Painted Plums Postcard

Painted Plums Postcard


I love Photoshop. (which helped me place the type on this card) And I think Vista Print is pretty good, too. I had run out of promo postcards and decided I should order some. It took me a while to decide which image I wanted to use and how to do the type on the front of the card over the painting. The last one I did was an apple on a blue plate. The plums seemed obvious since it is the image and name for my blog. Vista Print sends out emails offering deals on various promotional products. I honestly don't know how they come up with such good prices, but this artist is happy about that. The back of the card has my contact information, so mailed or hand delivered, this card has everything someone will need to find me. The cards will arrive in 10 to 14 days...so now I am anxious to see them and start passing them around.

The picture at the top of the blog is more the real colors of the actual painting. That one was done with my camera. The picture for the postcard came from scanning the painting. I did that to get the 300dpi that Vista Print needed to reproduce the art. For some reason the scan came out bluer, even with adjustments in Photoshop. But I think it will work for the postcard. It just goes to show you how difficult it is to reproduce colors. So many variables come into play. Each time I go to reproduce a piece of art in any medium, I find it takes a lot of tweaking and time. Anyway, this is what I sent them. We'll see what comes back to me. Last time they did a terrific job.

Sunflower Nod

"Sunflower Nod"
9X12
Oil on Canvas
Available

Click on image to enlarge the view

Contact to Purchase

Hat tips to Vincent Van Gogh who made everyone love Sunflower paintings. This is also my daughter's favorite flower and she grows them ever summer. They grow tall and heavy and nod over with the weight of the blossoms. (The goldfinches love them...yellow upon yellow.) She has loved the color yellow since she was little. Her bedroom was painted sunflower yellow, too. So painting sunflowers is always somewhat with her in mind.

Have a happy weekend...

Contemplating Liberty Poster

"Contemplating Liberty 2010"
11X14
Oil on Linen Panel
Available / price unframed $525.00
©Cheryl A. Pass

Yeah, I know. The original tea party was ages ago. And tea party symbolism is ridiculed by leftists and progressives as so archaic and passe. Those tea party activists of today have been called terrorists, unhinged, delusional, every derogatory epithet the left can call them. But you know what? I've been saying to myself and to my family for about 20 years now that we need a tea party against the more and more oppressive government intrusions into our lives. About two years ago as the election (with no good choices) of 2008 approached I watched things go from bad to worse. I watched the media lie and create walls around the truths about Barrack Obama. I watched my country fall into an abyss of manipulated despair and vote for a cloak called "Hope and Change." That cloak was a ruse and a pathetic ploy to elect an anti-American to the highest office of our land.

Sometimes, as I paint, I listen to radio. Talk radio. Voices to keep me company in my studio and to fill in the blanks that are missing in mainstream news. While I try to keep my mind on painting beautiful scenery or still lives or animals, I listen. My head becomes two tracks. One on the subjects of my art. The other on the subjects of my heart. My country is indelibly imprinted into my heart. The original Constitution is the foundation of living in America and the blessings I have received by the fortune of being born American. This is something I never took for granted and have respected all of my life. Maybe because my father served America in Guam in WWII. Maybe because my son is career Air Force. Maybe because I know in my heart how lucky we have been to have been defended by courageous and patriotic men and women whose lives I revere for the privileges I have received.

So I paint. It is what I do. This one is for all of those who are working so hard to save us from the corruption and degradation of our founding principles. It is a tribute. And symbolically, it is also for God from whom our liberties come and for the Founders who recognized this so that corrupt politicians would not be able to take away those liberties. Unfortunately, tragically, I am seeing this basis for living taken away. First, it was inch by inch over many decades. Since Obama, it is mile after mile at breakneck speed.

