Shari Beaubien

Cuteness and Ebay

 

Although this picture is blurry due to my zoom and the dove's motion, I just adore it.  We've named this pair the George family and they've been nesting near us for about 5 summers now.  They are such sweet and loving birds, aren't they?

 

And what would a post about adorable creatures be without Montgomery?  (He wanted me to make sure I didn't forget him.)

I also wanted to tell you about two auctions I'm holding right now on ebay...

The first is for Ann Baldwin's book CREATIVE PAINT WORKSHOP for Mixed-Media Artists.

The second is for PAINTING ABSTRACTS by Rolina van Vliet.

Have a terrific weekend, everyone!

June: Week 3

So here we are in the third week of June,
and here's my latest progress...

My giant canvas (above)  is coming along.

This purple piece (below) is now complete.
It's entitled "Midnight Rendezvous".

Here's a detail shot.

And this little guy is creeping along with a few more background layers.

In the meantime, July's canvases keep staring me down.
I think they know I'm racing the clock to get to them.

June: Week 2

Here's my latest progress on the four canvases
I'm hoping to finish by month's end...

I painted a bit more detail on the elephant
and got the tree tops finished.

Here's the 16"x20"... still no paint, but prep is complete.

This is the largest of the four.
I developed the background quite a bit since the last shot.

And here is the last painting, finished.  Woo hoo!  It's entitled "Sunday Afternoon" and still needs the sides painted and a couple of varnish coats but the artwork part is complete.

Below are a few detail shots...

So if you're keeping track, that means I have one of the four June canvases finished.  I'm slightly stressed as the rest of the month seems to be rapidly filling with a variety of appointments and necessary trips away from my studio, but I'm trying to not let it overwhelm me.

Oh and by the way, the Thousand Oaks ArtWalk could not have been more successful!  What an awesome weekend!  Thank you so much to everyone to stopped by my booth on Saturday and Sunday.  You made me feel really validated.

Better Late Than Never

Well, last night I got the call that every wait-listed girl dreams of:  "You're in!"

Woo hoo!!

And so with a lot of excitement and enthusiastic last-minute preparation, you can find me this weekend in Thousand Oaks...

ArtWalk '09
June 6 & 7, 2009
10 am - 6 pm

"A Night for Dreaming" (pictured here) will be there, making its art fair debut.  Hope to see you!

June: Week 1

Remember when I introduced you to my new plan here?

Well... I thought it would be nice to give you a sort of weekly update on the status of those canvases from now until the end of summer (when, God willing, they will be complete!).

This is the largest canvas.  It's 36" x 48".

It may not look like much, but that's one whole layer of Titan Buff laid down!  It feels good to have started this one.  That's sometimes the hardest part.  Did I mention this is the BIGGEST I've ever painted?  (Hence the hesitation.)

Here are the two you saw last week (both 22" x 28"), a bit further along...

And this "little" guy (16" x 20") is just out of the wrapper and I've begun prepping the surface for paint.

These photos were all taken at approximately 6 o'clock this morning.  Don't worry... the light in my studio gets better!

Etsy Love

Lynsey from the blog Cuteable featured
one of my Etsy pieces in her post this morning.
Check it out here.

Be sure to take a look at her adorable chickens while you're there...

Thanks, Lynsey!
It makes me feel good to know that another kindred soul
appreciates my boo-boo!

A Challenging Schedule

Here are some brand-spankin' new canvases, all lined up and ready for inspiration.  I figured that since my inventory has been really depleted as of late (thank you, Universe!), that I'd better get painting.  I've made three groupings here, one group for each of the next three months.  I thought having a specific visual reminder and concrete goal for June, July, and August would help my focus.

The first group up is the one pictured the furthest away.  It actually contains two more canvases that were already in progress.  (A girl's entitled to a head-start, right?)

Here's one.  As you can see, the background was completed and I blocked in my scene earlier this week.  "Blocking in" is the term I use to describe my method of painting a sort of ghost depiction in white before I go in with the actual color.  It helps me with placement and also gives me a nice under-painting should I choose to go with a lighter, somewhat translucent color on top.

And here's the other already-started canvas in the same stage of completion.

I'm looking forward to sharing my progress with you through the summer.  This much painting within such a short timespan will certainly be a challenge for me.  But it's good to push ourselves, right?  Wish me luck!

A Few More...

Here are a few more paintings that I worked on simultaneously to "What Dreams May Come".  These are much smaller, but I'm sure you'll notice the similarity in palette.

 

Permission
5" x 5"
$60

 

Growing Up
9" x 12"
$160

Her Heart Was Elsewhere
6" x 6"
$90

Have a happy Memorial Day weekend, everyone!

To Sell or Not To Sell

Remember our discussion here about whether we would sell paintings knowing they were destined to be destroyed?  Well, I want to thank each of you who left a comment.

It appears that the majority of you would not sell while one of you would.  I have to be completely honest here and say that even now, I need to give this scenario more thought in terms of myself.  On the one hand, I understand how pouring your heart into a piece necessarily invests you in its livelihood.  You want to see it grow up, find a good home, and prosper (just like a child).  On the other hand, however, am I not making work to sell?  Is the goal not to add to our income and facilitate my making more paintings?  For me, the finished works are important, however it's my evolution that is the real prize.  I paint because I want to be a better painter, not because I feel as if I have already created many masterpieces.

In the end I suppose I might not sell the pieces...  I think.  It would sure give me pause, at the very least.  Luckily, we need not worry.  The same article in Art Calendar magazine provides a footnote which informs us that the Visual Artists Rights Act of 1990 makes the intentional destruction of a work of art illegal.  (Thank God.)  "Even after an artwork is sold, its creator has the right, for life, to 'prevent any destruction of a work of recognized stature.'"

