For That Guy Who Needs NOTHING!

Frustrating, I know!

We all have that guy on our list who needs NOTHING

and doesn't really want anything.

You search, and search,

and shop and think!

 Art is often something people would love and enjoy

but won't spend the money on themselves.

I have a suggestion and I'm pretty sure 

I can help you in any price range. 

Let me show you a few things he might like.

(We'll talk about women tomorrow)

I call this Man Cave Art

6" x 6" Acrylic on a panel.
Sits great on a shelf on an easel (not included)
$50 + shipping

8" x 8" Hog Wild

Unframed Acrylic on a panel

$95 + $6 shipping 

8" x 8" Unframed Acrylic on a panel

Red Case

$95 + $6 shipping

 11" x 14" Acrylic on stretched canvas

Framed (not shown) in a rustic barn wood frame.

$175 + $20 shipping

Augusta Ferry

Here are several other options for you if that's not enough.

Click HERE to go to my Etsy Shop.

Click HERE to view available art on this blog. 

Don't forget!

I give away a painting every single month,

but you have to subscribe to this blog to be entered.

Enter by signing up with your email below.

Then you'll receive an email asking you to confirm that you did sign up.  Click the confirmation link in that email.

While you're there, drag my email into your primary folder so you'll know if I contact you as a winner.

  

Courage gives way to Gratitude

Goals of 2016

Recently I pulled out my goal sheet for 2016

and re-read my plans, dreams and goals for the year.

There were a number of goals I stuck with

and things I accomplished I am proud of.

There were a number of things I didn't accomplish

 and I will refine them and make new plans,

better plans to accomplish the ones I still want to complete.

I also read my word for the year.

I've considered my 2016 word of the year many times.

Courage.

I am afraid of a lot of things,

so courage was a stretch for me.

I'm still afraid of many things,

dogs, being numero uno on the list.

I must confess,

I'm not afraid,

I'm terrified.

But I have had to summon up a lot of courage this year

as I have learned new things on the computer,

faced having no voice for five months,

had several skin cancers surgically removed,

having my husband be ill for all of the year.

It took courage for me to begin to paint figures.

It took courage to begin releasing single subject classes.
(More to come soon)
Click HERE to Learn More about my online classes.

It took courage to return to teaching
after not being able to talk for over five months.
Click HERE to learn more about hosting your own party.

2017 is right around the corner and I've been working on

 my word of the year. 

GRATITUDE!

I am grateful for so many things.
One of which is you!

I am grateful to everyone who reads my blog,
views my art,
paints with me in person or online,
and has offered me friendship in cyber space.

GR - ATTITUDE
requires having an attitude of gratitude.
How do you grow that gr-eat attitude?

It's a daily habit that requires some effort to achieve.

Becoming aware of all the great little things that happen in your life every single day,
and saying thank you.
Gratitude follows that.

Becoming aware of:
the light that changes just in time,
The fast food that got your order right,
Your child that puts their stuff away,
The check book balancing,
Evading that deer on the road,
Noticing the beauty in nature.
and the list goes on and on.

Once you've noticed the little miracles in your life,
then being thankful for them,
That is the attitude of gratitude. 

I look forward to becoming more and more grateful in 2017, just like I loved gaining more courage in 2016.

One last thing,
I'll need to keep that word in front of me
every single day to feel gratitude
and have it become a part of me.

Do you have a word for the year,
tell me about it in the comments if you do.

Here's to a wonderful 2017.

 
  
 

 

When Can I Expect To SEE Results?

Results!

You want results?

 What kind of results?

Direct results?

By-product results?

Earth changing results?

The real question here is, 

"What do YOU want to accomplish"?

Question -

Can you do a 120 second plank?

I mean TWO minutes!

Surely you can do something for TWO minutes.

Well, good luck with that.

I began 2016 with several very specific goals.

Some I continue to work on,

others, not so much.

One of my goals was to physically get in shape.

To eat better and exercise regularly.

You know I headed right over to Pinterest to find exercise routines for old girls like me right.

I set up a board, Exercising and Eating Healthy.
Click HERE to see my board.

I found lots of things to pin about exercising and I started trying them out hoping to find a few I liked and could stick with.