And, no, to those liberal / democrat / socialist people I know out there....it isn't "for our own good." (While it isn't my desire to insult you, or anyone for that matter, there comes a point when paths diverge) It isn't "for the good of the world." It isn't "for the sake of the children." It isn't "for saving the earth." It isn't "for the turtles and the whales." It isn't "to save our economy" (not even close) It isn't "to save jobs." (obviously not) It is for the sole purpose of taking our country down and for the corrupt power of a few very evil people who don't believe in individual liberties or even basic property rights. You have chosen a path that never ends well....a path that ends in government control of every breath you take. I'm sorry you've been conned, but America needs you to stop the insanity, wake up, and start fighting back with the rest of us. As much as I love some of you, I respected your freedoms and I am completely and utterly insulted that you would not respect mine or those of each individual American. The privilege to vote was not meant to vote away what you don't own....my liberty. The U.S. Constitution was not meant to be spat upon, bent and twisted into contemporary socialist causes. It was written before Marx and does not hold Marxist tenets. It transcends Marx and every other failed state before and since. It is "Forever" because it derives from God's natural law and lives in the hearts of all who believe in the true America.

There you have it. My Fourth of July poster / painting. As an aside, I took some cyber trips to study Steve Penley's patriotic paintings to inspire this poster. I don't think I came even slightly close to his exuberant expressions, but I appreciate his work. You can see his work here

Change of Scenery

From my yard to Jamaica...how's that for a change of scenery? An unheard of extravagance for us...going to Jamaica. There is a story here..having to do with my husband's niece and her wedding, plus her mother. My husband's brother, sister-in-law, and their two children have lived in Chicago for many years...and thus have been far away from us with few visits due to the distance. So last year, the niece decided she was getting married and wanted a "destination wedding" with friends and family. Meanwhile, her mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and has been going through many chemo treatments and bravely fighting off this cancer with an indomitable spirit. She is really energetic and amazing, and we are hoping she will win this fight. So...there was no question that we would do all we could to go to this wedding and spend some time with all of their family and friends.

We've never been to the Caribbean. And I have to say it was a resort destination, so we saw only a glimpse of Jamaica outside of the Sandals experience. And what we did see was a rugged island with a poor economy except for the resorts. The area around the airport at Montego Bay looked more like a flourishing city, but the area in between Montego Bay and Negril was pretty rough. The pictures here are of the resort. I was surprised, for some reason, to find the resort looked exactly like the advertisements for Sandals resorts. It is a playground for water sports and young sunbathers. And I am not a beach baby, so I had to be careful to not get too much sun. First thing in the morning was slathering up with spf 90 sunscreen, putting on a bathing suit, and loafing around in the pool until it was so hot outside I had to go find shade. A good bit of the time I was looking for photo shots that I thought I might use for paintings. The resort is manned with industrious and energetic lovely Jamaicans who were gracious and did all they could to make our stay wonderful. I was very impressed with them and have to say, besides the scenery, those people were the best part of the experience. (aside from being with our family, of course.) The resort does a lot of commercialization promoting itself over the week which I found to be annoying. But I realize these resorts are the backbone of the Jamaican economy and they need to do all they can to bring it on every chance they get.

Now for the next adventure. We returned on Saturday evening, unpacked and regrouped on Sunday and Monday, and Tuesday I had surgery. Sooooo, though I can type, I am still on pain meds and recovering and not close to going back to painting yet. It is not life-threatening or too serious, but will take me a few weeks to get back to normal. I am hoping by the end of next week I'll be able to get back to it. From spring, with adjusting to my Dad's death, this trip, the yard and house, changes with my husband's job situation, and now this surgery, I feel like we have been on a roller coaster. Not dull..certainly. For now I am heading back to bed and sleeping the rest of the day....but I wanted to share some of the scenes of Jamaica. The colors were fabulous and I will always be glad we went there.

'Til next time...

Around My Yard

I'm going to be out of range for a couple of weeks...down the rabbit hole, up in smoke, into the wardrobe, missing in action, behind the looking glass, somewhere else, etc. So I was thinking about what you might like to look at while I don't post for a little while. I thought maybe you would like to see some of the pictures I've taken this spring around my yard and house for painting references. I usually don't show the surroundings very much, but I do live in the woods. My yard is a lot of work and yet I love the trees, the rocks, the flowers...everything but that dastardly red clay that is impossible to dig. It's like digging in brick. We have a compost system and over the years we have built up the flower beds with some better soil to assist the gardening. That has helped tremendously. As you can see, we have had some beautiful flowers this spring. There are more to come over the summer. Some Dahlias, Zinnias, and I am hoping for a few lilies. The Hydrangeas have out done themselves this year.

