Save 15% in my Etsy Shop!

Save 15% on any purchases through my Etsy Shop through the end of the month.  Simply use this code:  FLH221 when completing your  purchase.  This coupon is good for all 11 x 14 Matted Prints, Note Card Packages, and any of the unique laser-engraved gift items displayed throughout the shop.  All purchases are completed through PayPal, so you can rest assured that all transactions are safe and secure. Offer expires May 31, 2011.  The link in the title will take you over to the Etsy shop, where you can browse through all of the artwork uploaded thus far.  

Cooper

Introducing Cooper!  As most of my friends and readers are aware, last year we said goodbye to two cherished members of our household. Henri, our Australian Shepherd mix, and Sheba, our Keeshond/Shepherd mix, pictured in the profile photo with me, were together with us for 12 of their 14 years and will always be in our hearts.  And they were gone within a month and half of each other last summer.  Boots, our Shelty, also in the photo, was lonely, so shortly thereafter, we welcomed Cooper to the family.  Cooper is a Blue Healer mix, and I've recently completed a Pen & Ink portrait of him, which I've posted here.  The pose shows him in one of his more anxious moments, as he awaits with patient anticipation his share of the bowl of ice cream which is just out of range of the shot. 

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

   

Max

Although I had a dog named Max growing up in New Jersey, this is not a portrait of that Max.  Unfortunately, I don't think I even have any photos of that particular Max.  I think we named him for Maxwell Smart.  He had a fondness for scaring the beejeesus out of the mail man, the meter man, just about any man in a uniform, although he was at heart really friendly.  This Max greets everyone who enters Mah-Ann's Pro Fitness Center in Keizer, OR.  My wife, Fran, took some classes there last year and snapped this photo, along with a few more, and now, Max is the latest entry into the Pet Gallery on my website.  I also have his portrait posted in my FineArtAmerica gallery and my Etsy Shop, so there are all kinds of ways to check him out.  The link in the title will take you over to my FineArtAmerica Gallery, but if you are interested in a print or note cards of Max, I'll point you in the direction of my Etsy Shop, where you can still take advantage of the 10% Discount through the end of the month by using the code:  B00Coo upon completion of your transaction.  This portrait was done in ink, using black and brown Micron ink pens, and a combination of stroke work with stippling, or pointillism.

Save 10% on purchases in Etsy Shop

Eagles in Ink

Now that I'm getting the hang of Etsy, and have uploaded about 50 or so products to my shop, I figured it was a good time to kick off a 10% Savings Promotion.  The code to redeem upon completion of your transaction is:  BOOC00, and the promotion runs through the end of March.  The link in the title will take you over to my Etsy Shop where you can start your shopping spree!  The items you will find in my Etsy Shop are basically the same as posted on my website, but this promotion is exclusive to purchases through my Etsy Shop.  There are a few tweaks I've implemented on my Etsy Shop, most notably to the note card packages.  As on my website, note card packages contain 10 cards/envelopes per package, but on Etsy, I'm making many more assortment packages available.  For instance, there are about 5 different Wildlife Assortment packages available here, each one with 2 each of 5 different images.  Each image in the package is previewed in the details of that package.  The lighthouse assortment packages are the same as on the website:  one assortment contains the 10 Oregon Coast Lighthouses, and the other assortment contains the Washington and

East Coast Lighthouses currently available.  This discount is good for all items posted in the Etsy Shop, including all of the laser-engraved gift items listed there.  Here a few examples to give you an idea of what you'll find, and remember, the discount code is valid through March 31. 2011.

Goldpanner - 2 pc. Round Box

Dall Sheep - Maple burl Clock

Heceta Head Lighthouse -Rectangular Box

     

20% OFF Giclee Prints - 10 Days left!

Since I'll be out of town next week, I thought I'd get in one last reminder about the 20% OFF Sale over at my website on FineArtAmerica.com.  The link in the title will magically transport you over to that site (Beam me up Scotty!).  The Discount Code to take advantage of this sale is:  GDPDBZ. This discount is good through 2/26/2011.

I have over 70 images uploaded there now, with more to follow this week, and this promotion is good for any size Giclee Print, as well as purchases of Note Cards and Note Card Packages. Matting and framing options are also available for the prints, and there's even a canvas option if you are so inclined.  Here are a few of my more recent postings there, but I hope you'll get a chance to check out the entire gallery.

