ART APPRECIATION SALE STARTING EARLY!

I'm Royal
4x6" x 1/8"
Original


Well, I couldn't wait to start my big sale. I've decided to call it the ART APPRECIATION SALE simply because once the sale is over, all of the pieces will appreciate in value immediately! That is so cool and of course it will appreciate even more over time. I wish many things that I purchase had that type of value. So the first little painting is up and I'll be adding at least one to two a day until the end of May. This is going to be a lot of work considering I have two trade shows early June to prepare for, but I'm up for the challenge. And, I love producing art for a great value. Please check my shop often for all the neat little paintings I'll be offering. Gotta run and have a wonderful day! Marnie V.

Hawk and his Amazing Rocket!

" Hawk and his Amazing Rocket" 20x20"x 1 1/2"depth


It's been a little crazy around here lately and sorry for my absence. I'm still filling LA orders which will be finished this week and I finally finished this piece that I've been working on for charity. It is so cool. I used reclaimed vintage papers for the world and acrylic paints for the rest.
I even love the font I picked...it kinda has a retro feel to it.



I'm also donating a Hawk plush pillow to go along side of this fabulous painting, which I believe is a must have. I've mentioned before that this pillow is even cuter in person.
On to some ETSY news. I'm going to be starting a BIG sale in my ETSY shop this Thursday. The kicker is nothing in the shop now is going to be on sale, it's what is going in on Thursday. For the whole month of May I will be releasing small ORIGINAL paintings for a fabulous discounted price. I'm talking $25 for a 5x7" and $20 for a 4x6". YES...isn't that an amazing deal. The art will be of Hawk and his friends, some flying rockets, and just plain simple art for a perfect spot in your home. I'll be launching at least 1 a day, maybe 2 even for fun and I can't wait to see the response. I'll be giving a sneak peak tomorrow..so check back. Have a great evening-Marnie V.

Happy Earth Day!

Original Painting- We are Growing
Size- 5x7


Happy earth Day everyone. It's finally beautiful weather here today in Texas. We have had so many hail storms, rain, and I'm done with it. It's in the 80's today and I'm still feeling stressed out about all the work that needs to be done by me. That's really the main reason as well as to why I haven't even gotten on this blog....YES...stressing about finding the time to blog. Well, a little walk with Hawk this morning definitely sparked my spirits ..a little bit. I was also reminded by my son Ryan today as how well I hold in my stress. He was leaving for school today and I had mentioned how much work I had to do today, and he just laughed. He said, "What do you have to do that is so much work?" I replied in a sweet little voice, even though I was at first thinking how dare he, " just a little painting."
Well, enjoy this Earth Day as I will be stressing about getting my orders out on time, but I always do.
Marnie V.

An Eco Product for 2009!

I'm stepping in today from a week of extreme painting. I have been filling store orders and I'm still going. I thought I'd show a new product that I introduced at my last show in Dallas. I wanted to introduce the hawk line more with the blocks, so I decided to start making name banners. They are doing well, and they are so cute. I recommend my stores to order a boys name and a girls name and they get a complimentary ring of about 25 color block samples. I also recommend mixing light colors with bright colors, it really makes the banner even cuter. Then the customer gets to choose two character blocks of there choice to place at the ends.
And the best part, is the whole product is eco friendly. From the chemical free wood, non toxic paints, non toxic sealer, and hemp string.
Another thing I'm working on are more little Hawk paintings that will be entering the shop tomorrow afternoon and Friday, the theme is Earth Day. Can't wait to show...time for Football practice!

The Drawing Lesson

As you know with my three boys, are nights are filled with their sports activities and homework. My youngest son Austin loves to draw. He really doesn't pose much interest in wanting to be an artist when he grows up, so I think he just enjoys spending time with me. In that, he is always asking for a drawing lesson.
When we lived in California, my boys were sent to a Montessori Preschool. And to help with the tuition, I taught art classes to all the children twice a week. Let me just say that ever since then I have the most respect for teachers, it's not easy. So I would give the children a warm-up at the beginning of each class in that there were two blocks shown on a piece of paper. The first block would have different shapes and lines on it. The second would be empty. The children would have to mimic the same exact placement and shapes as I did in their own block. At first the warm-ups would be simple and as the weeks went on, they had more shapes and even characters. But, the best part is that the children got better and better each week at learning to look at something and having to draw the same thing. It also taught them a lot of patience.

So Austin still loves when I give him these warm-ups and I love to see his improvement.
Above is one we did last night. The X's going down are the beginning of the columns. The blue circled blocks are mine. The far left column I did all three and you can see how well Austin did. The second X column I only did the fish and he copied me. The other two, he did the first block and I had to do what he did.
Another great thing about this exercise, it makes children really sleepy for bedtime!
Have a great Day! Marnie V.

New Art- Polar Mountain

I completely forgot to introduce one of my new paintings for 2009, it's titled "Polar Mountain."
I don't really know what exactly inspired me in the design of this piece except that I have been wanting to create something with Polar Bears for awhile now. And I of course wanted to throw something out into the industry that was completely different than every other Polar Bear art I've seen.



I also wanted to add some a sort of old fashioned charm to it with my old school hiker, he is so cool when you get up close and check out his threads. And raindrops have been coming up in a lot of my paintings lately that they just came out in this one as well. So I guess you could say this painting shows a goofy hiker who definitely jumped off the fashion train a couple decades ago, a cool ice cap mountain, and my polar bears. The best part about this painting, if your into a not so matchy matchy, which I'm not, it goes with anything. Thanks for looking! Marnie V.

Spring Pics!

A few posts back I had mentioned that I would start showing bits and pieces of my home. So today I decided to take some pictures of my front garden. It's been a work in progress over the last couple of years and it's finally looking the way I had planned. And with Spring finally arriving here in Texas... my flowers are really starting to bloom.

This vine growing over the arch is Jasmine and their is a mother bird and her nest tucked inside.

The window above is my studio. I get really sidetracked sometimes watching the birds, rabbits, and squirrels that enter my yard....and the pretty flowers of course.
I hope you enjoyed the Pics! I'm also updating my Etsy shop all this week full of bright spring little paintings. And if you want something before Easter it must be ordered by Wednesday April 8th so I can ship it priority to you.
Back to work- Marnie V.