newest minis complete, and a challenge for march

hi there, my friend!

this week was full of ideas, full of finishing up my sloths in order to sell, and of starting a new animal series.  this time foxes.

roughed in

the finished paintings;

 "Ever Alert"

 "Heart of the Fox"

 "The Wary One"

 "Wisdom of the Fox"
SOLD already 
for my sweet nephews nursery

palm sized works of art

"The Wary One" next to a 4"x4" sloth painting

 for size comparison

sloths and foxes are at Bates Crafters Gallery now!

 elephants, sloths, foxes, and bees

I have decided to do another mini painting challenge similar to the elephant challenge I had a bit ago.  this time I've decided to paint dogs and put magnets on those mini paintings.  I've also decided to give 10% of sales of my 'pet'  magnets to the North Quabbin Regional Animal Control.  they do so much for animals in need and we try to support them whenever we can.  I will branch out to cat magnets after the dog challenge is complete.  I do hope I will be able to get 31 paintings done this month and, more importantly, that I'm able to give the animal control officer a nice donation!  I'm planning on the magnets to only be 'pets' (dogs and cats), so that they won't be confused, by me, with my other art.   I want all the magnets I paint to always support the animal control, not just this group in march.  I'm just making it easier for me to remember.  magnet = pet= donation.

I did a test run on these, to make sure it will be doable for me to do a 'good enough' magnet each day and get them all set to be sold in a timely manner without burning out.  of course, the test runs were to people I know and love with dogs they adore, so I was more worried about these looking 'perfect enough'.  I know I won't be as stressed with the reference photos of 'random dogs' this month.

sketch and collage first

"Princess"

 "Andrea"

"Lucy and Her Tongue"

she fought me every step of the way!

 a convenient place to dry them

not only do I want to paint 7 'good enough' minis a week this month, but in order to get them in the store to sell, I'll have to;

~mount the magnets

~varnish the paintings to have them protected from scratches and kitchen 'gunk'

~make sure the sides are painted for a finished look

~sign, date, and put my info on the back

~mark the price

~scan them for my online shops

and

~put them in my database

I've already had a day of burnout after a week and a half of going strong with painting and brain work since starting to show my work at Bates Gallery.  my hope is that I'll continue to hold strong for a while longer in order to push all my 'older' minis out of the shop.  I've learned and grown so much since creating some of them, my style has evolved, and I want what's in the store to reflect who I am now as an artist.  I also want to get the March Pet Magnet Challenge complete before crashing again, but I dont want to push myself too hard, either.  that's just not good for my health.  it's all about the balance these days.

of course, the day before the challenge started I fell down the cellar stairs while bringing my 'Lucy' mini down to varnish.

you can see multiple indentations, 

I'm assuming from multiple 'hits', somehow

nothing was seriously hurt- no broken bones or anything like that- but I'm a hurting pup (HA).  my foot slipped off the step I had stepped onto, so both feet in the air, my arm was scraped up that badly thru my hoodie, as I landed on my arm first then my back and 'caboose', and the edge of the stair hit me square in the back.  I saw those bluebirds and stars flying around my head like in the cartoons.  the scraped arm isn't as sore as it was the day it happened, but the muscles in the arm and shoulder are very tender to move them, my back hurts pretty badly, I have a headache and nausea, and I know I tensed up the rest of my body in anticipation of landing.  when I think of where it hurts I sing "head, shoulders, knees and toes", cause it's a whole body adventure right now.

since my boo-boo-time I've decided to not worry about the 'one mini a day' bit and just try for 30ish magnet paintings this month, doing them in batches like I have been doing the paintings anyway.  yesterday (day 1 of the challenge, the day after my fall) I did 3 sketches and some collage work, as this first layer doesn't need to be 'pretty',  just added for texture. I like doing the first layers!

plotting placement and 'dog shapes'

one may be wearing a tie

oh, and my Bear paintings both sold last weekend!  the very day I put them out Sweety's sweet mother went to buy one!  how sweet of Sweety's sweet mother!  I think she was stalking me on FB, knowing I'd post when I brought them to Bates.  the very next day my sons own sweet mommy-in-law went to grab the second one!  how awesome is it that not only do I have the best, most supportive family and friends, but that I get visitation rights to some of my work?!  Fran and Mike, the owners at Bates Gallery, are urging me to make a few more bears, and I've had a request for otters, so bears and otters are next on the list.  

it's been fun working on these critters to help them come out on the canvas and finding out what their symbolism is.  usually when a critter is asking me to paint it, it means I need to work with it's energies.  for some, it's only when I complete the painting that I learn the meaning of it.  it's usually worked out that they were speaking to me about an area I need some assistance.  it's been pretty cool, as I've found working with them has been like working with my tarot or oracle decks.  the work has been very informative and healing for me.

