December is an interesting month, on the one hand it can be frantic, depending how organised you were back in October/November, but it can also be sad and empty for those whose loved ones have moved away or passed on.
Today take 5 minutes to consider those in your circle that will be alone this holiday season. It could even be someone that has recently moved into the neighborhood or into a care home. Who do you know that may need the gift of your company this year?
If practical, now is the time to invite a lonely person to take part in one of your holiday events. It doesn’t have to be dinner, it can be joining you at an event like a charity auction or craft fair. Or visit a lonely stranger in a care home. Go out of your way to make someone feel loved today. Suicide rates rise drastically during the holiday season, so what can you do to prevent one?
Sea
PS My friend Tammie and I are both caregivers for an aging parent. It can be very hard and lonely, so we go out of our way to make sure the other is invited to events throughout the year. The image below was taken a few weeks ago on her deck when I dropped by with a few goodies.
PPS Share your thoughts on community and your method of contribution in comments below.
As predicted, the Lake Country Art Gallery Under 100 show opened with a bang yesterday. Unfortunately I had seven other events to skid round, so I didnt make it out there, but I’m hoping to go soon.
$5,500 worth of paintings were sold, which is pretty amazing considering they were all under $100. My One Finger Drawings Shimmering Heat and The Marina found new homes and every artist that has sold two or more by Sunday evening opening can submit more work next week, so I’m in! I’m amazed I sold more than two legends of the local scene, Tina Siddiqui and Kara Barkvad, so I must be doing something right.
The stars as always were Jolene Mackie and Margaret Kyle. Speaking to different audiences, Jolene has the young crowd and Margaret has been a top local instuctor for many years and has a large grey fox following. I’m pleased to say that my friends Sharlene McNeill, Maud Besson, Sheila Tansy and June Seed made some sales.
I thought you’d be interested in seeing what sold and check out the artists, so I’ve compiled a list. The titles and media give you an idea of what the buyers chose. I suggest googling their names and Okanagan or Lake Country and their blogs or websites should appear, so you can visit their web presence.
My sale at Artfinder continues with new work added daily, so take a peek and feedback is always welcome. artfinder.com/sea-dean
Anne Gidluck - 3 paintings
Naramata Summer Acrylic on Canvas
The Three Stooges Acrylic on Canvas
The Curious Couple Acrylic on Canvas
Angela Hansen - 2 paintings
Autumn Gold encaustic & oil
Tree of Wonder encaustic & oil
Angela Maher - 2 paintings
Sunset Dance Linocut on Paper
The Guardian Linocut on Paper
Anita McComas - 3 paintings
It Feeds The Soul Acrylic on Canvas
Riot In The Sky Acrylic on Canvas
You Talkin' to Me? Acrylic on Canvas
Amy Piquette - 3 paintings
Neighbourhood Watch Acrylic
Curiosity and the Coon Acrylic
The Leader Acrylic
Carmen Venturi Probitatis Acrylic on canvas
Dianne Postman - 2 paintings
Rocky Mountain One Acrylic on Canvas
Rocky Mountain Three Acrylic on Canvas
Elizabeth Christie - 2 paintings
Misty Mountains Acrylic on Canvas
Blue Marsh Acrylic on Canvas
Eileen Murray Delight mixed media on cradle board
Eveline Wallace Gnoma Jean Acrylic on Mini Frame canvas
Jolene Mackie - 6 paintings
Shooting star Oil on Panel
Set sail Oil on Panel
Day moon sail Oil on Panel
Lakeside Oil on Canvas
Float on Oil on Canvas
The vast unknown Oil on Canvas
Joan Norkum - 2 paintings
A little dusting Encaustic
Don't be afraid Encaustic
June Seed Lilly Pads mixed media
Jessie Sapach Carrion Crow Mixed media on glass
Kara Barkved Pool of Consciousness acrylic cold wax on canvas
Lorraine Hodges Ginko Glory Dye on Gourd
Leona Senez Poppies Acrylic on Canvas
Lauren Wilson SHIFT 1 Graphite on Khadi paper
Maud Besson - 3 Paintings
"Pieuvre Géante - Giant Octopus" Mixed media on canvas
"Renard" Acrylic on wood panel
"Ours noir" Acrylic on wood panel
Michelle Droettboom - 4 paintings
Berry Pickin' Acrylic
Porch Watching
Whimsy Acrylic
Pop of Color Watercolor
Margaret Kyle - 8 paintings
Koi Pond Watercolour
Skating on Duck Lake Watercolour
Hugging the Shore Watercolour
Lodge Road Cows one watercolour
Lodge Road Cows two watercolour
Peach Trees in Bloom watercolour
Fall Maples watercolour
A Parliment of Magpies watercolour
Maureen Lejbak Sunflower Mixed Media
Prazeres Bayford Kingfisher Acrylic
