lessons learned

I was thrilled when at my reception at Athan's, a woman who came said that she was going to buy "Retired Racer" (above). I had my friend John take care of sales and emails. She wrote the email on a list and now when I'm writing to tell her that the show is over and the piece is ready for her, the email bounces back. I have no other way of communicating with this person :(. I have posted on my Facebook page and have contacted other people that I new were at the reception, but no one seems to know who she is. She did take my card and information and I'm really hoping that she gets back in touch with me. I feel so embarassed and unprofessional. This like this shouldn't happen.

Please please please get in touch with me, CarolynWhoBoughtRetiredRacer! I wouldn't want you to think that I swindled you!!!!

It's been a good week :)

 

Ella

8x10 inch watercolor

 

 

I'm feeling very fortunate this week. The exhibit at Athans is getting nothing but praise from visitors and the press! Look here, there's a mention on BostonMagazine.com! *

 

We had a great reception and I'm so happy 2 of my paintings have found homes!  We (John Q and I ) we're talking the night I dropped them off and we decided since my paintings need homes that we should help out the real animals that need homes. We, Unbound Artists, are donating 10% of the sales made at this exhibit. The Ellen Gifford Cat Shelter ** was the obvious choice because they are right in Brighton. The exhibit is up until Labor Day weekend. Athans has a great menu for lunch/dinner and the eclairs are definitely worth the cheat!

Above is a painting that I just finished for my friend Angie. A wonderful woman that I met at Cocheco Animal Shelter benefit. We were both trying to sell our wares and hers was Barkin' Biscuit, homemade natural dog biscuits. At the time she had Bohdi, a gentle giant of a dog, with her. I did end up painting Bohdi not to long after that because Angie was the winner of my gift certificate donation!
Recently, Angie contacted me to paint Ella, a Sato dog from Puerto Rico. Ella is a goofy Rhodesian ridge back mix who only has 3 legs. Apparently as a pup, Ella broke her foot and when Angie took her to the emergency vet and they set the toes incorrectly. Poor Ella was in so much pain, she was so very shy and hid from everyone and everything. Angie and her husband Jon made the decision that to take off the leg was the only solution. Afterwards, it was as if Ella had come out of her shell. Angie said it took less than 2 days for her to fully recover and get accustomed to the missing leg. Angie wanted a full body of Ella, so you could tell that she had only 3 legs. They did the right thing for Ella.

Angie is also an avid gardener and and raises her own chickens for eggs and meat. She and I both agree that the healthiest and the TASTIEST way to eat is local and homegrown. Although I don't bake my own crackers as she does! So we are bartering for $250 worth of organic groceries. When I went up to visit her, and take pictures of Ella, I came home with 2 whole chickens 2 sets of chicken parts (dark and white), a dozen eggs, radishes, zucchini, lettuces, hot peppers, dill relish, summer squash, dilly beans (which were freakin' awesome!) and some jalapeno jelly. I have 2 more trips up!

I love a good barter!

*http://www.bostonmagazine.com/arts-entertainment/blog/2013/08/02/boston-coffeeshop-art-galleries/

** http://www.giffordcatshelter.org/

***http://www.athansbakery.com/

SOLD!

So the last Sunday, we had the Insperable Companions reception and I'm thrilled to let you know that "Luna" and "Retired Racer" were both sold that night and 10% was given to the Gifford Cat Shelter in Brighton MA. Thank you so much to all who attended this great event! It will be up for viewing until the end of August.

Reality Check

So I think that I've always been pretty green, I re-use my water bottle at the gym, I bring my own bags to the grocers and we do recycle EVERYTHING. I'm also one of those people who believes if it works, like my cell phone or my TV, why toss it? Sure I'd love to have a iPhone or a jazzy LCD (and it would save so much room) but why fill the landfills? But then I took a quiz on NDRC's Simple Steps website (http://www.simplesteps.org) and I'm addicted to oil! We all are!

The Exxon spill that happened in Alaska, I was a senior in high school, and yes I was upset, but I still kept cruising to the beach with my friends. Unfortunately, if it's out of sight, it's out of mind. I see what's happening now in the Gulf of Mexico and I weep every time I see another image on the TV screen. The reality is we really don't know the damage yet, and things won't ever be back to normal. How could this have happened? We can sit and blame and blame and blame but it's not going to solve the problem of our addiction to oil. I remember my dad once telling me, "Chris, you can't be guilty for being a human." And I replied, "Maybe so, but I'm guilty of being an American." And you know, the Celtics lost the NBA Finals last night. All of Boston was super gloomy because of it and I'm thinking, "Really? This is the first thing on your mind?"

What can I do? I'm just me, painting kitties and puppies and listening to my music and trying to enjoy myself while I'm here. What can I do? I feel so small. What can I do? I took public transportation to work today. What can I do? I shut my computer off when I leave work and cut the light switches off that everyone leaves on. What can I do? *sigh*

I bought some Tshirts from Threadless (http://www.threadless.com) before and then saw this one:

so I had to get it. Anything to support the big ass clean up that we should all be involved in. Then I read about this woman who is running a blog of sketches to raise money for the clean up. The art work is only $10 a piece and all proceeds go to the clean up. I'm thinking of doing something similar. I know I have pictures of pelicans somewhere from my visits to South Carolina..... Anyway if you want to visit her site and donate go here: http://ripplesketches.blogspot.com . I've contacted Kelly myself and asked how my own art can be helpful. (And have donated to the cause directly).

And here's a beautiful before and after shot of a pelican. If you've ever dealt with a wild critter, you can only imagine how hard it must have been to clean this bird!

So then I read something that @charmfx had wrote on Twitter and it really hit home with me. It was: "When disaster strikes, when times are uncooperative, those are opportunities for creativity to remind all of us who we are."

Dutchess

8x10" watercolor

Dutchess' owner won my gift certificate that I had donated for the Gifford Cat Shelter. She loves her kitty so much, that she put the gc for a 5x7" painting towards a larger 8x10" painting. What a pretty kitty :)

As Obama said, "The time for change is now!" Please please please, when you leave the room, shut the lights off. When you ask for another drink at the bar, tell your server you'd be fine with using the same glass. My fear is that the oil drilling will become more dangerous, more expensive and make us behind the times with the rest of the world. If we don't change our ways, then we all suffer.

Now, shut the computer off and go for a bike ride. It's beautiful out.

A Monday in April

Sushi, 8x10" painting layers

Sweet Sushi is almost done. I have completed the painted portion, now I have to go back in with some colored pencil to push out the highlights (I think the crown on her head is too dark) and add her whiskers and other small details. I hope the customer loves it!

So - this coming weekend is the annual Wine Tasting/Silent Auction to support the Gifford Cat Shelter. Location and time can be found here: http://members.petfinder.org/~MA44/events.htm

But I wanted to let you know that I have donated a gift certificate for a 5x7" painting done by yours truly! Come out and help the kitties!!!!