Lilacs and Forsythia

This is the first time I've posted two auctions in the same week. But while this painting would be great on its own, it's also a nice companion to my other still life auction, "Daisies in a Blue Jar". This auction will start at 9 a.m. this morning. Read on for the details!

"Lilacs and Forsythia" Oil on canvas (gallery wrapped) 8x8" Place your bid in the auction widget on the right sidebar of this page! Congratulations to Barbara T. for winning this auction!

Even though it's the season of Christmas, springtime doesn't feel so far away with this delicate painting of cut lilacs and forsythia. This original oil painting measures 8x8" and is painted on a gallery wrapped canvas with 1 1/2" deep edges. The painted edges provide a finished look, so no extra framing is needed! This gallery-wrapped painting offers a number of great opportunities for display. It looks equally great perched on a mantel or bookshelf as it does hung traditionally on a wall.

This painting retails for $450.00, so this is a wonderful opportunity to purchase it at a fabulous price (and still in time for Christmas!) Signed by the artist, lower left.

Here's how the auction works:

• All auctioned items are offered unframed.
• The opening bid for this painting is just $100 (a fraction of my retail price).
• Bids increment by $25
• Highest bidder at the auction’s end wins the painting.
• When the auction has ended, I will send the winning bidder a Paypal invoice.
• Virginia residents are subject to a 5.3% sales tax.
• I ship via U.S. mail within 3 days or less of receiving cleared payment.
• Free shipping in the continental USA!
• Visit my auctions page for more details

New still life floral up for auction today

I've posted something a little different today on the auction block. Read on for the details!

"Daisies in a Blue Jar" Oil on canvas (gallery wrapped) 8x8"

Place your bid in the auction widget on the right side of this page! Congratulations to Barbara T. for winning this auction!

Fresh-cut flowers are a surefire way to brighten any day. Now you can enjoy that feeling any time with this floral painting of fresh, cheerful daisies. This original oil painting measures 8x8" and is painted on a gallery wrapped canvas with 1 1/2" deep edges. The painted edges provide a finished look, so no extra framing is needed! This gallery-wrapped painting offers a number of great opportunities for display. It looks equally great perched on a mantel or bookshelf as it does hung traditionally on a wall.

This painting retails for $450.00, so this is a wonderful opportunity to purchase it at a fabulous price (and still in time for Christmas!) Signed by the artist, lower right.

Here's how the auction works:

• All auctioned items are offered unframed.
• The opening bid for this painting is just $100 (a fraction of my retail price).
• Bids increment by $25
• Highest bidder at the auction’s end wins the painting.
• When the auction has ended, I will send the winning bidder a Paypal invoice.
• Virginia residents are subject to a 5.3% sales tax.
• I ship via U.S. mail within 3 days or less of receiving cleared payment.
• Free shipping in the continental USA!
• Visit my auctions page for more details

New Key West auction posted!

Congratulations to Barbara T. for winning this auction!

"The Shady Side" Oil on Canvas Panel, 6x8"

When things heat up from the tropical sun, a shady verandah is just the thing--especially if that verandah is in Key West, and you can imagine yourself there sipping a nice cool beverage! This little painting of Key West conch houses may help you to do just that.  This painting would retail for $375 (unframed).  Now is your chance to win a slice of sunshine for yourself, at a great price! This original oil painting on canvas panel by Jennifer E. Young measures 6×8" (a perfect size to fit under the Christmas tree!) Unframed, it is signed by the artist, lower right. To begin bidding, enter your bid in the auction module in the sidebar of this blog. Here’s how it works:

• All auctioned items are offered unframed.
• The opening bid for this painting is just $100 (a fraction of my retail price).
• Bids increment by $25
• Highest bidder at the auction’s end wins the painting.
• When the auction has ended, I will send the winning bidder a Paypal invoice.
• I ship via U.S. mail within 3 days or less of receiving cleared payment.
• Free shipping in the continental USA!
• Visit my auctions page for more details

New auction of Provence

"Springtime at the Chateau de Lourmarin" Oil on panel, 6x6"

Technical difficulties on my blog last week didn't exactly create a seamless experience for my first auction. But I'm trying again with a new feature that I think will work much better. This week's auction is  a sweet 6x6" Provence landscape. Click over to the auction page for all of the details. Or if you simply can't wait, start bidding in the sidebar to the right of my blog! Congratulations to Pat H. for winning this auction!

