Jennifer Love Artwork BLOG

It has been one crazy summer...and now Fall is coming and the crazy hasn't died down. I am still alive! For those of you who read my blog regularly, so sorry I haven't been "regular" in my posting this summer. Now that our summer vacation is over (Yellowstone National Park and Mt. Rushmore...lots of fun!), and the kids are settle in new school/daycare, it is time for me to get into High Gear to get illustration work done! Meanwhile, here was a little ACEO I did for the September ACEO Theme Week on ebay (the theme was "Old Houses").  The auction did not sell during theme week, so I have now listed the ACEO at my Etsy shop here . For those who are unfamiliar with an ACEO - the acronym stands for Art Cards Editions and Originals. It is any small work of art that is the size of a baseball trading card (2.5" x 3.5"). A great way to collect some original works of art when you are low on cash or wall space. :) This one is titled "Red Roof, Bl...

Early this summer, I planted six new flowering bushes in our yard - four lilacs in the front yard, one lilac in the back (to replace a butterfly bush that had died last year), and a Rose of Sharon (which is in the hibiscus family). This Rose of Sharon is called "Freedom" and is supposed to turn out a red blossom. I planted lilacs from the same nursery a few years before and they took about 4 years to grow big and give us blossoms, so I knew that we would be waiting a while on these bushes. But, surprise for us this week...the Rose of Sharon is already blooming! :) The flowers are actually more of a pink color than red (probably due to the different acids in our soil). They are beautiful flowers and I am so excited!

So, I have been busy, busy, busy getting to know the ins and outs of Etsy. Trying to keep my shop looking nice, renewing listings, creating treasuries. I even started my own treasury team for fine artists on Etsy (fpartists). You can find us on FaceBook at  https://www.facebook.com/fpartists  and on Twitter at @fpartistsTeam ( https://twitter.com/fpartistsTeam ) if you want to see some of the great Etsy treasuries being created by our team of talented artists! The point of creating treasuries is to feature one item from 16 different shops on Etsy (not including your own shop), all centered around a theme. People will search through treasuries in Etsy for things they like, but Etsy also features various treasuries on the front page of the website (one per hour). So, if you create a beautiful treasury that gets selected for the front page, you not only get good exposure for all the shops and items in your treasury, but also exposure for you and your shop since you are the...

So...I know I did Sea Turtles for Nibblefest a few months ago. But, I just enjoyed them so much that I decided to take the opportunity to do another one for the ACEO challenge this month. I was also having a brain cramp trying to think of "cute" Beach Critters that I wanted to paint. The only "critters" I could think of were sand crabs and little sand bugs...none were really appealing to my painting sensibilities - so, here is a little turtle for the collection instead. True...turtles aren't really "critters" either. But, I figured since they come onto the beach to lay their eggs in the sand, then it qualified as "beach-ey" enough. :) Here is my offering for ACEO Theme Week July - Beach Critters: "Beach Crawler" Click here to go to the ebay auction. ACEO is an acronym that stands for Art Cards Editions and Originals. The only rule is the size, which is 2.5 inches x 3.5 inches (6.4 x 8.9 cms) - just the ...

Nibblefest - June 2012 This month's theme: Birds (and other Feathered Friends) I thought a peacock would be a fun subject...especially for summer. Peacocks always remind me of gardens and the zoo...and other fun summer activities! This particular guy is so confident in his ineherent appeal to "the ladies" that he doesn't even feel the need to spread his feathers. He struts around the grounds knowing who's boss! He's "The Big P!" Click here if you'd like to go to the ebay auction (auction ends on June 27th). :)

"King of Yellow Heart" has returned home after an extensive year-long tour of Utah's schools and libraries with the Utah Arts Council traveling watercoler exhibition. Here is an excerpt from the UAC email I received upon return of the painting: "This show is always a popular one with our schools and libraries around the state and we are sincerely grateful that you participate in our program. This past year your piece traveled to Weber State Library Blue Peak High School Canyon Rim Elementary North Elementary in Cedar City Fillmore Elementary Manilla Elementary The children especially love the pieces when they travel to their schools and are always sad when we take the exhibit down and drive the art away. They become very attached."   I am very glad that the painting returned home in good shape, undamaged, and was part of such a nice exhibition that brings art to school children in the state. Emphasis on the arts as a crucial component o...

It's here again! ACEO theme week on ebay. The theme for June 2012 is "Zoomed In" which I thought would be a fun theme to participate in. Since I have been so inspired by the Spring flowers in bloom this year, I decided to do a couple of "zoomed-in" ACEOs based on some of the flower photos I have taken recently. The first one, "Eye of the Lilac" is based on one of the beautiful light violet lilacs I found blooming in Bountiful in early May. Luckily, I was able to take several shots of these beautiful flowers - some close up. Made for a perfect setup for the ACEO. :) The second entry, "Soft Rose" is based on a lovely pale yellow rose that I took photos of after a hair appointment. Just outside the door and across the parking lot from my stylist's salon, there is a lovely little rose garden at the business next door. The day of my last appointment, their roses were blooming in beautiful colors and they had also just watered, so I was abl...