Karen Hetzer Artworks

2012-02-11T06:21:00.013-05:00

Yesterday I stopped at the local mechanic here in Tuxedo to have them check out my car, the oil leak seems to be getting worse. I first took it back to where I had my oil changed about six weeks ago because the leaking has been going on for about that long. I wanted to make sure it wasn't the filter or plug that was leaking.......good news it wasn't ......... bad news it wasn't. The mechanics seemed to think it was coming from the seal between the engine and transmission, they referred me to someone else. I had to figure out how to get my car to another mechanic miles away and get myself back to the house.....and I did. So Monday morning I'll drive my car to the mechanic recommended by the handyman working here in the house just for a diagnosis and when I schedule the work to be done I'll drop it off and the handyman will pick me up on his way here to the house. That solved but a new problem created.........the mechanic said if the problem is what the first mechanic suggested, its going to cost me around $600, that would be my 'buying furniture for the new apartment' money. I'm too old to think I can handle sitting and sleeping on the floor until.... so now what?
Well, Craigslist of course!! I found some great 'projects' in the free section and hopefully when I'm ready to move in there will be more to find. Damn, this couch would have been perfect!
Free sofa bed anyone?.......
How bout a dining table.......
or this one..........
Some chairs to go with it perhaps...........
How bout a desk for that little nook outside the kitchen..........
a funky wardrobe for the huge walk in closet (or to refurbish and sell ;)......
Even a free working TV.........
A chest of drawers and a cute little side table.........
Well.........you get my drift. Now I just need to find someone with a truck and some free time!

Here's how the portrait is coming along so far in its very early stages.

2012-02-09T16:00:00.004-05:00

A couple of months ago I was asked to do a childs portrait.....
At the time I didn't have the time to do it. Now?......I do. I've cropped the image for the portrait and sketched it out today.
I'll begin painting tomorrow.

Yesterday I was a mess again. I've got a pretty good oil leak going on with my car, I need to get it taken care of and the timing of this just sucks....with the move in a few weeks its money I did not want to have to spend.
Today though, I'm feeling more positive. I woke to an email from a woman (in the area I'll be living in) about a part time job that I had been interested in a couple of months ago when I was plotting to leave here. It seems the position may be open again and I let her know that yes indeed I would definitely be interested. The hours would be perfect and leave me tons of time for painting again. It would cover the rent and utilities and I could breath....fingers crossed :-)

2012-02-07T08:06:00.002-05:00

Yeah! I secured the apartment with a months rent. I did this after having a promising conversation with someone I knew years ago and just out of curiosity had recently tracked down. She now has an upscale consignment shop and I emailed her to see if they would be interested in carrying some painted furniture. She shared my website with her partner, she loved it and they asked to meet with me. I'm driving down to Philly next week to see them and talk about the possibilities.
I also rejoined findamuralist .com. I've had mixed results with them, but listing with them got me the work at The Hospital of The University of Pennsylvania a couple of years ago. I was actually contacted by them the very day I had joined. I need to do everything I can think of to increase the chances for work.
My employer here wrote me yesterday and was very understanding about my leaving. They'll be returning here Feb 24th for 2.5 weeks and she just asked that I stay to help out until mid March.....or rather she said no later than mid March so I could actually leave earlier. I had sent her some addresses to websites that I thought might help her in her search for a replacement, she was grateful and has already begun her search.

2012-02-05T14:43:00.006-05:00

With cold but sweaty palms this morning I emailed my employers that I would only be here until the end of March, not June as I originally agreed to.... and only if they needed me to stay that long to help with the transition to a new employee......I'm happy to leave when they return at the end of this month.
So far Philly seems to be winning as my next destination with one work contact so far, its still not enough for me to feel comfortable, but Florida has not produced anything yet in the way of work possibilities.
This is the apartment I'm hoping to be able to secure this week.
This is the main living space, its a studio.....
Then through that doorway on the right and then to the right again is the kitchen...so that visible part through the doorway is where the dining area would be, or in my case it would be my office space. I like the little glass door cabinets that separate the dining area from the kitchen....cute.
On the other side of the main living area is the bathroom and jumbo closet.
I feel happier already just knowing that I'm moving on soon.

2012-02-04T15:20:00.007-05:00

My nice leisurely walk up the driveway to fetch the mail was assaulted by the site of this, to your left up in the tree....
Don't think I'd ever make it as a country girl. Why do the deer need human assistance in thinning the herd, wouldn't that eventually happen on its own....only the fittest survive? Even if not, I don't appreciate having to pass by the killing stage every time I leave the property. How the hell long does deer season last anyway? Anybody know?
How they lure them in, those are piles of corn someone set up this morning. I actually went out to scoop it up but figured if the owner has given them permission to do this (I'm waiting to find out) well......lets just say I don't want a pissed off man with a rifle ringing my doorbell.
And I'm guessing this is some sort of light?..........
And here's the result, a trail of deer fur as the carcass is dragged away.......
I've gotten so far away from art.

2012-02-03T11:31:00.002-05:00

What a roller coaster ride....yesterday I got an email from my old landlord in Narberth, PA letting me know he has two apartments coming available in March and April. I've mentioned here before that I loved living in Narberth and I wouldn't mind living there again. This however puts me back in frantic mode because apartments in Narberth are rented very quickly and that means trying to find work very quickly so that I can commit to taking one of those apartments. I put out the word to friends and ran an ad on Craigslist. I contacted a woman there who I was communicating with the last time I was trying to hook this up and let her know I was looking for work again. I also saw an ad for a Michaels painting instructor in a nearby town and got more information about that.
Lets hope things align this time around.

2012-02-02T09:52:00.005-05:00

Well, that's disturbing. I just got a call from a company that the owners here gave permission to, to come out and shoot deer.....its their way of controlling the population.....how dare those deer eat their plants or step in front of their speeding cars........geesh, some things I just don't get........you're in my way, pop, now you're not.
I wondered why I saw corn kernels in the driveway the other day, they've been baiting the area to attract the deer, how cunning. They're doing this later today......think I'll go out and make some noise before they get here.

I've started my online job search after realizing I'm not going to make it here til June....no way.....I need to move on. I'm looking at all kinds of options. Yesterday I saw an ad for house sitting in a town quite close to where I was living before I got here. They need someone from April to July and I thought...how perfect! If I could get that opportunity I'd have a place to stay for free while I lined up work and looked for a place to live. If I rented a place right away after leaving here that would take care of any money that I'd saved and I'd be forced to find work immediately......this would just buy me a little more time and a little less stress. I'm not very good at finding the flaws in my plans (obviously), so any feedback will be appreciated...lol. I have to say that visiting these house sitting sites made me wonder why more people don't do this, there were opportunities all over the globe. Look at this ad:
http://www.housesitworld.com .....
Sitter Wanted Europe - France sitter wanted. Area: Burgundy France
Dates available: All year round

Rural charm estate in Burgundy, Chablis area
available for retired people all year round, free of charges, dogs lovers

Contact e-mail: brunot89@hotmail.fr
Contact Didier & Françoise Telephone: 00 33 629 93 19 30

How cool would that be? And another site: http://www.trustedhousesitters.com

Update on the tablet....I did discover that the Netflix app was just plain defective so I removed it. I also discovered that the occasional freezing up of the gyro was my fault, I inadvertently touched a spot that turned the effect on or off. I tried Youtube again and still had no problem watching videos. I downloaded Skype with no problems (all downloads seem to be really fast) but have not tested it yet with a call. There are other things I still need to try out but all and all I think for me its a keeper.

2012-01-30T16:29:00.006-05:00

OK.......the tablet came today and I think I have mixed feelings about it. I'm going to give it a couple more days, check out some apps and see if it will work in my life.
I can tell you what I think so far. I could only find two reviews of this particular model (Maylong Mobile m-290) on Youtube.......well one really, the other sounded more like a sales pitch. So the one guy said he thought it felt cheap and I didn't think so at all, after hearing his review I was pleasantly surprised when I opened the box. I thought it booted up quickly enough and the images are nice and bright and clear. There are some issues though....when I tried to sign up for Netflix using the installed app, I could only get so far before the screen froze. Fortunately I had seen that review so I knew to use the reset button......then each time I tried to use the Netflix app to try again it would freeze. Ironically if I just used the browser to go to Netflix I had no problem staying on the site......I haven't try watching anything yet though, so we'll see how that works. I tried watching a Youtube video and that worked fine. The only other problem I noticed so far is that the gyro thing-y gets stuck sometimes. I'm still learning about this so I'm not going to judge too harshly until I'm sure its not something I may be doing wrong.
The puzzle I ordered also came today. Packaging left a little to be desired.
I was a little surprised to see the puzzle just lying inside the envelope without any wrapping on it, but it wasn't damaged in anyway. And look......a cute little box came with it.
I'm not quite sure the puzzles going to fit in it though.........they wouldn't send the box if it didn't...right? Only one way too find out.
OK.....camera battery dead. All the pieces fit in the box. I think I'll try another puzzle making option in the future, these pieces are really thin and some bits of paper tore off the back when trying to unhook the pieces. This one was ordered through Walmart.

