Enhancing Your Environment

Enhance your environment is what Laura Howard does at Decorative Designs in Ocala, FL. You see her in the photo above (left) with one of our students, Lea. Carlynne and I and several of our students recently took advantage of the opportunity to see what Laura and her crew do at an event held at her studio on SR 200 in Ocala. It was a fantastic Artists Date for us (for an explanation of Artists Date see Julia Cameron's book The Artist's Way). Laura has many creative experts working for and with her and she herself has a huge amount of specialized training in faux finishes and other artistic mediums. She has trained in many places in the US as well as Italy and has over two decades of experience. Her showroom is a decorator and artists delight, a playground devoted to creative endeavors.

Here you see some of Laura's helpers at the desk with samples of faux finishes behind them. According to their website, "the possibilities are limited only by your imagination." And indeed I was amazed at what they can do with materials very similar to the ones we use on canvas. This photo shows a demonstration of applying Venetian Plaster. It was absolutly inspiring to see the textures and finishes achieved and all the exciting materials available at their location. They have all the supplies you need to enhance your environment, from faux finishes to murals, trompe l'oeil, marbeling, to texture appliactions or they can do it for you, custom designed to your wishes.

Decorative Desings is an incredbily creative place. Here you can see Diane and Carlynne examining some of the results. I was astounded at the faux marble and the textures created with a product called Wood Icing. We are now playing with a glazing cream we purchased from Laura. I strongly recommend that you join their email list and find out about classes and free demos. Here is a link to their site Visit them and enjoy. And watch here for more info on some of our favorite and most inspiring creative people. As we work on getting the word out about our work and studio, we'd like to feature the work of other artists also. We want to do this every Wednesday and call it Word Out Wednesday. If there is an artist you would like to see on our blog please let us know.

I wish you peace and creativity, Kelli

What floats your boat?

Rocks are inspiring, intriguing and mysterious. They sit around in the studio, I pick them up and listen to the sound of them hitting each other as I juggle a few in the palm of my hand. My fingers rub the smooth surface and wonder how I can make them part of the next painting.

I love the look of buttons in a jar. Some are big and flat, some are little and thick. 4 holes or 2 did they live on a shirt or a jacket? Did the little shiny white one live alone on the back of a little girl's dress?

The line up of spools waiting for their contents to be unwound and reshaped into who knows what.....

My brushes with evidence of washes past call to me. Some of the ferrels are getting rusty but it constrasts so nicely with the blue that doesn't want to let go.

The soft flowing paint that I pushed around with a knife now sits raised and stiff revealing itself after the grit of sandpaper brings back the ridges of color.




*Well, I tried to get creative with the layout and it didn't work, hence the weird spacing.

Finished! TV Project #2

e-flaxbow

Kelli Money Huff

Hey All,

I finally finished the second project in my Work of Art: The Next Great Artist challenge. As you may know from previous posts, I am using the television reality series as a way to stimulate my creative muse by doing all the projects assigned to the TV artists. I am waaaaaaay behind them, they are now doing the 5th project and I have just finished #2. However, as I mentioned before, my goal is different and I am not eligible to win the $100,000 that they are competing for.

The title of this episode is The Shape of Things to Come and it is a sculpture to be built from appliance/electronic junk. This is my interpretation of that challenge. Below is the inspiration for my piece.



This photo depicts a Flax Bow, a American Paiute totem that was hung in the homes of tribal members and was believed to promote harmony and good communication between family and household members. As I was looking at the junk that I had accumulated to work with, it occurred to me that the ubiquitous electronic stuff that most of us now have cluttering up our homes and our lives are all mostly about communication. (Does anyone ever have enough electrical outlets?)



Of course, true to my usual methods, this idea came to me in the middle of the night. While it is frustrating and even scary to not have any creative purpose, it is annoying to have it constantly visit in the night. I would like some sleep, thank you very much!!



