pet portraits

Author of the month because of a cow fart and other books

A Creative Life, Alphapets Too, art gallery, art prints, art supplies, artist book, artistic inspirations, author illustrator, books, cat portrait, dog portrait, drawing as thinking, humor in art, illustrated recipe, Kim Cooks Sue Draws, published art, recipe illustration, sketchbook, Storyberries, words and pictures, writing and illustrating

Turns out I’m author of the month at Storyberries! Wahoo! And all because of a farting cow and a bird who says “F”!! Actually it’s thanks to my readers!! And thanks to Storyberries itself of course!

Here’s a link to the cow on Storyberries

https://www.storyberries.com/bedtime-stories-how-the-cow-went-over-the-moon-sue-clancy-wordless-no-words-picture-books/

The printed book is available via the Storyberries bookstore or via mail from this link https://www.blurb.com/user/sueclancy

It’s also available in person at the Aurora Gallery

BTW besides the cow with digestive issues there’s a forgetful bird in the same printed book.

Another popular book on Storyberries is Alphapets Too at over 66,000 readers!

My pet portraits as holiday gifts project is still happening. Another person got an art print of their dogs portrait for themselves and generously let me share about it! Here’s the dog…

…below is the finished art …

…and here’s a link to the art print. (From that link my other art prints and etc can be found)

https://society6.com/product/jake7757579_print?sku=s6-25878334p4a1v45

The cookbook I illustrated for Chef Kim Mahan is featured in the Blurb holiday gift guide!!!

https://www.blurb.com/gift-guide

I love the word “wacky” as a description!! 🤣🤣

BTW: The window for getting prints or books mailed from my Society 6 or Blurb shops and having them arrive in time for the holidays is narrowing. Same too with my Zazzle shop. This next week I’ll be finishing up portraits for pickup at the various Galleries and I’ll be talking on social media about my books and cards being there for last minute gifts too.

It may be hard to tell from my recent posts, the gifting season and all that entails, but I think of art making as much more than a product to buy – it’s also a mental health service to oneself, to ones family or friends and to the community. I’m looking forward to creating some things during these holidays that will fit this whimsical lighthearted just for fun category.

The advent calendar of art supplies is still being unboxed on my social media. Soon I’ll begin using these supplies in a project…which I’ll show too.

Here’s a summary of what’s been unboxed so far…

Speaking of art supplies and projects: in past years my holiday pet portraits project has been 60/40 dogs/cats or vice versa. Some years it’s been 50/50. So far this year I haven’t done a single cat portrait. All dogs. I’ve lost count but I think I’ve done about 14 dog portraits and it’s still mid December. When the art print and artist book delivery windows narrow sometimes the get-it-in-person at the Gallery aspect increases. Sometimes not.

Anyhoo, I drew a cat in my sketchbook just to keep in cat-drawing practice.

I’ve also been enjoying doing sketchbook pages that include windows, landscapes, coffee cups and books… besides the animals…just to switch things up and relax. Subsequently that means new things are brewing over on my email newsletter. Please subscribe if you haven’t already because Jolabokaflod is coming and I can give my subscribers gifts there more easily than I can here… I won’t say more lest I spoil the surprise.

If you’re not familiar with Jolabokaflod here’s a link. And here’s our way of celebrating written out in my sketchbook.

Happy art and book buying season!! Thank you all for the gift you give me of letting me share my art and life with you!

BTW Here’s a wonderful book list I found of 99 children’s books!

And it’s sweater wearing season at last!

See you next Monday!

A break, a birthday, more winery art, my sketchbook and Mom Penny

A Creative Life, art exhibit, art prints, artistic inspirations, books, creative thinking, functional art, life of the mind, mental health, pet portraits, published art, sketchbook, Sustainable creativity, visual thinking

I’m still mostly having a break from blogging and social media: Last week for my birthday my spouse and I went to Oblation Papers in Portland Oregon https://www.oblationpapers.com/ where, one of their knowlegeable staff, directed me to the TWSBI ECO fountainpens with their high volume ink chamber!! I also got a new Noodlers Ink called “Heart Of Darkness”! Won’t it be fun to make my whimsical art from this ink of Darkness?! We rushed home where I immedately filled the new pen and drew in my sketchbook!

