I sell on Zazzle and Etsy

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Thursday, January 28, 2016

Chalk drawing Festival on 5th Ave Naples FL 1-23-16

Well I said I was getting too old to get down on my knees and draw in Chalk again, but guess what...
I was wrong!
Pure Florida in Naples asked me to draw for them again.  I chose an earthy painting of Manatees in the back water feeding and grazing.  It turn out amazing.  



Myself and my two cohorts- Kealy and Alexyss
 We got so many Oohs and Ahhs as people walked by.  And all the parents stopped to show their kids the manatees.  I love when the crowds come and watch, chat and interact with us.  Love it.

It is a lot of hard work but it seemed to pay off.  I do this for the fun of it because Im usually in the Studio on my own all day. At least once in a while I get to paint with company:)
ENJOY!
The beginning 8am

Before coffee. Just getting into it.

Complete!

Love what I do 

Monday, October 20, 2014

New Endeavor for my Husband and me- A Sign Company Called SignCreation.Etsy.com

        Well it only took 34 years but my husband, John and I have finally gone into business together.  I am the creative side and he is the manufacturing side.  He just built a CNC machine from scratch -its a very large router for those who dont know what a CNC machine is- LOL. (He is a very talented man).   Even though it took quite a while to join our talents you have to do it when the time is right.  We are looking to venture into what we love to do.  And hopefully make a living doing it.

 Our new companion, Wicket our Shih Tzu, is our assistant and constant companion.  Love her to death. She is now a year old.  time flies by!

So...back to our shop.

We create Custom Signs and Fun Plaques for all.  We opened a shop on Etsy called SignCreation  to display and sell them and we have them on Ebay as well to purchase. Yo can order a custom sign too.

We can Carve extremely intricate work and create individual artistic signs.  I love it!!
My Studio Sign on Pine Board


here are a few of our Fun Plaques:
Dolphin Swimming. 12H x 34W

               
Heron 25H x 22W
Dolphin Jumping 29H x 23W
Flamingo 32H x 18W





love word art
Rooster 32H x 28W


We also do Holiday signs....
Halloween Sign 13H x 22W


Apart from the Fun Signs we create CUSTOM SIGNS for businesses also .  Our commercial outdoor signs are made from a product called HDU -High Density Urethane  that can withstand the heat and humidity in Sunny FLA and other outdoor places that get nasty for wood products. 


So....If you are in need of a Sign...drop me a line as Im sure we can create it for you.


Loving what I do...Art is So much Fun!!

Check us out!

and as always...
"Life has no heART without ART"
  

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

How to work from home and make it work.

Hi My Friends,

A question I get asked a lot is: How can you work from home and not go insane being there all the time?


After the crash of the economy in 2008 many people could not find work.  Some of the self starting entrepreneurial type people started working from their homes. It became a necessity not a choice, some have been able to switch comfortably, but many people found that they could not handle working on their own from the house and all the extra headaches that come with it. In the beginning when you start your own home business you do not have a weekly paycheck, you have to do your own taxes and bookkeeping and there is no safety net or days off- if you don't produce work and/or sell it, you don't make money. That can be horrifying and scary to many people.

BUT as to the question, the insanity of working at home can become overwhelming if you allow it to.  It sounds so great to be able to get up in the morning and work in your jammies and not worry about that hour commute to the office or dealing with one of those bosses (you know who I'm talking about).  WELL,  it's not that easy or simple.  Yes, you can work in your jammies all day and yes, you do not have to commute, BUT the loneliness and low human contact, besides family, on a day to day basis can be very intimidating and detrimental to your social circle, not to mention your psysche. Also friends and family members think that if you are home you are available all the time.  Although its nice to take breaks and have a visitor, you have to let them know, in a nice way, that you are actually working and cannot go out with them all the time. I usually plan a visitor and put them on my calendar so that it becomes an event. It is much more enjoyable that way.

