A treasury and then some...

I am excited to say that, over the weekend, my work was featured in both an Etsy treasury and a blog.

Here's an image of the treasury, "wish me LUCK" by BWinks (my piece is the orange ACEO card with a black cat):

 

Check out my tiny ACEO painting, "Paradigm Shift," on Etsy!

And here is a link to the blog where Mortimer the Monster is hanging out with some other monster buddies:  4 in One.  Thank you, Mariana and Paula!

Kind Words

The person who decided to bring "Daddy Very Long Legs Takes a Trip" and "Espider No Can Bite" into her home was kind enough to leave these notes in the "message to seller" box:

(For "Daddy Very Long Legs Takes a Trip")

Hello! My name is (omitted for privacy) and I am SO IN LOVE with this painting!! I didn't even hesitate. Right into the cart and purchased. I even have the perfect spot in my dining room for him.


I have a special place in my heart for spiders because the first role I ever played on stage was Charlotte in Charlotte's web. I am a professional actress in our local area, so I am quite appreciative I discovered acting through that role. Hence, the lifelong spider appreciation! Plus, they eat the bad bugs.


I was searching for spider artwork when I found your painting. It just spoke to me because he reminds me of my husband! He is so adorable and I just want to be at the bus stop to pick him up and give him a good home. So that is what I am doing. Daddy Very Long Legs is going to live at my place.


Thank you again so much! I cannot wait to see him in person!

(and for "Espider No Can Bite")

Ok I can't help it! I want this one, too! Tell your husband thanks for being so afraid of spiders that it inspired you to create such an adorable one! This one will go on my wall in the kitchen above the sink. Consider me a big fan now!!

First, before I get yelled at, Jake isn't really *afraid* of spiders. He just doesn't like them. At all. I am the official spider-getter in our house... and I say "getter" because I catch them and take them outside. Even (no, *especially*) the big hairy ones.

Anyway, these notes really made my day because it is easy to get attached to artwork that you have made and it is *so* much easier to give it up when you know that it is going to a person who became enamored with it before he or she even saw it in person.

Also, this sort of interaction is part of what makes buying (and selling) handmade so great. She can tell me why she loves the paintings, knowing that I will actually care... that it *matters* to me. You could go to Target and buy a print, but gushing to the person at the register about how much you love it and where you plan to put it would just be weird... and I guarantee that they wouldn't care.

If you ever buy something through Etsy (and I highly recommend that you do because, regardless of your style, you *will* find a truckload of things to love), consider leaving a friendly message to the seller at check-out. You just might make someone's day... twice!  (Once because you liked something they made enough to buy it and then again for showing that you truly appreciate handmade work.)

Always a Bridesmaid...

My slate painting, "Calling Blackbird," has been featured in a number of treasuries, but no one seems to want to take the poor fellow home!  It's just like the poor girl who is always "featured" in weddings, but never gets one of her own.  So sad!  I suppose I can't blame them, though... he sure looks like trouble to me!  Here's the treasury:

I am particularly excited about this treasury, though, because I have long been a fan of the Etsy shop "D.K.J. Art" and one of David's paintings ("Isabella Finds a Way") is also featured in this treasury.  Check out his shop here.  I just love the sweet little bunny riding a raven in flight... what a mischievous little critter she is!

The creator of this treasury, Julie, from Etsy shop Julie Magers Soulen Photography, also has a blog, which you may view here.  I think that she did a wonderful job of selecting pieces for this treasury!  It's right up my alley and such a treat to look at.  I just love ravens!

"Birds of a Feather" Treasury

Etsy seller Lorie Lynn has included my "Calling Blackbird" painting in her latest treasury, "Birds of a Feather."  Here it is!  (And check out her shop as well... she makes some very pretty and unique vintage-inspired jewelry.)

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=128310

I especially love the print on the vintage dictionary page and the "Spring Has Sprung" wall sculpture.  Nice work, everyone!  

A New Perspective

For years, I have neglected the painting projects that truly interested me because I thought that they would never sell.  My ideas always seemed a little too odd, a little too off-color, and a little too intellectual, and a little too eerie for most people's tastes.  The one piece that I completed for myself, I loved... and other people loved... but I found it inexpressibly irritating to repeatedly explain its very specific meaning when viewers asked, only to find that most of them stopped listening halfway through.

I resigned myself to painting landscapes and cutesy little scenes, which I didn't much care for, because they sold.  When I discovered Etsy (through my Mom-in-Law), it was like walking out of a cubical and into a forest.  That may not make much sense, so just imagine your worst, most suffocating work environment and then the best, most inspiring one and you'll know just what I mean.  Browsing through Etsy taught me that the best art for me to make is the kind that I love the most.  Interview after interview with successful sellers expressed the same idea: do what you love, or there is no point in making art.  If you love it, somebody else out there will love it too.

The monster character paintings have been my first foray into painting for the sheer pleasure of it.  For instance, though I haven't sold a single "Frederick the Mum" painting, I keep re-creating the character because he makes me giggle every time I look at him.  Somewhere out there, I'm sure there is someone with the same quirky, morbid sense of humor who will love him as much as I!  Could it be you?
  

"Frederick the Mum with Moths"

Currently, I am looking into having giclee prints made of some new pieces I have done (more on those another day).  I have also started work on a series of paintings that are symbolic of different historical events that have impacted me emotionally.   Finally, I am contemplating a series based on literary works by authors such as Hemingway, Woolf, and Vonnegut (to name a few).

I welcome constructive criticism, comments, questions, and ideas, so please feel free to tell me your thoughts!