On the easel this week

Thought I'd share what's on the easel this week. It's a 11x14 ( in progress) oil on canvas of an Umbrella Cockatoo. I met this guy, or gal, the summer of 2016 at a local art fair in Belleville. What a character! My two daughters and I took turns holding him or should I say he was holding us! 
There is a good chance that this painting is already spoken for but don't hesitate to inquire if interested.

2017 ARTPRIZE My entry in progress

This time it's for real! Though I had plans of entering this 6 panel painting into the 2016 ARTPRIZE competition life decided that it wasn't to be. But now, look out ARTPRIZE  2017, here I come!  
There are 6, 5ft x 3 ft canvases that will be butted up to one another so the finished piece will be 5 ft tall and 18 feet long.
As you can see my subject is the coral reef, full of sea life and bright color. At first glance you'll be drawn in to the beauty of the piece however there is an underlying subject that isn't so pretty. We are talking about plastic pollution of our oceans and its effects on sea life. 
I plan to create a 3 dimensional field showcasing the effects of plastic pollution both in front of and above the painting.   
Stay tuned for progress photos!

Art Licensing info interview withTara Reed

So this art licensing thing is all new to me and there's a lot of good information out there that will help anyone (like me) to understand it. 
I've recently signed a two year contract with an art licensing company and so far everyone I've spoken with has been very helpful. I've sent them several hi-res files to build up my portfolio on their site so their clients can see first hand what I can do. It would be nice if that were all you had to do and let the royalty checks start flying in but that's not exactly how it works. Not if you want this to be a successful venture. 
Sure, send your licensing company everything you already have but the next step is to look and listen to what's popular with the buying public and begin to tailor your creations towards what you feel will work on many different types of products.  
A friend ( thank you Kim Ensch) sent me a link of an interview with Tara Reed who is a successful licensing artist and I found it very informative.  I'm sure many of you have heard of art licensing but may not have had a good source of info.  Here is the Tara Reed interview.

There is also this website which is very informative. artlicensinginfo.com
Go get em!

In Studio Art Classes!

I am once again scheduling studio art classes for private lessons or small groups of up to four. 
My studio is located in Van Buren Township just off of Michigan Ave. one street to the west of Denton road. 
Visitors are welcome to visit my studio prior to signing up for a class. I offer instruction in drawing using graphite, ink, colored pencil and polymer clay sculpting.
Please follow this link to my website class information

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