Sunday, December 9, 2012

Pendants on Etsy!



Greetings everyone!  I hope you are all having a wonderful holiday season!

Are you still looking for the perfect gift for that special someone, or need a really cool stocking stuffer?  Then come check out my HUGE selection of pendants on Etsy!

These are miniature prints of my artwork that I have personally hand-decorated with sparkly gel pens and iridescent paint which are then sealed to a tempered glass tile.  They are painted with iridescent paint on the back and signed by me, then either a gold plated or silver plated bail is affixed to it, ready to string on your favorite chain or a simple silk cord!  These pendants really sparkle, giving them unique character you won't find in other art jewelry!

Come check out my entire selection and get your loved one (or yourself) a unique and beautiful gift for the holidays!

Thursday, November 29, 2012

2013 Werewolf Calendar


The new 2013 Werewolf Calendar is now available!  This year’s calendar features my artwork on the cover and is filled with stunning images by thirteen different artists portraying werewolves as multifaceted beings, creatures that are as wild as the wolf, fierce as the tiger, and as human as your next door neighbor.  This is truly a unique and beautiful calendar I am honored to be a part of for the last four years.  These calendars always go quickly, so order now before they are gone!

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Holiday Shows!

My display section at the Colorado Country Christmas show this year
It is November now and the Holiday shows have begun in earnest.  The shows that we do at this time are of a general public nature, geared towards those looking for unique gifts for loved ones for the Holidays.  The set ups for these shows are bright, professional, and well organized featuring framed prints and a few originals as well as t-shirts and art pendants.  These are the best of our displays!

We will do these shows all the way into December, one weekend after the next, often traveling great distances to get to the show.

So yes, I am busy with shows right now :9  I have done what I could art-wise in October and now my focus is once again on the shows.  Once it is December I will have a week or so to work on art, and then I travel to see my family for Christmas, arriving back home for New Years.  After that, however, we usually only have a show a month until Spring, which means I get to focus on art!  And that also means focusing more on my blogs.  I plan on creating some tutorials, new essays on the business of art, and even some contests so stay tuned!

Until then, you can find me at the coming shows selling my artwork and t-shirts with Sandra.  Here is the schedule of the remaining Holiday shows:

Holiday Food & Gift Festival
Public Holiday Gift Show
Nov 16 - 18 | Colorado Springs, CO
Rio Grande Arts & Crafts Festival
Public Holiday Gift Show
Nov 23 - 25 | Albuquerque, NM
La Casa Holiday Bazaar
Public Holiday Gift Show
Nov 30 - Dec 2 | Las Cruces, NM
 I'll see you at the shows!

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Moon Mates


Two lupine lovers rendezvous under a rising full moon, reaffirming their life-long bonds with each other.
Watercolor and Colored Pencil on 9″ X 6.2″ Mixed Media paper.

THIS ORIGINAL IS FOR SALE!!!  Click on the link above to have a look :)
Prints are for sale on my website.

Monday, October 22, 2012

Tri Con!

Sandra and I will have a booth at Tri-Con in Rio Rancho, New Mexico this weekend!  If you are in the area come down and have some fun with us! ^.^


Sunday, October 21, 2012

Strife

A watercolor and colored pencil commission for Pascal of his character "Strife", based upon a fur suit created by Clockwork Creatures.  You can find more information about this character on his FA account.



Watercolor and colored pencil on 9" X 12" smooth Bristol paper.

Thursday, October 4, 2012

Home again...for now.

Fall is well under way in Minnesota!
I am finally home once more from an exhaustive summer season.  I managed to finish my piece for the Werewolf Calendar in July, and that was all I was able to do before I got too busy to do art.  I began working in July on getting the matted prints and frames ready for the Minnesota Renaissance Festival and several other shows.  Sandra took a chunk of it with her to Pennsic War (an SCA event) at the beginning of August, and when she got home we rushed up to Minnesota to open our booth at the Ren Fair.  The Minnesota Renaissance Festival runs seven weekends and we wouldn't be back until the end so we had to make sure the booth had plenty of product.  Once that was set up we rushed home to New Mexico again and got ready for the next round of shows.  All in all I was home about five days in September.  Otherwise I was traveling to a show, at a show, or frantically making more product.  We finished out the summer with the end of the Ren Fair this last weekend, and now we are home to recuperate and get ready for the back-to-back Christmas shows starting in November.