French village painting back in progress; plus a blog award!

I managed to slip away for a few short hours yesterday to work on the oil painting I'd sketched out before Christmas. I have some real challenges with photography at my temporary painting site, so the photo is not great. But hopefully it can give an idea and I can figure out a better way to photograph as I move further along. Here I'm just trying to establish a good sense of notan in my design (AKA: my pattern of light and shadow):

In looking at the digital image of this painting, I am seeing too much busy-ness in the shadow pattern on the ground, so I should probably benefit from simplifying this somewhat. This is where positioning a large mirror across from your painting station really comes in handy. The reverse image in the mirror really helps to provide an alternate view so that you can see errors and make adjustments. I'm lacking a mirror right now in my temporary studio setup. In addition, I have very little room to step back. So it's often not until I get home and download my digital shots that I am able to see the "fresh view" .

In addition to finally getting back to work on this painting, at long last I'd like to thank lovely artist Amy Sullivan for her kind recognition of my blog some time ago with an Art y Pico Award. I am just embarrassed it has taken me so long to respond to this, but I guess it speaks to the sense of overwhelm I've been experiencing during these last couple of months. In any event, I hope it's not too late to pick up the torch.

The Rules:

1. You have to pick 5 blogs that you consider deserve this award through creativity, design, interesting material, and also contributes to the blogger community, no matter of language.

2. Each award should have the name of the author with a link to their blog.

3. Award winners have to post the award with the name and link to the blog of the person who gave them the award.

4. Post a comment on each recipient's blog so they know they've been picked.

5. Show these rules and this paragraph explaining the awards origination. "The Arte y Pico Award" has arisen from the daily visits that I make to many blogs which nourish and enrich me with creativity. In them, I see dedication, creativity, care, comradeship, but mainly, ART, much art. I want to share this prize with all those bloggers that entertain and enrich me day to day. Doubtlessly, there are many and it will be hard to pick just a few." ~Without further ado, please check out these wonderful artists~

~1~ Marilyn King, a wonderful artist whose work and blog has grown by leaps and bounds ~ check her out~

~2~ Rick Nilson, who makes truly unique and imaginative paintings, mostly of the Outer Banks of North Carolina, with cryptic quirky comments to go along with them. I always enjoy my visits to his blog, and I'm sure you will too.

~3~ Dianne Mize, for her wonderful work on her Bagatelles and Meanderings blog. From what I've read on her blog she's run out of "Tag Steam". I can actually understand. This tagging stuff takes time, so in a way I hate to harrass her ;-)  But even if she can't participate I couldn't help but mention her blog any way--I really love her paintings and drawings and the thoughts she shares about her processes are wonderfully interesting.

~4~Keith Wilkinson~I first learned of his blog, The Filbert and Rigger from Marilyn King and I've really enjoyed following his work and seeing his newest, mostly e plein air paintings. Very inspiring!

~5~ Molly Young~my niece. Her blog is relatively new, but every time I visit I am impressed by her growth and her willingness to try new things. Go Molly!

New stuff coming soon, I promise!

I have many notes on things I'd like to blog about, but it seems this whole month has been crammed packed with activity. I'm getting ready for the art walk this Friday, and  a trip to France in just over a couple of  weeks.  But I will post new work this week, even if it's just a few small plein air pieces. And I've plenty of other things I'd like to write about too, if I can find the time:

• More thoughts on color mixing and art mediums
• More on art books I've been enjoying
• Planning and packing all my gear for an overseas trip
• One more "Art for Food" auction before I take a travel hiatus
• Sharing what I'm learning about the beautiful region of the Lot and Dordogne where I'll soon be touring and painting

I may not get to everything, but I will surely get to a number of these topics over the next couple of weeks before I sign off to head for 10 days of computer-free travel.

Art for Food Auction- "Golden Days" Tuscany painting

Today I have a new offering up for auction to benefit the Central Virginia Foodbank. This is another watercolor/pen and ink painting of the golden sunflowers of Tuscany:

"Golden Days" Watercolor/Pen & Ink on Arches Paper 7x10" (Image size 5x7") This painting has sold, but you can see the current auction by clicking here.

