I sold another of my "Scenes of St. Augustine" collection! I am down to just a few now. This has proven to be a successful series for me and I am happy about that. I need to get busy and paint more St. Augustine scenes! After all, St. Augustine is the oldest city in the nation and tourism is going through the roof, so to speak.
It is a beautiful little city, so I can see why people want to come here. We have it all, history, beauty and the beach. (punny) What more can we ask for, right? I enjoy walking around town and taking photos for reference material. It gives me a chance to get a good look at our architecture and I now also take photos of people enjoying themselves. I want to include people in my paintings more. I have read and heard that the human element makes paintings more desirable. Especially if the people are just impressionistic enough so that the viewer can imagine they are the people in the painting! So start paying attention in the near future to see my new human editions.
Well, I finally have photos of my submissions to the art show that I am satisfied with. I must have taken 50 or more photos in all kinds of light and locations in my house so that I could determine which best reflected the actual paintings. Believe me, that was not easy. I think professionals are definitely worth their money! I will send in the submissions this week and then try not to fret over whether they were good enough. I cannot spend my life worrying. It is just not worth it!
I am also getting excited about my new art class that starts on June 13th. I needed at least 3-4 students for the class to be a "go" for the community education forum. That number has now signed up, so I can start getting all my teaching tools out and ready to take over for the class. It is close by my house, which is handy, and I will of course take some of my art as well to show the students. That way they have confidence in my ability as a teacher and as an artist. My two oldest grandchildren are also taking the class. I am excited about that as well. They are a delight and are both good at drawing. Wonder where that came from? Art ability actually runs on both sides of our family, so I am not surprised at their talent.
The photo of the painting that sold is below, so enjoy and "Thank You" to everyone who continues to support my blog and website! I will, of course, post pictures of my class as it goes along. (with the permission of my students) I don't think they will mind, at least I hope not. Maybe I will just take photos of their backs if they don't want their faces seen.
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| "TOP HAT AND TAILS" 16 x 20 15 Bridge Street, St. Augustine, FL "Scenes of St. Augustine" collection Unfortunately this is not the best photo of the painting. The light created glare on the canvas. I have now had a lot of practice in offsetting that glare without all the fancy and expensive equipment that professionals use. A paper towel over the light bulb helps a lot! It diffuses the light in much the same way the "white umbrellas" do for photographers. This house was damaged by Hurricane Matthew. I am glad I was able to photograph and paint it before that happened. It now looks worn down and moldy from the storm. I am guessing that it will take a lot of time and money to get it back into shape. It is also for sale. Any takers? It is a lovely old home in the middle of the historic district. |
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| This is a photo of my paintings on display at The Back 40 Urban Cafe in St. Augustine, FL. This may not be a glamorous art gallery as some would like to point out, but I sell more artwork here than the average artist probably sells at an art gallery! And when you think about it, isn't that the bottom line? I have sold probably six or more paintings through this restaurant in the past few months. You will never hear me complain!! The one on the far left is, of course, the latest and largest to sell here. This place sees a LOT of tourists as well as locals and it stays packed. I have to go in early in the mornings to do any rearranging or rehanging because the minute they open it gets busy! |
