Fanimals

I think the Portland Saturday Market (and ComicCon) has transformed my art. I have been working on more fanimals and I just can't stop. I do have some ideas for some 6x18 vintage machines I HAVE TO DO, but for now I am having fun with these. They have proved very popular so far at the market too.

The originals characters  are 8x10's. Then I either make a background and group them with their friends in Photoshop or sell them as individuals at 5x7's.

Dramatic Portraits in Colored Pencil

an ebook by Nicole Caulfield

I've written an ebook that describes the process that I use to create my portraits in colored pencil on Fisher 400 paper. I am sharing this with you free of charge. Just click the link to the left to open the .pdf file. A little warning it is unedited so you will have to bear with any typos or weird wording. :-) I also did not quite finish the very end... the images are there on the steps but not the words. I think I will get that done someday. I hope the book proves helpful! 

Free Ebook!

 

Moving Sale!!

I am putting up for sale 3 drawings that no longer fit into my business design. I am only selling at the Portland Saturday Market now which means a limited 8x8' booth space. I have it figured out that smaller pieces sell the best with a few large scale eye catchers.

 So.... long story short I am selling some pieces for super cheap prices since I am moving house soon and will have limited storage space at my new house!

The items up for sale are $100 each SHIPPING NOT INCLUDED. I am thinking $20 for shipping if you want the frame would cover it and $15 unframed if you want me to ditch the frame.

 

 

This image is a favorite of mine! I would actually keep it for myself if I had a spot to hang it! People have almost bought this guy so many times! The colors are mellow. It was one of the first pieces I did on Pastelbord and I was still finding a technique with it so the colors are a bit different than my newer pieces. It also was featured on the COVER of Ann Kullberg's magazine!

 

The frame was handmade by one of my students and works perfectly with it but has a few scratches from storage/toting it around. I think a little varnish would make them go away. The size is 12" x 19".  $100 - leave me a message or email me if you want it.

 

This one is a bit country-kitsch. Again it has ALMOST been sold so many times but the price was a barrier. It is 12x16" - the frame is knicked to heck so you may want me to ditch this frame since it is standard. There are a couple of chips on the piece from the frame rubbing when I bring it to shows, which I will touch up, but they will be covered by the frame.

 

This is a new one I did just over the summer! It is 16x20. I made it to go with the curtains in my booth but I realized quickly that the curtains scared customers away with their bold pattern! This one is a STEAL at $100!!!!! Customers in my booth love it - but  I would like to keep the space for smaller drawings that sell better! The frame is in good shape.

 

This guy is from my kitsch collection. Love him - he's so weird! It is 8x10 and I will sell him for a super cheap $50 unframed. He is on Fisher 400 paper that has been mounted to Gatorboard and varnished. The edge where the frame was has left it's impression on the right side but that will be covered up by a frame when you frame it.

 

Portland Saturday Market Open for the Season!

The Portland Saturday Market is open for the season! Come see me this year at the Market. I will try to be here as many Saturdays as I can and will post on my website if I am going. I am a "fill in vendor" so my spot will change each week. To find me just stop at the information booth and ask where "Art Squared" is for the day.

I have some changes in my booth this year. Some new pieces and some originals priced at $100! Hope to see you there!

Some Elementary Art Lessons

These are some of my beginning of the year art lessons. If anyone wants a full lesson plan email me and I will share the google doc with you. 

3rd Grade Rainbow Zebras

2nd Grade Scream with watercolor and model magic

3rd grade watercolor pencil atmospheric perspective landscapes

1st Grade Matisse Goldfish

Kindergarten Monet Waterlilies

2nd Grade Matisse Goldfish again

In progress Picasso head collages

Pizza Box Hearts inspired by Jim Dine

Blue-Green Telephone

Just finished! I brought this gem and my typewriter one to get professionally scanned so prints will be ready for the opening of the Portland Saturday Market next month. 

Things have changed a bit for me since I last posted. I started working full-time teaching K-3rd grade art at a public school. I still plan on selling my own artwork at the Portland Saturday Market, so keep watching for a finished piece to be posted soon. If you want to see more frequent updates please follow my Facebook page. The link is on the right.

I may post some images from time to time on the art projects I am doing at school. Today I will be introducing my 6th graders to the good ole pinch pot and will be making these fun open mouth creatures.

Colored Pencil Treasures Volume II

I'm happy to announce that my citrus drawing will be included in the book CP Treasures Volume II edited  by Ann Kullberg. It should be available for purchase before Christmas.  I love compilation art books like these - so much great art by different artists to look at. It features colored pencil artwork as well as information about what inspired a piece or how it was made.

 I was lucky enough to be asked to be in the CP Treasures Volume I book which is available on Amazon.

 

 

Fall at the Portland Saturday Market

It's Fall at The Portland Saturday Market. 

I made sure I didn't disrupt the leaves in my booth. They remind me of New Hampshire. :-)

It gets a little chilly sitting still in your booth all day, but walking around everyone seems much warmer. It always helps to dress for the weather - that's why I'm sportin' my daughter's Smurf hat. The market goes until Christmas Eve so I might have to invest in a more adult hat. 

Typewriter: Vintage Machine Series

Typewriter 12" x 36"

 

Here's my latest in the Vintage Machine Series. If you are interested in prints, keep watch on my website for when they will be available. 

 



Toy Robot

 

Toy Robot

12x36" colored pencil on Pastelbord

 

The texture looks a bit different than in what I am seeing in that photo. When I get the good scan back I will update the image. I thought I would also show it next to one of the others in this series and some "phone" images of it in progress. Prints will be coming soon. 

 

 

 

 

A little experiment

Just a little experiment this week using some pearlescent watercolors with my colored pencils on Pastelbord.

Tape 11x14

watercolor and colored pencil on Pastelbord

New Prints in Print Shop

If you were interested in purchasing prints of my new 12x36's vintage series, two of the images are now available in my Print Shop. More will be added when they are ready! They are printed on demand so please allow a week of processing before it is shipped.

 

Portland Saturday Market



The Portland Saturday Market is a special place. In a time where art is being pulled out of public schools, the market is a place that people can see real art and craft made by real people. You can go to an art or cultural museum and see wonderful art from years past, but its not the same as seeing that people here and now are still making quality art with their hands. The Portland Saturday Market juries their crafters rather harshly on the basis of everything being handmade and well made no matter the medium.  They are rather meticulous too, so you know when you are looking at the art that it isn't just one filter in Photoshop added to a photo - but that the artist created the image themselves.

I am finding that people love the handmade aspect of the market and that aspect of my art as well. In the past when approaching galleries I've felt embarrassed that I work in colored pencil, but I have found a new pride in the medium because of the market. People first come in my booth because a certain image catches their eye, the old phone perhaps, but when they look around the booth more and realize that it is all colored pencil they light up and get excited. There is something about picturing the artist creating that image with a simple tool like a pencil, and only pencil, that is really exciting. So now I am going to wear the pencil pride instead of hiding from it.

Digital art also has a place at the market which I am really happy about.  I think the digital artists are juried more rigorously, partly because its a new medium and partly because of the Market's focus on handmade items. The digital artists have to prove that the images are their own and there is a process or craft involved. I love this because we get the best digital artists with skill and creativity.

Here are some pics of my booth this last weekend. I keep on making changes every week to better my booth and I have a feeling I will always being doing that. The next thing I add is going to be bold signs about it being pencil art. :-)

 

Behind the scenes pic.