Inspiration

Recently, I was reminded by Patience Brewster, the artist behind these adorable Christmas ornaments, that August is Artist Appreciation Month! I thought I would do a post about who/what inspires my work to celebrate. I have given it a lot of thought over the past several days and come to the conclusion that color is probably my biggest inspiration. I get so excited when I squeeze new paint onto my palette and working with fun colors is almost like a therapeutic experience. 

I not only like to create art, but I love admiring others work as well. I seem to be particularly drawn to loose, colorful watercolors. I have always thought of color, especially in paintings, to be healing in some way. I have been known to soak up the beauty in paintings in galleries and in nature that invoke a positive emotion in me. What I hope to achieve is create works of art that cause others to feel something, like I do when I'm admiring a really beautiful painting or taking in a breathtaking scene. And, in a way, this extends to my quilts and other handmade items as well. I love the way handmade quilts, decorative items, and artwork make a home feel. 

So, in general, I am inspired by color and the beauty around me. If I can put that love into my work in a way that extends to the person admiring it, I have done my job. :)

Black Friday Sale

Hey everyone! I just wanted to let you all know that I'm having a sale in my Etsy shop this weekend. Simply use coupon code "BlackFriday" at checkout to receive 25% off everything in my shop! I've never offered such a large discount before so if you've been eyeing something up, now is the time. :) This sale will run until Sunday at midnight.

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Updated Gallery Wall

I spent my Sunday volunteering at the Stillwater Art Guild Gallery and putting up "new" work. I try to update my wall every few months, but I actually haven't done it since January. I had an animal theme going, and actually sold a couple of pieces. This time I thought I would bring in some of my earlier, more loose watercolor paintings. I don't paint like that anymore, but I thought someone might really like them. They certainly brought in a lot of color, so I think they'll be perfect for summer.

Meanwhile, all the animal paintings that I brought home with me are now relisted in my Etsy shop. Some of them are, "Hiding Spot," "January Snow," "A Pugs Life," and "Can You See Me?"

I hope you had a great weekend!

New Zoom Lens

I was trying out my new zoom lens for my Canon camera today. I've been noticing just how many birds we have around our area and this past weekend my husband and I created a bit of a bird haven in our backyard. We set up different bird feeders including a hummingbird feeder and a bird bath. These are a few of the photos that I got today.

 I have no idea what kind of bird this is.

 This Robin was just trotting around the yard before finding a worm.

 I love the bright yellow color of this Gold Finch. He's so pretty.

 And rather silly too! He hung out here a while before making it onto the feeder.

I think this hummingbird was a bit confused. The hummingbird feeder we set up is close to our deck, but it didn't stop her from trying.

I've always had a love of birds, I'm not entirely sure why. I suppose it could be a combination of their beautiful colors and sounds. I've been wanting to build up my reference library and even start doing some wildlife in watercolor. I've been overwhelmed with custom quilt orders, but I'm going to make an effort to make more time for painting. The only paintings I've done this year are 4 custom pet portraits, and I miss it terribly.

Imagekind

I just uploaded a bunch of paintings and photography to Imagekind. I've been meaning to do it for a long time but just kept forgetting. Imagekind is great because after you've chosen your image you have a bunch of options. You can order just a simple print, have it framed or printed on canvas. I kept the markup low so that everything is affordable. Definitely check it out because there is so much to choose from.

Paintings From 2010

I made this video of all my paintings from 2010. Enjoy! :)

Art Goals for 2011

"A Day Away" 9 by 12, Pastel Painting

NFS

Art Goals for 2011

1. Paint at least 4 times a week (I'd like to be able to dedicate more time but I'm also a full time college student).

2. Keep the computer off while I'm working, or if it's on, let it be for listening to music only.

3. Paint what I want, not what I think others will like.

4. Try to nail down a few subjects that I really enjoy and can improve on.

5. Dedicate a lot of time to painting animals.

6. Overall spend less time on the computer and more time painting.

7. Paint some larger paintings.

8. Dedicate more time to drawing.

9. Experiment with watercolor underpaintings for landscapes and skies (in pastel).

10. Participate in monthly painting challenges.

11. Blog more often (at least 4 times a week).

12. Complete some larger paintings for the gallery.

13. Complete at least 150 paintings this year (this past year I completed approximately 75).

14. Start doing a "painting-of-the-month." (A larger more detailed piece)

15. Continue studying painting books and generally keep myself educated in anything art related.

16. Participate in at least 1 painting competition.

17. Spend more time painting with watercolor.

So there it is. I sort of feel that the list isn't complete, so I may add to it. I hope in publishing my list of goals it will help to keep me focused on them. I'd love to hear any art goals you have for the new year! :)