So that is where I have been and what I have been up to :9

This month I am going to rest, get caught up on business and home life, and try to squeeze in some commissions.  I can't make any promises about art/commissions as I am still really busy in the midst of the show season, but I will do what I can do in the time I have.  Otherwise art will begin in earnest in January.

I hope everyone had a lovely summer and is enjoying the early fall!  I know I am ready for fall leaves, wood smoke, cooler temps, and pumpkin-flavored everything! ^.^

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Stickers are here!

Huzzah!  The werewolf stickers are here!

Thanks to everyone who pre-ordered, and thank you for being patient!  These stickers look awesome and I am sure you will love them! 

For those who have not ordered these yet GET THEM NOW!  I have about 20 "Shift Happens" stickers left and about 32 "Feed Me Cupcakes!" stickers left.  Get them before they are gone as I will probably not be reordering them!

I will also be bringing whatever I have left over to the Minnesota Renaissance Festival the last two weekends, September 22 - 23 and September 28 - 30!

These stickers were great fun to do and I definitely want to do more designs in the near future!  Do any of you have some neat ideas for stickers?  Something you would like to see?  I will be working up some new ideas when I can work on art again (January) and will put up some more polls about those when I have some design mock ups to show. 

If you have a great idea for a sticker send it to me!

I am still busy busy and going going.  I don't even unpack my bags right now, I just wash clothes and re pack!  XD 

This coming weekend I am taking a little vacation somewhere special <.<  >.>  but when I get back I will head up to Minnesota to finish out the renaissance festival there.  After that I have a few weeks to get ready for the insanity of the holiday shows in November.  Gotta keep going!  I am just working hard and traveling right now and meeting a bunch of really cool people.  You all make working this hard so worth the while ^.^  <3

Have a great end of the Summer!

Goldie

Friday, August 24, 2012

Summer's still going....and going....

...and going.

One section of our booth this year at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival

So Sandra and I just got back from setting up at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival.  We had a great weekend and enjoyed seeing old friends and a bunch of wonderful fans!  You guys are the best ^.^

I will not be out at MNRF again until the last two weekends, September 22 - 23, and September 28 - 30.  Otherwise our booth lackeys Nate and Jody will be handling things (and handling them well!). 

Next I am off to Denver for the Labor Day show of the Celebration Metaphysical Fair.  I will be there with my lackey/booth-bitch Mare (Sandra will be at home getting some business taken care of).  Please come out and say hello, buy some art and/or a t-shirt, and then go get yourself a psychic reading or a snazzy new crystal ;)

After that, Sandra and I are off Durango, Colorado for the Whole Expo Durango show.  Another metaphysical/holistic healing show! We can't get enough of them...and neither can you!  Please come and say hello and enjoy the grandeur and awesomeness of Durango in the summertime!

Then I am taking a bit of a vacation... <.<  >.>

And finally back to the Minnesota Renaissance Festival again for a couple of weekends to round out the Summer season.  Whew!  But I can't get too comfortable, because I will only have a few short weeks until the back-to-back holiday shows begin in November!

So yes, I am busy, busy, busy!  Go go go!

In the midst of all of this I will try to keep things updated so you have an idea of what's going on with me.  For now, I need to get back to work on making more products for the coming shows!

- Goldie

P.S. Werewolf stickers are being ordered tomorrow!  I will let you all know when I have them in-hand ^.^

Evergreen

This is my contribution to this years Werewolf Calendar:



My assignment was (mainly) to illustrate that werewolves have striking eyes that you may not see on normal wolves. I decided to go for amazing green eyes that reflect the forest around the werewolf, suggesting how close a werewolf would be to his environment. This is his world, and he belongs here. The eyes also let you know that this is not a normal wolf, even if he were in a more wolf-like form. His eyes are otherworldly, preternatural, almost magical.

Orders open September 1st!! First 150 orders receive a free bookmark and sticker!

Acrylic on 9 X 12 Illustration board.

Original is for sale on my website.