My First Tablet

2012-01-27T12:16:00.009-05:00

I caved. As hard as I am trying to save for my next move, I decided to treat myself to my first tablet. My fingers are crossed cause I still did not want to part with a lot of money. As much as I'd love a new iPad I opted for a way more affordable (never heard of this brand) Maylong Mobility tablet via Walmart @ $148.99 +tx. It got mixed reviews online, but every one I read about got mixed reviews.
There have been several times that I've wished I still had my little apple laptop, the one that went traveling with me when I had Gladys....remember Gladys?.......
But I digress.......there has also been many times that I wish I had a 'portable internet' on this job. I'd be down on the first floor doing whatever and suddenly need to find some information which meant climbing up three flights of stairs to my computer......I'm telling you, this job has killed my legs! And being new to this area there have been more than a few occasions I could have used some help from mapquest while out and about!
So we'll see how this works. I'll post a review about it next week, it'll be here Monday.

2012-01-25T13:28:00.006-05:00

Working on my website I decided to add a pricing page (again) so I started a google search for other artists pricing pages to see how much information others were willing to provide. Its always a hot topic on artist forums, some prefer to put it all on the table and others think that's the kiss of death. I prefer the all on the table option but confess I have allowed myself to be influenced by better known artists who do not think its a good idea to post pricing information in detail. I'm a pretty open and honest person, not one to put on airs, and I have no problem explaining the process and expenses involved in putting a successful project together to potential clients.
I was totally delighted to land on Maria Brophys website via an article she wrote about mural pricing. The information she shared on pricing was not really new to me, but her upfront attitude was. She was open and honest and I could relate, I wanted to know more.
Maria says that her expertise lies in licensing, marketing, and promoting art. Her Husband is artist Drew Brophy.....surf style painting.
This sort of thing.........
And he uses paint pens for goodness sake!......
Besides the many articles Maria has written to help artists (that I'm leaving here to go back and read) they also produce some very cool videos . Maria does offer consulting services to artists (for a fee) and of course there's a page for helpful stuff to shop for.
I found both Maria and Drew very refreshing....... open and honest and excited about life......its just what I needed to stumble on today.

2012-01-25T10:22:00.004-05:00

Yesterday and probably for the next few days I'm looking at other artists websites. I'm trying to pay attention to elements that get my attention....what makes me want to see more. I don't think I've ever really designed my website to sell myself/my work, instead using it almost as just a photo album. I want to work on changing that, it needs to present itself as a business, not just a bunch of pretty pictures.

I think my pretty new coffee mugs are due to arrive today....can't wait :-)

A Personal Post

2012-01-23T10:56:00.007-05:00

How did I let my life become so frigging stale and boring?! I walk around this big empty house (where I work) and ask myself what the F am I doing here.

A couple of days ago I needed to believe I was really going to be able to leave here (albeit not until spring) so I started going through my things.....tossing some stuff, packing and repacking other things that I haven't really bothered with since I got here. And as happens every time I move, I find in the bottom of a box thee large manila envelope from the fall of 2000 that contains print outs of email exchanges with an ex-love that I hadn't seen in many years. And over the course of the last few days I have picked it up and laid it down in several different places, never opening it, trying to decide whether to throw it away or continue to hold on to it. I think it represents to me a time in my life when there was passion, things were definitely not boring when I knew him.......there was love, lust, joy, passion, happiness, anger, pain, sadness.......and it was all brought back in those emails......I can't throw them away.
Today I reread them. I almost wrote him. Then I thought better of it.
He's out west, has been all these years, a writer and an award winning director, mostly documentaries. I was skeptical but flattered when he told me a character in one of his first films was modeled after me.......I couldn't help wonder how many people he had said that to...lol....its hard for me to trust anymore. Regardless, the part was played by Pauley Perrette, the gal who plays Abbey on NCIS, one of my favorite shows...pretty cool, so I'll allow myself to believe it :-)
Those emails came after a decade of loss and pain....my dad, two sisters, a marriage......it was good to remember a time when there was love, lust, joy, passion, happiness, anger, pain, sadness........I can't throw them away.
I need to feel all those things again.
How, is the question I need to answer.
Maybe then I can finally stop carrying them around in the bottom of a box everywhere I go.
Did you guess?....its a cold, gray, drizzly day here today.

2012-01-21T08:43:00.003-05:00

What I woke up to this morning.....
Its easy to just enjoy the beauty of this knowing that Monday we will be in the 50's.

I found this little guy looking for a drink of water.......always look before you drink, he is inside the bottle :-)

2012-01-19T15:26:00.005-05:00

Its been a quiet week with nothing new to write about really. I seem to have little interest in painting and I'm really beginning to believe its because of my situation. I'm not really a very social person, its one of the reasons I thought having all this solitude would be great for focusing/concentrating on painting.....I was so wrong. I'm realizing how important it is for me to be around others for inspiration and support. I literally feel like I'm wasting away here. Did I mention I'd be here until June? I let the owners know I'd be leaving and they asked if I could stay until June........every day I wonder if I'll make it til then.
On a brighter note I saw these charming little coffee mugs on an artist friends (Janet Nelson) blog, well actually I saw the design on a tile and saw on her site that there is a shop on CafePress where some things are being sold...so I went to take a look and was so happy to see the mugs with this floral pattern on them.
Janet says, "Last spring, I had several members of my church draw some flowers in a sketch book. I then colored and arranged them in photoshop. Thought that they would look nice decorating this coaster tile." And I'm glad she thought to add the mugs to the mix. I ordered two (and so can you :-) They should help brighten up my mornings. I mean pa-leeze.....look at the face on that little purple flower.....how can you not smile!

2012-01-12T06:36:00.004-05:00

The owners of the property where I am employed will be leaving tomorrow for their island home for six weeks. And on Friday a potential buyer is coming to look at this home....did I mention it is on the market, priced at seven point five million.
Today will be spent preparing the house for the showing.

Paint Big

2012-01-10T13:28:00.007-05:00

Birds are on hold, I'm in the mood to paint big! I did these paintings several years ago, made the panels myself. I'd forgotten how much I love to paint on wood. I used either luan board or door skins with 1"x 2" on the backs.
I shouldn't show this one, it was 'inspired' by someone else's work, but I just love it.
I just talked to the handyman here on the property about making some panels for me. I want them made properly so they don't warp or twist. I bet Summerville would love some BIG azalea flower paintings....something the town is known for....the flowers, not the paintings :-)
Which reminds me of the beautiful floral paintings that Joyce Hutchinson does....love them
and her photography work is incredible too!...
Can't wait to get started.
I'm still doing my research on Summerville, So Carolina as my potential next hometown. So far I'm really happy to see that real estate is affordable, you get so much more for your dollar than in Florida or Philly (well Narberth). You can rent a nice two bedroom townhouse for $600! A studio apartment in Narberth is $825!

2012-01-09T14:57:00.004-05:00

I ran some errands this morning, and right now I'm researching possible relocation sites. My intention is to settle somewhere closer to my son and his family.....but not in their backyard ;-) They're in Atlanta and I'm concentrating my search in So Carolina around the Charleston area. I'm looking for a small town outside of Charleston so I can have a similar situation like I had three years ago in Narberth/Philadelphia......I was very happy there, but now I want to be closer to family. It looks like the small town of Summerville may be a good candidate.
I'm still researching of course.
I want this to be a long and happy stay, and I do have until June to decide on my final destination.
I'm going to be doing some new paintings in the coming weeks and I'll be looking for selling opportunities online, and of course in the Charleston area shops.
And so....back to it.

