Painting a Day - A Fun New Experiment

Painting a Day - A Fun New Experiment 

I am going to try something a little new.  After all I have titled my blog Creative Thoughts, so what better thing to talk about and  way to gain more creative thoughts than a daily painting?

For 2022, I am trying something new and getting in my studio first thing in the morning to paint for about an hour (if it takes that long) to paint a small piece of art.  It all started with this painting.  Shooting for something to use for small Valentine's inspired ideas, this came up.  I have a template for scrapbooking that has a pretty scalloped heart and I started there.  From that, came a gorgeous sunrise.  I did take it a bit further and cut out the scalloped mat to add to the impression of looking through a window that has been cut out and edged in gold to mimic the gold outline of the actual painting.  

The whole thing brings to mind looking through a space where the wall has been cut away and the gorgeous sunrise is exposed behind it.  An opportunity to see the beauty in the world that was hidden behind a barrier.

I have always had a tendency to paint small, but this validates doing so.  I only have so much time set aside right now to get my creative juices going in the morning.  If I do decide I have more time that day, then I will add in some bigger pieces, but will do at least one small one.  

This one will be posted on my website in the coming days, unless someone decides to DM me before I even get it posted.  The painting is $15 plus s&h.  If you want the entire finished piece with the mats and frame, it will be $65 plus s&h.

I hope you enjoyed the start of my new process and I welcome any comments as I take you along on my new journey and as I share any new insights I find along the way.

Christina

Merry Christmas 2021

 So much has been going on recently that I have not been able to keep up with everything.  One more thing to add to my list of things to change for the New Year - better planning which I am already working on.  However, it has been a good and productive year so I can't really complain a lot.  I count that as a blessing. 

To keep it short and sweet for Christmas, I wish you all a blessed celebration and fun with family and friends this season.  

Merry Christmas to you all!

Christina

 Do you have big dreams?  

I don't tend to be that  big picture goal oriented for my art business.  I have a few vague ideas about what I would like to happen but tend to float along and go with the flow. Of course, if there is something that I know needs to get finished (like planning for an event at the club I belong to or a big trip coming up, I can break things down and organize myself).Over the past year as I have revitalized my art business, I am finding that I need to actually set goals.  Just saying I want to make sales  and cover my bills is not enough.

What do I want my business to look like?  What will success look like for me?  What has to happen to get there?  

I am trying to take a look at the goal and go in reverse to achieve that goal.  What individual steps do I need to take to go from here to there.  I work well in other areas of my life when I work this way, so why not my business.  I am sure it has something to do with taking my business seriously and not hiding behind the fact that I fall into the "Imposter Trap" more often than not.  I am an artist (thank you Marisa Ann Cummings, Expansive Artists) and can achieve my goals.  

Of course, the oppposite is true.  If I don't reach my goals on a set path, I can evaluate what did not work and change the course of action because I can look at the information I learned along the way.  With no plan, there is no real information or way to make an actual change.

In that frame of mind, I am setting a goal of starting to do some online painting courses for the new year.  Still have to decide when I want to go live so I can work back from there.  That seems like a big goal for the New Year and I am so excited about it.  

Anything you want me to add to my list of topics to paint?  At this point, I am open to all of your suggestions.  Of course, flowers will be in the mix 😀

2021 Ornament Collection

2021 Ornaments are here!

So fun!  I have just launched my Ornament collection for this year.  Several of them are very traditional and in Christmas colors.  Cute little happy snowmen faces  that are painted in acrylic paints on wooden bases.  Sealed with polyurethane and can be personalized on the back with a name and/or year.

Next are the more traditional holly pattern. Fun holly and pine design with gold accents.  Each one is handpainted in watercolor on watercolor paper and affixed to the wooden base.  The pretty dangles have the base left natural to offset the gorgeous design.  The larger ones have gold painted bases. 
Each can be personalized on the back with a name and/or year.  (sizing information is available on my website cvdesignsfl )

These are the other set of my 2021 Ornament collection.  A totally different idea and a bit non-traditional.  Not everyone wants all their ornaments to be in the green/red color scheme and these are for you.  Let's start with the red and yellow daisy.  It is handpainted in watercolor on watercolor paper and affixed to a wooden base that has been painted gold.  Finished off with a silken red loop for easy hanging.  You can have it personalized on the back with a name and/or year.

