Recently, I have exhibited in local art shows and exhibitions.  I was very fortunate that several of my pieces sold at the shows.  On two occasions, I was able to meet the collector of my artworks.
What came up in the conversations was how the artwork spoke to them. The pieces were quite different, watercolour and abstract mixed media landscapes. I know when I am creating a piece, I almost get this giddy feeling and butterflies.  When I experience those feelings, I know I am happy with what I have produced.  It may take time during the process for this to come up, sometimes it can be immediate within the first layer.  
It made me wonder if similar feelings came up for the observer of art.  Does the art talk to them through feelings, emotions, memories.  Does the art take them back to a time and place, does it send them into an unknown exciting future, through the art piece?  
I know, personally artwork feeds my soul, both purchasing and creating.  It evokes emotions and mostly brings joy.  Art is for everyone and is always a welcome addition into ones life.
 
Do you have an art piece that has evoked an emotion for you? Do you create art and have physical or emotional responses to what you create?  Leave your comments below.

Featured Artwork: Entertaining Angels and Friends

To easel or not to easel, is the question today.  
When I got back into creating, I purchased a small desktop easel to hold my small canvases.  It was good enough; I didn't know if I was going to continue the creative journey when everything when back to "normal" so I went with a cheap and cheerful option which suited me at the time.   Within a few months, I realised the cheap and cheerful just wasn't cutting it, so ordered in a desktop easel which was so much better with larger canvases.  I soon learnt I much preferred standing to paint than sitting. 

A few more months later during one of the breaks in lockdown, my gorgeous hubby came home with a studio easel for me.  I love it and use it every day I am in the studio.  It is sturdy, holds large canvasses and is now covered in paint, I think the paint gives it character.

I found as my circumstances changed and also my painting style I needed a few different easels.  My larger desktop easel is still on hand for when I am sitting at my desk and creating, my studio easel is a must and I have a few portable easels I use for open studios and displays.  I have also been using the portable tripod to take to my art classes. 

The tripod easel I have been taking to various classes is great, yet it is bulky to leave in the boot of the car. I had been eyeing off on Amazon a tripod easel with a shelf etc. (pictured).  So last week I ordered it, and it arrived 2 days later. I was pleased to see it fits in a small bag and is so light and versatile. I can now use it at my art classes, along with en plein air excursions and also painting demonstrations.

You don't need to be like me and have multiple easels, pick one that suits your needs, ask yourself, will I be painting on paper or canvas?  Will I be creating large or small pieces? Do I need to incorporate storage?  Does it need to be portable?   Can I leave it up or do I need to pack it away?  Do I like working on an easel or on the table? What type of medium will I be using?

Once you have answered these simple questions you will have a better understanding of your easel requirements.    You can check out some of my favourite tools and a couple of easels. 

How do you like to work?  Leave a comment below.
  

I remember when I entered my first art show and saw my work in a real gallery I was thrilled to bits.  It was exciting and I made it happen.  I bit the bullet and applied to have my artwork accepted. 
From that one piece being accepted I mustered up enough courage to approach a gallery to see if I could add some pieces on consignment.  Yes, I was naive, but if you don't give it a go you will never know.

In June 2023 I decided I wanted to exhibit some of my work, I had no idea how I would do this until the light bulb illuminated and I thought, why not have my own exhibition. I was totally unprepared for how much work this would take and what I needed to do to make it successful.

In July, I ran my first open studio and art sale.  It was harrowing to put myself "out there" even though I held it at home in our expansive patio now named "Art in the Garden Room".  Would anyone turn up, what would they think of my artwork, will it be successful, what if it is too cold, too hot, too this, to that? Pushing through self-doubt with anything in your life is hard, I believe not trying is a harder pill to swallow.  You can't sit around waiting for a knock on your door or the phone to ring. Instead, make your own luck, you never know what exciting things will happen. By the way, I have another open studio in November over a night and a day because, people turned up, it was a freezing cold wet day and they still came, I sold artwork and had an absolute ball. I learnt from it and hope the next one is bigger and better. Oh, is that a knock on the door?  

In July 2022 I entered my first art show.  It was an amazing experience to go through the process of putting together the requirements for the online application. I was as nervous as a kitten.  I didn't know what I was doing, what some of the questions meant or what I was supposed to write. Would my artwork stack up with other entries, was my work worthy of being accepted? Am I an imposter?  All the questions came bounding up to me as I sat there with the computer screen in front of me and the online form bouncing from the screen and the questions swirling in my head.  I took a deep breath and thought, what is the best thing that can happen? So, I entered my first art show, was accepted, and sold my painting.  Not bad for a first time attempt.

There are so many great reasons to enter art shows and art competitions. I find one of the most important processes to come out of entering is being able to explain your work.  It gives you a chance to consider the piece you are entering, what is the emotion you are trying to evoke, what you were thinking, how does it relate to the show if it has a theme.
 
I remember another show, the piece had to have D hooks.  I had no idea what a D hook was or how I was going to fix it to my piece as I was entering artwork on a board which was only 3mm thick. After countless YouTube videos, practice on scrap boards I devised a solution.

How do you pack a painting to go via post to an art show or exhibition? This was another hurdle I needed to overcome.  I needed to protect my piece, the corners, the canvas, what is the best way of packaging?

In the past I did not have to deal with postage as my art sales had been local and drop offs.   

All these little nuances prepare you for sales, speaking about your art and allow you an experieince to prepare you for future sales and exhibitions.  Next time you see an art show advertised, give it a go and if you happen to be attending one, keep an eye out for me.