Introducing - Merv Leib and Leibographics!

As I've been working on my Art from the Inkwell Monthly Newsletter, I thought I'd give an extra shout out to this month's featured Artist of the Month - Merv Leib.  I really enjoy this feature of the newsletter and have incorporated it into my blog as well.  It not only gives me the chance to showcase the talents of some of my artistically inclined friends, but also affords me the opportunity to meet, through the magic of the Internet, many other talented individuals of the artist community.  I was approached earlier this week by Merv's daughter-in-law, Kirstine, who serves as his webmaster, with the prospect of exchanging links.  Once I looked over Merv's website, which is actually his blog, I knew that exchanging links was not going to cut it.  His work is fantastic!  So, in addition to exchanging links, I knew that I had my next entry in the Artist of the Month selection of my newsletter.  And as with previous Artists of the Month, like Arman, Christopher and Sally Ann, I thought I'd put in an extra plug here in the blog.  The link in the title will take you over to Merv's blog, titled "Leibographics", where you can see all of the artwork he has posted.  In the meantime, here are a couple of samples to whet your appetite.  Merv and Kirstine have also begun work on an additional blog that will feature Merv's cartoons, and you can find this link on the Leibographics blog as well.

Pillar Point - Pt. Lobos

Old Timer

   

Land of Enchantment, and some good friends

Having recently returned from a trip to Santa Fe and the surrounding area, I realized it has been about two weeks since I posted anything, so I thought it would be apropos to share some details about the trip. First of all, thanks to Arman for putting us up for the week.  Arman has been mentioned in this blog as a featured artist, and also in this month's newsletter as Artist of the Month.  This past week, two  sculptures that he entered in a nationwide competition sponsored by the VA (Veterans Affairs), took 1st Place at the regional level, and will now move on to the nationals in Arkansas. Good luck!  It was great to see Bob & Carolyn in Albuquerque, and spend some time at their home in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains.  Hope we don't have to wait another 12 years to see them again. 

Pictured above is the incredible spiral staircase at the Sisters of Loretto Chapel in Santa Fe.  As the chapel was being built in 1876, the local carpenters neglected to erect stairs up to the choir loft, and due to the confines of the chapel's construction, adding a staircase was thought to be impossible.  About that time, a wandering carpenter happened into town, and undertook the task of designing and building the spiral staircase out of wood, not steel, since the nearest forge was hundreds of miles away.  The task defied the laws of architecture, and he also had to contend with the town's corrupt businessmen who wanted to ensure that the staircase was never completed.  A TV movie was made of this story in 1998, starring William Petersen and Barbara Hershey, the DVD of which is naturally for sale in the Gift Shop.  And also naturally, we walked out with a few of said DVDs, one for us, and a also as gifts. In the movie, it's stated the wood used was long-leaf pine, after a failed attempt with oak, but to add to the mystery of the staircase, the literature in the Gift Shop states that when a sample was submitted for testing, it could not be determined what kind of wood it was.  The results came back stating it was not a type of wood they'd ever seen before.  (Twilight Zone theme music here!)  Not a single nail was used in the construction, nor was a center pole used to stabilize the staircase during construction. Pretty amazing!

We also spent some time in Taos, and took in the hot springs at Ojo Caliente. After a week in cool, dry, clear-skied New Mexico, we returned to cold, damp, cloudy, rainy, snowy Oregon. But hey, summer is just four months away!  If we're lucky.

Artist of the Week - Arman Barajas

As part of my ongoing endeavor to feature the work of other artists in my blogs and newsletters, the featured artist this week is Arman Barajas, of Santa Fe, New Mexico.  Arman is a friend, and if you've visited my website at all over the past 5 or 6 years, you are looking at some of his work every time you visit Art from the Inkwell.  Arman is responsible for the re-design of my website, everything from color scheme to navigation to logo.  

While web design is one of Arman's talents, this blog will focus on his work as a sculptor. The link in the title will take you to his website, but here is an excerpt from his Artist Statement to help you along with the introduction:  

Understanding myself, relating to others, and life around me are my inspirations, and the emphasis of my body of work. My art gives a minimal amount of information, and is stylized to create a genuine feeling for nature, humanity, and balance.

I've included a few examples of his work here to get you started, and I hope you will get a chance to stop by his website to see more of his work.

Last minute gifts?

Well, here I am, a day late and a dollar short as usual!  In addition to my website, FineArtAmerica Gallery, and CafePress Storefront, I now have an aStore as part of the Amazon Associates program - just in time for the last three days of Christmas shopping!  It pays to check into your various accounts once in awhile.  Here, I've had an Amazon account and been part of the Amazon Seller Central program for about a year now and wasn't aware of this other option until I went shopping at the Kindle Store last week and noticed the section on the page regarding opening an aStore as part of the Amazon Associates program.  So anyway, I've been working on this for a few days, starting out with some basics and adding a few different categories to get started, and voila! Here we go.  For starters, I'm listing categories like Apparel and Accessories, Books, Music, Cameras & Photo, Computers, DVD, Sports & Outdoors, Video Games and of course Kindle Store.  Eventually, I hope to have the entire gamut of Amazon products available as I continue to add more categories.  So, all of you online Amazon shoppers out there - please bookmark my storefront for easy access.  Of course, I'll provide quick links on my website, newsletters and this blog as well. 

