Jennifer Love Artwork BLOG

I haven't had time for a new painting yet, but here is my entry for the December Nibblefest - theme is Landscapes. This little painting is titled 'Bryce Canyon Color Study" and is a little color study I did in preparation for a larger painting of the same subject matter. I am hoping I might get another landscape in before the end of the Nibblefest, but not sure since I still have two little paintings and one big to finish. But, glad I had this one that would satisfy the theme for this month. :) We'll see how it does! http://www.ebay.com/itm/NFAC-DEC-Jennifer-Love-Artwork-Landscape-Bryce-Canyon-watercolor-art-painting-/200691551583?pt=Art_Paintings&hash=item2eba260d5f

Here are my entries for this month's ACEO Theme week: " Tree Frog " " Flutter By "

Nibblefest for October came and went. The theme was "Still Life." I did two little paintings. "One Pumpkin" sold during the Nibblefest auction week. "Sicilian Blue" did not, but I have revised it and reposted it on ebay. I didn't like the original background, which was all pink and didn't provide good enough contrast for the vase. I like the brown background much better. :)

Hooray for Main Street Artisans! I received my first commission check from them today for sales of various cards and also "Dancer in White"  Nice! :)

ACEO Theme week again! (Right on the heels of Nibblefest). This month's theme is masks. I was stumped for ideas, but thanks to my friend Cheryl who emailed me a good idea to get started and then I decided on two more. This is the first time I have had three entries to ACEO. :) Here are my Art Card Editions & Originals Theme Week Entries for "MASKS" " Greek Mask " " Venetian Mask " (scan doesn't show the decorative glitter parts very well, but they are there) " Comedy & Tragedy "

One of the very nice things about associating with other artists is that you have the opportunity to develop great friendships with kindred spirits. One such spirit is my good friend and fellow artist, Catherine Darling Hostetter . Catherine has been the President of Local Colors Gallery artist co-op for several years, and I worked with her closely in the year that I was with the co-op. Though I knew Catherine from UWS before, we really had a chance to become friends during my time at the gallery and I am a better artist and better person for knowing her. Another great thing about being an artist is that you get to see so much wonderful art created by people you know and care about, and often get the back story on the pieces you love. And, you sometimes have the opportunity to trade art for art! So...here is my story. Catherine was creating paintings for a featured show at Local Colors one month for an Angels and Saints theme. We were both up late one night and messing around o...

It's Nibblefest time again! This month's theme is "Ode to Blue" Here are my three entries: "Blue Lady" (original watercolor)  SOLD! "Sunrise in Blue" (original watercolor)  SOLD! Print of "Dancer in Blue"  SOLD!

So, it was a delight to find out that my "Pieces of Time" painting won a ribbon at the Intermountain Society of Artists Fall Show at Patrick Moore Gallery. Nice! :)

I just received notification that "He Dreamed of a Giant" was accepted as an alternate for the UWS Fall Show. :) There were over 150 entries. 79 paintings + 5 alternate paintings were selected by judge Christopher Schink . The hanging committee (of course) tries to make sure all the alternates will hang as well. I am very pleased! Another step towards Signature Membership. :) The show will hang at Michael Berry Gallery in Salt Lake. 163 E. 300 S. from Oct 7th - Nov 11th.                                             He Dreamed of a Giant  ©2010

I was able to frame  up two more color block paintings to enter to the ISA Fall Show. I will submit these two little paintings: "Color Block #4" and "Color Block #5" along with "Pieces of Time" for the show. :) Color Block #4 Color Block #5 Pieces of Time

So it's that time of year again. State Fair! I haven't entered any artwork in the State Fair for a long while, but this year decided to take a piece in. If you're in the area now through September 18th, stop in to the Fine Arts building to see "First Green."  :)