Next is the lilac bouquet.  Simple and gorgeous.  Watercolor painting on watercolor paper and affixed to a wood base that has a gold finish.  You can have it personalized with a name and/or year on the back.

Finally, there are the pretty little daisy field ornaments.  The beautiful simplicity of the field of daisies just speak to me, especially with the cooling blue background.  Finished with a pretty golden cord border and gold jumpring to hang.  It can have a year or name personalized in gold on the front or on the back of the ornament.

Again, pricing and size information can be found on my website cvdesignsfl  

Thank you for visiting and I hope to hear from you soon!

Christina

website - cvdesignsfl

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Keeping Up and Planning 

In the last Post, I talked about getting organized.  Clearly, that is an ongonig process. 

I am trying to work towards getting some processes in place for my art business, but got pulled away to finish setup and running The Taste of Oktoberfest at the American German Club of the Palm Beaches the last two weekends.  Thankfully, I was not actually in charge of the whole event, but was in charge of one of the booths and all that went into getting it ready, staffed, and run it both weekends.  All of that took a certain amount of planning, but we did tend to say "It will all work out" an awful lot when certain things did not get done when we thought they were all handled.

That being said, we are now on to planning and putting on our Christkindlmarkt and new Krampus Night events the second weekend of December.  I have been the co-chair for this event for a couple of years now and I have to thank my predecessor for leaving really great details for what needs to get planned.  It feels planned out now,  but there is so much left to in the actual set up.  I am learning the art of delegating and managing and trying not to do all things by myself.  Not good for me and not good for the Club overall if I try to do it all myself  People need to feel invested to continue to help in an organization like this one and make it survive.

Sitting down and putting things on the calendar has made me feel so much better.  When do I get the decorating done?  Who will help? Bake the cookies? Make costumes if needed?   Each item has a place on my calendar.

I am trying to carry some of this planning over to my business and make my life a big more predictable there.  Planning ahead for my social media posts, planning ahead for this blog, and trying to plan ahead when I launch new collections.  Trying to set up some sort of flow does help me to enjoy the process along the way. 

In the midst of it all, I am making time to paint and do something creative to keep my energy up and flowing.

I think that is enough of my creative thoughts for today.  I hope you get to do something creative today.

Christina

 Hello There!  

With Facebook and Instagram down last week, I realized I needed to put out another blog post.  I meant to do it last week, but I am involved in helping to set up the Taste of Oktoberfest event at our local American German Club.  It all starts this coming weekend and has been crazy!

We are doing a smaller version this year due to COVID and we are already close to being sold out.  New for us to be taking only advanced ticket sales for this event that is usually soooo much bigger.  Once this event is over, it is on to our Christmas Market that I am co-chair for.  Phew!  So much else going on other than my art and my art business.  

Never ending, but it really puts it in perspective that organization and calendar planning is so very important.  How do you work on making sure all your ducks are in a row?  Do you use a paper calendar/planner?  Do you use your calendar on your phone/computer?  A combination of the two?  Do you have an app that helps keep things all together for you? Or do you fly by the seat of your pants and hope for the best?

I do a bit of paper planning and computer.  I like being able to jot down notes on a paper calendar and have it in front of me when I work.  I also have a place to jot down ideas and future plans to keep me moving in the right direction.Sometimes it is the only way I can remember what comes to mind in the middle of listening to a podcast.  But I also like to put events on my phone calendar.  Mostly because then I get the reminders and I a definitely need those.  LOL.

As we move into the end of the year and a new year, share how you get yourself organized.

Magical Lily Garden Intro

Magical Lily Garden

At the beginning of this year, my mother started her journey through breast cancer.  She has been a real trooper and is in the end stages of her treatment.  A remarkably strong woman with a very positive attitude especially given that she is 80.  

During the time she had surgery, I went over and spent time with my family to help out and my sister and I spent time in her garden doing some Spring planting, cleaning up, and generally enjoying all the beautiful blooms that came up each day. 

 A great way to be reminded that even when you are going through some tough times, beauty will still find a way.  From that, this collection came into being. So many color variations and sizes to paint.  So many ways to bring that beauty to your walls and uplift your spirits.

Thank you for joining me on my painting journey and I will be posting about once a week so keep checking back for the next one.

(cvdesignsfl.com)