Sunset Sail

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"Sunset Sail"

Oil, 6" x 6" on canvas panel.

$200 unframed.

Wow. We had our first "Artists Helping Artists" conference call today and it was wonderful! I love talking with other artists about selling art. We talked about everything ... newsletters, blogs, selling on the internet v. galleries, pricing, etc. We are going to do it again on February 25th so I hope you will join us. See the top right side of my blog for information.

Overlooking USC

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"Overlooking USC"

Oil, 8" x 8" on canvas panel.

$450.00 framed.

I have so many friends that are associated with USC and I wanted to be sure and include a "Trojan" painting in my series this week. So I have done Stanford, Cal and USC. Tomorrow I will finish the Mayfield Senior School painting and then I need to find time to honor my alma mater, UCSB! Go Gauchos!

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"Laguna Coast"

Oil, 11" x 14" on canvas panel

$700.00 framed.

I am posting an older painting (sorry) because I just couldn't get in to my studio today. But I have four days this weekend to paint ... with no interruptions so you will see lots of new paintings, I promise!

Please join me and other artists for our first "Artists Helping Other Artists" conference call this Thursday at 9:00 a.m. PST. All of the call-in information is listed at the top right side of my blog. We will just share ideas and experiences. The topic is "newsletters" but we can really talk about anything you want!

Another Day

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"Another Day"

12" x 24" Oil, on canvas.

$750.00

What a great weekend. We watched Andrew swim and hosted the Stanford swim team for a very large meal! I will be back painting schools and colleges tomorrow, I promise. I know I have painted these two boats a million times but I couldn't resist. Some things just make me happy!

I received a lot of great news about exhibitions as I was accepted into four shows this month. They are:

Pasadena Society of Artist 85th Annual Exhibition

March 17 - April 3, 2010

VIVA Gallery, Sherman Oaks, CA

13261 Moorpark , Sherman Oaks, CA 91423.

My painting "Leaving the Winery” will be in this show.

Pacific Art League “Landscapes” Exhibition

March 5 - 27, 2010

Pacific Art League

668 Ramona Street, Palo Alto, CA 94301

My painting “A Friendly Sail” was juried into this show. Opening reception is Friday, March 5, 6:00 - 9:00 p.m.

Ironstone Vineyards, “Spring Obsession” Art Competition and Show

March 6 - May 2, 2010

My painting “Fields of Daffodils” was juried into this show. Opening reception is Saturday, March 6th from 4 - 6:00 p.m.

Ironstone Vineyards, 1894 Six Mile Road, Murphys, CA 95247 www.ironstonevineyards.com

Women Painters West: One Foot Show

February 6 - 27, 2010

Orlando Gallery, Tarzana CA

18376 Venture Blvd, Tarzana, CA 91356

My painting “Dual Reflections” was juried in to the show.

The View From Berkeley

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"The View From Berkeley"

Oil, 6" x 6" on canvas panel.

$200 unframed.

I am still working on the Mayfield Senior School painting, It is taking me forever ... so I took a break and tried another silhouette. This ended up being a very simple and straightforward painting.

I am off to Bakersfield tomorrow to watch my son swim. Then he will be at USC on Saturday for a big meet. I just found out we are feeding the team here after the meet. I am thrilled!

I have lots of good news on exhibitions for the next few months. More on that later!

End Of A Long Day

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"End Of A Long Day"

Oil, 6" x 6" on canvas panel.

$200.00 unframed.

It has been a long day. I spent last night at the the "sleep center" which is a place you go and sleep ... to determine if you are sleeping correctly. Trust me, trying to sleep with about 50 wires attached to you and a camera on you (!) does not lead to a good night's sleep.

I also agreed to another filming project at my house. They are filming a commercial for Roundy's which is a grocery store in the midwest (that I have never heard of). Has anyone heard of it? The "tech scout" was here today and that took about two hours ... so needless to say I didn't get to my easel until late this afternoon. I started a still life that DID NOT WORK so I went back to my comfort zone ... boats. I tried a silhouette for the first time and I like it. Which is a good thing because there is no way I had any energy left to start another one!

The rest of my paintings this week with be "schools" ... you will see paintings of Berkeley, USC, UCLA and actually Mayfield Senior School which is an all-girls school here in Pasadena. Of course with three boys I do not have any kids that go there ... although I am sure they wish they could!

Overlooking Stanford

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"Overlooking Stanford"

Oil, 6" x 6" on canvas panel.

Sold.

We have been spending every other weekend up at Stanford watching my son swim. Although the weather has been "rainy and freezing" (which is a huge drag when you bike to morning practice in the dark), the campus has never looked more beautiful. I am so jealous ... what an incredible place to spend four great years. I painted this one in honor of all of my Stanford buddies!

After A Long Day

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"After A Long Day"

Oil, 6" x 6" on canvas panel.

$200 unframed.