A two-fer; Lake Como Paintings

My schedule has been NUTS lately so unfortunately my blog has suffered a bit of benign neglect. Still alive and kicking and painting, however. Here's something I thought I'd try to see if I might be able to save a little money on paint. A lot of times when I paint I can mix too much color, (which I still think is far better than mixing too little). These mixtures can be reused of course, especially if the subsequent painting needs similar hues. But I'm not always good about consciously planning my subjects like that. So here's a conscious effort to get two paintings going at the same time with color mixtures that relate to each other:

 The key will be not to just lazily use what's already mixed if it doesn't really suit what I'm painting. In hindsight it might have been better to start one large painting and one small painting instead of two rather ambitiously sized pieces, (they are both 30x40".) But I guess I was feeling cocky when I started these! 

While I did the transparent color block-ins  one after the other, what is happening  as I proceed is that I am still focusing on one individually, with an occasional switch-off when I need a change.  I don't really know if I'm conserving much paint, but it does keep things interesting. ;-) In case you can't tell what these are, the subject matter for both pieces is Lake Como, Italy. The painting on the left will be a more fleshed out version of the little watercolor painting I did for my last charity auction.

Speaking of which, a new Art for Food Auction will be posted by tomorrow morning!

New art Auction: "Mountain Chalet", Lake Como, Italy

The "Art for Food" charity art auctions continue! This 7-day auction is for a landscape painting of a little chapel and mountainside chalet overlooking a small fishing harbor on Italy's lovely Lake Como. The Mediterranean trees and buildings are set against a dramatic backdrop of the Pre-Alps, making this one of the most stunning destinations in Italy.

"Mountain Chalet" Watercolor & Ink, 8x10"

According to the Central Virginia FoodBank, $25 could provide as many as 200 meals. So, with that in mind, opening bids for these auctions are set at the mega-bargain price of about 200 meals or $24.99 per item! 95% of the proceeds for these auctions will be donated to the CVFB.

Just posted- original Tuscany painting auction-$24.99!

I hope you fared better on your Valentines day than we did- we're dealing with that awful flu that's been making the rounds here in Richmond. But I've momentarily arisen from the dead to post a new "Art For Food" auction. How's that for dedication? 95% of the proceeds will be donated to the Central Virginia Foodbank. The title of this painting means "The Heart of Tuscany", and to me, the Val d'Orcia in Southern Tuscany was just that. I loved the way the Cypress trees punctuated the winding country roads:

"Il Cuore della Toscana" Watercolor/Pen & Ink on heavy deckled edge paper 8x11" (image size 6x8")

This auction has ended, but you can see the latest Art For Food Auctions here!

New painting of Provence lavender for auction, just $25

Announcing a new "Art for Food" charity auction for the Central Virginia Foodbank (CVFB). I admit it isn't easy to put some of these works up for auction, but it's a good cause, so what the hay. I love this little Provence lavender painting and I hope you will too... and I can always use this work as a study to make a larger piece in oil. Opening bids are just $24.99 and 95% of the proceeds will be donated to the CVFB:

"Summer Garden" (Provence, France) Watercolor/pen & ink on Arches heavy watercolor paper, 8x10" Auction starts at 12:30 EST on 2/07/08

This auction has ended, but you can bid on the latest auction here!

New "Art for Food" charity auction listed- Provence watercolor

Here is the latest in my series of charity auctions for the Central Virginia Foodbank. I am listing this little Provence watercolor of the Luberon Valley on eBay, and you will notice some adjustments to the listing due to the things I wrote about in my previous posts here and here.

"Summer Vineyard" Overall size 8x10" (image size 5x7")

Bidding has ended for this item, but you can see the latest art auction here.

Online charity art auctions- The learning curve part II

Look for a new "Art for Food" auction posting later today. Meanwhile, here's  a follow-up to my previous post  on the charity art auctions I'm holding for the CVFB. Filed under the "hadn't thought of that one" category: 1. Sales tax: Only after a couple of auctions were listed did it dawn on me that I probably had to collect VA sales tax. Doh! A call to the VA Dept. of Taxation confirmed this.  I am selling the item and then once I collect the profits, I'm turning around and donating the money to charity. Even though it's a donation, it's still a retail sale and subject to the tax for in-state sales. I can't really do anything about past auctions but pay the tax myself. But for the future a statement to collect sales tax in Virginia will be included in the listings. 

2. Framing: Due to the time involved in listing and promoting the auctions, making the donations, as well as packaging and shipping (not to mention creating the artwork), I cannot provide an in-house framing service for the charity auctions. Watercolors should be framed under glass, and shipping glass requires a lot more time and care in the packing and additional cost (and risk). It also adds another dimension of confusion to my whole accounting process. The good news is that these pieces are created in sizes that can be matted inexpensively, and fit easily into standard-size frames  found readily at local frame shops and even craft stores.

