Featuring Brooklyn, NY

My art seems to be really starting to take off! Lately I have been getting 1-2 commissioned works per month, with more and more interest from people. I just completed one called "Brooklyn" for a friend at work and am now working on a family photo collage painting for another friend.



I also just sent out my first newsletter with 20 subscribers. I already have more subscribers for the next one, and will be sending out my second newsletter on May 1st. If you missed the first newsletter, here's a link to it (just copy and paste it in your browser): http://us2.campaign-archive1.com/?u=eb288c707a9b697a0c1224f4e&id=0800518a1b

There is an art show coming up in San Diego on June 4th called The Art Collaboration. It will be with True Delorenzo, myself and an amazing band called Boombox Renaissance. I hope to see you all there!

Latest Mixed Media Painting

Questioning how to make this work

I started this art blog with one purpose in mind: to help other artists make it on their own, without having to wait to "be discovered" or some such thing.

I've struggled with everything, including putting on art shows, getting a website, getting business cards, getting my name out there, getting prints made of my art, etc. I've asked other artists for help, but rarely gotten any good suggestions. I don't know if they just had more start up money than I did, or if they had someone else helping them along the way.

I cannot call myself a successful artist yet, so maybe people don't consider the information I'm passing along useful, since I haven't made it yet. But I will tell you this: I have been getting more and more orders for my art every month, without having to work as hard for it as I originally did. So I must be doing something right. I just wish I could accomplish what I want faster.

So far not many people are reading my blog, which I attribute to either me not promoting it well enough, or the information in it not being interesting enough. I would love some feedback on this, if you would please. I am also always available to answer any questions, if you wish. Thank you for taking the time to read this.

I Am Officially a Business Owner

This may not seem like an intersting blog post, but I had to write it anyway because I'm SOOOO excited about it. I am now officially a business owner. This week I have gotten my EIN, my business license, my seller's permit, and a business checking account for myself as an artist.

One might wonder why you would need those things, but what it means is I can now go to street fairs, art walks, farmer's markets, etc. and sell my art. This is BIG. This opens so many doors for me!

I am working on getting into a few local farmer's markets. So far I have emailed the directors of three farmer's markets to see what I need to do to become a vendor. So far no response. I will probably end up just going directly to the farmer's market, finding the director and filling out a vendor application.

I will keep you guys updated on how it goes as I get physically out into the world with my art!

LA and SD Art Shows

I haven't written on here in over 2 months! I have been super busy but that's no excuse.

So...Art show in LA on Oct 9th: There were a TON of people there, but mostly to see the band. To be honest the show kind of got out of my control and became a concert with art on the walls. From this I learned some good lessons: 1. Secure the location and the artists, then decide if you want a live band and 2. You really have to have music and a crowd that goes along with art.

Above is my art display in LA, below is Jamie Fisher's amazing photography (FishyFoto.com):

And this is Brian Anger's amazing photography (facebook.com/badigitalarts):

Though it was a lot of work and was relatively expensive, I did sell several paintings and I came out a bit ahead. Either way, it was fun, a learning experience, and some good promotion.

Art show in San Diego, November 13th: This art show was a LOT of fun, there was a good amount of people, wine, a very relaxed setting, with a chill, acoustic band at the end. Overall the show was great. Unfortunately....I didn't sell any paintings. BUT, I did get some good promotion out of it and I learned several things that I can correct for the next one, including how to present my art better and how to be more interactive as an artist. I also learned that the next time I have an art show, I need to specifically delegate people to help me set up and break down, or I go crazy.

Above is some of my art and below is some of True's art:

Overall, the shows were great promotion and great learning experiences.

My Secret Image Transfer Technique

I never thought it would be hard to write about some special "skill" you have or thing you've figure out that probably no one else knows, but I guess it's kind of like having a secret recipe. You want to have the best pie in the world and not have anyone else be able to duplicate it.

Well, I started this blog with the purpose of maybe helping other artists become better by teaching them what I've learned so maybe they don't have to waste a bunch of time trying a million things out. So I will share my "secret" technique.

Initially I looked all over the web for the best way to transfer an image onto a painting. None of the explanations of how to do it were good enough. They all kind of made sense but they were missing a step, so it never completely came out right. So I decided to try my own technique.

1. Print out the image you want on tracing paper and let the ink completely dry. You have to be pretty careful because the ink will smudge very easily. You may have to reprint it if the printer smudges the ink.

2. Put a thin, even layer of gloss gel (I use medium gel brilliant, Liquitex brand).

3. Slowly lay the image on top of it and press out the wrinkles as best as possible. You have to be very careful on this part so you don't smear the ink from your image.

4. Once you've pasted your image on, spray the top of the image with a varnish. I use an acrylic/oil/alkyd varnish - Winsor & Newton brand.

5. After that's dry, you can paint over it, paste over it, put a gloss gel over it, etc. and the ink won't smear. The image will be translucent and you can blend it in with the painting very well.

"Seattle" painting

This was my largest painting yet! It's acrylic on 36x24 canvas. The awesome thing was it sold before I was even finished with it!

It's based off of an amazing photo my husband took from the ferry going across Seattle bay. Let me know what you think!