This is the other new drawing I did this summer for the Cold-Blooded Creations exhibit. It's a hawksbill turtle, which is where the term tortoise shell originally came from, since the species was driven nearly to extinction by overhunting for it's shell, which was used in a multitude of decorative items. Thankfully, the turtle is making a comeback, though it remains endangered, especially after the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. There are 2 subspecies; one in the Gulf/Atlantic area and the other in the Pacific ocean, which is the one in my picture. The Pacific version has a more heart-shaped shell.

   I imagined the one in my drawing swimming past coral reefs on its way to tropical seas and titled it "Heading to Hawaii". It's done in pen and 2 color inks on calligraphy paper.

    Here's my newest masterpiece(lol), a pen & ink drawing of an armadillo done on calligraphy paper. It's 11x14 inches & has 4 or 5 different color ink. I started it in Dec. 2007 for an online show about cactus, but obviously didn't get it done in time, since I finished it late last month(Jan. 2009). All the lines-- especially on the armor-- got tedious, so I'd work on it for awhile & put it aside, then get it out a month or so later and do some more. That's why it took even longer than usual.

                                                               
The holiday craft show is this Saturday & I seem to be farther behind than usual in preparing for it. I have a list with only a few things crossed off & others that are almost done, but never seem to get finished. Maybe they will all get done at the same time? I need to load the car on Thurs. and set-up is Friday afternoon, so I'm down to the wire here. Eeeeeeekkk!!!
   Last year I made a decent profit at "Christmas in the Barn", but this year, with the slow economy, I'll be happy if I just make back my table fee. I'm going to reduce prices on some of the older works & am considering having a 10% off sale the last 2 hours of the show. For the first time they are having a door prize raffle, so I'm contributing one of my eagle prints,which might make folks curious to see my other work if they notice it on the table.
   There will be about 50 vendors in 2 sections of the church buildings, plus a dining area where people can buy homemade soup & cookies, which is extremely popular. The show runs from 9am to 3pm and it's a festive & fun atmosphere. I'll post some pics next week. My sister will be helping me pack up afterwards, thankfully.
   Wish me luck!

   This is my newest painting,
finished  earlier this month and is now at the Cold-Blooded Creations Show in
Daytona Beach, Florida this weekend (along with 3 older pictures).  
    Titled "Fancy Meeting You
Here". It's an Eastern chipmunk and  the other animal is a five-lined skink.
It's acrylic, 16"x12" and I put it in a brown frame. 
     Hope you like
it.

    Eeek, hadn't realized that it had been so long since I'd written.My health has improved somewhat, I'm now able to go out of the house, but am still coughing a lot(bronchitis?) & vomiting most days. Had to miss the county fair, but at least I can go to the library & grocery store these days.Depending on my sister & elderly mom for errands just wasn't working out too well. There was 2 fun days this week caring for some friends' cats, which I'll share pictures of in an upcoming entry.
   I've also been packing up artwork to send to an art show in Florida, as well as to a customer in Texas. A person on one of my online lists really liked my collared lizard painting and wanted it for the new house she & her husband just moved to. Shipping was delayed because of being sick, but I was pleased I could finally send it this past week. It's titled "His Domain" and is fitting that it's going out West.

  This trio of thorny seahorses was painted in acrylic a couple years ago, but I only recently got a decent photo of it. It's done on Asian paper that is sort of cloth-like, those swirls in the background are fibers in the paper. The segments and ridges on the seahorses reminded me of stained glass when I was painting them. It's one of my favorite paintings for some reason. I put a purple mat and brown frame on it to keep the color theme going.

 The Nature Fest went well 2 weeks ago. Though the weather was rather chilly, thousands of folks attended the 2 day celebration of Spring in Ohio; with wildflower walks, birding hikes, live animal programs, lectures, etc.  Not everyone made it into the room with the art show, but  there was still dozens of dogs & plenty of people coming through. A person dressed as a frog clumped about, a friend stopped by, I got to pet a baby crocodile & I got lots of compliments on my display(above, the white screen is on the table behind me).
    While I knew two of my fellow artists, the rest were new, but we quickly built a rapport.There was carved gourds, photographs, hand turned birdhouses, and lovely watercolors. The lady next to me did drawings on tree fungus, large toadstools that she sketches on with a wood burning tool and highlights with white Prismacolor pencil. The blue jays below was my favorite.
   Sales
were slow, those who had been in it before said last year was more
profitable, but the atmosphere was great, all of the people very nice
& I still had fun. It was a positive experience and I hope to be in it next year.

  My second art show of the year is on view now at another suburban library. It went up Jan. 14th, which overlapped the other one for a few weeks. This one is small works in a nice display case and went up quickly. The employees seemed to like it, at one point there was a small crowd standing around admiring my work. One librarian walked by, was startled and exclaimed "Ooooh, color!" It's there until next Friday, the 22nd.
   

  

  Last Thursday I installed an exhibit of all of my largest paintings at Fairview Library. It's in the downstairs hall where all of the meeting rooms are located, as well as employee spaces. There's at least one meeting everyday & a book sale next weekend, so a lot more folks will be seeing my work than anticipated.

   The gallery area comprises a short wall at the bottom of the stairs  & long wall partially behind the stairs, but not blocked by them, as you can see in the photo. It's about 15 feet of wall altogether, room for plenty  of pictures. People will be confronted with the shark as they round the corner of the staircase, which ought to grab their attention & then turn to see the rest.

    Everyone at the library was extremely nice & I got lots of compliments after hanging my work. Even if nothing sells, it will still be a positive show experience for me because of that. The exhibit is there until Feb. 5th, so anything is possible.

"Christmas in the Barn" went well yesterday. When I set up on Friday, the rustic look of the room instantly appealed to me. It's so western, I imagined a handsome cowboy stepping through the door. My new tabletop set-up worked really well & was easy to transport. There was a nice variety of crafts, all handmade(YAY!), in an area of the church as well as in the Barn. Crowds flowed between the two buildings, people had to park on the church lawn because the lot was full. I was amazed to see so many people & most of them were buying things, not just looking. Quite a few people I knew stopped in, a neighbor, book group members, people from other craft shows, friends, it was great! Most of my fellow crafters were friendly, I really enjoy the sense of cameraderie at these events. And the church volunteers who organized the show were overly helpful & friendly, they really made the crafters feel valued & kept morale at a high level. There was long lines of customers wainting to buy their homemade soups, the flavor I tried was tasty. An older man dressed as Ebeneezer Scrooge (top hat, frock coat, carved cane) strolled though & since the book was fresh in my mind from Tuesday's discussion, I engaged him in debate on some trivia from the novel.  

    The atmosphere was terrific, my sales were decently profitable and the mood was festive. Though it was wintertime cold outside, there was a friendly warmth inside & it's one of the best craft show experiences I've had since starting them in 1992. God bless us everyone!