2023 Twitter Art Exhibit

I've been wanting to enter the Twitter Art Exhibit for years now. It always passed me by, but I was on it for 2023! The physical exhibit and sale is followed by a virtual exhibit and sale and this year all proceeds go to UNYA, or Urban Native Youth Association in British Columbia.

Each 5x7" original piece of art is $37.50US and you can browse the remaining cards for sale on the Twitter Art Exhibit website.

I created a paper silhouette of a horse called "Keep Moving". If you're unfamiliar with my silhouettes, I draw on one side and cut away paper until the silhouette remains. It's harder than it looks :-D I think next year I'll do a traditional drawing or painting because I'm unsure a silhouette translates well into an online sale since it's a niche art form.

Do take a look and pick up some nice art for yourself or a friend! The sale ends July 24 and right now if you buy four cards, you can get one free!

New on Creative Market and Etsy - Pony Portraits!

It's always amazing how long it takes me to get something to market - mostly because I still have a full time job that needs attention. In 2016, I drew these cute little ponies for Christmas cards. I scanned them before cutting them up, knowing that I would fix them up at a later date. The hand drawn look is quite charming, after all! To save time, I whipped up the line art on my computer and printed them out on a sheet of cardstock. I coloured a wide variety of horse coat colours.

Recently, I had the time to sit down and clean up the pictures so I could offer them as clip art on Creative Market and Etsy. Usually clean up involves removing dust and scratch, little spots and fixing up stray lines or the eyes. As I zoomed in on the horses, I discovered yellow dots. All. Over. The. Place. Ugh!!! Suddenly having to do clean up was seriously time consuming! What had happened? Well, it turns out that some home printers have anti-counterfeiting and tracking capabilities called machine identification code. So yes, your printer could be spying on you. Sometimes failure presents an opportunity. It would be far easier to retrace the images in CorelDraw and make flat clip art than clean up all the dots. So the cute little hand drawn ponies morphed! In the end it was a better idea as I could offer more colours in the clip art package.

Many people think success is a straight line, but it's not. It's more of a curvy path where you wander in circles until you get to your destination :-D The pony clip art will be perfect for anything pony related - there's 72 images in CMYK and RGB JPG along with PNGs in the package. I'm going to make stickers out of them and maybe magnets too! Of course, you can buy the package for personal use on Etsy or licence the commercial rights through Creative Market.

Textiles Throwback Thursday

January is the month of getting it done - or at least we try to! One thing that was nagging me was that I had not photographed two older works. Documenting artwork can always be a challenge for artists and I really let it slip by the wayside. Click the pictures to see them on Flickr and they are also on DevArt if you care to comment there. The first, Fire Escape, is my award winning wool tapestry. It placed second in its class at the Calgary Stampede Western Lifestyles Arts & Crafts show in 2013. Regrettably I did not get a picture before it was framed under glass, the colour is still true to life. Pro tip: always splurge on museum glass. The second is an untitled piece, a square fabric collage was created for one of my classes at ACAD. The goal of the project was to spend one hour a night adding something to a large collage - whether it was adding a piece of material or embroidering a feeling. Now, I wish I had framed this one because it needed a lot of canned air and even then in the end I had to clone out a big, fluffy budgie feather I had missed. Fabric collage is really fun, but does require some forethought such as ironing all the pieces beforehand.

New horse scherenschnitte on Etsy

It's seems like it wasn't all that long ago that I was drawing some new papercuts - but it last November was a long time ago! I found the half finished piece for this grazing horse and quick finished it up. It is cut from black cardstock and mounted to white cardstock. There were a few hairy moments when I was cutting the mane and clouds. It is so easy to snip these off by accident. The picture is sale on Etsy.

I Used to Draw Like This

I posted this on Facebook last week. My friend and framer Ljubica came over to deliver a picture and while chatting about art, this and that, I pulled out an old watercolour from high school.



