Image Conscious

Last year I was approached by a publishing company who were interested in acquiring the rights to some of my images so that they could publish prints wholesale. This was a whole new area for me which I new nothing about and I was a little apprehensive to just sign away the rights to my work. However, it was very exciting to have the interest in my pieces and so I did a fair bit of research and discussed the ins and outs of the contract and I am pleased to say that I decided to go ahead. Image Conscious now have a few of my pieces available through their website and they have a world wide presence and so it is exciting to think where my work may end up. You can see their site here.

Veranda Fine Art Gallery

I am really excited to announce that Veranda Gallery in New Haven, New Jersey are now representing me. They currently have about 10 of my pieces on display in their store front both floral and seascapes. Their website and address can be found here. I had never been to Fair Haven before but it's a very cute seaside town, well worth a visit, particularly in the summer season, I will definitely be going back!

Updates

Well, summer seems to have finally moved on and today we have gale force winds and impending rain from Hurricane Jaoquin. I've been trying to tie up some loose ends such as FINALLY finishing a commission that I'm embarrassed to say has taken me a very very long time. Anyway, it's done now and I'm happy to say I'm pleased with it. Below are the two paintings that will be making their way to London on Saturday night and eventually to their new home in Myanmar! 

"Corbiere from St Ouen's" acrylic on linen, 20x20"

"La Rocco" acrylic on linen, 20x20"

And here is also the finished sketch that I last posted. It needed a little more work to tighten it up:

"In Coming Tide at Corbiere" acrylic on board, 12x12"

Back to Work

After a busy few weeks preparing the RAW show, the event came and went last Thursday night and was great fun. It was good to learn how to put a show like that together and now I'm looking forward to hopefully doing more events like it in the future. It was nerve wrecking putting my work out there for scrutiny but great to make new contacts and hopefully gain some more fans, plus I sold a few things as well so that's a bonus! You can see some images from the show here on my Facebook page. 

Now I'm  back in the studio working on finishing a commission before I leave for an extended break in the UK and Jersey next week. This commission is for a duo of Jersey based paintings. Here was a sketch I did yesterday but we have decided to actually paint this lighthouse from a different angle for the final piece…

"Corbiere Lighthouse Study #2" acrylic on board, 12x12"

One Week To Go

With one week left until the RAW show, I have to-do lists coming out of my ears. It's tricky timing having recently been away on a long trip and this week my husband has been travelling for work so I have been relying on our amazing babysitter a little more than normal. I've also been putting in some midnight hours once the little guy is asleep and it's amazing how productive I am in the small hours! Luckily, it does seem to be coming together slowly and now I just have lots of little loose ends to tie up. I have nearly finished painting and am busy making prints and trying to figure out labelling and packaging. Yesterday, I sorted out a folding table and drape to cover it and I bought a letter sorter stand to display my prints in. This weekend I have to finish up the last of the painting, photograph and varnish all the work and attach hanging hardware - the countdown begins! Here is another from the California road trip.

"Glimpses from Highway 1" acrylic on board, 8x8"

California Road Trip

We recently got back from a very inspiring vacation on the coast of California. A new type of vacation for us with a lot less lounging about than normal being that we have an 8 month old and this was a road trip! However, it's a trip which we've been wanting to make for years but various events have prevented until now and I am pleased to say the wait was worth it. Big Sur in particular surpassed all our expectations, it is just a staggeringly beautiful part of the world. Needless to say, I am full of inspiration, which is lucky as I'm still short of a few paintings for my show at the end of the month. Today I worked on this which is from a photo I took on the road between Big Sur and San Simeon.

"Driving Big Sur" acrylic on panel, 12x12"

RAW Brooklyn New York Show July 30th

I'm very excited to announce that I will be participating in a showcase at the Wick in Bushwick, New York at the end of the month. I was approached a few months ago by the director of RAW Brooklyn to see if I'd be interested in showing my work. RAW is an international community of creative individuals around the world who target artists in the first 10 years of their career and curate a one night, multi-genre showcase extravaganza!

So, I will be showing some of my recent paintings alongside a host of other talented individuals. You can read more about RAW here. I love their philosophy of making it easier for each artist to get their work out there and part of that is the way they get you to cover your "booth fees". Usually at this sort of event the artist is expected to shell out a hefty fee to pay for their space. Also, the venue often takes a commission on anything sold. However, RAW encourages each artist to sell 20 tickets in the run up to the show - thereby achieving 2 goals in 1 - covering their fee and also getting more punters through the door. They reduce the cost of the ticket to just $15 if you buy online rather than at the door. Online tickets are only available until July 23rd after that, it's $20 at the door and it doesn't count towards supporting me. 

So people, get buying..... to support me and purchase your ticket follow this link.... 

