AlishaVernon.com

All I can say is “Whoa Mama!”….. ok and maybe a little “Wa Wa Wee Wah!” too. (like Borat)

Basically, I’m super excited!

My little experiment of putting a few of my paintings on Etsy is going awesome. This is only the second day and I’ve already been told by two people that they’re going to feature me in their blog, and I’m in 2 treasuries on Etsy. A treasury, on Etsy, is a group of photos of people’s art/crafts compiled by a another member of Etsy. All of these are put into the “Treasury” section on the site and that’s where the front page images are selected from. So, once someone puts you in a treasury, there’s the possibility of going to the front page and getting some major exposure. Plus, just being in a treasury gets you some extra views because people like to see what’s in there. How cool is that!? 2 in just two days.

Here are they are! Click on each image to see it full size. In each one, my paintings are on the bottom row.

{If nothing comes up when you click it’s probably because that one is expired. Try the other one. They only stay on the site for a few days. On the top box I’m in the lower left, and on the bottom box, I’m in the lower right}

Today I read this interview with a seller on Etsy. (It’s a good read) Out of all the things she said in her interview, all I can think about is how she said that she dresses up everyday, even though she spends a lot of days in her studio, and that she believes in dressing up to go to the grocery store. I’ve been spending a lot of time at home lately in sweats, undone hair, and no makeup. I wonder what would happen if I dressed up every day, even if I knew I was probably just staying home or going to the store. Would it put me in a better mood? Would I be more productive because of this good mood? What level of dressing up would I subscribe to?

I’ll have to think about this one.

The possibilities are pretty much endless.

Last night I read this article on Etsy about this couple who has sold 1300 prints, of their drawings, in just 3 months with very very little advertising. Basically a few blogs liked their stuff and wrote about it and, badda boom badda bing, they hit the jackpot. It inspired me to start posting some paintings, available as prints, on etsy. Just kinda droppin’ my line in the pond to see if anything bites, or however you say that. I think sometimes I take myself too seriously, or feel like I need to have perfection in a cohesive 20 piece body of work, accompanied by a meaningful and awe inspiring artist statment, along with a degree in fine arts, before I can even think about putting any of my work out there.

So, here’s my little etsy store now. Look for more paintings to be added frequently.

http://www.alishavernon.etsy.com

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10% of all profits are donated to PROJECT RESCUE.

-An organization working against forced prostitution amoung women and children, throughout India and Nepal.

www.ProjectRescue.com

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Here’s what I created today. I love listening to hip hop/rap/r&b and just lettin’ the paint flow. The inspiration for this one came from a background on a TV commercial. It only popped up for like a half of a second, I don’t know what it was advertising, and this looks almost nothing like what I saw. That’s sometimes how my abstracts come about. I’ll notice a small detail or color combination that catches my eye, and I’ll want to make an abstract related to it. The image will stay in my head for several days pleading and begging for me to let it out and paint it.

Medium: Acrylic Paint

Size:  16″ x 20″ x 1 1/2 ” on stretched canvas

First you spread this special watered down paint over a damp cloth and then place objects on top. Expose to sunlight or a lamp until dry and the cloth under the objects will be white. I used white cotton interlock for the fabric and my objects were some small plants I had pressed. I framed the ~5″ x 7″ piece of cloth and hung it on my wall. I thought it looked pretty cool.

I’ve never really lived in a place this snowy, except my 1 year in Spokane at Whitworth, but I didn’t have a car then. The roads now are finally safe enough to drive in my little honda civic. Shoveling snow has now become part of my husbands daily routine, the snow got so high that my 8 in. dog was easily able to escape our yard, we’ve gotten stuck in our own driveway, and by the way, it’s 9 degrees out right now.

My poor car.

OIT College Campus

In town

More Town.

Wiley, discovering snow.

Mighty Snow Dog.

***Photos courtesy of my husband Jim from Jim.Vernon.com

I spent my Friday night using my new sewing machine to make this masterpiece. (Those are my husband’s hands modeling the toy, just so you don’t think I have man hands, and my dog Wiley demonstrating it.)

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Sometimes art making is exhilarating and other times it can feel like a chore. (ie. art homework) Last night was definitely not one of those “chore feeling” nights. It was late. I was ready for bed, but I just felt unsatisfied with my day so I didn’t want to go to bed yet. I don’t know if there is anyone else like me, but after a while, if I’m not getting a certain amount of fulfillment from my day, I’ll start staying up later and later, without doing anything in particular. Anyway, last night I honestly felt like I couldn’t go to bed until I created something. Anything. Then I just got this urge to squirt fabric dye on wet water watercolor paper. So I did. This is what happened. (The above images were created this morning.) The words “Let it be” kept coming to mind. I really came to enjoy the spontaneity and lack of control I had over of the watery dye. You just have to let it flow sometimes. By the 3rd one I think I got a better idea of how to let it flow and still guide it at the same time. What a life lesson for me too. I can get kinda stressed when I don’t know what’s gonna happen or what to do in life. I can even got that way with my art. I really just need to let it flow.

First One

Second

Third

This is the backside of the third one. I was surprised that it looked kinda cool. The design is from one of the disposable baking dishes.

When I’m trying to decide where to go next with my art, I often like to look at where I’ve been. I have a huge rubbermaid bin full of paintings and drawings, a busting at the seems portfolio, and the overflow is haphazardly stored in my pantry. They range from age 4 to 24. I rummaged through my bin and picked out some small works from 2007 that stand out to me, or that I find interesting, in some way. I’d love to hear feedback, comments, responses, suggestions, observations, questions, etc. It would be lovely. It doesn’t matter if you know anything about art at all.

Which is your favorite?

15″ x 15″ Acrylic painting on Illustration Board

12″ x 16″Acrylic painting on Canvas Board

16″ x 20″ Acrylic Painting on Stretched Canvas [Unfinished, white petal tips unpainted]

16″ x 20″ Acrylic Painting on Stretched Canvas [lower right unfinished]

12″ x 28″ Watercolor Painting on Watercolor Paper

12″ x 16″ Acrylic Painting on Canvas Board

16″ x 20″ Acrylic Painting on Canvas Board

12″x 16″ Acrylic Painting on Canvas Board [slightly blurry photo]