Getting closer!

Went out to the Fairgrounds today to see my booth location. How exciting! We have a great spot right out on Main Street! The past couple of years we were back behind the petting zoo. This year is going to be great!

Still not completely ready with all my art, but getting there. I will have lots of my new framed daily journal paintings ready to go, plus I will have my paints out there with me to work on more in my booth. I plan to spend some time everyday demonstrating my work.

Plus, I will have a clearance bin of the last of my black and white prints that came out of my booth at the 4th Street market. Just cleaned out our booth this morning.

Also,Aaron (my dh) signed his contract for his guitar performance on the 17th at the Boxcar stage. (7-9pm)

The State Fair goes for 17 days, Sept. 7-24. It's a long show but so much fun! The festive atmosphere makes it fly by! Cotton candy, turkey legs, carnival rides, rodeos, concerts, etc etc! How can you not have fun for days!

Last year we had intermitant wireless internet, we shall see if it's better this year. Hopefully, so I can post daily and keep everyone up to date on how it's going.

Hope to see some of you locals out there!

In Tijeras tomorrow

Tomorrow I will be back out at the Tijeras Art Market. Also, my hubby, Aaron Lewis, will be playing his classical/contemporary guitar at the Market from 10:30am to 1:30pm. Come out and see my new art, listen to some great music and see all the other great art!

Hope to see you there!

Where's my head?

I've been running around like a chicken with her head cut off recently. Way too much stuff to do and little time to do it all. Sound familiar? I think I am always in this state of mind. Until after December though, there is no chance to slow down and clear my mind! Oh well, that's ok, because I love what I do!!

The State Fair is less than 2 weeks away and I have more than 2 weeks worth of work to do. Aaron and I have decided that we will work long days until then to get ready. What choice do we have?! We are planning a day off the day before the Fair starts, IF we get everything done in time. We will need the day off before the 17 straight days at the Fair!!

This weekend, or should I say Saturday only, I will be back out at the Tijeras Art Market. Hope to see you there! Aaron(dh) will be playing his guitar from 10:30 to 1:30 so you shouldn't miss it!

Today is my middle son's 17th birthday! Where did all the time go? Seems like just yesterday......well, you know! So, on top of everything else, I have to go home early today and get the kitchen clean for the family dinner with grandparents etc. tonight.

I have some new paintings done, just need to take photos and post them. Also working on more frames for the daily journal paintings. I will have them done by next week, hopefully, in time for the Fair!!

I guess that's all the news that's new for now! Have a wonderful day!! :)

201 posts!

Logging in today, I realized that my last post was number 200!! So, to celebrate, this week I'm having a drawing for a free print! To enter, leave a comment with the name of your favorite print. If you are unsure of the title, you can find them in my shop listings. Oh, and make sure you leave me your email or some way to contact you. I will put all the names in a hat and pick a winner to be announced on Friday. You will have until Friday morning to leave your comments. The winner will have their choice of a print from my shop.

Also, wanted to thank everyone for their get well wishes! I'm feeling much, much better today. Starting to get my voice back after losing it over the weekend out at the Tijeras Art Market. I will be out at the market again on Labor Day weekend.

The next four weeks will be busy with preparations for the New Mexico State Fair. I have a booth again this year and the best part is we will be out on Main Street this year instead of being behind the petting zoo and McDonald's farm!

Hope to see lots of locals out there! I will have lots of new work!

Under the weather

Turns out I will not be at the Gallup show tonight. I came down with some kind of virus on Tuesday and I still don't feel better. I think I've been pushing my self a little too hard recently. Spent most of the day yesterday sleeping. I'm taking it easy today, a little painting in the studio, so I can be rested and feeling better in time for the Tijeras Art Market this weekend.

I also listed a couple more of the framed daily paintings in my Etsy shop this morning.

First Friday Tonight!

I've been so busy lately, I forgot to post something about the First Friday event tonight! It will be at the Factory on 5th, just north of downtown Albuquerque. My studio will be open and Aaron will be playing guitar. There are 16 other artists involved as well. Hours are 6-11pm tonight.

In other news, I will be at the opening of a group show at House of Lyndon gallery in Gallup, NM on Thursday, August 9th from 6-9pm. I'm working on finishing up a new large painting for this show. This is a great gallery with several awesome artists showing, including gallery owner and artist, Lyndon Tsosie.

Handpainted Frames for Daily Journal Paintings

Here are some of the pictures I promised recently. I took the newly framed paintings out to the art market this past weekend and got a great response on them. I even sold one! The rest are available in my Etsy shop for a limited time. They will also be hanging this Friday at the First Friday event at Factory on 5th.

Bold as Love with handpainted frame

Elated with handpainted frame

Spokes of the Sun Framed

Fire with handpainted frame

Daylight Savings with handpainted frame

Tijeras Art Market, New framed paintings, and a cool new Dave Matthews song!

