Let the games begin!

I'll be seeing you Memorial Day weekend at the Patriot News' Artfest in Harrisburg!! :)

http://www.harrisburgarts.org/artsfest/about.htm

I'll be sure to bring my new Sunflowers painting, and hopefully get some new bug drawings done in time as well!

Busy year, strange year...

Over the last couple of months I've learned that it's not exactly the norm to know that your existence in a certain location has a finite lifespan and you have no idea where you're going when it's over. I figured people did this all the time!

My husband's job technically ends in July- but even that could be tentative. We've signed a lease on our apartment up until (or through?? I forget) September, in case we can't move at the exact time that his job here ends. In 2007, he started this PA job in July; I, however, did not relocate and join him up here until October because it took us that long to find (and get into) a place we liked. We're both kind of open to just about anywhere, so there isn't much of a limit to where we'll go.
I do have some places in mind that I think I would like, but am trying to remain open minded and not get my heart set on anything.

Aaaaaannnnd, once again, it's art-show-application time. I have NO idea if I should even apply to any shows. At first I figured I'd apply to the usual ones I try to do before July. Seems simple enough. Since after that we'll be moving, maybe I'd apply to one or two of the ones I like to do in the fall since hopefully by then we'll be settled and maybe even living near enough to MD or VA that I could still do the shows. But I certainly don't want to go spending $20-$40 on a bunch of applications to shows that, even if I got into them, I might not be able to participate in.

So I'm feeling pretty unmotivated on the art show front. This is usually the time of year that I start to get the urge to be creative and get some new art going (well, after I get my taxes done, bleurgh). And I go crazy thinking of new ways to arrange my booth! I go researching all over the internet, looking at everything from homes displaying artwork, to photosets on Flickr with booth ideas. I invested in a new print rack in the fall (local art shop closed and sold it to me for 10 bucks) and I'm just dying to see how it works- it can either be set on the ground or hung on the side of my tent... but anyway.

Since I've had some new ideas for art and want to play around with them, I'm wondering if I should do minimal shows this year and concentrate on working on new stuff, and possibly have a slightly different angle next year when I apply to shows. Should I step back from shows and visit some, as an observer and not a vendor, and build my inventory (especially if the economy is going to suck as much this year as last year)? Or should I go balls to the wall and give my work a big final push, especially locally, since relatively soon I'll be leaving PA behind?

Another Christmas gift...

A set of 3 paintings (each 11" x 14") that I made a friend for Christmas:


Totally different than my usual stuff, I know. I wanted something that I could get done quickly and I had seen a lot of examples of paintings that she liked, in this style and subject matter. Birds, silhouettes, a touch of orange were the criteria I believe! :)

I'm debating whether or not to do a whole series of these. On one hand they are really fun, and I can get them done quickly. But they are so different than my usual work, and I don't know that I want to completely let go of that.

Then again, artists always seem to be playing around with different ideas, taking a break from their usual work and sometimes going back to it later. Maybe that's what I need to do, too.

Anyway let me know if you like it :)

Temporary deviation from Bugs to Pugs

Not a bug. Not even bug-eyed.

My husband has a rather large family, so the last couple of years at Christmastime we've taken to drawing names and doing a gift exchange. This year in the gift exchange, I drew my youngest brother-in-law's name.

My in-laws have this Pug that they all just adore. I don't think Pugs are generally the most photogenic dogs, so when I heard they got a dog and what they picked, I honestly wasn't impressed. Until I saw him in person. Not only is he so much cuter than the bugged-out-eyes-pointing-in-two-different-directions-underbite-having Pugs of the World Wide Interwebs, but he has a GREAT personality too!

I thought a great gift idea would be a portrait of the fun loving Pug. I've wanted to try painting animals for so long. I LOVE animals, problem is, I have no idea how to paint fur. The closest I ever came was painting the wispy feathers on the neck of my Great Blue Heron. But it seemed like such a perfect gift- and what the hell do I know about shopping for teenage boys!? So I embraced the wispy-feathery technique and gave the Pug a shot. I knew I wouldn't exactly be going for photo-realism anyway, since the last few years that's just not been my style. So how hard could it be?

The subject matter posing- same head tilt. Awesome.

I'm pretty happy with the results (although could've easily spent another week tweaking it, cause that's just how I am), and luckily my brother in law-and the rest of the family-seemed to like it, too.

Christmas day...

I had a blast doing this painting and definitely hope to try some more pets in the future! :)

2010 is shaping up to be a busy year...

even at only 3 days in!!

For one thing, it's time to start applying to outdoor art shows again. Most of the deadlines for the shows to which I apply are in February/March. And, most of the shows I tend to do are in May-September.

However...

Sometime at the end of the summer I'm moving, and as of right now have no clue where I'm going! I will apply to some shows where family members live and hopefully by the commitment deadlines, if I get in, I'll have a little more idea of where I will be and if I can participate.

I've also been bouncing around a few new art ideas, but the styles are soooo different from what I'm doing now. I enjoy both, so it isn't so much a matter of which makes me happy. No clue if I'll go in a new direction, do both, or keep doing what I've been doing.

And last but definitely not least, last month my husband and I signed up to do something we are really excited about- we are both doing a triathlon (or two?) this year!
We joined Team in Training (TNT), which is a fundraising group for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS). We've also pledged to raise money for LLS during our training time. My goal is to raise $2000 for blood cancer research by this May.

TNT has created a webpage for me here-
http://pages.teamintraining.org/cpa/nervetri10/sgallagm0a

From this webpage, anyone can make donations to TNT/LLS and view my progress! (My fundraising progress is tracked automatically, and I plan to peroidically update the site with my training efforts as well) :)

If you're feeling generous and could make a donation to support my fundraising efforts for LLS, I would be so grateful (and no donation is too small). I generally really dislike making a plea to anyone for money, but this is something I feel very strongly about because it is for a wonderful cause (you'd be donating to LLS and not me personally, of course).

If you'd like to donate but this just isn't the time for you to do so, I've also got a link over on the left of my blog, which will remain there until I finish my event. Or, perhaps you know someone else who would be interested in what I'm doing and if so, please share!

TNT is LLS's largest fundraising program! We went to a meeting in December and learned a lot of information about just how far the treatment of blood cancers has come, thanks to money donated to research. My triathlon will be in May, and my husband's in June. In the meantime, we'll be training about 6 days a week- sometimes on our own, [probably] sometimes together, and sometimes with coaches who volunteer their time with TNT to help us train.

I don't plan to turn this into an "art/eco-friendly/triathlon training" blog, but I may feel the need to make a post about my progress on occasion. Or do what a friend of mine did and start a blog for strictly race/fitness/gear related stuff... Hmmm.

See, I told you I was gonna be busy.


Stay safe and creative,