New Painting Supplies

Thanks for all the comments on my last post! I did finish my Bluebird in New Hampshire bead-painting over the weekend, but that was pretty much all I accomplished. I didn't have any time to do beadwork, but I did have time to go shopping.. I got some new paint brushes & acrylic paints! :)

The above photo shows which paints I got. I actually got the Utrecht paints a couple of weeks ago when I was in Cambridge, and I got the Liquitex this past weekend. Some colours are for my beaded White House painting and others are for a future piece! I also got some new Robert Simmons paint brushes. These seem to be my favourite brushes to use so far because they are comfortable to hold, they the bristles are very smooth, and they help to apply paint evenly. After I returned from shopping, I organized my paints in the little caddy shown below.. It seems like I have a lot of paints, for a bead artist! ;)

What art supplies have you purchased recently?

Beaded Bluebird Painting

Yesterday, I posted a nice surprise on my Facebook page. I got an email from the Cambridge Art Association telling me my beaded 'Robin in Snow' painting sold from the Art Fair! I am thrilled! The show runs until September 1st, so they told me that I can bring in another piece to replace it with! Since most of my works are large, I didn't have any pieces already complete that would fit in the price-range of $300 or less, so here's what I did:

Using acrylics, I painted an 8" x 10" canvas that I had on hand. I layered several different colours in the same style as my White House painting. Now that my painting is dry, I'm going to stitch my beaded Eastern Bluebird that was previously listed in my Etsy shop to the canvas. I think a natural pine branch will tie the two mediums together quite nicely!

When it is complete, I think I'll call it Bluebird in New Hampshire, because I love it up there! I have never seen a bluebird in the wild, but if I did, I imagine it would look something like my painting! I think this will be a perfect piece to add to the Art Fair. I hope to deliver it to University Place Gallery next week! What kind of bird or animal should I bead next?? :D

Trees of Patience

These beaded trees are seriously becoming a test of my patience! I am finally adding some more of those vintage German glass leaves I got awhile ago. I don't know if I like them there, but I think they will provide some visual interest.

Glass leaves and other larger beads also add additional weight to the beadwork. Since these trees are quite large - about 11" wide x 5" - they are very heavy, maybe even heavier than my beaded White House... I wish I had a small scale to compare!

And for those who are wondering exactly how much work I have left to do on my beaded White House painting - I might work on my painting a bit more, I have to finish beading these trees, I want to add a beaded garden on the South Lawn, then stitch all of my beadwork to the painted oval canvas. I'd better get back to work! :o

I Choose To Paint

This weekend, I completely abandoned my seed beads. The weather was beautiful and I wanted to go see the Tall Ships, but I also wanted to work on my painting.

Last night, I worked on my beaded White House painting for the entire night! I had reached a point where I sort of liked what I was doing, so I just kept painting... After a little while longer, I ended up hating my canvas and everything I painted! I am not a painter - why must I paint at all, I thought. Why can't I just let beadwork be! Frustrated & discouraged, I cleaned up my paint brushes and went to sleep.

Five hours later, I woke up and started painting again. This time, I reached for a different brush, and ended up re-painting over the entire oval canvas! Three hours later, I took a step back and really looked at my work.

Semi-beaded White House relief painting. 24" x 36".
Bead embroidery mounted on an oval stretched canvas. Work in progress...

That was when I realized that I choose to paint not because it is easy, but because it is hard...

Bead International Update

Thanks for all your comments on my beaded White House! This weekend, I have a few important updates for you.



1) When I was accepted in the Cambridge Art Association's North East Prize Show this spring, I was also offered membership into the organization. Since the CAA juries their members, I thought I should take advantage of this opportunity! I finally became a member last month, and now I am listed on their website! One of the membership requirements is to volunteer at the galleries a few times per year. It is a small tradeoff considering there will be a number of opportunities to show my beadwork throughout the year! :)



This week, the Cambridge Art Association began hosting their summer Art Fair at University Place Gallery in Cambridge, MA. The gallery is located at 124 Mount Auburn Street in Cambridge, MA - just a short walk from the Harvard Square T stop! If you're in the neighborhood, stop by to view & purchase original works of art in all mediums priced $300 or less, including 2 of my beaded paintings! The Art Fair will hang at University Place now - Sept 1st. Please see my Facebook or Myspace pages for more information! :)



2) In addition to selling my beadwork on Etsy and other cool merchandise on Cafepress, I have decided to try offering of few of my works per month on Ebay. Most Etsy sellers have shyed away from this since Ebay's fees have sky-rocketed in the past couple of years. I have always sold rock-n-roll memorabilia there, and it has done well regardless of the fees. But, recently Ebay changed their fee schedule, so now it is finally worth it to try selling some of my original works of art.



So far, this is just an experiment, but one thing I have noticed on Ebay is that people are more willing to purchase high end art and antiques there, when it seems like most people on Etsy are shopping for very inexpensive handmade items that include free shipping. Sure, the final value fees are higher on Ebay, but as they say, you have to spend money to make money! So, if you are an Ebay shopper, please add me to your favourite sellers list. So far, I have only listed two paintings there, but I do plan to offer a few beaded items there per month! :)

3) And, now for the last update. Yesterday, I was surfing around and ended up visiting the Dairy Barn Art Center's website. They have stated that there will not be a Bead International 2010 exhibit. "This decision was made due to lower artist entry in 2008, lack of attendance in 2008, lack of interest in the Bead International & Beyond Basketry '08 tour and catalog, and lack of sponsorships and/or funding."