Now if only I can figure out to produce paintings of recognized stature...

What Dreams May Come

Well here it is... the officially photographed version of "What Dreams May Come".  If you like, you can revisit my progress here and here.  I created a couple of smaller works with the same color scheme, which I'll try to scan and show you in the next few days.  I've spent the ENTIRE day today working to get my printer to cooperate with my monitor to jive with reality.  For some reason, greeny-blues prove to be the most difficult for me to get the color accuracy I'm after.  After much toiling, however, I think I've got it pretty darned close.  This 30" x 40" painting is now available in both large and small prints, which I'll have with me at my next show.  Hurray!

I'll leave you with a couple of detail shots...
(click to expand)

 

A Getaway...

Steve and I snuck away to my FAVORITE city for a few nights this past weekend.  We stayed at The Palazzo - my current favorite hotel in Vegas.  This was the view from our suite, 40 floors up.  (And no, we're not overindulgent...  every room at The Palazzo is a suite!)

  Here's a view of Paris as we were walking around one night.  (Both photos are compliments of Steve and his iphone, by the way.)  There's something so fantastic about Las Vegas at night.  All of those lights and happy people.  One of my favorite things to do is lie in bed and watch the city lights fill The Palazzo's floor-to-ceiling windows with their glow.  It's magical and peaceful all at the same time.

Alas, the fun is over all too soon and I have returned to a long list of business-related to do items.  For starters I have to figure out why my credit card company has suddenly decided to charge me $129 (on top of the monthly fees I already pay) to be able to accept plastic.  Ugh.  Double ugh.  Of course, the "person in charge" is conveniently never available.  Did I mention ugh?  And that's just the tip of the iceberg as far as the list goes.

...And so I find myself blogging as a means of procrastination.  Call me crazy, but I wish I were sitting in a bar somewhere along The Strip with a drink called something fancy in my hand.

A Terrific Weekend!

Here's a shot of my booth first thing Saturday morning...

Wow, what a great show!  I want to offer my warmest thanks to everyone who came out to see me in Calabasas this weekend.  You know who you are.  It meant a lot and made me feel so supported.

        

The reception for my Soul Sketches series has been overwhelming.  These three paintings (above) all found new homes this weekend, along with several other originals, greeting card sets, journals, and fine art prints.

If you've been following my blog, you know I post pictures of many of my paintings both here and on my website as I finish them.  But February 2009 marked the first time I ever displayed the works from my Soul Sketches series in person.  They are so close to my heart and reflect so very much of my journey that I just wasn't sure how the world would relate to them.

Well... would you believe I started this year with EIGHTEEN different originals from that series and as of Sunday night, I have only ONE remaining!?!?  One.  OMG, I have to pinch myself every time I think about it.  This has been such an incredible journey and I feel so completely validated and supported by The Universe.  It's a great place to be.  Don't ever let anyone tell you you can't be exactly who you want.

Calabasas Fine Arts Festival

I'll be participating in the Calabasas Fine Arts Festival this weekend...

Saturday & Sunday
May 2 & 3
10 am - 5 pm

Come on out and see me if you get the chance!

More details here.

Never Let It Be Said That I'm Patient...

Okay.  I give.  It's been what?  Less than a week?  I can't stand it anymore.  I'm so excited about my new painting that I can no longer wait for the Open Acrylics to dry so that I can varnish it and show you properly.  Here then is my non-professional photograph and a couple of detail shots...

"What Dreams May Come"
30" x 40"

This painting marks the first time I have placed the girl from my Soul Sketches series together with my elephant from my Carnival of Dreams series.  In hindsight, I now think the marriage was inevitable.  However, before a month or two ago, I honestly never saw it coming.  It feels right though.  I think the detail of just the girl with the elephant could be a painting in and of itself.  I am so pleased with the sweetness of the entire scene.  I'm really proud to share it with you...

(And I promise to publish the "official" photograph when it's ready!)

As for my previous post, I'd still love to hear more of your thoughts on the sale of the paintings for destruction.  So far it appears unanimous that you would stop the sale.  Anyone feel differently?

A Glimpse & A Discussion

Here's a little (albeit blurry) glimpse of my latest painting.  It's coming along.  In fact, I think it may be just about finished.  The Golden Open Acrylics* take 30 days to cure, however, so I won't be able to varnish it and photograph it properly until mid-May.  Bear with me, 'cuz I'm excited to share it with you as soon as I can!

*Incidentally, I'm not sure I'm loving the Golden Open Acrylics as much as I initially thought.  While the blendability is AWESOME, I can't get over the overall length in drying time.  I painted a tent two weeks ago and it's been dry to the touch for well over a week now.  I made a stray mark on the tent yesterday and when I went to wipe it off, a horrifyingly large portion of the tent came with it!  Perhaps it's simply because I have learned on and used "regular" acrylics for the duration of my entire professional painting career, but I'm having a hard time getting used to Open.

To change the subject now, I was reading my Art Calendar magazine the other day and quickly flipped to my favorite columnist Jack White.  He always has something interesting to say but I found his contribution this month, entitled "Heart to Heart" to be particularly intriguing.  He writes about an artist getting ready to make a gallery sale of TEN of his very best paintings.  To make the pot even sweeter, this was the single biggest sale the artist had ever made.  When the artist inquired as to the future of his works, the buyer stated that he planned to burn all ten because they were offensive to God. 

Wow...

Religious arguments aside, this really got me thinking.  What would I do?  Assuming it was within my power to stop the sale, what.  would.  i.  do!?!?  I'm interested to hear your opinions on this matter.  Don't hesitate to post a comment.  I'd really love to have some good discussion on this topic.