Finding extremely little information on Flax Bows, even on the Internet, this was the only photo available and I am drawing my own conclusions about the name. My research turned up the fact that the Paiute used flax for weaving and other purposes and it appears that the lower part of the Flax Bow is made of strands of flax. The top which it hangs from is bow shaped. Thus that is where I believe the name came from. My piece derives it's name (e-flaxbow) from the electronic connection. Pun intended.



I like to use symbolism in my work and this piece is no exception. CD's, DVD's, cell phones, a keyboard, a mouse, and an intercom, form the whole concept of communication, both with the people in the home as well as good harmony with the electronics. The weaving which takes the place of the flax on both sides hanging down, is symbolic of the grid, both electrical and the Internet grid that is a vital and indispensable part of our lives. Numerous cables and wires of all types bind all the elements together.



You may have guessed that this is not my usual media or genre, however, I did enjoy this and even became excited about my idea. The next challenge is to create a book cover for a classic novel. I am using a book that holds lots of personal meaning for myself and my daughter, Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery. Thanks to ennadoolf, one of our blog readers, for the idea.



As always I welcome your comments and ideas. Wish me luck.
Peace, love and creativity.

Kelli

The Art Faeries Have Spoken

Hi All,

As I reported last time I blogged, my creative well has been dry of late. I have felt that something was about to happen, but it was coming much too slowly for my taste. I am visiting gallery and museum exhibitions and reading about art to become inspired. I also look at a lot of art online but nothing really spoke to me until I watched the first episode of "Work of Art: the Next Great Artist."

I had TiVoed this program and decided to watch that day because I was feeling particularly low and needed some pleasure, some amusement, whether it related to art or not. I was pleased that they had done a good job with the format, at least in my opinion. I was prepared to not like it and was pleasantly surprised at the diversity of artists and the opinions of the judges. The first challenge of the competition was a portrait of one of their colleagues. There was a 13 hour time constraint and they worked in what I can only describe as a dream studio with what appeared to be a private art supply store, aka artist heaven. My only complaint was I wanted MORE. More of the previous work the artists had done, more about their thinking and process, more time on the screen for everything. We artists are a visual lot, we need a longer time to SEE things and examine in detail.

About half way through the program, I threw back my blanket (I had been cocooning on my bed wrapped in a blanket, no energy whatsoever) and sat upright, (light bulb over my head). I suddenly was full of ambition and ideas. My lethargy was instantly gone as I realized I had what I had been looking for. The Art Faeries had spoken and I, too, would meet each challenge that the TV artists were doing. I would take each assignment and follow it, on my own, to the best of my ability. This would get me out of my artists block, my slump, my rut. I would do all 10 (!!??) projects and see what happens. My hope is that I will be inspired by a new media, a subject, a process, an assignment that made me think outside my comfort zone.

My next thought was, oh, no the first project is a portrait and had not done one in awhile and had no interest in doing so. Then I said to myself, oh well, if you are going to do it, you will have to do them all. (Good-by comfort zone.) When I told my creative partner and fellow blogger, Carlynne that I was doing a portrait of her and why, her first question was "Are you going to set the same time limit?" Oooh, leave it to her to cut right to the heart of the matter. My answer was, well, uh, .....no. My purpose is different than theirs. For me it is not a competition but a way out of a creative dry spell. I also have a life. While I would love to be in their position, living in a hotel in NYC and doing nothing but making art all day on someone else's dime, I live in a town called the Real World. (Why do they always call these "reality shows?") I am assuming that the artists on Work of Art do not grocery shop or even cook for themselves, and I believe the extent of their chores is brushing their teeth and showering (optional). I, on the other hand have other obligations, too many. So, I am going to try to do most of each assignment in a week, but if I take longer, oh well.

I will document my journey in this blog and fill you in on all the (gory?) details. This is my commitment to you, dear reader:

1. I will work each project as described on the TV program to best of my ability to acquire the materials and equipment needed. When necessary I will improvise with something similar.