I really like the bright blue paint that I mixed up for yesterday's painting so I decided to mix up some more! There's something about the dark contrast that really brings out the reds in the boat's reflections.

I am painting larger paintings next week so it is fun to try the different color combinations. We are so lucky as artists ... that we have the liberty to paint whatever we want!

Dual Reflections

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"Dual Reflections"

Oil, 6" x 6", Oil on canvas panel.

$200.00 unframed.

"Artists Helping Artists" - I just signed up for a free conference call service that allows 240 callers to participate on a conference call (for free). My intent is to host bi-monthly "Artist Helping Artists" conference calls. Anybody can call in, the purpose of the call is to share ideas and for artists all over the country to participate! I will post the date, call in time, etc. tomorrow on my blog, but let me know your thoughts. I have some ideas for topics but please post suggestions here! Thanks!

Crossing Meridian

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"Crossing Meridian"

Oil, 14" x 11", Oil on canvas panel.

$500.00 framed.

Today was one of those days that started out busy and then it all came to a grinding halt! I had two exhibitions that I needed to enter and I decided to get them emailed off early, which is unusual for me. Usually I paint in the morning and then I tend to the "busy work" in the afternoon. I also had to ship off a painting to Ironstone Vineyards for their exhibition. I finished that too. Unfortunately when I got home from the post office I realized that rain had caused another power outage in our neighborhood. Since this one lasted from 2:00 p.m. until 9:30 p.m. I couldn't find enough light to paint. The dark clouds outside just made my studio very dark! So, no time to paint today!

I am posting a painting that will be featured tomorrow at the South Pasadena "Meet the Mayor" Reception. The painting was selected for the cover of the South Pasadena Chamber of Commerce Connections Annual Catalog.

Orange Reflections

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"Orange Reflections"

Oil, 6" x 6" on canvas panel.

$200 unframed.

My husband and I spent the weekend up at Stanford watching our son swim in his first Pac-10 meet. It was so much fun and I still can't believe he is swimming in college!

I will be busy for the next six weeks finishing paintings for my upcoming gallery show titled "Headlines". The show opens on April 28th and will be held at the South Pas Gallery. The show will feature 25 paintings which will were all inspired by headlines from past issues of the South Pasadena Review, our wonderful small town newspaper. The displayed paintings will include copies of the newspaper headlines and articles that inspired each painting. I promise to post the paintings on my blog and website as soon as the show opens!

Banana Boat II

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"Banana Boat II"

40" x 30" on canvas.

NFS

I had a hard time photographing this today. I am sure you have heard about the rains in Los angeles. Apparently we had a tornado here too today. The painting was too big to put in my light box so this photo will have to do for now.

We filmed a commercial at our house today which is not something one should really do when it is raining. There were about 50 people here all day and they filmed in our garage, backyard, entryway, family room, living room, staircase and master bedroom. Needless to say, they were everywhere! So I just hid on the third floor (in my studio) and spent more time getting organized, writing thank you notes and painting! Not a bad day! Except for the mud all over my house ...

Fall Reflections in Marblehead

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"Fall Reflections in Marblehead"

Oil, 6" x 6" on canvas panel.

$200.00 unframed.

I have been eyeing this photo for a while and since I absolutely love to paint reflections in water ... I decided to try it! I was worried that there just might be too many bright colors in this one. But I love it. I guess the more colorful, the better. That's my new motto ...

It has been raining nonstop for the last 24 hours and it isn't supposed to stop for at least five days. That is very unusual for Southern California but we do need the rain. Of course we are supposed to film a commercial at our house tomorrow. So that means there will be about 60 people here bringing the mud in to the house ... oh no!

Gone For A Swim

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"Gone For A Swim"

Oil, 6" x 6" on canvas panel.

$200 unframed.

It's been a very busy weekend with baseball and volleyball games all over town. But it finally started raining (and they are predicting tons of rain this week) so this is a perfect time to paint! Sales have been amazing these past few days (sold three paintings on Friday, one yesterday and one today) so I really need to get to my studio. Enough said!

Waiting on a Sunday Morning

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"Waiting On a Sunday Morning"

Oil, 8" x 16" on canvas panel.

$650.00 framed.

I liked the colors from Monday's post so thought I would try another painting using a similar palette. I used the same size canvas as well, just turned it the other direction.

I received some good news this week. My painting "Field of Daffodils" was accepted in to the Ironstone Vineyards "Spring Obsession" Show and my painting "Leaving the Winery" was accepted in to the Pasadena Society of Artists 85th Annual Show at Viva Gallery. I guess it just goes to show you that being organized actually pays off (see post from Tuesday, January 7th)!

A Friendly Sail

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"A Friendly Sail"

Oil, 16" x 8" on canvas panel.

$650.00 framed.

As promised, I decided it was time to paint boats again. It has been way too long and am so glad I went back to my favorite subject matter because I really like this one. I like the format (tall and skinny) and also the colors. Maybe I will paint boats again tomorrow ...