This weekend I will be back in Tijeras for the Art Market at the Just Imagine Gallery. I will have new framed art that you just have to see! Those frames I talked about in the last post are done and they came out better than I had hoped! They will be available out at the market and whatever may be left of them will be in my Etsy shop next week! I want to take photos of them but the clouds are making it difficult.

Also, just found this cool new video of Dave Matthews (my favorite!) that I just had to share!

http://myspacetv.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=14164054

Have a great weekend! :)

Framing

Besides painting my rear off this week, I'm working on designing and building frames for my daily journal paintings. I am using raw lumber (1 x 3") to create my own frame moulding which will ultimately result in handmade, handpainted frames to compliment my smaller, 8 inch square paintings on canvas board. I will post photos once I get some completed. I have just finished putting the frames together and now I'm sanding and gessoing them to get ready for painting.

Earlier today I started my largest spiral abstract painting to date. It is on a 40 inch square gallery wrapped canvas. I've picked a color combo of yellow, red and brown. One of my favorite combos for sure. This painting WILL be finished for the Gallery show in Gallup August 9th. I'm thinking only positively on this one. I got quite a late start on painting it, but I will not give up until it's complete. I guess it's true that I have always worked best under pressure.

In addition to all that, I have to restock my matted prints to get ready for another weekend at the Tijeras Art Market. I just love that place! If you haven't been there and you get the chance, you should definitely check it out! The shady trees, the mountain breeze and of course the art! Also, there is always live music to enjoy too!

I will try to get some photos posted by the end of the week, although I can't promise anything with all I have going on!

Back to work!

We had a great time camping at the beginning of the week. We found a new spot in the western mountains of New Mexico where we didn't see a single person the entire time! That is a true rarity when camping anymore! The weather was perfect, right around 80 degrees with overnight lows in the 50s. We hiked for hours and sat around the campfire. The boys took a couple of friends and enjoyed having their own camp away from us. Of course they came back for mealtimes!

Now I'm back to work in the studio. Getting ready for another show this weekend. This is a Saturday only show in downtown Albuquerque. The Neighborhood Market is located at 8th and Gold and runs from 10am to 4pm. I hope to see some locals out there this weekend! Last month, the local Albuquerque Tribune was out at the market shooting video and interviewing the promoter. Today the article came out in the paper and they have also posted a video with my painted guitar featured prominently in it! In addition to the Neighborhood Market video, my husband was recorded playing a couple songs on his guitar! So check out both videos below and let me know what you think!

The Neighborhood Market
http://abqtrib.com/videos/2007/jul/19/105/

Also, here's the link to the article
http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2007/jul/19/neighborhood-market-ignites-downtown-albuquerque-r/

Aaron Lewis
http://abqtrib.com/videos/2007/jul/10/102/

I hope to have some new paintings finished soon to post here. I'm working on a couple of larger pieces for the Gallup gallery show in August. I also need to get started on a much larger canvas soon.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!!

This weekend

Saturday and Sunday from 10-5 I will be out at the Tijeras Art Market again. The market is just east of Albuquerque on I-40, take the Tijeras exit and keep turning right until you are on the old Route 66 going back towards town. The market is located just behind the Just Imagine gallery and coffee shop. There are signs and flags marking the spot. So, if you are local and feel like getting out of the city this weekend, come see me!

I will have several new paintings out there this weekend, and I will be sharing the booth with my artist friend Josephine Brionez de Flores. She makes wonderful art with feathers and beads, have to see it to appreciate it!

Since my middle son is home again, we decided to go camping after the market closes on Sunday for a couple days. Finally some well deserved time off! :)

Summertime and the living's busy!

Seems I can't get caught up these days. Lots going on!

Painting everyday to get ready for a gallery show in August at the House of Lyndon, Gallup, NM.

Getting stocked for the New Mexico State Fair in September. I have a booth again this year in the Enchantment Arts and Crafts section. This year, instead of being tucked behind a building and across from the petting zoo, we will be out on the main street of the fairgrounds! I will also have a booth to myself this year as last year I shared a booth with an artist friend. So I have more space to fill! The fun part about this year is that my husband will be out there with me everyday since he is now a full time performer. He's working on getting some bookings for the Fair, but otherwise will be with me at the booth, playing his guitar and selling cds.

This weekend(July 14,15th) and two weekends a month I will be out at the Tijeras Art Market. I will post the dates as soon as I know them for sure. This week I will be sharing the booth with my artist friend, Josephine Brionez de Flores

Saturday, July 21st I will be back out at the Neighborhood Market in downtown Albuquerque. At the corner of Gold and 8th, hours are 10am to 4pm.

I've designed and started to build frames for my small daily paintings. They are made from raw lumber into 3 inch wide painted wood frames. I'm planning to paint each frame to go with the painting it is intended for. The painting will extend out into the frame and turn an 8 inch painting into a 14 inch framed painting.

