I just added this painting of a butterfly, "The Beauty of a Butterfly" to my etsy shop: www.chrissutherland.etsy.com. The background is multi-colored, and the pattern was created by dropping salt into the wet paint.  Purchase it painting for $55.00 by May 5, 2009,  mention this blog and I will ship it free of charge! I am so glad that spring is around the corner (although after a perfectly delightful weekend here in Thomasville, it is much colder today... Oh, well, it snowed in Detriot last night and our Tarheels still won!!!

Okay, cat lovers! It is here again! One of my very favorite art shows! It is The Cats Meow (No Dogs Allowed!) at the Artists Gallery in Virginia Beach. (www.theartistsgallery.org). This show is so much fun! Many artists and guests come dressed in cat costumes, with cat faces, in cat clothes...and some wearing cat tails ( a few reluctantly...good spirited artists who don't like dressing up but are really good sports, too). Of course, this is not a requirement. What is required is a can of cat food or a small donation for the Virginia Beach SPCA. The gallery provides the wine, beer and people treats, and commission taken on sales benefit the SPCA. Usually, a few baby kittens come looking for adoptive parents. The big reception is Friday night March 6th, with an all day reception Saturday. The show is on display for a month.

I will be selling notecards, bookmarks, giclees and the original painting "Cats and Hats" at a discounted price. If you purchase this original at the gallery and e-mail me, I will contribute 20% of my profit to the SPCA. And if you can't go to the show, please visit my etsy shop: www.etsy.com/chrissutherland.

An "ATC" is an Artist Trading Card.  Each card is 2.5" X 3.5'. That is basically the only rule. They can be made of mixed media, fabric, mini watercolors, prints of original work and even embellished with jewels. You get the idea! Originally, these cards were traded among artists. A more recent development is the "ACEO" which stands for Art Card Edition Original. These are the same cards, but sold by artists. They are great fun for everyone to collect! I have started selling them in my etsy store. Last time I checked, there were over 2,000 available for purchase! They are the perfect little gift for a friend and the prices vary, but they are certainly less expensive than a larger piece of work... and a great opportunity to get an affordable original from your favorite artist. I am also selling mini mats in my store so that you can put your ACEO in a ready made standard 5 x 7 frame. Anyway, take a look and let me know what you think. I welcome any ideas for new cards, too. 

Well, after a very long wait (hope no one was holding their breathe waiting for my new blog post...), I have been making soldered jewelry! Unlike a lot of artists who are using prints, I decided to place original watercolors on both sides of the pendants. I have been giving them as gifts, and you can now purchase them from me in my new store at www.etsy.com. The easiest way to find me: www.chrissutherland.etsy.com.  My store is called chrissutherland. (no space between my first and last names, no "o" in Sutherland, and "art" is not attached to my last name as in my website). If you like what you see, please "heart me" by selecting my store as one of your favorites. The more people who "heart" me, the more visibility I get!!!

If you are not familiar with etsy, be careful, it is great fun and very addictive. Unlike e-bay where you bid on items and you can basically sell anything, etsy is limited to handmade items, vintage items and supplies for art making. The prices are pre-determined. The creativity of the artists/crafters is mind blowing! It is eye candy to the nth degree. What I don't make, I try to buy on etsy, as a part of my pledge to help the small businessperson/artist trying to compete against big chains and our current economy. I hope you will consider doing the same!

In addition to jewelry, I am selling notecards, ACEOs (Artist Trading Cards), mats for ACEOs, and I am adding prints and original work everyday. So please keep looking.

And I hope that 2009 will be a healthy, happy year for everyone. Think positive thoughts!!!!

I am off on a new venture! I am not quite ready to show the finished product, but this is how it all begins... These are 1 inch x 2 inch miniature watercolor pen and ink paintings. Can you guess what is next?????

Recently, I spent the weekend at a Plein Air painting event in Chincoteague, VA. It is sponsored by the Chincoteague Cultural Alliance and it coincides with the "2nd Saturday Art Stroll". Approximately 40 artists from up and down the East Coast participate. This is a fabulous weekend: a chance to reconnect with my wonderful artist friends, to paint outdoors in beautiful settings and to stretch myself as an artist. I am not typically an outdoor painter, so this is always challenging, especially since all of our paintings have to be finished, ready to hang by 4:00 pm Saturday... Somehow, I have managed to find the right place to paint and the right subject matter.

This year, I turned in 3 small watercolors: "Meet Me at Mr. Whippy's", a painting of a favorite ice creram shop, "The Fence in the English Gardens of the Channel Bass Inn"- lovely gardens complete with 6 cats wandering around, and "Drydock", a small painting of a boat...that I renamed "Misty". In my rush to turn in the paintings, I forgot to take photos...oops...but I did sell them all! 
I do have a photo of one of my paintings from last year, under the "Architecture" section. 

If you have never been to Chincoteague Island (the town) or Assateague Island (the beach), you should go! The town is very pictoresque complete with ducks that waddle across the street (while everyone stops and waits and waits) and Assateague Island is federally preserved. The beach is unspoiled and wild ponies walk in the marshlands.

It is truly a magical place.

After much resistance, I have decided to become a blogger! I plan to discuss what and how I paint, why I paint and my journey as an artist. So stay tuned. As I begin this process, I welcome your comments and ideas and I hope to inspire you to do the things you love, too!