Three cheers for daylight savings!

I've just realised how much work I have to get through before the end of year. I have two jewelry orders (pendants and a cat brooch) plus two for paintings (a donkey and a pop art Elvis painting) as well as trying to keep stock in the two shops and prepare for the Christmas sale at Creative Hastings. Thank goodness for St John's Wort pills- I can feel the little me in my head running around in panic mode but can't feel the stress anywhere else. I will just have to work more hours and so three cheers for daylight savings!

Fish and Abstracts

Whenever I receive a folder of work back from my tutor she photographs works that are too large to scan which proves very helpful. In the last folio I'd included a fish collage I had done(my first). The exercise was to find a magazine photo and break it down into basic colours and then paint pieces of paper to match. She has suggested I can develop this fishy theme in other aspects of my work including my jewellery.

The other work Irene featured was an abstract from an exercise earlier in my course. Recently we were taught to mount paintings on card and then frame them cheaply with corrugated cardboard so I decided to do this with the red painting. Funnily enough this work is a favourite of a visitor who has asked to buy it.

Otherwise I have been busy sending out the Spring issue of Loosely Speaking for the EDFNZ and revamping The Menagerie website. It was the first site I ever built way back in 1999 and is a good example of all the mistakes you first make when you start in web design. I am turning it into a basic bread and butter site with a clean look (I hope) and cohesive theme.

Unexpected Advertising

Two pieces of mail of interest arrived yesterday. Firstly "Country Scene" the free rural newspaper that is distributed throughout Hawkes Bay published a piece on Kim Priest and Waddle Inn in Otane. Good photo of her alpacas and also shows the shop where my work is being sold. Hopefully it will drum up alot of business for her.



Secondly "Paw Print" the newsletter of the Central Shetland Sheepdog Club must have got hold of a copy of the South Island newsletter that reprinted one of my articles. Embarrassingly they have given me a free advertisement with a link to one of my websites.

ATCs Versus ACEOs

I had no idea that there was some controversy over artists selling ATCs (Artists Trading Cards) as ACEOs (Art Cards Editions and Originals) on Ebay. These small cards are 2.5" by 3.5" in size and were originally conceived as small original works of art artists could swap with each other. However a few took it further and began selling them albeit under another name as ACEOs. It now seems a few ATC purists resent this and feel these artists are cashing in on the growing trend.

It's really sad when artists begin bashing each other, even saying that art should not be sold. How would the rest of us get on if we couldn't sell our work? I for one don't want to be a starving artist. A better overview of the situation can be found on Emily Dimov-Gottshall's blog.

I've sold a couple of ACEOs on Ebay and swapped a couple with artists on Zen After Hours which is one of my favourite Yahoo groups. I honestly feel people appreciate your art a lot more if they have to pay for it. Whenever I've given work away there's been either a deafening silence or else a luke warm reaction which is why I don't like doing it anymore. Plus I have to eat!

Bits and Pieces

Morning in town today. Had to find an old picture frame to decorate for my course. Went to a second hand trader who had quite a few pictures but they were quite highly priced. However when I went into another area of the shop I saw a good sized wooden frame hanging on the wall. Turquoise and covered with gold stars it was only priced at $5 so grabbed it. Then went to Mitre 10 and made the mistake of asking for Hi Build to plaster it with. One assistant was totally sceptical that there was any such thing but an older guy came out and suggested a similar product he had used called One Time which he feels will do the job.

Took two more cat brooches into the The Craftsman to replace those sold a fortnight ago and found the one remaining calico cat brooch had gone the day after my demonstration. Maureen felt that it may have been bought by someone who saw me paint that Sunday.

The mail this afternoon brought info about the 2006 Creative Hastings Christmas Sale. Can't believe it has come up so quickly. I have indicated what I would like to sell and will send the form back tomorrow. Very very busy time coming up.

Going back through my art records I found this pointillist drawing I did several years ago for The Young Theosophist magazine. Never received the original back so had to scan from a copy. I really enjoyed doing this drawing- donkey's have such character.

Painting Demonstration

Yesterday was a beautiful hot day although we were warned that the ozone layer was at a dangerously low level and to watch out when we were in the sun. I was a bit tired as I'd already spent all day Saturday finishing up three cat brooches for Waddle Inn Carding's shop in Otane as I had promised Kim that I would drop a box of stuff off for her at her Mum's place in Taradale after my demonstration on Sunday. Also did a run of cards from my patchwork animal series so it will be interesting to see how these sell down there as Otane is an arty community with a pretty active quilting group.

