Happy New Year!!!

Well it is almost a new year!! I have lots of new ideas for projects that I am looking forward to starting as soon as I am back in the studio. I am spending this New Year's Eve in Sierra Vista, AZ with my husband, who is leading a bird tour. New Years Eve dinner will be held at Cafe Roka, in Bisbee, AZ.

I will have to post my end of the year pieces later, as I have not yet photographed them.  Stayed tuned for more images to come...

I wish all of you a wonderful, healthy and profitable New Year!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

It's that time of year again...

Turkey Day

My hubby and I will be at the Casa de San Pedro for Thanksgiving, and I will show my work there on the 29th Friday.

Come see me at 8933 S. Yell Road Hereford, AZ

and enjoy the beautiful surroundings of the hacienda style inn on the San Pedro River, and browse my artwork. I will have items for sale from $20 and up, and all of my newest pieces to view.

11am-4pm

Call 520-366-1300 for more info.

I hope to see you there!

Happy Thanksgiving!

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WEEMS!

WEEMS!

I can't believe Weems is THIS week! I have been working towards this one show for over three months now, and I am happy to say that I am prepared. In fact, set up day one was today and my booth is pretty much set. Tomorrow I go in to add lighting and finishing touches. I am very excited about this show and cannot wait for Friday to come!

I hope that all of you who are local will be able to come by on Friday, Saturday or Sunday of this week,  November 15th, 16th and 17th.

I am in booth number A14.

Check this link for details and times, WEEMS.

Not only will there be new artwork, but new note cards and tons of minis as well.

After WEEMS my husband and I are heading down to Southeast Arizona to spend Thanksgiving with friends at the Casa de San Pedro.

On November 29, Friday from 11-4pm I will be setting up my artwork once again. 

All you Southern Arizona customers, please come by Casa and check out my newest works!

Hope to see you at either of the shows. Stay tuned for other updates and more shows to come. 

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A Busy Start to the Autumn Season!

Happy Autumn!

Autumn has started off with many projects. The biggest event that is upcoming is the WEEMS Artfest on November 15, 16, 17.

Go here for all the details

I have been so busy painting for this show. I want to make sure that I have lots of new work for the show, and that is a cohesive body that will hang well. 

When you come to WEEMS please check out my booth number A-14.

Here is a sneak preview of some pieces that you will see there...

 I have been asked by Hawks Aloft of Albuquerque to create a design for their tee shirt. I need to start on this project right away, as it is due in one month.  

Beyond all of this, my plan after WEEMS is to start approaching various restaurants, coffee shops and the like in Santa Fe and Albuquerque to see if they will carry my artwork in their eateries and cafes. 

If you are the proprietor of such an establishment, and feel that my artwork might work in the ambiance of your business by all means, send me an email or give me a call! 828-545-8028.

There are three commissions on my horizon as well. These will involve multiple paintings so I need to be prepared to start those as soon as possible also. 

I had planned to get involved more with CNMAS in addition to all of this, so time management is important these days. 

I will sign again before the big show and will display more sneaks at the pieces that will be hanging in mid November. 

thanks!!

Last of the Summer Shows

Today was the last day of the last summer show that I am participating in. The Tucson Bird and Wildlife Festival was a great success! I will definitely do this show again next year. It was great seeing old friends and making new ones, and the sales were not bad either! I love Tucson the city is great and the people are super nice. I even managed to get out and do a little birding this morning at the Sweetwater Wetlands, a place I have never been before. 

This shy Burrowing Owl was fun to see, along with the other live critters at the show. 

A few of my new bird paintings sold at the show. They are a bit more involved than my usual bird portraits. I am finally moving away from those simpler portraits as I am ready to depict more elements of nature in one piece. I hope to evolve to pieces that depict flora, birds, insects, mammals, reptiles, etc. I am still enjoying the "dual critter pieces" like the these. My color use is brighter and bolder than ever for the most part. 

I am enjoying these bird festivals so much, I am trying to get into some other shows this fall, even though it is very last minute. We will see if I can squeeze into any of them. If I do I will post them here and on Facebook. 

So in the meantime have a great remainder of the summer!