"A Day Away" is one of the first pastel paintings I ever did and it was completed in February of this year. It's nice to compare my earlier works to my more recent ones and see how I have improved.

I hope you all had a great Christmas!

Free Shipping Weekend!

An Apple A Day

Available at the Stillwater Art Guild Gallery

Just wanted to let everyone know that I'm having a sale in my Etsy shop this weekend. Free shipping on everything!! If you shop my "reduced" section you can get some last minute gifts at a great price!! This sale will go until Sunday night at midnight. All items purchased this weekend will ship Monday, priority mail and should arrive just in time for Christmas. I also offer free gift wrapping but you need to ask for it.

Have a great evening!

Facebook

I decided to set up a Facebook art page today. I have a personal page, but I'd like to keep my art separate. The name of the page is: The Art of Angela Bishop. I have also put up a little Facebook badge over on the right under my bio. Please come and be a part of my art on Facebook! I will be sharing new works, inspiring quotes, tips, and any other information that I think you will enjoy! Your support will be much appreciated!! :)

Gallery Move

My old wall at the gallery.

My new wall.

I think I may have mentioned in a previous post that I was going to be moving to a bigger wall at the gallery. Well, I did this last week. You can see how small my previous wall was. Now having moved to one that is twice the size, I am able to hang more paintings, as well as have my quilt rack and taller print rack. And I'm happy to announce that after moving to this larger space, I made my first sale! :)

We had a "meet the artist" reception this past Friday and I think the timing was bad because that evening a winter storm started. Us artists far outnumbered the customers, but it was still a lot of fun.

Gallery

The time has come and my paintings are up in the gallery! I still can't quite believe it! My Fiance went with me yesterday morning and we got it all set up (he's much better with a ladder and tape measure than I am).

I have just a small wall, about 10 feet by 2 feet, but it fits my little paintings perfectly. I have been offered something quite a bit larger, but for now, I'm going to keep this little space. I also have a little basket of my quilted table runners besides my wall.

My paintings, "Boat Reflection," "Full Bodied," "Heavymetal," and "Tabby Cat."

Here is "Summer Cherries" and "Shell on the Shore." I also have several prints available. I was unable to fit my last painting on the wall, so it ended up on my print rack. It is "Multilayered." Also, my painting "An Apple a Day" will soon be displayed in the front window of the gallery.

For those of you who don't know, the gallery is the Stillwater Art Guild Gallery located in historical downtown Stillwater, Minnesota. There are many galleries downtown and they attract art collectors from all over the world.

Since I moved out here, Stillwater and this gallery, have been my favorite places to visit. To now be a part of it myself is a dream come true. :)

I hope you all had a great weekend!

Original Artwork by Angela

I just made this short video for YouTube. I thought it would be a fun new way to showcase some of my paintings. :)

Gallery Paintings

Well I finally decided to choose which paintings I'd like to have in the gallery next month. For those of you who don't know, I will be represented by the Stillwater Art Guild Gallery in Stillwater Minnesota as of November 1st. Yay! :) I thought it would be more difficult to choose which paintings I wanted to frame and put in the gallery, but it really wasn't. I wanted to choose a range of works that consisted of different subjects and colors. Here are the ones that I've chosen:

"My Bleeding Heart"
"Sweet Tooth Smile"
"Summer Cherries"

"Shell on the Shore" "Multilayered"

"Heavymetal" "Drizzle"

I'm also going to have many prints available of these paintings and others, including some of my watercolor paintings. I'm just so excited about this and I can't wait to see my paintings on the wall among all the other incredible artists! :)

Making Prints

This is what my desk looks like right now. I’ve been a busy bee making prints this morning. In exactly a month from today, my representation begins at the gallery, and I still have lots to do in preparation. While making these prints I’ve come to the conclusion that I really need a new printer. I currently have a Canon printer, which prints incredible photos, however the types of paper that I’m able to print on, is limited. So, I’ve begun “Operation New Printer.” :) I know the one that I want and it’s ridiculously expensive, but I think it will be a great investment.

