Spectacles Art Show Results

It was a happy time when I was informed that one of my paintings in this show had sold.  It was the watercolor Reservoir Botanical Garden-I.  Actually it had been a slow year for sales for me.  The arts and crafts show at Petal brought nothing.  So I was very glad about the Spectacles show for the Miss. Artists Guild.  Maybe 2015 will improve. 

At the Reception

The reception for the Arts Center event was quite enjoyable.  The number of guests was mostly those friends and family of the artists,  Hopefully more visitors will view the artworks before the end of June.  Here is a photo of me in front of some of my paintings. 

Front Door Art

Lately I have noticed that I have some small oil and acrylic paintings that are stacked up around the house.  What to do?  So then I noticed that I have a wreath-hanging hook that goes over my front door.  Voila!  I placed one of the small paintings on the hook!  It looked good.  It was a magnolia painting.  Later I replaced it with some bird paintings, and now I have a small autumn tree painting.  They are all framed.  The sizes are about 8"x10" or smaller.  Maybe people driving and walking by will be pleased. 

This shows that paintings are not just for the living room walls.  Some other suggestions:  office, cubicle, any small wall spaces, shop, restaurant, lodge, mobile home. 

Honorable Mention

Happily I received an Honorable Mention ribbon for one of my paintings in the Miss. Artists Guild show at Spectacles, Highland Village, I-55 North, Jackson, Mississippi.  The show is up during October.  The watercolor is titled Reservoir Botanical Garden-I.  Also I have another painting in the show, an acrylic on canvas, titled American Music: the Blues.  Ribbons have the effect of raising the spirits of the artists.  Hopefully people will go into the store and view the paintings.   

Latest Shows

Here it is mid-September, and I am in two more art shows.  One is the Drip-Drop Coffee Shop, 1055 Highway 49 South, in Richland, MS.  I am there through September.  The other is the Mississippi Artists Guild show at Spectacles, in Highland Village on I-55 North, Jackson, MS.  I delivered two paintings for that show at Spectacles which begins Sept. 25 and runs through October.  Also I have gotten one of my paintings on the Featured list at NobullArt.com for awhile.  It is all very heart-warming.  I just hope I get some sales somewhere sometime. 

Sunday Sketchout

This Sunday I went to a local park with a sketchbook, pencil, food and drink.  It was a fruitful afternoon, resulting in several sketches that I may use someday.  There were joggers and walkers, and I did not copy them directly, but they inspired me.  I carried with me a sign, saying The Art of M. L. Harrell.  That was in case anyone came over to talk.  No one did, but that was all right.  Any art that I make out of the sketches, will tend toward expressionism, not realism.  That is where my art is going these days. 

One Hundred!

Yes, I have now sold one hundred paintings!  At Lena Day, July 4th, I sold a watercolor of a cat.  That was my 100th painting sold in 17 years.  The girl who bought it, took a photo of us and posted it online somewhere.  That really raised my spirits.  Lots of people viewed my paintings that day and made favorable comments.  Not many booths had handcrafted items at that show.  So I do not think that many of the people knew much about original art.  Anyway, I am glad I went. 

I arranged the artworks in groups by subject.  I think that is the best idea for arts and crafts show booths. 

Next, I am signed up to go into a coffee shop in late July through August.  It will be way south of my house on the other end of the metro area, on a state highway.  Maybe more success will find me. 

At the Arts Center Reception

The reception was quite enjoyable.  Most of the people present were friends and family of the artists.  I hope that in the rest of the month, more people will get by to view the artworks of us twelve artists.  I have been placing posters around town in various places such as library bulletin boards.  Actually I think that summer is not a great time for selling art in this area.  Well, I have been promised by a coffee house in a nearby town that I can place some paintings there this summer (not the same ones as in the Arts Center show).  Perhaps something will develop there.  Also I have signed up for an out of town arts and crafts show.  Something needs to happen.  Maybe it will. 

