Candy anyone?

"Lemon ~ The Chosen one"

Colored Pencil on Stonehenge

3 1/2" x 2 1/2"

Shown here is my most recent addition to my ACEO size colored pencil artwork. It was created for the August ATC trade at ScribbleTalk. August has been a very busy month with school beginning last week, two weeks of in-service before that, and the CPSA exhibition the week before that. So, my artwork has been limited this month. Also the temperature outside has been over 100 degrees plus the heat index in the 110's. Not that I work outside, but any activity in this kind of heat can be draining...especially after working with 140 teenagers all day! Hopefully I will be able to work on some of my art this weekend. I'm beginning to get cranky from not having something on the drawing board. ...plus I have a group art show to get at least one new piece ready for. So back to stare at the blank papers on my drawing table.

Time Flies!

Pen and Ink Home Commission

I recently completed this pen and ink commission for a client. This is half of the original drawing. I have done a few commissions of homes, businesses, churches, and barns in recent years. Some in pen and ink, some in colored pencil.

I haven't been very disciplined in posting on this blog. The summer has been so busy that time has flown by! It seems like just yesterday that I was saying that summer if finally here! But next week I have to return to work/school for teacher workshops. But first I will be traveling to Washington DC to the CPSA exhibition. I will be attending a workshop given by Linda Lucas Hardy and I am very excited about that. Her workshop is on using a sanded drawing paper with colored pencils. I've experimented some with a different kind of sanded drawing paper and like it very much. So I'm hoping to learn alot and have fun on the trip too.

This summer I have been pretty busy with my art. I tried to make it my priority this year. Usually during the summer, I try to paint a room or two. I haven't had time to do that this year. I completed around 15 ACEO size drawings and a pen and ink commission (above).



School will be starting in a few weeks and then I will really be busy! But I plan to continue to put my art at the top of my priority list. So I must learn to set aside at least an hour each day to work on my art. That will be a challenge because working with teenagers all day can be very exhausting! We will see how it goes and I will try to be better about posting the results here.

Baseball Card Series

Well, lately I've done several ACEOs for Ebay and for trading with other artists in a group that I belong to. Some of those have been more baseball subjects. My son has played baseball for many years, so I have lots of pictures to use for reference material, not to mention the actual balls that line the shelves in his bedroom. Here are two of the baseball ACEOs that I have done this week. SOLD

But, I have to decide on subjects for some larger pieces for an artshow that I will be participating in this November. I will be spending some time doing some sketches to get some ideas for compositions.

Baseball Cards

“Flag Baseball Series”
Colored pencil Stonehenge
Beth S. Macre © 2007

SOLD

Well, I've been working on more ACEOs for ebay. For the second batch I decided to draw some individual baseballs in the dirt. Last year I did a large drawing with 9 baseballs, so for the small ACEOs, I decided one ball would be interesting to try. Drawing this small can be tricky, getting it small enough for the card, but big enough to see it. Anyway the 3 baseball cards sold on ebay last week. So I decided to do two more this week with a Fourth of July theme....hence, the Flag Baseball Cards. To see other listings, visit my ebay.

Wine Glass Studies

“Wine Glass & Grapes”

Colored pencil on Black Stonehenge
Beth S. Macre © 2007

SOLD

I love using black paper with colored pencils. I have done several pieces using back stonehenge paper. My most recent pieces on black are studies of wine glasses. I did them the size of ACEOs so that I could list on Ebay. I plan to do some more studies on the black paper, as well as other colors using sanded pastel papers. But that will comes later. I hope to finish 3 to 4 of these a week. Who knows, maybe I will get on a roll and finish 5 to 7 a week. The small ones are pretty fun to do, plus it helps to work out composition and colors before working bigger.

Summer Break is here...finally!

Well finally school is out. The school year lasts about 9 1/2 months and summer lasts a mere 9 weeks for teachers. That 9 weeks will fly by! I love my time off during the summer. Things slow down quite a bit around here. I do tend to sleep a little later, but I also stay up a little later (or wake up in the middle of the night like now). I often make a list of things to do for the summer. Usually things like serious spring (summer) cleaning of closets, garage, and an annual purging in the art studio. My art studio consists of a small room without a closet that is full of furniture to try to compensate for the tons of art supplies that I 'can't live without'. There are supplies in there that I have had for years, but I can't throw them out because: 1. I may need them... 2. They were not cheap in the first place... 3. If I can't use them, maybe someone else can. So the dilemma is always an art studio that is too crowded. So Monday I will start to go through old supplies to make room for the new ones that I will buy during the next year.

Of course I need those supplies so I can create works of art...because I have to. Many artists say they paint or draw or create things because they have to. I put myself into that category of artists. I don't paint or draw to make a living...that is why I teach. But I paint and draw because I feel like if I do not 'create' artwork, then I'm not living up to my potential. I guess I define myself with my art. I am an artist, even though I do not sell my art on a daily basis. Although I would, if it were easier for artists to make a living with their art. The average non-artist does not appreciate the value of artist as professionals. Understandably, the average person cannot pay alot of money for original art. Of course that is a subject that is discussed by artists all the time. How to earn a decent living on your art based on what your art is worth. So artists are looking for new ways to market their works. The internet seems to be a good tool for artists. Even that is changing constantly. There seems to be 'new' websites all the time to change the way we market our work. I am in the early stages of this new technology. Hopefully one day, I too will be able to make a living off my art, not just supplement my teaching income. So along with the cleaning of closets, drawers, and the studio, I must begin my summer routine of drawing and painting to use up some of those supplies, so that I can reach my goal...to be recognized as a professional artist...not just an art teacher.

"Two Fish"

"Two Fish”
Colored pencil on Black Stonehenge
Beth S. Macre © 2007

SOLD
"Two Fish" is my most recent colored pencil painting. It is prismacolor on 14" x 6" black stonehenge. This is a smaller piece than what I have done recently, but it was a fun to do. I plan to do more small pieces and to create a several pieces that are similar in technique. I recently sold a clay tile piece titled "One Fish" and just recently completely more tiles with the same theme. This one was fun to do on the black paper. I like the black paper that creates the dark contrasts. I also used the black glaze on the clay pieces to create the contrast in the cracks and crevices. This was fun to do and I want to create pieces that are fun to look at. I hope you enjoy looking.