2012-01-08T05:04:00.005-05:00

Well yesterday was an interesting day. It started out with the Mr (of my set of employers) telling me they'd like to talk to me when I had a moment, to let me know about their plans for the next several months. Why am I suddenly apprehensive.
So after I made/served lunch they came to me in the kitchen. The Mr starts out by telling me how happy they are with all I've done for them since arriving, that was nice to hear. Then the subject turns to their schedule.....I was told by the other employee here that they return from their island home around Easter for their stay through the summer, its why I've been looking forward to giving notice in mid-March. I'm not sure how she could have gotten that sooooo wrong, but apparently they aren't returning for the summer until late May/early June. Another monkey wrench.......although they're leaving this Friday for their island home they will be coming back at the end of February for either a short stay or a longer stay (there goes my plan to give notice). The short stay is because they've rented their island home for a couple of weeks, the long stay however would be because the Mr would need radiation treatments following a cancer surgery he had a few weeks ago.....they won't know until a blood test is done in a couple of weeks, and I'm certainly hoping he doesn't have to go through that. What they also told me is that they would not be bringing the other helper back with them when they come up (she usually goes back and forth with them).........I did not want to hear that! That would mean I would be doing the cooking, cleaning, errands, laundry, shopping, etc on my own everyday. That's a day that begins in the kitchen around 6:30am and ends with dinner clean-up between 7:30-8:00pm. This is not good. When I first arrived on this job in September I was not happy to learn they already had full time help (they did not tell me).....I thought that was going to be my job????........but I learned quickly to appreciate her presence because I also dicovered I can't do what I use to be able to do.......and that's put in a 12-13 hour day and climb up and down three flights of stairs several times a day in a 10,000 sq ft home. I can manage it on the weekends when she has off, but for possibly six or more weeks, seven days a week?........nope.....no, no, no, no, no way!
I needed to play the age card, and I had to tell them I was planning on leaving.
Cut to the chase........I told them I could probably handle the two and a half weeks on my own, but any longer they'd have to bring the other employee with them. I also agreed to stay until they return in June but that I will be leaving when they did.
Getting old sucks.
Time to develop a plan B.

Hopes Dashed

2012-01-06T08:08:00.009-05:00

There will be no help from kickstarter.com ..... disappointing but not surprising. Do you think there's an age where its too late to dream or start over? Where you lose that freshness or edginess? Where if you haven't made it by now you probably won't? And you just feel too beat up to keep trying?
Friends stop believing in you and try to steer you in a 'safe job' direction. You feel unheard, abandoned, invisible and defeated.
Sounds like I'm having a bad day.
Yesterday morning....all full of hope, and all it took to knock me down was a rejection from kickstarter and an email from someone who's known me for years and years telling me about a job being a live-in nanny/housekeeper in an 8 bedroom home........sorry?......what?
Talk about unheard! All I've been talking about the last couple of months is how I would never take a live-in position again....that I learned that I need my own place. I've never expressed interest in caring for children and my current job, thanks to going up and down three flights of stairs several times a day, has destroyed my knees and left me in daily discomfort.
Just venting...this too will pass.
I think I'll start working on some bird paintings again...

How Cool Would This Be?!

2012-01-05T15:25:00.009-05:00

A couple of days ago I began searching for a live/work space to rent for when I leave this job. Even though I was only looking to rent I still stopped to look at this ad that popped up about a property for sale. I could not believe my eyes when I saw the price $18,500, its a foreclosure. I've been trying to get condition information from the realtors its listed with but I'm not having much success......I made the mistake of being honest and told them I would not qualify for a conventional mortgage.....lousy credit score, bankrutpcy in 07 etc and they haven't answered my emails since, even though I've told them I would try to get funding to pay cash.......it seems like an obtainable amount. My concern though is its condition because even at that price its been on the market since July of 2010....that's a long time considering its so cheap and appraised at $143,000. I do wish they would give me some information.
I've written a project proposal of what I'd like to do with this property and submitted it to kickstarter.com for their consideration. I'm hoping they'll allow me to post the project on their site so I can try to get funding to purchase this property and set up a studio for classes. I'm waiting to hear from them as well. This is the property......
And it sits right next to a huge B&B.........
How perfect is this for a community art studio/gallery/shop?! It even has two apartments! With no mortgage and with rental income it would be so easy for this property to pay its own bills. Can you imagine?........just being able to focus on art 24/7 and not stressing about bills. I can't not try to get this property. And right next to a B&B for out of town students to stay while taking classes.....I love it!!
What information I did get from the realtor before I put my foot in my mouth, was that the property has been a successful antique store with about 50 vendors for several years. Its located in a quaint small town in NY state.
If I am rejected by kickstarter I will create my own campaign here using the same sort of format they use, meaning I will try to solicit funding through my blog and offer 'rewards' appropriate for the various amounts of the donations. I will also return all donations if I cannot get enough to buy this property......I will put a time limit on it too, just as they do. If you're not familiar with kickstarter.com click the link to learn about them.......they help you get funding for creative projects.

2011-11-06T06:27:00.010-05:00

Skip fall colors and go straight to freak October snow storm. This storm rendered us without power for a few days which meant I got to learn more about antiquated generators, oil tanks, pumps, hot water heaters, fuel lines and reserve tanks than I ever thought I'd need to know.
I've been on the new job almost two months now. The awkward anxiety felt when beginning any new job has passed and I've settled into the routine of things. The owners are away at their winter home in the islands and will be returning in a few weeks for about a month.
After spending a week or two on things that needed doing around the home I've finally begun to paint again.
There are still daily tasks and responsibilities to be done, but with the absence of cooking, serving, cleaning, laundry and shopping, I have many more hours free that I can devote to my artwork.
I've begun with three 5"x 7" small paintings that were commissioned prior to my leaving Florida. Here's one of them..
A lemon
Once I'm happy with all of these I've been commissioned to do a portrait of a small boy and dog. It will be a Christmas present for a mom in Atlanta. This is the photo I will be working from.......
I'm also working on a pet portrait that was started before I came here and really needs to be finished up......thank you for your patience Cricket :-)....I promise it will be done soon.
And finally on my list of paintings to be done, remember this portrait I painted a couple of years ago?.........
His little brother is now about the same age as when this was done and its his turn. Here is the photo I'll be working from.....

2011-09-22T14:20:00.006-04:00

The view from my apartment on the third floor. You can just start to see the first blush of fall colors.
This is the view though most mornings when I wake up....
The other morning I thought my windows were steamed up, but it was literally the fog, the house was just engulfed in fog.....you could'nt even see the trees that you see in the photo above.
There are deer everywhere and chipmunks are as common as the lizards in Florida. Trying to sleep with the windows open is a challenge......the woods do not go quiet at night, the sounds of insects and who knows what else permeates the air. I did notice though on cold nights its very quiet......wonder where they go?....or do they just go quiet?
This is the old panel up in the hall of the 'servants quarters' (where I stay) that was used to call the help......
I'm settling into the job and feeling less anxious. The first couple of weeks here I was a bit of a mess, feeling the loss of my independence and missing my friends. There's plenty to keep me busy in a house this size though which is a good thing. I'm concerned that I haven't been able yet to work painting into my daily routine, but I think that it will be possible. The couple I'm working for will be leaving Oct. 22nd for their island home in St Vincent, not to return until Dec. 4th. They'll stay a month and then go back to the islands. I'm still undecided about my future here, whether I'll stay or not. I'm just taking it one day at a time.

2011-09-10T11:16:00.001-04:00

Leaving for NY tomorrow morning.

2011-09-09T10:23:00.002-04:00

Whew-Who!.....sunshine.....finally. Poor Philly has been inundated with rain and floods and at last there are peeks of sun.
I've been busying myself with creating the Etsy shop for my friend while I wait to go to NY. I also took down my old Etsy shop and started a new one that will be just for paintings (no thrift shop finds).....my 2"x 3" birds, the 5" x 7" canvas board paintings and the larger ones, the Beach Chair and the Pelican.
Today we'll make the rounds of the local thrift shops, but no buying for me. I've got extremely limited funds and its going to be awhile before I get a pay check, bills are going to be due before that happens so I've got to be very careful. Lets hope for some buyers at my Etsy shop!
Still haven't gotten the final moving date, but I'm still hoping for Sunday.

2011-09-06T14:38:00.001-04:00

So the new date for possible move to new job may be Sunday.

2011-09-06T06:59:00.002-04:00

Got to Philly around noon yesterday.....only got lost twice on the way here......once was in DC, I don't need to say more than that about that.
I heard from the new job again and learned that the previous employee has found a new home but there is a possibility that all of her things may not be moved by Friday, and although I was asked to come anyway (if I didn't mind) I needed to let them know that I wasn't comfortable with that.
Making a move like this is such a big deal for me. I admit to still having some fears about such a drastic change, I've been 'come and go as I please' and 'do as I wish' for a very long time. So being able to arrive there and create a space/home for myself right away is really important.......staying in another room until the space is clear feels very awkward. Living out of bags and boxes gets very old very quickly. And I don't like feeling homeless and disconnected or ungrounded..........on my, I am getting old lol.
So I'm waiting for a response to my request that I arrive after she has moved her things and hopefully that response will be that its done. Pushing doubts aside, I am anxious to get there and settled in so I can focus strictly on the job.
While I'm here in Philly I'm going to help my friend that I'm staying with start an Etsy shop :-) I'll post the address here when its up and running cause she has some pretty cool things she'll be selling.