I've recently organized all of the images into categories, or galleries to make it easier to find a specific image. Pictured at the top is "The Reiner", which you will find in the Horses Gallery.  To the left here we have my rendering of the Oregon State Capitol building, which you will find in the Scenic Portraits Gallery.  Finally, to the right, we have my rendering titled "Kestrels", which you will find in the Wildlife Gallery. 

Coming in March, look for a special through my Etsy Shop which will feature the laser-engraved wood product line.  Since the shopping cart on my website is not really geared to specials on a wide spectrum without making massive changes to the website, I'm looking forward to being able to offer these special promotions through my Etsy Shop and FineArtAmerica Gallery.  Stay tuned.

Final 2 weeks of FineArtAmerica Special - Discount Code GDPDBZ

Just a quick reminder about the special that has been running through my FineArtAmerica Gallery for the past few months.  You can still get 20% off any purchase of Giclee Prints or Fully-customizable Note Cards through February 26, 2011.  Just enter the Discount Code GDPDBZ when you go through the check-out process to receive your discount.  Matting and framing are available, and also included in the promotion.  Now onto other matters.  What's up with Castle Hill Lighthouse, pictured here?  Only good stuff, I hope.  It seems to be a hot ticket item for me lately, both on the FineArtAmerica Gallery and my recently opened Etsy Shop.  Took less than two weeks to record the first sale on Etsy.  Must be some saavy shoppers with a keen eye for detail over there.  But seriously, for my artist friends out there, if you haven't checked out either of these sites yet, I would highly recommend them both.  They are great venues to post your artwork, get a little extra exposure, and maybe even make a few sales!  Let me know if you have any questions about starting up accounts at either website.  It really is a snap.  And you just can't beat their rates.



Check out this great product I found!

I stumbled across Christopher Sia the other day while searching through other Artists' websites and online offers, etc. and really liked the content. The link in the title will take you over to his site. As someone who works in Pencil, as well as Ink and Scratchboard, I got to thinking that if I was ever pressed to give a "How to" type class or write an instruction manual on what I do, I wouldn't know where to begin.  That may sound kind of silly, but it's true.  I don't really know how to do what I do; I just do it.  I've worked with other artists through the years, getting tips and techniques, but never any formal training.  I've been pretty much self-taught in my chosen media, whether it be Pen & Ink, Pencil, Scratchboard or Calligraphy.  So I guess having some natural talent is a good thing (a good place to start, anyway), but can also work against you in some ways.  Quite a few years ago, when I was living in Orlando, I was "recruited" to teach a class on Calligraphy to a local women's craft class.  Here again, I knew my process for getting to the end result, but I had a heck of a time breaking it down into basics that beginners would be able to follow along with.  So, I grabbed my "How to" books and plotted out a 6-week course, and you know what - we had some fun with it for the next 6 weeks!  The most challenging part of the class was having someone who was left-handed in there, and trying to figure out how to adapt the strokes to her natural motion.  Don't really remember if we were successful on that one or not!  Anyway, this looks like a great course - very succinct and easy to follow, with lots of extras.

New artwork - Meet Scooter

I haven't posted any artwork in a while, so I thought I'd post one of my more recent horse portraits - "Scooter".  Scooter belongs to our family veterinarian, Keri Sanders at Ark Animal Care in Mill City, OR.  Keri and the staff at Ark Animal Care are the greatest.  Over the past summer we lost two of our faithful companions, Henri and Sheba to old age.  They were both over 14 years old, and were a special part of the Howe/Tripoli household.  We greatly appreciated the care and kindness of everyone at Ark Animal Care, to us yes, but especially to Sheba, and then Henri, as we dealt with their illnesses up to the time it came to say goodbye, just a little more than a month apart.  Anyway, I did this portrait of Keri's horse, Scooter as a show of our appreciation. I completed the rendering using a combination of stippling, or pointillism and stroke work, and worked with black and brown inks.  The framed original now hangs in the office of Ark Animal Care.  The link in the title will take you to my FineArtAmerica Gallery, where you can see a larger image of the portrait, as well as all of the other portraits there.  I've recently organized the artwork into galleries, which for the most part, correspond to the galleries on my website.  There are a few differences, most notably the combining of the Northwest, Southwest and Golf Course categories (as you would find them on the website) into one gallery - Scenic Portraits, on FineArtAmerica.  As I add more artwork into that gallery, I will more than likely sort them out again down the road.

