From Out Of The Blue ... Something to Crow About

"Seize every opportunity along the way,

for how sad it would be if the road you chose

became the road not taken."

~ Robert Brault

Pencil sketches for my next Yupo painting series.

Please excuse my unbridled enthusiasm here, but I needed to crow a little and share a very pleasant and unexpected surprise which took place yesterday! It came in the form of an email inquiry from a gentleman from a paper company to do possible in-store painting demonstrations on Yupo paper. The first engagement would be for the grand opening of a new Dick Blick Store in Midtown Manhattan! It will be on Thursday, August 22nd, from 2-4pm; the first day of Blick's big two week event which is expected to get mega traffic! I don't know how I am going to get myself up there just yet, but I'll be doing a dry run to meet with Marc on Madison Ave. at Legion Papers and then on to check out the Dick Blick location at 6th Ave. and 20th St. towards the end of July. Whoa Nellie! Here we go. What a wild ride for a little 'ole piney woman like me!

"My life is so full of surprises,

nothing surprises me any more."

~ Kim Wilde 

Have a great weekend ya'all!

X ♥  O

WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP of SAND SCULPTING

I went to ATLANTIC CITY this week to check out the WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP OF SAND SCULPTING COMPETITION. It was awesome!! Check out MY SLIDE SHOW here! Can you guess which ones were my favorites? Which one(s) did you like the best? 

Paying it Forward at Avalon Art Show

“Sail beyond the horizon;

fly higher than you ever thought possible;

magnify your existence by helping others;

be kind to people and animals of all shapes and sizes;

be true to what you value most;

shine your light on the world;

and be the person you were born to be.”

~ Blake Beattie

I'll be giving away some prizes (paying it forward) tonight and tomorrow

to some random visitors and to anyone that mentions seeing my

Avalon, NJ Art Show Notice here on my blog, SandySandyArt.com

or on my facebook business page, SandySandySpiritart.

Pictured above are some motivational magnets

that I'll be giving away while the supply lasts!

There are also some other great prizes.

I hope to see some of you there.

Whatever your plans, have a great weekend! 

X ♥  O

 

Great White Heron ~ Avalon, NJ Art Show and Sale ~ SOLD

"Life beats down and crushes the soul
and art reminds you that you have one."
~ Stella Adler

Great White Heron

8.5" x 11" hand painted watercolor on synthetic paper, matted - $169.

acid free, white core mat & foam core backing in an acetate sleeve

fits a standard 11" x 14" frame / Framed - $219.

• SOLD

This is one of my new paintings that will be available for sale at the

Avalon Performing Arts Council  26th Annual Art Show.

Admission is free and it is inside the Avalon, NJ, Community Center,

this Friday, June 21st - Preview Show - from 7-9 pm 

and Saturday, June 22nd - Main Show - from 10 am - 4 pm.

If you are in the area, or just need an excuse to come down to the shore,

please come in and see me! I'm offering a special gift to

anyone who mentions seeing my show announcement online.

I will be featuring some of this year's new works

on Yupo paper so I've been busy organizing, framing and packing.

The paintings were laid out on the rack

on the studio floor to decide what to take.

Of course, Cutie Pye and Opie are always eager to help.

No job is complete without my extra special, highly qualified, inspection team. 

After they double checked each frame, every one was personalized with paw prints,

kitty hair and a nose smudge. What wonderful assistants they are!

Double the work, but definitely double the pleasure!

Hugs and Purrs, 

X ♥  O

 

Opie Darling and Princess Cutie Pye

Happy Father's Day!

"When I was a girl of fourteen,

my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand

to have the old man around.  But when I got to

be twenty-one, I was astonished at how

much he had learned in seven years."  

~ Author unknown

I am so grateful to still have both my parents here.

My dad has always been there for me, in good times and in bad. He has bailed me out with a helping hand when trouble hits and has celebrated my successes when few others seemed to care. I am the oldest of four siblings and like with most kids, it wasn't always smooth sailing. As time goes on though, our father/daughter differences have become less, as our bond grows ever stronger. Thank you so much for all the love and support you've showered on me over the past half+ century, dad! I love and respect you dear father, mentor and friend ~ with all my heart!

Here are some recent photos of my dad, 'Big Al' Sandy.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY TO MY DAD!!

And to All Dads Everywhere!!

X ♥  O

 

Nature's Garden Collection

"Be like the flower,

turn your face to the sun."

– Kahlil Gibran

Nature's Garden Collection

Watercolors on Yupo paper, varied sizes

I've made and shared several collages of my Yupo painting collections this year. I didn't know how to link them up to their feature page until I saw another artist do it this way. Each number links to a larger view and details about the corresponding piece. 

