Monthly Archives: April 2007

Abstract Design X

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This design is like a mandala to my mind. I like the sense of water flowing and the flames of fire in the one digital painting. This is part of my wrapping paper design series but I am not sure if it would be good for this purpose. It is very different from much of my work – except I do feel incredible motion in this painting and does evoke an emotional response in me. Actually, now that you mention it, there is also a richness of color that is in harmony with my other artwork.

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Abstract Design X, Digital © Diane Clancy

That is what I want to share about in this post tonight … this being different from much of my work. Yesterday I shared the quote “I love the whimsical and poetic quality of your work. A true inspiration!” I am very excited about a fellow artist (or anyone for that matter) seeing my work that way.

I have often spoken of color being the underlying unifying theme of my work. This quote from yesterday is making wonder if a “whimsical and poetic quality” could also be applied to my paintings of all kinds. When I think through my work, perhaps this does cross from my oil paintings to my kitty paintings to my designs.

But I have on my mind tonight … am I too spread out? Some reading today suggests that very important to specialize. To not do work that is different from what one usually does. I am going to continue this tomorrow.

~ Diane Clancy

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Animals I

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Today Neda emailed me saying, “I love the whimsical and poetic quality of your work. A true inspiration!” (This is the first we knew of each other!) What a smile that put on my face. That is exactly how I would like to be seen. I am not sure how Neda found my blog (or site), but I appreciate her taking the time to let me know that my work touched her!

Animals I

Animals I, Digital © Diane Clancy

Today was also a productive day for me for the business! I am now able to accept visa and other credit cards through PayPal. That has been on my list of things to do for a long time. It took me quite a while to read all the fine print and make sure I chose the right type of account and that I understand all fees.

I also got my Etsy shop set up today! If you want to visit Diane’s Etsy Shop to check it out, please feel free! I listed only a few items to start to get in the rhythm. Again, it took me a long time to read all the fine print to make sure I understood what I was getting into. I need to “talk” with the guy at ArtFlock to get some advice before I post my first items there.

I am so excited because I have been wanting my work online for sale besides at my website for a long time! I can also put in a PayPal shopping cart and people can buy from my site with PayPal. I hadn’t realized that selling through PayPal on your site was totally secure.

~ Diane Clancy

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Arriving

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Speaking of traveling (yesterday’s post), this little kitty did some traveling … that is how he was “Arriving.” He went on the journey to the next plane and this painting was part of my grieving process. I see his arriving to a place where he is celebrated as the cool kitty he is … this is his arrival where everyone is delighted to see him!

Arriving

Arriving, Tempera © Diane Clancy

As you can tell if you have been following these posts, I dearly love this little kitty. I have plans to paint more pictures of him. I enjoy doing this kind of spontaneous painting.

A friend of mine was training with Michele Cassou to teach “The Magic of Painting as Spontaneous Expression.” I had already found a book and video of Michele’s work and technique before I knew my friend was taking classes. I had been using the techniques on my own, so I jumped at the chance to be a test student for my friend.

Two of the paintings I created in this class, “Arriving” and “Underground,” are very popular for me in cards. Hopefully tomorrow I will get to Etsy and ArtFlock. Perhaps this will be one of the cards that I sell at those online stores.

~ Diane Clancy

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Animals III

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I am sure that all these animals are journeying somewhere important. Clearly, there is a specific place they are going – even though the path is winding … do you know where they are traveling?

Animals III

Animals III, Digital © Diane Clancy

This is a digital painting that  will be very good for licensing. I think these animals are incredibly fun and fanciful. The curves of the animals follow the curves of the paths they are following. Unlike much of my work, the colors are a little muted. Again,  these designs would be great cards and wrapping paper.

I am so hopeful that this weekend I can make some progress at getting my work more widely available at Etsy and ArtFlock. I am so excited – I think this is the right timing for me – and hopefully for the market! A new, important step for me.

