ARTIST'S ALERT! Don't fall for this SCAM!

Received a blog post today that gave me chills. If you are an artist you need to read this so you can know what to look for... I ALMOST feel for a scam like this a year ago. Until the inquirer started mumbling something about paying for shipping and writing a money order for more than the price of the art. As soon as I insisted to use Paypal as a means of payment, they never contacted me again.

All I lost out of the deal was my time. Time I had prepared taking pictures of how the art looked on my walls (per the inquirer's request). But I cringe thinking about how many people may fall for this scam through out the year... it's awful that there are such cruel people in the world. Read about this artist's experience and the warning signs you need to look for, by clicking HERE.

On another note, I am home now from my 2 week adventure in Oregon at Art in the High Desert and Art in the Pearl. Now I am looking forward to my next show in Kansas City, MO at the Plaza Art Fair this Sept 24th-26th. I will be showing my jewelry line only at this one... It will be my first time flying to a show and renting my equipment. I love a challenge! So the next 12 days are go time for production. I will post more soon!

Inspired by Tree Charm... Wah?

"Muse"

5x5

Oil on Panel

Been sick... for 5 days or so, bed ridden. NO FUN. As soon as I woke up today feeling like I could walk around again I made a mad dash for my studio...

27 Tree Charms and one "Muse" later and here I am... all painted out for the evening~ Interestingly enough, this little image on the charm I painted today inspired the little 5x5 behind it!

Ok. That's all the words I'm typin'. I promised more paintings and less talk... so I'm zippin' it!

An Ambitious Year Ahead

The winning photo you helped me choose!

So first of all, thanks for taking the time to vote on my jewelry close up photo (now posted above)... After all the great input I received I ended up re-shooting a clearer version of the winning image. Ultimately this image will end up on display next to my jewelry, to show the public that they REALLY are hand-painted teenie weeny oil paintings. So thanks for helping me. Because I am a really indecisive artist to say the least!

(close up of the arteest in action - thank god she had no ear goobers.)

Which brings me to my next exciting piece of news! In about a week I will be delivering my first batch of newly redesigned necklaces to a great local boutique/gallery in Ballard, WA! It's called the VENUE. Yes folks, I now have a permanent place for you to shop locally for these cute gift ideas! AND VALENTINE'S DAY IS COMING! Theaaaay make theeeee purrrrfect giftieeees~ let me make a custom one for you!

So as you may have guessed. I've been busy. Painting trees the size of the nail on my little pinkie finger. Yup. I'm covered in 'em. Not nails, TREE CHARMS! Aaaand lovin' it!

Unfortunately though, it's time to raise my prices too... SIGNIFICANTLY. It's a good thing! Especially for those that own the original, because that means for you... your little oil painting has gone up in value! Now - I don't want to see you on the street trying to sell it to the next highest bidder... you better not!

I encourage anyone that has been interested in picking on of these up for yourself, to get one now before my prices officially go up on February 5th. There are a few left online at my Etsy store for only $30! IF YOU TELL ME YOU SAW THIS BLOG POST I WON'T CHARGE SHIPPING!*** IMPORTANT! Contact me FIRST BEFORE you hit the "purchase" button or Paypal will charge you shipping. Thanks!

IF YOU ARE LOCAL? The rest of my $30 stock will be on display at my first show this year on Thursday, ONE NIGHT ONLY! I will be at the 619 Western Building for 1st Thursday in the Pioneer Square area, on Feb. 4th from 6-9. For more info read on...

So, enough with the selfish plugs huh? Ok, you win.

I really intended to begin tonight's blog entry with a little inspiration about greasin' the 'ol creative wheel for 2010. I had read a great post on the Artbizblog a few days ago, causing a reaction so strong that I couldn't hit the "leave a comment" button fast enough! If you are a procrastinator, or a stuck artist, or just need a means of seeing how other people overcome their obstacles with their art... please visit this link. http://www.artbizblog.com/2010/01/15minutes.html

Rather than explain in my own words, I would rather just encourage you to click on this link to read it for yourself... and don't forget to scroll down to read MY comment. I left my example of how IT (go find out what IT is!) worked for me. And I actually sound a little bit intelligent. Just a little.

While you are at it... clickin' around the web-n-stuff... check out all the shows I am entering this year! Just posted them to my website. Will I be in your neck of the woods in 2010??? Visit MY AMBITIOUS SHOW SCHEDULE here.

