Humorous Animals Are Now On Device Cases

After a bit of silence from my little corner of the world I have great news to share… my humorous animal photos are now available on cell phone, iPad and iPad Mini and cases! 

These are my 10 designs:

I'm tickled to see my work applied to a format other than greeting cards.  How fun to have cute and/or sassy animals for cell phones and iPad cases!   It's been quite a challenge to decide which of the 10 designs I want to put on my cell phone and iPad first…  (Oh, if only all our challenges in life were so fun!  Lol…)

The cases are manufactured and marketed by the Keka Case company and are available online.  Each design can be ordered to fit the following:  iPhone 4/4s, iPhone 5, iPhone 5s, 5c, Samsung Galaxy S3, Samsung Galaxy S4, iPad 2/3/4 and iPad Mini.  Oh, and Keka Case has a sale going on for the next two weeks -- 30% off and shipping is free!  Use the coupon code "Gift30" at the checkout.

On another note, I very much appreciate everyone's encouraging comments on my past blog posts and send a special "Hello" to Nini who gently nudged me to hurry up and blog about my current art adventures.  I get busy creating and forget to tell you all what I'm up to!  Nini, I will post more soon… I promise!

Now… off to do more artwork for another project I'm working on.  Sorry… can't tell you much about it just yet… but I'm having a lot of fun with it!  

So, friends… what wonderful creative things are you working on today?

Catching Up

Hello!  It's time to bring you up to speed on the creative happenings in my life the past few months.

The art show back in January went well.  I received wonderful feedback on the pieces I entered in the show.  Unfortunately, I was not able to attend the artists' reception so missed out on the opportunity to meet new people and celebrate participation in my first art show.  Not to worry... there will be more art shows and artists' receptions -- like the one in August that I have just been accepted in to!

I have a few new pieces to share since my last post:

Mount Baker, Watercolour, 6" x 12"  --  SOLD

The "Mount Baker" picture was inspired by the view from Cattle Point in Victoria, BC.  Mount Baker is in Washington State, USA, but on a clear day we can see it from Victoria, Canada.  The paint was barely dry on this piece when someone asked to buy it.

Beauty at Rest, Watercolour, 6" x 12" 

The "Beauty at Rest" watercolour was just accepted in to a local art show to be held during the beginning of August!

Peach Rose, Coloured Pencil and Water Soluble Art Bar, 5" x 7"

I am crazy about roses.  Aren't they amazing flowers?  The "Peach Rose" is another piece accepted in to the August art show.

Inspired by Kristy Patterson of Flying Shoes Art Studio, I have been also playing around with coloured pencil art on old book pages.

Pear, Coloured Pencil on Book Page

Tranquil, Coloured Pencil on Book Page  --  SOLD

Working on pages from old books has its challenges.  I think I prefer the look I get when I put a thin layer of white ink under the coloured pencil.  On the "Pear" piece I used coloured pencil directly on the book page and decided I didn't particularly like how the text showed through.  On the "Tranquil" piece I put a pale white ink wash over the entire page and a slightly more opaque layer of ink under the bird and flower petals.  I prefer how the ink "under painting" mutes down how much of the text shows through.

My camera has been busy, too.  I had opportunity to visit a petting farm full of adorable animals and even more adorable babies - particularly baby goats and rabbits.  Here's a sneak peek at some of the pics.  Perhaps some of these (paired with humorous text) will become future greeting cards!

So there you have it... some of the things that have kept me busy since my last post.  I'm currently working on more watercolour paintings, which I'll share as they get a little further along in the process.  

Hoping all is well in your respective worlds, and that you're finding time to nurture your creativity.

Taking Exciting New Steps...

Here we are at the start of a new calendar year and I can't believe I'm about to enter my first art show!  Wow... how did that happen...??  : )

I've been very inspired by fellow alumni of the "Creative Courage" e-course who have done amazing things like found galleries and shops to sell their work, offered on-line courses of their own, pursued licensing opportunities and secured studio space outside the home.  But I didn't think I could do those things.... at least I didn't think I could to them yet (and I really can't say when I thought would be the best time, either!... lol...).  Fellow watercolour artist, Richard Wong (whose masa paper paintings I introduced you to a few posts back) had encouraged me to join some local art organizations and consider participating in some of their events.  Somewhere along the line, the inspiration and encouragement tipped the scales (in a good way!) and I submitted artwork that was accepted for a local art show in January.  The show is specifically for emerging artists.  Somehow that feels like a gentle way to dip my toes in the local art scene - to display my work along with other new artists who may just be as apprehensive as I am!

What pieces have I entered into the show...?  I thought you'd never ask...  lol...

First is an 11"x17" B&W photo of a maple tree.

I loved the backlighting and how it accentuated the trunk and branches.  When I look at the branches on this tree it reminds me of the branching nature of veins and arteries so I've titled this piece, "Patterns of Life."  

Originally there wasn't going to be a second piece entered, but just a few days before the deadline I finished this watercolour painting and decided I should enter it, too.

This watercolour is 6" x 12" on 140 lb Strathmore cold pressed watercolour paper and I've titled it, "On delicate wings".  Funny, but so many times before it was finished I quite nearly chucked this painting.  It seemed to go through an eternally "ugly" stage and it wasn't until I was nearly finished before I decided I was really rather pleased with how it was turning out.  That's a lesson for me - don't write a painting off too soon!

I tried something a little different with this painting and decided to leave the background with a soft washy look rather than painting in stems and leaves.  My thought was that the soft, blurry background would focus more attention on the detailed wing patterns.  I also tried some different paints.  

One new materials was the Shinhan brand of Sap Green that I used along with my regular Winsor & Newton, Da Vinci and Veniza watercolour paints.  I've read that the Shinhan watercolour pigments are suspended in something other than Gum Arabic and that they behave a bit differently.  While my initial impression is that they do behave a bit differently, I'll have to try the brand again to really know how much differently they behave. What I am pleased with is how intense the Sap Green colour was - it was really a challenge to water the paint down enough to get a light green. 

In the picture above, the Art Bars and paint tube are sitting on a "test piece" on which I tested whether the Shinhan Sap Green would "play nice" with my other watercolour paints.  I love how intense the dark Sap Green is while still maintaining some translucency. 

The other new material I used was some Derwent Art Bars (water soluble).  They are amazing!  Derwent Art Bars and Inktense pencils are going to be a permanent part of my watercolour painting kit.

So that's my exciting news for the start of this new calendar year.  Let's hope the viewing public like the pieces I've entered into the show.  If you happen to be in the Victoria, BC (Canada) area please visit the show!  It's running from January 9 - 20, 2013 at the Coast Collective, 3221 Heatherbell Road.  

I've also checked out upcoming shows... who knows, I just might get brave enough to enter more!

Thank you to everyone who has directly encouraged me or indirectly inspired me to enter this art show.  A special thank you to Stephanie Levy for her "Creative Courage" e-course as it and the support I've found in the discussion group that grew out of that course have greatly contributed to me having the courage to participate in this art show! 

So, what's everyone else going to do that's creatively brave?

: )  Fern