 As most of you know I do work from home as an Artist and have for many years.  Actually my whole family basically works from home, my husband is a Real Estate Broker, my daughter is a Realtor and a blogger and my son is an Astrophysicist- well, he actually works wherever he is in the world on his laptop!!!
We are the kind of people who like to work on our own time, on our own schedule and create our own money.
Although I do go out to jobsites when I get murals, fauxwork etc, most of the time I am in my studio creating.

 I think a person who is comfortable being on their own can work on their own quite well. Although you do still need social skills to go out and find work.  I am involved with a networking group and I am very heavy into social online networks- Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn to name a few. Being an Artist, I'm usually in the studio on my own so it comes natural to me.  I do find that you have to be able to compartmentalize your "home life" and "work life" because otherwise you will be doing the wash, the dishes, the laundry, the whatever in the house you have to do, instead of concentrating on your work. Getting sidetracked is quite an easy thing to do. You also have to be able to get along with your family on an hour to hour basis, especially if they are working out of the home too. I am lucky enough that we all get along and  that I now have a separate area for me to create. I am still on my property, out here in the woods, but I'm out of the house in the backyard.  It has taken quite a few years to get her- I had my studio ..in the bedroom, laundry room, living room, lanai. basement...wherever I could find room- but it does feels good to have a designated space to conduct my business.  I still sometimes use the dining room table to do computer work though.

In my case, I have found that I tend to get up in the morning, relax with my cup of tea, then do some lite house work: dishes, laundry, picking up, beds made etc. Then I devote the next 6-10 hours for my art business.  I work late into the night  many times because I love what I do.  That can vary on what I am doing and I may decide to take an afternoon off if I have been a good time manager. Seeing that a lot of my work is done on the computer, I have to take breaks every hour or so, to stretch and walk around.  I like to mix things up so that I don't get bored - I may upload art for an hour or two to my online stores and then paint for a couple of hours, draw or weed the garden as a break ( and a treat for me- I know I'm weird!)  I have a show coming up in January so I am creating paintings for that, as well as keeping my online stores, blog, social networks, advertising,clients, active and up to date.

So...If you can let go of having a weekly paycheck, W2 lifestyle, and be able to work for yourself it is a great feeling and extremely satisfying. So don't let the fear of insanity stop you from becoming a self employed person.  America is still the land of opportunity and you can go as high as you want to go with your own business.  You could become the next Bill Gates. Try it you may find you like it.

~Linda
"Red Sky at night..." 18"x 30" Acrylic on rice papered canvas



"Life has no heART without ART"












Sunday, June 29, 2014

One of my favorite quotes from Mahatma Gandhi


I love this quote so much that I had to make a card for it
in
 Etsy and in Zazzle. 

 Life is just moving way too fast.  It's not even the fact that when you get older you think time is flying by anyway, its the fact that everything these days is instant.  There is no more waiting for things to happen.
 And if they don't happen that instant we all move on to the next whatever. 
 We have got to learn to slow down and enjoy our short life on this earth or it will be gone before we know it and we'll be stuck wondering why.

Have a great day and Enjoy every minute!


"Life has no heART without ART"
~Linda

Friday, May 16, 2014

Expanding my Greeting Card line on Etsy


,
love my Etsy store. www.linsartwork.etsy.com   
It allows me to sell my Note Cards, Specialty Cards, Original Art and the like with ease.  They do everything for you.  Very nice!  All I do is upload my designs and create them when they are sold.  

 I have added more cards, expanding my ever growing line.  
 Check these out!









As we all know cards allow us to express our deepest feelings for a certain individual.  
They give us the courage and promise to say things we normally would not or cannot say.  I enjoy fulfilling this for my clients and have sold many cards that express what is wanting to be said.

Please allow me to create a Special card for you.

at

Thank you

                                 Linda









Sunday, February 16, 2014

ART NEWS- Happy life Happy Wife

Creating is my main love.  It doesn't matter what I create as long as I'm creating.  At the moment I am creating a collection of inspirational signs in 2 different techniques:
decoupaged signs of my art with inspirational messages ...