SOLD!  :) Another little ebay group I participate in is the ACEO Theme Week. Again, there is a monthly theme. Auctions must start on the 1st of the month and last no longer than 7 days. Artwork must be created to ACEO size. ACEO is an acronym that stands for Art Cards Editions and Originals. The ONLY rule is the size, which is 2.5 x 3.5 inches (6.4 x 8.9 cms) just like sports cards. The ACEO theme for September is "Bridges" so I created a little painting of Rainbow Bridge at Lake Powell.  “Higher than the nation's capitol and nearly as long as a football field” describes Rainbow Bridge. It is the largest natural bridge in the world at 290 feet/88 meters tall and 270 feet/83 meters across. Rainbow Bridge is considered sacred by the Navajo culture as a symbol of deities responsible for creating clouds, rainbows and rain--the essence of life in the desert. Rising up at the edge of Lake Powell, it may be reached by boat, on foot, or on horseback. Rainbow Bridge is loc...

I won third place for my August Nibblefest entry "Fence." Very cool! :) Awards are based on the number of unique bidders for your auction. The "award" is a badge that I can post on my ebay "me" page and other auctions (and here on my blog, facebook, etc..) "Fence" sold to a buyer in Austria and my other two entries sold as well. :) I have participated in Nibblefest three times now since June of this year and have sold my paintings each time. I am liking this little ebay contest. Seems to have a following of collectors! Next months Nibblefest theme is "Ode to Blue." Look for my entries on or around the 20th with the auction ending on the 27th. :)

Only one day left on bidding for Nibblefest for August. All three of my entries have bids this month...cool! :) The August theme is "On the Farm" and I have three entries listed (two original paintings and one print). Nibblefest has been a fun activity for me to participate in each month, and a good way to expose work to new collectors. Each time I have participated in Nibblefest, my paintings have sold - NICE! It's also fun to take on the challenge of creating work around a theme each month. Some themes are not as comfortable territory as others for me, but I like accepting the challenge. It's good to expand your artist brain with unfamiliar exercise once in a while.  :) Here are the three entries: "Red Barn & Summer Flowers" (Created specifically for this Nibblefest) "Fence" (painted in 2003 - this painting is signed with my maiden name, but I have signed again on back with Jennifer Love and also added title and copyrig...

I haven't read "The Help" or seen the movie yet. Don't know if I support or like the author or her book, but I do like her thoughts on following your creative dreams! Here is a great article about tenacity (or is it stubbornness?) and never giving up on your dream. I particularly like the final paragraph: "The point is, I can’t tell you how to succeed. But I can tell you how not to: Give in to the shame of being rejected and put your manuscript—or painting, song, voice, dance moves, [insert passion here]—in the coffin that is your bedside drawer and close it for good. I guarantee you that it won’t take you anywhere. Or you could do what this writer did: Give in to your obsession instead." --Kathryn Stockett (aucthor of "The Help") http://shine.yahoo.com/event/poweryourfuture/kathryn-stocketts-the-help-turned-down-60-times-before-becoming-a-best-seller-2523496/

July/August 2011 Newsletter

My painting, "Dancer in White" was published in the Arts section of the Deseret News on Sunday, July 17th (print and e-edition) along with an announcement about my featured show at Local Colors that runs mid-July through mid-August. Nice to be selected for publication!

Thanks to all who came out to Local Colors for my artist reception last night to celebrate the opening of my featured show! Congratulations to David Sidwell, the winner of the drawing for "Top Hat & Lantern"  :) Thanks to all who entered!

If you'll be in the Salt Lake area on Friday evening, come by Local Colors Gallery at 535 S. 700 E. for my Artist Reception to celebrate the opening of my featured show. 6:00pm-9:00pm I will be giving away an original charcoal/pastel. Drawing will take place at 8:00pm. You can print and bring this entry form with you, or there will be forms available at the gallery. Hope to see you there!

