Debut of the Packaged Sets of Cards

The newest cards in my collection hot off the press!!  I have just received from Scott of Art Ink Print the final 12 new cards that I've developed for Winter 2011/2012.  These cards will be packaged in sets of six - three different images per set, two of each image.  Let me introduce the four new "six-packs" of cards.

 

All of the cards shown will also be available on my website for purchase individually (soon... I haven't added them to my website inventory yet 'cause they're so 'hot off the press'!)

So there you have it... over the last three posts I've shown you all the new cards being added to my line this winter.  I hope you like them!

For the past week and a half I've been staying in Phoenix, Arizona (USA) and very much enjoying the sunshine and warmer, drier temperatures.  The good news is, it does seem to be causing some degree of improvement to my health. (Yeah!!!)  I have not done much exploring here yet, but quite soon after I arrived I found a lovely large art supply store and purchased a set of Faber-Castell coloured pencils and some different types of art papers to experiment with. I am really enjoying the feel of the new coloured pencils. 

At the beginning of my trip to Arizona I stopped in Vancouver and the place where I stayed happened to have some trees in the yard which had not yet shed all their leaves. The beautiful coloured leaves inspired me to paint and this is the watercolour I painted while I was there:

A day or so after arriving in Phoenix, I was walking around the neighborhood and came across some fallen leaves that intrigued me.  So I picked some up and set off to paint them, too.

A few days later I brought my new set of coloured pencils home and was rather anxious to try them out... but on what??  The leaves that modeled for the painting above were now curled and dry... What perfect subject matter!

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I certainly never intended to begin a 'leaf series', but here I am having fun drawing and painting leaves.  Let's see what other leaves I might find and be inspired by.

A mental health professional I know e-mailed me today and shared with me something she read about the affect of art on the brain.  I'd like to share the quote with you:

 

The Walter Art Museum in Baltimore is conducting a research project in collaboration with John Hopkins University entitled "Beauty and the Brain: A Neural Approach to Aesthetics." The study aims to understand why the human brain is attracted to artwork. Neuroscientists hypothesize that the brain activates in a special way when we view compelling artwork. Gary Vikan, Director of the Walters, comments "The artist is intuitively a neuroscientist."

Ok, so that's a rather deep concept to wrap one's head around.  But take a moment and think about it. Those of us who are driven to create art are intuitively seeking a kind of 'brain rush' for ourselves and in turn, by sharing our art with others, we trigger a unique response in the brains of our viewers. That's really pretty powerful.  From a scientific perspective it supports the idea that we benefit others as well as ourselves when we create art and share it. Yet another reason to push beyond our fears and courageously produce and share our creativity!

I'll leave you with one other quote to contemplate:

"Anyone who keeps the ability to see beauty never grows old." -- Franz Kafka

Here's to keeping a youthful outlook by appreciating the beauty of creation and sharing our perception of beauty through our creativity.  [Both of the above quotes were taken from the book "Brain Power" by Michael J, Gelb and Kelly Howell, page 133 'Your Brain On Art']

More New Cards

Last post (almost a month ago now!) I promised you I'd share more of the new cards that I've had printed. Where does the time go...?  I intended to post them much sooner than this, but life didn't cooperate with that plan.  : )  So here at long last are the pictures of six others of my new cards!

This is a blank card with no text on the front so it can be used for any occasion

The last card -- the 'Thank you' card with the picture of the hawk on it -- is in response to people asking if I had a thank you card in my line that was more 'manly', or appropriate for giving a man who may not be interested in flowers. Hopefully this one fills the bill!

Last post Helen asked who printed my cards.  I am so thrilled to have my cards produced by Scott of 'Art Ink Print' in Victoria.  Scott runs what I call a 'boutique' print shop, because it's a small operation and is highly specialized. For my photo cards, colour saturation is extremely important to me. Scott understands that and guarantees top quality colour. I can order as few as 50 cards of one digital file.  My cards are printed on environmentally certified papers by a digital on-demand printing press -- a process which creates less waste, requires no harmful chemicals or cleaners and allows exceptional colour control.  And no, you don't have to live in Victoria to do business with Scott -- he can work with artists 'long distance'.

There are more cards yet to come.  People have inquired about packaged cards, such as a package of "Thank You" cards, or packages of cards with no text on them, so I have these new card designs being printed up in the next week and I'll share those images with you soon.

My posts for the next few weeks will be coming to you from Phoenix, Arizona in the United States.  I am enjoying the warmer weather and feel better for it, and am looking forward to the creative boost from being surrounded by an environment very different from the Pacific Northwest.