Three New Stickers

I added three new stickers to my shop this week. Click here to buy, share, gawk, critique, you know the drill. My #NPSLover stickers are listed first with my I ♥ Public Lands sticker right below them.

Up first is the painting I did last summer of the Milky Way over Sand Dune Arch at Arches National Park. I painted this during the weekend I spent at Draper’s Art in the Barn. It was a 2-day art exhibition (my first ever!), and I found it impossible to just sit or stand while people milled about, so I brought supplies to paint and ended up doing 3 small paintings.

Sand Dune Arch was a favorite spot of my kids when they were younger and didn’t much care about the awe of the park. Hike for just a few minutes in between these giant fins of sandstone and there’s an arch in there; it’s super short. It’s a wonderful spot to let little ones play in the fine sand and, depending on when you get there, you could rest in the shade. This spot can be super popular in the summer months when it’s hot. We’ve been to Arches multiple times, but only in April and May; which I HIGHLY recommend. Spring Break is a wonderful time to visit Moab.

You can click on the image to purchase a sticker too.

Next up is a painting I did of Corona Arch, just outside of Moab. It’s one of my favorite places ever and I did this painting for a client a while back to be printed on neck gaiters some day. For this sticker, I went with a new-to-me website, Jukebox Print, for these stickers and I LOVE how they turned out.

This is one of my favorite paintings and I had SUCH a fun time painting it. It was one of those times where I felt like I was in a groove and paper and paint just cooperated and coordinated.

Last up is Sundial Peak in Big Cottonwood Canyon and part of the Wasatch National Forest. I had to do some research to find out if this peak was on National Park Service land or BLM Land. I’m still not 100% sure, because I also see it tagged in the Twin Peaks Wilderness. This spot is close to where we live and it’s a hike I hope to do this summer. If I can plan it right (depending on snow melt and weather, we’ve had a TON of snow this winter), I want to do a backpacking trip there. It’s a tough trail with a lot of elevation gain, but it’s supposed to be worth it… barring the mosquito situation.

I painted this one just last month to help pull me out of a funk I was in. Finishing it, and subsequently making a few changes in Photoshop, really helped pull me out of my Winter Blues and the funk that I was in. I will have this available as a giclée print in a couple of sizes in the coming months.

I actually made a mistake when ordering this one as stickers. I didn’t pay attention to the wording on a sale and I ended up ordering 2x2 inch stickers. These are a lot smaller than I usually order, so I may just make these freebies to anyone who places an order.

I will order this in a 3x3 inch sticker at some point.

I want to paint some places that are gorgeous and not in Utah next. I have a few spots on my list like South Falls in Oregon, and I have a photo that I took of a beach in Half Moon Bay, California that I may paint. Any suggestions??

4-Day Galaxy Skies Challenge

As part of my effort to light a fire under my butt to paint more often, I decided to participate in a 4-day galaxy skies painting challenge that I saw on SkillShare with artist Swathi Ganesha. Click here if you’d like to try a month of SkillShare for free.

Day 1: Monochrome

Day One was a monochrome painting, so just one color. I chose Phthalo Blue from Daniel Smith Watercolor and went to town making a basic diagonal edge to the Milky Way. There was something very freeing about doing all I could with just one color. Click here to watch a time lapse of this painting. A couple of tiny mountains at the bottom added some depth to this one.

I painted the stars using white gouache paint and a splatter method where I tap two brushes together. This is a method I used a lot when I was doing galaxy-dyed shoes and baby carriers a few years ago. I would use acrylic paint and it gave the most awesome and varied sizes of stars, but I had very little control over where they landed, and sometimes I’d end up with an odd-shaped glob of paint that wasn’t round. Also, paint ended up everywhere! Those reasons are why I originally used masking fluid and white pens to make stars for my watercolor paintings, but after using this splatter method again, and with gouache this time, I think it’s going to help me level-up on my galaxy stars.

I have an awesome set of gouache paints from Himi that my sister gave me for Christmas.