Later that day a box from Vintage Books https://vintage-books.net/ came via mail!! I love how they individually wraps each book so they arrive in beautiful condition! In the last photo you can see the titles of the books I got!! This was my first birthday after my adopted Mom’s recent death. It was hard but focusing on things I know I enjoy helps. I even wrote a smidge about keeping a list of self soothing things over on A.M. Sketching.

Quite on purpose not a lot else happened this week so I’ll catch you up on another art for a winery project. This happened over the last 6 months or so and was kept under wraps till the winery could open publicly. For Canal District Wines in Massachusetts I did a series of pet portraits and made them into art prints.

Here you see them being installed.

Here’s a few photos with my art in the background.

Here’s a closer look at a few of the art prints themselves. You can see the whole collection on my Society 6 shop here.

I’ve shared it before but this thumbtacked note on my studio wall containing what Mom said in one of our last conversations bears repeating … she said it in her authoritative Mom voice too! Mom had worked as a psychiatric nurse and she always placed a high value on self-care, especially upon mental health self-care as a way to foster good relationships with yourself and other people, self-care as a lens through which to view one’s choices of activities. When I was younger and Mom learned – before I realized it myself – that drawing and writing were some of my main ways to self-soothe whenever I was upset she would gently direct me towards pens and paper.

Now after Mom’s passing I keep thinking about creativity and mental health skills… what if making stuff is primarily a way of listening to yourself? Not something to be primarily viewed as a way to make money or even with an expectation to make “good art”. What if writing and drawing, along with reading and looking at art, are simply coping skills in times of stress? Something accessible to everyone. What if, as I shared last Friday in my A.M. Sketching email newsletter, art making is simply intelligence doing self-care and playing?

Now I’m thinking of sharing more of my sketchbook work in a step by step way over on A.M. Sketching and possibly here too. Somehow I want to emphasize the connection I see between mental health and marks on paper … but how do I want to do this? How can I do it that also helps me take care of myself by not adding to my already long project list? I’m reminded of this teaspoon page in my sketchbook.

Now I look at the silverware drawer in the kitchen as a homage to grit and resilience.

I wish you to have a good grasp on your spoon too this week. See you next Monday.

The professional dog and what’s in the cards

A Creative Life, animals in art, Art Licensing, art techniques, Art Word Combinations, artist book, artistic inspirations, author illustrator, children's book, greeting cards, household surrealism, pet portraits, visual thinking, whimsical art, words and pictures

I’m starting a new childrens poem project “The Professional Dog”. It’s an excuse to do a series of portraits of dogs owned by friends who have professions that fit neatly in an alphabetic format… accountant, botanist, chef…. (Yes, another abecedarian book!!)

Several friends – with dogs – have different professions that could fit for the same alphabetic letter. I know a botanist, a brewer and a baker. I know a chef, a councilor and a critic. Part of my work on this project is winnowing this list.

My book idea began in my small poetry sketchbook, the orange one in the picture, and is now in the messy draft stage on my legal pad.

I’m in the process of contacting friends and asking them to email or text photos of their dogs – and asking questions about their profession. These responses will help me narrow things down.

Here’s a few of the dog photos I’ve gotten from an Accountant, an Underwriter, an Inventory Manager, a Poet, a Nurse and an Entrepreneur.

In addition to this new book project I’ve been thinking more about greeting cards. Last year during the holidays it felt weird getting or sending cards that touched on pre-pandemic style large gatherings. I found I preferred getting and sending the cards that had winter scenery or literary poems or food/drink recipes. I did enjoy the family photo cards and “seeing” everyone that way.

So as I think of the upcoming holiday season I’m starting work on painting a short series of winter, food and book themed artworks intended for cards on my Zazzle shop. Here’s a sketch in my sketchbook with one of my winter theme notions.

Here’s a look at the finished art. I used my new butterfly palette that I’ve talked about in a prior post. These colors are literally based in scientific studies of butterflies and other bugs. It was fun to paint winter scenery using the butterfly colors! The color palette you see in this photo is what I call my “butterfly box”.

Below is a closer look at my finished artwork. After I get a few more for-cards artwork pieces finished then I’ll upload all of the images and design the cards. I’ve titled this piece below “Crowshoes”

Crowshoes by Clancy

This week my spouse made homemade sugar cookies. Seriously comforting and yummy cookies! Cookies and a coloring book are two of the good things in this life, I think, so I posed this photo for use in telling on social media about my recent coloring book “How To Draw A Dragon“

https://www.blurb.com/b/10815467-how-to-draw-a-dragon

Many of the baked goodies my spouse makes – like the sugar cookies in the photo above – are from recipes in “How To Bake Everything” by Mark Bittman. As an eater of baked goods I can vouch for this book!

