Photos Not Paintings!

This morning when I logged in to Facebook I noticed that someone had shared one of my newest artwork images from the new Land O' Make Believe collection, which is always appreciated.

I clicked to see who it was that shared and then I saw the comment she added to the shared image...something along the lines of "someone spent a lot of time painting this!"

So.  They think my work are paintings.
I think that's good...but it's kinda bad.

Good, because that is sort of the look I am trying to achieve in my work.
Sort of, almost, but not quite.

Bad, because it took me two years of trial and error, studying, researching, purchasing various software, to achieve the Land O' Make Believe artography look.

Remember, ART(digital) + PHOTOGRAPHY = ARTOGRAPHY.

I will probably never do this again but here is the original photograph that the above piece started as:

See?  A photograph!

New T-Shirt Line!

Home Fires Burning T-shirt with Quote by EverydayMagic4u
Browse more Quote T-Shirts

June 2013

My June 2013 month-long exhibit/show at the Ocean County Library has (sadly) come to a close but I want to share some of the highlights of it with you.

The curator of the show shared with me this snippet regarding my art/show in an email message she received from one of her colleagues:

"...I took a swift gander at the exhibit on the wall...Ms. O'Brien-Huey's...perusing some of the online sites that have her listed show such a sensitive touch, but then, after putting her "artography" handout* together with her visuals...well...I was just floored (actually, the opposite...put into a metaphysical orbit).  What an amazing touch, awareness, poetry she has.  I'm definitely a fan.  Can't wait to look into her stuff even more deeply."

Then, from the curator herself in a wonderful card she made for and presented to me when we were uninstalling my artwork on Saturday:

"...All of us here in Toms River - our staff, our patrons, but most especially me! - are grateful beyond words for the magic you brought to our gallery wall.  The experience of partnering on the wonderful exhibit with wonderful YOU has cast a glow over my whole summer!  Please stay in touch...because we GOTTA do this again!"

 On Saturday, June 15th, I held an informal Meet & Greet at the library.  I got to talk to some of the patrons about my artwork which was really nice and of course I had some free stuff to give away because nothing makes me happier than giving things away and seeing the surprise and delight on their face.

One of my giveaways: moonflower seeds, my favorite.

(back of seed envelope - CLICK to read it more clearly)

And speaking of those two things - surprise and delight - one of my bestest friends from high school showed up that day.  I haven't seen him in 30 years!  B drove two hours to get there!
But wait there's more!
When I was very little (late 60's/early 70s) my mother converted our house in Elizabeth, NJ, into a two-family.  She was a single mother who worked as a waitress so renting out half the house did a lot for the family finances.  Mom rented out the upstairs to a woman, D, and her two young boys and wouldn't you know she and Mom became great friends and - from the stories I hear - had a lot of adventures together!
Once we sold that house though, everyone lost touch...until I found her on Facebook last year!  I want to tell you that D came to the library on 6/15, too!  My mom was there, they got to reconnect, after about 40 years!  Wow.  D also brought her sister and brother-in-law along and I'm so glad she did because I don't often get to meet such nice people.
Honorable mention has to be inserted here for another of my best friends.  K, who is more sister-like to me than BFF - there's a significant piece of my heart with her name on it - tried so hard to be there too but wouldn't have been able to make it in time.

So, yeah, now you will understand the whole surprise and delight thing.

I had a Guest Book at the show and I'd like to share with you some of the entries from it:

These are all so great but I think this one says its all:

Ha!

Some people measure success exclusively by how much money they make doing something.
Sure, that's one kind of success but it is not my primary definition of the word.
In this last month it looks like because of me some people were...touched by (my kind of) magic...brought back together...reminded of what might be bittersweet memories....etc.
I'll take that.
I'll that that any day of the week, over and over again, above all.

Success, indeed.

*The handout referred to above was a collection of quotes from books/authors that matched up with each of the pictures I had on display.  I often include a quote from a book along with my pieces because the quote captures perfectly, eloquently, the message I'm trying to deliver when I created the piece.
Using quotes from books along with my artwork marries perfectly two of my greatest passions.

Faux Living Room

Last night my husband and I were hiding from the ☼heat☼, having a glass of wine in the living room.

I've got several pieces of my artwork scattered about in that room and we were talking about each piece (there's no television in this room on purpose so that whoever is in there has to relax, converse or both).
There is one picture that is in a tiny 5x7 frame and we both were saying that its small size does it no justice.
It is the one called "Sunset At New Castle" and its one of my personal favorites.

We both agreed that so much of its nuances are lost at such a small size and that it really deserves to be and would look great blown up super big and hung on a living room (bedroom, hallway, etc) wall.
So this morning I did just that!

Below is a photograph of my own living room with "Sunset At New Castle" photoshopped in.

I think I'm going to do this with all of my artwork...show how it looks framed and hanging on a wall.

Maybe I'll even wind up making more sales! ☺

Getting Ready & Book/Author Quotes

Well, in just about 24 hours I will be installing my exhibit at the Ocean County Library.  It's terribly exciting but it's also kind of scary; putting yourself out there is always worth it though, yes?  Better to take risks and chances than to sit idly and dwell in "if only's".