3. Donations: I started these auctions out with 100% of the proceeds going to the charity. However, since these auctions are an ongoing 6 month project, I really do have to consider the processing costs. Paypal, my online money transfer agent, assesses processing fees, reducing the total amount that I collect. If I can designate 95% of the proceeds to the charity, this will defray my costs for processing and any listing fees (for eBay listings and/or extra features).

More thoughts on eBay: I've been reading more on the eBay/Missionfish deal and can see that there might be some benefits to listing there. I've learned that in addition to your auction being listed on eBay's site and in the GivingWorks category, it is also listed on Missionfish. There are claims of better visibility and higher returns for GivingWorks listings over regular listings. Without having listed there I don't know how accurate that is.

The main hesitation I've been having are the Missionfish fees. At first blush, 15-20% of the donation seems like a painfully large processing fee. Will it really save that much time over ArtByUs in the processes of listing, fulfillment, documentation and donation? Will the venues provided through eBay GivingWorks increase the number of bids? If those two things were true, it might very well be worth a try.

Online charity art auctions- the learning curve Part I

The online charity art auctions I'm holding for the Central VA Foodbank have thus far been both satisfying and challenging for me. Satisfying because I am connecting with some wonderful people who have been willing to bid on and purchase my paintings for a good cause, and challenging because of the learning curve I've experienced with holding these auctions in the online environment. Several people have asked me about the ArtByUsauction environment I have been using. ArtByUs is relatively new compared to eBay, and it only auctions artwork and handmade items offered by artists, galleries and dealers. I started out with ArtByUs for several reasons.

 First, it is currently free for artists to list there. While I believe their intent is to eventually charge for this service, this makes a huge difference to me, especially considering that I am allocating all of the proceeds of the winning bid to charity. I will note here that eBay will refund your listing and final value fees through their GivingWorks program, according to the amount you donate to a charity, but only if the item sells. And in order for eBay to list your auction as a charity, they require you to work through an organization called MissionFish. The charity is also required to be registered with Missionfish, so if your desired charity is not on their list (as mine, initially,  was not) it is up to the fundraiser to ask the charity to go through the registration process. While eBay does refund some or all of the listing and final value fees, Missionfish takes as much as 20% of the final value of the donationfor it's intermediary services. On the other hand, going through Missionfish.org may offer some people peace of mind, as I have read reports of past fraudulent charity listings that took place on eBay outside of their Givingworks program.

There are pros and cons to using both ArtByUs and eBay for the charity auctions. While ArtByUs is free, it does not get the traffic that eBay does--not by a long-shot. So, at least in my case, I am the one who has been driving traffic to my auctions. It's been reported to me by at least one bidder that the registration process is also a little slow and can be a bit confusing, and the interface is a bit clunky. ArtByUs doesn't have as many bells and whistles as eBay, and, since eBay is owned by the same company that owns PayPal, Paypal is fully integrated into the eBay site. With ArtByUs, everything is pretty much a manual operation for me in regards to collecting the winning bid via Paypal and donating to the charity, so it has been more of a time consuming process than I anticipated.

Having said that, the support staff with ArtByUs is responsive to any questions or issues. They currently offer free basic listings, and unlike eBay which seems to attract a lot of bargain hunters in search of any number of products, ArtByUs lists only artwork.  And while eBay does get a whole lot more traffic, my feeling is that this does not necessarily mean that my listing will be discovered. I do not have much experience with eBay thus far, but from what I have heard, competition is fierce and a lot of people experience the needle in the haystack syndrome unless they spend a lot more money with additional listing features. So it is likely if and when I list over there, any bidding would be as a result of my own contacts there as well.

For these reasons I've started out with ArtByUs. It's likely that at some point I will list over at eBay, and if I do, it will be interesting to see how the experience will compare to ArtByUs, and if the auction bids on eBay will be substantial enough to offset the other associated fees.  

There were a few other things I discovered only after I started the project that I had not really thought through when I first conceived of it. I'll share a bit more about that in my next post. Meanwhile, if you've had bidding or auction experience with Ebay or ArtByUs, I'd welcome you to leave your comments.