2011-09-04T07:23:00.003-04:00

Quick update.....I did end up leaving yesterday, the funds cleared a few moments after I posted yesterday.
After a 10 hr drive though the deep south with no AC, I arrived at my sons house around 6pm greeted by delicious hugs from the grand kids :-)
I'll leave here today around noon to get some drive time in and then arrive in Philly tomorrow afternoon.
I finally heard when the new job will start...and it will be Friday....can't wait to get there.

2011-09-03T06:48:00.004-04:00

Well, for the first time ever a Paypal money transfer did not clear into my bank account in the two days that it has always taken in the past. So, although I'm out of my apartment (now officially homeless) I'll be staying at a friends until 'business' days resume.....meaning I'm stuck in Florida until Tuesday at the earliest.
Mind you, I couldn't be 'stuck' in a better place, Linda's home is beautiful...... I've posted a picture of her backyard before.......

2011-09-01T08:53:00.005-04:00

All my things getting donated today :-( I really wanted to take that black drop leaf table apart and put it in my car, but its heavy and I think I'm already pushing the load limit on my car. I just love her legs.
If anyone's interested, in an attempt to rustle up some more bucks I've listed the beach chair painting and the pelican painting on ebay......just for one day at a 'buy it now' price of $100 each + shipping. (Note to Janet....I know its way too low, but I need the money:-)

2011-08-31T08:04:00.003-04:00

Everything is right on schedule. All but the very last minute things are packed. I got packages shipped out yesterday. The cost was a bit of a shocker, but everything to go was chosen carefully so no regrets.
I placed a few last minute things on craigslist but if there are no takers my favorite thrift shop will be here tomorrow to pick up everything for donation.
Today I'll pick up things from my Drs. office and then have lunch with my old friend Wanda. After that I'm going go look at a restaurant in a town just south of me (a new franchise). I was contacted about possibly doing some artwork on canvas for someone who's considering opening two or three of them.......work I can do from NY and ship.
Most of the heavy cleaning (stove/oven, frig, tub etc) is done, today I'll spackle holes I made hanging all my pictures and canvases.......its only fair, the walls look as though they were used as a pin cushion.
Leaving for Atlanta on Saturday morning for a quick visit with my son/family and then on to Philly before landing in NY.
Here's a closer look at the home I'll be working and living in.....

Time To Regroup and Boxes, I Need Boxes

2011-08-27T06:43:00.004-04:00

How things can change in just a couple of weeks. RV dream put on indefinite hold. On July 17th I placed an ad on BedandBeakfast.com . I had finally realized that I had taken my 'want' to be a successful artist as far as I could, and I'm defining successful here as having the ability to support myself with my work. I took it all the way to the point where I had pretty much nothing left, including the ability to pay for a roof over my head.
Oddly enough I don't feel defeated. I see now that I had to take it as far as I could, not as far as friends thought I should take it, as far as I had to take it.......and that makes moving on feel right.
So, back to the bed and breakfast ad......I needed work, and I needed a place to live. I started writing a resume.
From age 16 until I began painting 15 yrs ago all of my work experiences had been service related. And for those wondering..... my not having any formal art training/education (right or wrong) keeps me from feeling confident or qualified (right or wrong) to pursue any sort of position in the art world....and feeling confident is going to make all the difference in finding a job......concentrating on my prior work experiences is what I decided to focus on and finding a live-in position would take care of both of my needs, work and a place to live.
For BedandBreakfast.com rather than posting a formal resume I summarized my work experience and what I was looking for and posted the ad on 7/17. I received a response on 8/21.
The response however was not from a B&B, it was from a private homeowner with a 10,000 sq ft home on 70 acres in NY state. WOW!
I sent her my phone #, we spoke and did a skype interview and a day later I was offered the position of live-in housekeeper, cook, and property manager with accommodations and salary. I accepted the offer.

MY NEXT ADVENTURE.
This is one photo of the home sent to me by the owners......
This position could not be more tailor made. The owner and I got along right away on the phone and during the skype interview. And when she initially wrote me she mentioned my having time to do painting and that maybe some of her friends would even be interested in my artwork. I felt very good about her being supportive of my art.
And can you believe it, the homeowners are away for six months of the year which is where wearing the hat of 'property manager' and having time to paint kicks in. This is an amazing opportunity.

This next week will be my last days in Florida. My 'favorite thrift shop' will be picking up the last of my furniture on Thursday and I will start heading north making a stop or two along the way.
I still have lots to do to get ready and of course that includes packing......so I'd better get back to it.

2011-08-10T13:22:00.005-04:00

OK........I forgot there is no such thing as perfect. I spoke to the owner of the RV I mentioned in the previous post and it turned out that the RV needed work that wasn't mentioned in the ad, and I wouldn't have been able to afford to fix.....so that one is off the list.
I re-listed my ad this morning and have gotten one response so far, but alas, this person is 3 and 1/2 hours away on the west coast of Florida and apparently unable to email pictures of his RV or willing to email further information about the RV (preferring (actually insisting)to speak on the phone). A conversation won't help me because I won't drive 3 and 1/2 hours if I can't see it in advance or even be told if its the size I'm looking for.......so that one's off the list as well.
I got an email about a potential job (yah!) and I'm waiting to hear if my bid was accepted.....fingers crossed.

2011-08-08T14:30:00.004-04:00

I found a listing on Craigslist this morning that would be perfect! An RV very similar to Gladys but a couple of years older, Gladys was a '91 and this is an '89....still, it looks in good shape and only has 55,000 miles on it. Price?.....$3000. I've written inquiring about a possible trade using my car and/or also offering to sell the car to purchase the RV. I'm guessing at that price though he'll find a cash buyer before I'm able to sell the car........and I'd need a promise he'd hold it while I tried.....don't want to end up with no wheels at all. I've put an ad up to test the waters...see if I can even get $3000 for the car..........so far?.........no takers.

2011-08-07T12:54:00.004-04:00

I forgot to take a finished photo of the bathroom wall below, but I'll probably be going back sometime in the next couple of weeks cause they have to remove a large mirror and old light fixture so I can paint behind them....I'll take a pic then (if I remember).
Today I decided with no new work in my future to go big, what the hell.....I listed the large 55"x 60" beach chair painting on ebay at $750. and the pelican painting 36"x 29" at $450. You all remember the pelican painting yes?
Tomorrow I will start on a dog portrait for a friend of mine.
I've been spending my day online looking at and dreaming about RV's. Most of you may remember that I had one a few years ago and though things didn't go the way I hoped, I really loved that RV......you all remember Gladys..........
When I had that one it was for the dream of being able to travel and paint my way across the country......well, that didn't work out very well......I was totally unprepared and had only lined up work as far as Georgia, plus I was relying solely on my experience as a mural painter to secure jobs along the way, and going through little tiny towns that were struggling to survive.....well, there weren't many people interested in fancy, schmancy murals I can tell you!
This time though the interest in a RV is for different reasons. I did learn while out on the road before that its pretty darn cheap to stay in some camp grounds on a monthly basis....way less than apartment rent plus utilities....and the people you meet are so real and grounded. Every month I worry about rent and bills and that's all I think about all the time and I've had enough.....I can't do this anymore, its literally making me sick.
This time I hope to be better prepared, there are lots of options out there. There are several sites that list jobs at campgrounds for RV owners, workamper is one of them....and there's caretakerjobs and BedandBreakfast , coolworks ........lots of stuff. And.......there are tons of websites for craft show/fair listings all around the country making it possible to plot a course and do some craft shows.
I've written to a guy who had an ad on craigslist looking to barter his small rv for other means of transportation, included in that was 'small car'.....I've asked him a few questions and am hoping for a response.

2011-08-04T05:57:00.003-04:00

Yesterday and today I'm working off the advance I got to do this bathroom that paid my last (way too late) rent. I had to darken the picture so the design would show up, its actually very subtle. This is an apple (maybe more lime) green wall with just a paler shade of it used for this first layer of tropical foliage.
Over this will go more foliage (different types) in two shades of turquoise........the turquoise is used on the guest room walls that this bathroom is attached to. The client was inspired by a print seen on a wall covering.