As a follow-up to last week's post about our trip to Leavenworth, WA - a great time was had by all!  We checked into the Pension Anna, on Friday.  Pictured here is the old Chapel, which was converted into lodging at the Inn, and is where we stayed.  Spacious rooms downstairs, with a loft and two single beds on second level.  Saturday morning brought the snow - started about 9:30, and continued all day long - to the tune of about 16 inches of snow!  Made for a great sleigh ride/dinner that evening, although getting back into town afterwards was a little tricky.  Last weekend was the Christmas Lighting Ceremony.  The whole town is lit up and looks like a picture postcard; the streets are blocked off for pedestrian traffic, and there are all kinds of events that take place throughout the day.  All in all, one of my favorite places!  The only bad part of the weekend was that we didn't get to see our friends A.J. & Terrie.  Due to all of the snow on Saturday, he had to spend the day Sunday plowing out his driveway and road to their B&B - Sky Meadows Retreat, so their guests would be able to get out. We'll catch up with them next time around.

You'll Love it in Leavenworth!

Heading out to Leavenworth (no, not that Leavenworth) for the weekend.  This is a photo of Leavenworth, WA from a snowy day last January.  We were visiting some friends, getting in a little snow-shoeing, a sleigh ride some great meals and some wine tasting.  This weekend starts the Christmas Lighting of the town, and we wanted a return visit.  Leavenworth is a quaint little Bavarian town about 20 miles west of Wenatchee, and is one of our favorite spots to visit.  We are actually hoping to relocate there one of these days, but that is another story. The link in the title will take you to one of the Leavenworth websites, and you can get an idea of what the town looks like all lit up with Christmas lights.  Quite breathtaking!  Every building in the town must follow the Bavarian village theme, and it is quite a festive little town.  There's always something going on.  There a couple of ski areas nearby, so it is a winter destination.  In the spring and summer, the town square is home to a summer-long art festival (which is why I want to find my way there one of these days).  Lots of friendly folks, and the neighboring towns of Cashmere and Peshastin are quite nice as well, and nearby Wenatchee is large enough to have some of the anemities of a large city, yet small enough to retain that small city feeling.



Let's try this again!! Cape Disappointment Lighthouse

Whew! It's been awhile. The last time, I took a 3 month break. This time it's been over a year. Time flies when you're having fun (or not - it just flies, especially the older you get!) Anyway, I have some new artwork to post, so I thought I'd get going again. I'll start off with a couple of lighthouses, since that is where I left off last go-round. Cape Disappointment is the first in my series of Washington State lighthouses. The lighthouse is owned by the Coast Guard, and the grounds are open to the public, although the tower is closed. The lighthouse has continued to watch over the entrance of the Columbia River since it was first lit on October 15, 1856. It stands 53 feet tall with a focal plane 220 feet above sea. Its black horizontal stripe was added later to distinguish it from North Head Lighthouse located just two miles north. (North Head Lighthouse will be my next posting). The cape, located on the north side of the mouth to the Columbia River, was originally named "Kah'eese by the local Indians. On July 6, 1788, Captain John Meares sought shelter here from a particularly turbulent sea, but to no avail, and he named the cape "Cape Disappointment". You'll notice the name Meares from a previous posting, Cape Meares Lighthouse, located near Tillamook, Oregon. Something new: I now have a listing on WholesaleCrafts.com, as well as HerOrbit.com, and will add these links to the panel on the right. The eBay storefront has been closed for the time being, and that link will be removed. Finally, I now have gift certificates available on my website as well, and hope to be adding more artwork and more products there in the near future. Appreciate any feedback from this or previous posts. Thanks.

Cape Arago Lighthouse

This rendering is of the Cape Arago Lighthouse, located 12 miles southwest of cities of North Bend and Coos Bay off U.S. 101. Stands 100 feet above the ocean on an islet just off Gregory Point. Light atop 44-foot tower was first illuminated in 1934, making it the newest in terms of service, although earlier structures were built on site in 1866 and 1908. Both of these succumbed to weather and erosion. Not open to the public, but good views are available from trail at Sunset Bay State Park south of the lighthouse. Listen for the unique fog horn. There are ten Lighthouses along the Oregon coast, seven of which are open to the public, and one that is a private residence. Lighthouse portraits make excellent gifts for all occasions. Look for your favorite lighthouse or collect the whole series. My Lighthouse note cards are available as a package of 10 cards of the featured lighthouse, or as an assortment, each package containing 1 of each rendering, plus an extra card of the featured lighthouse, in this case Cape Arago.

More lighthouses

Well, this time around it's 3 weeks instead of 3 months, so I guess that's a sign of progress. This is the Cape Blanco Lighthouse. Towering above the western-most point in Oregon, 9 miles north of Port Orford off U.S. 101, it is the oldest standing lighthouse on the Oregon coast. It was commissioned in 1870 to aid shipping generated by gold mining and lumber industry. Clifftop location is 245 feet above the ocean, and the tower rises an additional 59 feet. Automated equipment was installed by U.S. Coast Guard in 1980.
There are ten Lighthouses along the Oregon coast, seven of which are open to the public, and one that is a private residence. Lighthouse portraits make excellent gifts for all occasions. Look for your favorite lighthouse or collect the whole series. My Lighthouse note cards are available as a package of 10 cards of the featured lighthouse, or as an assortment, each package containing 1 of each rendering, plus an extra card of the featured lighthouse, in this case Cape Blanco. To see more of the lighthouses, stay tuned to the blog, or visit my website at: http://artfromtheinkwell.com

House Portraits

Here's an example of one of my house portraits, or in this case, an "Office Portrait". This is a dental office that I did a few years ago for one of my clients. I've also worked with Real Estate agents, and the renderings were used either for promotional purposes or for closing gifts. Some of the other structural renderings I've done include golf course clubhouses, historical buildings, lighthouses and wineries. I'll be showing more of these over the coming weeks. The link above will take you to the "Homes" page of my website, and you can view all of them in one fell swoop. Please don't hesitate to contact me if there is any interest in commissioning a house portrait of your own.