I am preparing my next instrument for painting. Not sure when I will start the actual painting, still have to gesso it. This one isn't a guitar, it's a Russian instrument called a Balalika(spelled wrong I'm sure!). I love the shape and I can hardly wait to paint it! I have had an awesome response on the guitar and want to have a whole row of painted instruments to show eventually.

On a personal note, I've been getting stuff moved around at the house and moved into my studio still. My middle son returned this morning from 6 months at his dad's in Arkansas. I am so happy to have him back! I now have all my sons living at home again!

In between shows, I've been busy in the studio. Here are some new paintings I've recently completed. They are all 12 inches square on stretched canvas, H2O Oils as usual. They are all available for $300 each.

Red Hot

Heat

Pure Joy

Albuquerque Sun

Upcoming shows and GREAT news!

I cannot believe how busy I have been lately! I didn't realize it had been so long since I posted here! The next two weekends I have two shows coming up.

Tijeras Art Market

This weekend I will be at the Tijeras Art Market, Saturday and Sunday, from 8am - 5pm. This will be my first time there and I'm really looking forward to it! The market space is nice and shady with permanent shade structures. The location is the East Mountain area just outside Albuquerque, off I-40 in the village of Tijeras. The market is located behind the Just Imagine Gallery and coffee shop.

Next Friday, July 6th, is my first, First Friday event at my new studio. The Factory on 5th is located just north of downtown Albuquerque on 5th street, between Aspen and Haines streets. My husband will be playing guitar as entertainment for the event.

So, if you are local or even if you are just visiting Albuquerque, I'd love to see you out at one of these events!

Now for the good, no GREAT, news! I mentioned back in May that I had some exciting news to share. Well, the news is official now! I have sold out of all my Paula Beck prints! All my black and white portrait and pottery prints that I have been threatening to bonfire for years are gone! This is a huge accomplishment for me as there were 7,000 prints left! I sold them all to one person in the Chicago area who plans to sell them as a fundraiser for a school/church. So, that is what I've been most busy with in the past month or so. I have always signed and numbered the prints as I needed them, so I have spent the past few weeks signing them all and getting them packed and shipped. Now they are gone for good! No more reminders of my past life!

Back home now

Home sweet home! Our trip was a blast! The concert was incredible! Plus we had some great visits with some long time friends.

I can't forget to mention that I met fellow blogger, Cynthia Guajardo, at the Summer Art Market in Denver. I forgot my camera that day, so she took the pics with hers. Follow the link to see them. I bought a wonderful vase from her, I will get a photo posted later. I also just received a card from her in the mail with a wonderful fabric postcard, thanks Cynthia! She is such a sweet lady!

The Police concert was the best concert I've ever seen! The opening band was Fictionplane, whose lead singer/bassist happens to be Sting's son. They were awesome! We got their cd, they were so good. The Police played all my favorite songs, and it was so incredible to see Stewart Copeland banging away on the drums in person!

On Sunday, June 10th, we spent the day up north of Fort Collins, visiting the spot next to the Poudre river where we were married, and eating dinner at the diner where we used to regularly go when we lived there.

When we came back, rather than driving straight down I-25, we decided to travel the back roads thru Alamosa, Colorado and Taos, NM. Beautiful drive! I doubt we will ever travel I-25 going north again.

Anyway, today(and most likely all weekend) I will be busy moving in to my new studio at the Factory on 5th. I will post some photos of our trip and the new studio once I get the computer all set up there. Hope everyone is having a wonderful summer!!!

Quick Post

.....To let everyone know I'm still alive, just SUPER busy!

Tomorrow is my Open Studio with my husband's House Concert, Sunday and Monday I'll be at an Arts & Crafts Show here in town, and next week we are looking for an (outside the house) office/studio space that my husband and I can share.

This has been a super busy week for personal reasons too, my youngest son graduated from Middle School yesterday! Where did the time go? My baby will be in high school in August! Plus this was my husband's last week as a public school music teacher.

Also, this evening, my brother and his band will be in Albuquerque to play a gig and they always crash at our house when they are here.

Hopefully, next week I will get a chance to breathe for a minute or two before we start getting ready for our Denver trip. We leave on the 7th of June. I hope to meet a couple of my blog friends while I'm there (Cynthia and Mary?).

AND I can't wait to see The Police concert on the 9th!!!! :)

The 10th is our 10th wedding anniversary, so we will spend the day up north of Fort Collins at Lake Watson. We were married there in an outdoor ceremony. For anyone that didn't know, we lived in Colorado for four years while we attended college.

I apologize for the gap between postings, I will try to keep up with the blog to let everyone know what's up!

Fresh Newly Stretched Canvas!