Got down to The Craftsman at 10.25am and was sitting painting at a table just inside the front door by 10.30am. There were many people in the street enjoying the entertainment (a band played once, a man wandered the streets playing a saxophone etc.) and the outside stalls were creating a lot of interest with people searching for bargains.

Maureen and Bob kept me supplied with cups of tea throughout the day. There were quite a few customers doing early Christmas shopping although I don't know how they managed to keep their tempers with some tourists who were trying to haggle down the prices on the sales pieces. They seemed to be there a long time chattering in their own language except when they were insisting "You sell me for $2". Considering they were only buying cheap items I felt they were pretty cheeky but I guess this is the way it's done overseas.

I managed to finish a tiger pendant during my time there and half finished a tuxedo cat brooch. Found kids were fascinated by the process and three prepubescent girls kept coming back in the shop to see how the work was progressing. One lady took a card as she is keen for a larger painting of her black lab. In the slow periods either Maureen or Bob would have a chat so the time passed extremely quickly.

Fortunately last week they'd sold a sheep pendant plus two cat brooches so it was worth going in just to hear that. As they're gradually shifting the focus of the shop from gift items to souvenirs Maureen has asked me to paint items with native birds and flowers and other New Zealand themed subjects as this is what tourists like buying.

Got home at about 3pm very tired but the phone went just as I got inside with an upset friend so talked to her for half an hour. Another had left a message so I rang her back and carried the phone round while I saw to the animals outside. Kept nodding off all evening so made it an early night. Can barely move around this morning but it is worth the hassle as getting out in public like that does give you a good idea as to whether people like your work or not.

Mishka Is In Print

A few weeks ago a lady from the South Island Sheltie Club contacted me asking if she could reprint my article "Puppy Love" in their newsletter. This story is about my dog Mishka and the joys of raising him- I have no doubt some of the breeders will roar with laughter at my mistakes! Anyway this week Leonie the editor kindly sent me a copy of the newsletter. There'll be no living with Mish now.

CafePress

After speaking to some other artists about my work it was suggested that my paintings would suit being put on other objects such as t-shirts, mugs etc. I have therefore opened my own CafePress Store. At the moment I only have one design up there but I'm going to add four more over the next week.

Trademe Mafia Strikes

I am pretty angry that after five and a half years of selling my artwork on Trademe (the NZ version of Ebay) I have had them tell me I can't ask for commissioned work. For a few years I have run auctions for getting your pet painted on a stone, pendant etc. and have obtained work this way. Well since I have just received a hefty bill for my cat Demelza I thought I would run three auctions for having a pet rabbit, dog and cat painted on a pendant. I had watchers on all three auctions when Trademe withdrew them on Wednesday as they said you're not allowed to advertise services. However I found in their terms that you are allowed as long as you request a photograph so I wrote back and put this to them but only received this in reply:

Regarding our withdrawal of auction 69317851 they have been withdrawn because it is a breech of our listing policies to sell made to order items. Basically selling services has no legal precedent in an on-line
auction environment and leaves buyer and sellers without rights in the
event of a dispute. For this reason we do not allow services or made to
order items on the site.

I am sorry but these items are not of a format that can be sold on this site, any attempts made to bypass this policy will be withdrawn as well.

So looks like they change the rules to suit themselves as I know of people making made to order items and selling them through that site. So yet another chunk of my income has been eroded away............

Brooch For Sale

I went into The Craftsman yesterday to finalize arrangements for painting there on the 24th September. Just as well I did as they had sold one of my pendants- a blue butterfly painted on paua. I have taken three cat brooches in as well so hope someone gets carried away with some early Christmas shopping.

Finished another brooch which I have posted for sale on my website. Need to get down to putting more work up there as people are thinking gifts even at this time of the year.

The Shearing Shed

Have been finishing up some spinning for The Shearing Shed at Waitomo. Used to work for Heather a few years ago before 9/11 slowed down the tourist trade in NZ and she laid off all her outworkers. However I still had some of her angora and yarn left so she asked me recently to finish it up and send it along. I also decided to make her a gift and painted one of her beautiful German Angora rabbits on a pendant.

The Shearing Shed is situated on Waitomo Caves Road and is a great tourist attraction as each day a few of Heather's 350 angora rabbits are brought down to the shop and shorn of their coats to the great amusement of overseas visitors. Yarn and high quality knitting featuring her angora fibre are also available for sale. Heather has always been extremely helpful with advice concerning my own angora rabbits which I am grateful for.

Date For Festival Confirmed

Suffering from a headcold this week- winter's last little gift before it ends later this week. Haven't felt like doing much else but reading in the sun.