Sunday, August 12, 2012

Summer-a-Go-Go

So pretty much all of my time these last few weeks has been taken up with printing, matting, and framing in an effort to get as much of the stock/product done that we will need for the rest of the summer.  It's been grueling, not only physically tiring but mentally as well.  However I am now as done as I can be, and it is time once again to head north for the opening weekend of the Minnesota Renaissance Festival!  I will be there this coming weekend, and then the last two weekends of the Festival in September.  Sandra and I will be doing a few other shows in between, and I will let you know where we will be. :)

Aside from working like a dog bolf,  I have been working on a few commissions where I can.  Just a few last drawings from the second batch.  I should have those finished sometime this summer when I can take a few hours.  Here's a little something I did for the last Werewolf Wednesday because I needed the mental break.  And what better way to let off some steam than with a nice snarley? :D

He says "See These?  Guess where they're going..."
Anyway, that's all from me right now.  I'm worn out and yet ready to tackle the rest of the busy summer season of go-go-GO!  I will post about my misadventures as they happen :)

Ta for now!

Friday, August 3, 2012

Stickers...

...have not been ordered yet.  I am still waiting to get enough pre-sales to be able to put in the order.  However it should be sooooon!  Once they are ordered I will have what is left over from pre-sales available online and at the Wolfsisters booth and Minnesota Renaissance Festival :)

Spread the word about these werewolf stickers so I can get them ordered!!

Aside from that I have been working like a dog (or is that a bolf?) all month long getting ready for the summer craziness that is already well underway.  I am trying to squeeze in what I can art-wise but I really have no time, and no energy left over from the day, to do much, if anything.  As I say on my website my working/show months are from July - December, and my arting months are from January - June.  So if you are waiting on a commission from me -please- have patience! I will let everyone know when I can be full-steam ahead on the art again.  Until then I am go-go-GO on the shows!

That's all for now.  I promise I will try to put up a post here with some tips or other art-making-related stuff :)

TTFN!

Friday, July 13, 2012

Sticker WIN!

I was going to let the poll run one more day, but I think the results are pretty clear.  We have some winners!!! :D




These are the two stickers I will be getting made! Pre-orders are on sale as of now!

These will be 5" X 6" vinyl die-cut stickers from StickerMule.com. They’re made from an industrial strength vinyl that’s designed to last. And, they come with a UV laminate that makes them fade, scratch and water resistant.  Completely suitable for outdoor use!  These will be great for your laptop, your vehicle, your tower/case, on a note or sketchbook....anywhere you want to put them!

Since I am only asking $6 a sticker I am only accepting PayPal for these.  Once I have enough pre-orders to cover the cost of making them I will get them ordered, then on their way to you!   Order several and I can put them all in the same envelope so you'll save on shipping!  These will be shipped via First Class mail in a protective clear bag with a mat board backing in a shipping envelope.  Shipping rates are $3.00 per shipment (envelope) in the US.  $5.00 to Canada, and $10.00 International. 

Click on the PayPal shopping cart buttons to your left to pre-order! <----------------------------------

I will let everyone know here when I have enough pre-orders and when they stickers are due to arrive here and go out to you!

Thanks for helping me create these stickers!  I am sure the final product will be completely awesome :D

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Stickers, Part 2!

Thanks everyone for voting on your favorite version of the sticker designs!  The tally is in and by far at the lead with 176 of the 275 votes is this guy!


Congrats black snarly werewolf with hightlights!
 
In second place is the pink werewolf, which made me laugh, so I have decided to go ahead and do both of them!  Woo hoo!   :D

Now for the second phase of this sticker design, the words!  I've come up with a few so far that might work well and will give you an idea of what I want to do.  Please go ahead and vote for your favorite, or if you have a better idea for the text on either of these please comment and let me know!  (click on the thumbnails for bigger images):


<---------------So please vote for your favorite over on the left side! Once I have the best two designs I will open for pre-orders of these stickers.

Thanks everyone for your help! ^.^

Goldie

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

So...why Blogger?

First off, welcome everyone to my blog!  I'm so glad to see all of you here.  Thanks for following me!  I'm sure this will be fun for everyone ^.^

Secondly, I have posted about this blog on just about all the places where I have accounts online.  Interestingly I seem to be getting a certain sort of response from a few people.  Why Blogger, and why even blog at all?  Why not just post all of this on DA or FA or LiveJournal or Tumblr?