                           Decoupaged signs

...and hand painted signs for all occasions.

handmade sign "Good Morning"
 I have been doing these for years and have decided to put them in my Etsy store for sale for all to enjoy.  Being able to jump from one art to another has always been easy for me and doesn't distract me in the least.  Some people cannot do this but I find I can't be creative any other way.


Handmade sign for Laundry room

 So I have come to the conclusion that I need to create this way to make my life complete and extremely happy.


Then on a whim one day, I'll wake up and decide to do a series of paintings....hmmmmm i do believe I see sunsets and seascapes in my mind as I do have a show coming up in Jan 2015 that I need to paint for.

so always Remember:
Life has no heART without ART"
-Linda


Sunday, February 9, 2014

New Puppy, New Store


Adoption Day.
      John and I adopted a Shih Tzu puppy and She, Wicket, has changed our lives.  She is the most precious fuzzy bundle of joy we have ever had.  We are gaga over her.


  Ist car ride
 
      She has already taken over the house and has expanded my direction in the arts.  She opened our eyes to the fact that you need so much "stuff" even for a pet.  I started carrying around a diaper bag for all of the things I needed while travelling around town.  As a result we have opened a 2nd store on Etsy.com called Puppytrainingcamp.etsy.com  where we will be selling all types of puppy paraphenalia , from puppy plaques, pet portraits, puppy bags by my mom to the training camp fence and other needed items designed by John.
 

 
It is such great fun to create all kinds of items to help puppies and moms and dads have an easier life. I of course love to create everything so I am having fun with plaques and cards and birth announcements and portraits.
 
 
If you find that you need something special, let me know because everything is customizable.
 
Having a lot of fun is contagious!!!!  Enjoy
 
and remember......
 
1st day home 2 months old


1st bath- She didnt like it.
1st haircut at 3.5 months old  boy She looks different.  Jazzy asked if I brought home the wrong dog
4 months old


Wicket loves to run around our 5 acres and chase the chickens

 
"Life has no heART without ART"
 
-Linda
 
 
 

I'm In my Studio!!

Well finally I am in my Studio and it feels GREAT!

I love the fact I have everything around me again.  I was all over the place before, in the living room, the bedroom, the dining room table, the garage. 


               But no more.....

work area
 

I have already filled the area with my supplies.  Wait til I start painting!!
 
Sitting Area
I have all of my trinkets and favorites, especially my English pillow, all here making my area comfortable and mine.  I want to thank my Husband for doing the majority of this project for me.  It was hard work and took a long time , but it is done and I love it.

I will now start working on my garden surrounding my studio and finishing touches.



 

Friday, December 27, 2013

I'm nearly finished and ready to move in!

My Studio is 97% done. 
 Getting closer to moving day
 
 I did move some stuff in, but I have to move my cabinets and shelves
 in before my entire art dept gets put away.
Studio Side


My sitting area.


 

We have painted everything white as it will give the lights a nice reflective surface to bounce light around the room.

We had to stop for the Christmas Holidays but I am now in the process of taking my art cabinets apart in the house to reassemble them in here.
 
I am soooooooo excited.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

Working on the Studio - Inside job!

Well the outside of my studio is 95% complete, just some odd and ends to finish.  So my family and I have started on the inside.  Yuck!!!!
in the beginning.

all trimmed and 1st coat of paint.

  My husband helped me with the bulk of the work,  my daughter helped (and she didn't break a nail!!)  with adding the plywood to the walls, and my son helped me with the ceiling. Of course being the scientist that he is we had to get all the measurements down to the enth degree!!!......and Im saying hell, don't worry about an eight of an inch I can cover it with trim- no worries!!!  

                    Quality time with the Fam!!!   

But seriously if it wasn't for them I wouldn't be as far along and it would not have been as much fun:)

"Sitting" area of Studio- in the beginning


So, as of right now I have double coated the "Studio" portion of the Art Studio and will be working on the "Sitting Area" next.  

This is what it looked like before I began.....YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
                               Stay tuned to see the results!

and as always....Paint with Passion!!

Linda