I am missing creating larger paintings and of my mystical girls, but I want some more sales to be coming in before I can justify a larger rental fee for displaying my larger work.

but, for now I rest and recover, put up my foxes and 3 dogs up in the online shops, and slowly do my pet magnets.

until later,
Jenny

and then there were 7

wow!  what a whirlwind couple of days since I put the elephant mini paintings up for sale!  thank you for all who participated in that flurry of activity.

out of the 20 elephants we decided to sell (of the 22 I painted), there are only 7 left!  is one calling to you?  I don't know how long they will last.

their sides are now painted black 

so they will look fabulous displayed on their easels.

photos don't do them justice, guys

the scanned images to get the color correct;

colorful bull

nebula

sunshine

out of the mist

on the savanna

the night wanderer

and

at the watering hole

the first batch all ready for their new homes!

I've since packaged more

I have several elephants being mailed around the United States.  using first class mail it's only been $3.50 for postage.  I add on just a little extra for the envelope and such for a handling charge.  for a small fee you get an original piece of artwork, something not commercially made, something unique.  

message me at jenny@heavenspiritcreations.com to buy one of these original 3"x3" mini elephant paintings from me.  they are only $15 each (including the easel) plus shipping, and tax if in Massachusetts.

it's incredibly exciting and humbling to know that the loving energy I added to these little guys will be enjoyed by people all over!  

until later,

Jenny

all together, now

hi guys, what a great response to my mini elephant paintings!  thank you all for the support and shares of my facebook posts about these little guys.  it's been a blessing!  it was a difficult decision to figure out which one for me to keep, and sweetie had a favorite, so I had to save that one for him, but I know the rest will have safe, happy lives in their new homes!

the herd all together, and on their easels

I've already sold several!  almost immediately after painting the last one I was getting private messages and comments saying they really wanted a painting.

I'm going to only show those that are available, as it's just easier for everyone that way, and when they are sold I will update the blog accordingly.

available paintings, in order of completion;

batch 1

#1, Playing in the Reeds;

(NOW SOLD)

#2, Out of the Mist;

#3, Peek-A-Blue (SOLD)

#4, Funny Ears (SOLD)

#5, Sarah Remembers (SOLD)

batch 2

#6, Colorful Bull;

#7, Fuzzy Baby (SOLD)

#8, Sunshine;

#9, Ellie in Blues;

(NOW SOLD)

#10, Nebula;

batch 3

#11, At the Watering Hole;

#12, The Grand Explorer (SOLD)

#13, Family Bond;

(NOW SOLD)

#14, Ahead of the herd, not shown (KEEPING)

#15, Ostara (SOLD)

#16, Fauna;

(NOW SOLD)

#17, Playtime, not shown (KEEPING)

batch 4

#18, A Quick Dip;

(NOW SOLD)

#19, On the Savanna;

#20, The Night Wanderer;

#21, Calling the Dawn;

(NOW SOLD)

#22, Side By Side (SOLD)

the support I had for this challenge was wonderful and helped keep me going the last couple of days when I needed that extra push.  you all are the best!

you can find all my elephants in my shop by clicking on the collections button, or message me to buy one of these original 3"x3" mini elephant paintings from me, they will be $15 each (including the easel) plus shipping, and tax if in Massachusetts.

until later,

Jenny

the last 3- challenge complete, and big news for me!

what an inspiring challenge this turned out to be!  I'm thrilled that I completed it and thrilled that I saw my skills improve thru the month.

here are the last three 3"x3" mini elephant paintings I did of the series of 22.

#20, "The Night Wanderer"

 color is not true

I chose to leave his tusks the underpainting color for 2 reasons.  firstly, they didn't need to be white to stand out with this color scheme.  more importantly it made a statement to me, my act of not painting them in, about the elephant being killed for their tusks.  

I had a busy day on Sunday so did not finish an elephant, but I got right back to painting before dawn on Monday.  and the painting came together synchronistically to become this beauty;

#21 "Calling in the Dawn"

and Tuesday I had crossed eyes again doing this duo;

#22, "Side By Side"

remember, these are 3" canvasses...