2. I may not take every project to final completion before beginning another, but I promise to show all results here, even if it's crap. (I really hope you appreciate that one. Rest in peace, comfort zone.)

3. I will try to describe my technique as well as my thought process as I go along and I welcome your feedback. In fact, I would love to hear from anyone who decides to accept this challenge with me.

Well, there you have it. Oh, about the photo above. A blank canvas. For us, that is where it all starts. Wish me luck.

Peace and creativity,

Kelli

It's All About Me

As you may know from my last few blogs (and yes I know it's been awhile) I have not been able to paint recently. It just seems that my well is dry. I am not sure why. I feel there is something coming for me that will change the way I work and I am trying to be patient and do a lot of writing (sorry, some of it's personal) and not get depressed about feeling so empty. Writing is another creative activity and right now I am putting my angst into words instead of pictures. I feel that the painting will return eventually.

The other thing I am doing is observing my environment. I am mesmerized by the flowers and trees in bloom all around town. I had to share these with you from downtown Ocala. I am also going to visit a few art exhibits this week for some inspiration. I just hope the Art Faeries don't take too long to decide my fate because we creative types can be very impatient at times.

I want to thank my creative partner and blog associate, Carlynne for continuing to keep our blog going in spite of my inability to express myself of late. If you have not been following, she is working on a series of paintings that I think are her most important work yet. The series (as yet unnamed) is about adoption, the good, the bad and the ugly. She is a first (birth) mother and I am an adoptive mother, so I have followed her journey very closely and can't wait to see what is next in the series. Check out previous posts for more info.

While I am thanking people, let me say I am overwhelmed by the birthday wishes I am receiving on Face Book. Wow!!! Thank you so much to all who took the time to send me a message. It really made my day!

Peace and love

Kelli

I really want to know...

Good morning! What a pretty day, finally some sunshine. We've had nothing but rain for the last few days and it was starting to get depressing. So, happy day and favorite things. Today I just thought I'd show you some of my favorite things - books. One of the first things I do when visiting an artist is check out the book shelf to see which art books they like to keep around. Here's a few of the shelves in my office. What are your favorite books? I'd really like to know, just call me nosy.

My own version of our book cover photo. These seem to be the colors I'm attracted to at the moment. Maybe I've been willing spring to come by using these colors all winter. Apparently I haven't done a very good job - this has been the longest, coldest winter we've had in Florida in many, many years!

Collage and creativity.... of course notice the 3rd book from the left. :D

Landscape and light.

Many colored pencil books of course......

Acrylic and abstraction.

Now all I need is a cup of coffee and my comfy chair - I'll get some inspiration and then unwrap those two new canvases I brought home yesterday. Hope you all have a lovely day!

Peace,

Carlynne

New Work

This is going to be a new beach piece, eventually, trust me, it will be. I know it doesn't look much like the other beach pieces yet, but this one is a little different than the previous ones in this series. And you will get to see the process as it goes through transformation several times.







Here is a close up of the textures. The color is a little warmer than this photo, it's actually more of a soft burnt sienna. (Wow, what's with me and burnt sienna? I even drive a Toyota sienna.) It already has about 6 layers on it, including raw sienna, iridescent medium and burnt sienna.

I'll keep you posted.
Peace and love and creativity.
Kelli

Life's a Beach

Tide Pools #63

Hey Peeps,

We will be at the First Friday Art Walk in downtown Ocala, FL on the square this Friday from 6-8. We are setting up at Bakers and Cooks, one of our favorite stores. The name says it all. Come and visit us and the store. We would love to meet some of our friends out there in netland.

This is an 8X8 inch beach piece on canvas board. It's available for sale on Etsy. I guess I still haven't got the beach out of my system. The good news is that the next few beach pieces are going in a new direction. I will update soon.

