Greyhound Bus Station and Changes for 2013

Private Commission
Mixed Media
Watercolor, Pen & Ink, and Colored Pencil
Beth S. Macre©2012

Now that I am working on my art full time, I need to make some changes.  I am retired from teaching, but not from Art. If I want to continue to be retired from teaching, I need to take my art more seriously and do a better job at marketing.  So that will be my goal for 2013.  Taking my art more seriously .  That will involve more marketing and trying to figure out what direction I want to go with my art.  I have always loved to draw with colored pencils, paint with acrylics, play with watercolor, draw with pen and ink, and create little houses out of clay. I want to sell art from my heart and create custom art for my customers.  I am always open to ideas from customers when they want a commission, but I hope to create a more clear idea of what it is I do.  Too many directions is difficult to market.  I love whimsy and I love the more illustrative side of art. Not realism, but capturing a mood or feeling. Somehow I need to figure out how to combine the two.  I want to enjoy the process, but still appeal to my customers and find new customers.
In the photo in this post, is the last piece of 2012 that I created for a customer.  The landscaping was done by a local landscaper, Drew Bevill Lawn Care. This drawing was a custom order for a gift for him. The greyhound bus station behind it has been recently remodeled back to its original Art Deco style architecture and is being used as our Main Street Offices.  Drew Bevill Lawn Care landscaped the attached park next to the station. This piece was fun to do because it has 3 of my favorite media included in it.   They were all happy with the results, which makes me happy.

For more information about my custom art and the other artwork that I create, please visit my website here: 
Beth S. Macre Studio.
Beth ♥

What have I been up too?

Angela Wren Nursing and Allied Health Building
Arkansas Northeastern College
Pen and Ink

I have been working on several commissions for Christmas. Obviously I can't reveal what I'm working on until after Christmas, but I can share a commission that I worked on for several months this summer and into fall. Our local college built a new building dedicated to nursing education, thanks to a local family who helped the college with the project in honor of their daughter, who was a nurse.  The building is a memorial to her life and is named after her.  The original was presented to the family at the dedication of the building.

Beth ♥

Cheers to 2011 and Welcome 2012!

Pen and Ink - 11 x 14
by Beth S. Macre 2011  ©  2011     

Two more pen and ink commissions that I did this year. I couldn't post them until after Christmas, so here they are.

The pen and ink drawings have kept me busy this year and I appreciate all of the positive feedback from everyone.  I hope to have the opportunity to continue to create drawings for those who want to capture memories of home to give as gifts, or for yourselves.

In the coming year, I hope to add some other subjects to my commission works.  I am working on creating a portfolio of portraits of both people and pets to offer for commissions.  Look for updates in the near future.

Have a wonderful New Year!

Beth♥   

Pen and Ink - 11 x 14
by Beth S. Macre 2011  ©  2011 

Christmas Commissions

Now that Christmas is over, I can slow down and relax...for a few days anyway! It was down to the wire before Christmas, but I finished my last pen and ink commission on Christmas Eve!  Thank goodness my customer knew ahead of time that it would be close, but she was excited and very understanding.  They picked it up Christmas Eve and were very happy with it.

Pen and Ink House Commission
11 x 14

Another commission that I completed for a Christmas gift was picked up last week and my customer (Sarah) seemed extremely excited and pleased with the drawing!  This was her childhood home that they have recently sold, so it was very special to her and her family.  It is special to me also, because this house is down the street from a house where we used to live and my daughter spent more than a few nights in this home with her childhood friend, Sarah.  The days when the girls were playing together, beginning in Kindergarten, turned into days of riding around together in high school, and now they are attending the same University and making more memories attending football games and other activities. Homes are such special places for families to make memories and I believe that is why so many people enjoy having a drawing of their home to preserve those memories.

Below is the lake house drawing that was delivered Christmas Eve. 

Pen and Ink House Commission
16 x 20

I have a few more drawings that I made for customers for Christmas, but I want to make sure the gifts have been given before posting them online.  I also have more pen and ink commissions to start, but I will be taking a short break from pen and inks and working on some other projects for a change of pace.

Hope you made some great memories in your home this year.


Beth♥ 

What's Going on In My Studio?