I only have 2 more days off before new classes begin in school, and I’d love to have some more time off. We only get a week and a half off between quarters, and no summer break. But I’m very lucky that I don’t have to work and go to school at the same time. Although, I treat my painting and quilting like a job! :) I spend a lot more time painting and quilting than I do with school, and I’m still managing to maintain a 3.9 GPA. Not bad! :)

Have a great weekend everyone!

Puppies and Update

I thought maybe you were all missing the puppies, so I thought I would put up some pictures of them and update you on what has been going on with me.

Bentley posing nicely for the camera.
Cooper says, "Bentley, do you want to come down here and play with me?" Bentley says, "Can't you see I'm being photographed?"

Cooper has no idea why Mom is running around taking pictures of them.

" Mom, I don't know what you find so difficult about Biology, I find it rather stimulating."

I wish I had a new painting to share with you today, but I'm afraid I don't. I really haven't had any time to paint lately, and it's been frustrating. I'm at the end of another quarter in school, so I have final projects and finals due by the end of next week. I'm also trying to get a jump on my Fall and Winter quilts for Etsy. I made out pretty well the last holiday season with my quilted table runners, so I thought I would give it another try this year. Although, I'd much rather be painting than sewing right now.

As far as my painting goes.. I'm still getting everything ready for my gallery representation. Little did I know, this incredible opportunity was going to turn into phone calls to the IRS and appointments with an accountant to try and figure all the legal stuff out. So, I'm officially a small business owner, or self-employed according to the government. I'm excited about being able to write off my art supplies and all my other "business related expenses." Ha-ha... it just seems funny to say that.

Anyway, I hope to finish up these classes, get ahead with my quilting and finally have some time to paint. I'm gathering many beautiful reference photos for future paintings!

I hope you all enjoy what's left of Summer!

Framed Paintings

You guessed it, I decided to keep my latest painting ("When Life Gives You Lemons") for myself. I really had no intention of doing so when I was working on it, but once it was completed I realized that it went really well with my other painting, "Fruit Tea" (which I also decided to keep for myself). I had these adorable white frames that I thought would be a perfect fit for these paintings and I think I was right! I hung them up in my studio today. :)

I now have 5 by 7 prints available of these two paintings in my Etsy Shop.

What I Learned From Creativity Boot Camp

I completed my final painting for Creativity Boot Camp yesterday and I wanted to share with you what I learned from this two-week challenge.

First, I learned that it's important to set goals for myself. Setting goals keeps me moving forward and pushing toward greater things.

Second, I learned that it's good to continually challenge myself creatively. If I just stick with subjects that are comfortable to me, I'll never really grow as an artist. I've always had a fear of failure and therefore I wouldn't try new things. If I found something that I was good at, I would just stick with it. Now I know that I have to "fail" to learn. I can't be good with every medium and every subject. Even if I produce something that I'm not pleased with, it was good practice and I learned something from it.

Third, I learned that I have to create for me, and no one else. This was a tough lesson for me to learn. When I used to paint before I always had that voice in my head saying, "Will so-and-so like this?" And the truth is that it doesn't really matter. My creativity is first and foremost, for me; it is my expression. If others like it, that's great - and if they don't, that's okay too.

Fourth, I discovered the importance of getting into the studio everyday. I have so enjoyed painting every single day the past several weeks. I always had an excuse as to why I couldn't paint before. I think I'd probably get into my studio once or twice a week.

And finally I think the most important lesson that I learned is that I need to be happy and content with where I am on this journey. It doesn't serve me to look at others work and compare myself to them. Everyone has different gifts, talents, and is at a different place with their creative works. I should only be worried about where I am at, and that I'm happy.

Thank you to Maegan, the creator of Creativity Boot Camp, for the incredible experience!