Art for Food: Tuscany watercolor charity auction for the CVFB

This Tuscany watercolor vignette is the second in my series of charity auctions begun last week for the Central Virginia Foodbank. Opening bid is just $25 (providing the equivalent of 200 meals.) 100% of the proceeds from the sale are donated to the CVFB. My husband suggested I call the auctions my "Art for Food" program (a clever riff on "Oil for Food"). I like it :-) Please, if you'd like to be alerted to new auctions as they are listed, consider signing up for my auction alerts, or just subscribe to my blog.

"The Sloping Grove" Watercolor/Pen & Ink on Paper Click to bid Bidding is closed for this item, but you can see available auctions here!

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Art auction to benefit the Central Virginia Foodbank

As a way to kick off 2008, I've decided to create auctions for some of my paintings in hopes of raising funds for the CVA Foodbank.  The idea for the auctions was inspired by a couple of things that grabbed my attention almost simultaneously over the holidays. The first was a CNN broadcast I stumbled on while flipping around on the television one late sleepless night. It was a special called "Living Heroes".  I tuned in to see a gentleman named Steve Peifer accepting an award for the incredibly inspiring, selfless work he has done in Kenya, feeding the children in school. Click here to watch the inspiring video.

About a day or two after I saw this program, I noticed Philip Rucker's article in the Washington Post online edition entitled, "Cupboards Are Bare at Food Banks." My first thought was, "Huh? With all of our wealth and resources we are having trouble supplying our country's own food banks?" The article actually focused on the D.C. Capital Area Food Bank needs, but it mentions that many of the nation's food banks are experiencing similar shortages. You can read more about it in the article,  but the bottom line is that the food banks do not have the supplies they once did, and they need people to step up and help.

I got to wondering what was going on in my own local Central Virginia Foodbank. According to the CVA Foodbank's website, in the Metro Richmond area:

"...the poverty rate is more than twice the Virginia average. In fact, in the City of Richmond it’s 38% and in Petersburg it’s 40%, compared to the state average of 17%.. That means right here in our own backyard there are tens of thousands of children who go to bed hungry every day. "

As a citizen of Richmond, I'd have to live under a rock not to know of the poverty concerns we have in the city. But even so, these numbers are startling. And while the pragmatist in me realizes that there will always be inequalities in the world, the idealist wonders,  "Why, given the earth's resources, should there ever be a reason for anyone to go hungry?"

 I've always believed in the adage, "think globally, act locally." And while curbing world hunger seems like an overwhelming task, we all can make a huge difference in our local communities by simple acts of time, food or cash donations. Surprisingly, it doesn't take that much to make a difference. In fact, according to the CVA Foodbank's website, $25 will provide as many as 200 meals.

So to bring all of this back around to the subject of art, (after all, this is an art blog,) I thought it might be nice to see if I could raise some funds for the CVA Foodbank by offering some of my vignettes in auction format.   I have been offering the little watercolor vignette paintings in my gallery and on my website for a little while now, and I've gotten some really nice feedback from collectors who enjoy them. And while I had already set prices for these works at truly introductory rates, for the next 6 months opening bids for these auctioned paintings will be set at the mega-bargain price of 200 meals, or $25 per item. 100% of the proceeds for the sale of these vignettes will be donated to the Central Virginia Foodbank.

It's my hope that each auction will get bids and that far surpass the opening bid. But even if I get just opening amount, it will generate a donation that can provide 200 meals. The CVA Foodbank is already doing some wonderful things for the folks in our area, not the least of which is providing comfort and hope for hungry kids. And, as evidenced in the above mentioned video, relieving hunger clears a pathway to learning, and education can help to provide way out of poverty.

Winning bidders get the artwork, maybe even at a mega bargain price, plus the satisfaction of knowing that their purchase is being donated to help one community's underprivileged children, elderly and families in serious need. Of course, you don't need to bid on artwork to make a difference in your own community. I encourage everyone who is able to get in touch with their own community's food bank and consider offering time, food, or cash. My auctions  are just my own small (and hopefully fun) way of trying to raise some funds and a bit of awareness.

Well, thanks for sticking with me for this rather long explanation! Without further ado, I present my first Central Virginia Foodbank ("CVFB") auction for one of my recent watercolors:

"Open for Business" Original Signed Watercolor & Ink on paper Click here to bid

Update: This auction has ended, but click here to see the current auctions, and consider signing up for our email auction alerts using the link below.

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