Happy Summer Solstice

Summer starts today and I have been super busy with shows. Early in June I attended the Old San Ysidro Church Artfest in Corrales. It was fun and I met some really nice artists. That is the best part about doing these shows. I get to meet so many nice people. Then, later in the month, just last week my husband and I took a road trip to Lee Vining, California. The home of Mono Lake. I set up my artwork there and sales were very good. Again meeting the folks there was fun. I also got to see some old friends and reconnect with them! Good times!

Black backed Woodpecker

I had painted a few paintings specific to the Mono Lake region for the show. 

Mountain Quail - used on the Mono Basin Bird Chautauqua Festival T shirt

This particular festival has been using my artwork for their T shirts, banners, programs for over 6 years now! I was really happy to be able to attend this festival. I had only been one time before and after this year, I will definitely be going back again. 

I have just been accepted into the WEEMS International Artfest held in November 2013. I am very excited and will be busy in July preparing for the Tucson Audubon Bird Festival in August as well as this November show.  Here are some pieces I finished before the Mono Lake Festival. 

Before I left in June for California, I also finished a couple more designs for the Mountain Nest Gallery in Black Mountain, North Carolina. 

Have a happy Summer!

Spring in Full Swing!

The show at the Bernalillo County Commissioner's office was a success. Actually, it is still going on there have been several sales. It comes down May 13th. If you are interested in viewing the pieces, as they look very nice, hung by a professional, please contact me! The April show at the Old Schoolhouse Gallery in San Antonito comes down this Wed. Sales were made there too and there are lots of other great artists' pieces displayed there as well. I am busy stocking up on work for the many upcoming shows. The first occurs on May 4th a Saturday at the La Cueva High School at Wyoming and Alameda in ALBQ. The show goes on from 9 am - 4 pm. The second show I am attending is the Old San Ysidro Church Old Church Art Fest held on June 1, and 2, 2013. The Church is located at 966 Old Church Road in Corrales, NM. Then in mid June my husband and I will be involved in the 12th annual 2013 Mono Basin Bird Chautauqua at Lee Vining, California. And I have even more events throughout the summer!! So I have been quite busy in the studio and outside. I have been working on some new plein air pieces. I am enjoying landscapes quite a lot. Using oils has sparked a newfound interest in painting the flora that surrounds me. The tight, graphic depictions of birds has grown a bit tiresome and these new landscapes are allowing me to really create and play. It is a lot of fun! I have also been painting some old ruins down the road from us. Check them out on my Etsy site! I will continue with the birds, I just need a break every now and again...

     

Meanwhile, I am busy making minis and bird paintings for all these upcoming shows and Festivals! I was commissioned to paint the Mono Lake Bird Chatauqua's logo this year, a Mountain Quail.

The quail will be used on this year's tee shirt. 

The 3 Burrowing Owls have been made into the official Central New Mexico Audubon Society logo. 

Thanks to the great photoshop work by Laurel Ladwig! 

Here are a couple of the recent bird paintings I have added to my collection. All of these will be shown on Etsy and for sale. So please check it out. Etsy Happy Wren Store. It really is the best way to see what I have available at any given time. 

And if you are able come see me at my upcoming shows please do so!

Happy Spring!

Spring is Here!

Spring is here! My yurt is up and running and having more space in which to work is wonderful. I have been very busy getting ready for the big show now hanging at the County Commissioner's Office, the office of Commissioner Maggie Hart Stebbins. The reception is to occur on April 5th Friday from 5:00PM - 6:30PM. I am hoping I will see some of my new friends from NM and to have a great time!

In case you would like to come to the opening, the event is at One Civic Plaza in downtown Albuquerque on the 10th floor. 

I have another show in April at the Old Schoolhouse Gallery. I was in quite the huge hurry to create some pieces for this show as the Commissioner show took more art than I originally anticipated. I will be unveiling some brand new pieces there. Here is a sneak peak!

2 Western Bluebirds with Red tailed Hawk

Robins Reunion

3 Burrowing Owls

This piece serves a dual purpose. I was asked to provide a logo for the Central New Mexico Audubon Society and this is one of my submissions for that. It was finished just in time for the April show!

While waiting for paint to dry I always do more painting! I have decided to work on some landscapes in a loose and fun fashion. I have started several and just finished this one I call Citrus Landscape.

I am having fun playing with color and using looser more expressionistic painting in with these landscapes. I needed to break free from the tighter portraits for a while. This is the first of a series I will post here. 