It was good for a laugh! You can see that I liked Breyers as well as horses a lot back then! It made me a little sad too - even back then art programs were pretty underfunded. We did most of our projects on manila paper and it was almost always watercolour. Manila paper is a poor quality choice - it doesn't hold water very well - and, well, it's off white! Occasionally we did get real watercolour paper or a Fredrix canvas, but I was kind of disappointed by how little I learned about drawing, technique or materials. I sense this is why a lot of people never practice art - they figure that just because they were not good at it then, they never will be. Chances are they just didn't have good instruction or materials :)

Scenes from Spruce Meadows

Today I am going to share with you a magical place in Alberta. Now, Alberta is full of magical places, but if you love horses, Spruce Meadows is a wonderous land where sport and family meet!

When I was a little girl living in Edmonton, I used to dutifully collect the free admission passes that came with the gas bill in hopes that some day my family would make the three hour trek to Calgary. That never happened - it was only until I moved here that I was able to indulge in Spruce Meadows and I loved every minute of it. Every visit, decades later, reminds me of my youthful enthusiasm for horses.

It's easy to forget that houses are right across the road from it now - but it still maintains its country charm. And here's the best part - there really is something for everyone at Spruce Meadows, from live music, delicious food, usually a car show or dog agility.

Spruce Meadows celebrated its 40th anniversary last year and this lasting gift from the Southern family always fills my heart with pride. Red Arrow kindly provides a free shuttle service so that the park is accessible to everyone and admission is free, although some day I am going to splurge on the paid seats :)

I couldn't have asked for a more picture perfect day when I went for the Continental on June 11th. It was sunny and cool and I marvelled at all the recent upgrades. It's been a couple of years since my last visit. The old bleacher seating at the Chinook Ring has been replaced with a fancy new Founder's Plaza with tables and chairs.

I was super excited this day because I borrowed a 200 mm zoom lens. For those of you who have never held one, it's about as long as your forearm and weighs about a pound or two. It was really hefty! I found a primo space for the event going on and tested it out. I was so nervous because of the borrowed lens that I forgot to make the most of the zoom! I had all sorts of dumb fears that it would fall off my camera or that I would drop it :D

Fortunately by the time we found seating in the International Ring I had a handle on it and I was thrilled with the results, as you can see in this sample on Flickr. I can't wait to go again!

New Horse Papercut

Whew, I am always moving at the speed of life! Here is an 8.5x11" papercut that I did earlier in the month. It was inspired by a friend who reshares a lot of feathered horses on Facebook! Adding some horses within a horse made for a more interesting picture than just pinto coloured. It's for sale on Etsy too!

Last year's holiday horse

I love how I'm so behind that I couldn't post this last year :-D If you're wondering if there was a 2014 holiday horse...nope...that one is half done. Late for this year, early for next seems to be my motto. This horse is made from layers of paper and PanPastel.
2015 Holiday Horse by calzephyr on DeviantArt

Now You Can All Say...

You know an award winning artist ;-) My last minute idea for the Papercraft and Calligraphy section at the Calgary Stampede Western Lifestyles showcase really paid off - literally! My second place section win came with a cash prize. This is the best photo I have been able to get of this picture, which is called Three by Three. It's three layers of paper that features three different animals in three different environment in three feathers. Whew! The idea came to me around the end of May and then thankfully my friend at Sketch Art Supplies had ample time to frame it :-)

An Old Favourite!

Yeeesh, sometimes I forget this blog exists :-D Preparation for Christmas craft sales has kept me busy, plus I bought Adobe Lightroom last month. It's given my older photos a lot of new life and easy to use, plus it's surprisingly inexpensive - $149 for the perpetual licence.

 Here's one picture from our trip to California that I felt really lucky to capture because the line up was crazy. Don't go to Disneyland on a Saturday, folks! You can buy this image on cards and stickers from Zazzle.

Homestretch!

This is my last week of classes! Looking forward to reconnecting with y'all!

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Fawnette and Fancy Reflektion

I feel like my mind has really turned to mush! I was so sure I had blogged about this before, but apparently not. This is a commission that I finished earlier this year. It was started in summer 2011, but delayed due to the postal strike. It arrived at its destination last month and the commissioner is thrilled. Fawnette and Fancy are Arabians, although the picture is not as red as it seems. It was very difficult to photograph indoors.
January 5, 2012 ::: Golden Acrylic ::: 8x10"

Hold Your Horses!

So I did have the aforementioned crafty weekend last weekend. I made my entire inventory of pony cards for the fall season. As I get set to go back to school and practice for my road test, I'm worried I'll be scrambling to make stuff! My friends took my husband out and Muffin and I worked hard!