Day 2: Duo Chrome

Day Two was Duo Chrome, so two colors. I opted for Phthalo Blue again and added Quinacridone Rose. I haven’t been using very high quality paper for these; just a 4x6 pad that I got from Michael’s. Today the paper bowed down the middle when it was saturated and the paint was pooling along the bottom. I managed to dab the puddle with a tissue in an attempt to salvage it, but I almost tore it up and threw it away. Once I added stars, the painting redeemed itself.

I added a few happy trees and I was happy with how it ended up. Click here to watch the time lapse of this one.

Day 3: Three-Color Seascape

Day three; a three-color seascape, proved to be the most challenging. I have a palette of watercolor from Culture Hustle that I tried to use for all three colors. The lavender and turquoise just weren’t pigmented enough. So attempt one went into the trash. With attempt number two, I tried to use Phthalo Green straight for the aqua shade along the bottom, but it was way too green and I scrapped that one too.

For attempt number three, I premixed that aqua color using Phthalo Green and Cobalt Blue. Then I used Imperial Purple and the bright pink called Runaway from the Culture Hustle Watercolour Palette. I absolutely hated how the colors were coming together when they were wet. But once it dried and I added stars, it was worth saving. After adding some more definition in the ocean at the bottom, it avoided the recycling bin.

Click here to watch a time lapse of this painting.

Day 4: Dreamy Landscape

Day four was fun because I could use pretty much anything I wanted. I chose to limit myself to only four colors: Indigo, Moonglow (that purple shade), Phthalo Green, and Cobalt Blue. These colors are more muted than the ones I used before, but I still love how they turned out. This time the paper was cooperative and I was happy with how the paint behaved. I tried to be more patient and waited longer after applying paint to see how it spread and I think it paid off.

I opted for a few more happy trees and I love how it turned out. Click here to watch the time lapse of this one being painted.

I had such a fun time with this challenge, maybe I’ll do it again next week but with all different colors. Maybe if I can paint enough of these little paintings, I can have them for sale.

New Stickers

In preparation for having booth at a couple of local arts and craft last summer, I started creating stickers that were more wordy and graphic design-y; fun and inspirational and not a watercolor painting.

Here’s what I have at the moment:

This sticker is based on t-shirt artwork I created for a friend a few years ago. She’s a big fan of Dave Matthews Band and asked me to design a pair of t-shirts for her and her daughter. The daughter’s tee is done in the same hand-drawn style and says, “Pick me up, Love. Everyday.” I love how this one turned out. Buy one here!!

I created this sticker earlier this year for my youngest son’s school valentines. It was serendipitous timing that Sticker Mule had a sale on holographic stickers just in time for Valentine’s Day, so he helped me come up with a fun design and it was a winner! Buy one here!!

For this one, I loved the simple words and thought I’d see how it looked with a starry night sky in the background. I went with holographic stickers and I wasn’t thrilled with how it turned out, but the sticker was really popular at my booth over the summer. It’s always surprising what ends up being my favorite artwork as opposed to what other like best. Buy one here!!

This one I did super fast one day when Sticker Mule was having a sale. This saying had been on my list of ones to try and turn into a sticker at some point because it’s really beautiful. Lots of people bought this sticker with a loved one in mind. Buy one here!

This sticker was all my husband. He and a coworker was commenting on how often our kids mistakenly call us “bruh.” It ticks me off when my kids do it to me. Buy one here!!

What are some ideas for future stickers???

2022 Sandy Visual Art Show

Right after the Draper International Arts & Crafts Festival, my husband sent me a link from the Sandy Arts Guild about their annual Visual Art Show. It’s a 2-week long art exhibition at the Sandy Senior Center where they award prizes to artists in different categories.

I was still riding high from the two booths I had this summer, so I went ahead and submitted two of my original paintings: Corona Arch & Milky Way and Buckskin Gulch. This was yet another moment where I was grateful for my experience working as a picture framer years ago. I was able to cut custom mats for my paintings and make them look professionally framed. I was able to list both paintings for sale, and it gave me peace of mind to know that, on the HIGHLY UNLIKELY chance that someone buys one, they are framed beautifully.