1.  2.   3.   4.   5.   6.   7.   8.

Springing Into Summer ~ Tulip Treasures ~ SOLD

"Find what makes your heart sing
and create your own music." 
~ Mac Anderson

Tulip Treasures

• SOLD

Tulip Treasures

This image is available for license here.

The symbolism of the tulip is

affection, perfect love, new life

and spiritual awareness.

Although it looks and feels like spring weather left us a while ago, the first day  of summer isn't until next week, June 21st. As usual, Jerry has been busy filling up the yard with flowers and vegetable plants. Here are just a few shots of  

Sandy Land this morning.

Please share my work with your friends.

Thanks  for visiting and have a great day!

The Summer of S A N D Y and the Perseverance of the Daisy ~ SOLD

"Perseverance is not a long race;

it is many short races one after another."

~ Walter Elliott

Dancing Daisies SOLD • "Just picked it up, it is even more lovely than it looked online!  Thank you so much!" ~ Annette

This image is available for license here.

Dancing Daisies

SOLD •

"Just picked it up, it is even more lovely than it looked online!  Thank you so much!" ~ Annette

The symbolism of the daisy is

friendship, loyalty, love, beauty
and perseverance.

It's The Summer of Sandy and I'll need the perseverance of the daisy. The next three months will be spent rebuilding websites, revamping my business plan and of course, painting.

Instead of continuing with my yearly tradition of Drawing Everyday this summer, I'm studying and re-learning Dreamweaver CS5.5 so I can totally rebuild my websites. I know it will be time well spent. The use of Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) and advances in web technology have changed web design significantly over the past few years.

After much frustration trying to follow the Adobe, Lynda.com and CreativeLive Dreamweaver tutorials, I found this GREAT FREE DREAMWEAVER COURSE by TimothyTraining.net. There are 42 videos in the DW course and for an optional $29. I downloaded additional course materials and over 80 website templates!  If you are interested in exploring this further, here's the Introduction to Dreamweaver Tutorial. Whoa, what a deal!  I am in shock and in heaven. Now, with Timothy's easy to understand, expert step by step guidance, I know I can do this! I'm finally making headway!! Horray, Thank you Timothy! And thank you DrawingEveryday / SketchingEveryday fans for understanding. Perhaps I'll be back at daily drawing and blogging about it next summer! 

I now proclaim this the Summer of Sandy!

Have a great season and proclaim your summer now!

In The Meadow - En Plein Air

  May all your weeds be wildflowers. 

In The Meadow

11.5" x 15" hand painted 'en plein air' watercolor on Yupo paper

16" x 20" double matted w/ foam core backing

See purchase information here.

This image is available for license here.

Yesterday I competed in the Medford NJ, "2013 Paint Our Town - Plein Air Challenge". Although temperatures soared into the mid 90's, I managed to find a shady spot and held up pretty well. This year the event took place on the Medford Leas Retirement Community's 160 acre impressively landscaped grounds. It was lots of fun and a very well run event. Upon arrival, our painting surface was marked and we were supplied with maps and information about possible painting locations.

Here is my set-up.

I learned so much, on many levels through participating.  I haven't really painted on location in years and setting up and working outside is not like being in the studio where everything's at your fingertips! The only thing I forgot was a spray bottle and my paints kept drying out.  I'm planning on putting together a "Checklist for Plein Air Watercolorists" in my next newsletter. Be sure to sign up to receive it in your inbox.

This picture of me  was taken by Beth, a sweet resident I met
who contributes to the community newsletter.

It was really good for me to get off the property. I tend to be a hermit. Most days, I'm here in my studio, painting, on the computer or hanging out with my critters. It was good to get out in public and it was definitely good to get out of my routine and comfort zone. Even though it was a lot of work, I'm charged up to do it again, hopefully when it isn't so darn hot.

Cutie Pye inspects the maps, brochures, and winnings.

Everyone I met or was reacquainted with was so nice! There was even a reception with food and wine after the judging. I am happy to report that I got a second place award and a cash prize for my painting of Katzell Meadow, titled "In The Meadow". That was just the icing on the cake though. The true prize was just being there in the moment, observing, feeling, painting, outside, in the zone, in the meadow.

Go to the meadow to stretch and grow

Get lost in her plume topped amber glow

Sparkling with gems in every color and size

Joyful appreciation the true grand prize

When is the last time you tried something
out of your comfort zone or routine?

What was it?

  What did you learn from it?  

 As Always, I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Thanks for stopping by!