I started out with baby looking like a mushroom!

I will be scanning the paintings to show true colors and then posting them all here in order for you to see them in their best light.  there has been a lot of interest in buying the originals of these, so I will also be putting them up on facebook, in batches of 5 so as to not blow up anyones feed.  before they go to their new homes they will be varnished and the sides painted black to finish them for display.

sweetie will be adding these three to my shop this weekend, unless we get to it sooner, in which case I will be blogging the news.  you can find all my elephants in my shop by clicking on the collections button, or message me to buy an original 3"x3" mini elephant painting from me, they will be $15 each (including the easel) plus shipping, and tax if in Massachusetts.

and, huge news for me.  even though nothing has changed, it feels like everything has changed.  I'm officially a small business owner!  yes, I took the big step now that I've decided to go forward with selling and doing art fairs and the like.  sweetie and i went to the town clerks office Monday to do their maze of " just go to the office down the hall to fill out a form, then go to the treasurer to make sure you've paid all your taxes and bills, then choose door number three, follow the yellow brick road, then come back and pay us and you are done".  (it wasn't too terrible, all in one building, but we got our steps in!).  afterwards I opened my business account at the bank so I can pay for my art supplies with my own money, and we went to the store and I bought some workable fixative with my new card!  exciting first purchase.  to celebrate, sweetie took me out for a bite at a local diner.  he had taken the day off to help me with these tasks, and I had a day owed me because he was away on Saturday, doing his 'geek thing', so the timing worked out well.

here I am in the middle of our journey 

around the town hall

and, now I'm a proud small business owner!  (or is it a small proud business owner?)

until later,

Jenny

new elephants and what I've learned while doing this challenge

this month of painting little elephants has been great for me!  I've enjoyed working on each one, even if the painting didn't go as planned.  there was no fear of them not being 'good enough'.  there were moments of doubt that I could do what I envisioned the painting looking like but I painted on and didn't worry about ruining it.  thats the great thing about little canvasses; it means hardly any waste of paint.  the layers only add to the texture, and if you know me and my art, you know I love texture!

 yesterdays work #18 of 22

"A Quick Dip"

todays painting, number 19 of 22

"On the Savanna"
there is more depth of color than what the phone camera will pick up.
more teal/greens are involved in the elephant
on trunk and belly

I figure in actual painting time each canvas has taken between 1 and 2 hours to do, with more time in the beginning for finding a reference photo, thinking and sketching, so a rough total of about 3 hours for each painting.

tiny elephants!

this batch will be $15 at this size (including a teeny little easel for showcasing the art).  this is the price I charge for my teeny-tiny 2"x2" minis.  these are a bit bigger, but when we received this batch of canvasses in the mail we found out that inexpensive tiny canvasses may or may not be square and the same size as each other.  in other words, this batch of canvasses are not up to my standards as an artist, even if the actual paintings are.  so, you get a discount on each of these beauties!  hopefully the next batch we buy (from a trusted source) will be a much better quality.  for me it will be worth the expense to have square canvasses!  when these elephant paintings are complete and scanned to be put in the store for prints, I will be adding a layer of protective varnish to keep the dust from getting into the paint layers.  then they will be ready to go to their new homes.  I will be posting when they are ready.

a 2x2 inch painting compared to the 3"x3"

I've liked doing these small paintings so much that I will continue working on the smaller ones.  not daily.  maybe not this small, cause, come on!  that was a little crazy trying to get detail on a tiny elephants eye or the creases in the skin.  I was going cross eyed at times!  but maybe 4x4s or 5x5s.  and probably not elephants for a little while, cause I think I may be tapped out.  for now.  they are wonderful creatures and I adore their body movement and capturing that and their glorious soul in my artwork has been pretty cool, so I may have an elephant here and there in the future.  the goal is to find another subject I can get lost in for a little while!  any suggestions?  I do enjoy painting animal totems, so there are a plethora to choose from!  maybe some ravens next.  or some alpaca paintings.

too cute!

"Fauna" on her easel

you can find all my elephants in my shop by clicking on the collections button, or if you want to wait til the herd is complete and buy an original 3"x3" mini elephant painting from me, they will be $15 each (including the easel) plus shipping and tax if in Massachusetts.

until later,
Jenny