Being that this exhibit is taking place in the gallery of a library, I have a list of quotes from books/authors that go along with each of the images that will be displayed.  Truth is, I do this for each and every picture that I complete.  As a book and word lover, a piece is not complete to me until I find the perfect quote (to me) that captures the essence of the image.
I believe that the curator of my show is going to make a printout of these quotes available as a handout and I hope she does because it will add a really nice touch to the show.
I thought, too, that it would be a good idea to post the quotes here, along with their corresponding image...even though there are 26 of them!

Speaking of 26, there are only supposed to be 25 on display.  We miscounted somewhere along the line (don't ask; there are framed pictures stacked all over the living room.  He counts, I count, we add...and still something goes wrong!  lol) and now I have to decide which one to cut and I hate doing that.  It has been so hard to pick out which pieces to use when there are - what? - a hundred to choose from.  Maybe even more than that.  Oy.

So for now, I'm keeping it at 26.
And here they are, with their quotes...

Press Release For June Show

Upcoming Events Announcements

Meet & Greet with Sharon
June 15th
12-2pm

Switching Gears

   For the past couple of weeks I have switched things up and stepped away from my normal routine.
 
   I believe that it's good for your soul and your sanity to do such things particularly when things begin to feel stale or when your regular things start to feel tedious or when you know you're going to be inundated.  
 
   I have a hectic summer coming up with two back-to-back month long engagements in June and July.  The month of May will be spent preparing for both - and there will be LOTS to do - so if I don't take a break now and recharge to the best of my ability I won't have the chance again until...August!  So this break is like taking a vacation which sounds like a weird thing for someone who works from home.  It isn't really, though. Working from home means that I am almost always "on" -- for instance, I started writing this post at 6:30am on a Sunday morning.  That's normal for me as I begin every single day taking my first sip of coffee while already seated at my desk.  There doesn't seem to be a rel separation between my home and working lives and sometimes there needs to be.
 
   Included in this break has been social media.  Stepping away from that has been less about regrouping and more about taking better control of how I spend my time.  The truth is that I have always had much more engagement with a website/blog than I ever had with Facebook and the like.

   Like the rest of the world it seems I got very caught up in hanging out where everyone else hangs out which is the opposite of who I am or ever was and is also....well, silly.  Especially for someone who makes pretty pictures!  Pretty pictures are e v e r y w h e r e on social media; mine just get lost in the shuffle there.

   Plus, when was the last time you said "let me go log on to Facebook and see which piece of art I think I'll buy today"?  The problem is that not a lot of people would answer that they always/often/sometimes/once in a while log on to Facebook with the intention of purchasing art.  Trying to convince people to do that takes A LOT of work...of time...of energy.  All of that takes me away from making the art!  It's a conundrum that won't easily be resolved.  Like anything else, it will take a good deal of trial and error.  And head-clearing breaks.

   In the meantime of my disengagement I've been really busy with other creative endeavors...lots of painting and even some fairy-making...

My 'Make A Wish' painting

Fairy Doll that I made head to toe

 
   Amazing the things we can do if we step out of and away from routine from time to time..

Don't Think About All Those Things You Fear

...just be glad to be here.

 

Branching Out

I have never been one to do just one thing.  Even if I love doing something eventually it will get a little stale and I have to switch gears to keep things fresh.  If I don't do that I will burn out and so will doing the thing that I love.  It will turn into something arduous and mundane and I'll put it on the shelf where it will collect dust and maybe even be forgotten about for a long, long time.

I can't risk that happening with my photo art and since that is all I have been doing for the past two years it's become clear that I need to shake things up.   Which means one thing.

Soon I will be branching out into a bunch of new areas.

My creativity is demanding it.

However my brain is a very active and frenetic place; you'd be scared if you had a peek inside of it!  So the  problem becomes figuring out how to present everything I'm going to be doing to the world without it all being a big mishmosh of confusion.  For example, do I put everything under the Everyday Magic Artworks umbrella?  Would it make people's heads hurt to come to a website and see a bunch of different headings/tabs for my various endeavors?  I think it might.  And I think it would dilute everything.

Ultimately though, I'd  hate to think that my website visitors would become exhausted and in need of a nap after they spent a little time on my site.

Lots of stuff to think about...




Branching Out photo credit: Photographic Poetry via photopin cc
Sleeping At Computer Photo Credit: http://www.english-online.org.uk/beginners9/beg9gram3.htm

New Mailing List

I'm pretty excited that I actually was able to figure out how to set up a mailing list and I'd really like it a lot if you would subscribe to it.

Sure, I'll use it to announce some of the usual stuff - upcoming events, special sales,etc - but that is not the crux of what the mailing list will be for.  Especially because I abhor the BUY!BUY!BUY! method of conducting business that most people and businesses seem to implement.  To me that is the perfect way to send people running in the other direction.

Instead I want to use the mailing list to Spread Some Happy.
To give stuff away.  Unannounced.  With No Strings Attached.  Just For Fun. ♥

I'd love if you would be part of that.
Please click HERE to sign up.