Squarely underway

I have begun two paintings for an upcoming show at the Vienna Arts Center. The show requires the use of 10x10 canvases, and will be hung on February 3rd. I thought it would be an interesting challenge to paint something small and specifically for a show.

I have only worked on the background of this one and need to let it dry before I can proceed to the boy.

I painted over most of this canvas already but will have multiple layers to get it to its final state.

I picked both of these to showcase my figural work depicting children. And they are both so sweet.

 

I also worked on the layout for two other new paintings today and updated my website some more. It has been a busy day.

 

Please head over to my Website and sign up to receive my newsletter.  They will not come out very often but will keep you updated if anything interesting ever happens :) (I sure something will happen).

 

A Fairy, a princess and a fireman....

"Baby Blues" oil on Canvas 12"x12" is complete and awaiting approval by her momma.

So a Princess, a Fairy and a Fireman go to a tea party.... miraculously no dishes were harmed in the making of this picture.

 

Recently my three year old daughter and I have been having a rough time connecting. She has not been listening to me and has been... well acting three. I get so frustrated with her and some days it feels like I am always correcting her or sending her to timeouts. Then I realized we had not been having many special moments together recently. I have been busy with Christmas recovery and business growth. She would act up and I would get frustrated and that would push those connection moments even farther away. So the other night after I sent her to bed for the fourth time in one night I realized I needed to reconnect. I went in to give her an extra hug and to say a prayer together. We prayed for patience and for good listening. Then I asked her if there was anything special we could do together.  Of course a magnificent tea party was in store for the next day.

 

Maybe things have improved...and maybe they haven't but we did have one great tea party.

30 New Canvases

Today I purchased 30 new canvases!
Plaza arts has great a great sale and most of the canvases I picked up were 70% off. I am ready for many new paintings. It is so nice to have such a nice variety of canvases to choose from when I want to start something new.

I also set up a checking account dedicated to my painting business. It feels great to have dedicated funds. I am trying to keep track this year of all expenses and income and this will help.

Today's new painting is the sister to a painting I worked on two years ago. A dear friend of mine wants this one to go on the wall across from the original which I gave her as a present. It is much more responsibility to paint one that has been commissioned even though it is the same size and style. I did the first in one evening but this one will take longer, everything has to be perfect.

I worked a little more on the wedding painting but need to let the thick areas dry for a few days before I can work on it again.

 

Dancing the night away

Tonight I spent working on a wedding painting for a dear friend. There were so many wonderful things about their wedding but something about their shoes during their first dance really seemed to me to capture the evening. Their shoes show such a great combination of retro relaxed and unique, exactly what their wedding was. I am painting thicker than normal on this painting because I feel like the shoes need to have a more expressive paint technique than a normal portrait would. I want the strokes to convey the motion and the energy of their dance.

 

Goose was given the go ahead to eat at the table like a big girl. She was quite a sight with no shirt and only one sock on, covered with soup. The table and chair ended up being quite a mess but she was so proud to be a big girl.

Cleaning to avoid my real Work

This weekend I attended a wonderful workshop "Mastering the Business of Art" with Jill Banks. It is overwhelming to think of all of the things I need to be doing. It is hard to fit painting into my schedule as a mother let alone the hours of marketing needed to make my painting turn into a successful business. Successful Artists spend approximately 50% of their time painting and the other 50% of the time marketing.
I spend 80% of the time cleaning and caring for children and 20% of my time on painting, where are the marketing hours supposed to come from?

If anyone would like to join my mailing list please let me know. Also please share my blog and website with anyone who might be interested. My best marketing comes from all of you and your recommendations and referrals.

Here are some of my commissions and sales from the past year.

"Henry and Tom" 12x16

"Mike Mullins Rocking Chair" 24x24

"Heidi's Grandparents" 16x20

"Tide Pool"  14x18

"Pope Francis" 24x36

 

And two a little older

"Grandpa's Barn" 24x30

"Babes on the Beach" 24x36

When I feel overwhelmed I often have a hard time getting started. I have been putting off painting by cleaning my studio and my supplies.  If I keep putting it off I might start making a dent in the pile of laundry I need to fold. That would make my husband happy!

New Year New Focus

Last year I worked on developing a more regular painting schedule and increased my painting output from 7 completed in 2012, to 21 completed in 2013. I hope to increase that number even more in 2014.

This year I am focusing on developing the business side of being an artist. I have been developing a better records system and have all of my paintings entered into a spreadsheet. I am planning on signing up for a sales tax id, in anticipation of lost of sales. This weekend I am attending a  "Mastering the Business of Art" workshop taught by Jill Banks, a successful local artist whose work I have been following.

The holidays were a joyful mix of traveling, family, celebration. We went to see both sets of grandparents and enjoyed both the farm and the beach. It was a little cold over all but we did have a few warmish dry days in both locations.

One of my presents was a plein air easel.  It was so exciting to go out and paint on site, what a difference this easel makes.

My first plein air painting, "Edge of the Marsh"

 

"Egg Scale" still life

 Quilted Purse Christmas Present

Marion loving on the bunny!

 

Debby Bird Art Website

Busy week with no computer

I have had a very busy week of Christmas preparations. I have been staying out of my studio mostly and instead of painting have been focusing my creative energy on Quilted Christmas Presents. I hope this post does not spoil any surprises.

 

I did get a painting started that is a wedding present for my good friend Sarah. Her wedding was so unique and beautiful I want to capture a small part of what made it so special. The beginning stages of the painting do not even begin to show how cool this couple is, but I hope that once colors and textures start being added it will truly capture something special.

 

I finished up some long overdue baby shower presents, before the baby outgrows them, I guess I had better get them delivered! The dress is an altered onesie and will fit for a long time. The other is a quilted faux chenille burp cloth. It may have been too much time spent on something for a baby to spit up on but hey, It is fun to make something special for babies.

Last year I was working on place mats and table runners for Christmas presents but only managed to complete the ones that were for my Husbands family since I would be with them for Christmas. This year I am trying to get a few of the other ones I had planned / promised completed.
My mom asked for a set of eight place mats. She loves mushrooms and so when I found some perfect backing material at the store with mushrooms I knew what her place mats would be. I picked eight different varieties of mushrooms and appliqued them to the batik background.

 

I use an iron on fusible applique method with Steam a Seam 2 and them sew over the edges.

I also used a fusible batting and ironed the quilt sandwich together instead of basting with thread or pins. This method is so easy and works so well. Sometimes I use the basting spray and have been very happy with that also.

Morel mushrooms and a glimpse of the mushroom backing

 

A detail of my grass quilting pattern.

 

My 1 year old watched the process and decided she needed to help also, suddenly sewing forward became more difficult.

 

Binding sewn on and ready for hand stitching on the back.

 I have also been working on a few more quilting projects. I have one table runner complete, three more nearing completion, one half done and three just started. Also my first quilted purse complete

Whew!

 

The kids have all been enjoying art projects at the table. I love to see them happily engaged in creating together. Goose was so excited to be sitting at the table in a big chair for the first time this week. Unfortunately she has also been climbing up a lot to explore the top of the table and any thing else she can use the chair to reach.

 

Enjoying the Snow

Debby Bird Art Website