New Site is Up at Collage Art Emporium

Posted on January 10, 2012 by Andrea

Here's a page from a journal I am working on.

It always takes hours and hours of computer time to get a site up and running… particularly a storefront type site. But finally this one is done, at least enough to publish. I still have some tinkering to do with it, but I said January 10 and I met my own deadline. (Why do I do this to myself?)

In any case, Collage Art Emporium is a division of Engrave Today, since its primary products are created with my laser engraver. Anything else I have seen in the marketplace like these shapes are done in China, and we all are trying to get away from that idea, right? So for all my artist friends, this is a new resource. I am also selling some Ranger products and Golden mediums to go along with the chipboard and wood cutouts, simply to make it a one-stop shop for collage elements. Freight on one tiny package of cut-outs is cost-prohibitive, I would think. So, grab something else while you’re there!

I am so excited that today I can get back to painting and creating my own ATCs or the larger paintings that I do. Today I plan to work on some 4 x 6 pieces on chipboard, remembering to gesso both sides for strength. Stay tuned!

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To add to the video…

Posted on January 8, 2012 by Andrea


Andrea’s Oasis
There was a bit more narration of the tour that was not included, and I wanted to show more of my products, but my producer and director and upload limits confined me a bit.

For instance, I have drawers full of drawing supplies and erasers, a tool box that I bought from Sears in Houston where all my watercolors and watercolor papers are stored; I have colored pencils of every type, and oil pastels as well as Shin-Han twin markers that I bought during a close-out from Blick. My stock of texture materials and mediums from Golden and Liquitex is immense, since I draw with texture so dominantly in my paintings.

The beautiful hand-made papers I bought at Texas Art Supply last month cannot even be described. They look like thin fabrics, and I am looking forward to using them. I found some old dress patterns and buttons that belonged to my mother, which will also find use. Those things have not been moved out to the studio yet.

Storage of paintings that I have done and don’t like is getting to be an issue; I have to find a proper way to store them until I decide whether to make them work or just gesso over the whole mess and start over. I had read someplace that not every painting will be a masterpiece, and boy, is that ever true!

On my walls in the studio are paintings I particularly like and want to keep. Some just show the progression of my skills, and some I just like to look at. And then there are the inspirational triggers from people like Robert Burridge, the “PERMISSION” card that gives me permission to paint however I want to, and the “YES” card that reminds me that if I need to ask a question about my painting, such as “Should I put more contrast?” the answer is YES.

The reason I do this, other than making millions of dollars for my heirs, is for fun. Why not? It makes each day something to look forward to. Creativity abounds in this family, and that’s what I love.

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January’s resolutions. Really.

Posted on January 8, 2012 by Andrea

After spending two days cleaning, rearranging, and setting up for the studio tour video I posted yesterday, I have vowed to keep the following resolutions this year in my “oasis.”

1. I will only take out the paints I am using in the current project. And store them where they belong at the end of each day.
2. I will use the Acryl-a-Miser the way it’s supposed to be used, and not have 15 different palettes and jars and containers all over the place “in case I might need them later.”

I bought the “Miser” while I was in Houston, at Jerry’s Artarama store there. There are only two in Texas, in Houston and in Austin. Nothing in Dallas as good either Jerry’s or Texas Art Supply, where I got some beautiful handmade papers.

3. I will mix more of my own colors. Although I will stick with my bright colors, like Napthol Red and the Cadmiums, my greys, browns and blacks will now be personally created by me!

4. I will post to the blog and the new Yahoo Group regularly. Nothing is worse than an old blog that nobody has posted to in months.

5. I will cover my computer and printer every day when I leave the studio, and lock it each night. I will remember to keep my phone handy at all times.

6. I will watch more instructional videos and listen to fewer political talk shows… I am really getting bored with the redundancy.

7. I will use Evernote more religiously; my lists of things to do need to be all in one place, for Pete’s sake!

8. I will schedule my time.

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Christmas reminds me

Posted on December 2, 2011 by Andrea

My favorite Christmas gifts as a child were pens and paper or colorbooks with a new set of sharp crayons. Those things still please me, but not so much today. There are unfortunately some teachers who should never be allowed to teach art, and I had one of them. I never knew that I — and everyone else — was one. And now with the encouragement of several professionals I have begun to develop my natural talent.

All input, positive and negative, now finds its place in my reportoire of new information and I hear their voices as i paint. There is Joseph Melancon saying, “Be like a sponge,” and Cheryl Mcclure saying, “You are not painting a house,” and even Bob Burridge’s photo on my studio wall with the reminder that there are no points for neatness. I have also taken all his marketing tips and run with them.

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Mixed Media Experiments

Posted on October 25, 2011 by Andrea

I am only now attempting to add collage to my paintings, although it has happened “accidentally” in the past. I have all the proper accoutrements… it’s just that I have never seen it as an art form as I do now. I love stamping, and with GAC 200 I find I can attach anything! But I have discovered YES glue (it’s not easy to find. I had to get it online) and taught myself to use a contraption called a pantograph which I picked up for $6; I am also getting some Christmas art ready for an art fair in early December, and pinch-hit babysitting my granddaughters a lot this month.

So, I’ve been staying busy. And since I am operating almost totally from my right brain these days, it’s all about art!

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Winding up the summer

Posted on August 31, 2011 by Andrea

I am getting ready to go out of town for awhile, and have a few pieces to finish before I go for the show in October. I will be the featured artist at Art to Go, I-30 and Broadway, and usually display the least expensive pieces there. Also during October I will be teaching a beginning acrylic abstract class, a one-hour session on Sundays. Contact me if you want more information; supplies will be included.

It has been difficult to paint the last few days because my father is starting to show real evidence of the natural decline of his age. It is hard to accept and I recall how painful it was to watch my mother in her last years. So it is a familiar feeling. Perhaps I can find a way to express the transitory nature of all our lives in my art. I will do my best.

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Interactive Acrylic Paint

Posted on August 23, 2011 by Andrea

Some time back I purchased some Atelier Interactive Acrylic — sounded like a good product, you could work with it longer. Well, it turns out that I didn’t interact with it quite enough. Started to use it, and it was stiff as a board, with all kinds of oily clear liquid seeping out of the tube. I couldn’t do anything with it to resurrect it. So, the moral of the story is, keep interacting regularly if you want to use interactive acrylic.

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Photographing Your Art

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Andrea

Your paintings should be photographed in natural light, always with a camera on a tripod. Do your photography before your paintings are framed, so as not to detract from your art!

Check here often for other little tips and tricks. You can subscribe to my blog, and I promise no spam!
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Painting in a Heat Wave

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Andrea

There has been a real incentive to stay with my usual hot colors this summer! With temperatures topping at 109 here in Dallas, the cool studio has been not only an oasis, but a reminder that not everybody is so lucky.

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Cheap Tricks

Posted on August 12, 2011 by Andrea

Dollar stores are great places to find plastic plates to use for throw-away palettes! I bought several packages of (8) 6″ plates, which I use for acrylic colors. If you cannot peel the paint off when it is dry, just use a different plate for each color. And they can be found at Dollar Tree, cheap enough to toss once you want something clean again.

Of course freezer paper works great for acrylic mixing, too. And old coffee cans for brush-cleaning water.

The best thing I figured out was to buy large quantities of medium, glossy or satin or gel, (I use Golden and Liquitex) then pick up cheap craft paints at Michael’s when they are on sale, mix those for really inexpensive painting experiments. You won’t get the same archival quality, but pretty close, and it is a way to try out more colors. Then when you settle on a palette you really like, you can go to other sites like Cheap Joe’s or Blick and buy the good stuff.

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