BUY TICKETS!!!!

Moody Sea

Another acrylic on linen. I am working on building up a small body of work for a show in July - more details to follow soon I promise! I finished this painting today and am pleased with my departure from so much blue into more moody purples. 

Untitled, acrylic on linen, 20x30"

Love Linen

I am really enjoying working on a couple of paintings on stretched linen instead of my usual canvas. I can certainly see why its more expensive, its just such a smooth surface and really nice for working into. I love way you can blend the paint more subtly than on a rougher canvas but it's not as absorbent as the gesso board which seems to soak up the moisture.

untitled, acrylic on linen 20x30"

The New Normal

I've realised that (at the risk of stating the obvious) trying to work when one has a new baby is somewhat different to the days when I had endless uninterrupted hours of painting bliss. My new normal is one day of painting a week if I'm lucky and a few hours squeezed in here and there around naps. Now if my son could just oblige me with a regular nap schedule we'll really be rolling but at the moment, when I put him down he might grant me 2 blissful hours of peace, or maybe just 30 minutes - it certainly keeps it interesting! Anyway, I've realised that a few changes to the way I work can make a big difference in terms of productivity. First and foremost I've ditched the oils (just for now) as its just too much mess and time consuming clean up not to mention the toxic chemicals which I can do without being exposed to right now. I've set myself up in a corner of our home office and am working off disposable palettes which I hate because of the waste but it certainly makes clean up quick and is much easier with acrylics as the paint dries so fast its a nightmare to scrape off of a glass or wood palette. I'm also, on the whole, working on a much smaller scale which is fun for a change and makes me feel more productive.

Here's a little study I just completed for a commission I'm doing. The commission is for several Jersey based paintings and this one is of La Rocco Tower on St Ouen's bay, a personal favourite spot of mine.

"La Rocco Tower" acrylic on board, 8x8"

I'm Back!

Well, what a year it's been! I didn't really intend to take a year off of blogging but that seems to be what happened. I got a little distracted by a few small things like a major gut renovation project, moving house 3 times and, oh yes, and having a baby! As that baby approaches his 6 month birthday and we finally have a break in our endless stream of house guests I am carving out some time to get back to work and focus on trying to get my routine back to a new sort of normal. I am setting up studio in a small room in our new apartment and am very excited to finally get back to producing some new work.

To kick of this new era of my blog I wanted to post a link to the Micah Challenge page as they have recently used my knotted gun sketch for their new campaign aimed at resolving conflict without violence. You can read all about this great campaign here...

Grouville Bay

So, we are up to our necks in the middle of renovating our apartment. The demolition phase which has been very exciting and completely eye opening is nearly over and we are looking forward to seeing all the dust and rubble cleared out and the new walls go up. I decided it would be great to have a record of the weekly developments to look back on so I have been recording these on another blog which you can see here. It's pretty all consuming at the moment but am still trying to squeeze in some painting here and there.

Here is a small piece I did a couple of weeks ago inspired by a photo my cousin posted on her facebook page, taken on a beach we grew up near and spent hours digging in the sand and paddling in the waves. She was out walking her dog and about to get soaked by the fast approaching rain but still took the time to snap a quick shot of the beautiful light and reflections.

"Raining in the East" oil on board, 6x6"

Happy 2014!

Happy New Year! I have once again been travelling, seeing family and friends and enjoying the holidays. I attempted to return to my studio today but after spending a few minutes in there I was frozen solid due to the lack of insulation and temperature hovering somewhere around 20 below... anyway, I am now defrosting in coffee shop and thought I'd share with you an exciting development. A while ago I was contacted by a lovely lady in Connecticut who was setting up a new art consulting business - Iordache Fine Art and had found my work online. She came into the city to meet with me and view some of my work and luckily for me, decided she'd like to promote some of my pieces. She now has her website up and running and you can see a link to the website and some of my pieces here. Fingers crossed for some sales early in 2014!

I haven't posted anything in ages, whoops! I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. It's been a mixed few weeks for me with lots of things going on, and honestly my heart really hasn't been in my painting which is why every time I've tried to get down to it I've ended up wiping it or painting over anything I've done. It's not really so surprising as I've had lots on my mind from house renovations and trying to find a temporary apartment and or studio, to Thanksgiving and getting organised for Christmas as well as just general life!

Anyway, here is a little abstract. I vow to be better at blogging (although perhaps that will have to be a new year's resolution, one to begin after the holidays are over!).

"#6" oil on board, 6x6"

Debra Butterfly Painting

I just found out that the butterfly painting I did for the charity debra has sold at their auction for nearly $700! I'm so excited that I was able to help raise money for this organisation who do such great work to help people with epidermolysis bullosa (EB). There are still a few limited edition prints left that you can purchase from the debra online shop.

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