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

   

Introducing Bluegatorjewelry on Etsy.com

Bluegatorjewelry

Here's another in my Artist of the Week/Month/Whatever entries.  This week/month/whatever focuses on SallyAnn Cobia Rogers, and her shop on Etsy.com:  Bluegatorjewelry.  The link in the title will take you over to the main page of her shop, where you can browse through her selection of handmade, one-of-a-kind jewelry (earrings, bracelets and necklaces). SPRING is almost here! Plan ahead with jewelry in flowery spring colors. More designs are being added frequently, so keep checking back.  In addition to the shop on Etsy, you can catch up with SallyAnn through her Fan Page on Facebook or her Blog. 

Although I've known SallyAnn and her husband Steve for something like 40 years, from our time at Florida Southern College, we've reconnected recently through the magic of the Internet and Facebook, etc. I found out that, like me, she has a shop on Etsy, and has been marketing her jewelry there for about 10 months or so.  So, I'm happy to give her a little plug here.  By the way, those of my readers who also go back to my college days, may be interested in catching up with Steve through his blog:  Looking Toward Portugal

Here are a couple of examples of the jewelry you can find at Bluegatorjewelry:

Bear Totem Earrings - $25.00

Aqua beach glass earrings - $15.00

        

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.

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.

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.

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.

Featured Artist - Christopher Farlow

All right, this feature is not quite like Google's Artist of the Day, but I mentioned in an earlier post that I would from time to time try to introduce my friends and readers to new artists (or at least new to them!).  I came across Christopher a few days ago while I was putting in some time on my FineArtAmerica Gallery.  I belong to a few different groups there and was looking over some of the new work posted in the Pencil Drawing Group, and was blown away by Christopher's portraits.  The link in the title (or here) will take you over to Christopher's website http://www.pencildrawn.com/, where you can see for yourself some of his incredible artwork.  I've posted a few images here to whet your appetite, but I heartily recommend taking a tour of his website to see the complete portfolio. In addition to the posting in this blog, Christopher has given me his permission to include his artwork in my monthly Art from the Inkwell Newsletter as well, so those of you who follow me there will get to see more in February's edition.  In the meantime, enjoy!

This one is titled "Jessica Biel Drawing".  In Christopher's FineArtAmerica Gallery, there are actually 6 other Jessica Biel Drawings, at various stages of completion, so they are titled, appropriately enough with "Work in Progress" included in the title.  Each one focuses on a different portrion of the overall portrait, this one being the finished project.

This one is titled "On Eagle" and shows excellent craftsmanship in portraying wildlife in pencil.  There is a second eagle portrait titled "On Eagle's Wings" as a work in progress.  Not sure if the "Wings" was left out of the first title on purpose.  I'll have to check with Christopher on that.  All of these pieces are also posted on Christopher's FineArtAmerica Gallery.  This link goes directly to Christopher's gallery, just as my link will take you to my gallery.  If you would like to look through the portfolios of other artists who post their work on FineArtAmerica (and there are thousands!), you'll need to go to the main page at FineArtAmerica, and probably open an account to have access to all of the artwork posted there. There are three types of accounts:  Artists, Galleries and Collectors.  To my artist friends out there:  this is a great place to post your work and meet artists from all over the world and start new friendships and share experience and insights.

Sad day for America

No links today, nor artwork, nor news of Holiday Concerts or recent trips.  Just some random ramblings about what transpired over the weekend.  What a sad and tragic day Saturday was.  I had just returned home from my daily walk with the dogs in the foothills near our house, and was settling in to prepare and cook my world-famous spaghetti sauce.  As I was prepping the sausage and ground beef (soon to be meatballs), I thought I'd check my DVR recordings for a little entertainment while I cooked.  I turned on the TV and of course, never made it as far as checking out the recorded programs listing.  The rest of the day was devoted to coverage to the tragic shooting in Tucson, AZ.  Once again, violence and hatred take over the headlines, and senseless killings rule the day.  A Federal judge, a 9 year old girl, a political aide and 3 others lay dead in the aftermath, and 14 others were seriously wounded in the shooting spree, among them Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was the reported target in the incident.  She suffered a through-and through shot to the brain and is in critical condition in the ICU. 

