News and Nibblefest (NFAC) entry

Hi, folks.  I know it's been a while, but I hope everyone is doing well.  My family and I are fine.  

In art news, I sold "Night Bird" on eBay in December! It was a 5x7 matted to 8x10 inches watercolor that I entered in the SVWS show in September. Surprised me, since I've only sold ACEOs on eBay before.  I did not submit any entries in March for the VMRC show in May-June.  I have been listing my art on eBay and Etsy.

Here is my entry in this month's Nibblefest (NFAC) contest.  It is an older piece but fits the category of cosmic blues.  Bidding starts at 99 cents.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/154461077931

Click on the link for a larger view and click on the link if you want to bid.  Thanks for looking.

Happy Thanksgiving, Art News and Cybersale

Hi, folks,

Hope everyone had a safe and Happy Thanksgiving!   I spent mine at home with my husband and daughter.

I want to try to get back into posting to this blog.  Art wise, since my last post, I entered one watercolor pencil painting and two watercolor paintings in the Shenandoah Valley Watercolor Society (SVWS) water media show, which ran from September 6th to November 7th at Virginia Mennonite Retirement Community (VMRC).  Because of covid, the show was not open to the public at large and entries were limited to allow for hanging that would make for social distancing when residents viewed the art.  The show was posted online at the SVWS website (go to the link above) for the public to view.  A video about the show was also done by group leaders and posted to VMRC's video site on vimeo.  Click here to view the video (my segment starts at 10:32).  I didn't win any awards or sell any of my pieces, but you can view them on the SVWS website.  They are titled "Mountain Summer," "Night Bird," and "Shadow Dragon."

I have sold some art on Etsy and eBay.  I sold a 5x7 inch digital print in July on Etsy.  I also sold one original aceo drawing and two aceo prints on eBay in October.  

I posted "Mountain Summer," "Night Bird," and "Shadow Dragon" (which is an aceo) on Etsy and eBay.  I am currently running a cybersale in both my shops.  Click on the links in the "About Me" section of the sidebar if you want to view all the above art and other art I have for sale on both sites.

I hope by September of next year, we won't have to worry about covid anymore.  So many things have been cancelled due to the virus.  The next art show I may try to enter is one at VMRC in May-June.  The deadline for entries is March 15th.  It may or may not be run depending on the virus and vaccine situations.  We shall see.

Well, that's it for now.  Thanks for reading and stay safe.

 

NFAC Contest Entry for May and Assorted

Long time no post here.  I hope everyone is well and not going too crazy at the restrictions due to Covid-19.  I and my family are well, but the restrictions have been stressful.  In news, I'm no longer working for Walmart or working outside the home.

I entered some of my watercolors in some local art shows in the last year.  I didn't win any awards but sold a painting in the last SVWS show, which ran from September 8 to November 2, 2019.  I also entered three pieces in the VECCA show in Woodstock which ran from November 15, 2019 to January 10, 2020.  I didn't win any awards or sell anything there.  I did win a first and second place for art pieces at the Rockingham County Fair in August 2019.  I tried to get two artworks into the juried VMRC Art Show in March 2019, but my art was not selected.

I also planned to enter my art in and attend the local Madicon science fiction convention March 13-15, 2020, but it was cancelled due to the coronavirus.

I have sold some ACEOs on eBay and Etsy.

Below is my entry in the Nibblefest Art Contest, a themed art contest beginning on the 20th of each month.  This month's theme is Winged Creatures.  Please be sure to search NFAC for more great entries, each starting at just $.99.

"Boxyflies 2"

https://www.ebay.com/itm/153943852358

It's an older print, but it fits the theme.  Click on the image for a larger view and click on the link if you want to make a bid.

I have a lot of my ACEOs and other art (and a lot of other stuff) up for sale on eBay too if you're interested.

NFAC contest entry for July

Hi, everyone.  I know, long time no see.  I hope to post more to this blog.

This is my entry in the Nibblefest Art Contest on eBay, a themed art contest beginning on the 20th of each month. This month's theme is Birds.  Please be sure to search NFAC for more great entries, each starting at just $.99.

"Watching"

 https://www.ebay.com/itm/153574195081

Click on the image for a larger view and click on the link if you want to make a bid. 

BTW, I have a lot of my other aceo art (and a lot of other stuff) up for sale on eBay too if you're interested. 

ACEO Theme Week Entry for September

Here is my entry for this month's ACEO theme week contest on eBay.  This month's theme is Fog / Fog Walking / Moon.  It's an older piece, but I thought it fit the theme.  Click on the image for a larger view and click on the link below it to be taken to my eBay listing.  I hope you like it.

 "Mister Moon"

https://www.ebay.com/itm/153163357010

To view other entries in the contest, please search ACEO TW SEP in the eBay search bar.

