Diane Clancy's Art Blog

This is one of the vibrant, colorful pastel ACEOs that I created a couple of weeks ago.  I thought you would enjoy seeing it.  I really enjoyed making these Art Cards, ACEOs with traditional mediums .. in this case pastel.  I have been wearing rubber gloves the last couple of years when I have been creating with pastels.  I don’t know if that is silly or smart.  I tend to do a lot of blending of colors to lay down a carpet of color to then draw the image  into.  I sketched a little with pencil so I could work the fields of color into rough shapes.  I love smearing the colors around to get the effects I like.  I don’t think most artists use pastel this way .. but I enjoy it and some people like the effect.

Glowing Reds, Pastel © Diane Clancy

Each birthday and Christmas I give two of my nieces cards of my artwork.  Part of the present is they get to look through my website and blog to choose whichever painting they choose.  It is a fun way to have a focus together.  The last year or two I have also given them each an Art Card, ACEO of the same chosen image.  They have had great fun getting them. And I LOVE getting back thank you notes on these cards!

As a second ACEO, this year I gave my niece Sarah a print of one of the pastel ACEOs I recently created.  Here is what she said in  her thank note : “Thank you very much for the cards and the two trading cards. I absolutely love them! I really like the extra trading card and how you can see the pencil strokes and the texture (I pulled it out of its sleeve to touch it – just to see – it’s amazing and really pretty!)” This is part of what you would get if you purchase one of these.

I think I will put some prints of these pastels in my Etsy Shop.  I am working on some originals also so that I can list them in one or more of my online shops.  Let me know if you would like one … you can also buy one here.   Thank you for stopping by!

~ Diane Clancy

Technorati Tags: Diane Clancy, vibrant colorful painting, pastel, ACEO

Quoting from the site “In an effort to remember them, Holocaust Museum Houston is collecting 1.5 million handmade butterflies. The butterflies will eventually comprise a breath-taking exhibition, currently scheduled for Spring 2012, for all to remember. As of Summer 2008, we have already collected an estimated 400,000 butterflies.”

You can read about and participate in this incredibly powerful and important project.  You can read the details on the site or at the site of Staci Rose of Staci Rose Designs. Staci is a creative artist and she is coordinating the contributions to the Butterfly Project from WWAO (Worldwide Women Artists Online).  Here is her post where she shares details that any individual or group can send their creations to.  Anyone, anywhere in the world is welcome to contribute … and the guidelines are simple and clear.

Butterflies I, Digital © Diane Clancy

These are 2 of the contributions I am making.  I have 5 digital paintings of butteflies that I am giving and 4 little ones in traditional mediums.  They are all ACEOs.  I felt pretty clumsy using the watercolors, markers, pastels, ink and crayons that I did use, but I figure that what really counts in something like this is the intent.  And I wanted to really contribute to this Butterfly Project.  Sometimes I do create in a naive style I guess … but that is often what comes out.

Butterfly Project IV, Sketch © Diane Clancy

As I mentioned, we of WWAO are going to make a contribution toward the Butterfly Project.  Here is some information about us: WWAO on the site says “Worldwide Women Artists is an international collective of women artists showing and selling our work through the worldwide web. As women artists, we give birth to our ideas in a variety of styles and media. We embrace the diversity of each other’s work, celebrating the joy of creating our art and sharing it with the world. We welcome female visual artists from all over the world who create and sell their own original art.”

I would love to hear your thoughts about how you might honor this process of acknowledging this event to recognize all these children perishing.  Such pain to the soul of this earth and humanity! The deadline isn’t until June 30, 2011 … so you have plenty of time to get involved.  I want to thank the museum and people for giving us all this opportunity.  I would love to hear from you!

~ Diane Clancy

Technorati Tags: Diane Clancy, vibrant colorful painting, Staci Rose, Butterfly Project, Holocaust Museum Houston, Holocaust, WWAO, Worldwide Women Artists Online, naive style

This is one of the vibrant, colorful pastel ACEOs that I created a couple of weeks ago.  I thought you would enjoy seeing it.  And an update on my life also.  I had mentioned that a very highly stressful event was promised to be over by last Friday afternoon at the latest. That didn’t happen.  Instead it has been dragged out for another week and a half.  I am not very happy about it … but there is nothing I can do to change that.  And I am doing much better at handling my stress now that the process has been started.  Thanks for all your support!!

Sunrise Blossoms, Digital © Diane Clancy

Today I was featured in another Spot Light … this time with 2 of my images .. I am sure you recognize them if you are a regular reader.  This is a cool thing similar to a treasury at Etsy.

