Craftseller again... and some new work

I had an idea I was going to be in Craftseller magazine again this month (you are never quite sure, because you do the writing months in advance), but when I strolled into WHSmiths to be confronted with my pasty complexion on the front cover I very nearly said EEEK!

I am no where near as pale as my nordic looking daughter, but for some reason whenever I am photographed, my skin tone takes on a 'just crawled out of the grave as a zombie' hue.

They also put me in the index, so the editor obviously likes 'pale and interesting and looks like a zombie'.  

Although I am a shameless seeker of publicity, the sight of myself on the front cover led to a sudden and unusual attack of embarrasment. The weather being rubbish I had no sunglasses to hide behind, so I sidled up to the checkout, said 'I don't need a bag thanks' and shoved the magazine in my art portfolio the second it had been scanned. The checkout girl ignored this odd behaviour and I scuttled back to the car park to look at the article:

Half the stuff I wrote wasn't included, but that is the way it goes, and I was happy with the publicity, and happy to see some other 'internet' friends (Folksy sellers) I chat to online too.

Enough about me. I should talk about my work (!)

Here is my latest painting, a watercolour and gouache still life. I have had prints made because I have found seashells to be a popular subject before. And the starfish smells BAD, so I need to get my money's worth for putting up with the fish smell in my studio. If anyone knows how to stop starfish smelling please share. I have already tried bleach, drying in hot sunshine, anti mould-spray and bicarbonate of soda. I am considering microwaving it, but this could be a disaster in several respects...  Anyhow I was pleased with the painting:

 'Beach-Finds' Limited Edition Giclee Print 

My new lino print card and tag sets have been selling well locally, so it was time to start the time consuming process of photographing and listing them online, starting with the blue lighthouse set:

 'Lighthouse' Linocut Card and Tag set

I also decided to re-list some ACEO's I made a year or so ago. An ACEO is a minature artwork, always 2.5 by 3.5 inches, they are collected worldwide, people put them in albums. They are also a good way of offering a lower priced item and getting your sales and feedback scores up. This one is my 'Rich Kitty' design, I also put it on cards and it is usually popular with people like me who are owned by cats:

 'Rich Kitty 2' ACEO Original Lino-Print with collage

The next couple of weeks are very busy for me, time to plan my September art classes (I know), more work on the press release for the Sudbury Summer Art Show, and I am getting ready to demonstrate at 'Art Sunday' at Layer Marney Tower on July 1st.

I leave you with this snippet. Last week in Lavenham, a lady looked at my gift tags and said "Do you have any Christmas ones?" It begins...

Exhibition Photo Diary

Have you ever wondered what to do with that teenager who is lounging around your house? Well as part of my occasional 'Uses for teenagers' series, here we have the teen at 'Prints in St Peters' exhibition in Sudbury acting as a useful display stand. Teenagers are very good at displaying artwork as they get to stand still, something they enjoy far more than moving, which is exhausting for them.

Here is the rest of my work on one of the display stands. Sadly I didn't sell any framed pieces at this exhibition but did sell quite a few cards. You win some, you lose some!

Next up it was the private view of the Colchester Open Exhibition at the Minories Gallery and despite the poor quality of my photography, my boat painting has a good position in one of the front rooms near a nice big window.

Quite proud of getting into the Colchester Open as the selection committee were very thorough, and apparently spent over 11 hours scrutinising the submissions. Fingers crossed for a sale...

Next up it was 'Potters and Friends' an art exhibition/fair in Little Hall Museum, Lavenham:

Just off the main square, this bright yellow 15th Century building owned by the Suffolk Preservation Society was the venue for a selection of pottery and other artwork.

Many of the Potters were in the garden, but myself and my students were sharing the library.

We also had a little space in the hall, to lure people in. 

The desk was in a pleasant position by the window, although what you can't see is the group of 'death masks' of the hall's previous occupants that I spent all week looking at. 

The first weekend was warm and sales were steady, mid-week is was quiet and I froze, my feet being like blocks of ice by the end of each day, returning home to a ton of emails and work I had no time to deal with.