My ACEO theme week entry for August

Here is my entry for this month's ACEO theme week contest on eBay.  This month's theme is Wild Animals.  It's an older piece but it fits the theme.  Click on the picture for a larger view or on the link underneath the picture to be taken to my eBay listing.  I hope you like this photograph.

 "Baby Squirrel"

https://www.ebay.com/itm/153123018766

To view other entries in the contest, please search ACEO TW AUG in the eBay search bar.

This month's Nibblefest (NFAC) entry

This is my entry in the Nibblefest Art Contest on eBay, a themed art contest beginning on the 20th of each month. This month's theme is Shadows.  Please be sure to search NFAC for more great entries, each starting at just $.99.

"Spring Tulips"

https://www.ebay.com/itm/153107046118

Click on the image for a larger view and click on the link if you want to make a bid.

Nibblefest Entry for February 2018

I decided I need to get back into writing on this blog.  Here is my entry in this month's NFAC challenge on eBay:

 https://www.ebay.com/itm/152916621618

Click on the picture for a larger view of this 72 dpi image. Hope you enjoy it and please search NFAC on eBay for more entries by other artists.

Another Face

Well, folks, here is another face for the 29 Faces Sept. 2013 challenge (see the face at the right for more info or to view other entries).  This face was one I hoped to finish during the last 29 Faces challenge in February 2013 and I posted the unfinished face as an entry then here.

I finally got around to finishing the piece earlier tonight.  It is an ACEO (2.5 by 3.5 inches) done with Prismacolor Verithin colored pencils on 100 pound smooth Bristol board paper.  I had to darken the original scan in Paint Shop Pro because my scanner had trouble picking up the blue (the face area is actually a very light blue) and still couldn't get a completely accurate representation.  The lightest areas are the pure white of the Bristol paper.

"Water Elemental"

The original art was scanned at 300 dpi.  The version above is 100 dpi.  Again, click on the picture for a larger view and I hope you enjoy looking at my newest face.

Three More Faces

I am woefully behind on the 29 Faces Challenge for September 2013 (click on the face at right for more info or to see other people's entries).  I decided to do some more photo manipulations.  First, I edited an ACEO sized (2.5 by 3.5 inches) piece from a photograph I took of a statue at our local arboretum in October 2009 and resized it from its original 480 dpi to 300 dpi.  The result is below:

"Forest Face"

The version posted above is 100 dpi.  I then experimented with the photo in Paint Shop Pro 8.  The picture below was done with the Virtual Painter Collage plugin, but I don't remember what settings I used.  Again, it would be an ACEO size if printed, but the version below is 100 dpi.  I also had to run Sharpen on it when I reduced the picture size to capture the original detail.

"Forest Face Collaged"

For the last manipulation of the picture, I ran Artistic Effects, Colored Foil.  I started with the Custom 4 setting, kept the default gray (RGB 192) color, kept the default Angle of 133, changed the Blur to 17 and changed the Detail to 24.  I think it gives a cool, funky effect to the picture.  Again, it would be an ACEO size if printed and the version below is at 100 dpi.

"Forest Face Foiled"

As always, click on the pictures for larger views and I hope you enjoy looking at them.

Two More Faces

Here are the next two faces I've done for the 29 Faces Challenge run by Ayala Art (click on the face in the upper right for more info and to view other entries in the challenge).  The first is a doodle I did with black Micron ink on smooth Bristol board where I kept the pen on the paper (I did retrace over lines at times).  It was an interesting experiment, although the results weren't stellar by any means.  This piece is ACEO sized (2.5 x 3.5 inches) at its normal 300 dpi resolution.  The version below is 100 dpi.

"Face Doodle"

My fifth entry into the challenge is another ACEO using two different origami papers.  The woman's silhouette is cut from blue metallic paper (not sure if you can tell in the scan) and glued to a floral origami paper.  Then I glued the floral piece to a piece of heavyweight Bristol board paper.  I may decide to embellish it further, but for now I think it's an interesting piece.  The original scan is at 300 dpi resolution.  The version below is 100 dpi.

"Silhouette"

I feel like this piece needs a better title.  What do you think?  Anyway, click on the images for larger views and  I hope you enjoy looking at my faces.

Faces 2 and 3

My second entry in the face challenge (click on the face at the upper right for more details about the challenge) is an alteration of a portion of a photograph of me taken in 2010 at the Frontier Culture Museum by my daughter.  First, I resized the photograph in Paint Shop Pro 8 to 2 by 3 inches at 300 dpi resolution.  Then I ran Posterize on it at the 3 levels setting.  Next I reduced the picture to two colors, with the red components selected, Stucki Error Diffusion and the Weighted palette chosen.  Then I made the image Greyscale and adjusted the color balance by running Black and White Points Cool.  I ran JPEG Artifact Removal, Low, with a crispness of 50 and followed that with Moire Pattern Removal at Fine Details 2.  The result is below.

