Painting delivered! The client was happy and that in itself means the trip was a success!
I’m gonna miss this guy hanging on my wall.
have art, will travel
Last year was the year I woke up from the cloudy, fuzzy existence I had been living in for a long long time. Actually, I believe I’ve lived in this fog most of my life, with occasionally moments of clarity, but last year was an eye opener. Without running down the entire list of last year’s event’s, one of the most important was the day that an old friend asked me to paint her a painting and said she would even PAY me. WOW! I blogged about starting such a scary task (here and here). This quickly started a whole chain of events that led to many paintings and commission jobs that are now proof that I AM a real artist. One commission in particular has/is/was a joy to do. This huge painting has also been hanging on my wall until the “client”, a.k.a. best childhood pal Stacy, and I could get together in person. Stacy is, btw, super awesome, fabulous, owns and operates her very successful company, and is a very busy lady. I never minded one bit that we have had to put off several meetings, because I got to hang her beautiful paining on my wall. This has been since October. (see past blog here, here and here ). I have stared at this painting many times and felt inspired and blessed that I get to live my dream.
Fast forward and sappy stuff aside, the time has finally come to deliver the painting I have now christened “The Eleventh Hour”. I am so excited to take a business trip to San Antonio close to where Stacy lives. And by business trip I mean my favorite aunt and I are having a girlie get-away weekend full of Riverwalking, Art Gallery’ing, Shopping and Fun Time Having Weekend…all tax deductible, I am sure. We will meet my “client” for possibly a delicious lunch or something, and see if she is kidnappable…errr…wants to tag along. Regardless, I am super excited about this weekend as it has been a long time since I’ve had a fun “get out of town” weekend. Baby J gets to tag along too. I don’t mind; he doesn’t eat much.
I know many of you who already know about it are also anxious to have this painting finally delivered since I won’t post a picture until it is in her hands. Until then… here is the last sneak peek…
Wenderflonia and Company will be invading San Antonio soon. Be afraid people. Very afraid!
Live Life Imagined
prints will be reformatted to fit upon placing order.
Bread on the Table
Rusty's Birds - 36"x48" Mixed Media on Canvas
Many artists I know shy away from commission work unless they must strive to be less starving and more artist. Personally, I find that doing a commission piece is challenging, yet nerve wracking. There is always the fear that your best isn’t good enough for the client. However, there is also a sense of satisfaction when you can provide someone with a custom piece of your soul that they had a hand in helping build. This is especially true when you can (hopefully) create inspiring pieces for someone who is already inspiring and creative themselves. I recently had the pleasure to do so for a good friend and musician extraordinaire. This was to be a gift from his wonderful wife Sarah to be hung in their Piano Room. I’ve known Rusty for many years and hope that I captured something that is special to him and his awesome family. I don’t usually post pics of all my commission works because I believe they are special to the client and their privilege to promote if they choose to do so, but this painting was special and I almost didn’t want to hand it over.
So Excited!
I am so excited to take an e-course from one of my very favorite artists, Kelly Rae Roberts. Kelly Rae is one of the very inspirational reasons that I made the jump into art fabulous-ness in the first place. I’d never heard of Kelly Rae before until my sweet, awesomely inspiring, old school chum, garden buddy, partner in crime, friend Courtney asked me if I could do a painting for her. She even threw the icing on the cake and said she would even PAY me for it….uuuhhh OK! I started blogging about it here and here. When discussing what Courtney wanted in the painting, she named off a few artist that she was really inspired by and Kelly Rae Roberts was top on her list. A few minutes of perusing her site, and I soon bumped her to the top of my list too. Please visit her website at http://kellyraeroberts.com if you haven’t already added her to your all time favorite artists ever.
Now on May 30th, I am so excited to start Kelly Rae’s Flying Lessons: Tips + Tricks To Help Your Creative Business Soar e-course. I am all signed in and rarin’ to go.
I am sure I will be posting all the fun things I am learning and implementing into all my business practices. Which I know will help me become the successful artist I know I can be.
Love you forever,
Wenders
p.s. Paintings for sale at my etsy shop! Super deals through out May!
Rockin’ and Rollin’
Pay more attention to your blog…Pay more attention to your blog…pay more attent….
Awe LOOK!!
Smooch smooch..Kiss Kiss
errrr… What was I saying? Oh yes, I was trying to remind myself to blog more, but I keep getting distracted for some reason. I am so busy these days that sometimes I even forget to finish getting dressed. I’m pretty sure the UPS man has been fully traumatized by now. It’s too bad I haven’t been keeping up with my blogs because some major happenings have been taking place in our family and my Wenderfloina world. Now I have to spill it all in one long rambling post.