And now, for something a little different, as Monty Python used to say (no hammers smashing heads here though).  A few posts ago I introduced readers to Christopher Farlow, as artist associate of mine through FineArtAmerica, and he will be featured again in February's newsletter.  Today, I'd like to introduce my readers to one of my LinkedIn associates, Cindy Rademacher, owner of CJK Marketing.  Cindy lives in the Missoula, Montana area, and her businesses deal with Health, Wellness and Fitness.  One of her newest additions is a diet lollipop! Go figure, who would have thought you could lose weight by sucking on a lollipop. I'll try to have more info on Cindy's websites for February's newsletter as well, but in the meantime, to view her public profile on LinkedIn, just click on this link:  http://www.linkedin.com/in/cjkproducts. 

A reminder and a correction

Just a quick entry here to post a reminder to anyone actually reading this that there is a little over one month remaining to take advantage of the 20% Discount on all purchases through my FineArtAmerica Gallery.  The link in the title will take you over to my website there, and all of the artwork has recently been organized into galleries to make it easier to sort through the images.  Use the DISCOUNT CODE:   GDPDBZ  upon completion of your purchase to receive the discount.

In my last post I mistakenly listed Christopher's last name as Farley instead of Farlow.  Don't know where that came from, as I was looking right at it and actually typed it correctly in the link I provided to his FineArtAmerica gallery.  Chalk it up to a minor brain fart I guess.  Anyway, his name is Christopher Farlow, his artwork is still fantastic and worth checking out, and at least I was successful in pointing out to him that the title of his piece "On Eagle" should in actuality read "On Eagle's Wings".  So I guess we all have those little brain farts from time to time.  So long as they are not while driving a car or operating heavy machinery.

FineArtAmerica update

Back to business now that the Holidays are over, guests are gone, and Holiday Concert Series has run its' course.  Speaking of the Holiday Concert Series, as promised, here's a quick review of the Pink Martini New Year's Eve Concert - FANTASTIC!!  One of best concerts I've ever attended; I'd rank it right up there with the James Taylor/Carole King concert that we saw last summer.  And you could tell that the audience was filled Pink Martini fans, because even though they may not be widely known around the country yet, whenever one of their signature songs was performed, the place went wild.  China Forbes, their singer is amazing.  If you listen to any of their CD's, you get accustomed to hearing her sing in English, Spanish, Italian and French, no big deal.  In addition to those selections, she sang three versions of "Silent Night", in English, the original German, and Arabic.  A traditional Chinese New Year's song was performed, in Chinese of course, and yet another portion of the show was devoted to Hannukah, sung in Hebrew and a Spanish/Hebrew hybrid language, call it Hebrish or Spanbrew or something. But it was beatiful nonetheless.



Dall Sheep

Okay, back to the topic. Pictured here is one of my latest postings to FineArtAmerica, titled "Dall Sheep". The link in the title will take you over to the profile page at FineArtAmerica.  Since I have over 60 images posted there now, I've organized everything into Galleries to make it easier to tour through the site.  The galleries for the most part will mirror what I have posted on my website, like Faces West, Wildlife, Horses, etc.  As a reminder, there is still almost two months left on the 20% OFF promotion for Giclee prints and note cards purchased through FineArtAmerica.  That Discount Code again is GDPDBZ, and expires on 2/26/2011.

Soulful in Ink

Today's featured portrait, titled "Soulful in Ink", is actually a second version, or rendering, of the same subject, titled ironically enough "Soulful".  The first version was completed in Scratchboard, and was a return to that medium for me after a few years away.  The link in the title will take you to my Profile page on FineArtAmerica, where you can see both versions, as well as all the other artwork posted there.  Although Scratchboard and Ink are similar looking in the end result, getting there is quite another story.  In some regards, I liken Scratchboard to Sculpture or Carving, where you start out with a clump of clay or a block of wood, and try to imagine what the negative space of the final product is, and then peel it away a little bit at a time.  Although you're working on a 2-dimensional sheet of scratchboard paper or board, the thought process is similar.  You have to think about the ink that shouldn't be there and scrape it away, and hope that the end result will be at least somewhat 3-dimensional. 

In this case, I had a couple of small scratchboards, measuring 5"x7", lying around that I wanted to experiment with.  The first attempt was my piece titled "Barn Owl", which can also be seen at the FineArtAmerica Gallery.  Then, as I was working on "Soulful",  I thought that this particular piece would make a good ink rendering as well.  However, I didn't want to limit myself to the constraints of working on such a small piece, so I upped the measurements to 8"x10" for the ink version.  What a difference those 3 inches made.  That and the fact that I was back in my comfort-zone of working with laying down the ink, rather than scraping it away.  I felt that I was able to get a little more depth into the end result by adding layers as I needed them.

