Wow...I love Jack's article in the recent Art Calendar magazine on "Making It on eBay"! I have had a notion that Ebay art was on the way out and that the market was too saturated to try selling, but this article is still relevant. Good, clear and concise information regarding all the ins and outs of what to do from taking good quality photographs to making that committment to keep at it.

I have not sold a thing on Ebay. I still do not know if I want to go that route, however, after reading his article and wondering what others are doing to making it successful, I am thinking seriously about making it a goal of mine.

Comments and suggestions would be appreciated. Let me hear from you. Thank you!

Just fininshed revamping my website and so far I am happy with it. I will be adding PayPal soon (the first of the year) and am excited about that. All this marketing takes time, but it is well worth it. My sales and exposure is increasing day by day. It is very exciting to be an artist at this time in my life. I am so fortunate for the blessings that I have been given.

 I attended a Website, Social Media Marketing workshop here in the Twin Cities that was extremely helpful. I think if you are a serious artist-you need to look for ways that you can market yourself and keep at it. I do my marketing 1/2 day and the other 1/2 day, I paint. It works for me. 

Getting more involved online has opened up so many opportunities for me. My Expressive Workshops are ready to go for the Winter and I am excited to teach as well. My classes are super fun-I have a great time and learn much from my students-they are all wonderful, talented people. I am blessed! 

ART ON A LINE! 

It is the 7th Annual Three Day "Art On A Line" Art Show and Sale, May 14Th, 15Th, 16TH at the Minnesota State Fair Grounds in the Fine Arts Building. Over 80 local artists from the Twin Cities sponsored by Northstar Watercolor Society. Fantastic art and awesome artists! I will be there all three days with newly released paintings and will do working Demo's on Saturday and Sunday. Join us for an "Artsy Weekend"! Collectors and Public invited-many new released pieces at great prices!

Today is the one year anniversary of my mother's death. It has been a tough year and a bit bittersweet as well. She suffered so much and now is in Heaven.  Heaven...I have been wondering deeply about it all year, reading scripture about it and asking God to show me pieces of Heaven here on earth.  I do not have to look far-there are many things to see where Heaven intertwines with earth. 

This morning I remembered being with mom the morning when she died. She had another stroke at 4:30 am and I got to the house by 9am. The hospice nurse was there and dad. By 12:30pm she was gone-she was propped up with pillows so she was almost sitting up, her face was so peaceful and the sunshine was pouring in through her window from behind bringing a warm, golden glow around her head. I cannot tell you in words what that memory did to me...I will never paint it. It is priceless.  The image is seared into my mind.

I am not the same- many of you who have walked this journey know what I mean. My artwork has changed. There are paintings I started and cannot finish them. God has to heal certain area's of my heart and then I can work on them-some are just too painful to work on.  I can't even tell you if I can ever post them-they are so personal.  One thing I am thankful for- mom being in Heaven-what hope! I am not religious, but I do believe in a God who loves all of us and sent His son to save us.  That is what comforts me today.

There is something intrinsically beautiful about winter.  Yes, since my last blog- it think I hit a bit of insanity there for a moment, but thankfully, it has warmed up to the 30's here and that is bareable.-no pun intended. Ha!  I have photographed winter scenes when there is cloud cover and nature has a way of being ever so dreary with an absence of color- every thing just is different shades of gray, black and white.  I know, that can be beautiful in it's own way,  but really, would you like to live day after day after day after day with this?.....see what I mean? 

So, to get out of the doldrums, I paint in bright, bold, beautiful color. Doldrum dreary days make me appreciate the intensity and wonder of color.  I can be in my studio painting away and all of a sudden I come across a new tube of paint or I mix certain ones on my canvases and it just takes my breath away of how beautiful they are.  I love this part of the painting process-especially now in the winter when everything is black and white outside.  I am currently reading an old college book that I came across in my studio called, "How We Understand Art" by Micheal J. Parsons. It is a book about our cognitive development and aesthetic experience as we understand art. As an artist, I think the very process of color and how it affects me and others as  human beings is a wonder in an of itself.  It is amazing to me how sensitive I am to color and how differently I respond to all the varieites of color. How do you respond to color and what color makes you respond more than any other?  Why? 

Back to the studio and back to color!  Happy art making to you!  

What do you do when it is twenty below? 

I could say paint, but, No!-I am finding all kinds of other  things to do!

Does anyone know what it is like (beside's all you Northern Midwesterner's) to not be able to go outside because your eyeballs freeze, you have, I don't know, maybe 4-8 layers of clothing on and you can't move, your nose inhales crystals of frozen ice and if you breathe in with your mouth, you inhale cold air that goes into your lungs and stings?  I think I have a bad case of cabin fever. Yes!  I do!  Here is what it was like the yesterday:

Because it is so cold, you become a hermit, you stay inside and find things to do-EAT!, watch tv, work computer, listen to music, think about painting, eat, make coffee, look into cupboard, bake?-no!, eat more, play with the cat, find wine, watch tv, read old issues of Art Calendar and think about art career, paint?-maybe later, put old christmas decor away, work on website and tweak it,  think about painting the living room, clean mirror in bathroom, call sister, wash a load of clothes, eat again, answer emails-and even enjoy the ones you have to send to 10 people or something bad will happen to you,  think about going to a movie-no, too cold!, pet dog, paint-maybe...add music to ipod, think about painting...go to studio.  Forgot coffee, go back upstairs, check mail, go online to Scuttlebutt and goof off, look at time and realize you are missing out on painting.  Go back to studio and look at brushes and paints sitting on table. Pretend they are looking back at you. Pick one up, get clean water, turn music on, set out paints, think about all the images you have in your head. Find one of those images and start with a blue wash-cus you want to- and finally, finally, finally!  PAINT!

Ever have days like this???

Isn't is exciting when we enter into a new year? 

Wishing all of my Scuttlebutt friends many, many blessings to all, and may all of your dreams and goals come true in 2009!