What has transpired since, in many regards, is equally sad and somewhat shameful.  The political positioning and speculation as to motive began almost immediately.  Left, right, sane, insane, unchecked vitriol from all sides.  It makes one pause to consider the sad state of affairs in America.  But is it really any worse than at any other time in our nation's history?  I think not.  We are a nation born of bloodshed, and political unrest has been a benchmark of our growth throughout our history.  Once it took days, or even weeks for news to reach from one end of the country to the other.  Now it is seconds.  Once it was eptithets that were hurled at opponents, and maybe an occasional duel or two.  Now we use automatic weapons and hurl hand grenades.  But let's keep everything in perspective.  In Sunday's Statesman Journal, our local newspaper in Salem, Oregon, the events of Saturday morning and all that had transpired since, were relegated to page 11.  Plastered all over the front page of the newspaper, above the fold and below were articles about tonight's BCS title game between Oregon and Auburn.  Now that is truly shameful.

Misty River Christmas Concert



Misty River Band



As much as I complain about the rain in Oregon during the winter months, this is a great time of year to be in the Pacific Northwest, if for no other reason than the Holiday Concerts.  A couple of weeks ago I did a couple of blogs about one of our favorite Portland area bands - The Trail Band, and their terrific concert.  Well, last night we attended the Christmas Concert of another of our favorite Portland area bands - Misty River, so I guess this was the HOLIDAY CONCERT SERIES - PART II.  Another great night of music!  The link in the title will take you to their website, where you can check out their schedule if you live in this area, read about their 13 years together, and even download some of their music.  Again, I think we have every CD they've come out with so far.  MISTY RIVER blends folk, bluegrass, country, Celtic and original music into a seamless and highly distinctive Americana sound that has entranced thousands of fans.  In two weeks, we'll have the HOLIDAY CONCERT SERIES - PART III - New Year's Eve with PINK MARTINI!  Yet another fantastic Portland area band.  I'll keep you posted on that one.

"Oldie but Goodie - Part II"

Finally getting around to posting that second "Oldie but Goodie" that I mentioned last week.  This one is titled "Homesteader", and like the "Golden Eagle" image that I posted last week, is one of my early Graphite, or Pencil portraits.  As with "Golden Eagle", I recently had cause to remove the original from its' frame, and took the opportunity to scan it into the computer.  Again, I used PhotoShop to clean up the background noise, and am very happy with the results.  The original photograph was taken by a friend of mine, Jon Carissimi, and while the subject was a farmer in Florida, I thought that he fit in perfectly with my Western portraits, and so he found a home in my Faces West Gallery.  The link in the title will take you to my FineArtAmerica Gallery, where you'll find "Homesteader" along with all of the images I've posted there so far.

New FineArtAmerica Gallery

 Okay.  Here I go again.  Now that I'm getting more into the whole Facebook, Twitter thing, I thought I'd check back at the blog again, and wow, I see that I haven't been here in over a year.  Time flies when you're having fun (or not) - it just flies!  Anyway, lots of new goings on, so I may as well get started.  Today's post refers to my listing at FineArtAmerica, which basically acts as a second website for me.  I've been posting work there for a few months now, and it really is a great site.  There are thousands of artists listed there with lots of great work.  Giclee Prints are available in a variety of sizes, on canvas or paper.  If you like, they'll even provide matting and framing services for you, or canvas stretching if necessary.  Also available are fully customizable note cards on high quality paper.  You can order the note cards singly, or in packs of 10 or 25.  Pictured here is one of my more recent posts to the Gallery, "Homesteader".  Take advantage of 20% savings on all of my artwork on FineArtAmerica by simply using the following Discount Code:  GDPDBZ   Offer valid thru 2/26/2011

Since it's been awhile since I've been adding to the blog, over the next few days, I'll be working on updating info and links, as well as posting new artwork, and getting used to all of the new features here.  One of the features I really like are the new templates.  The one I'm using here is so apropos to winters in Oregon!  Looks like the view out my window every day.