If you can't get to the beach, or if your beach is covered with snow, just hang on a little longer and spring will be here. I am an optimist, but I do believe that is easier when you live in FL.

Peace and love to all,

Kelli

A New Beginning

Hallelujah!! Finally, the beginning of a new painting that I do not hate. OK, I don't love it yet, but it still has potential. I have an idea in my head (I was going to say vision, but actually it's not that clear yet), for a series of landscapes that have intense color and texture (of course) and are recognizable as landscapes, but very, very loose. I am playing with technique; I used natural sponges, brushes and palette knives on this one. I am going to adjust the color and change the foreground. I will let you know what happens.

Peace and love,
Kelli

Textures R Us

You may be wondering what these photos are and why I am wasting time and valuable Internet space with them. Well, by way of introduction, let me say that I discovered something about myself last weekend. While at the Artist Within event on Saturday evening (refer to previous posts for more info), I found myself looking down at the floor in the lovely bathroom/locker room of the golf clubhouse. (We did not have Italian tile floors and carved wood lockers when I was in high school.) Knowing that I look down a lot at tile, the textures, the colors, the veins, the value nuances, I realized that if I were not an artist, I could sell tile. It would probably be more lucrative, too.

Anyway, I am finally admitting that, as an artist, I not only cannot get away from texture, but I am drawn to texture of all types in many different places. I have decided that I am just going to hand it over to my higher power and give in to the need for texture in most everything I do.

So about these photos. One of our students brought back some slate roof tiles from Canada all the way to Florida in her car. Did we not teach this woman well, what is important in life and car space???? Anyway, thanks to Lea, I have a lovely piece of slate to play with. I have no idea what I will do with it but I am looking forward to finding out, and I will definitely enjoy the process. I wanted you to see what it looks like before I start. I will update you as it proceeds, and suggestions are always welcome.

Oh yes, I know what you are thinking, roof tile!! What's next, painting on saws? Can Elvis on black velvet be far behind? Don't worry, not going to happen. Although velvet has a wonderful texture and I love the colors of rust on metal, hmmmmm.........

Peace and love,

Kelli

Then and now

When I was a little girl my soft spoken but feisty Puerto Rican grandmother taught me the fine arts of needlework. She was a seamstress in a factory of the garment district of New York and she knew all of them. She taught me to crochet, knit, embroider, sew and even though it didn't stick with me - she knew tatting, lace making, and anything else you could do with a needle, thread, yarn and pieces of fabric. She even made cashmere coats with silk linings and fur collars for my Barbie dolls from scraps in the factory! How in the world she managed to make a set-in sleeve that small for my dolls is beyond me. As I was growing up I continued to sew - making my own clothes - but what really tugged at me was crocheting. I kept at it, I crocheted all sorts of things including outfits for my Barbies.

Fast forward to today..... I'm a painter. But, crochet, even after all these years, still calls to me. I miss it and I miss her. So the other day I'm sitting in my studio trying to think of a way to incorporate crochet into my work as a painter. I love texture. I've been using fiber in some of my collage and mixed media work for a while now so I thought why not add some free form crochet to my very organic feeling work. I started with some nubby yarn in a free form style, added some twine and then I'm looking at an acrylic on wood panel that just wasn't working the way it was so I played with it. Now what I have is what you see above. It's not done yet but I'm happy to be playing with the texture and incorporating pieces of my childhood through the crochet. It may not be what grandma had in mind but that's ok. I'm bringing a piece of my life with her into the life I live now.

Keep playing and never forget where you came from,
Carlynne

Aren't We Special

Beach Series #43

5X5

Hi all,

Just to update those of you who follow us on Etsy, we have created a new section called We Are Special. It contains original artwork that have reduced prices. Get it, special,...special prices??!!! Well, anyway, they are 20% less than the original listing price. Yes, folks, it's a sale on small original paintings! There are 5X5 mini paintings on canvas board and 8X8 paintings on stretched canvas. Just in time for the holidays. And we have always had free shipping on our small pieces. Check it out and watch for additions to this section.

