A Few New Things

It has been a little crazy for the last month.  Many doctor appointments and trips to the hospital.  Charlie's blood counts got so low that he had a blood transfusion a couple of weeks ago.  That is probably due to all the radiation and the drug Xofigo which is radioactive.  After getting two units of packed red cells, he was a new man.  Amazing how bad you can feel when you are anemic.

                                                    

We are continuing to enjoy our new life in the mountains, and trying to get our house organized.  It has taken awhile because of all the furnishings we brought from Raleigh, and because the new basement was just a big room that I am trying to make into a usable studio/laundry room/office.

I managed to make an Auburn Angel for my daughter-in-law Melissa's birthday.

My brother Jeff and his family from Florida came up for a week in August.  We had multiple family gatherings.  They are the ones we stayed with in Ft. Myers for three months when Charlie first had radiation at the Dattoli Cancer Center.  We love them bunches!

We celebrated Jeff's birthday while they were here.  I gave him a little remembrance of the North Carolina mountains to take back to Florida with him.

My sewing stuff was fairly organized in bins even when we lived in Wake Forest, two houses ago.  It has been easy to find stash fabrics.  Everything else, not so much.  I recently tried actually sewing an eight-inch Sister's Choice block for a quilt for a friend, and it took me eight hours by the time I found the power cord to the sewing machine, some rulers, cutting mats, etc.

Here is a little watercolor sketch I did in my art journal.  It is the Sarasota skyline as seen from across the bay at Longboat Key in the last afternoon sunlight.  The city looked golden in the last rays of the sun.

My littlest granddaughter, Layla Grace, turned one on Saturday.  She had a rubber ducky birthday party.  I made painted a yellow duckling for her birthday card, and a little one with blue and green highlights framed in a floating frame.  Both paintings were inspired by photos on Pinterest.

And here is my little Ducky!

Dark Skies Angel

I uploaded another angel painting today to Fine Art America.  I call this one "Dark Skies Angel."  As with all my Angel Art, I am donating all of my artist profits from the sale of this artwork to the American Cancer Society.  Did you know you can order the artwork from that site as everything from phone cases to duvet covers?  

This radiant angel represents hope and light in a time of darkness.  

May all your days be filled with hope and light!

Good Feedback on Fine Art America Products

In my last post, I mentioned that I had submitted four of my angel paintings to sell on the Fine Art America site.  Any profits sent to me will be donated to the American Cancer Society.  So far, I have sold a metallic print, a framed print, two shower curtains, and four greeting cards!  I found out that the two prints arrived in less than a week, with great packaging.  The backing and hanging systems look sturdy.

This one is a metallic print.  The buyer kindly provided photographs of the product and its packaging.

Looks like some foam padding in addition to the sturdy cardboard.

The metal print has a wooden frame and hanger on the back which looks like it is well-made.

Someone else sent me pictures of a matted and framed print.  She loved it.  The frame is metal, and everything arrived in good shape, ready to hang.

I have also sold the original painting of Ice Blue Angel to a friend of mine from high school.  Her check goes right to the American Cancer Society.  With that, some other angel art I have sold, and the Mina Project money from Hope Community Church, I was able to send $110.00 to the American Cancer Society last week.  Hope Church gave out envelopes with varying amounts of cash at a Sunday service last year.  Charlie and I both got twenty dollars.  We were to go out and try to multiply the money to meet any need of the community.  I was going to use the forty dollars for the printing, blank stationery, and clear envelopes I have purchased to sell my work outside of FAA.  But, then I decided to donate the forty dollars, too.  I was late getting going on my Mina Project, but hopefully there will be a continuing stream of funding through future sales.

I am excited to see how the Ice Blue Angel shower curtains turn out!

I have been working on some new angels to add to my "gallery" in the near future.

Selling Angel Art for American Cancer Society

Sorry for not posting recently...but I am excited to report that I have submitted four of my angel paintings to the Fine Art America website!  All proceeds from my Angel Art will be donated to the American Cancer Society.  This fine organization not only helps fund much-needed research, but also provides services such as transportation to treatment for cancer victims and their families.

Ice Blue Angel

Pastel Angel

Glowing Angel

Rainbow Angel

Many of you are aware that my husband is now a one-year survivor of metastatic prostate cancer.  Today he spent the afternoon helping me take some high-resolution photographs with his Nikon camera and a tripod.  I purchased some black velvet fabric and covered a Masonite board with it.  We set up outdoors in the sun's natural light with a tabletop easel perched on a stool.  We were ducking showers, but managed to take some good-quality photographs in direct sunlight.

The Fine Art America website lets you choose from products such as prints, (framed or unframed), notecards, greeting cards, phone cases, postcards, pouches, tote bags, towels, even shower curtains with the artwork that you select.  All of the financial transactions, printing, and shipping are provided by the company.  I have added the minimal mark-up so that any profits will go to the American Cancer Society.

In the near future I will also be adding some original Angel Art to my Easy shop...I have many small original paintings that can be framed or used on notecards.  

Thank you for your encouragement and support!