Sea Dean - 2 paintings
Shimmering Heat Hand Painted Digital Drawing
The Marina Hand Painted Digital Drawing
Sharlene McNeill - 2 paintings
Underwater Ink on paper
The Cellar Ink on paper
Shelah Pansegrau - 3 paintings
Night Flyer Embossed Pewter
Irma, Before the Hurricane Embossed Pewter
Messenger Embossed Pewter
Sheila Tansey - 3 paintings
Bus Parade acrylic
Chirp Party acrylic
Bike, Cat and Blue Shutters acrylic
Trina Ganson Un-Raveled Etching
Tina Siddiqui Irresistible beckoning acrylics on cradle panel
ANNOUNCING AN UPDATE OF MY ARTFINDER SHOP AND BLACK FRIDAY WEEK SALE
I’ve had quite a few sales on Artfinder lately, which is very gratifying. It has inspired me to load some of my latest ONE FINGER DRAWING PRINTS and launch a Black Friday week sale. If you are reading this, up until 30th November you can get 20% off selected paintings and a 15% Artfinder voucher. New art being added daily so if you have a painting in mind that you dont see, contact me to add to your choices. CLICK HERE TO VISIT MY ARTFINDER GALLERY (AND 20% OFF SALE)
When I became a professional Artist I quickly realized that it wasn’t just about painting, a big part of the modern artists’ life is organizing, packaging and mailing. If you’re serious about making money with art, you had better get really good at those aspects of your business. I’ve addressed the issues of pricing and organizing many times in this blog, but I’ve never touched on protecting and packaging. Shipping costs are a real rats nest and very specific to location, so I’ll leave that to you.
In Western Canada we’re very much the poor relative when it comes to finding supplies. In our town there‘s a teacher supply shop, a large Michaels craft shop and a specialist art shop called Opus. If you’ve tried all of those, as well as the limited craft section at Walmart, the only option is to go online. Buy in bulk because shipping can be expensive if that’s the only option.
I’ve discovered over time that for effective protection of my mainly small art, the crystal clear cellophane (wood product) archival bag is the best bet. It can be costly if you produce over 100 pieces of art a year as I do, but it’s more costly to damage your precious work and frames.
EMERALD RIVER by Sea Dean with matching frame
Crystalclearbags.com and in Canada, crystalclearbags.ca are a well stocked supplier of crystal clear begs and if you buy in bulk they are a lot cheaper than buying elsewhere. To get the right size measure the width and height of the piece, then add double the depth to each dimension and a bit more for ease. For example, an 8” x 10” painting that has a wrap canvas 1/2” deep would need a bag at least 9” x 11” for a very snug fit and a bit bigger for ease. Even a flat piece of paper needs a little ease, and its best to package it with archival backing board or core board anyway, so order a little larger.
Recommended sizes at clear bags
B2XL for ACEO or ATC 2.5x3.5
B75 for 5x7
B86 for 6x8
B811 for 8x10
B1012 for 9x12
B11 for 11x14
WARNING - These bags all have the adhesive on the flap, which is good if you need to use one size of bag for slightly different sized art, however if you need to take the art in and out of the bag, the adhesive strip is in the wrong place and will stick to the art. It is possible to buy bags with the strip on the back of the envelope which is better for most applications, but these come in a very limited size range.
Clear Bags also supply glassine sheets and envelopes, rigid mailing envelopes and a dizzying supply of packaging products. The rigid mailers are less than half the price Canada Post are charging, which can really add up if you run a busy art shipping business.
I loved these art mailers on the US website, which reminds me that the websites do sell slightly different products, so its a good idea to check them both out if youre putting in a big order. With the low Canadian dollar, most supplies are more expensive and dont forget higher shipping costs and duties, but sometimes its necessary.
If you order from Clear Bags in Canada, they have 10% off till Nov 30th. Also once you’re a customer you can apply to be their feature artist on their Facebook page here http://clearbags.ca/become-a-featured-artist/
A couple of days ago I went for a walk in the snow and had my iPad ready for inspiration photos. When I have time, I love to work with the color in my images and I find it really helps with my perception of light and color. As an extra plus, I get totally absorbed into another world and the stress drops away. If you’ve never played with imaging programs I heartily recommend it for all these reasons.