Peace and love,

Kelli

And the Winner Is........

And the winner of the copy of our book, Creative Colored Pencil Workshop is........ (drum roll here) Kelly Jackson of I Have a Notion (cymbals here). We drew her name on Monday the book went out this afternoon (see how efficient I am?). Congratulations to Kelly (what a nice name) and please visit her at

www.IHaveA-Notion.com or
http://IHaveANotion.blogspot.com

Being a sewer, I was very interested in her site and she has the most wonderful things for sewers and even some things for non-sewers.


And guess what???? We are winners, too!! We received an email from Lisa at Etania Gems & Jewelry that we have won her drawing for a pair of sodalite and fresh water pearl earrings. What a thrill, of course we both have two ears, so I am not sure how that will work. This may be the only thing that could ever end our friendship. However, we do not hold Lisa responsible, so please visit her site and look at her gorgeous jewelry, and I do mean gorgeous:

www.etaniagems.com or
http://etaniagems.wordpress.com


As if all that were not enough to make this a very successful weekend with the Fall Business Women's Online Expo, we also had a lot of new people visit our etsy shop and our blog. So many wonderful comments, our heads are spinning. What a nice community of women. We are both so glad we did this and are looking forward to the next one.

I wish all peace, creativity, free art books and wonderful jewelry,
Kelli

Fall Business Womens Online Expo Booth #21

Pumpkin #2

5X5

Carlynne Hershberger

Leaves #3

5X5

Kelli Money Huff

Welcome to all who are on our blog for the first time to help us celebrate the Fall Business Women's Online Expo! We are honored that you took the time to visit with us considering all the choices you have available to you. Thank you and we hope you will like what you see and will return. Please tell us what you think.

We are Carlynne Hershberger and Kelli Money Huff. We paint, we teach, we write (well, OK, we also eat, sleep and eat a little more, too). We are experimental artists who mix our media all the time. We are very busy and by working together we cut the chores in half for each of us, so we can spend more time painting.

The two pieces you see above are examples of our 5X5 mini's, each one an original painting on canvas board. These are from our new section titled, Autumn. We have greatly enjoyed this little jog from our more abstract work and are looking forward to painting new things for our other seasonal sections. Watch for Winter, Spring, and Summer sections to pop up at the appropriate times.

We are thrilled to be a part of the Fall Business Women's Online Expo and are looking forward to visiting as many sites as possible. As you work your way through, be sure to comment as often as you can, it helps all of us to give you what you want. When you comment on our blog, or make a purchase in our Etsy shop this weekend, you will be entered into a drawing for a signed copy of our book, Creative Colored Pencil Workshop. We are running other specials just for this weekend event. Our original mini paintings are selling very well and for this Saturday and Sunday, we are including a mini easel for free. And don't forget, no shipping on the painting or the easel.

These mini easels are unfinished wood and look great with the mini paintings just the way they are, but you can stain or paint them to match the artwork if you wish. Don't forget us for you Christmas and Hanukkah shopping; mark our blog and Etsy shop and come back for more specials in the future.


Something new in our Etsy shop is our book, Creative Colored Pencil Workshop (North Light Books, 2007). We are offering free shipping on all book purchases for this weekend. Save money and get a book signed by us. We can personalize if you email us with your name. And the best news is that every customer who makes a purchase from us on Etsy as well as every visitor that comments on our blog for Saturday and Sunday, will be entered into a drawing for a free book. Good luck to all.

In case you didn't know, we offer weekly classes on Monday and Wednesday at Red Swan Paint and Art Supply in Ocala Florida. See how hard our students work? There is a lot of laughing going on in our classes, but our students learn a lot, too.

OK, time for you to move along the Fall Business Womens Online Expo list, now. Thanks for dropping by and do come again.