Yesterday was a successful craigslist day. I had a podium/lectern that I used to use to hold my portfolio listed on craigslist along with a few other things and someone finally called about it.......a teacher who will use it in her classroom. While she was here she was admiring my large drop leaf dining table and I mentioned as she was about to leave that if she knew anyone.......it was also on craigslist...........she bought it too :-) Last night someone texted me about a chest of drawers I have listed and they're coming tomorrow to look at it. Since there's still is no new work in the future I'm squirreling this away to help cover the next rent coming up in just two weeks....ugh.
Tomorrow I'm going to start working on some new paintings :-)

2011-08-02T13:17:00.001-04:00

My son thinks my work needs to be more edgy to sell. How's this?......lol

2011-08-02T08:33:00.002-04:00

Now that I'm trying to segue into smaller works on canvas away from murals, I'm finding its a whole other world. It really is like starting over, there's lots to learn and I found a great article on wetcanvas.com that talks all about prints, working with shops, pricing, subject matter, online selling tips, matting, framing, cropping etc etc.....just tons of info.
I was up early today, headed out the door on my way to a job about an hour from here, got out to the car and ............nothing. I waited for my neighbor to wake and find my note I stuck to his door asking him to give my car a jump.........again! I left the car lights on this time....duh. In Florida its the law, you have to turn your lights on when its raining, yesterday it did. I love my car but the problem is she's 20 yrs old and doesn't have all the warning bells and whistles that newer cars have, so if you forget to turn something off........well........chances are you'll need a jump in the morning. I'll stay here today and finish up this chair painting and head up to the job tomorrow morning (I like an early start)...the clients are away so I'm not inconveniencing anyone.

2011-08-01T16:26:00.002-04:00

Just about finished I think. Forgot to change the reflection on the glass and I think I'll put some disturbance in the sand...especially in front of the chair.

2011-07-30T15:32:00.002-04:00

I like the splash of red.
I think I want to move that reflection on the glass more to the left.

2011-07-28T15:55:00.004-04:00

Canvas panels aside for now, I wanted to do something of my own today, something I can possibly sell. I started a painting of a distressed adirondack chair on a beach, its large.... 55"x 60". I can see this over a mantel in a Florida home. Not sure what I'll add at this point, still thinking about it.

2011-07-27T16:56:00.006-04:00

Lovely........today's mail contained my shut off notice from the electric company, looks like Monday is the magic day, and the first bill from the hospital stay.....the hole just keeps getting deeper.
I started on the canvas panels today even though the client won't be around until September....I needed to get lost in something. It isn't finished.

2011-07-26T16:07:00.005-04:00

Well, little good news to post about today. Still no new mural work and no sales of my paintings or things I've listed on Craigslist. The potential hospital job told me today that they are not in a position to commit to anything right now and the powder room job (for the large painting client) is now in question as she's undecided now on what she wants to do. So........its a pretty daunting feeling not having rent money and I just got my doubled up utility bill which puts me in jeopardy of having that cut off. Still as I've said before, if I do have to leave I won't owe anyone anything.....my landlord has a security deposit and the utility company does as well. I've got eight days left on my phone service, but hey....I use email mostly anyway, luckily I have free internet. Oh gosh.......then there's the car insurance the first of the month.....ah maaannnn!
I wrote to dailypainters dot com this morning to see what was involved in listing with them, hoping obviously to get more exposure for my work. Silly me.....I don't know why I didn't expect that there would be a fee involved, so although they like my work, I don't have money to join. So I remain hidden.
So...........some good news....it looks like the hospital bill will be taken care of, it will go down as a charity case. I will still however be responsible for all the doctor bills involved with that stay.
A charity case....wow....its so strange to hear that. I know I have nothing, but I never thought I'd be a charity case....it doesn't seem real.......from once painting murals for multi-million dollar mansions to being a charity case.....now that's humbling indeed..........damn.

2011-07-24T06:58:00.002-04:00

I'm too distracted today to try painting so on today's agenda.....cleaning out drawers. For someone with so little, I don't know how I manage to collect so much paper work. Yesterday I took inventory of all my furniture, photographed it and got it listed on Craigslist.....things I can live without.
I'll also email the client who had talked about more work and see if that's going to happen or not, that way my direction will be decidedly clear......I hate not knowing and I don't want to sit here and harbor false hope. I need to be able to tell my landlord whether of not I'm going to be able to pay the rent, I don't want to hold him up from beginning his search for a new tenant, especially in the current market ......its pretty slow here this time of year.
Alright then........things to do.

2011-07-23T05:18:00.005-04:00

5:15 a.m., can't sleep. This morning I just feel sad......ok.......sad and defeated. When I started this blog it was with the intent of helping young artists who were new to this business......what a laugh. Now?.......I'm wondering if I should sell the only thing I have left of any value, a twenty year old car with no AC and a power steering leak. I'm picturing my possessions all quivering in their spots waiting to learn which one is going to be offered up on Craigslist today.........there now, that gave me a giggle.
I do have some decisions to make though and actually the timing ......well, I don't want to say its good but......my lease is up for renewal in August, so if I do have to leave I can at least live out my last months security deposit, that buys me a couple of more weeks, but that also leaves me with no money to move on.......what a dilemma.
I think I need to start planning for this.
I finally got the large painting sealed yesterday, prompted by a call from its owner who wanted to pick it up. She was on her way to a clients in Miami from her home north of me.........I had told tell her I couldn't deliver it to her without leaving with a deposit for the next job she had talked about me doing because I had only a half tank of gas left in my car and $2.37 left in the bank, the drive would have emptied my tank. As it is she'll be back down this way again next week and it (and the hippo) will be ready for her to pick up (they were paid for weeks ago)............no mention of my situation or the next job she had talked about.
So today I can get those off the wall and the three panels up for the ocean paintings and get that started. I'm still owed a couple of hundred on those, but this client won't be back in town until September, not enough (or soon enough) to bail me out of my present situation. Still I need to have them done before I would have to leave here......my two options will be to crash with a friend or sleep in my car and either one will not give me the space to work on these three 40"x 40" panels. So that's where my focus will be for now.........getting the ocean paintings done and out of the way.

2011-07-20T16:55:00.009-04:00

A fellow artist (and friend I hope) Janet Nelson got a great write up in her local paper "The Sandpaper' in Long Beach Island, N.J.
I love her work (and own a piece:-) because its just as the paper says....it makes you smile.

Since ebay was a real bust I've turned my attention back to Etsy for my paintings......honestly, I don't know if I'm just a glutton for punishment or someone who refuses to give up. I decided to see if buying a 24 hr 'showcase' spot will make a difference in how many views my items/paintings get, it starts July 28th......we'll see. Thank goodness for 'billing' cause I don't even have the $7.00 it cost to buy this spot.

2011-07-19T13:47:00.004-04:00

Well it looks like I'm no threat to those fabulous daily painters out there.....my favorite painting so far 'radish' didn't get any bids at all on ebay :-( so it will become part of my private collection...........ha...........I imagine along with all the rest of them that are still waiting for no one to even look at them. You're suppose to say that last bit while screaming.
Bitter?......yeah a bit. I keep remembering something my first husband said to me once......"your never going to find that diamond at the bottom of a cracker jack box"(wasn't that a line in a song?), and that's exactly how I feel. I keep spinning my wheels online looking for that big break and what I get is frustration and disappointment.
OK.........so I've got some work to focus on so I'll let that go.............again.

2011-07-19T12:15:00.005-04:00

Yeah....the canvas has arrived all safe and sound! These guys were so careful in how they packaged them..I was impressed! Now I'm really anxious to get those other canvases off the wall so I have room to start these.

2011-07-19T07:43:00.007-04:00

Today I'm going to focus on finishing this canvas up....its still hanging on my wall, the client is out of town until the 23rd. She just wants some palm leaves added in the center at the top, and the foliage behind the giraffes touched with a brighter green, less blue-ish. Then I'll seal it, roll it up, and wait for delivery.
I've also got to make some changes to this hippo done for her. She wants the head in a tilted position to make her look a little more flirty and of course she wants red lips added, so I'll try and tackle that today as well.
And finally the canvases for this project are due to arrive today and I'm anxious to get this started. This is the sketch below that I did for her.
Each canvas is 40"x 40". I'm really anxious for this delivery. I had checked out the canvas at a local shop and each piece was $88+tx.....I didn't want to spend that much......heck.....I didn't have that much to spend! So, online I went and I found the CanvasPlace. They had a listing on ebay, but I ordered through their website because of the quantity I needed. They have a deal, a pack of two 40"x 40" 1.5" deep gallery wrapped for $85 plus shipping of course. But I needed three......keep this in mind if you order from them....rather than them packaging all three together which would have elevated the shipping cost to an 'over sized' rate, it was actually cheaper to send them as two separate packages (saved $16). Even with the shipping I was able to save about $60 under what I would have had to spend had I bought them from the only place they were available locally.