Last week the date for my day at The Craftsman was confirmed. I will be painting there on the 24th September 2006 between 11am and 2.00pm which is the last day of the Hawkes Bay Spring Festival. For further information Bob and Maureen can be contacted at 169 Gloucester Street, Taradale, Napier Ph.06-844-7514.

I took some of my small paintings into The Flying Pig Gallery in Napier to see if the owner could give me a better idea about pricing them. She suggested selling them in sets may be a better option, the tiger head one in particular she felt would be good in an endangered species series. Anyway I have repriced all my recent paintings and they're for sale on Passion For Paint.

Mask

One exercise for my course was face casting with plaster bandages before making a plaster of paris positive and then a papier mache mask from this. Here is my mask: it is as I envisaged it although I'm not sure if I like it or not.

Bummed Out

Heard Thursday that not one of my paintings sold at The Affordable Art Show last weekend. What's worse is that no one said they saw my work there at all. Very disappointed.

Paint Effects

Still no word as to whether I sold any of my three paintings at The Affordable Art Show in Wellington last week but by all reports (including an article in The Dominion) it was a record breaker with 9,000 people attending.

I have been making cat brooches for the Otane venture plus I've finally uploaded images of some paint effects I have undertaken as part of my course. My favourite was ragrolling where I basecoated an old manilla folder with several layers of deep purple before rolling gold paint over the top.



The second was marbling or a faux marble paint effect. This was achieved by basecoating in white then laying in pale grey streaks with acrylic gloss medium several times. The last layer I added some darker veins in Payne's Grey before blending with a fan brush. I know you're meant to use a feather but my cats have eaten my feather collection and short of denuding my chickens' rear ends I will have to remain featherless until the big moult late next summer.



The third effect was Lapis Lazuli where I used two different shades of blue then a little white before flicking gold over the picture. Not sure how accurate it is but it looks pretty!

New Projects

Finally finished a jewellery order for someone in the US and this should be sent out next week. Also have been contacted by someone I met at the Creative Fibre Festival in Taradale this year who is opening up a shop in Otane, Central Hawkes Bay in early August and she has asked me to supply her with anything I have so I need to get painting. Unfortunately my thumb is still pretty raw where my house rabbit Muggles bit it on Sunday so I'm not able to do much.

Also The Affordable Art Show begins tomorrow (3 August 2006) and I just found a page with all the exhibiting artists. I'm number 811.

Paintings For Sale

I haven't been able to update my blog for over a week as the bad weather put my phone out and Telecom didn't feel it necessary to repair the lines for seven days. Yes I am pretty annoyed.

Anyway I decided to bit the bullet and put one of my miniature paintings up on Ebay. It's the small Tiger Head that I sent to the Original Art Sale. The rest of my paintings are for sale on Passion For Paint.

Otherwise I have been continuing to enjoy working with charcoal in my diploma course. This first sketch was a warm up exercise. I have had her propped up on the piano in my sitting room all week as I do with much of my work.



The second sketch was an exercise where we had to draw a grid and then distort it to follow the contours of a face before drawing the face in behind. This worked better than I hoped.

Bunny Book

Have had a traumatic couple of days due to someone trashing my car. It amazes me the morons who populate this world.

However onto more pleasant subjects I received a book from Australia yesterday afternoon. Last year a rabbit breeder rang me to ask if I would read the manuscript of a book she was writing. I agreed to do this and she mailed a CD over which I spent a few days reading. I had no hesitation recommending it as a great guide for rabbit owners. Christine must be so thrilled that it's published!



What was particularly thrilling was that she had included my recommendation in the front of the book along with those from a couple of vets, a couple of Aussie rabbit breeders and my friend Pauline Taylor, Vice President of the RCNZ. I hope it sells well for her.

Strike out

I got "the call" yesterday from The Original Art Sale in Auckland to say that not one of my paintings sold! All four were on display on Saturday and I saw a photo of two of them Sunday so had assumed that at least two had sold but no such luck. Fortunately or unfortunately depending on what way you look at it many other people didn't sell anything either.

Fortunately I have commissions to work on at the moment so the blow to my confidence is not a terminal one!

Selection

June 30 was the final day to find out whether or not you'd been accepted for The Affordable Art Show and I still hadn't heard. I emailed the organizer late Friday and within a half hour had a reply to say that I had been selected but the letter must have gone astray so she was sending another copy. I had been having major doubts before this as I had heard that 1200 artists had applied but only 700 were going to be accepted so I'm thrilled.

Anyway despite the show not being on till early August all art work has to be couriered down next week so have to get my three paintings packaged up ready to go. All in all I will have seven works out in shows so fingers crossed that something sells.

I am back completing jewelry orders now and also have a painting to complete for a US buyer so need to get onto that in the holiday break which begins tomorrow.