Pen and Ink Commission
Beth S. Macre© 2011 

It's crunch time in the studio! Now that Thanksgiving is over, its time to get pen and ink commissions started and finished.  I have a few left to do before Christmas, Then I will start on some that are not Christmas gift commissions.  So, I will be working on pen and ink drawings for a while.  This one is the latest that I can show. It was a birthday gift commission and it has been delivered and given to the owner of the lake house.  Although it has a lot of windows, it was fun to draw and the customer is happy!  I haven't had much time to work with clay, but I hope to be able to do that over Christmas break.


Beth♥ 

Resting and Reflecting on 2010



Pen and Ink Commission
Beth S Macre© 2010

Well its been awhile since I posted in my blog. Its been a very hectic 2010, but especially leading up to Christmas.  I was commissioned to do several pen and ink home portraits for Christmas.  Although I love doing them, the added pressure of getting them all done in time for Christmas on top of working full time, was stressful to say the least!  I hope to do more in the future, just not all right before Christmas! 
2010 has been a busy one and I will be happy to say goodbye to 2010 and hope for a less stress filled 2011.  I'm trying to keep a positive attitude and hoping the economy will keep getting better and better!

I hope everyone has a great New Year and stay safe and close to your loved ones. 
Beth 

A New Colored Pencil Painting...

...is on the drawing table! Finally...at last!

I took the photo reference when I was in France last summer and have been wanting to do this for awhile. It may take me awhile, with all of the interuptions and responsibilities that seem to creep into my life. But it is started and so far I am pleased with my results. So I will post the first couple of steps now and hopefully sometime over the next month or so, I will be able to work on it. Next week I will be attending the annual CPSA convention and exhibition, so I will not be able to work on it then.

This drawing is on UART 500 13" x 15" approximately. It may be larger or a little smaller. I will be using Prismacolor pencils.
I hope you will follow along with my progress and push me for updates for motivation! I tend to get distracted on other little projects.

Oh and by the way, the 2 photo, the 1st drawing photo, is a little crooked. Please excuse that. I will try to shoot the rest of them straighter. My little easle slants a little and I forget about that!

So, what it on your drawing board or craft table?
~Beth

The Creative Process

I've been struggling with creative block lately. I want to work on my own project, for a change, so bad that I just cannot seem to decide what to draw! Over the last couple of months I've had some commissions to do, so my time to work on 'whatever' has been limited. So now that I have some time to work on something else, I'm frustrated because I'm stumped as to what to do next. So when I read Cindy's blog about "The Creative Muse", it caught my attention. I spend a lot of time looking for new ideas for my students. My advanced students seem to have problems deciding for themselves also. Today I'm looking for ideas for lesson plans and came across some articles about the creative process and where Artists come up with ideas. I came across Nita Lelands blog about "Blockbusters for Artists". I think this is a good list, but I feel such a time crunch that I don't always take the time for these creative activities. I want to jump right in to 'my next great piece'! HA. But it doesn't work that way! I do have her book "The New Creative Artist" and use it at school with my students. I've even made some lessons from some of her projects. So I just need to take my own advice to my students, and play around with some of her ideas. I know what medium I want to use, Neocolors II and Prismacolors on pastelboard are my new favorites, because of their speed and painterly possibilities. Now for deciding what to paint/draw.
So Cindy suggests creating a list to get ideas. I'm still working on the main idea...The subject! I want to chose a subject that says its ME! Cindy often does Still Life, Nicole Caulfied often does Still Life. Paula does Yarn and other cute illustrations. I just seem to be all over the place! (Maybe a result of teaching art for 25 years.) I've got to focus more on 'my subject'! I've done many architectural pieces, but I'm not sure if that is 'my subject' or if I should pursue more still life or what? So what do you think? If you have any suggestions, please feel free to leave a comment.

Old Red Barn Commission

Old Red Barn

Prismacolor Colored Pencil on Stonehenge

Beth S. Macre © 2005

While I am working furiously on my current pen and ink house commission, I will post a colored pencil commission that I did a couple of years ago. The highway is being widened next to this property, so the owners house had to be torn down. The house was located next to where I took this photo. The barn is still there, but the house has been torn down, so the yard has been changed. Although the barn is pretty old, the owners (farmers) have taken really good care of it.

Latest Pen and Ink Home Commission

18" x 8" Pen and Ink

on Stonehenge

I just finished this commission of my neighbor's house. (Those pine trees are in my backyard!) I have done several architectural study drawings over the last few years. I guess the people in my little town know my pen and ink work more than anything else. I've only had one architectural colored pencil commission requested so far. I drew a barn a few years back with colored pencils. I have one more house to draw before Christmas. I will be starting that one tonight.