Fall Newsletter 2015
Newly Designed Website, New Computer, & Summer Heat
I apologize for not getting a Summer Newsletter out. There have been a number of things keeping me away from art, and art newsletters, these past few months. One was that I took time out to totally redesign my website from top to bottom. Not being a HTML/CSS guru, this took several weeks of many hours a day. Although it didn't hurt to give it a fresh new look, the main reason for updating my site was to make it mobile-friendly. The old site was definitely not, and mobile users would get a distorted layout and images too big for their screens. It should now look good on any mobile device! And even if you're viewing it from your PC, I hope you like the new, simplified look. If you haven't already seen it, take some time to browse the site through the menu above.
Besides all the time redesigning the website, my 7 year old computer was making it very clear to me that it was tired and feeble and wanted to retire. I have now layed it to rest. But, as you probably know, getting a new blank-slate computer up and running takes some. You don't realize how many installations and updates, and how many passwords, preferences, and plugins you've added over the years until you have to set it all up again!
On top of all the indoor computer and website issues, Mother Nature has been keeping me busy outdoors. Here in western WA state the weather decided it was bored and needed to break a couple records this past summer. We broke the record for the most hot days as well as the record for the most dry days here. Normally in the Pacific Northwest lack of rain is not an issue. Hence, most of us do not have irrigation systems on our properties. We have 1.3 acres, none of it irrigated. This hot, dry summer meant my husband and I spent many hours outside trying to keep all our gardens and landscaping from shriveling up. No small feat.
But now that the sun sets on summer, and we arrive at the beginning of autumn, the heat and dry weather are gone. Computer and website udpates are done. I've had time to get back to some art!
New Paintings & Products
Despite being busy with computers and Mother Nature, I did manage to finish a couple new bird paintings since my last newsletter.
New Autumn Bird Painting
Here's one just in time for autumn, with colorful red, orange, and gold maple leaves. A delightful variety of birds, including a blue jay, eastern bluebird, black-capped chickadee, cardinal, and red-breasted nuthatch visit a cute little wooden bird feeder.
"Autumn Aquaintances"
This is a digital painting, created in Photoshop, so there is no original available. However, there are Canvas, Metal, Acrylic & Fine Art Paper Prints, Greeting Cards, Phone Cases, Home Furnishings, Invitations & Stationery, Crafting & Party Supplies, Shower Curtains, T-Shirts, and a wide variety of other gift products available featuring this artwork.
New Christmas Cardinals Painting
Another new digital painting, in time for the winter holiday season, is an image of a pair of Northern Red Cardinals at a bird feeder decorated with gold Christmas bells, ribbon, and holly. The white snow-covered picket fence is adorned with Christmas garland made of fir branches, pine cones, and red winter berries, accented with a big red bow. A winter landscape of snow covered fir and pine trees fills the background.
"Cardinals Christmas Feast"
This is a digital painting, created using Photoshop and ArtRage, so there is no original available. However, there are Canvas, Metal, Acryclic, and Fine Art Paper Prints, Greeting Cards, Phone Cases, Home Furnishings, Invitations & Stationery, Crafting & Party Supplies, Shower Curtains, T-Shirts, and a wide variety of other holiday decorations and gifts available featuring this artwork.
New Horse Painting Variations
I've also added some new versions of my horse images in monocrhome sepia. These "aged photo" effect images seem to be popular so I made a few more.
These are also available as prints, greeting cards, Home Furnishings, and more.
New Products from pixels.com
In addition to some new paintings, pixels.com (aka Fine Art America) started out with just prints, greeting cards, and phone cases. More recently they have added several new products. As you may have noticed above, there are now Crafting & Party Supplies, Home Furnishings, shower curtains, Invitations & Stationery, t-shirts and other Clothing & Apparel available featuring my artwork.
They've also set up the site so you no longer have to click an image to see what products are available. So in the menu bar to the right of my name here, you can click the Shop link. Then, in the drop-down menus, you can sort by products you're interested in. So if you just want to look for Crafting & Party Supplies click on the Products drop-down menu and filter your view to just the artwork that is available on Crafting & Party Supplies. They also have several other drop-down menus to filter your view further if you need to narrow it down. To make things easier for you, I've included links below listed by product type.
New Licensing Contracts
Here are some of the new licensing contracts that have been signed since my last newsletter.
Fountain Festivities, Morning Quest, Spring Garden Party, and Spring's Gift have been licensed by AIMA, Inc. for use on Sun Catchers, Hand Painted Glass Night Lights, Hand Painted Glass Jewelry Boxes, Hand Painted Glass Desk Plaques, And Other Hand Painted Glass Gift Ware.
Fountain Festivities, Morning Quest, Hummingbird Heaven, Just For Fun, and Spring's Gift have been licensed by Artecy Cross Stitch for use on Cross Stitch Charts and Pixelhobby Kits.
Fountain Festivities, Cardinals Christmas Feast, and Primary Colors have been licensed by Magnolia Lane for use on garden flags and mailbox covers.
And, finally, my most recent autumn bird painting, Autumn Aquaintances, has been licensed by Carson Home Accents for use on garden flags and floor mats.
Recently Released Licensed Products
They don't really tell me exactly when new products are released into the marketplace so I don't always know everything that's out there. I often don't find out a product is out until I stumble across it online, a fan tells me, or I find a box of product samples at my door. Haha! Here are a few I do know are out, but there may be more.
My Bluebirds & Peaches jigsaw puzzle by Sunsout is now available.
My whitetail doe painting, Surprise, jigsaw puzzle by Sunsout is also out now.
I got samples of my Cardinals and Holly flag by Carson Home Accents but haven't been able to find it for sale online yet. I suspect it should be out soon though, in time for holiday sales, since it does make a nice Christmas-theme decoration.
My Pumpkin Harvest Puppy flag by Discount Decorative Flags is now available.
Discount Code
Exclusively for my Newsletter readers I'm offering a code for a discount off your entire order of art prints, greeting cards, Home Furnishings, Clothing & Apparel, phone cases, and more purchased through pixels.com or one of its affiliate sites. Be sure to use this code at checkout to get your discount!
YVKEDA
This discount code expires 10/31/2015.
By the way, ArtistWebsites.com and pixels.com are both part of Fine Art America, a print-on-demand service that I have been using for several years to produce high-quality fine art prints of my work. So you can find my art on any of these sites and you can trust all of them to provide you with high-quality prints and excellent service. All three sites sell prints, greeting cards, Home Furnishings, Invitations & Stationery, Crafting & Party Supplies, and shower curtains but you can only purchase phone cases, and Clothing & Apparel on ArtistWebsites.com and pixels.com, though that may change in the future.
Past Newsletters & Subscription
Thank you for reading to my Fall Newsletter. I hope to see you again for my Winter Newsletter. In case you missed one, you can view past Newsletters here.
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