2011-07-17T10:48:00.002-04:00

OK.......I just posted another ad on bedandbreakfast.com looking for a live-in position. I did get some response the last time I posted in 2008 but the opportunities were far away from family, so this time I've tried to be more specific.......cross your fingers.

Mushrooms

2011-07-14T10:32:00.003-04:00

Radish No. 2

2011-07-13T15:37:00.003-04:00

To bid on this one go to the Daily Paintings page.

2011-07-10T17:16:00.003-04:00

Yeah.....! I did get the creamer and brushes started today and its almost finished. Here's how it's going.....
Oh....and the winner of the Westie With Red Ball is..................Mary from Des Moines ....CONGRATULATIONS Mary!

2011-07-10T11:54:00.003-04:00

OK....I fibbed....I haven't started the creamer/brushes yet, I opted to do cherries instead......but its early :-)
I'll announce the winner of the Westie With Red Ball later today, so you can still enter to win.

2011-07-08T17:57:00.001-04:00

Not sure how I feel about this one......Mango

2011-07-08T12:44:00.002-04:00

Added another painting to the Daily Painting site........Radish

2011-07-06T10:37:00.003-04:00

I actually did this painting a couple of years ago and decided to freshen it up and offer it up on my Daily Paintings site.

2011-07-05T16:31:00.003-04:00

Painted an apple this afternoon.
When I finished that I went to the grocery store to find some new models :-)

2011-07-05T12:54:00.001-04:00

A new painting for sale over at my Daily Painting site.......

And Just For Fun

2011-07-03T20:16:00.003-04:00

I thought I'd take a break from the bird paintings and do one of something most everyone has around the house.
I noticed that almost all daily painters create paintings of common everyday things like fruits and veggies, eggs are popular too. So, to be a little different I chose the potato :-). Looks like I'd better use these soon...lol.

Two New Bird Paintings

2011-07-03T17:12:00.005-04:00

Got two more birds done so far today.....a Red Bellied Woodpecker and a Pacific Slope Flycatcher.
Remember if you can't afford to purchase one of my daily paintings, you can purchase a chance to win one for just a dollar :-)

AND THE WINNER OF THE GOLDFINCH PAINTING IS...........

2011-07-03T07:55:00.004-04:00

Edlira from Korsor, Denmark
Congratulations Edlira

Seems we've come into our rainy season here in Florida and it feels like another great day to paint. I'm going to work on a few more bird paintings I think.
Yesterday I pointed you in the direction of the shiftinglight blog and I took another look at it this morning, I really like this guys work. While I was on his site I clicked on the 'book' link to see what that was about and it took me to this really cool app (BookBuzzr) that lets you flip through some of the pages of his book. Curious....I went to the site the app came from......freado.com.
How cool is this.......you can win free books on this site. You just play some fun silly games to collect points and then use those points to bid on books. If you love books, check it out.
And here's the direct link to flip through some of Julian's book.

Here is this weeks painting that you can win.
Westie With Red Ball
5"x 7" on canvas board
Good Luck!
Drawing on 7/10/2011

2011-07-02T18:23:00.006-04:00

I added two new birds to my daily paintings site......
the Blue Grosbeak
and a second Painted Bunting..........
Tomorrow the winner of the Goldfinch painting will be announced here and another small painting will be offered up.

2011-07-02T06:22:00.009-04:00

I was up early today and as usual brought my coffee to where I start every day.....in front of the computer. I decided to search for 'ways to sell your paintings'. I'm not sure if that was a good idea or not. Right now I'm feeling like I should be sitting in a tiny child's chair in front of a tiny child's table with a coloring book and a box of crayons.
I tripped onto a 2006 article in USAtoday about daily painters. Useful information yes.....I learned of some art auction sites that I hadn't heard of before. But I also followed some links to look at the work of the subjects of the article. One in particular now has a new fan.............me!
I hope he, Julian Merrow-Smith, won't mind me sharing just a couple of his works here.
A self portrait (I'm assuming ) it was one of many...
Love this........
And this............
And this............
You have to go and look at this page that has every painting he's done since 2005....it blew me away. And scroll all the way down the page first (as he rightly suggests) where his earliest works are and watch as you scroll towards the top how his work progresses. I just found it amazing (and encouraging) to see how his work grew and improved over time......fascinating.
This painting (approximately 5"x 7") just sold at auction for $418......
Yes........I just let out a heavy sigh. Why do I torture myself...lol.

2011-06-30T12:10:00.001-04:00

I finished up the second commissioned dog portrait this morning.

2011-06-29T14:07:00.007-04:00

Feeling nostalgic I'm posting some of my favorite furniture make overs from the past year.

2011-06-28T10:30:00.002-04:00

Yeah.....got one of the two dog portraits done this morning.

2011-06-27T08:30:00.004-04:00

Sometimes I feel like I've been living under a rock. I just discovered yesterday that you can video chat on phones......I know.....where've I been!!
And now I see phones also have projectors in them......I can't keep up.

2011-06-25T10:05:00.005-04:00

Projects for this coming week......painting two 5"x 7" portraits of these two cuties....
Recognize them? They were the subjects of a recent screen painting....
Then with those done and paid for I can pick up the three 40" square canvases I need for the next project, a beach painting across all three panels. This was the sketch I presented to the client for this job (I wish I had photoshop).

2011-06-24T09:05:00.007-04:00

I received some photos in my email this morning that have triggered another walk down Memory Lane.
Photographer Roger Barone attended an interview/ book signing event at The Free Library of Philadelphia last night and snapped these photos. Check out his blog to see more.
The star of the show, Mr. Larry Magid.
Electric Factory Concert's Larry Magid along with his partner Alan Spivak are rock n roll legends. Together they dominated the concert scene, promoting and putting on some of the most memorable concerts in Philadelphia's history. And I was at a LOT of them. Back in the early/mid 70's I worked for these guys. My job was to coordinate the meals for the bands and their crew wherever the concerts were being held....The Spectrum, The Academy of Music, The Tower Theater, JFK Stadium......
And luckily for us, back then Roger was part of the change over crew at the Spectrum arena and was developing a love for photography. If you also want to take a trip down memory lane visit Roger's blog to see some fantastic behind the scenes photos of some of the biggest rock n roll legends in the world.
Larry's book is available in stores, but you can also get it on Amazon.com
(just copy My Soul's Been Psychedelicized into the search bar).

2011-06-23T09:47:00.008-04:00

The big painting client is suppose to stop by today.
And I'm once again thinking about finding a 'real' job.....I know, I know, how many times have you heard me say this.
I completely fell apart yesterday, I don't think I can take much more of living with the stress of wondering how I'm going to pay the next months bills/rent.....its completely wearing me down.

I had two wishes this morning. One, I wish I still had Gladys. For you newbies here, this is/was Gladys.....
This was her inside when I first saw her........
And this is how I transformed her...........
This was her kitchen, the mirrored door was the bathroom..........
She was so tiny (a mere 21') but so livable. I had to give her up when I couldn't afford to park her somewhere.......my town does not allow RV parking on the street.........but that was then, this is now.......sigh.
Wish number two was I wish there were Trader Joes in Florida! Being one of their part time in-store artists would be a perfect job. Maybe its time to start thinking about moving again.
I'm going to get nothing accomplished today.

2011-06-22T07:36:00.003-04:00

In case she's watching, The Wife of a Fisherman won my bird giveaway that was held over at the BetterAfter blog. I'm hoping to hear from her so I can set this bird free.
And make sure you revisit BetterAfter to take part in her latest giveaway, a very cool silhouette cutting machine you hook right up to your computer!

2011-06-21T07:23:00.004-04:00

One of the most unusual volunteer opportunities I've come across for mural artists. Ever want to go to Ecuador? Be sure to read the volunteer information pack at the bottom of the page.

Well, I've finally heard from the large painting client, and she wants more. More palm, more large flowers, more jungle-ly.........sigh.

Ok. Pretty time consuming but I've started filling in more of the background to give a more dense feel and I'm putting in some more vines so I can add flowers and I'll add more plants at the bottom ......I think I'll even put in a low palmetto palm that reaches in from the right side in front of part of the zebra.

