Quiet Day at Home Today after Busy Weekend at Metrolina

Monday is usually a busy day.  Today was not any different for me.  After a busy weekend at Charlotte Metrolina Expo with no sales and spending all day Sunday moving our "stuff" from two+  booths into one booth I am very tired.  That was a very long sentence.  I talked with many people this weekend about pet portraits however, no commissions yet.  I have determined that the time actually sitting at the easel painting is the best way to interest in a portrait.  Like most new ventures, so far my partner and I have lost money.  We have only a few more months in the lease.  Our sales over the next weeks and months will determine if we renew the lease.  Very discouraging.  Maybe we will have some good sales next weekend and be encouraged again. Lots of people admire my glassware but no one has made a purchase.  Keeping our fingers crossed for next weekend.

My First Experiences and Getting Started

As with many of my friends, I am a self taught artist.  Throughout my life, I have been attracted to arts and crafts.  During my teens and early twenties, I cooked and did a lot of sewing.  Looking back now, the only painting that I did was a paint-by-numbers kitten that my Mother and Dad had framed and which hung in their house until Mother finally had to sell the house and move closer to us.  Now I wonder what happened to that "painting".  I have often dabbled in painting doing props for performances at school and church.

Many years ago, I bought some rubber stamps and began making my own greeting cards then I got into scrapbooking and have numerous books put together.  That is a wonderful way to be creative and relive those memories.  I haven't had much time to scrapbook lately but have lots of pictures organized along with huge amounts of paper, stickers, ribbon, and tools just waiting for my hands.

In 2004 I actually created my first "painting" in acrylics.  After going back to college, I was told that I had to do some hands on art as part of the curriculum.  After much discussion with my professor, we decided that I should walk outside and take a photo of what I saw then try to paint it.  I did and now I look back and see how bad it was.  Although the painting is framed and hanging on the wall today, I still look at it and think that I am glad that I can do better now.