Cause that's the secret!

Stick With It!

I'm not looking for super model status, but I believed if I could get in better physical shape, I could improve my overall health.

So what was my goal?

Get in shape OR improve my health.

Which came first the chicken or the egg.

Back to the 120 second plank.

I found a post with a 30 day ab challenge.

Click HERE to see the plan.    

I didn't even look at day 30.

I only looked at what exercises were necessary

(only 4)

and on day one it started with a 15 second full plank,

9 second side planks,

and 8 crunches and 8 bicycle crunches.

I thought, Wow!, even I can do that!

The goal is to work up to a 120 second full plank,

76 second side planks

and 120 crunches and bicycle crunches.

(Glad I didn't look at that part of the challenge)

The point is, OK, there are several points here:

1. Set a goal
2. Make a plan
3. Follow through
4. Rinse and repeat!

It's going to take me longer than the 30 days to get to the end of the challenge, but I am about 2/3 of the way through!

Go ME!  

It doesn't really matter what the goal is.

It doesn't really matter what the plan is.

What really matters is 

the STICK WITH IT part.   

Learn to shoot free throws:

Shoot more free throws.

Learn to play a musical instrument:

Practice more and harder music.

Learn to write:

Get in front of the (I almost said typewriter) computer

and write, anything, everything.

Learn to paint:

Get the brush in your hand and paint.

I've painted in Leslie Saeta's 30 paintings in 30 days online challenge 4 or 5 times.

What do you learn painting 30 paintings in 30 days?

You learn to paint.

You learn to plan.

You make time for it.

and then,

You start to see some results.

Not thinking about painting.

Not planning to paint.

But the actual painting.

Back to my 120 second plank.

I did not see any results the first 10-12- or even 14 days.

I'm on day 21 and to be honest 

I'm not sure I'm seeing any physical results.

I mean, really,

I'm 64 years old, I have a chronic illness, and I've had 4 children, but my original goal was to improve my health.

But one of my points is: what if I'd given up on Day 12?

And the results I'm seeing are:

• I am stronger
• I have more stamina
• I can do more
• OK, my abs are not quite like the Pillsbury dough boy's anymore, so there's some physical improvement.

• And, Here's an interesting part, I want to do more.

Learn all about what you want to learn about.

Read about it, watch it, listen to it, view it,

But then you have to actually do it

and do it,

and do it,

and do it some more,

if you want to get better at anything.

A few months ago I wrote a blog post about painting clouds.

Click HERE to view that post. 

It's what has to happen to get better at anything.

This is one of the cloud paintings I did in the 30 in 30 challenge.

I'm working on another painting right now with beautiful clouds in it.

Click on the link on this blog for available paintings to see some of my available art.

Baking delicious bread or a pie does not come with reading recipes, all though that is a good place to start.

You actually have to learn how to bloom the yeast,

measure accurately,

get dough all over your hands as you learn to knead the bread,

Learn how your oven works,

Then you have to learn how to slice the bread.

Then and only then, do you get to enjoy the fruits of your labors and I'm real sure your first loaf of bread will not be delicious.  But make another one. And then make another one.  And pretty soon you'll have delicious, yummy, can't wait to eat it bread.

Bottom line:

I have the exercise thing down and I am getting stronger.

(Now I have to remove the ice cream thing to lose weight).

 

Thanks,
and have a great day
and Happy Thanksgiving! 

 

Learning To Paint on the Cheap

You Want To Learn To Paint,

But You Don't Know Where To Start!!!

I follow a lot of artists online!

A LOT of artists.

Many of you know I have participated in Leslie Saeta's online challenge 4 times, or is it 5, to paint 30 paintings in 30 days.

She also has a blog talk radio show once a week about marketing art.

I listened today to a show about kick starting your art career on the cheap (ok she used the word budget) as I was hammering nails in my new studio my husband is building for me (awww!) 

Click HERE to listen to the show. 

She and co-host Margaret Sheldon, both excellent artists, were expressing the benefits of attending a work shop and how to do it as frugally as possible.

These shows are always full of great info and I've listened for a number of years.