"Portrait of the Artist"

The version posted above is at 72 dpi.

My third face is an old sketch originally done in black ink on tracing paper, which I decided to scan, resize, and alter a bit in Paint Shop Pro.  The original piece is about 3 by 5 inches.  I decided to resize it to fit an ACEO size (2.5 by 3.5 inches), clean it up a bit, and give it a beige background that I hope looks like aged paper.  I altered the color of the ink to give a more aged appearance too.

"Vamp"

The uncopyrighted image is at 300 dpi resolution.  The one above is 100 dpi.

I'm working on using this image to make a colored Halloween flavored digital piece at ACEO size.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed looking at these pieces and do check out the other entries other people have been making (or even enter some yourself).  Click on the pictures for larger views.

29 Faces Challenge - Face 1

Ayala Art has issued another challenge to do 29 faces in 30 days in September.  I participated in the last 29 Faces challenge in February and decided to give it another go.  For my first face, I've reimagined and made some changes to a digital art piece from February 8th ("Pink Girl").  She's now out on the town for an evening of fun.  Maybe she's going to a Mardi Gras party or maybe just a costume party.  At any rate, she's now a "Party Girl."

At her original 300 dpi, she would be ACEO sized (2.5 by 3.5 inches).  This version I'm posting here is 72 dpi.
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"Party Girl"

I'm starting late so I don't know how many faces I'll be able to do.  But do check out the link in the upper right of this post (29 Faces Sept. 2013) for info on how you can get involved or just to check out the other participants' entries.

Click on the picture for a larger view and I hope you enjoy "Party Girl."

Third Challenge Entry

Here is my third and final entry in  the aceo challenge #26, Think Spring.

"Mountain Spring"

This is an ACEO sized (2.5" x 3.5") original artwork done with watercolor pencils.

Click on the image for a larger view.  Hope you like it.

Another Challenge Entry

Here is another entry in the aceo challenge #26, Think Spring.  (I discovered I couldn't have both pictures in the same blog post.).  Again, it is an ACEO sized  portion of a picture I took with my digital camera at our local arboretum on April 1 of last year.

"Spring Tulips"

Click on the image for a larger view.  Hope you enjoy this entry too.

The Aceo Challenge

Here is a photographic ACEO for the aceo challenge #26, Think Spring.  It is an ACEO sized  portion of a picture I took with my digital camera at our local arboretum on April 1 of year.

"Spring Flowers"

Click on the image for a larger view.  Hope you enjoy it.

Five More Faces

I worked on a few more ACEO size faces today (the 28th).  They are all original works.

"Ghosts"

 

"Ghosts" was done with Prismacolor Verithin colored pencils on gray Canson Mi-Teintes paper. 

 

"Mister Moon"

"Mister Moon" was also done with Prismacolor Verithin colored pencils, on smooth Bristol board paper.

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"Redhead"

Finally, "Redhead" was drawn with Prismacolor markers and Micron pen ink markers on 140 pound watercolor paper.
 

These works bring my face total to 24.  Click on the images for larger views and I hope you like them.

More Faces

Well, today is the last day for the 29 Faces 2013 Challenge (see face at right for more info).  I don't know if I'm going to make it to 29 faces, but I do have three more that I worked on yesterday to show you.  These are all ACEO size (2.5" x 3.5") original mixed media works.  They are a combination of watercolor and Micron pen ink on 140 lb. watercolor paper.

"Face of Pain"

"Straw Face"

"Dragon Face"

As always, click on the pictures for larger views.  Hope you like them.

I've enjoyed participating in this challenge.  Check out the other participants awesome work.

Space Face

Well, I finished another face for the 29 Faces 2013 Challenge (click face at right for more info).  This is a combination of original and digital art.  I took the pen sketch of Spock I posted earlier and used Paint Shop Pro to color it, crop it, and create a background for it.

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"Space Spock"

Again, this would be ACEO sized (2.5" x 3.5") if printed at 300 dpi.  The version posted here is at 72 dpi.  I hope you like this piece.

Three Faces

Time for another entry in the 29 Faces 2013 Challenge (click on the face at right for more info or to participate or view other entries).  This time I decided to take a portion of a photograph I took of Natural Chimneys in Mt. Solon, VA on June 25, 2011 and use Paint Shop Pro and a mouse to draw faces on the cliff face.  I tried to follow natural face shapes in the rock, but I did take license and add a mouth to the central face that wasn't apparent in the rock itself and a nose on the face on the left.  Anyway, the altered picture now contains three faces.

"Cliff Faces"

The size, if printed, would be ACEO size (2.5" x 3.5").  Click on the photo for a larger view and I hope you like it.

This entry puts my face total at fifteen.  I'm still behind, but I hope to catch up.