There is a story behind the cupola which resides on the very pinnacle of my studio. I used to own a company called Wild Hare, the logo for which was a running rabbit. This gave my family and friends the opportunity to give me rabbits for every occasion for several years. When we built the studio with a 4 hip roof, the top needed embellishment. My husband built the cupola and had a local sheet metal company make a copper roof for it. And then my children bought me the gorgeous weather vane with a running rabbit.....the icing on the cake. Ooh la la!! I love both the cupola and the weather vane and each time I look at them...I think about my dear family and I also think I should do a painting of that scene up there.

So there you are...hope you enjoy the scenery!

Picture are as follows:
1. Peonies
2. Irises
3. Begonia basket
4. Rabbit Planter by the studio doorway.
5. Piracantha by the Driveway
6. View from the Second Story - Hydrangeas
7. Cupola with Rabbit Weather Vane

Baby Watermelon

"Baby Watermelon"
8X10
Oil on Board

I've been more than a bit stuck on another painting, but wanted to put something up to let you know I am still here. (By stuck, I mean I got part way through it and can't seem to land on how I want to finish it. It is sitting there nagging me and I should probably just put it away and move on. I may do that.) I've been more than distracted and busy with too many things to mention. Family things mostly...and house renovations, mostly in the manner of refreshing paint in my dear 30 year old house. Also the garden work, which, if I don't do it, I will have no flowers to enjoy or to make paintings. Preparations for a trip in the near future, too, so I'll fill you in on that later.

At any rate, summer weather has arrived here. Our dog, Bosley (in the previous post) just had a merry chase around the yard after a raccoon. We believe the raccoon lives next door, but wanders over here at night to steal bird seed. He's a pretty big one, too, so I hope Bosley doesn't get too close to him. (or her) We took the flashlight out there and sure enough that raccoon must have been really scared because he (or she) was in the very top of one of our very tall oak trees.

Happy Memorial Day Weekend. God bless our service men and women!!! And remember those who have given so much to keep us safe.

Bosley, the Fleeting Poser

"Bosley at Four"
Photo

I was thinking I wanted to do another portrait of Bosley. This time I wanted to do one shoulders up and a dignified profile. Ha Ha Ha. Do you think I can get him to pose still enough for that? I get out my camera and sit him down. I tell him to stay. Which he does for about 45 seconds. Then I get him to sit and stay again, but he won't hold his head up and still in the right pose for the shot. Next, after my husband came home I tried to get my husband to help. LOL We end up scooting around, here and there around the kitchen floor, and still can't get Bosley to give me that pose. The picture (a little blurry) above is Bosley after we went through that circus. You can see that sweet, imploring smile, as if to say, "What would you like me to do next, Mom?" (who could not love that face!) The only time this fellow is really still is when he is down for the count. And I've already done a portrait of him asleep, so I didn't want to do that again. I have new found sympathy for all my clients who go through this process to get the right picture for a painting of their dog or cat. It isn't easy!

Anyway...that's what we did today. I'm searching around for subject matter besides Bosley, too. I'm still tired a good bit after my Dad's death and it is taking me a while to get back in the saddle. Working on it though...
Stay tuned!!

Patch And Beau Finished

"Patch and Beau
20X16
Oil on Canvas

Commissioned

Click on image to enlarge the view.


Finito. I still have my ear, but it's likely that most of my hair fell out in this process. It was the background that drove me crazy. I'm wishing I could have done this differently...possibly a square format that would have eliminated a lot of the trees in the background, more like the top picture. As it is, getting the little guy to pop from that background is near impossible. I opted for a standard size in order to make it easier for the receiver of this painting to get a frame. At any rate...I'm glad to be finished. It took a lot longer than I wanted it to, but that is just what happens sometimes. I hope the owners will enjoy this painting of their two buddies.