Then they said to get the cost down even further, there are online art classes you can take that really keep the cost WAY down. 

You know where I'm going with this right?

I have created just exactly what she was talking about and it is extremely affordable.

I created my online BEGINNING art course with the beginning artist in mind and as a curriculum for the home school family.  

Why? you ask.

Because my daughter home schools her children and she said it is an area where there is a need.

Click HERE to go to my website and look over the full blow art course, a single subject class and there's even a

FREE

daisy painting class.

I struggled when I began painting on finding the information I needed to begin painting.

I found lots of info in a myriad of places,

a piece here,

a snippet there.

but I really wished I could find it all in one place.

That's why I created Painting With Acrylics 101.

It's for people who want to learn to paint using acrylic paints.

It's everything you need to get on down the road in your art journey in one easy to understand and get to place.

In the full blown art course you will learn:

1.  All about color - how to mix and why

2. About brushes, what to buy and what to leave in the store.

3.  About acrylic paint and how to use it.

4.  Perspective and how it can make or break a painting.

5.  Composition and why some work better than others.

6.  Brush strokes and how to achieve different looks.

7.  How to practice - yes you must practice.   

And then ---

I'll show you step by step how to create two paintings;

in real time,

no time lapse,

no leaving anything out.

The only place you'll EVER get the instructions for this painting is in my full blown art course.

You'll also receive step by step instructions to paint a rooster.  You can paint it in any color your would like.  I'll teach you how, you decide how you want it.

You have access to the class only FOREVER!

Brothers from a different mother!

 

 

There are three bonuses in the course,

one of them being a supply list.

I KNOW I can save you the cost of the course if you will download the shopping list first and only purchase what is on the list.

I know you're going to want the whole store, but be strong.

Once you get the basics down,

then you can go crazy in the art store.

On my website you will also find a single subject class,

painting iris.

Click HERE to visit my site. 

Scroll down the page and click on the "Learn More" 

button under the Iris Class.

This is a single subject class and you will paint the above painting.

Then you can paint iris on anything and everything.

This class is also in real time videos and comes with a shopping list so you will know exactly what you will need to complete it.  You have access to it for a year.

There are now several single subject classes on my website. They are incredibly affordable.  

And if you're still worried you can't learn this way,

I'm giving you an entire class for FREE!

Yes!  You read that right.

On the same website,

Click HERE, just in case you forgot. 

Scroll down to the FREE Daisy Painting Class

and click on the button that says "Learn More".

You'll get all the skinny there on the class.

Then, if the price is right, 

scroll to the sign up button and click it.

You'll be asked to register and then you'll receive an email with your login credentials and a confirmation link to the class.  Click on that link and the FREE class will open up.

Did I mention it's FREE and you have access FOREVER.

So you can try it before you buy it.  

If you have wanted to get serious about learning to paint

and moving forward on your art journey,

these classes are for you.

This would make a great gift for that person who is trying to learn to paint, but is struggling.  If that's you, get this blog post in front of that significant other Pronto.

I promise you, you can learn how to paint from an online class, and this class and course has been created with the beginner in mind.  

One last time:

Click HERE to check out my course and classes. 

I also have a YouTube channel where I post a new art instructional video every Friday.  The price is definitely right on my channel.  (FREE).  Click HERE to go to my channel and then click the thumbs up button and subscribe to my channel.  If you click the little bell next to the word subscribe, you will be notified when I post a new video, which is usually on Friday.  

Here's two more options for some FREE art instruction.  

If you are a homeschool family and would like to add art to your curriculum, Click HERE to go to my Facebook group, Homeschool Art Club and ask to join.  Answer the 3 questions that pop up and you'll be teaching art to your kiddos in no time.  

If you've always wanted to learn to paint and/or draw, but life got in the way, click HERE to join my FREE Facebook group, Bucket List Artists.  Ask to join, then answer the 3 questions that pop up and you'll have all sorts of painting and drawing lessons at your fingertips in no time.  

I have lots of people ask to join, but then they don't answer the 3 questions.  Answering those questions is what opens up the door to the group, so if you want in you need to answer the 3 questions.  

Thanks for stopping by today 
and let's paint together real soon.