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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

Children’s Book:
I haven’t had much time to work on it, but I did get a chance to write a bit more. There is still a third or so of the writing left to do; including the ending which hasn’t been conceived yet. I bought some illustration board to get started, but haven’t started any of the artwork yet.

Collage:
Unfortunately, this weekend I made negative progress when I had to tear off part of a few of the collaged images. I think it’s coming along better now, but I have a way to go before I’ll be satisfied.

New Painting Series:
I started the first in a series of abstracts I intend to do for upcoming shows. I’m debating if I want to put animals in them. I love painting them, and it always makes for an odd atmosphere in the paintings that I love.

The whole experience got me thinking about art, and excited to go home and paint. Which is just what I did, I finished two pieces last night and I have a third on the way! I also had an idea for a new painting series, I’ll post more information and images soon!

And, I haven’t forgotten about the children’s book or the OLAG website. I’ve been looking at publishing options to determine what size to make the illustrations for the book. I’m leaning toward a square format, but I’d like it to be hardcover and most places don’t seem to do them in square. Then I was looking at the soft cover and they just don’t seem as substantial as the hardcovers.

OLAG website: as you can see by the sample below of what the page will look like, we are making really good progress.

We have an outline of the story nearly complete (the ending is a little rough), and three pages written so far. Which equates to about one third of the story completed. I’m really happy with the progress so far. Co-authoring with Jesse is working out great!

I’ve also started research for the illustrations, though that usually takes the longest because I have to be picky and find the best reference possible. I’m looking for inspiration for the main character, Joanna. I really want her to be original, but I need to find reference of little girls to get the structure and basic features correct. I haven’t really drawn any children before, and that’s a challenge in itself because their faces are so different from what I’ve done before.

On another note I’ll be at Framations for the Spring Art Walk this weekend. I don’t have any work in the actual event, but I’ll be hanging out at the gallery for the event.