2014 The Year in Review

Paintings SOLD in 2014!

Happy New Year! And it was a very Happy Old Year!

It's been very busy and exciting!

As I get ready to say farewell to 2014, it's helpful for me to look back and celebrate the year – the things I learned, the places I went, the achievements big and small.

Here's a recap:

• An artist's “bucket-list” trip to The Olson House in Cushing, Maine, two trips to the Fine Art Museum of Boston to see the AMAZING Jamie Wyeth exhibit, a great quilt show and the Sargent exhibit. (If you haven't seen the Jamie Wyeth exhibit, its next stop is The Brandywine - mid-January through April. PS: The Wyeths have become my new obsession.)
• Several classes and workshops (most notably a pastel workshop at Acadia Workshop Center in Bernard, Maine with Michael Chesley Johnson) have (I hope) improved my skills as an artist. I've met some really wonderful new artists and friends.
• I've been given the opportunity to work as the Associate Executive Director of The Art Guild. I hope I can learn the ropes quickly and take on more responsibility in in the new year. It's been wonderful to be back in our building and we've planned classes for kids and adults beginning in January as well as photography and landscapes exhibits. 
• Though I sort of floundered though September's 30/30 Challenge, I did paint a lot and sold quite a number of paintings this year. Two commissioned paintings of the Locust Valley Fire Department was a nice surprise. Twelve 6"x6" paintings from the 30/30 Challenges sold via my Etsy shop.
• Most important (to me), was my very first solo show in my "Hometown" (East Islip) at the Public Library in November. It was a huge challenge - and I painted a number of pieces specifically for that show and the work did pay off! It was wonderful to have the support of friends and family who made the effort to stop by and say "Hi!" at the reception. Thank you to everyone who left a nice comment in the guest book - there were some familiar names in there. And a HUGE thank you to everyone who purchased a painting. It was a terrific validation of my growth as an artist and I'm delighted!

What I'm looking forward to in 2015

• January 1 starts the first 30/30 Challenge of 2015. Do you think I'm ready? LOL!
• Painting a new mermaid for 2015's GSBMF should be a little less stressful this year as there were two good choices last spring. The one not chosen was actually the one I preferred, so I'm looking forward to painting it. (Look for posts on the painting of last year's mermaid, coming in February.)
• I'm looking forward to seeing some interesting museum shows. It might be fun to see the Matisse Cut Outs Exhibit (through Feb10) and The Paris of Toulouse-Lautrec: Prints and Posters (through March 22), at MOMA. I doubt I'll make it to the Brandywine to see the Andrew Wyeth: Lines of Thought exhibit. Does anyone have any recommendations?
• I'm looking forward to helping plan some fun art/painting events at the Art Guild. We have lots of ideas! We hope to do an "art gallery swap" show with another art group on Long Island, that should be really fun!
• I'm looking forward to my annual trip to Maine. Not sure which workshop I'll be taking, but there are some good ones to choose from. 
• Painting, learning, creating, exploring!

If it wasn't for the support of friends and family...

I wouldn't be doing any of this. I'd like to thank my friends and family, everyone who follows my facebook page, blog and emails, for their love and support. Being an artist is often a solitary affair – so your comments and feedback are always important to me. I am thankful and honored to share my work with you. Please share with your friends, come to shows, and tell me how you feel about my posts.

Day 26 - 30/30 Challenge - Wait haven't we seen this before???

Yes. Yes you have. A little more than a year ago, this is how I kicked off my trip to Maine and the start of the 30/30 Challenge. This is an ink and watercolor pencil drawing of/on the Cross Sound Ferry.
More to come when I get to Maine!

I'd like to direct you to my Etsy page. Please consider purchasing a painting because, a. Christmas is coming, and these little paintings really make nice gifts, and/or b. the mermaid needs to buy some picture frames for the big solo show and selling a couple of these little guys would be a BIG help!

I'd also like to suggest that you sign up on the right side of this page for emails (not every day), and the follow button to get notifications when this blog is updated (for this month nearly every day, most times, not so much).

Day 19 - 30/30 Challenge - Pumpkin Truck

Pumpkin truck, pastel, approx 7" x 7"

Alas, I think Fall is here. Farewell summer. It was lovely. But, the crispness is in the evening air, the leaves are starting to just get golden and orange around the edges. It's amazing how, one day it's a perfect beach day, and the next you get an urge to pick pumpkins.

This lovely old truck full of pumpkins was on display at the farm we went to last year to pick pumpkins. There were hay rides and barn animals and roasted corn and candy apples. Just a lovely place! I'm looking forward to going back!

Though many of these paintings won't be for sale right away, I'd like to direct you to my Etsy page where I'm having a little sale. Please consider purchasing a painting because, a. Christmas is coming, and these little 6x6s really make nice gifts, and/or b. the mermaid needs to buy some picture frames for the big solo show and selling a couple of these little guys would be a BIG help!

I'd also like to suggest that you sign up on the right side of this page for emails (not every day), and the follow button to get notifications when this blog is updated (for this month nearly every day, most times, not so much).

Get more info on the 30/30 challenge go to Leslie Saeta's blog by clicking here.

Day 4 - 30/30 MYA Challenge - Set Up Google Alerts

Today's assignment is to set up Google Alerts. What is a Google Alert? Google Alerts are email updates sent to you of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your queries. It's a great way to monitor what is being said on the internet about any particular topic. 

So - off to Google to do that! 

Here's the results - SUPER EASY! It should get interesting as there is a woman of some importance at UConn who shares my name! LOL. In any case, it's very easy to do - probably takes less than 5 minutes once you're signed into Google - and you can set up these alerts to be once a day, when news happens, or once a week. Completely self explanatory once you're there. Set them up for your name, a place like a gallery or museum, another artist, workshops. 

Yesterday's Painting Adventure

Because it was such a beautiful day, after finishing some work, I went back to Cedarmere. I didn't have much time (even though I did bring my paint box easel and larger paper) so I just decided to do something small in my sketchbook.

All that green can be very confusing! But it was fun to get out and paint.

I could hear brants with there trembling honks and canada geese down on the harbor, the red-winged blackbirds were singing, and swallows were swooping around. I could hear some other birds - carolina wrens and probably orioles and warblers, but I was too busy to take out my binoculars. A little muskrat swam by, came out of the water a little way down from where I sat, and hurried on down the path. 

Today's another beautiful day - and I'd love to get out and paint - where will I go?

Day 2 of the 30/30 Marketing Your Art Challenge

Day two of the 30/30MYAC is to put a piece of your older work up for sale on your website or blog.
Being new new new to blogging, here comes my learning curve!

The first thing to do is to get Paypal linked up. I've found that it's fairly straightforward. For those who don't know how, I can now explain. First have a Paypal account. Once you are there, go to the Merchant Services Tab and voila! there are your choices! Plug in your price, the shipping, etc and it will generate a code that you just cut/paste in under the image of the painting! SO easy right? You can save buttons, have the button shut off if the item is sold, etc. Brilliant. Here's the tricky bit - paste the code they give you into the html area (in blogger - that's just above on the left). I had already placed the photo and written the caption, so I just c/p under all the other stuff there.  Ah ha! Look! SO amazing!

I've chosen to bring a little attention to this oil pastel painting Fire Island Lighthouse, Sunset. It's a close-up of the walkway between the keeper's house & the lighthouse itself. It's sunset and the sky is so bright and the windows just glow. The painting itself is 10w x 14.75h (and I'll include the matt). Please feel free to contact me with any questions.

Fire Island Lighthouse, Sunset   Susan Herbst