Well as I said over on my other blog, Werewolves and Cupcakes, I am experimenting somewhat, seeing what the "big hairy deal" is about having a blog, and also because I love to write.  I have always felt myself more of a writer than an artist, but a lot of times making art is easier than writing.  I am certainly more disciplined about doing art and even though I desperately want to write I feel like I never have anything to write about.  Having a blog not only gives me an excuse to just -write- for writing's sake, but it also it forces me to be disciplined about it.  If I want to keep my followers I have to put up content, right?

Having a blog also gets me out of my shell and forces me to interact with the world.  It forces me to see not only myself but others as well.  Even if all I am doing is writing about the great sunset I saw, or about the antics of my dog.  It gets me writing, it gets me sharing.

Also, let's face it, blogging is a great marketing tool.  I feel like I can reach a wider audience this way than just with a DA, FA, Epilogue, or any of the other art or social media sites.  Having a general blog is a lot more open and less specific than people having to deal with the BS of some other sites.  I will absolutely still post to those other sites, but I feel a blog that I can post to almost daily is a lot better than a site that is focused mainly on one thing or another. A general blog is focused on writing, and that's the whole point.

As for choosing Blogger, well I started using Blogger to follow other blogs and decided to create my own and put up a few of my older essays just to have an online archive of them.  I quickly fell in love with how easy Blogger is to use, and how easy it is to design my layouts.  Things are clean, uncluttered, easy to use and understand.  I do have a Tumblr account, but truthfully I haven't figured out why it's so popular.  To me it's hard to understand and harder to use.  LiveJournal has been my blog for ten years now, but I avoid it because of some past mistakes and thus past lessons.  I am not comfortable there any more, however I still keep my account and only update information related to my business. 

So Blogger it is :)

I hope you all will enjoy watching me here, and will enjoy what I post.  This particular blog will be about my art and art in general.  I will aim to keep it fun and entertaining and not just another place where I show off my art. 

I also have my other blogs Werewolves and Cupcakes and Circle of Stones.  Werewolves and Cupcakes is more of a personal blog for this and that, but mostly for my weird sense of humor and personal tidbits I feel like sharing.  Circle of Stones is my spirituality blog dedicated to my essays about that which I find sacred in this world and my higher being.  I invite you to follow along...or not :)

I haven't opened up like this in years, so having blogs is a bit of a big step for me.  But I feel like it's time to start writing again.  However this time I will endeavor to post only the positive, the uplifting, and of course the fun.  I hope you will all enjoy the things I have to share :)

Goldie

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Werewolf Stickers!

I've been brainstorming on what interesting things I can bring to my artistic table and I have decided I would like to (re)learn to do vector art and create some interesting graphic-type stuff to sell in addition to prints and t-shirts.

So the first thing I have decided to come up with are a few cut-out sticker designs.  This is the first one, and I need your opinion.  Do you like any of these, and if so which ones?  (Please vote in the poll in the left hand column.)  <----------




If you don't like any of them, do you have any suggestions on what you would like to see with this design?  Different colors and such? I do plan on adding text but that is after I see what appeals here.  I will be asking your opinions on the text to use as well :)  But first, let me know what you think of these!

Thanks!

Goldie


Monday, July 9, 2012

Tigertaur



Drawing commission for Nathan of a tigertaur with a longbow and longsword.  Pencil on 9" X 12" Bristol paper.

Sunday, July 8, 2012

The Price of Art

What determines the price of art? What is art worth? Is it really worth anything? Why should people buy art?

First of all, the major point in all of this is that the price of art is completely subjective, meaning that its value is mainly determined by the person viewing it. The second part of the value of artwork is determined by the cost of materials, and the cost of the artist's time, as well as how in demand their work is. Then there are different price scales for Fine Artists, Graphic Artists, Illustrators, Freelance Artists, Web Designers, etc. All of these factors add up to the price of artwork.

For my purposes, I will discuss Fine Art and Illustration, which is what I am most familiar with.

With fine art, the price tags can run incredibly high. This is where the price is most subjective, because something that is crap to one person is priceless in worth to another. Art speaks to all of us in different ways.