I would love to hear how you are doing and also how you deal with circumstances that are less than ideal.  Thank you for stopping by!

~ Diane Clancy

Technorati Tags: Diane Clancy, vibrant colorful painting, Spot Light, pastel

WWAO (Worldwide Women Artists Online) is a great group of women artists that I belong to.  We had an ATC swap this spring of 2009. ATC are the same as ACEOs … a 2 1/2 x 3 1/2″ piece of art.  ATC is the Art Trading Card … so that name gets used for when they are traded instead of sold.  That is partly why I have started calling them Art Cards, ACEO in my shops … I think that is a clearer name for these delightful little works of art!

The WWAO Collaborative Gallery shows the incredible work of many talented artists from WWAO.  This gallery (http://wwaogallery.blogspot.com) showcases ATCs from 16 artists in an incredible diversity of styles and mediums.  It is worth taking the time to look through these posts …  I know I have enjoyed seeing lots of work from one artist, each after the other … in some deep way it taught me something I can’t verbalize yet … about both the continuity and range a single artist can have and still have her style look coherent.

I am thrilled to report that I have been working in the studio … using real, non-digital, art materials.  This is one of the results.  I have created 15 ACEOs that I like … and by the end of doing them, I was getting back in the groove again of how I use pastels.  I have never tried to draw so small before – not in any serious way.  Some of you know I have been trying to get back in there (the studio) to create with traditional mediums … so this is quite a success for me!

Sunrise Bouquet, Pastel © Diane Clancy

On the last several ACEOs, I was tackling them as if I actually knew what I was doing .. it  was a great feeling!  I love working digitally and it has been wonderful for me to be able to … especially when I often didn’t feel well enough to be in the real physical studio.  But it was also miraculous for me to be able go into the studio … where there is no UNDO button … and start to feel good about creating this tiny little cards (2 1/5″ x 3 1/2″) …. it started to be a whole lot of fun!  Even though it is cold in the studio – the temperature is 63 degrees.

I hope you like this vibrant,  colorful painting! I know I do … I use pastels in a way unlike most people … but I use them the way that feels right to me … Delighted to be sharing this with you!  Thank you … I would love to hear about your own process in creating.

Susan Elkin and I have been working quite hard on her business and she has made incredible progress.   By the way, Susan has posted today!!  Thank you for stopping by!

~ Diane Clancy

Technorati Tags: Diane Clancy, vibrant colorful painting, pastel, creating

Below is the image of the ACEO (Art Cards) book that I bought a space to be in last year.  A very dedicated art teacher has been creating this book and making a blog to encourage her students to creatre and trade ACEOs/Art Cards.  You can see my painting as one that is featured on the color of last years book.  I am very glad I did it – I have a nice 2 page spread with a variety of work – and some text. If you are thinking of joining in (it costs $40), the deadline has been extended to September 11, 2008. I have copied the text from 2 posts on her blog (with permission, of course) so that you can read about it and see if perhaps you would like to join in.  All proceeds help with the students, books for the students and ACEO education.

The Fall 2008 Edition of “Create. Collect. Trade. A Collection of Artist Trading Cards Created by Artists and Students,” is in production and accepting ACEO artists at this time to fill 30 available spots.

WHAT WILL THE ARTIST RECEIVE?

For the $40, each artist will receive 2 FULL PAGES in the book. 4-8 Images from each artist will be placed on the two pages. The artist may write a short paragraph about their art, Etsy shop, experiences, or information they would like to share on their page. Artists may also post links to their shops, website, blogs, etc. for further promotion and information. Upon purchasing, the artist understands that information and images should be appropriate for elementary age students eyes.

-Each artist will be recognized on http://createcollecttrade.blogspot.com/ and gain local and national attention through distribution of the book.

-The book will also be presented in an 2-hour workshop at the AEAI Art Education Conference in November.

-7 Artists will also be selected to appear on the front cover along with 5 students.

Technorati Tags: ACEO, Art Cards, Create. Collect. Trade.

This weekend is the end of my blog give-away … so please go sign up now!! I want you to have a chance. Here are the details.

I am on the VAST Team (Visual Arts Street Team) on Etsy and we are a great bunch of artists.  Search for “VAST Team, Laborday” at Etsy.com to find our great items!! Some of my matted and framed work is on sale – but also an ACEO SALE!  Buy 2 and get 1 FREE!! Click the button below and buy 2 and get the 3rd free …. or go buy in my Etsy Shop.