Patch And Beau WIP 2

"Patch and Beau" WIP
Oil on Canvas
20X16

Here is some more progress on Patch and Beau. I have to say this one contains thousands of conundrums, mostly because of the background. Excuse the glare from the lamp on the left side. If I don't cut off my ear, I'll be back with the finished painting in the next few days.
Thanks for stopping by...

Patch And Beau WIP

Close Up of Patch - WIP

So....this is the painting that is commissioned by way of the Cancer Society Auction. The original idea is a painting of one pet...but the people who won the bid decided they wanted to give the painting to a relative who has these two cute canine friends. The border collie is Patch. The miniature pinscher is Beau. The pictures were a bit difficult, having been emailed to me by the owners...only because the background is very busy and I want the dogs to stand out as the major focus. Patch has one blue eye and one amber-yellow eye and since that is one of his unique traits, I am making sure that shows up also. I usually just do one dog (or cat) at a time, so this is a larger painting and more challenging to keep the composition cohesive. We'll see if I get there!

I'm finally back to the easel and getting back to work after a few weeks of working on my Dad's passing and the paperwork of winding up his estate. It has been a sad time, but you can keep reminding me that he was 92 and that is a good long life. At this point it all seems surreal. I'm sure others who have gone through this know what I mean...it takes a while to sink in.

"Patch and Beau" WIP
16X20
Oil on Canvas

Take a Flyer....All the way to heaven

Dog Portrait Promotional Flyer

Click on image to enlarge the view.

Well, I'm trying to cover the bases and convey a couple of good thoughts today...though it is hard to try to move forward at the moment. My Dad passed away Tuesday morning and we are so sad to lose him. One of the things he asked for in his last few days was to see Bosley...he is the napping fellow on the lower left of the flyer. We took Bosley over to Dad's assisted living apt. on last Saturday so Dad could pet him once more. It was a tender scene and we are very glad we did that. When my Dad could still come to our house, Bosley would promptly hop up on the couch to sit by my Dad, so Dad could pet him. It made them both happy. I'm writing this for several reasons. First, my experience with our dogs has been so totally enriching and wonderful. Dogs give us so much joy and love. Today I am trying to think of our blessings and keep from crying over the loss of my Dad. We are missing him so much.

Another reason is to say something about cancer. It is such a hideous and ravaging thing and we can feel so futile in the fight against it. My Dad had prostate cancer and that is what killed him in the end. He also suffered through a melanoma several years ago and had surgery which saved his life then. My little contribution to our local cancer society is donating a pet portrait to their fund-raising auction this Saturday. So the first painting I will do after my Dad's death will be for the cause of helping to fight cancer.

The last reason I'm publishing this is to give other artists a possible idea for promoting their work. I have a program in my computer called Freehand which lets you import pictures and type copy without too much hassle. The picture importing is easy and there are selections of fonts to make your page look great! I have used this "flyer" to promote my work at various venues, leaving them with galleries, etc. Maybe this idea could work for other artists reading my blog.

That's it for now...
I'll be baaaackk......hopefully soon.
Thanks for your visit!

Two By Two

"Two by Two"
12X9
Oil on Linen Panel

Sold

We are very fortunate in my local area to have a wonderful, judged and juried, art show each year sponsored by our art guild and The Schiele Museum of Natural History. We have only two other shows, one a miniature show and the other an open show at the local community college. I have been very fortunate to have been chosen to exhibit at the Schiele Show, titled "A Natural View," for the past few years. This year's show is on exhibit right now through April 2nd. It is at this address: 1500 E. Garrison Blvd., Gastonia, NC. So, if you are in the area, you are welcome to stop by and take a look at the show.

This year my painting "Two by Two" was purchased by a patron who also purchased my "Christmas Dove" painting last year. I am thrilled and so happy that my art has found a good home to a collector who likes my work. And also grateful to have the opportunity to exhibit in such a respected museum that is known nationally as a special resource for its knowledge on natural history. I have especially loved this show for the theme of it. All entries must reflect the artist's view of the natural world...and that is something so fun to contemplate and try to paint.