Summer is almost here, H2O oils on canvas, 12 inches square

Happiness, H2O oils on canvas, 12 inches square

I've spent the last few days busily painting in the studio. I stretched 12 new canvases on Monday, gessoed on Tuesday and by Wednesday I was inspired to get to it! I have six 12 inch square and six 20 inch square ready to go. These first two are the smaller size. I will decide when they are finished which of the 12 I will take to the gallery in Gallup. My next scheduled show there is in August.



It is now the busy season! I have something going on every weekend for the next 5 months! We are planning a couple more trips after the Denver trip in June. I have some exciting news to share, but I'm still waiting to get everything worked out. I will post here first as soon as it's all official.



Next week is my husband's last week as a public school teacher. He's finally pursuing his dream of being a full time musician! I'm so proud of him!

Neighborhood Market

Forgot to take my camera, so I will post photos later! :(

The good news is that the Market was a great success and considering this was the first Saturday, I can hardly wait to see how it will grow! NM Business Weekly wrote an article about the Market and mentioned my name! Check out the link below.

http://albuquerque.bizjournals.com/albuquerque/stories/2007/05/14/daily4.html

Hope to see more people out in the coming weeks!

The Neighborhood Market

Busy, busy, busy this week. Tomorrow is the start of The Neighborhood Market in downtown Albuquerque. If you are in the Albuquerque area, please come check it out! It will be loaded with lots of great art and music, great place to shop for that last minute Mother's Day gift! I will try to remember to take my camera so I can share photos of the market for those of you who aren't in the area.
The Neighborhood Market is located downtown on Gold between 7th and 8th Streets, behind the Flying Star. Hours are 10-4 every Saturday through October.

The Interview

I have been visiting Andrea Pratt's blog, Coloring Outside the Lines, for some time now. She recently posted an interview of her with questions she was asked by another blogger. So, I commented on her blog and she sent me these questions. Thanks for the great questions Andrea!

Do yourself a favor and check out Andrea's art, it is fantastic! I hope to someday add some of her work to my art collection!

If you would like me to interview you, read the rules at the bottom of this post and post a comment.

The Interview:

Tell us about your love affair with the circle. Where did it come from and what does it represent to you?

That's a hard question to answer, it comes from so many different places. Growing up in New Mexico, the circle and spiral are all around. The Zia symbol in the state flag, the mandalas and dream catchers, the circular designs found in Native American pottery, and the geometry of the Petroglyphs. For me personally, the spiral in my art represents my growth as an artist and a person. I started the spiral series as an expression of my inner self and the layers of the spiral represent the layers of my personality.

Your artist’s story reminded me that I heard recently how collectors love to buy “the artist”, not just the art. How has having a blog allowed you to connect with your purchasers/collectors on a more personal level?

It's allowed me to get my story out there. In the past all a collector had was the bio on the back of my prints. Now they can log on anytime to see what I'm up to on a day to day basis. Instead of getting only a summary of my life from the past, they can read about my plans for the future and see new work before the paint is dry! My favorite part about the blog is the interaction I get with people leaving comments and sending me email. For me, the best part about being an artist is the connection I have with people through my art. I love to hear how my art has brightened up someone's day!

Why is there such a thriving artist population in New Mexico and how did you end up there?

New Mexico has a long history of artists moving here to experience the "Enchantment", the light, the colors, the textures....if you have ever been here, you know why artists are drawn here. It started with the Taos Colony of Artists and later came Georgia O'Keefe and I guess the word spread! However, I'm one of the lucky ones, I grew up here. I was born in New Hampshire, but my parents moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico when I was 9 months old. I lived the first 17 years in Las Cruces and after time in the military(Hawaii, Alabama, Oklahoma, Tennessee) and moving to Colorado for college, I ended up in Albuquerque. I plan to make new Mexico my home for the rest of my life.

How did you meet your husband?

Believe it or not, when I met my husband he was 14 years old and my younger brother's best friend! Nine years later, after being friends for quite some time, we became closer friends and eventually started dating and moved in together. We married 1 1/2 years later.

Where do you see yourself in 10 years and what “art mountains” would you like to climb in the future?

In ten years I see myself living literally in my own "art mountains". My husband and I have plans to move up to the mountains of western New Mexico once the kids are grown and we are established with our careers. If you have read my art story(here on my blog), you know that I basically had to start my art career over after my divorce in 1995. I have come a long way, but I still have many goals ahead of me. I see myself in ten years having my work in several galleries across the country and even across the world! My youngest son will graduate from high school in four years and then we will become traveling nomads for a while before retiring to our home in the mountains where we will stay in touch by internet and work on our art and music everyday! I can hardly wait!!

DIRECTIONS FOR THE INTERVIEW MEME
1. Leave a comment saying, "Interview me." Cut me some slack -- it may take awhile.
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. Please make sure I have your email address.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.