Mollie October 30th, 2008 Painting , Show Comments(0)

Here is the last of the Plein Air paintings (excluding the one that I didn’t get an image of because it sold before I could).  I’m sorry for the quality of the image.

Mollie October 29th, 2008 Drawing , Painting , Show Comments(0)

I finally have a couple of the Plein Air pieces to show.  This first one is the one that won Third Place in the show.

Mollie October 13th, 2008 Business , Drawing , Show Comments(0)

In the last two weeks I’ve been working exclusively on pieces for the St. Charles Plein Air Art Event.  Including a couple Quick Paint Events, where you basically have three hours to complete an entire piece on location.  My overall experience was great!  Working outdoors was a nice change of pace, I couldn’t have planned more beautiful weather, and my love of architecture was more than appeased by the abundance of historic storefronts and homes in the area.

However, I wont lie and tell you that everything went smoothly.  I was completely out of my element, I’m not used to painting landscapes, and a few pieces ended up in the garbage.  I had a difficult time loosening up, and I had to push through to the end of some seriously rough paintings.  But in the end I find that I would do it all again.  I learned a ton, and had a great time doing it.

This afternoon was the reception for the show.  Which was a big success!  One of my pieces won Third Place and I sold a piece!  The amazing thing about the piece that sold is that I nearly gave up on it, in fact I ended up cutting up the original painting and putting it back together into a three-dimensional piece.  Unfortunately, I didn’t get a good photo of it before it sold, but I did manage to snap a photo with my cell phone.

As usual, I will try and scan and upload images of the pieces.  Which reminds me that I have some pieces at Framations Gallery that I never got photos of either.

Mollie October 13th, 2008 Business , Show Comments(0)

Last week I attended Works of Arf.  A charity art event hosted by the Missouri Alliance of Animal Legislation (they also hosted PAB) to raise awareness for animal rights.  Since the PAB (Puppies are Biodegradable) Show I’ve tried to participate whenever possible, and in this case I donated a pet portrait from my new website www.petillustrations.com.  Additionally, I will donate 10% of the proceeds of any pet illustration commissions that stem from the event to MAAL.

The event was a successs, I met a lot of great people interested in the cause; including the person who ended up bidding on my pet portrait.  I also met another artist that showed an interest in my Skeleton Puppy series and Pet Illustrations.  I really enjoyed her piece in the show and when I got home I visited her website, which I found pretty inspiring.  I can’t explain it, but something about her work brought me back to my art school days.

Mollie September 15th, 2008 Business , Show Comments(0)

Last Friday I replaced more than half of the pieces at Framations with new works.  It doesn’t even look like the same wall!  I included a newly designed brochure as well, and am working on new extended information labels.

To help advertise PetIllustrations and help a needy cause I’ve decided to donate 10% of the commissions I receive from Framations or MAAL (Missouri Allianance for Animal Legislation) to the MAAL organization.  In addition I will be auctioning off a Pet Illustration for charity at the Works of Arf Show opening on October 8th.

Oh, and before I forget, I have also signed up for the St. Charles Plein Air Competition October 1st-11th, with the judging and show on the 12th.  I’ve never really done one of these events before, but I’m looking forward to it.

The only downside is that in the rush of things I completely forgot to photograph a couple of my new pieces before taking them to the gallery!  I could just kick myself!

Mollie September 9th, 2008 Business , Mixed Media , Pen & Ink , Show Comments(0)

I’ve been very busy!  I have two illustrations for my children’s book in the final stages, and I completed a couple of smaller paintings that I started but never finished.

I also received my first pet portrait commission that I will be posting on www.PetIllustrations.com and mailing out later today.  I haven’t launched my online marketing plan, in hopes that I get a few more local orders to ‘test’ the ordering process, but I should be starting by the end of the week.  Wish me luck, and again I am open to ideas!

I got an idea for a new painting series that will allow me to branch off from the architecture series I’ve been working with for the last several years.  It’s been a while since I had a series concept that I was excited about.  We’ll see how that develops in the months to come.

Lastly, I’m hoping to start on a new piece, possibly for the gallery, to seal the end of my “Artist Block.”  It may or may not have something to do with the new series idea.  Oh, and with Halloween, my favorite holiday nearing, I might be doing something related to that, time permitting.

Mollie September 2nd, 2008 Note , Painting , Pen & Ink Comments(0)

Sometimes our personal life bleeds into every aspect of our lives, despite our best efforts to stop it.  For me I’ve had a bad case of “Artist’s Block” the last several months, and that has recently changed.

You see, we have been trying to conceive a child for the last three years, undergoing infertility treatments for half of that.  It has been a long and arduous journey, that has taken it’s toll on me emotionally.  So for the last six months we’ve been heavily weighing our options and seriously considering adoption.  A couple weeks ago we concluded that rather than undergo anymore treatments at this time, we are going to try and adopt an infant.

As many of you know adoption isn’t cheap, and our funds have been seriously depleted by infertility costs.   Despite the federal adoption credits and programs out there, we know that we will need to raise quite a bit of money to help fund this adoption.  Which is where my talents are going to be put to use.  My husband and I have created a new website www.petillustrations.com, for which I have created several pet portrait samples to display.  I hope that everyone will check it out and consider commissioning me for a pet portrait to help our cause.  Additionally, I will be trying to market the site on various pet and adoption forums and groups, so if anyone has any information or ideas, they would be greatly appreciated.

Mollie June 26th, 2008 OLAG Comments(0)

I haven’t had much to report in the last month or so, but I have been working on the OLAG website. In fact I recently posted our first “Showcase Artist” – Marsha Ralston. I worked with her to write an artist statement and submit her work, and Annette, the Public Relations Coordinator, took photos of her at the latest show.

I think the other board members and I are really starting to get the hang of things. We aren’t exactly a well oiled machine… yet, but things are certainly running a lot smoother.

Mollie June 12th, 2008 OLAG , Show Comments(0)

This weekend is the opening reception for the latest OLAG show. I put three pieces in the show to be judged, including my two newest collages that I recently posted. Also we are going to choose a showcase artist among the winners at the reception for the website. I’m hoping to get some photos of the artist and winning pieces for the website, along with a show bio or artist statement. Wish me luck!!

Tonight at the OLAG monthly meeting I’m going to present the new documents, badges, and membership cards that I’ve created with the new logo. It’s been a slow process since most of the current documents are hard copy only, and I’ve been doing them one at a time as the need arises.

Mollie May 12th, 2008 Mixed Media , OLAG , Painting Comments(0)

I’m happy to report that the Oak Leaf Artist Guild website is in the completion stage. Translated: means that pending some very minor changes and any audits that the guild may have, it’s finished! Again I want to thank my wonderful husband for all his hard work in building the site for us!

This means that from here on out most of the work will be from the other guild members as they start to create their own accounts and upload the images for their galleries. I can’t wait to see what everyone posts!!

This weekend I was able to put OLAG on the back burner and concentrate on my new painting series, and despite it being Mother’s Day weekend I made a fair amount of progress. I might have even completed the first piece, I’m undecided, and I started two more. I also did some work on the collage, though it’s slow going.  Hopefully, I’ll have images to post soon.