That's all well and good, you may say, but what about those huge canvases that are just splatters of paint that my kid could do that sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars? You can't tell me that that kind of art justifies a price tag like that! Yes I can, because, again, the price of art is mostly subjective. For some people, standing in front of that canvas evokes an emotional reaction, and that is mainly where the value lies with fine art. How does the art hit you? How does it make you feel? Does it make you think? Does it carry you away? What does it say to you? If art makes you think or feel, immediately you are drawn to it, and if your reaction is strong enough you want to possess it, sometimes at all costs. Then you may look at the technique, how this or that was done, the brushstrokes here or the lines there, especially if it is an original work. There is nothing that compares to the power of seeing your favorite piece of art "in the flesh" before you. Here you can marvel at the workmanship and craft of art, and for some, nothing but the original will do (and I cannot blame anyone a bit for that).

Then there is the reputation and notoriety of the artist to factor in. How in demand are they? How does their artwork sell? If the artist has a great reputation, amazing talent, and a lengthy history of being in demand that jacks the price way, way up. And why not? The price of anything is determined by supply and demand. If an artist is highly in demand, but only makes X amount of pieces a year, then the price of X pieces can be incredibly high.

So this also factors into the price of the artist's time. What is their time worth to them along with their talents? What is their time worth to others? If they are in demand, their time is worth a lot.

In the field of illustration it is a bit different. Illustrators can also be highly in demand for their time and talents, but they may not make as much as a fine artist. Then again, there are those who do illustration that crosses over into the fine art arena, such as Michael Whelan and many other "book cover" artists. Most of us may never reach that level of notoriety and demand, however there –is- an industry standard for this kind of work.

If you would like to see the current industry standards for pricing in the fields of Illustration and Graphic Arts, the Graphic Artists Guild puts out their "Graphic Artist's Guild Handbook: Pricing & Ethical Guidelines" every few years with current, up-to-date pricing information that is based on real industry surveys. You can order the handbook here:  http://www.graphicartistsguild.org/handbook/ This will give you a good guideline to refer to in the pricing of your own work.

As for the cost of materials, this should definitely be factored in. We all know how much materials cost us artists, from paints and canvas and markers, to Wacom tablets and expensive software. Sometimes the materials cost can be very low, such as a pencil piece on sketch paper. However, prices for materials can skyrocket if you are buying high-end paints and especially if you are working with precious metals and gems (such as with bronze sculptures and jewelry). These things cost, and sometimes a lot, and you should definitely get your materials cost back in the price tag.

All that said, you can now see how the price of art can be all over the map. If you are unfamiliar with how to price your own work, do some research. How much does similar artwork (in skill and complexity) go for? What are other people charging? What is the industry standard? How in demand are you, and what do you personally feel your time and talents are worth? You'll start to get a picture of where you should start from, and according to your demand adjust your prices from there.

For myself, I have been building up my pricing system slowly over the years. When I first started out, my prices for originals and commissions were pretty low because I wasn't well known and no idea what my art was worth. I would do a 9" X 12" full color piece with a background for less than $100. And I was pounced on continually until, exhausted and unable to complete my commissions in a timely manner, I –had- to raise my prices. As my reputation and demand grew, I steadily raised my prices more and more until the demand for my time and talents balanced out nicely with what I was able to produce in a timely manner. Currently my prices are right where I want them, making it so that I am not overwhelmed with work while making the work satisfying and worth it. People still pay my prices, and I can get their art done in a relatively good time frame without burnout.

For example, I have a -massive- amount of people who would love to commission me, and I don't have a whole lot of time to devote to art for others (or, let's face it, art at all). That's why I am currently doing these "small" commissions (badges, bookmarks, etc). They are far, far more affordable than my normal full-size (9 X 12 and larger) commissions, they take less time to do, I can take several at a time and the price makes it worth my while. This means I don't get burned out, and I can them done in a reasonable amount of time. Plus the commissioner gets a custom original of mine, and one that usually exceeds their expectations, which justifies the cost to them. Thus, everyone wins (even though my prices are far more than the norm for similar sized work).

So you see that, while someone's prices may seem ridiculous to one person, to another they are worth every penny. Just remember that the price of art is subjective, so do some research, and adjust your prices so that your output equals your demand to a comfortable degree. But never, ever sell yourself short. Give yourself some respect, because an artist, you deserve it :)

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Welcome!

Hello and welcome to my new blog!

In this blog I will be talking about things dealing with being a professional artist, including essays about art and the art world, art news, tips and tricks, and even tutorials now and then.
This blog will serve as my go-to place for all things art related.  I will also be posting new artwork days before I will post it -anywhere- else online, so check back here often!  Or better yet, subscribe to my feed. 


Thanks for visiting!