2011-06-19T09:17:00.004-04:00

Taking a break from this today. There's still a bit more to add....the orange/red/yellow flowery bit to the plants in the bottom left corner and the client wants a bird sitting on the back of the zebra. I think I want to break up that ground greenery on the right too, put some patches of earth showing through, it just looks a little too dense. Then I'll go over the whole thing and detail and highlight where needed. Still wish I had some feedback from the client and the opportunity to get paid!.....rent's late again.....dang!

Don't Forget The Giveaway!

2011-06-18T05:43:00.006-04:00

Don't forget to jump over to BetterAfter sometime this weekend and leave a comment for a chance to win one of my tiny 2"x3" paintings!
Painted Bunting

10:30am and almost there! My brushes however are beat...its off to the store to get some fresh ones.
OK back from the store and now officially broke again until the client this is for surfaces.

2011-06-17T17:14:00.004-04:00

I spent about half a day working on a sketch and then got some more work done on the large painting. Tomorrow it will have all of my attention, I'd love to get this done asap. Still no word on the mural job up north.

2011-06-15T17:33:00.002-04:00

Today's progress....
Still waiting to hear from the job up north. I was emailed a picture from the potential client of the exterior of a French bistro. The picture was way more involved and detailed than my original plan, so I had to up the cost to do the job. Now I'm waiting to hear if their budget can support my doing the work for them.

2011-06-14T08:32:00.006-04:00

Day 4

The client wonders if the heads are too small. Mind you......I did send a sketch for approval prior to start.....sigh. Rather than change them now, I'm hoping with the foliage that goes in front of them it will put them into proper perspective for the client.

I had emailed a sketch to the potential client up north last Thursday and hadn't heard anything so I emailed yesterday to try and get some feedback.
Those are just fun stickers I added to the sketch at picnik.com. This would be on a wall as you step off the elevator directing you to the cafe. Its meant to be a sidewalk cafe outside of a brownstone building (common in the area) with a green awning. The 'specials' sign would be painted with chalkboard paint.
The potential client did respond. The sketch is in the hands of his marketing people and he's waiting to hear back from them. In addition although the client likes it, it wasn't conveying the relaxing feel he was looking for. I tried for clarification and was asked to try an indoor bistro scene. I've asked if some pictures that better conveyed the feeling he was after could be emailed to me. I'd really like a better idea of what he wants before I tackle an indoor bistro sketch. I'll give it a day or two......see what the marketing team says.

This weekend I will be doing a giveaway via Lindsey's BetterAfter blog. The prize will be my tiny little Painted Bunting painting with easel.
I love Lindsey's blog, I check it out almost everyday to see the before and after photos sent in my her readers. I love her sense of humor too....a really fun read.

2011-06-12T16:11:00.003-04:00

Day 3

2011-06-12T07:38:00.003-04:00

Progress from yesterday. The client asked that the giraffes, and I believe the zebra too (I'll have to double check before I get to him), be done in the style of Luis Sottil. I find it slows me down when I'm asked to do someone else's style, I have to fight my hand/brush from going off on its own.

2011-06-10T17:47:00.004-04:00

I got started on the large painting today. The sketch I did for this is down below in a previous post.
Not much else to say today. I was contacted about a possible mural job up in Philly so I did a sketch for them yesterday and I'm waiting to hear back. I was also asked about pricing for a painting from a regular blog visitor from Denmark. So I need to get a sketch together for that.
Maybe those koi fish really work.....lol.

2011-06-08T19:53:00.001-04:00

I can't believe I'm getting beat up by a silly hippo painting! .........lol This is definitely NOT my thing.

2011-06-08T12:41:00.003-04:00

Oh Dear! I was sending the client the lip samples and found a note she emailed yesterday about "maybe" tilting her head so she'd look a "little flirty". I'm spending way too much time on this project, but if that's what she wants.........it means I'll have to do the entire head all over again....sigh. I've asked if she's sure.
I know the area around the mouth would have to be altered but what do you think of a puckered mouth? Of course if I have to redo the head ........the lips will change again too.....dang!
I might have to find an artist for her who does this sort of cartoon-y, animated work way better than me......its just not my forte. Its a perfect example for the argument that just because you are an artist, it doesn't mean you're good at everything.

2011-06-08T10:44:00.002-04:00

OK...made some more changes to the hippo painting and got this much approved, now I just have to add the lips back. I decided to do some sample lips on canvas, cut them out and see how each one looks on the painting.
I don't want to have to keep redoing them.

2011-06-07T09:15:00.005-04:00

I'm hearing old time big top circus music in my head this morning cause its time for another juggling act.
Yesterday I got the check ($150) in the mail for the flamingo paintings I made for my friend, which means I now have $152.60 in the bank.
And I finally got final approval on the sketch for the large tropical/animal painting......its big 87.75"x 63.75".....
...just big enough to bump me from using a 63" canvas to the next size up and a higher price, damn. My local Jerrys Artarama doesn't sell canvas by the yard that size, they'd have it in a 6yd roll. So I just called them and they have a 72" x 6yds primed for $74.39, so about $80 with tax. OK...I was pleasantly surprised, what I saw online from them was a 75"x 6yd for $122. with tax/shipping......possibly a different brand. I also went to an ebay store where I often buy canvas and they had a 73"x 25yds !! primed cotton for $120 which included the shipping. I needed to email them though because their 'rolls' don't always come in one continuous piece. I'm so tempted. So these are the things I need to consider.....this is just me thinking out loud........

I have no more money coming to me until I finish the large painting. I've been commissioned for two large jobs, this one and the three panel ocean one by another client. They were each commissioned over a month ago and I had gotten deposits on both of them, but with constant delays in decision making by the clients and lack of any other substantial work, I've lived through that money already. Oh, I just remembered, I should be getting a check for $65 from the last finished pet portrait...ok...that's good.

I think I've already decided what to do......if I order the 25yds online it could take a week or longer to get here....I love the deal, but my rent and electric are due on the 18th and 16th respectively, which means I can't wait that long. I need to start the painting immediately.

Well, that was easy. But this is what its like every month, juggling this to take care of that......I'm not whining......I'm just sayin :-)
I can't wait to start on this painting!
Here's the ebay store I go to, to buy canvas. I've seldom been disappointed with my orders, but do keep in mind that their rolls are not always a continuous run and one time I even found little square (like 1") holes cut out in spots....very strange. I believe they get overstock and rejects from the Fredrix canvas mill down the road from them.

2011-06-06T11:45:00.002-04:00

Here's a quote from a comment left in my last post......
"I think things don't go as they should for you because you are a bit too pesimistic.... and focusing on hardships instead of opportunities.I am no fortune teller, but I think a change in attitude would manifest itself also in the financial side. By the way, have you ever given feng shui symbols a thought for promoting wealth and prosperity? Try paint some Koi Fish. They say they are a powerful symbol in promoting the above mentioned. Good luck."
This is not the first time my attitude has been brought up by folks online, and comments like that really do make you think. My first instinct was to defend my pessimism.....how crazy does that sound.
pessimism |ˈpesəˌmizəm|
noun
a tendency to see the worst aspect of things or believe that the worst will happen; a lack of hope or confidence in the future : the dispute cast an air of deep pessimism over the future of the peace talks.
• Philosophy a belief that this world is as bad as it could be or that evil will ultimately prevail over good.
That's pretty strong stuff and I have to say that just doesn't ring true to who I am. I'm a great believer in hope and how it can carry you through. But I'm also a realist and when things aren't going well I feel it, I live it, and I share it......its part of life. And right now I'm not a very happy person (although I'm optimistic that will change ;-) and I'm not a cover it up with daisies and smiley faces kind of girl.
I'll tell you what I will do.......I don't really feel like painting koi fish, but I'll put a picture in the side bar of some Koi fish that I painted a couple of years ago and see if that helps to bring more wealth and prosperity. I promise to post the news here first if it does.

Screw ebay

2011-06-05T09:43:00.005-04:00

Over the years I've listed and tried selling things (currently my bird paintings) on ebay......to no avail. I admit I don't understand it at all. It seems to me you have to spend almost as much to hype and promote your item so people will even find/see the listing, as your item could be worth! I give up....I can't afford to keep listing things that are only 'viewed' by less than a handful of people.....auuuuuugh!

Let it go.........deep breath.

So here's the progress on the hippo painting. She's not quite finished but I thought I'd better check in with the client. I shared this with the client and got feedback that the gold background needs to be brighter and that the hippo looks angry (do you think my feelings are coming out in my work?) and not sexy enough, more attitude.
Sorry, I just have to laugh at myself trying to make a caricature of hippo look sexy....I'm sorry all you animals out there.
So its back at it today.