Jubilee day saw the square being decked out with food stalls and tables, but the weather was just appalling, raining all day, and a big sales opportunity was missed with visitor numbers down hugely. 

We were all cheered up by this very amusing full size model of the Queen, made for the jubilee by the local school children and installed in one of the museum rooms:

By the end of the exhibition I had sold 23 Cards and Tags, 4 Mosaics, 2 Monoprints and 2 Giclee prints. My students sold 14 Cards, 5 Giclee Prints and 3 Paintings. Of course we had to pay for the room rental, but nevertheless made a good profit, and considering the recession and the weather, we didn't do too badly I think!

I did spend about £25 on Pottery mind you, but that is the danger of exhibiting with people making such beautiful items...

More exhibitions are lined up later this year, but for now it is time to catch up with other work :-)

Handmade Shop, Colchester

A few days ago, I popped over to Colchester to see Maryann who runs the brand new 'Handmade' Shop in Sir Isaacs Walk. I have put some of my prints in the shop, but had run out of my Hollyhocks when I put my stock in, and had to wait until I had some more printed.

So dropping the Hollyhock's print off gave me time to check out the shop. My prints are in a lovely position right at the front:

 

Of course, being in a shop full of handmade goodies put me in the mood for a little shopping... I wandered around checking out all the contents of the shop. I headed first for the jewellery of course:

And then looked at all the other lovely things, including pretty tea-cup candles:

Scrummy things for the bath:

And Hazel Rayfield's lovely Encaustic paintings:

In the end I decided I simply couldn't leave without buying a couple of things (photographed when I got back on the studio cushions)... This pretty porcelain ring by Lisa Stevens:

And for the teen's ever-growing ornament collection this wonderfully tactile little cat:

The teen was delighted, although when I called, "Come here, I have something for you!" she complained like mad, thinking I wanted her to do the wiping up; A sad indictment of my mothering skills no doubt. But at least I have dry crockery, so we must be philosophical about these things.

If you are in Colchester any time, do pop in to the lovely and tiny handmade shop, you will find an Aladdin's cave of hand-made British goodies, perfect for treating yourself or a friend. 


And before I go, just time to give you a preview of my new seashell lino prints. I have called them 'Shoreline', and so far printed some in blues and some in yellow ochre:

"Shoreline 13" Monoprint

A couple of them are in the Gainsborough's House Printmaker's exhibition, some are available in my online shops, and a few will be going out to local venues like Maryann's shop, and other upcoming exhibitions. One of them is such a perfect match for the colours of my new laundry room that I am having it framed for my house. After all, I may not be wealthy, but at least I can have some real art on the walls!

Exhibition O'Clock

Yes, it is that time again, when all the spring exhibitions are suddenly upon me and I wonder why I didn't make more artwork during the winter! 

First up is the Colchester Open Exhibition I entered a couple of weeks ago, and a late night phone message informed me of my fate:

Woodbridge Dreams 

"Woodbridge Dreams" in Gouache and Collage, painted with the exhibition in mind - Accepted, Yay!

Orwell Estuary Low Tide 

"Orwell Estuary, Low Tide" in Watercolour, put in because it fit the criteria and to make the numbers up -
Rejected, Boo Hiss!

Of course I am happy to get one in, and the exhibition was selected by several artists and curators including Colin Self, and Ron Sims. According to the chat I had with the receptionist on picking up my Orwell painting the selection commitee took their time (not always the case) and it went on for 11 hours! Although things went to plan for me this time, you can never be sure of the taste of the committee, and sometimes I have found that the piece I put in to make up the numbers is the one that gets in.

