Blah

It's been a while since I did any painting at all... really, since the fair. I have projects I need to get started on, but right now my heart really isn't in it. Instead, I'm investing lots of time into my photography (in between the insane bouts of life, including a flooded basement, refinancing the house and more. It's enough to make you pull all your hair out. Literally.)

Still, with Halloween around the corner, I have the urge to work on a couple silly projects. I think I want to paint a really nice Halloween painting. I haven't quite figured out the composition yet, but I love holiday stuff, and it's long past the point that I should indulge myself with it a bit!

So, look for that soon!

Little Bits

I have sort of slacked off with blogging of any type. I started a new photography blog, but even that I haven't quite been keeping up with (although, I plan to - especially with the Autumn season starting to hit.) I deleted my other blog-blog (this makes, what the fourth one I've deleted in a year or something?) So, I've decided minus the photography and art blogs, I'm done with blogging. I think I've actually outgrown it, and it's just taken a while to accept that, because it was such a big part of my life for a while.

I promised pictures of the paintings I finished during fair week, so here they are:

Small Bridge, Enchanted Forest Series - mini
Acrylic, 6" x 4" x .75", stretched canvas
$45

Daylight River, Enchanted Forest Series - mini
Acrylic, 6" x 4"x .75", stretched canvas
$45

Midnight River - SM, Enchanted Forest Series - mini
Acrylic, 6" x 4"x .75", stretched canvas
$45

Twins, Enchanted Forest Series - mini
Acrylic, 4" x 4"x1.5", stretched canvas
$45

Midnight River - SM, Enchanted Forest Series - mini
Acrylic, 4" x 6"x .75", stretched canvas
$45

Daylight Alone - Enchanted Forest Series
Acrylic, 12" x 12"x 1.5", stretched canvas
$175

Next up, time to shift things around on my website, and get the printing links set up, remove sold paintings and so on. I think the paintings are going to take a back seat for a while though, while the Autumn in Vermont colors are popping and wedding season is happening. It's really going to be about photography until the world is well and truly frozen for the season, I think!

New Projects

It's been a while since I updated! We had a booth at the fair, locally. Mostly it was to promote the local photography business I just started, but you can't just sit there and sell pictures (especially at the last minute... maybe I could have, I have a photo printer... hmm...) So, I stocked the booth with paintings and prints because I DO have those to sell!

That's what we pulled together with only a week to do it (which was just stupid, in case you were wondering. You should have months to prepare for this sort of thing. Clearly, we must have had a brain hemorrhage or something.) We broke even with the cost of the booth and the paintings/prints that were sold, so minus the time spent, there was no real loss. Personally, though? It was the wrong venue for art. No question. A learning experience without a doubt, but the wrong spot nonetheless.

I finished several smaller paintings, and I need to photograph them so I can share them. Another thing I need to do... on my list.

Moving forward, I have finally opened up more prints for sale of the paintings. I even have prints of the enchanted forest series. I thought I would be unable to do that, because the paintings are iridescent, and thus you lose so much in a print form that can't shift colors as it does on the original. However, even so, we have found they make some nice prints. So far, I have prints of (and the prints aren't taken from these pictures, they're much different for the process, which you'll notice if you click on them):

Starry

Midnight River
Partly Cloudy
Alone

And some of the earlier paintings like Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, and more. I love them in the Giclee prints, because of the canvas-like value it gives it. The regular prints came out great too,l though! With my new printer, I am able to offer some new things like keepsake boxes, coasters, tote-bags, and more as well. So, there are two images of each single painting used for different types of reproductions. Hopefully it won't be too confusing. Now, I just need to set up the links on the normal Art Gallery Site. I'm slowly adding to the prints being offered, and I'm happy they're of higher quality, and easier for folks to order since it's just a click-n-go set-up.

Looking forward, beyond the prints, I have a new project (besides the photography), where I plan on working to complete 12 paintings for the Enchanted Forest Series, but with the intention to use them in a calendar. I'm working through how I want to portray each month, and I'm excited about the project in general. At the same time, I'm looking at a second calendar project, which also involves paintings, but probably a bit more "fun" (i.e. I plan on a glittering and wonderful Christmas Tree, and snoozing cats and so on.)

Additionally, I picked up a package of bismuth pieces, and I'm working through on how to use them in my paintings. They're like little pieces of fractal art in themselves. I'm contemplating a castle, perhaps...

Much to do!

Excited!

I really am just so excited right now! With the establishment of my new business, Kyra Wilson Photography, I have had access to a couple different professional printing services. Now, while they do photos, they also offer printing on other stuff. Like canvases and Giclee prints. So, as all fine art prints are taken from a high quality image, I've been playing with the printing service trying to see if they can offer me more options for my fine art prints.

The first printing service I used was a complete dud. The canvas showed up looking like it had been only printed with half the ink and then left in the sun to dry. I wondered if my image just wasn't high quality enough, or something else. But the truth is that I was using the same file that I use for my prints here that are excellent. So, I switched services and then saved up to try it with them.

Well, my order just showed up today, and I cannot be happier! The basic prints were perfect. The canvas print I have is just gorgeous! I have never been able to offer canvas prints before, because the price was so prohibitive and the minimum orders required made it simply impossible. But with this service, they do one at a time orders at a reasonable price, so I will be able to offer not only regular prints - but canvas replicas as well that people can frame just like the original!

It really is exciting for me as it reduces the amount of traveling I have had to make in the past to printers, arguing over colors and print runs, and buying up front in bulk. Now I don't have to tell anyone that I'm sold out of a certain print. Even more, people have long asked me to put together a calendar and maybe some note/post cards. I can do that as well, or create the option for them to create their own set. I knew I could do that through something like Zazzle or CafePress, but I have never been thrilled with the quality of their stuff, which is why I haven't done so before now.

So, while I'm working on expanding my paintings on the "Daylight" portion of my enchanted forest series (by request, I'll soon have a slew of smaller, more affordable ones of the same style and color scheme - the original has sold), I'll also soon be opening a new section on Kyra Wilson Photography, and K. Wilson Studio to offer these new items as well.

Edit: I've opened the new area on Kyra Wilson Photography, featuring the fine art prints. I'll slowly be adding to it as I go along, including new prints of paintings I haven't offered before (like the enchanted forest series.)