I have many upcoming projects to work on in April and am up to the task. A new logo for the Friends of Balcones Bird Festival in Texas, a logo for Mono Lake Bird Chautauqua Birding Festival in California, the rest of my landscape series, and I have started a series of East Mountains Churches. There are so many cute and charming churches from Madrid to Mountainair. I thought that it would be fun to paint a few of those! I also started a coupe of the Quarai Ruins. Stay tuned for pics as I finish them!

Please also see my Happy Wren Facebook Page! I post a piece of art almost every single day. Some

brand new, some rather old. I hope for you to "Like" my page!

Thanks and Happy Spring!

A Busy Late Winter....

Here it is approaching late Feb. and man, am I busy! I am working like mad to participate in almost all of the art opportunities that come my way, while creating enough art for each of them! It can be quite a balancing act to do this. 

My first event is the San Diego Birding Festival, where I will be a vendor. It begins on Feb. 28th and runs through March 3rd, 2013.

http://www.sandiegoaudubon.org/events/bird-festival/general-information

I have been painting like crazy trying to get a body of work that is pertinent for the festival, as well as making as many minis as possible. 

 If you are in the area, come see me at my booth!

In addition to preparing for the festival, I have been asked to show my work at the Bernalillo County Commissioners Office in downtown ABQ beginning in mid March - May. 

It is quite an honor to have been asked to do this and I am very excited about it. I love that you can find people who support the arts in all areas of our fair city, ABQ, NM. 

My work has been hanging at a Radiology/Oncology Center for the past month and a half, and will have to take that work down to show at the commissioner's office. (more juggling of the art) During the month of April I will be participating in a show hanging at the Old Schoolhouse Gallery in Cedar Crest, NM. (closer to my neck of the woods). The theme for that show will be "Birds" so this will be appropriate for my work. 

http://www.theoldschoolhousegallery.com

On top of all of this, I have applied for three different art shows, of various types, locations and sizes. I haven't yet heard back if I will be attending any of them, but will post it here if I do. 

Meanwhile, I am still working on a t-shirt design for the NM Ornithological Society.

http://www.nmbirds.org/?page_id=72

I have also committed to creating a new logo for the Central New Mexico Audubon Society. 

http://cnmas.newmexicoaudubon.org

I was recently contacted by the Tucson Audubon regarding a Bird A Thon t-shirt design they need for 2013. I have provided them with the image they loved, a flying raven. 

So as soon as I return to NM from CA I will be busy working. I love staying busy! My yurt is ready to be set up with electric and heat and when it is, I will have a larger more user friendly space to create in. I am really looking forward to that! But if nothing else, I have learned that I can create in any space.

Another project that I will be starting soon, is the Mono Lake Chautauqua Birding Festival t-shirt design for 2013. Wezil and I plan to attend the festival in mid June to participate as vendor/bird guide. That will be a lot of fun.

http://www.birdchautauqua.org

So I am keeping real busy. Stay posted for next month's blog regarding my projects and shows. Please email me with any questions or comments.

Thanks for looking and here's to the end of winter! ;)

Getting Busier!

Since my last entry I have been approached by a gallery in Black Mountain, NC, ironically 4 months after moving from that very area! It is called the Mountain Nest Gallery.  The first series, 8" squares depict Birds in Dogwoods.
(seen here)

The second series, a group of four longer billed birds, are called Birds in Oaks, Brown Thrasher, Carolina Wren,  White breasted Nuthatch and Ruby throated Hummingbird. 

       The last painting for now, is one I call Northern Cardinal in the Blue Ridge Mountains...As you can see the colors on these Eastern paintings are more subdued colors for a more conservative crowd. When I was painting these, I was really missing my bright brights!! I had to stop and create a colorful painting just to satisfy my need for color! LOL!

Along with this ongoing project, I have been asked to paint an Olive Warbler for the New Mexico Ornithological Society Tshirt. And I have committed to showing my work down in San Diego for their Bird Festival at the end of the month! So I have some serious work to accomplish this month! To top it all off, I now have a large work space, a yurt which was raised on Groundhog's Day! We had a great group of helpers, a neighbor, his brother in law, and our helpful builder too. It was fun! Thanks guys!

We still have some work before I can use it, but it sure is cute to look at!! I am anxious to move in.

Happy February!