Necklaces

Sea Bed - Blue porcelain necklace

East & West - Cherry bomb quartz & jade necklace

I have company for a few days and my mother's birthday celebrations over the weekend so time will be sparse. I hope to get in the bones of a new drawing and will share that when I can.

Meanwhile here are a couple of new necklaces that I have created. If anyone is interested in purchasing them, please contact me.

Broadening my horizons

Bucket o' Duck
copyright Jeanette Jobson

This image was taken a couple of years ago when one of the Pekin ducks decided she wanted to get into a bucket of water, then got stuck. The photo op was too good to pass up before she was rescued. This will be the basis of a future drawing or painting. The image was placed in the Reference Library of WetCanvas, for members so if anyone wants to use it, please do. Or click on the photo here for a larger resolution image.

After some soul searching I have decided to bow out of doing tutorials for another art forum. They do take time to produce and while I enjoy the process, there isn't enough return for my efforts, so I am rethinking ways of using these tutorials.

While it doesn't all boil down to dollars and cents, let's be realistic, it is a large part of being an artist. So what do I want in return for sharing my knowledge?

1. Exposure of my art to a wider viewing audience
2. The opportunity to share information on techniques and mediums
3. Potential sales of existing pieces
4. Attracting potential students for drawing lessons

How can I achieve any of these objectives? Let's examine each a little more.

1. Exposure of my art to a wider viewing audience.
I had that to some degree, but the audience was limited to a fairly specific demographic of the population - complete beginners. To be able to reach a wider audience, I have to go outside of a specific framework or area and show multiple options, not just one section.

2. The opportunity to share information on techniques and mediums
I want to be able to reveal the 'secrets' of drawing and take the mystique out of it. Some artists hold it close to their chest as if mentoring others in drawing or painting will diminish their own spotlight. I want to be able to watch people learn and see them grow in ability. It really is interesting to watch the process of someone go from beginner to more advanced.

3.Potential sales of existing pieces
I have a room full of art pieces, some I sell from time to time, some sit collecting dust. They need to be out in the world, being viewed. Its the old saying revised "If an art piece isn't seen, does it exist?" Prints? Galleries? Online?

I think the majority of art sales are done either through word of mouth or through a gallery. I don't have the 15 - 20 pieces for a body of work to approach a gallery at this point, so I'm limited to marketing my work locally or to a broader audience in a virtual setting.

Prints have a limited market and need research before investing money in them. The same applies to greeting cards. These also require an investment of marketing time and dollars.

4. Attracting potential students for drawing lessons
This is a double edged sword, depending on how I approach it. I can do a form of online lessons and that frees up some of my time, with but my preference is to teach in real life. It may become a a bit of both.

Reviewing this information, it is starting to point me in the direction of a website. This has been in my plans for the last year or more, but I haven't acted on. I think it is time to do so. It can be a showcase for my art and a teaching tool as well. I will have to do more research into how I can work both into a good site.

It seems I have some work to do in terms of designing the site and considering what the content will be. Does anyone have any well designed artist websites that they recommend I can review and experiences, good and bad with creating your own website?

Farm life

Its been another very warm and humid day and all the animals feel the heat and are a bit cantankerous. The pigs however, seem serene and if anything, smiling. Their pen was cleaned out and new sawdust put down so they were rolling around it, happy as ....well pigs! This is the second group of pigs that were raised and they are approaching the 200 pound mark. Off to market in a few more weeks. Yes, boys and girls, remember where your food comes from...

I visited the vegetable garden when I got home from work today to find a cow and calf moose had wandered through likely the night before, trampling several plants and munching on some beet leaves. They came in through the gate, so I guess its time to add yet more fencing to the little garden.

I also discovered that deer flies are attracted to blue, so a blue bowl plastered with a sticky fly trap and set on a pole in the field worked wonders for the horrible insects, catching 5 or 6 in the first couple of hours.

I really hate deer flies. They are so persistant in flying around your head trying to bite and if they do bite, its painful. They can easily drive me indoors while doing a dance in the field trying to get them away from me.

I've been playing with watercolours a little more, but am not pleased with my efforts. Its too washed out. I need to be bolder with watercolours but never seem to for fear of overpowering the piece. I'll keep trying. After all, I have 3 pads of watercolour paper to get through before I can buy something new....

Gina at Dogberry Hill Studio has given me a Brilliant Weblog award and I agreed to forward it. Thanks Gina! Its always lovely when someone goes to the trouble of choosing another artist or craftsperson to shine a spotlight on.

As with all awards, there is a process to keep it moving which is:

• When you receive the award, post the award image to your blog.
• Link to the blogger you received it from.
• Give the award to 7 other blogs and link to those blogs.
• Leave those seven bloggers a comment about receiving the award.

My nominees are....

Stacy Rowan
Rose Welty
Teresa Mallen
Chanan Mazal
Marsha Robinett
Steve Chipman
Laurel Neustadter

There is a variety of talent and ability in all of these artists in both artistic effort and being able to paint a picture in words in their blog.