Handsome the Reindeer

My office decided to get in the holiday spirit with some friendly competition.

There is a cookie exchange planned as well as an ugly sweater contest. The one that I'm actually taking part in is the door decorating contest...because no one wants my cookies! We have several departments in our office so at least four doors are involved. I am the group department's secret weapon!

Meet Handsome, my reindeer.(Not a professional photo.)

There is a window in the door to my office. We had debated putting a scene from Rudolph where the Abominable Snowman puts the star on the tree but that didn't feel right...I looked up images of real reindeer for inspiration.

Reindeer are really funny creatures. Their tongues are all over the place when they run!

They have the cutest goofy smiles too.

I sketched out this smiling reindeer and decided it was too cartoony. Sometimes photos are the only way to do an animal justice when it comes to the spirit. Like this guy looks really happy pulling that sleigh of kids.

I have always considered Reindeer to have some sort of regal essence. They are the only animal that can fly a big guy in a red suit around the world in one night after all. They are like the special ops team for the animal kingdom when it comes to delivering presents.

Anyway, I wanted to create a look of a reindeer inside a stable which would utilize the door window.
I remember when I was a kid that there was a reindeer stable set up in the old Summit Mall. I thought it was so cool! The Hamburg Fairgrounds does something with real reindeer this time of year too...

Christmas A.D.D. I tell ya!

So the finished product: (Not a professional photo.)

I had created "wood" paneling. We have red glitter reindeer ornaments up there as well as glitter snowflakes. I had wrote all our names in glitter glue. I made the basic chemistry mistake of oil and water don't mix. So the glue wouldn't stick. I blotted and outlined the names with sharpie to salvage the paper.

My coworkers were certainly impressed.

Handsome took some time and major elbow effort. He accompanied me through four hours of doomsday specials on the History channel as well as the Shawshank Redemption movie. I had not seen that movie yet-it was good! I agonized over little details for two hours and then he was done. (There are about 6 hours previous in sketching and foundation color.) So around 14 hours spent? A way to spend a Saturday! This oil pastel was drawn on 18x24 paper-the largest one I have with oil pastel to date. I caved and used tissue to blend the background because of the amount of layering I had to do and the size of coverage. I usually only use my finger tips. I wanted to save those on this one. (I don't like paper blending sticks, there is something about connecting with the medium for me and getting the texture I like.)

Handsome the Reindeer will be posted on Etsy when its time to sell.

Merry Christmas!

Love,

Jessie

Prepare to Launch

Hi everyone,

I have been actively finding ways to get my artwork out into the world! Etsy is now calling my name. So I am posting this little tidbit for my family and friends:

January 12th, 2013 
Professional photography of the artwork. I have 15 pieces to put on sale! The most recent work is a reindeer. Tis the season! I will blog about my handsome reindeer next since his story is fun and unusual. I believe in supporting the small businesses in my community. My photographer is the fabulous Carolyn McAfee from CCMcAfee Photographer. She has done portraits for my family members, my engagement shoot, and my wedding. I am so happy to be able to move forward with my creative career with such a good friend.

To Frame or Not to Frame
I have gone back and forth now for awhile on weather or not I will supply the frames for my customers. I know I want to photograph the originals in a frame for Etsy "other view" purposes while browsing my gallery.  The truth of it is that having a frame and glass is harder to ship and more costly. Also, half the time someone won't like the frame and pick their own anyway. Regardless of what I will do with them at the selling point I will be getting frame quotes at Sue's Frame of Mind (in Lewistion, NY) this week. She had done a plaque mount for a very large picture of Nick's Lake for me, it was used as decor during my wedding reception. It will now hang in my living room. I favor black matt and black wood frames. Nice and clean and provides contrast for my bright colors.

The Goal: Start selling on Etsy by the end of January.

Beyond January I will be drawing and painting again to release a new set on Etsy by June 2013 at the latest. I may end up doing more custom portraits for friends and family. These custom originals will not be sold online in prints. I may blog about them but they will stay special and a one of a kind to only be owned by the client who commissioned it.

Thank you to all my family and friends who have been such a support to me on this path in my life.

Stay tuned, I'm just getting started.

Love always,

Jessie

My First Custom Portrait AND Blog Post EVER

My First Custom Portrait!

First, I would like to say that my coworker and friend, Julie and her boyfriend, Jason are such fun loving and wonderful people. I am thankful to call them my friends. 

Jason works for an airline and gets certain perks. He told me that he sometimes trades buddy passes for things or services. Some of the services he mentioned are related to car repairs...I'm no mechanic! Well, I got to thinking of something I could possibly trade for a couple buddy passes. My one talent is my art work. Who doesn't love a custom piece? 

They lost their beloved dog, Wrigley, a year ago. Otherwise known and will be referenced to as "Piggy." 

This was my first time doing a custom portrait in exchange for anything. Dogs are always tricky. You want to capture the personality of the dog in a way that the owner recognizes. This is the photo I based my portrait from:

When piggy wanted something, his floppy little ears would fall backwards. The length of his hair gave him the shaggy appearance and I portrayed him in a whimsical manner. I was especially nervous and ended up taking a picture of the work in progress on my crappy little cell phone camera and brought it to show Julie. I wanted to do Piggy justice! This was the work in progress:

When I showed it to her I got quite the reaction! I think she was surprised. She half whispered "That's my piggy" and then started to cry. That was answer enough for me.

I wanted to add more depth, less gray, richer brown tones, and a more solid background. Once I finished it I got my butt to Hobby Lobby and got a simple black wood frame. I put it on a chair in my living room and sat farther away from it with a wine glass in hand. I would glance at it from different angles and spots in the room. I was happy with it and wanted to finally show Julie and Jason. 

The finished product (photographed from my point and shoot Nikon): 

11x14 oil pastel original

The big reveal!

I went into work and made sure that Julie didn't get a peek. I was nervous and excited to show the finished Wrigley. I knew Julie would love it but with guys you never know what they are thinking. Jason stopped in after lunch and I made my pitch. "In exchange for two buddy passes I would like to offer a one of kind." I turned it around and he mouthed what I think was "wow" and then he was quiet. 

Julie was laughing and crying at the same time and looking between Wrigley and Jason probably wondering what he was thinking as much as I was. I told him since I wanted two buddy passes I would do a custom portrait of their cat, Punkin. (That will be posted separately at a later date.) He agreed to the trade! The portrait made him cry a little bit too-in a good way. I hadn't realized how nervous I was to see what they thought! I was shaking head to toe but with a smile on my face. 

So two happy owners of a custom portrait:

I won't always trade for custom portraits, however it was an awesome experience so I won't say that I won't do it again. 

With love,

Jessie