Kelli and Carlynne

More Falling Leaves

Leaves #2

Acrylic 5X5

Kelli Money Huff

More falling leaves. Winter will be here soon. And I CANNOT wait. I have enjoyed this summer, but am really anxious for cooler weather. I really feel like walking outside. This is a new piece on Estyand we are really excited about our new section titled Autumn. Whever you are, I hope you are enjoying the fall, no matter what your climate is.

I wish you Peace, Love, and lots of Color!!
Kelli

Spring Has Sprung, Fall Will Fall

Leaves 1

5X5

Kelli Money Huff

Hey All,

I am feeling good with the slight hint of crispness in the air here in Florida. Believe me, it is very slight. Today was predicted to be 94 degrees and I feel every degree. But I digress, this is all about art. I am missing the autumn leaves this time of year that I loved in Michigan where I grew up. I only miss snow on two days a year, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. However, I really miss the colors of fall throughout this entire season. I devour magazine photos of wilderness roads with their golds, oranges and wine colors. Recently an online photo of the Upper Peninsula nearly brought me to tears. And that is why I created some small pieces with brightly colored autumn leaves. Check out our new section on Etsy called Autumn.

I wish you Peace, Love and Color
Kelli

Photo phobia

Beach Series #49

5X5 acrylic textures

Hi All,

I know I seem to have it all together to everyone else, but shocking as it may be, there are some things I am not good at, and some things I am downright afraid of. (I am pausing here to give you a chance to absorb this stunning news.)

You know how artists hate to market their work, well that is not a fear to me as much as it is an annoyance. and a dislike. My greatest fear, well, maybe not my greatest, I mean there is the fear of having the next painting turn out to be crap and then the fear of putting your work out there, and then the fear of sounding stupid in an interview and don't get me started on the pictures they take of you and publish in magazines, books and newspapers. OK, sure, there are a lot of things I am afraid of in this career I have chosen, but I digress. The one I am talking about today is my PHOTO PHOBIA. Technically I think that means fear of the sun or light or something, but for me it is fear of taking photos of my artwork. This is really hard!!!!

All my life I have had a problem understanding the whole f-stop thing, even when I was young and my memory was good and I could still learn new things. You know, the aperture gets smaller as the number gets bigger and the light must be compensated by the yada-yada-yada-yada.... Whatever. I have tried, I really have. I've taken classes, I've practised, I even have a very supportive husband, Greg, who once drew a really good diagram to explain it to me and help me remember it (I am a visual learner). It really helped, but I didn't retain it.

Anyway, fast forward to today. My creative partner (in books, teaching, blog, Etsy, blah, blah, blah) Carlynne Hershberger had to learn to photograph our artwork for our first book(Creative Colored Pencil Workshop). I say "she had to" because if we had depended on me to do it, our publisher would still be waiting and I would be under my bed in the fetal position sobbing and mumbling to myself. You remember how in the old days, artists used slides to enter competitions and also to publish work in magazines and books. Well, ours was chosen for publication just about the time that digital photography was getting really big. Our publisher, F & W Media, gave us the opportunity to be their first authors to do all of our photos digitally. Carlynne was magnificent (we do tell each other periodically that we are brilliant or genius, but magnificent is a new word that we have not used before.) She acquired a new camera (Canon 20D) and learned to use it with very little help from me, although I did read the manual aloud to her, but the translation from Chinese was not very helpful.

Carlynne became wonderful at it and we both benefited from her expertise. Well, eventually I had to learn to do my own. So when we started our Etsy shop, she did the beginning photography to get us started and then she gave me a lesson in doing my own. I had nightmares before we got together to do this. I thought about checking myself into a hospital and having a triple by-pass instead. I needed a root canal, but didn't have the money to pay for it. My other alternative was to change my name and leave town with no forwarding address. But, being the responsible person that I am, I did show up. She was so kind to me (I get teary just thinking about it now) and she gently lead me through the steps and then I realized it wasn't nearly as bad or as hard as I had thought. In fact, I knew right then, that I had nothing to fear but fear itself! (At this point, there are angels singing and a ray of strong sunlight beating down on my head.) I would like to take a moment here to thank, not only Carlynne, but the person who invented digital photography.