Next up is the Gainsborough's House Printmakers Exhibition in St Peter's Church in Sudbury, and I am fighting the clock to get some new seashell prints finished. Here are the some of the backgrounds, ready to be over printed with a shell and starfish design. Much use has been made of those net bags you get oranges in:

And here is the carved lino ready to print over the top:

Whilst I was getting inky, I also worked on some new card and tag designs, they are selling steadily locally, so now I am adding some seaside inspired designs:

After the printmakers exhibition it is "Potters and Friends" at Lavenham, where I am sharing my allotted space with some of my students. Perhaps I will take along my latest two mosaics:

Navy Butterfly Mosaic Panel 

Sea Panel Seashell Mosaic 

In the midst of all this exhibition prep, a lovely local lady made an appointment to come to my studio and choose some prints for her house. She chose two, and I arranged to have them framed in white, as she requested, rather than the wood I usually use, I thought the frames suited them, and snapped a quick photo in the studio, of them wrapped, just before collection:

Finally, I have been asked to help organise this years SSAS (Sudbury Summer Art Show) started by Sally Freer to compliment the bi-annual 'Visions of Sudbury" exhibition on alternate years. An initial meeting laid out some changes. This year there will be guidlines about prices (not too low) and framing (bad framing is something that irritates me beyond words). Plus artists chosen will be by invitation only, and the organisers get to chose who is invited. I will, of course not be swayed by donations of cake; but I should mention that carrot is my favourite, with that cream cheese icing...

My Etsy Shop, a discount!

Unlike my other online outlets, Esty offer discount codes, which is handy. Of course, the thing you need most on the internet is feedback, and I need those first few sales to get this, so as a little incentive, and to try out the discount code facility... here it is:

15% discount off anything in my Etsy shop until 9am Monday morning. From a little card to a big original painting, if there is anything you want, get it for a fabulous 15% less than usual! And your code is:

15PERCENTOFF

Browse Michele's Etsy store here

Most popular prints selling (offline) currently... it is neck and neck between these two:

Also available, mosaics, original paintings, cards and linoprints. Enjoy :-)

New Painting, and New Media

So, I am fairly good at painting in watercolours. The problem is, lots of people are fairly good at painting in watercolours, and like it or not, those people are my competition. Watercolour painting has become massively popular in recent years; watercolours are everywhere, some good, some bad.


Now I need an entry or two for a local 'open' exhibition in Colchester, and experience of open exhibitions (as the name suggests, open to anyone) has taught me that a watercolour painting alone, however good, may not be enough to get me in. 


Open exhibitions have a selection committee, and friends on the inside assure me that sometimes a piece is literally looked at for a few seconds before a decision is made; brutal. So I need something a bit different, something that catches the eye, and shows a bit of imagination. 

 (extreme close up!)

So for this piece I used Gouache (opaque watercolour) and collaged seashells to give the piece (I hope), a soft, dreamy look. I am rather pleased with it, and think it will be popular as a print, so it is being scanned currently, then it's off to the framers.

 Here is the original photo and inspiration:

The open exhibition has a Suffolk theme, and it is £10 per entry. Fingers crossed...

Day Tripping

Last week I saw a chap in a t-shirt that read: "The internet is down so I decided to go outside". Sometimes that is how I feel, between work, house renovations and little spare cash we just never seem to go anywhere. So when boyfriend took a week off, I was determined that we would go out for at least one day, so I could get some inspiration for my paintings and some fresh air.

We headed initially for Woodbridge, and the weather was on our side. On cutting through a park from the car park we came across this fabulous tree, massive and obviously hundreds of years old:

Then it was into the main part of Woodbridge where I took this photo, which I am currently working into a painting in Gouache and Collage:

After a hot chocolate and some cake, which wasn't quite nice enough to justify its price of a whole day's food budget we decided to wander towards Felixstowe.

We ended up at Trimley Marshes, and took a very long walk; it was fairly deserted and very attractive:

On the way home we stopped under the Orwell Bridge (favorite suicide spot of the Suffolk disenchanted), for more photos. By this time it was freezing, and the wind whipped my hair around my ears as I struggled to stop the camera from shaking. So imagine my surprise next day when I saw this serene picture!

  
Of course I just had to paint it:

It was lovely to go out for the day, and just shows that even a local day trip can fill you with ideas and inspiration.


Back in the studio and the scan copies of my Little Blakenham painting came back, so I can now offer it as a Limited Edition Giclee Print:

Fields near Little Blackenham Suffolk, Giclee Print

Happy Easter everyone and enjoy any of your own day trips you may be planning!