Horse and Groom - Greeting Card

5x7 water soluble graphite on watercolor paper
greeting card
$30 + $5 sh

And so Christmas is around the corner. I wish all my friends the happiest of tidings at this blessed season.

Runabout - Greeting Card

7x5 water soluble graphite on watercolor paper
greeting card
$30 + $5 sh

Happy Winter Solstice. The days will be getting longer now. More light to paint by!

The Times - Greeting Card

 

7x5 water soluble graphite on watercolor paper
greeting card
$30 + $5 sh

One of my favorite things to do - sketch people in coffee shops. Its interesting to note that its primarily men who read the newspapers.

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There is still time to buy a piece of original art for a gift that lasts lifetimes.
See my ETSY store for large and small works.

Window Seat - Greeting Card

7x5 water soluble graphite on watercolor paper
greeting card
$30 + $5 sh

Barely have had time to paint, but am doing so in fits and spurts. The season is upon us, and I am finishing last gift shopping, wrapping and shipping and beginning baking. Lots of little parties for the kids and family. Its all holly jolly!
We've snapped out of our arctic blast here and are enjoying some lovely "winter" weather - 70 and sunny. :-)

Today are the class parties and in the afternoon the Girl Scouts are going caroling at a nursing home nearby. I hope that all my cyber friends out there are having as pleasant a time - remembering the reason for the season. I myself have been a little too stressed and am trying to take deep breaths. So much to do... best to remember WHY we do it.

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Check my ETSY store for more available art. I've shipped to Italy and Australia recently. So amazed at the reach my artwork can have. So very blessed too.

Thankfully

7x5 water soluble graphite portrait sketch

Commission - nfs

Happy post Thanksgiving! What a perfectly lovely afternoon we had at Joel's on Wednesday. I got to paint and sketch a perfectly lovely young lady for a friend's Christmas gift. 

I think I made my model look a little older, unfortunately. But hopefully she will grow into her portrait! Lol

I started a second sketch using casein. But the eyes are all wrong. My limited palette of casein is an issue. As is my inexperience with the medium. I will finish this at home  either with oil or casein. 

Now - I don't want to ignore the fact that this is the biggest shopping weekend of the year (though I almost feel ashamed for us at all the desperate commercialization I'm seeing.) But truly in the spirit of expressing my gratitude to my friends and fans, I have a special discount for my email/newsletter subscribers only! Sign up today - in the right column ➡ and I will send you codes for 25% off and/or $100 off purchases over $500. My shop on ETSY is filling up with my studio inventory finally. Help me make space (literally and creatively) for new work!

Trumpet Blast

7x5 water soluble graphite on watercolor paper
greeting card
$30 + $5 sh

TGIF! Finally have time to paint and create! I'm working on some small works for blog (daily painters galleries) for the upcoming holidays. And finalizing a couple of restaurant scenes to send to Castle Gallery. Have a beautiful weekend friends!

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Upcoming Events:

• November 29: Major's Fundraising Art Sale begins 
• December 6: Small Gems show dk Gallery, Marietta, GA
• December ?: Annual Holiday Show, Castle Gallery, Fort Wayne, IN

First Chair

7x5 water soluble graphite original sketch

greeting card

$30 + $5 sh

Last night was our open studio event and it was a lovely evening. Better, I think, than if I had it at my home studio (which really is much too messy to allow people to safely enter!) With V.... there it was more relaxed and - well, just like our regular meetings but with more people!

It's so nice to meet new people and share my art with them. Thank you to all who came by!

So there are still some original sketch greeting cards available - and I love doing these so much that I will continue to create more and offer them either on ETSY or my own website (store is in the works maybe - more on that later. So many ideas and options!) ack!

Dominick the Donkey

5x7 water soluble graphite on paper (greeting card)
$30 + $5 sh

One of many small original sketches available at our "open studio" event.

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Wednesday -  November 20th - 4 -8 pm

Joel's Coffee House

11301 Lakeline Blvd, Ste 120

Austin, TX 78717

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Upcoming Events: 

• November 20: Chocolate and Chiaroscuro Event, Joel's Coffee House, Austin
• November 29: Major's Fundraising Art Sale begins 
• December 6: Small Gems show dk Gallery, Marietta, GA

Mother and Child

7x5 water soluble graphite on paper (greeting card)
$30 + $5 SH

 

One of many small original sketches available at our "open studio" event.

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V....Vaughan said on her blog yesterday that we "solve all the world's problems" over yummy chocolate and coffee/hot choc at Joel's. Maybe its not as lofty as that, but it is extremely meaningful time for me to get to unwind, to talk shop with another full time, dedicated, hard working artist, and to play with new ideas. One of my favorite new mediums is the water soluble graphite. I love to sketch. Adding water to the sketch is almost cathartic... it reminds me of this great little art "toy" I saw at a museum once - the Buddha Board. But this is permanent.

Please join us tomorrow and watch us sketch a customer or chat with us about art and life, and enjoy Joel's treats - gluten and nut free wall of choices too! - as well as delicious chocolates made by Brad/Austin Truffle Co. 

Wednesday -  November 20th - 4 -8 pm

Joel's Coffee House

11301 Lakeline Blvd, Ste 120

Austin, TX 78717

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Upcoming Events: 

• November 20: Chocolate and Chiaroscuro Event, Joel's Coffee House, Austin
• November 29: Major's Fundraising Art Sale begins 
• December 6: Small Gems show dk Gallery, Marietta, GA

Major Smiling

5x7 fine art card - sold

water soluble carbon 

This is one of my dogs, Major, enjoying the sunshine. He got to enjoy it today despite the cold and despite the fact that he is recovering from a very difficult surgery. Today is one week since they took out part of his intestines to remove two masses. 

He is really underweight and anemic since he was unable to eat/pass food for about a week before surgery. 

Today I had the first promising news. His blood work shows the anemia improving.  We've (I've) been nursing him and syringe feeding him and he is acting more like himself. But it will be a long recovery yet. We're loving on him lots and so grateful for all the vet care he's gotten. He's made a lot of friends who are pulling for him! 

Cards like this one are some of what V....Vaughan and I are going to offer at our "Chocolate and Chiaroscuro" open house November 20th. 

Friends who come to that event get the first opportunity to buy these fine art greeting cards. They are 5x7 watercolor cards and you can send them to a friend or that hard to buy for coworker - or keep them for yourself and put in a frame! The cards are unique, original sketches. Something I haven't offered before.