This makes me sad because it is just another sign of how the current economic situation has effected the arts. I posted this news on Twitter yesterday, and Dulcey Heller responded with a blog post which asks those who are upset with this decision to contact Jill Smalley (exhibit director) at jill@dairybarn.org. Please let her know how much you appreciate the Bead International exhibit, and that you feel that it is important for contemporary artists to have the opportunity to show beadwork which really pushes the boundaries of this ancient craft. If you would like to see pics of last year's exhibit, please visit my Flickr. To help support the Dairy Barn and encourage them to continue with Bead International, please consider purchasing a copy of the Bead International 2008 & Beyond Basketry book. Get 20% off by using the SAVE20 discount code on the Dairy Barn's website. :)

That's the news for now. Have a great weekend!

Newspaper Clouds

Yesterday, I happened to be at a bookstore where I found a title called 30-minute ART: Acrylics by Soraya French. It was written for aspiring artists, hobbyists, and art lovers. It demonstrates how to create beautiful acrylic paintings in 30-minutes or less. The author's paintings are vibrant and they demonstrate a wide variety of techniques while maintaining the same style of work. This inspired me to work on my painting a bit more, although I will say I worked on it for more than 30-minutes! :o

One thing I am learning about my own painting style is that I enjoy the watercolour technique. I like to mix paint with quite a bit of water and do a series of washes over the canvas in several different colours until I achieve the desired look. Last night, I began with a bright green and painted most of the canvas like this.

Also mentioned in Soraya's book is how to create texture by adding simple collage. I have been incorporating collage in my work for awhile now. For my beaded White House painting, I cut out several newspaper clouds from a Boston Globe and added them to the canvas using an acrylic matte medium. Once the clouds were dry, I painted colour over them.

The newspaper clouds are cut out of several different articles. So far, topics range from the United States' relations with Cuba to terrorism to the current economic situation. And, to add to the storm, the last cloud on the far right of the canvas mentions that "the prospect of no-newspaper towns is looming". While Americans look at the White House differently these days, we cannot ignore the issues that seem to have brought on so many months of gray skies.

Semi-beaded White House relief painting. 24" x 36".
Bead embroidery mounted on an oval stretched canvas. Work in progress.

My bead-painting is still a work in progress, but my vision is finally starting to come to life, and when it is complete, it will truly be a mixed media work of art. :D

Painted Oval Canvas

Here's the current progress of my beaded relief painting. I am still beading the trees which surround my beaded White House, but I have also painted the entire canvas using acrylics. This is the stage at which I get very nervous because I don't consider myself a painter. I just work on it a little each day as I try to depict what my mind's eye wants to see. I am hoping that while my beaded trees continue to grow, my painted environment does too... :o

Semi-beaded White House relief painting. 24" x 36". Bead embroidery mounted on an oval stretched canvas. Work in progress.

Beaded Jack Russell Terrier - SOLD!

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday weekend! Yesterday, I went to Castle Island and had a lobster roll from Sully's! It was perfect weather, too. You can see pics on my Flickr photostream if you're interested!

Jack Russell Terrier Pin/Pendant.
Available at The Lone Beader's Gallery Shop. Click for more pics.

Just a quick post today to let you know that last night, I listed my latest Jack Russell Terrier in my Etsy shop, and as I was writing this post today, it sold! Guess I can't make these little Rudys fast enough! I guess I will always have one listed as Made to Order, now that I have made a few different ones. I really like this beaded dog. It is made with Japanese size 15 seed beads! The beadwork is unfinished so that customers can choose whether they would like a pin/pendant, hair barrette, or sew-on applique! I have created a 'Your Choice' section in my shop for unfinished items such as this. I think the more options, the better! :)

Also, before I forget, check out the lovely feature Lisa from 'A Bead A Day' wrote about me! I am honoured to be mentioned! That's the word for now. I'm gonna go out and enjoy the sun! :)

27 Greens

I'm sure you won't be surprised to know that I am still working on my beaded trees! I counted how many different colour seed beads I'm using, and so far it is at least 27, but it might be more than that. I remember using all I had of some colours! Check out my beading work space below:

Semi-beaded trees for White House relief painting.
Bead embroidery on felt. Work in progress.

The good news is, I have also begun to paint the 36" oval canvas for my beaded White House, but I want to work on it a bit more before I show you. I also started beading another little dog for my Etsy shop which I hope to list soon. Here's a sneak peek:

Semi-beaded Irish Jack Russell Terrier pin/pendant. 2.25" x 1".

Looks like I have some beading to do this holiday weekend! If I don't get the chance to stop by your blog, I hope you have a Spectacular 4th of July! :)

Mini-Publication

Yesterday, I received a surprise in the mail - a copy of ACEO Magazine! This is a mini-publication for ACEO artists & collectors. The magazine features works by many different artists working in all mediums. For those of you who are new to ACEOs, they are mini works of art the size of a baseball card. They were originally meant for trading amongst artists, but artists began to sell them when art collectors took interest.

A few months ago, Angela asked if she could write a feature about my beaded ACEOs & include them in the magazine. Since I have only made a handful of ACEOs so far, I was honoured! :)

Both The Tigress & Zephyr the Zebra cards in the article are available for sale at The Lone Beader's Gallery Shop on Etsy. And, if you are interested in purchasing your own copy of the magazine, you can order the Summer 2009 issue HERE. I hope it will inspire you to create your own ACEO someday! :)