Can Rejection Bring Growth?

Hi there. How are you?
I had quite a disappointment this weekend. I received the word that my applications to three different July art fairs were rejected. That means I've got a large hole in my summer schedule. I have to admit, I was upset. Rejection hurts.

Luckily, after just a little bit of pouting, I changed up my mindset.
My parents were in town this weekend and we brought them to this great high end gift store at a local winery.  Walking through the store seeing all of the pretty reminded me of one of my 2014 goals..... I want to build a wholesale business and have my goods at gift stores just like this.  I know my work would fit in well at this type of gift store and I have the means necessary to produce some very unique salable goods.

At my day job, we specialize in printing on fabric. I've been wanting to make pillows out of my bird illustrations for some time now,  and I can do that at work!  We also have a UV printer so that I could utilize to create nifty digital art prints of my work directly on cradled hardboard. I think these items would go over smashingly with retailers.

There is indeed a silver lining to this art fair rejection.  
I often complain about not having time to pursue my artistic goals.....Now I have it! This is a good thing! Having time this summer without shows will give me time to work on some other aspects of my business I've been wanting to tackle. I can get that new website up and running. I can work on product development and pursue wholesale accounts. Yes! Art fairs have been so hit or miss for me in the last few years. Having other avenues in which to distribute and sell my work is a good thing.

All of the snaps I've included here feature vegetable seedlings we have started in our window sill for our summer garden. All this new life is inspiring and seems apropos for this blog about my growing and changing business.

Stay tuned friends. I am excited for the future! Ta-Ta for now.

Stocking up on Smalls

Lately, I have been working almost exclusively in a tiny 4" x 4" format. Because they are so small, I can sell them at a very appealing $40-50 price point.

I'm using all sorts of bright, springy colors and all sorts of patterns. If any of these tiny pieces is striking your fancy, do get in touch. All pieces are mounted on 3/4" deep cradled hardboard panel and are ready to hang. 

 

P.S. This piece is my entry into a contest at Rex Art Supplies. Help me win $100 in art supplies by clicking here and "liking" the photo on Facebook. Thanks much!

Have a fab week! Ta-Ta.

Ink Embellishments and Photographing Neon

Hi there. How are you? As promised, here are the 3 abstracts I started last week, all now embellished with ink. I approached each one a little bit differently.

All that's left to do now is to apply several coats of satin varnish each piece. The varnish protects the paper from UV rays, water, and dirt. I often photograph pieces prior to adding he varnish, as it's slightly reflective quality makes it even trickier to photograph these.

Speaking of photographing, it took me a whole afternoon to get decent photographs of these pieces. It is really difficult to photograph or scan neon hues like the orange I used in these pieces. Cameras and scanners just don't know how to interpret larger than life neon colors.

This is what happens when I scan these pieces. The scanner just washes out the color completely. Yuck! Even with some major color correction in Photoshop, I can't get the colors right.

My digital manual camera does better, but I still have to manipulate the images, and even then they don't look quite right.  Anyone out there have any trick to capturing neon accurately?

Until I figure out the neon game, I guess you'll just have to come and see these pieces in person! My summer art fair schedule is filling up. Here's the tentative schedule of where you can find me this summer. Ta-Ta for now!