~ Diane Clancy

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Emma in Flowers II

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Emma looks so precious to me as she is stepping forward with her little paw. This digital painting is fabulously cute in my opinion. Tonight I feel that Emma is going through a forest of flowers.

Emma in Flowers II

Emma in Flowers II, Digital © Diane Clancy

Today I spent the day at a workshop that was promoting an internet marketing package that was incredibly powerful and interesting, but I did not feel it was right for my needs. But I did learn a lot about search engines and different techniques.

With their package they offer a great database for keeping track of potential customers and making it easy to send out newsletters. Educating myself about newsletter software is on my list of things to do. I have a database of products and clients, but it is not connected up to the web. I will need to decide if the one program can do the job or … what.

It is also time for me to get serious about getting a shopping cart and at least being able to take paypal for credit cards for the convenience of customers. Time for these next business steps!

~ Diane Clancy

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Outer Flow XV

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Several years ago I had my first exhibit that had room to hang about 40 pieces of my original artwork in a variety of traditional mediums. After hanging all this work, my artist friend said, “I didn’t think all your work would go together – but it does! Your work is all about color. I never realized that until I saw it all at once. I thought the differences in mediums would make it feel fragmented.”

Outer Flow XV

Outer Flow XV, Digital © Diane Clancy

This experience helped me realize that the unifying theme of my artwork is color. I play with color in most of my work. I often create series with similar subject matter and different colors.

It is part of my method to explore variations in form and color – often subtle. This technique particularly interests me. The “Inner Flow” series explores small changes in form. Going from “Inner Flow” to “Outer Flow” delves into transformations of color.

In yesterday’s post Outer Flow III, Sue O’Kieffe of Sacred Circles Mandalas said, “this image has a much more celestial feeling to it ” than the “Inner Flow” series. So, I think this name of “Outer Flow” is a winner.

In the post Abstract Design IX I asked if anyone had heard about Art Flock as place for artists to sell our work. I am delighted that Ed from Art Flock posted a comment with information about this new site for artwork! I am going to check it out and will keep you informed.

~ Diane Clancy

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Outer Flow III

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Now this image makes my heart sing! I love the bright bursts of aqua floating through the painting and the purples in the background – or is it deep space? My soul is fed very deeply by this image.

Outer Flow III

Outer Flow III, Digital © Diane Clancy

A few days ago in the post Beginning Life III I said that I would play with the color in that image to make the colors more in harmony with my inner color sense. This is the result of that play. I feel so much more uplifted when I look at this digital painting. I like the other one, but I love this one!

I am open to another name than “Outer Flow.” In the post Inner Flow III, there is a related image. This morning when I was reaching for a name, I thought of the Inner Flow series. You can find many technical details about creating these paintings in that post.

The Beginning Life series feels like the inside of cells …. The Inner Flow series … I think of them as being inside and on the micro-level. So far, I think this Outer Flow series reminds me more of the universe flowing around – the planets and such – the macro-level.

You begin to see my process of naming my paintings. I plan to make videos in transforming the image from Beginning Life III to Outer Flow III. Perhaps it is interesting that all 3 images mentioned in this post are “III” – a mystical number.

~ Diane Clancy

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Abstract Design IX

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This abstract design is full of fun and life and asks … “what’s going to happen next?” I know I would love to get a present with this wrapping paper. (I would like to get a present anyway, but even more so with this paper.)

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Abstract Design IX, Digital © Diane Clancy

I am still looking into licensing these designs for wrapping paper or fabric. If you would like to read more about this process for the abstract designs, please read the post Abstract Design XI.

I think the movement and energy of this digital painting is fun – the movement is horizontal, vertical and diagonal. The composition of a painting is important. One wants to keep the eye of the viewer in the image and to keep the person looking around at different parts of the picture. I think this works in this painting.

Does anyone know of ArtFlock, http://www.artflock.com ? I have heard of Etsy, http://www.etsy.com/, these last few weeks. I am glad to find other artists have been satisfied at Etsy. Does anyone know if ArtFlock treats their artists well also? Thank you for any help you can be!

