Sneak Peak on the Drawing Board...Don't Look Ethel!

No, this is not for Ethel, but for some reason just thinking about the phrase "Don't Look" reminded me of the song by Ray Stevens, "The Streak" . A video that I watched at my parents house, many many times.  My son, who was very young at the time, really liked to watch it...over and over and over.  Actually we ALL enjoyed watching it! We went to see Ray Stevens perform in Branson a few times too. If you haven't seen this video, you should click on the link above (The Streak) and watch it. This has nothing to do with my drawing though. Excuse my wandering mind!

I've been back to the drawing board this week and part of last week. I have had some commissions to work on since before the move, so I've been trying to catch up. I've also been trying to balance my time between drawing and working with clay.  When I draw, I tend to focus just on that until the drawing is finished.  This one is getting close. It should be done today...so I will go back to the workbench and work with clay for a few days.
Variety is the spice of life...right?


Beth♥

New Work Finished ...Custom Home Illustration

Custom Home Illustration

Beth S. Macre ©2014

After moving and having to take some time away from the drawing board, I've finally finished another custom pen and ink home illustration. I have several more pen and ink commissions to work on, but I will also be working on some clay work soon. I hope to participate in some art shows in the Fall, so I need to start working on restocking my inventory. Be on the look out for new work, new designs in the near future.

If you would like more information about ordering a custom pen and ink illustration, stop by my custom pricing blog page or my Etsy shop listing.

Beth♥

On the Drawing Table...

Sneak peak at the piece on my drawing table. I'm very happy to be back at work in the studio!

Beth♥

Looking back at 2013 and forward to 2014

Beginning 2013

This year has been a challenging year, but it has also been full of blessings in many different ways. Our family had some personal challenges that were hard to work through, but with support from family and friends, it has helped me to get through them.  I found a new good friend who has helped me out in so many ways, that I want to thank her for her support and friendship.  It was a blessing to find a new friend, at this stage of my life, that I can trust and enjoy spending time with.  At the same time, you should keep your friends close, because you never know when they may be gone...or come close to it.  So, keep in touch with your friends...old and new.  Thank you to my friend, you know who you are.  (Kat)  And to my oldest friends from Pine Bluff, you are a blessing to me as well! Love you all!

Ending 2013

It has been a blessing to stay very busy with my art in 2013. Thank you to everyone who has supported me by being a customer or just encouraging me in whatever I do.  I really enjoy doing this full time. I am doing what I love to do.  In 2014, I plan to make some changes. I want to SIMPLIFY my life. I have been moving towards this for awhile. I am de-cluttering my space and now I need to refocus my art.  I have been all over the place with subject and media, but I have decided to start out the new year with a 30 day challenge.  It is a 30 paintings in 30 days challenge for January.  I hope that this challenge will help me to focus more on what I want to do.  So be watching for painting challenge photos.

Some of the commissions that I worked on this year include, the Snow House at the beginning of 2013. And one of my Christmas commissions was a cute little Yorkie named Khloe. She is a little cutie patootie! Looks like she may be a little spoiled, just like my little pup! This drawing was done with pen and ink.   I've done many others with color, including watercolor, colored pencil, and acrylics throughout the year and hopefully, more in 2014...so I'm looking forward to 2014 to see what it brings.  

Happy New Year!
Beth♥

Did I hear Snow?

Private Commission
11 x 14 Pen and Ink

Beth S. Macre ©2013

I love snow. Love to watch it snow! Love to take pictures after it snows. I just finished this commission of this house in the snow. I like the contrast between the white of the snow and dark parts of the house. It reminds me of how I love snow.  And I would love to have one good snow before Spring.

It is the end of February, so I am hoping March will bring more sunshine.  I've been feeling the winter blahs. Not the blues, but I'm just feeling the urge to get outside, go for walks, and start planting flowers.  We haven't had any extreme winter weather, but we haven't seen much sun lately either. Just cold, dreary, rainy days.  I heard there is a chance of snow flurries, tonight and tomorrow morning, the first day of March. It would be nice to have one nice snow and then get on with Spring!

Beth  ♥

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 ♥

Relaxing after Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is over now and the black Friday sales are going strong...I guess. I don't participate in shopping the day after Thanksgiving anymore.  When I was younger, we would go out shopping on the Friday after Thanksgiving, but that was before all of the Midnight (and now earlier) sales became so popular.  We used to get up (not early) and go out to the mall and spend several hours shopping. But I am not about to go out at midnight on Thanksgiving and shop.  I guess its just not for the non-shoppers...like me.  I like to enjoy the holiday a little bit longer and relax while I visit with my parents at their house. I will be back to the studio in a couple of days, working on Christmas commissions. Shown here is one that I finished and the recipient has already seen it so, I'm going to post a picture of it now.    It is an 8 x 10 pen and ink home illustration.  I have a few more to finish before Christmas and several more to do after Christmas! Thank you to my customers and hope they keep coming!

I think I'll do my shopping online...later.