A couple of things....
One is that I really loved this painting. It was fun to do and expresses the cheerful, sheer happiness of being a duck in the water! It's a great thing to be in one's element...and that is what I felt as I painted this one.

The other is that I am not huge at marketing. I think that is true of a lot of artists, but I am not one to go around flashing signs and bragging about my work. I think I rely on the viewer to come to their own conclusions. If they like it...GREAT! If they don't, well...I didn't succeed at appealing to that particular person. Mostly it is easier for me to keep my head down and just do my work. The goal is getting it out there where it can be seen by a lot of people. That's why I do this blog and my website, so I can share my work with as many people as I can. When I owned my stationery company, Wild Hare Post, Inc., I had a contingent of 50 sales reps whose job it was to go about selling my work to retail stores. I will never get over how good they were and how grateful I was for them to do that job. They did what I just could not do.....national marketing. My relationships with them is something I will always carry with me as a great thing. I still miss them.

Now it is up to me. I forget to tell people that you can buy prints and cards of my work at Fine Art America. Here is a link to the page: Cheryl's Profile at Fine Art America From there you can choose a painting for either a poster, paper, or canvas print, or greeting cards (one or a box), where you can choose blank or create your own greeting.

Of course you can always contact me for availability of certain paintings or commission me to do a painting just for you.

Thanks for stopping by....

My Funny Valentine - Dog Portrait

"My Funny Valentine"
10X8
Oil on Linen Panel

Click on image to enlarge the view.

Every time I paint a dog portrait, when I get it finished, I think it is my favorite. If you look closely you will see a marking in the shape of a heart on this fellow's nose. I didn't notice it when I first fell in love with him, but when I studied the photo closer I saw it. Hence, the title,"My Funny Valentine." I started him before Valentine's Day, but just managed to get back to him the end of this week.

The local Cancer Society Auction is coming up and, like last year, I am donating a dog portrait to the effort. I thought maybe another example of my work would be beneficial to them.

Adding a note here on March 5....My 92 year old father has taken another turn downward and has needed more care and help. Hospice was called in last week and we are doing all we can to help him through these hardest of times. Consequently my painting has taken a back seat to the necessary tasks at hand. I hope to get back to it as soon as possible.

My Funny Valentine

"My Funny Valentine"
10X8
Work in Progress

As I am oft to do, I stuck the unfinished work in progress into one of the frames I had lying around here to see where the face was landing into it. (see below) This funny guy is unknown to me personally, but as you know, I love dogs and when I saw him I fell in love. Infatuation? From the photo I am working from, and you will see this later, he actually has a tiny pink heart shape right on his nose...besides that his nose is slightly heart shaped. I love his black and white colors and there is a bit of reddish tan yet to emerge....you will see that later, too. As he is right now there is a sort of intrigue and a rather modern sophistication. I hope I can maintain that, but if not I might just do this fellow again in just some abstract modern technique, if I can pull that off.....you know that isn't my forte usually.

"My funny valentine...you make me smile when I am blue....."
More later!

Water Lily

"Water Lily"
8X10
Oil on Canvas Panel
Private Collection

On top of the skewed canvas, the sciatic problem and my Dad, we also had a recent electric gremlin hit our house which took out my printer and my USB hub. I guess when it rains it pours. Light bulbs blew, our rheostat in the dining room blew...all of this happened over about ten days. We called the power company and no one seems to have a clue what hit us. Had to be a gremlin....no other explanation and the power company was not taking responsibility. They checked everything out and said we are fine. Hmmmmmmm. Curious, eh? I have replaced the hub and the printer now. Expensive little fellow, that gremlin.

So....I needed a little something visual to cheer me up today, so I went looking around in my files and came across this Water Lily I painted a couple of years ago. My husband and I had gone up to Bass Lake close to Blowing Rock, NC on a beautiful September Saturday and walked around the lake. This was one of only a couple of the lilies still blooming. I was happy to grab a picture and have something to paint when we came home. Now when I look at it, I remember that happy September Saturday.