My kids were more than thrilled to help me bring my two paintings to the show and help me get the paperwork together.

Click on the image to watch the Reel.

The opening of the show was last week and friends and family members of the artists were invited to attend where they announced the winners in each category. Categories were: oil & acrylic, watercolor, mixed media, 3D art, photography. They also gave awards to artists with disabilities who submitted artwork.

We went to the opening gala as a family and my oldest wanted to bet me $100 that I’d win 1st place in my category. I ended up winning 2nd place!

My painting of Buckskin Gulch took 2nd place in the watercolor category; which was a really awesome surprise. There were some really amazing paintings, in all of the categories.

It was really fun to walk around and look at all of the different art with my family. My kids scrutinized the watercolor painting that took 1st place (“Yours is way better, Mom!”). I spent a long time analyzing the intricate details of the painting that took 3rd place in watercolor.

Our mayor Monica Zoltanski (Sandy’s FIRST woman mayor!) and councilwoman Alison Stroud were there and I got to spend a few minutes with them talking about my artwork. Mayor Zoltanski told me about when she rode through Buckskin Gulch on horseback and it made ME want to do it too!

The evening was such a treat! I adored walking around and looking at all of the different artwork and I am planning to go back this week to look again.

Click on the image to watch the Reel.

If you’re local to the Salt Lake City area, stop by the Sandy Senior Center before October 7th and check out the exhibition. It’s open to the public and free.

While you’re there, fill out a paper listing your votes for People’s Choice Awards. Those winners will be announced at the end of this week. I wonder if there’s a cash award…

…ahem… my work is in the watercolor category.

Draper's Art in the Barn

I did something scary this summer… well, scary for me. I submitted an application to be one of the artists in a local art exhibition. Every year, the Draper Visual Arts Foundation has an exhibition in a historic barn at a local park. I went to it last year and really loved to see the work on display from local artists. This year, the Draper Art in the Barn exhibition has been expanded to let artists showcase their art in tents outside of the barn too. So they will have more than double the number of artists than any previous year.

I was accepted to be one of the new artists and I’ll have my artwork on display outside the barn. I’m both excited and kind of terrified. This is an ENTIRELY NEW thing for me and to say I feel a little unprepared is an understatement.

I am confident in my art, thankfully. But where I feel unprepared is in the display aspect. I have to bring all of my own display stuff, table, tent, anything else. Thankfully, the show ends at 7pm, so I don’t need to worry about lighting. We are good on a tent and table, but I am having to research how to display my framed artwork in a way that is sturdy, because who knows if it’ll be windy that day. And whatever I do needs to be affordable. I have no idea if I’m going to continue to do this art exhibition thing. I want to, so fingers crossed it’s a positive experience.

Ultimately, cross everything that it isn’t windy! Thats seriously my biggest fear.

I bought myself a mat cutter for Christmas last year, so cutting my own mats will save me a bunch of money. This week I have been cutting mats and getting paintings and prints into frames. Custom picture framing is extremely expensive. I know, I used to be a picture framer! Being able to cut my own mats and use ready made frames is making this a lot less stressful on my wallet.

When it comes to displays though… there are so many options. I will probably get a few grid walls and hooks and see how that goes. Then I will display a few smaller frames on a table with little easels.

Both of these are originals! Both will also have a few giclée print options available for sale too.

I am planning to sell vinyl stickers and I’ll have a bunch of prints for sale in a handful of different sizes. I will have a few paintings in 5x5, 5x7, 8x10, a couple of 8x12, and a few 11x14. They are giclée prints and really beautiful. The giclée printing process provides higher image detail than traditional photo printing. It’s honestly hard to tell the difference between the print and the original… unless you’re me and know which is which.

I am not planning to sell a ton of original paintings because I usually make a few changes to them in Photoshop before I turn them into stickers or prints. But I am considering selling a few originals. A few I may attached a large price tag because I don’t really want to sell them… but I’d be willing for the right price.

All 3 of these are originals paintings

Wish me luck! If this exhibition goes well, I will submit an application to be a vendor at the Draper International Arts & Crafts Festival that’s in mid September too.