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Ocean Dreams, Digital © Diane Clancy

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Conundrum I, Digital © Diane Clancy

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Freckles in Flowers II, Digital © Diane Clancy

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Purple Jewels, Digital © Diane Clancy

List All 3 ACEOs Titles Here

This contest is going to close after this coming Labor Day weekend – so enter now!! I have a give-away to celebrate my 500th post. You can still enter to win!! Here are the details. It is FREE to enter! Thank you for stopping by! There are some of my regular readers who are away and I want to give them a chance to enter. Hi – thanks for coming by!!

~ Diane Clancy

Technorati Tags: VAST Team, Etsy, give-away, FREE

I will tell you soon about a fantastic exhibit I saw today – so really wild and inspiring!! I am not sure I can post an image here … but I sure can give you the link.  The work so inspired me to get out that paintbrush again … but still dragging and too too busy.  It was weaving – and just exquisite!!  I am thinking perhaps I can make some ACEOs to work out some ideas … here is a simple pretend fabric ACEO. Thank you for coming by!!

Quilted-Heart-ACEO, Digital © Diane Clancy

~ Diane Clancy

Independent musicians are now supporting the Visual Artists with the Orphan Works Act given the way it is written right now.  The original intent has pretty much gotten lost .. and big business interests have taken over (my interpretation). There is a lot more information in the posts for the last 2 days. Here is one of my original ACEOs I made … I need to get back to making some more in traditional mediums beside digital.

Lace and Flowers – ACEO © Diane Clancy

~ Diane Clancy

FROM THE ILLUSTRATORS’ PARTNERSHIP

Visual Artists Go to Washington, Independent Record Labels Oppose
Orphan Works Act

Last week over two dozen visual artists, representing illustrators,
photographers, fine artists and the arts licensing trades went to
Capital Hill to explain to legislators how the Orphan Works Act
will harm creators and the hundreds of thousands of art-related
small businesses that serve and are dependent on them. At the same
time, independent music labels have joined the opposition to orphan
works legislation as it currently exists.

The Illustrators’ Partnership has stressed that Orphan Works
legislation should be limited to true orphaned work and not act as
an unwarranted compulsory license imposed on commercial markets.
IPA, the Advertising Photographers of America and the Artists
Rights Society have joined to offer amendments to that effect.

Excerpted from the Washington Internet Daily/Monday June 09, 2008:

The visual-arts community hit the Hill last week to protest what it
portrays as a hijacking of the orphan-works issue as it was
presented in a 2005 Copyright Office report…

The Copyright Office ran a bait-and-switch from its 2005 notice of
intent, which focused on facilitating libraries’, museums’ and
other nonprofits’ efforts to digitize collections to improve access
to them, [Illustrators' Partnership co-founder Brad] Holland said.
Artists want the issue narrowed back to that focus, scrapping
commercial use, he said…Copyright Office roundtables on orphan
works never addressed alternates to registries, an “untested,
untried, unaccountable market system” favoring Google, Getty,
Corbis and other commercial aggregators, Holland said. [Cynthia]
Turner [also of the Partnership] said artists would incur high
costs registering works, and they hesitate to hand over high-res,
commercial versions to Google or others.

In the same article, Washington Internet Daily also reports that
the leading group of independent music labels has broken with the
corporate music trade associations. The American Association of
Independent Music has published a position paper opposing the
current orphan works bills. The article quotes a music industry
executive: “I can tell you that nobody in the music business”
sought the bill.

… the executive said the bill is “de facto… establishing a new
compulsory license” by putting unregistered artists at a legal
disadvantage in court. The law can’t explicitly require
registration or it will violate the Berne Convention, TRIPS and
other treaties the U.S. has signed, the executive said. Book
publishers and music executives in the U.K. think the U.S. will be
in trouble, the executive said, citing a recent visit: “I can tell
you there are European commissioners that are looking at this right
now.”

-Excerpts from “Orphan-Works Bills Scorned by Visual Arts, Indie
Labels” by Greg Piper, Washington Internet Daily June 09, 2008

Also see
http://www.artinfo.com/news/story/27803/visual-artists-and-indie-rec
ord-labels-voice-concern-over-orphan-works-bills/

Technorati Tags: Orphan Works Act

This is part of the Simple Pleasures series – this one is Nightfall … for resting for all of us! Any healing sent my way is still appreciated!! I am going to have to catch up tomorrow with your blogs …

Nightfall, Digital © Diane Clancy

Remember that ACEO book that I am part of? I am on the cover!! Here is the blog about it … it looks great! And here is the listing in case you would like to buy this exciting book.

~ Diane Clancy