Saturday, May 16, 2015

Challenges and New On-line Store

67/100 -- "3 Bowls" - 6" x 6" mixed media on paper - $75

The past month has been pretty stressful with some personal matters and today I'm going to escape to the beach for a little R&R and some creative soul revival time with my favorite art buddies.  I'm still doing the 100 Art Works Challenge and am finally up to #67.  I enjoy participating in these contests because they force me to challenge myself to do things I either haven't learned before (like abstract figure painting) .....

30 Paintings in 30 Days - abstract figures - 2014


.....or working with mediums that I used to avoid like oil paints!

30 Paintings in 30 Days -- oil paintings - 2015

Besides the 100 Art Works Challenge, I've participated and completed four "30 Paintings in 30 Days" contests.  These challenges are in addition to my normal painting routine, and though I do sell many of these works to my art collectors, I haven't really be pushing sales which means I've developed quite an inventory of work that needs to find happy homes. 

On May 4th, I opened a shop on ArtFinder, an on-line venue for artists from all over the world.  It's a juried site, which means you have to submit your work to be accepted.  I was thrilled to make the cut and made my first sale last week to a man in Florida.  If you get a chance, please check it out here and let me know what you think!!  One feature that I do like about this site is it allows people to make an offer on work they are thinking of purchasing.  Since I often discount my work anyway to my friends and collectors, I was thrilled they let me do this.

I'll be adding more work to the site as I get time, and in the meantime I'm starting plans for a huge studio sale which will be at my home studio.  If you're in the Sacramento area and want an invitation  please send me an email -- jj@judyjacobsart.com and I'll give you more details.  I'm thinking an ice cream social with the theme "Christmas in July....." - a late morning/early afternoon event which will hopefully beat the heat!


Monday, May 11, 2015

2 Finished Gelli-Deli Paintings

Working with the Gelli-Deli prints has been a fun experience.  When I work with the Gelli plate I tend to go for simpler designs in a limited palette which works perfectly with my theme for the 100 Artworks Challenge!  Here are the first two finished works using the Gelli-Deli's - both are 6.25" x 4.25" mixed media on 140-lb watercolor paper. 

"Flowers for Mom" - 66/100

"Lost at Sea" - 65/100

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Raindrops are Falling - 5 New WIP's


Woke up around 4:45 this morning to a dripping noise outside my window......got up to look outside and saw raindrops!!  What a delightful way to welcome a new day and create some art.

Awhile back I used my Gelli Plate to make some textural-like designs using tissue-like deli paper.  I loved the look of the papers and vowed one day to use them in some of my work, but hadn't gotten around to it until today.

This morning the rain inspired me to try something different, so I cut up a couple of the Gelli-Deli sheets to make a few collages for the 100 Artworks Challenge that I joined on March 15, 2015.  Above is a photo of 5 new works in progress - each are 6.25" x 4.25", which fit perfectly in some 10" x 8" mats I have lying around.  Can't wait to see how these look when they're done!

While writing this post, the sun came out.....looks like the rain show is over for sunny Sacramento.  Hope we get some more rain soon.

Sunday, May 3, 2015

Catch Up Time

I've been lax on posting the paintings from the 100 Art Works Challenge.  I started out strong and was posting daily, then life took over and I just neglected to keep up.  So here are a couple of group photos showing paintings #1 through #30 and #31 through #48.  If you would like to see any particular one closer, shoot me an email at jj@judyjacobsart.com



As of today's writing I'm up to #64 and am using some color.  Not because I'm tired of working with neutrals but because I was in a show that specifically asked for my work because the curator loved all my color!!  Since working with this challenge, I've fallen in love with the vessels and little flowers that sometimes adorn a design, and thought it might be fun to spice things up a bit and bring on the chroma.  Here's #49 through #64 - still doing the same vessels but adding some of that "JJ" punch to keep things interesting.  Enjoy!