Beth ♥

October is almost halfway over? Time flies...

...when you're having fun!  Doing what I love, so the time goes by quickly!
This week I have been busy on two major projects, both that need a lot of attention.  In 2 weeks I will be traveling to John's Creek, Georgia, to a new art festival, to sell my clay houses and other "Hearthome" creations.  I'm excited about it, but I'm feeling the time pressure to get enough done in time!  I haven't gone to an art festival in a couple of years, so I want to be prepared!    I'm also trying to finish a pen an ink commission that needs to be finished now! So that will be my priority this weekend, then back to building more houses.  The photos today are small samples of what I'm working on.  The pen and ink is just a small part of the large drawing. 

Stage  2, 3, & 4...The making of a Hearthome
Sorry, no photo of stage 1.

 

In November, I will be concentrating on Christmas commissions. So if you want to order a painting, pen and ink, or custom clay house, now is the time to order.  I will not be taking any more orders after the beginning of November.  My daughter is graduating college in December, so I will be going to celebrate with her in the middle of December.  Yay for her! She is almost to the finish line and already has a job lined up! So proud of her!

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♥ 

The Busy Fall Season

I love Fall weather and it has started to feel more and more like fall in the last couple of weeks.  I just wish I could slow down and enjoy this season. But fall seems to be one of my busiest times of the year. But I will try to enjoy it as I can...and as long as my allergies will let me.  Unfortunately, with fall comes the sinus problems.

But as for me and my art, I have had a little time to work on some pen and ink commissions.  One of which has been completed and delivered to the recipient of a birthday gift, so I can post a photo.  The recipient is very pleased and sent me a very nice Thank You note.

Now on to the next.


Beth♥   

Pen and Ink and More

Sorry for such a long pause between posts. I've been trying to stay caught up with everything else that needs my attention.  I just finished 2 pen and ink drawings and need to start 3 more! School is beginning to wind down. We are looking at our last 8 weeks of school. Much of that time is used for state testing and  getting the seniors ready for their departure!  And trying to keep them on task! The seniors come down with an 'illness' called senioritis..and about now it really starts to get more intense.  They see the end of this road and are a little panicky trying to figure out which road to take after graduation!  And I can't blame them. It is such a serious and important decision.

I'm on my way to a Colored Pencil Portrait Workshop with Toni James this weekend and I'm really looking forward to it!

Have a great weekend!

Beth♥

Altered Book Project Update and Spring Break

Well Spring Break is more than half over. I haven't worked much on art yet, but the rest of the week will be devoted to creative time.  The first half of the week(and weekend), was taken up with time spent visiting family. It was nice to get out of town for a few days, but as always, it was nice to get home.  Yesterday I spent some time adding some things to my Etsy shop. I have several things to add, but each one takes time, so I have to work on a few at a time. 

Spring is officially here and I finally saw some trees and daffodils blooming this week. The weather has been nice, but it is supposed to change tomorrow and get cooler.  So it will be easy to stay inside and work on art related projects! But I will be looking for more signs of Spring and warmer weather to come.

I mentioned in an earlier post, that one of my classes is working on Altered Book projects.  These are made from discarded books and can be made into anything you can imagine. They could be made into journals, scrapbooks, or simply a work of art.  Here are some photos of more of my pages from the altered book project.  This is definitely a project to work on over time (at least for me). I have painted and glued together more pages.  Some pages are completely painted, some are painted partially allowing the text and illustrations to show through the paint.

This is the Title Page of the Book, "Drawing with Ink".  I have painted a glaze over both pages allowing some of the text and illustrations from the book to show through.  This is just step 1.  I will be adding more things to these pages as I go.

Step One:  Starry Night Page

These two pages were simply painted blue with some swirls. There was an image of a handprint on the right side page that I allowed to show through the paint. 

Step Two:  Starry Night Page

Here I have glued an image and some text that was on one of the pages that I removed from the book.  It is an illustration of Vincent Van Gogh with some biographical info. in the text.  I tore the edges to roughen up the look.  I will be adding more to these pages in the future and I will post some updated pictures when I do.

Tips for altering books (so far):

~ remove several pages throughout the book. The pages will get thicker as you add paint and glue things onto the pages. This will help keep the thickness of the book manageable. You will probably want it to close when its finished.  I removed pages that did not have elements that I want to use in my design and I removed some with images that I will glue onto other pages. 

~ glue some pages together to create a more rigid surface to paint on.  Look for images or text that can be used in your design.  You can cut 'windows' in some pages to allow the next page to partially show through.

~ Take photos of the book before you begin...I forgot to do that! And more photos as you go. I like to look at the progress and it helps to have step by step photos when teaching a new project.  This is my first altered book, so I need examples to show my students.  I also have some books that shows altered book techniques, to show my students.

I'm working on more pen and ink drawings this week. I will post photos when I finish the set of 2 drawings.  I finished this one a few weeks ago.


Pen and Ink Home Portrait
8 x 10 inches

Thanks for looking!

Beth♥