Jude is 10 whole weeks old and time is flying by at a blinding pace. He is doing so many fun things like smiling, cooing, and laughing. He is also doing some not so fun things like show his emerging temper, decide not to take a bottle of expressed milk no matter what you promise, and decide that he no longer needs to nap or sleep ever again, in his whole life. He told me so. Anyway, he keeps me very occupied. Like right now. You won’t really be able to tell, but I am going to have to pause and save this as a draft and see if I can convince him to go to sleep. Just for tonight and then he can stay up for the rest of his life if he so chooses. Just sleep..Pause….Pause….Pause….He disagreed…He is mulling over his decision to remain awake in his crib right this very second…
Meanwhile… other happenings are, as a family we decided to eat better. I spent a fateful day watching several documentaries that made me open my eyes about the state of our food consumption. The most influential of which was Food, Inc. This documentary also helped me make a decision I had been contemplating for a while now. I gave up meat. I have been following a vegetarian diet for almost a month and don’t plan on going back. Parker and BFS are still amongst the flesh eaters but that’s ok with me. Mine is a personal decision. However, as a family, we switched to organic foods, simple foods that have as few additives as possible, no GMOs, growing vegetables and herbs in our own little garden, and their meat and our eggs are cruelty free…etc etc. Our mission is to make food joyous, and a priority. To know what we are putting into our body and why. I’ve even decided to make all our own bread. We are also following Jamie Oliver and his food revolution. He is desperately trying to get America to wake up to the appalling way in which the government and schools are feeding our sweet babies while they are in school. I am totally on board.
These guys will thank me for it later. I’m pretty sure…
In the mean time, I must pause again to re-convince the tiny sleepless one that sleep is, in fact, a good thing. And sleeping at least 10 hours at night will ensure that he lives to 100. No joke…..check this out.
Pause…Pause…Pause….
On the Wederflonations front, my painting time has been at an all time low. I’m still having a hard time fitting it into my schedule. However, I have recommitted my self to truck on through these rough patches and do what I can. I did FINALLY manage to finish a commissioned piece for a beautiful soul and will be mailing this to her on Tuesday. Just in time for Mother’s day.
I really can’t post a picture of the painting in her entirety because the new owner wants to be surprised, but as soon as she receives it I will post a pic and brag and brag. I just love how it turned out.
Oh! Also, I landed another job and will start working on that commissioned piece tomorrow
…hopefully….one moment please…Insomniobaby is calling…pause….pause…pause…..
Lastly, and most excitedly, I got my Mother’s Day gift from my favorite guys in the whole world. I will be registering for Kelly Rae Roberts’ Flying Lessons e-course. Mrs. Roberts is truly an inspirational artist and was inadvertently responsible for my reemergence into the art world. I will be posting more details later. I couldn’t think of a better gift. Thank you so much men of mine!
pause…..pause…pause…..
The house is quiet now. This is my cue to sleep while the sleepin’s good. Peace and Love.
and in the mean time, check out my etsy shop……… riiight [here]
Sneak Peak
One of the most joyous and challenging activities as an artist is to create a work of art for a specific person. I’m currently working on a commissioned piece for a dear friend whom I have known my whole life. These photos are but a mere sneak peek at the first, but definitely not the last, layer of her painting. The main purpose of this post is to driver her mad with curiosity and to explain a little about my technique. Being a multilayered gal, I like my paintings to have much meaning and depth. There might even be 10 layers before I am completely satisfied. I have decided that mixed media is the thing for me as I hate to be limited. I typically use tons of gesso as a binding agent and tons of paper, pencils, acrylic , markers, sharpies, photos, pastel, ribbon, stickers,….. I think the purpose of painting for me is to get as messy as possible and be amazed that something can come out of it. I typically walk away as much a work of art as the canvas itself (it’s to irresistible to paint my feet if they are near….or the dog). In the end, I hope to produce something that is entirely meaningful and almost unintentional. I don’t plan any of my paintings. OK, correction, I try to plan my paintings but they NEVER go the same direction I was thinking. I typically let my emotions and intuition guide me in what I am doing. These photos are a few details of Stacy’s massive piece.
Anyone contemplating a Wender’s original (commissioned or otherwise) for Christmas feel free to contact me, superlady@wenderflonia.com. Orders must be placed before the end of October to ensure completion (space is limited).
Facelift
I just wanted all my massive fan following (thanks mom) to know that Wenderflonia is going through a few changes. This is in preparation for the landslide of orders for a Wenders’ Original Painting (thanks Courtney and Stacy). I’ve added a home page that gives you the choice to visit the artist, blog, portfolio and hopefully to shop. Although I haven’t added anything to it yet, in the near future, the portfolio/gallery and shopping link will be a place to showcase some of my original work, and a place for purchasing a piece of your very own. Please stay tuned, and let me know if you like (or not) the new look. Just be aware that there is still much to be done with menus, fonts and other very serious designy, web type stuff that I haven’t a clue about (thanks BFS).
In the mean time, I am furiously putting the finishing touches on the painting I’m delivering tomorrow, and preparing to start another commissioned piece for another tremendously fabulous lady. Could this possibly be?! A real artist is ME?! (Glad you can’t see the super cool dance I’m doing right now.)
Bad Blogger and Creative Dreamer
I’ve realized that my creative, eccentric soul is a bad blogger. OK, OK, I knew this already but today I vow to get my blog on more often. I’ve a wonderful project that I am starting today. A beautiful soul has commissioned a Wenders original and I am happy to oblige. A very intimidating 4ftX3ft blank canvas is awaiting a face as I speak.
Few things can frighten and excite me more than a blank canvas. I have been staring at it all day. Walked up to it no less than 100 times. I believe the time has now come that Mr. Canvas and I are friends and I can now mar that pristine surface with ooey, gooey, delicious paint.
Check back for progress…..Oh Lord, Please let there be progress.