So...........does she look more sexy? To me she just looks indifferent/blank.
Sometimes its hard to believe I taught myself to paint by copying works by Monet, Degas........

2011-06-03T11:15:00.003-04:00

Alright, I'm calling this one done.
I think the other two dog portraits that I have to do will wait a couple of days, I need a break from dog portraits. I can get started on the hippo painting.

2011-06-02T08:50:00.006-04:00

I've been struggling with this dog portrait ....pick it up, put it down.....work on it some more......put it down. I haven't quite figured out yet why some dogs are more challenging to paint than others. Maybe its the short haired dogs because more of their features are visible. Well, it should get finished up today.
And not too soon.....I just got a bank notice letting me know my account has $15 and change left in it. Guess that means no phone for awhile.....my month to month account expires tomorrow and that's not enough to buy more time.
Fortunately that should just be for a few days. I just finished four tiny paintings yesterday for a flamingo loving friend and there will be a check in the mail soon.
I can also get started on this painting....a hippo sitting in a cowhide chair. It'll be 22"x 32"h (and fun to do). This is the sketch.........
I'm stiiiiiiiiiill waiting for final approval on the large giraffe painting for this same client and also still waiting for the go ahead on the three ocean paintings for another client. Totally grateful for the work......I'd just like to be able to do it.......and get paid.
I started an exercise program three days ago, today will be day four. No longer having the shop.......sanding, painting, loading, unloading...pushing furniture around all day......I'm totally conscious of how much I just sit. All day long.....just sit and paint. Ok...we know I never have money so joining a gym is out of the question, so I went searching for anything online and found exercisetv.tv. They have some videos that you can watch free or for a price you can get a monthly membership (about $10) or download some for a buck or two. Some are just a couple of minutes long, but if you look around you can find some that are longer.
I chose to download (for $1.99) a walking program by Leslie Sansone. Its a 45 minute program and is equivalent to walking 3 miles. Don't let that you do it in your home fool you......I sweat up a storm when I do this.
Here's a bit of one I'd love to learn how to do.

2011-05-30T11:56:00.015-04:00

This morning I've been spending time online researching articles on making a living as an artist.....looking for new inspiration or approaches I hadn't considered.
One suggestion was to go to ebay and look at the self representing artist paintings that have sold, kind of see what people are buying and what they're willing to pay.
So, I went to ebay and pulled up the listings of paintings that have sold....starting with the highest priced (we all want to make as much as we can ;-)
Well, after looking at several that had sold, I'm still sitting here an hour later with this crinkled perplexed look on my face. Some of the first few that I found......I thought, is this some kind of joke??? Of all the gorgeous paintings and/or inspirational, thought provoking works of art for sale these are what had sold?
These two are by the same artist, listed as Brenden McVeigh who I could find no information on......maybe its a child whose grandparents bought them? Or maybe they were part of a charity auction or something? An old folk art painting?.....no they're acrylic, and acrylic isn't that old. I'm certainly no educated art critic, but come on..... These are listed as selling for $2500. each. (see a larger image on the ebay site...when you get to the page just click on the 'ended' icon/picture and it'll come up larger)
OK.......well maybe there's hope for me yet, I mean if these can sell for $2500...I'm not that bad of an artist, am I?
So.......... curious...........I continue looking.
Awwww no.......really?
This sold for $1721.00
OK.....this can't be right, let me look some more.
What???
This one sold for $1100. Alright who the hell is this guy, this artist?. His name is Mikey Teutul......anybody ever heard of him? Wait...wait....here's another one......rush to ebay cause there are more for sale and this one is just $5000. This one is called Three Little Birds. (must be those three little dots down in the left quarter)
OK give up? Never heard of him?....then you don't watch American Chopper, you know, the show where they build those hot, sexy, gorgeous custom bikes and fight a lot, Mikey is one of the sons. You may recognize the father, that's a portrait of him above, the green blobby thing. To see more of Mikey's ummm art?, you can go to his website.
I don't know whether to just finally give up, or hook up to a reality show and just start painting really really bad.........sigh.

2011-05-29T06:38:00.010-04:00

The last couple of days its like my brain has gone off on this trip to yesteryear. I've been googling for old friends, remembering things I hadn't thought of in years........I suspect its because of the 'big' b'day coming up in July, or maybe I just needed a break from painting, I don't know, but its weird, almost out of body.
Yesterday I stopped at a local thrift shop and found myself inexplicably drawn to a set of How-To-Do-It books from 1961......and I bought them?! Ok, they were only $.25 a piece so I didn't do that much damage by buying them.....and I also thought my son (who loves to create things) might enjoy looking at them. But really!....one day I'm trying to get rid of 'stuff' and the next I'm buying junk. I'll tell ya though looking through the books really brought home how fast things change.
Back then you would dare to learn to fix your own TV
Or learn to make a voice activated switch
Maybe turn your radio into a short wave receiver
Have a shop downtown? Have your business phone call you at home when the fire alarm goes off
But I think what really brings it home as to how far we've come might be this....
I mean really..........

2011-05-26T11:04:00.006-04:00

The clients were so happy with their screen portrait that they order a canvas one (big beaming smile :-)
Portraits installed in their RV's window...........

2011-05-24T14:47:00.003-04:00

My daily painting today was not a painting at all, but a sketch for a 5'x 7' painting the client and I are trying to put together. The job is a definite go, I'm just following her direction until she loves it. This is my/our third attempt to get it right......I'm waiting to hear :-) The front giraffe was originally looking to the right and she asked to see more face, so I turned its head to face forward. I do want to separate them a little because now they are too 'lined up' and they're also too low in the composition in relation to the zebra that she wanted added. I'll also probably add a tree frog or two and maybe some butterflies. I'm hoping I can just work that out on the canvas and not have to continue working on this sketch. I'm always anxious to put brush to canvas :-)

2011-05-22T12:07:00.004-04:00

After I had already made an ad for Craigslist I realized I didn't really remember what ACEO stood for, so I looked it up.......Art Cards, Editions and Originals. Art cards that can be traded was the intention of their origin. So I guess I need to stop calling my little paintings aceo paintings, cause they're not cards they're stretched canvas (sort of, more like laid on and glued I think, lol). So I went to my blog and deleted the aceo reference.
I finally sold this small buffet/cabinet that I had to bring home after closing the shop, I posted it on Craigslist.
I kind of hated to see it go, but my apartment is only so big. The buyer got a really good deal, and so did I....she wants to order some dog portraits too.

2011-05-20T20:52:00.002-04:00

Another tiny painting to add to the new blog....is it too predictable?......a Tuscan scene?
Well, its good practice anyway. This measures 2"x4".

2011-05-20T18:26:00.000-04:00

I started a new blog. Any paintings that I'd like to sell will get posted there. The blog is called Karen Hetzer Daily Paintings. So far I have the bird paintings listed and a dog and cat portrait that I'm sure you've all seen. I am actually hoping to start doing a small painting now every day. The secondary plan is to build up an inventory of paintings that would allow me to start doing outdoor venues.

2011-05-19T14:37:00.003-04:00

Finishing this up, a few more tweaks and then I'll clear coat it. Dog #2 seems to be challenging me....I kind of had to piece him together using several different photos.
Wow! I just realized how much painting I did this past week!

Finally!

2011-05-18T14:38:00.002-04:00

Finally got the screen started........
This is how it looks from the back when its in a window (not a sign of it).....

2011-05-17T16:56:00.004-04:00

When I was young I would stop at a friends house after school even though I wasn't suppose to and I would tell myself 5 more minutes won't hurt, 5 more minutes won't hurt, 5 more minutes won't hurt, until 45 minutes or so would go by and I'd run home only to be punished (have I written this before?). I'm seeing a trend here.........once again I chose to paint birds instead of the screen......ok, there is no set deadline for the screen to be done ( I keep telling myself) but it is money I need to get that rent check in the mail. I think its cause there are two dogs in this screen painting thats putting me off it. Painting screens is tedious already, and animals are also a bit tedious to paint..........not to worry I'll get over it and get it done (I keep telling myself).
So here's what did get done today..............
What a happy bunch of birds :-)

And The Flock Grows

2011-05-16T17:12:00.003-04:00

OK...I think I'm done for awhile..maybe, I gotta get that screen done. I'm selling the birds on Etsy and on Bonanza (a site I just discovered) for $50 each and they come with their own easel.

2011-05-16T11:50:00.002-04:00

Looks like my mini collection is going to grow faster than the super sized.....#3 Blackburnian Warbler.