Cassandra's Hummingbird

I love to draw faces. I think it's my favorite thing to draw. I find faces absolutely fascinating with the eyes being my favorite part. I'm always intent on capturing the sole and I want to try and feel what the subject is feeling as I paint him/her.

Cassandra has such a striking face with strong bone structure that I couldn't resist putting her features to a pastel painting. With a little bit of fantasy thrown in and inspired by the way I see her, the final result is "Cassandra's Hummingbird."

She is available on my RedBubble site as cards and prints. http://www.redbubble.com/products/configure/6570598-laminated-print

Waiting in a Floral Dress

 

Pastel painting inspired by a floral dress I saw in a catalog. I had always thought I would be a clothing designer but once I got to college and realized the amount of sewing involved, I opted for a fashion illustration class instead. My first love is drawing but I was also into fashion and dreamed of designing clothes one day. I just wasn't into it enough to endure the frustration of sewing and draping. I thoroughly enjoyed my fashion and life drawing classes.

This artwork has been chosen to be featured on the homepage of RedBubble today. See my post below.

Thrilled and honored to start the day today as a featured artist on RedBubble's homepage. What a great way to start the new year! This is the kind of recognition that I think keeps all artists moving forward because there are so many times that the thought of not being "good enough" creeps into the thought processes. You can go directly to the RB site from here http://www.redbubble.com Please be aware that the features change daily, so if you don't log on today, you will see different features. And if you're not a member and you're an artist, it's a great community to share your work with other artists and gain exposure. Hope to see you there!

Merry Christmas!

  Wishing everyone a very Happy Holiday and a healthy and prosperous new year! Let's hope that 2011 will be a more positive year! Love to all. :-) Laura 

Card Store

I have a wonderful new store on Greeting Card Universe. Wonderful quality and stock. Come by for a visit!

Interview

Meeting Doreen Erhardt of Salon of Art greeting cards on Greeting Card Universe has been a special experience for me. She publishes a wonderfully informative newsletter as well as runs her card store on GCU of her amazing art. She has so many creative things going on in her life that I don't know how she does it all. I was beyond honored when she chose to interview and feature me for November & December in her newsletter. Be sure to visit her card store. I hope you enjoy the article as well as her newsletter!

http://salonofartnewsletter.weebly.com/featured-artist.html

Speaking of Stealing Art...

I had this girlfriend from art school a long time ago. Not particularly talented, but never the less she got by in all the art classes. We were very close and always had a good time together. A lot of the ol’ college day memories include her. And then a day came years later when a mutual friend dropped the bombshell:
“Ethel (not her real name of course) was caught trying to pawn off a well known artist’s work as her own!” 
Gasp!!! I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. But Ethel just couldn’t take the stress anymore of not producing decent work (is what I’m thinking) and resorted to the most horrendous crime against any artist. She was suddenly shrouded in black in my mind. I exiled her to the farthest corners of my brain. I know longer knew this woman. How sad and desperate of her. It’s like cheating on a test and being caught. Or having your mother write all your high school essays and now you’re in college and you’re a boat up the creek without a paddle (I actually knew a student who admitted to me that his mother wrote all his essays).
So the moral of my writing? It’s so not worth it. Do something that you’re good at, or preferably great at. Or something you’re willing to work hard to be great at. Because there’s nothing like the moment when you’re rewarded for your hard work. Your own work.