Winter Sunset

I'm back, after a long and luxurious break from the technical world. I must admit, it was refreshing to spend days, yes, even weeks away from the computer, but it's also good to feel connected again. I wanted to share my newest painting, of a treeline silhouetted against a lovely Ohio sunset. This is a scene by my brother-in-law's home, and it was a lot of fun to do. The water in the pond had a thin layer of ice over it in places, which reflected the color of the sky in an unusual way. I find water is not the easiest thing for me to portray. If there are any artists out there with some tips, I would highly welcome them! I will get this posted to my etsy shop as soon as I can manage to get some decent pictures of it. In the meantime, I will endeavor to create another carbon pencil drawing, perhaps of some type of animal. Shall I follow the etsy trend, and draw an owl? Or perhaps something else woodsy, a squirrel or a deer. Hmm, we shall see!

Candles and Gingko leaves!

I finally posted my Gingko drawing on my Etsy shop today. You can view it here if you like! I've been rather into drawing lately, but now I'm wanting to paint again. I have an idea in my head for a painting, and I'm dying to try it out! Sometimes it looks better in my head than on the canvas, so we'll see how it turns out! It will be of my favorite springtime flower, wisteria. Also, I got two candles in the mail today, which I ordered from blisscandles on etsy. Oh man, they smell completely amazing. I got the Spiced Wassail scent, and it is wonderfully fall-ish. They are soy wax candles, which burn clean and last a long time. I would highly recommend checking out Suzanne's shop, because her candles look lovely and smell great, and the transaction went without a hitch.

Gingko

I drew a picture of three Gingko leaves today. It might be done. Usually when I draw something, I let it set out where I can see it for several days, just to make sure it's really done. Sometimes I add things or tweak shading, or whatever. If I'm satisfied with it after several days, I'll spray seal it and then take some pictures of it. I also got a couple of my photographs printed and framed, and I plan to take some pictures of them tomorrow perhaps and post them on my shop. I'm really pleased with the way they turned out. One of the pictures I previously mentioned, a yellow Gingko leaf. I'm not a photographer by any means, but all the same I like taking pictures. What do you think of this photo?

English Ivy

I listed a new drawing in my etsy shop today. It is a drawing of English Ivy. It seemed rather empty, so I decided to write English Ivy on it in fancy script. I'm pleased with the way it turned out. I'm really fond of drawing with carbon pencil. I think it looks so sharp and crisp against the stark white of the paper, much better than regular pencil. I'm envisioning my next drawing, which I think will be of some gorgeous Gingko leaves I found yesterday at the University when I was taking some lunch to Dan. I was walking along enjoying the brisk wind, a quintessential fall day, when I looked down and saw all these perfect little ochre hued fans. I didn't realize Gingko leaves turned yellow in the fall, but they do, and they stood out against the green grass like tiny golden lanterns. I grabbed a handful of them, and did a practice drawing of three of them yesterday. I think that will be my next project. I also took a beautiful photograph of one, and I'm considering posting that on etsy as well. What do you think?

Just getting started

I have recently opened an Etsy shop called SilvanArt, http://SilvanArt.etsy.com. In my shop I sell my own original artwork, which consists mostly of paintings and drawings of a natural theme. This has been a very interesting experience for me thus far, so I thought I'd blog about it. Etsy has been a great site to work with, as far as my limited experience can tell. It was not difficult to make my shop, and there are multitudes of helpful articles that may help me on my way to that pivotal first sale. Please feel free to take a look at my shop. Even if you're not in the market for purchasing original art, I'd love to share what I've done and also hear any feedback you might offer. Thanks for reading!