~ Diane Clancy

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Toys II

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Looking for a birthday party! This wrapping paper design is looking for a company to make it into actual wrapping paper. Already I have cards showcasing this digital painting, but my customers are wanting the paper to go with the cards.

Toys II

Toys II, Digital © Diane Clancy

I am exploring licensing for my designs. Someone would be allowed to use my designs (paying a royalty, of course) to make products that they then market. Licensing has become quite a large part of the art marketing field nowadays.

If you would like to read about the details of how I create this kind of design, please check out the post Flowers XVII. When I saw all these cute toys, I just had to make them into a design that the kid in me sure loves.

It was a glorious day here and in this area most people are very happy that the sun is out and the day is warm. Hope you enjoyed your weekend!

~ Diane Clancy

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Beginning Life III

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To me this looks deep – life being created right before our eyes … Again it is 3D – I can go right inside this image and floating around with the rest of the pieces of matter and life. We are now at the beginning of this year’s cycle of life (in the northern hemisphere). Time to start afresh!

Beginning Life III

Beginning Life III, Digital © Diane Clancy

I created 17 different images in the Beginning Life series. Once I got going playing with this set of digital paintings, I couldn’t stop. They are so similar yet so different. Years ago, someone suggested they would be fantastic in a video. I think I know how to do that now and it is on my list of things to do.

This was created entirely in the computer program Painter with KPT filters. As with many of my other digital images, extensive layering is involved to create the translucent properties of this painting.

I think I will translate this image into a different color scheme. Those of you who follow my work know that green is not my usual choice. I wonder what this would look like in my pink/purple/aqua. I will get back to you on that.

~ Diane Clancy

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Memory

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I love working with actual, physical, paint. There is something so satisfying about using physical paints (as opposed to digital paints.) This is another painting from my goddess series with, obviously, the double-face theme. For one of my friends, this is her absolute favorite image of all my artwork. Memory, Acrylic © Diane Clancy This creative process has an interesing origin. A long time ago, I stumbled on this image of double eyes and faces from fooling around with early digital equipment. I found out that if I moved my my head one way while photographing myself with the video equipment, my face became a series of peaks. Moving my face in the other direction, made my face stretch out. I still have the orginal printout that I made into a grid. Sometime I will scan it and show you. Even though it’s beginning came from a mistake (or divine inspiration), I have found this to be a powerful motif that is worth repeating again and again. Each person seems to have their own interpretation of this idea. In my experience, people are often sure that their sense of the double faces is what I intended. To me, that seems to indicate that I have tapped into a deep inner connection that speaks loudly for many. I find myself mesmerized by these double faces. There is a way that I feel “feed” on a soul level. I feel connected to me deep inside. ~ Diane Clancy Technorati Tags: goddess, creative … [CLICK TO READ MORE]

Flowers XI

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In honor of today feeling like Spring!! in New England, eastern U.S, here is a display of flowers for you! I hope you are enjoying your spring or fall, depending on where you are. I feel so much lighter with the sun and warmth. I want my artwork to help others feel uplifted like the weather is helping me. Flowers XI, Digital © Diane Clancy I had a lot of fun with this creative process of making this digital painting by choosing flowers in pinks and purples and putting them all together. These colors make me happy! A friend mentioned to me how spring is a lot about “allowing” – allowing the energy of the season to carry one upward, like the flowers pushing up through the dirt to blossom. I am ready for some allowing and blossoming! Thanks for stopping by and smelling the flowers! ~ Diane ClancyTechnorati Tags: flowers, creative process, digital painting, color, uplifting … [CLICK TO READ MORE]