So, what have I learned from this experience? That I am not stupid, or old or have a bad memory? No, that is not what I learned, in fact I may be all those things. But I did learn that fear is of the unknown, once it becomes known, the fear can disappear quickly. It was my mind telling me I could not do this, in short I was not good enough. We are all good enough, we just have to tackle our fears head on. And if you are an artist, you need to learn this fast, because unfortunately, our art lives are filled with possible phobias (this post, paragraph 2, lines 3-7). I wish I could give the author credit, but cannot remember where I read one of my favorite quotes: If you are not frightened and depressed, you are not growing as an artist.

Love and peace to all,
Kelli

Esty Again!

Hi All,

When I waxed enthusiastically about Etsy yesterday, I didn't mean to imply that my first two sales on Etsy was the first time I had ever sold artwork. On the contrary, my first sale was a portrait commission for the Kellogg Foundation in 1984, over 20 years ago. I remember it well as it was a difficult assignment for various reasons, not the least of which was that the person who's portrait I was doing was deceased and I had no good reference photos. Most of my artist colleagues can identify with this. That started my love/hate relationship with commissions which has now turned to just hate.

What thrilled me about Etsy was several things:

1. It was easy!!! (Especially for me, due to the fact that Carlynne is our geek.)

2. We have only been on Etsy for about 2 weeks and have had 6 sales!

3. My stuff had only been up for a little more than 2 days and I sold 2 pieces!

4. Everything I read on the Etsy help info says that you must be patient waiting for your first sale, it takes time.

5. I had never sold anything online before!

So, why were we so special? Was it just good luck or really good work or something else? Well, of course I like to think that it was just really good work. And maybe it was. I also think that the prices were right for the economy. We have two price points right now in our Etsy store, $25 and $200. In good economic times, $200 is a great price for original art on canvas. In this current economy, it is the $25 pieces that are selling.

Our plan is to post good quality, original artwork at affordable prices. We want our work to be obtainable by people of modest means. Does that mean we will not sell larger, more expensive pieces? Are you out of your mind? But I believe that we will always have smaller more affordable ones even after the economy improves. And we do enjoy making the smaller pieces.

Above I have shown one of our 5X5 pieces on canvas board which sells for $25. It is displayed on a miniature easel (not included in price.)

So, visit our shop at hershbergerhuff.etsy.com when you can and be sure to let us know what you think.

Have a peaceful, loving and creative day.

Kelli

Validation

Hey all,

Last Saturday morning I awoke to the news that two of my 5 pieces on Etsy had sold after being listed only 2 1/2 days!! I was over the moon.

As artists we hear compliments all the time, "Oh that's beautiful," or "I just love that." And even sometimes a few of these, " Well you can decorate my house anytime," and "I would be happy to store that for you." (I have said some of these things myself.) But there is something really special about the feeling you get when you sell something. Sure it helps pay the bills and for an artist that is really important. But I am talking about how it feels.

OK, here's my confession: the two pieces were only $25 each, but it felt like a thousand each. I call it validation when someone plunks down their hard earned money to buy your artwork. It is the highest of all compliments and I will never be jaded enough to not be thrilled each and every time it happens. So, my thanks to Elisabeth, you made my day.

One of pieces that sold is pictured above. It is a 5X5 inch piece from the Beach series with acrylic texture sand medium, super heavy gesso and mica flakes.

Wishing you peace, love and creativity.

Kelli

Painting with another point

Here's another piece done with the watercolor pencils. I've done 3 of these so far and right now they're with my gallery rep in Jacksonville - Fogle Fine Art.

Wishing everyone a happy, creative day. Find your joy and spend some time there.