arena.  I've been reading a number of articles about getting your art licensed and this thought excites me. The one e-book suggests that you take 3-6 months and develop a portfolio of ideas so that you can share them with potential companies that buy art for licensing.  I will make a little confession here that a secret dream of mine for years has been to have my art published on a Leaning Tree card so art licensing has been a goal of mine long time.

The last several days I have been a bit under the weather, so yesterday I brought all my drawing supplies out of the studio and arranged them near the sofa and the warmth of the wood stove.  I spent a good portion of the day drinking hot tea, watching movies, drawing and trying to stay warm.  The result of these efforts is a little 5x7 sketch that I'm calling "Take the Time to Enjoy a Good Book".  I think this idea has potential to make a cute card.

"Take Time to Enjoy a Good Book"- 

So my first sketch for my portfolio is almost finished.  I need to decide if I should do something to the background at this point.  I don't want to distract from the book but if I put a light color for the background then the book might actually stand out more.  It a lot of light colors so I can see a beige watercolor wash perhaps.

Here are some other recent drawings I have done for my darling grandchildren for their birthdays. I'm trying to create a unique piece of art for each grandchild as part of their birthday gift from me.  I never liked buy cards from the rack and so I thought it would be much better if I tried to create them something special.  These are the three 3 year old grandchildren and I had so much fun turning them each into little cartoon characters.

JoJoda....The Force is Strong With This One!

Katherine- and her "Lovely Lime Green Tutu"

"It's a Bird, It's a Plane...no It's Super Noah"

Designated Drawing Spaces

Just in these past few weeks, I discovered a new artist friend that I have found to be very inspiring.  It is Katherine Thomas and her whimsical drawings immediately caught my attention.  She is also an successful blogger and uses a number of social media platforms to promote her art.  I find that combination very cool and something I want to work to improve in my own quest for self-promotion.

Last week I saw a picture that she posted on Facebook of her sitting at her drawing table and that was when I decided I needed to reorganize my studio and make a designated drawing area along side of my easel. Drawing has always been my first love in art and I passionately believe that you are a better painter if you spend time actively drawing on a regular basis.  

So, I spent a good portion of my day on Sunday organizing and cleaning the studio and  I am pretty happy with the ending results.  Even though it was getting late in the day when I finally finished and I was a bit worn out, I just had to try out my drawing table and do some sketching.

Here are the results of those efforts. My subject for my sketch was a little selfie of my husband and I.  Portraits are always a challenge and drawing a self portrait compounds that challenge.  I drew this on Canson 96lb Bristol paper with my Prismacolor Fine Line Markers and Prismacolor Colored Pencils. 

Looking at my little sketch makes me smile.

I guess you could say I'm a Prismacolor girl since obviously  I own so many of their products.