When I first came to photography we had to either set up an expensive darkroom or pay for costly developing and printing. It was an expensive pastime reserved for the wealthy or paid professionals. Today we never have to print the images and ask a professional to manipulate the color, we can do it in a few clicks and save them in a file. It’s all free and available. Amazing!
There are hundreds of photo apps you can try out and I’m sure you have a preloaded one on your phone, iPad or camera. Basic apps will at the very least be able to convert your photo to sepia or black and white. More fancy programs give much more flexibility, allowing you to change the color cast from blues to yellows, toggle to vivid or dramatic and change the light and exposure. If you’ve never done this it will open up a whole new world.
At the same time you can crop the images and find a better composition. I will certainly use some of these color ideas and that blue composition for my latest batch of paintings for Skyway.
Mixed Media
16” x 12” Deep Wrap Canvas
Contact me to purchase
Recently I was looking for something radical to submit for the members exhibition at our prestigious public gallery. Although they reserve the right to refuse pieces that “don’t fit”, this exhibition is a thinly disguised way to drum up membership, so pretty much almost anything goes if you’re a paid member. I looked through my abstracts for something I could adapt to the theme “Encounters” and this was the one that jumped out.
The call is to submit your best piece and most contributors go all out to impress, however, for me, always the radical, it’s an excuse to push the boundaries. Last year I submitted an experiential video of digital work, which quite frankly they didn’t showcase well. In 2015 it was a large naked dryadd (water nymph) which is my all time favorite painting and currently hangs in my bedroom.
UG2BK is a small painting with punch. I loved it from the outset, but I’ve re-invented it many times to see just how far I could go. It’s extraordinary, but every time I add to this painting it gets better and better. The finished work has lots of texture created with molding paste, gel, acrylic skins, string and Pebeo Cerne. It also sports large helpings of irridescent copper.
Icicles are not a common sight around here, but I remember huge ones from my childhood in England. We used to break them off and suck on them like a huge popsicle. The weather has been weird for some years now and when I was out yesterday I came across this unusual winter wonderland.
The rare ice has formed because we have been hanging around 0 celcius (-32 farenheit) for a week now, slightly thawing during the middle of the day and dropping a few degrees below freezing at night. The slight thaws cause wet drips and the freezing hardens it similar to a stalegtie. There were even red berries to set off the fallen leaves and snow.
The snow and ice came so suddenly that some trees still have their golden leaves under the ice and snow. Quite beautiful. One benefit to the local retail outlets is that Christmas is in the air. Out shopping today many places were rushing their Holiday decorations out and as is my custom, I joined the trend and added a few choice sparkly things to my hoard.
Thanks to the building next door taking down a huge pine tree in the spring, I now have a bijou view of the lake from both bedroomsand my balcony. Through my new slice of view the morning mists and evening sunsets across the valley have been spectacular. I’ve even considered raising my bed a couple of feet so I can enjoy the view without getting up:)
We had a super short fall in these parts. It was as if mother nature was in a hurry to welcome the cleansing power of that white stuff. Lo and behold my predictions of an early winter came true a couple of days ago with a modest helping of snow. Soon we will be inundated with powder loving jet setters flowing through our busy airport and taking home a souvenir of local art from Skyway Kelowna departure lounge.
Orange leaves in our garden
I was very happy with my geraniums this year which have been brightly blooming on my balcony all summer defying the smokey skies. I couldn't spend time out there with them but I’m grateful for pretty presence through the window. Now the snow as come they will soon lose their blooms, but currently they’re hanging on for a few more opportunities to bring joy.
My lovely Geranium
Sunlight on Red
My paintings at Skyway Kelowna airport departure lounge
I love Dale Chihulys work and I’ve often considered becoming a student as his studio is in the Weast. It’s not so left field, because when I was considering uni, I applied for the only (back then) UK BA in stained glass at St Andrews in Scotland. Since then I’ve collected many beautiful glass objects and that in turn has influenced my acrylic sculpture and gemstone jewelry pieces.
I follow an arts show called “Open Studio with Jared Bowen” on WGBH Boston and he recently covered the Dale Chihuly exhibition at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden in Florida. Hoping you can link to it here. http://www.wgbh.org/programs/open-studio-with-jared-bowen-2162
The beauty of the exhibition was even more spectacular at night.