It should be pointed out that working in Scratchboard is not always a question of taking out the negative space from the image you are working with.  You also have the option of starting out with a sheet of paper or a board that has been treated with the white, chalky clay, but has not been coated with ink.  This is great when you are going to have large areas of white in the rendering.  Scraping away the ink coating would not only be tedious, but the end result often will not look very uniform.  Instead, you add the ink to the areas that need it, and leave the rest uncovered.  In this case, you will then actually add the ink as you would in an ink rendering, a stroke at a time.  The desired result here is that the transition between the ink work and the scratchboard work flows seamlessly, and you can't tell where one or the other technique begins or ends.

Just a reminder here:  anyone interested in purchasing Giclee prints or fully-customizable note cards through my FineArtAmerica Gallery can take advantage of 20% Savings through 2/26/2011 by using the following Discount Code:  GDPDBZ

Pt. Robinson Lighthouse, Washington

Located on the northeast corner of Maury Island in Puget Sound, the lighthouse marks the halfway point between Seattle and Tacoma. Often shrouded in fog, Point Robinson began as a fog signal station on July 1, 1885. A light was added to the station in 1887. Before 1925, Maury Island was only accessible by boat or bridge at high tide. Now, however, the island is easily reached from the larger Vashon Island, via a paved road on a narrow strip of land. This rendering is the third in my series of Washington lighthouses. I still have about 24 to go to complete the series, so I'd better get back to the drawing board soon. In the meantime, I'll continue to post the rest of my Oregon Coast Lighthouses, as well as Horse, Pet, Western and Wildlife portraits. For a complete tour of my "Gallery", please visit my website, and since it's never too early to think about Christmas gifts, check out the products on my website as well as my CafePress storefront.

North Head Lighthouse, Washington

Here is the rendering of the North Head Lighthouse mentioned in last entry. It is located just two miles north of Cape Disappointment Lighthouse because mariners approaching the Columbia River from the north could not see the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse until they had nearly reached the river. So, North Head Lighthouse was built to act as an "early warning" of the mouth of the Columbia, and was lit for the first time on May 16, 1898. North Head shone a fixed white light while Cape Disappointment alternated red and white flashes to differentiate between the two. This rendering is the second in my series of Washington State lighthouses. Next up will be Pt. Robinson, and then I have to get back to the drawing board to continue the series.

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

Pet Portraits

Here's an example of one of my Pet Portraits, in this case, the subject is Henri, our 11 year old Australian Shepherd mix. You can also see Henri in the profile photo. This was done in Pen & Ink, and then I added some watercolor pencil highlights. What a ham! You can do just about anything to Henri, as long as you're paying attention to him. I hope to add portraits of Sheba and Boots soon, but to see additional portraits in my Pet Gallery, just click on the link in the title. You'll notice that I don't have many (all right ANY) cat portraits yet, but I hope to remedy that situation soon as well. For more information on commissioning a portrait, please don't hesitate to leave a comment or contact me through the website.

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.

Horse Portraits

Well, I have a couple of eBay auctions set to end today (my previous two posts), and since I'm not ready to post another item at auction yet, I thought I'd post some examples of the different types of portraits that I do. Some earlier posts of my "Faces West" portraits were good examples of my people portraits. Today's example is "Midnight", which I did a few years back, while living in Colorado Springs. "Midnight" is available through my website on a variety of products - Prints, note-card packages, and many of the wood products that feature laser-engraving of the artwork. Also, through my CafePress storefront, "Midnight" is available on everything from Mugs and Mousepads to T-shirts and Sweat Suits. I welcome all comments and feedback, and I'm still trying to figure out how to tweak this blog and add additional pages besides the posts.

Yaquina Head Lighthouse (click here to bid)

Here is another item that has been posted to my eBay auction site. I'm actually a little late in getting to this posting, so there are only 3 days left on this auction (as well as the auction for the Cape Meares Lighthouse gift box) as of today. Yaquina Head Lighthouse is located off U.S. 101, 3 miles north of Newport, Oregon. The original is a 14" x 17" Pen & Ink rendering, and I'll shortly have prints, note-card packages and more available on my website. Ditto for the Cape Meares Lighthouse products. So far, I've completed 5 of the 10 Lighthouses along the Oregon Coast, and hope to have the complete series finished over the next couple of months. If either of these gift boxes do not sell at auction, they will be available through my website, or you can contact me for more information.