Irie in Butterflies

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Yesterday I told you that my fine art cards are being sold at the local Visitors Center. One local resident who saw my enhanced animal images at the Center, gave me a call to see if I would create her a unique portrait of her own animal companion. Of course, I was delighted! Irie in Butterflies, Digital © Diane Clancy I took an image she already had and put her Irie into a flower environment for a print for my client. She gave me written permission to also put her companion into a field of butterflies and then make cards to sell. Being a micro-business, I need to figure out which niches are working well and which will work for me. I find that creating animal portraits is a service that there is a demand for. Then when I am able to use these images for my cards, it helps me build my business. As an artist, I need to find creative ways to expand my market. I also offer graphic design and website design as another service. There is a lot of research now showing that every dollar invested in the local economy and the creative economy shows far greater return than most other investments into the economy. I am working to help create the creative economy in Franklin County! ~ Diane Clancy Technorati Tags: enhanced animal images, micro-business, local economy, the creative economy, tourism, marketing … [CLICK TO READ MORE]

Bambi in Flowers II

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I sell my cards at the local Visitors Center – we are a tourist area. This area is geographically gorgeous and full of artists. People from Boston and New York City come and look at the prices that artists are selling our artwork for and they pull out their check books. Bambi in Flowers II, Digital © Diane Clancy The going price for artwork is much higher in the cities and often the people who travel can afford to take home beautiful paintings and quilts and sculptures and photographs. There are a lot of beautiful items that almost anyone can afford also! We in the area are working on building the creative economy in Franklin County. The staff at the Visitors Center told me that the tourists want cards with deer and bears on them. So, I thought I would give it a try to see if my version of Bambi would be enjoyed enough by people to take Bambi home with them. ~ Diane Clancy Technorati Tags: the creative economy, marketing, tourism … [CLICK TO READ MORE]

Conundrum III

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Most days I read Alyson Stanfield’s Art Marketing Blog which I find very useful. I learned about blogging from her free Art Newsletter which you can sign up for at her Art Marketing website. When I started my blog less than a month ago, I studied Alyson’s posts on blogging to make decisions about how I wanted to proceed. In this one blog I get all sorts of insights from many different artists through their comments. Alyson encourages us as artists to use technology in our art businesses. Conundrum III, Collage © Diane Clancy Alyson, writing about an art-marketing workshop she gave this weekend, wrote in her blog, “One of the big lessons I always learn at these workshops is that artists who use technology have a distinct advantage over artists who don’t. …” Alyson continues, “Stay on top of technology and use the tools that are available to you. Only 3 out of 66 artists in the room yesterday had a blog! … think of that. Three of 66!” From Alyson’s blog I learned that WordPress is free blogging software. From what readers (and Alyson) wrote, I made a decision to go with WordPress and I am delighted that I did! I wouldn’t have known how to start without this great resource of Alyson Stanfield’s blog. This painting “Conundrum III” is from my collage goddess series that is inspired by my former quilting. There are many actual fabric pieces in this collage besides paper and paint. Please share your … [CLICK TO READ MORE]

Stella in Flowers I

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In another artist’s blog, Lisa Call’sCall’s quilting blog, Lisa talked about starting a store at Etsy – www.etsy.com. I have been considering starting a shop there also. In the comments in response to her announcement in her blog, several people said Etsy has a good reputation. I am relieved to hear that – it helps me feel good about looking into this possibility. Stella in Flowers I, Digital © Diane Clancy Being an artist – a micro-business, I need to find different marketing venues. I have a website from which I do sell a little. I have cards in several stores – about 10 – and prints in a couple of stores. Some of us are going to get together to learn from an experienced creative person about online marketing. This marketing focus is going to be one of my next arenas. I have to balance being willing to invest in myself and my business – which I do do – with being smart with my resources and minimizing unnecessary expenses. And one can never know beforehand which is which. I am looking for the correct balance for myself and my business. Luckily, some of my images – like this one – are popular with many people. Thank you for letting me share my process with you. ~ Diane Clancy Technorati Tags: Etsy, micro-business, marketing, online marketing, balance, Lisa Call … [CLICK TO READ MORE]