I'm Branching Out!

Okay, Okay, it is true... I am obsessed! Lately I have been exploring my inner desire to create wearable art and I must say that I am loving it! It all started when I began painting my little tiny oil paintings on Scrabble tile game pieces... I would go to the local market on Sunday rummaging through bins to find the one letter I was missing. THEN I saw other bins, full of antique trinkets and more... letter press keys, watch faces, dominos, typewriter keys, doll parts, more more more!

Now I have my own bins. Bins of old vintage goodies just waiting to become something new! Reused, upcycled, and reborn! So I created my own line of jewelry and called it "reJENeration design"! Get it? Re - JEN - eration? That's me. I'm Jen. Yup. And very excited to announce that several of my new jewelries are now posted on my NEW store online! So please take a look when you get the chance... so many things that make unique gifts and keep-sakes you will love!

So just that you aren't confused I now have two stores. One for my art/paintings and little trees: www.jenniferphillipsart.com

And one for my jewelry too: www.reJENerationdesigns.com

I realize you may have signed up for this blog anticipating everything related to my painting, so I probably won't post very much about my jewelry here (or I will try not to)... so when I post something new to my jewelry line it will show up in the widget I created to the right instead!

So in celebration of the "selfish plug" I now give you a few morsels of new paintings and jewelry pieces freshly posted to my stores... Thanks for looking!

"Branching Out"

Original Oil on Canvas 18x24 Available - email for pricing

Prints Available Starting at $20 - Click here

"Restless Again"

Original Oil Miniature 2"x4" with Easel

$57

Click Here for Purchase Information

Creepy Doll Face Print on Vintage Scrabble Tile

$12

Click Here for Purchase Information

Tiny Beetle Bug Print with Shimmery Wings on Vintage Scrabble Tile

$15 - FREE Shipping!

Click Here for purchase information

I WON! (in many ways...)

Welp, I have been away for a little while from this blogging world, to Vegas and back, to build fences, and catch up on life's adventures... and a few things have happened that I peg as pretty eventful in my life... so here I share...

Viewer's Choice Award for Infinity Gallery Online Competition

Refresh

32"x24" Oil on Panel (Diptych)

Original Available $2,070

Giclee Limited Edition Prints Available in several sizes: click here!

Thank you thank you thank you!... to everyone who voted! I am excited to finally announce that I won viewer's choice award, with 104 total votes! You guys are awesome~ What does that mean for me? For one, I get even more exposure online as I will get my painting posted on the page with all the winners for the next few months... the more exposure the better as you never know who you are going to meet and where! And for two, I get to feel this awesome feeling of "Wow, they like me! They really really like me!" and use that energy as inspiration for upcoming new oil paintings that are brewing in my little artsy head of mine! Thanks so much everybody for your support!

Another way I have won this past month is that I have been given the opportunity to give back! And I am a total giver, so it works out as a win win for everyone~ this weekend I will be participating in Strides Against Breast Cancer as a fund raising event in the Everett area. I will be selling my tree charms there that day and donating a portion of the proceeds to this charity!

I will be bringing a whole new line of Scrabble Tile Charms to the event that you may be interested in: some with creepy doll faces and beetles and stuff! Pretty cool! Here is my team website page if you want to get involved OR just show up to look at some awesome stuff!

Discovering Myself Along the Way

60"x48"

SOLD

Lastly, but not leastly, MY GIGANTISAURUS PAINTING HAS SOLD! This has been added to my list of one of the most gratifying experiences I have had to date as an artist! Not only did I enjoy the process of painting this bugger, but the feeling I got once I delivered to the new owners was priceless! It was theeeee most perfect fit in their beautiful home~ so perfect, it was as if I had painted it just for this space! It now resides in a room that is freshly renovated with wonderful warm tone wood floors and gorgeous stone countertops and fireplace! The painting sits front and center no fresh white walls, with lighting that just makes it glow! It's amazing. I can't wait to do another big one for sure! It was also fun to explore the limits of my Jeep Wrangler and how big of a painting it can actually haul!

So over the next couple days I will be finishing up over 100 Scrabble Charms to bring to the show this weekend, while I get over a nasty cold sinus boogery thing I got in Vegas last weekend... Nice. Talk to you all soon!

Vote for ME!

