Adorable Penguin Trio

This picture is a coloured pencil drawing I did a few days ago. I think with a little adjustment it would make a great basis for some handmade Christmas cards. I don't generally think of Christmas till November after my daughter's birthday but usually end up finishing making cards and gifts on Christmas eve. Well, alright, Boxing Day when I visit relatives. So I'm starting early - for me that is :-).
There was a time I would be making Christmas cards all summer, but that was when I was demonstrating paper craft products. I also used to make them to sell but find that too time consuming these days.

I digress. Back to the picture, I think a little bit of glitter and maybe a snowflake frame would make this just right for the season.

What do you think? Does this get your creative juices flowing?

Happy Crafting

Janice.

PS I have a new blog on my own website that I would love you to subscribe to as I post there more frequently now :-)

During the last week of October, I will be exhibiting at the Gage Gallery, Kelham Island, Sheffield, with a good friend and fellow Artist Jeni Holness (Jeniveve).

It is a beautifully light, airy and spacious gallery with a slight industrial feel. Jeni and I will be filling it with an oasis of rich and vibrant colour from Felt to Glass, Paintings to Prints.

The hard part is letting people know when and where, so if you can help by sharing this post or following me on facebook and sharing from there, that would be fantastic!

If you can make it along that would be even better - please say hi, it's lovely to know this is read by more than just my family :-)

All the best, Janice x

29th Great Sheffield Art Show

The submission date for the 29th Great Sheffield Art Show is almost upon us. There is just a week left to get your form in.

Entering open competitions can be a very expensive game for artists. Many shows charge for your entry whether you get accepted or not, often about £15 per work. If your work never gets past the digital entry it never gets seen so all that work can't even be put down to a marketing budget.

The Great Sheffield Art Show is different. An artist only has to pay if a work gets hung, and then only £5. The prizes are not great compared to the national exhibitions, but being realistic, most of us are just hoping to get shown and maybe have some interest from a few people.

A maximum of 6 entries are allowed and there are 2 submission dates, 10th and 17th of September.

I have posted my form in with my 6 entries. I won't show them on here, but this is one of my recent paintings. It's called On the Surface, and is an impression of rippled reflections. I like this kind of abstract that has a connection to a natural effect without being too explicit.

New Website and Blog

I now have a new website after much trial and tribulation. It looks really great, not because I designed it from scratch but because the templates to use are fantastic. Credit for an easy to use, does what it says on the tin and looks amazing in the process website builder goes to WIX. And I'm not getting paid to say that!

My new site is at www.jangill.com and I would love you to come and have a look. Comments would be greatly appreciated.
This painting is currently being exhibited at Greenspace Gallery in Carmarthen, more about that in my next post or take a peak at the blog on the new website.

In the meantime,

Happy Crafting,

Janice ;-)

Art competitions - You've got to be in it to win it!

A couple of weeks ago I got some great news - I won the Abstract and Experimental category of the SAA Artist of the Year 2017.

To say I was pleased is an understatement.

In fact it has rejuvenated my efforts to get my art work in front of more people with the aim of ditching the day job.

It's a year since I last said that. To be fair to myself I was an undiagnosed diabetic with zero energy after work. Now with my blood sugar under control I feel fighting fit. So what better time to climb back on the horse and try again.

As for Art competitions, you have to be in it to have any chance of making your mark. Why not give it a go?

This is my winning piece, which will be on show at the SAA headquarters over the summer and at the ICHF Art materials show in November at the NEC.

Oriental Abstraction, Mixed Media on Canvas.

A Journey into Art and Craft e-commerce.

I am trying out a little experiment. I have an account with Artfinder to sell my artwork on line. I have now started a blog with e-commerce to see if it is possible to get sales on my own. The advantages of my own site are much lower costs and direct contact with the purchaser. A free wordpress blog and a plug in e -commerce solution are all that's needed to get started and payment can be done straight into your own bank account by bacs or through Paypal.

This is the link to what I have done so far Jan Gill Art

I am also writing a blog which will keep up to date with progress. In addition, I will be comparing sales versus cost for any exhibitions and craft fairs. I am hoping that other artists and crafters will share their experiences and help make this a valuable resource for all.

I'm looking forward to the journey and would love to hear from everyone.
Please feel free to comment :-)

This painting is one of  series I have just completed. It was great fun making them as I just "let go" and revelled in the actual process of creating rather than aiming for a finished product. It employs my favourite set of colours, blue, purple and green. It is a great way for me to work as I am really bad at spoiling my work by fiddling and trying to put too much into a painting. This painting has no right or wrong, no perspective to deal with, no tight and stilted brushwork. 

It also makes me want to look at it because it makes me feel good. That may be because I am unusually pleased with it as a piece I have made, or because it reminds me of how much fun it was or because it contains the colours that please me. However, I think it just hits the right spot for me, the right amount of interest, the right amount of movement, things to follow and discover. 

As someone who is not a fan of action painting this has come as a bit of a shock. 

However you like to create, why not try a bit of "letting go" therapy - you might surprise yourself too :-)

Happy Creating

Janice x