Arts Center of Miss. Show

I finally got entered into the Southern Artists Alliance show at the Arts Center of Miss.  It is the month of June, 2014, the same month as the Intl. Ballet Competition in Jackson.  Our artworks are on the second floor of the building, which is on Lamar Street.  I have eight paintings, and there are also jewelry, photos, sculpture artists in the show.  Later this week I will view the show before the reception on June 7th.  I am so thrilled! 

My Recent Art Portfolio

Hello, here I have some more of my paintings online:

www.Artsicle.com/Martha-Harrell

Chatham Art Showcase

This Friday I will have two paintings entered into this event, which is at St. Richard's Catholic Church in Jackson, MS.  Mostly it involves a party Friday night.  My two watercolors are Pears & Silver, and Still Life with Lantern.  They are medium sized paintings.  The church is advertising the event, on a highway billboard and with posters around town.  There will be artists from around the area in the event.  We hope for a good sized crowd. 

Entering the Club Show

This past Saturday I entered the acrylic painting in my club's spring show.  I had finally found a frame for it, locally.  There are all sorts of strategies to be considered when entering artwork in shows, I have found.  It is best to consider some of them but not get extreme about it.  If it is a major show, with hundreds of artists, it is a good idea to consider the judge's known preferences.  For instance, if the judge is a watercolorist, that is probably what the selections will be.  If the area around the show has a predilection for conservative art, then anything too outside will not be chosen.  Of course the directions for the entry process will often indicate what sort of art should be entered, but not all shows are so specific.  Also you might decide to consider current events, such as what will be occurring in the area.  If there will be an auto show, for instance, that could be an emphasis.  I think that my acrylic painting of Natchez will be an appropriate entry for the show this year. 

Well, I ordered a frame for my completed acrylic painting that I intend to enter in a club show.  It arrived, and it did not look good on my painting.  My mistake.  Oh, I do have another frame for the painting, a plain one, and I will use it.  Actually the new fancy frame could be used on some future painting.  C'est la vie.  This spring I have a temporary office job, and that fills forty hours a week, so paintings are reserved for the weekends.  Also I go to some other artists' receptions.  One thing about the temp job, it will never become permanent, so I make plans for my summer to be doing more paintings.  I am also trying to find some arts and crafts shows to visit and to enter.  It's a life.  

As of today, I have finished an acrylic painting and am going to get it framed for a late April show.  Also I have an oil painting that is dried and varnished that I may enter in that show.  There is a possibility of another show, starting this month, that I am trying to get juried into with some more paintings.  I wish I could say, spring is sprung, but it's still winter here.  Well, thank goodness for art, or I would just have next to nothing to do in the cold days. 

My Renewal of Art

Hello again,

  At long last I have been able to access this blog again.  I do not know what is the problem. 

  This month I bought new art supplies and picked up two acrylic paintings again that I had started months ago.  You can do that with acrylic paint.  I am adding more details to them, and correcting areas that now seem to need it.  I do not know when they will be finished, but I am not going to rush them for shows like I did on one last year.  Well, that one got me an honorable mention ribbon, so I should not complain!  Question:  Is it wise to make corrections to a painting that got a ribbon?  Or is it unwise?  The juror did not say it was a perfect painting. 

Here is another listing of my online artwork:

www.ArtdeMar.nobullart.com

www.Artistmlh.webs.com

New Beginning

Hello all,
  Here it is a new year, a new beginning.  I had lots of bad luck last year, too much to list here.  So I am going to brush it all aside and paint on!  I hope that you viewers will have good success in the future in addition to me. 
  This cold winter I am working on some watercolors and some acrylic paintings.  That is what I do in the winter.  In the summer I work on some oil paintings and also watercolors, ink, acrylics.  My main focus just now is for some events this spring, such as the April show of my club, the Miss. Artists Guild.  My entry will either be an oil painting I did last summer, or an acrylic painting from this winter, depending whichever one I decide.  Also I am trying to get into some other events. 
  Here is a link to my website.  http://www.Artistmlh.webs.com
  Here is a link to a portfolio site.  http://www.open.Artsicle.com/Martha-Harrell