I do have quite a few entries for competitions to paint. Most are landscapes, i.e. city scenes. I will be doing a few Stanford and Palo Alto paintings in the next week so stay posted!

The Middle Child

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"The Middle Child"

Oil, 6" x 8" on canvas panel.

$350 framed.

The title of this painting has a special meaning to me. My maiden name is "Byrd" and I am one of five children, placed right in the middle. When I was growing up I made it well know known that was the "neglected middle child". This was, of course, a complete joke. I grew up in an incredibly loving family and I still consider my siblings as my closest friends. As a kid I was given every opportunity imaginable ... ballet lessons, tap lessons, jazz lessons, singing lessons, acting lessons, piano lessons, sewing classes, cooking classes, ayso soccer, swim team, basketball, volleyball and high jump! Needless to say, I was a far cry from the "neglected middle child".

When I saw this painting I knew had to paint it. I did, however, take the liberty of changing the backwards "middle bird" to a bright red instead of a very pale off-white!

So ... did anyone notice that with all those lessons I took when I was a kid ... none of them were art lessons?

Field of Daffodils

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"Field of Daffodils"

Oil, 11" x 14" on canvas panel.

$700.00 framed.

I kind of went "outside of the box" on this one today and painted a very different subject matter than usual. But it's the new year, and time to try different things every once in a while. It was fun, but I will probably be back to painting boats very soon, so no worries!

For all of you artists out there, I have decided to periodically share my marketing and organization ideas. One of the problems I face with my art business is trying to keep track of upcoming juried competitions and entry deadlines. It seems that I somehow let some critical dates pass and I miss entering my paintings in to some of the better competitions. Recently I created a system that is finally helping me keep track of art competitions. All you need is twelve file folders. Go to http://www.vertex42.com/calendars/printable-calendars.html and download twelve monthly calendars for 2010. Print them on cardstock and then staple each one to the front of a file folder. Label the folders with each month. They should look like this:

Next you need to know which shows are upcoming and when the deadlines for entries occur. I have yet to find one place that lists all of the monthly exhibitions so I periodically go to the following sites:

http://www.cac.ca.gov/artistcall/index.php?sort=deadline

http://www.artshow.com/juriedshows/index.html

http://www.theartlist.com/index.php

http://artdeadlineslist.com/

I have also signed up for periodic emails that send updates about upcoming shows. Whenever I see a competition that sounds interesting, I print the prospectus, enter the submit deadline on the calendar and put the backup information inside the file. I put the current calendar in a file so it stands up on my desk (and stares at me all day)! Every week I go through the files for the current and following month and put post it notes with the names of the paintings that I intend to enter. I also keep track of paintings that I need to finish for upcoming exhibitions. When I send off the entries I check them off on the calendar and then add the notification date to the calendar.

I would love any other suggestions or "improvements" to my system. I hope this is helpful to some of you!

Getting a Good Shot

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"Lazy Friday Afternoon"

6" x 6", Oil on canvas panel.

$200 unframed.

I posted this painting awhile ago and the photograph quality was terrible. I had to photograph it at night and it didn't come out well. So I retook the photo today I am much happier with this one! I finished a painting tonight that I had hoped to post but I think I will wait until tomorrow to photograph it in the day light.

I was back at the apple store today getting tips on resizing photographs. I had an entry for a competition that had to be postmarked today and needed some pointers for my new mac. I also took an hour class on using the "iphone for Business" and they gave a great tip. There is a free App called "Dragon Dictation" which allows you to "speak" into the phone for emails and texts. For those of you that try to get business done in the car, this is a great and safe alternative!

Getting Caught Up

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"Sailing Away"

Oil, 6" x 6"

Sold.

I am sooo sorry that I haven't posted a new painting in a while. But I have been so busy getting organized with my goals and starting off the new year that I haven't had much time to paint. I know it is a lame excuse but I am in that "nesting stage" where I want to be ready for the year before I dive back in to my studio.

I have been working a lot on my website, in fact I was at the Apple store this morning at 7:00am for a tutoring session. I added a page to my website that now offers all of my notecards. I have been sending them out with all of my sold paintings and finally built up an inventory so they are for sale here on my website. I sold 20 today!

I am just about done with my January newsletter and I finished my new filing system that will enable me to FINALLY keep tack of exhibition jury deadlines! I hope I am not getting carried away because it looks like I am going to enter six competitions this month. I might need to change my goal for the year ... since it was only ten!

I also made the leap and decided to offer my paintings on Imagekind. I think it is a nice way to expand my art into the corporate world as framed prints of my artwork are a good alternative for businesses and offices. I just about have that completed so click here for more information.

I am also starting an art class tonight with Jennifer McChristian. She is an amazing painter and I am really hoping to learn a lot from her. I absolutely love her paintings!

I will be back in the studio in the next few days, I promise!