As I mentioned in my post Thinking in Abstract...I can't really wrap my brain around creating abstract paintings in watercolor, but I realized I must revise that statement just a bit. I don't create intentional abstract paintings with watercolor like I do with my acrylic abstracts.  However, sometimes I think being an artist also means being as frugal as you can with all your materials and supplies, which aren't cheap. I just hate to waste anything that I can find a use for with my art. Thus are born my UN-Intentional abstracts in watercolor. :) I call these little paintings "Color Blocks." When I am creating one of my typical watercolor paintings, I always have nearby (taped to my board or on the table somewhere) a scrap piece of watercolor paper (waste not!) which I use for testing my colors before applying the paintbrush to paper. The palette will show  you a color you have mixed, but that's not always exactly how it appears on paper. Sometimes it is to...

My cousin's daugher was crowned this year's Miss Utah High School Rodeo Queen. (Yes, I am from a family of cowboys, rodeo queens, farmers, and ranchers...and proud to be part of it!). :) Anyway, she is heading to National competition and had a fundraiser tonight to help raise money for the trip. I donated these two pastel sketches towards silent auction items. I completed these pieces in college under the direction of Don Doxey (the head of the Art Department at the time), a painter known for his highly realistic Western-themed paintings. As you can imagine, he had many Western props for still life sketches. :) Happy to contribute to the cause. Good luck Bailey! http://www.standard.net/topics/rodeo/2011/06/26/morgan-girl-queen-help-family-friends (And...we won a quilt in a raffle too!)

So...as you may know, I will be the featured artist at Local Colors this month (mid-July through mid-August). Usually, there are two 2D and one 3D artist featured each month, but as it turns out, I am doing a "solo" show. I have been busy working on some new paintings to hang for the show, and wanted to work in series of three. I will have nine new paintings for sure, but hoping to maybe get 12 done by the time I hang my show next Tues evening. :) I also decided to create a few new acrylic abstracts for the show. I can't seem to wrap my brain around abstract watercolor paintings, but acrylic affords me the license to do that a bit more. I like the three dimensional effect I can create with acrylic paint. For me, the abstract is about texture as well as pattern. I created these paintings with an underpainting done with diluted paint and a brush. Once the underpainting was dried, I created the top layer using only a palette knife and un-diluted acrylic paint. My show is...

"King of Yellow Heart" was selected by the Utah Arts Council to be part of their Traveling Exhibit Program for the 2011-2012 year (as part of the Utah Watercolor Society exhibit). Another good thing that came from being accepted to the UWS Spring show. So, this monarch will be flitting from one venue to another on display for the next 12 months. :) New exhibit schedule isn't posted yet, but you can click the Utah Arts Council website to find out the exhibit schedule for the show (when it gets posted).

Another ebay group I am recently participating in is ACEO. This stands for Art Cards Editions and Originals. They are mini pieces of art that are the size of a trading card or baseball card. I prefer to only make originals, but some artists will do prints. June theme was "Beach." This month (July) is "Patriotic." I am using these little ebay contests to try to loosen up my artist's brain a bit. Work quickly and loosely, and stretch into arenas I wouldn't normally creat in. It has been a challenge, but also fun. Here is my July ACEO: "Red Stars" ~ Acrylic & Mixed Media. (You can click the pic if you want to go to the ebay auction page). :)

SOLD! :) 2nd month of Nibblefest, and second painting sold. This is a fun little monthly exercise for me, though I'm not sure how I will fare with next month's theme which, if I recall correctly, is "fantasy creatures." My June Nibblefest auctions start Friday after 1pm (MDT) on ebay. Click the pics below to go to the auction page. :) (I have one original painting "Wagon Wheel & Watering Can" - you will recognize this as smaller version of "Watering Can 2"; and I have one print available of "Wheelbarrow.") 50% of total sale will be donated to the Michael J. Fox Foundation via ebay's GivingWorks program.

The RED SHOW is coming to Local Colors this month. Artist Reception in conjunction with Salt Lake Gallery Stroll. Friday, June 17th 6-9pm. :) Here is my new painting for the show, another in the butterfly series, titled "Blue Teardrops"