Double Tree

Hand-painted miniature on vintage Scrabble Tile!

$30

Click here for purchase information

I have been busy hunting and gathering letters for my new custom Tree Charm orders I took at the Bellevue Artfair last week... now that I have the letters I need, it is time to get busy! This one above, is a new one freshly posted today!

Click HERE to visit Infinity Art Gallery and cast your vote!

I am also excited to share that I made it as a finalist in the 2D category for the Infinity Art Gallery online competition! Being that there were over 200 entries internationally, I am honored!

Now, I have the chance to win the Viewer's Choice award and be featured with the winners online... BUT in order to win, I NEED YOUR HELP! Please visit the gallery and vote for my painting (above) titled "Refresh", by clicking on the checkbox next to the name of the painting. If I win, it could give me a whole lot of extra exposure! It would be fantastic! It takes seconds and there is no obligation to give any personal information...

I will find out at the end of the month and let you know the results! Thanks for your support!

Lastly, I have to share a disturbing article I came across today. "Mom Finds Her Baby for Sale on Craigslist!" Read the short article (or watch video), then think twice about how you post your personal photos online...

Back from Thailand... back in the game!

17 days in Phuket, Thailand... WOW! What an experience. I won't bore you with braggy details of my fantastic vacation in 90 degree weather, scuba diving, sampling the most amazing foods, and sipping beers on almost every beach Thailand had to offer... But what I will share is this one photo - cuz if any of you have seen the movie "The Man with the Golden Gun", a James Bond flick, THIS photo should feel a little familiar. The rock behind me is featured as the headquarters in the movie. Thai's call this place James Bond Island. It was breathtaking! 

One thing is for sure, every trip I go on I do the same thing... I pack all my supplies to draw or paint with watercolors and then NEVER DO IT! Well I shouldn't say never, because I have in the past, but I certainly did not on this vacation. I must have really needed a vacation, that is my excuse. Actually I have one more... it was so fricken hot!!! It was hard to do anything in the day other than absorb rays and swim in the largest bathtub of an ocean until Mr. Sun went away. So now that I have returned and semi gotten back into the flow of my little artistic life, I am ready to dive in and get back in the game!

Tuesday I took my studio outside. It was the third day of sun and warmth in Seattle, and I just couldn't stand for being all cooped up in my studio to paint that day. It was fantastic! The sun, the cool breeze, the view... it was perfect! I met several new people who had come down to Kerry Park for the fabulous view AND met up with several others that had learned of my outing that day from my Twitter post before I left for the park. I ended up staying for 4 hours. The only reason why I left is because I had to pee. (Sorry- Probably too much information) But two bottles of water will do that to a person!

I used most of the day to begin painting a new series of REALLY tiny paintings... in fact they are THEE tiniest paintings I have ever done! And I am in love with them, cuz I am obsessed with all things little and precious.

These little trees are painted on vintage Scrabble tiles and made to hang as a pendant on any necklace or chain. I will talk more about them in my next post because I am making them available for purchase online as we speak... Mother's Day IS coming up you know! (wink)

Anyway, I am so glad to be back and with two new shows coming up, I have a lot on my creative plate! I am so rejuvenated I can't wait to see what comes off my brush next... because I am going back to painting large for awhile! Whoo hoo!

What is Art For?

SOLD

The quote below I read in an article today. It struck me. 

Got me to think a little bit more about why it is I do what I do in my creative world sometimes.  

The quote is from Ellen Dissanayake who wrote the books

Art and Intimacy and What is Art For?... see what you think.

"Art, is biological. It is an evolutionary adaptation that helped us become human. Art is not, she argues, a set of objects or compositions or paintings. Art, rather, is the behavior that leads to those things. Neither is art handed down only to a select few sensitive souls. Art, she says, is 'making special,' an act that gives us belonging and meaning. It is passed from mother to child. Its origins lie deep in the human past. It makes us human."

- excerpt from an article by Tim Steury in this month's Washington State Magazine.

For a transcript of an interview with Ellen Dissanayake click here.

For Ellen Dissanayake's website click here.

The above image is something new I have been cooking up. Was excited to share because I finished my first prototype the other day... I won't be able to elaborate until I have a clearer understanding as to what I will be doing with these magical little miniatures, but for the time being I have accepted the fact that I absolutely LOVE  to paint them! They are only 3/4" big! More info coming soon!