As per my last post I am thinking seriously about doing more videos and have even ordered a thingamajig to hold my phone steady while I talk. It’s a fun – and a bit scary – to entertain the idea of talking on video generally about being creative and include things from my own creative life. I’m thinking I might call these short videos “Creativity chats” with a subtitle of the topic of that particular chat. 🤔 We’ll see. I heartily thank you for your kind encouragement to do more videos!

While I wait for the video apparatus to be shipped to me I’ll work towards “The Professional Dog” and will tell you more about what inspired this idea in future posts.

I hope your week is full of dog (or cat) cuddles, cookies and many other comforting things! See you next Monday.

Popup shop success

A Creative Life, animals in art, artistic inspirations, books, Books In Art, Cats in art, Dogs in Art, fine art, functional art, games in art, reading in art, small things

Yesterday was the popup shop day at Vintage Books and I was non-stop busy creating miniature pet portraits from before noon to after 4! It was fun!! Sold other holiday stocking stuffer gifts with my art on them too. My “Reading All Year” calendar was a hit …. if you weren’t able to come yesterday here is the link where you can get my calendar, puzzles, playing cards, bookmarks, prints, coasters and socks. What fun I had hearing people laugh when they saw the visual puns ….

https://www.zazzle.com/s/sueclancy

Here’s a photo of me (wearing green and black) at my popup event. You can see my portable art set up in front of me.

Most of the pet portraits I did are intended as holiday gifts -so no pictures- but here are some comments: “Wow, it looks like a Saturday Evening Post cover art!” “This makes me so happy!” “Oh my (—) is just going to love this!”

The excellent event was capped by comments from the Vintage Books store staff “I never heard so many people say ‘this gives me so much joy'”

Pet portrait project

A Creative Life, animals in art, art techniques, artistic inspirations, business of art, cat portrait, dog portrait, Dogs in Art, fine art, small things

Most years near the holiday I do a miniature pet portrait project -creating small pet paintings people often give as gifts. This year I am doing this project as part of my popup shop at Vintage Books, http://www.vintage-books.net Dec 7th from 12 to 4 – and using people’s phone photos as inspiration.

This year I am also teaming up with a local frame shop, Aurora Gallery, http://www.auroragallery.com …. yes, Virginia, it is possible you could walk out of the bookstore Dec 7th with a small framed work of art!

As I have worked on this years version of this project I have been adjusting my portable art kit. .. I will be creating some of the pet portraits at the busy bustling bookstore. The main adjustment to my portable art kit has been the addition of the Pentel Water Brush. It is the blueish colored “pen” in this photo. The water brush stores water inside itself and allows me to work without a pan of water at my elbow. It works well and hopefully the “less potential mess” of it will be welcomed by bookstore staff

Bookstores are sacred places you know.

    pop-up pet portraits

    A Creative Life, art commissions, art techniques, artistic inspirations, cat portrait, Cats in art, dog portrait, Dogs in Art, fine art, handmade papers, public art, sketchbook

    Dec 7th during my pop-up shop at Vintage Books https://www.vintage-books.net/ from noon to 4 I’ll be doing some “live drawing”; I’ll work in my sketchbook and if anyone wants a small portrait of their pet I’ll happily do one using a phone photo as inspiration.

    PortraitPractice

    These portraits I’ll do at the pop-up shop are what I call “quickie sketches” – less complex than the portraits I’m often commissioned to do via the Caplan Art Design Gallery or the Joseph Gierek Fine Art Gallery – more like what I do in my sketchbook and still a fun gift for the holiday.  Each portrait I do will take about 20 minutes more or less.  A command performance art piece! (What fun!!!)

    Since I’ll be doing these portraits on-site at the Vintage Books bookstore I’m currently in the process of testing my portable art kit to make sure I’ll have everything I need.  A dear friend let me come to her house with my art kit and do a practice session – on her kitchen table – with a pic of her dog on her phone! (pictured in this post)

    I’m using my ink pens, my Pentel Water-Brushes (to minimize the need for a water source) color pencils and my gouache colors on handmade paper. During the practice session I discovered I need to pack a few more items – like more paper towels, some wax paper… –  so I’ll practice some more between now and Dec. 7th!