Farm Animals and Crayons

Today I am at Melissa and Nick's house back in the cozy and familiar role of being a nanny. I haven't seen Declan in over a month, oh how he has changed. Running with abandon from one end of the kitchen to the other, babbling and singing and grasping at every word spoken. Children are amazing little people. I am inspired by the way children embrace every tiny moment,without care of what might come next. If adults could do that , perhaps we'd be happier, well rounded, better able to relax and let go of the stresses that ail us. Declan and I spent some time coloring this morning, scribbling and smashing the crayons into the paper. I drew some animals for him, we made the sounds that they make and he scribbled on their faces. Something about the simple act of Declan scribbling, making those brief and fleeting marks on a page, made me stop and think. If only we could see the world the way children do.Not all the time, but briefly, long enough to inspire appreciation and wonder. To be entirely happy and whole heartedly enjoying life. I am not by any means under the illusion that children are never sad, or experience pain or strife. They too have "a bad day" every once and a while. But if you watch children at play, or in a quiet moment, they are completely immersed in that moment, nothing else matters.
That is how I feel when I paint. :)

On that note, I have a project in mind that is very much about children. I would like to start painting children's murals by commission. I want to bring color into their world, into a room where they play or sleep.Trees, clouds, dinosaurs, castles, butterflies, bugs, beaches, space... the possibilities are endless.I would like to start out by offering the murals at the cost of materials only, so I can have a few examples of my work in my portfolio, a starting point if you will. From then on costs would be determined by materials, size and detail. I just need some willing participants, parents, daycares, dayhomes, schools.
Someone somewhere is in need of a mural. If you are reading this and know of someone who might be interested, send them my way please.

Declan is about to wake up from his nap. It is time for lunch and then we have a date with the playschool farm animals.

Happy Monday

- Erin

How to Sell Lemonade

I have spent countless nights feverishly plotting and dreaming about my foray into the arts, of throwing caution to the wind and just jumping head first into the art world.

Aside from the need for a truly polished portfolio and some business cards (coming soon). I need exposure and some notable commission work. I have the odd commission project to keep me busy. Currently it's the painting of Conan O'Brian ,which is at a stand still (Conan is impossibly hard to capture). Next week I have a few days off so that should give me plenty of time and absolutely no excuse not to work on it. If work did not pose such an inconvenience to my art making,I could create to my hearts content and then sell my work on a road side. (Insert long sigh here) Alas, the only true way to expose one self to the art world is to get your art out into that world. Without a fine arts degree to legitimize your work,you are essentially that cute but seemingly sad little kid trying to sell lemonade.The truth of the matter is I don't mind being that artist and I am quite determined to prove myself worthy of a gallery.

So this is my 5 point plan to do just that :
1. PROOF. Portfolio, Business Cards and Artist Statement etc. = Legitimate Artist
2. POSTERS. I cannot afford a stunning advertising campaign, I am after all the starving artist.
Some simple posters offering custom artwork oh so strategically posted could up my incoming commission work.Fingers crossed.
3. POUND THE PAVEMENT .Find any and all coffee shops/small independent galleries/independent   businesses and retailers willing to display my work,sell my work,or any combination of the two.
4. Find MORE INFO about The Market Collective that runs out of Kensington. How do I get a table there? Do you apply? or Pay? or call? I must find out more ASAP.
5. CREATE  Step 1. Last but certainly not least , start creating mass quantities of my paintings, drawings and other handmade wares and stock pile until I run out of places to keep it all.
Step 2 . Investigate and inquire within about every Arts Festival/Music Festival/Community Event where artists and vendors of art can attend and set up shop. This last part is key. I have been turning this idea around in my head for years and it was a booth at the Edmonton Fringe Festival that has put it into motion again. I don't recall the artist's name, I should have taken her card. Her booth was a flutter with people admiring her work and purchasing it without hesitation.

Art is never and will never be about money for me.
It is a wild dream and a novelty to me when someone offers me money for a painting.
I AM that cute little kid selling lemonade on the sidewalk.

What You'll Need to Make Lemonade

Lemonade Ingredients 1 cup simple syrup See Mahalo's instructions for making simple syrup 1 cup lemon juice, from 4-6 lemons 4 cups of water Additional lemon, sliced for garnish Additional lemon juice and sugar to adjust taste after mixing

Lemonade Equipment Knife Cutting board Bowl, to catch the lemon juice Pitcher Mixing spoon Measuring cup Optional: Juicer, citrus press or reamer Optional: Strainer

My Dream List of Art Supplies

Being a starving artist is one thing,being an artist starved for supplies is quite another. 

My inventory of supplies is in no danger of running out any time soon, however... 

If I could invest all the money in my possession on art supplies, this is what the list might look like: 

- Canvases in every shape and size

- A bigger and sturdier easel. ( I am pretty lucky to have one at all.)

- Paint Brushes in every shape and size. ( Looking at them in the art supply store is depressing at $20-30 a brush for the high quality ones, so I tend to stick to pre-packaged sets) 

- An extremely long roll of canvas for building custom canvases

- An assortment of frames/stretchers for canvas

- Bulk size bucket of gesso

- A few sets of prismacolor pencil crayons

- A wide and assorted rainbow of Golden's heavy body acrylic paints! 

- Another rainbow of Golden Oil paints 

- Another drafting table, the white one at Ikea is amazing! 

- Sketchbooks, sketchbooks, sketchbooks. I can never have enough sketchbooks. 

- Masonite for the construction of interesting paint surfaces. 

- Mass quantities of paper in all weights and textures 

Last but not least a lofty studio downtown to paint in,with big windows and brick walls  

A girl can dream and I like to dream big. Art supply stores in my eyes are equivalent to candy stores.

I love creative candy. It's time for bed and dreaming of another kind. Au Revoir!