I took some pictures so that people can understand just how labour intensive a card can be. First, there's the ponies! The original pony card was made for my friend Noela Jewelry. I translated the pattern to my Pazzles craft cutter, but even that took some work perfecting as the software is fussy. Anyway, I cut a variety of bodies, manes, and tails.

Next comes drawing the eyes. Each eye is hand drawn and coloured with a fine marker. I use a dud pony as a template. It takes about a minute to draw each eye. Then I dot each one with a white Souffle marker to make it pop. Lastly, the manes and tails are glued on and decorated with Copic markers. By the time I got to the 30th pony, I was pretty worn out!

Once the ponies are assembled, I still need to assemble the cards. I cut 8.5x11" paper in half, then fold the halves, to make quarter fold cards. I use pastel colours because I like the way they show through the paper underneath. I print out a background, run it through the adhesive cartrige of my Xyron, and then stick it onto the cardstock. I could use white cardstock and just print the image, but full-bleed on scored cardstock is tricky for my printer.

I have a few designs - clouds, a rainbow and pasture.

But wait, there's more! The first batch of cards featured glitter stamped onto them. The glitter, while very fun, was very messy! I tried to move away from that with the second batch, but I didn't have an ink that was metallic enough. For this batch, I took a chance buying Tsukineko Brilliance metallic ink. It's really shimmery! The only thing I didn't like was that I found the little containers hard to open and I dropped them a few times :\

So 60 impressions later, the ponies are ready to go on the cards! It takes about 5-6 pieces of adhesive squares to secure on to a card. All the cards are blank inside, and some ponies get stickers on their rumps! Here are some of my favourites from this batch:

So far it seems like the most popular colour is white, which really surprised me. A few people have said to me, independently, that maybe it's because white is associated with unicorns. I dunno! We'll see what colour emerges the true winner after Christmas.

Appaloosa ACEO

Recently I found one of the first few marker ACEOs I created from 2006. This Appaloosa in profile is an original ACEO or art trading card, not a print. Staedtler art markers have been used to create this leopard Appaloosa on acid free Strathmore paper. Add this original wild and free Appaloosa to your ACEO herd!






-((-------------------------------------Don't Forget!-------------------------------------))-


My 5x7" print contest ends on January 31st. Don't forget to comment to enter!

Blog Backlog #1 - Third Place!

I hope everyone is enjoying their summer! I feel like I have hardly been home with the farmer's market, travelling and when I am home, I'm trying to get through virtual piles of photos. Here's one I couldn't wait to re-take - third prize in the colored pencil and pastel drawings, western theme class at the Calgary Stampede Arts and Crafts Showcase. First place was a more traditional use of pastel, a portrait of a pioneer man. The second was a calf. When you enter, you have no idea if you have won something, so I was just thrilled to get a ribbon! The framing was chosen for me by Studio Todorovic via Ted Harrison Framing in Art Central, Calgary. Of course, big props goes to Jess for the use of Sunny and Sabre's likenesses :-)

What will I do next year? I better think of something quick!! A year seems like a long time, but it really isn't.

Writer's Block: Where I Want to Be

Livejournal has a daily writer's block question and sometimes I find they really jog my memory! Today's question is What was your childhood dream? Did you ever accomplish it?

My childhood dream was to be a jockey. I never wanted to be a ballerina or a princess or anything like that. Suffice to say, I haven't achieved that dream despite being short enough - alas, I wouldn't make the weight requirement! The last remnant of that dream faded around Grade 9 or 10. Before my family moved to Calgary, I seriously thought about attending Olds College for their Equine Science or Exercise Rider and Jockey program. Alberta has a thriving horse industry and if the new Balzac racetrack ever gets built, it will have two major racetracks.

But my parents favoured career plans that were more practical and less dirty, so I never did have the encouragement in that area either. I practically grew up at Northlands Park, which was my Dad's way of babysitting us when Mom worked weekends or evenings. It was great, if a little odd - we could run around wherever we wanted, there were always fries after the eighth race and there were horses to watch! There was never a shortage of Dad's friends who doted on my brother and I as well. Like bowling, an afternoon at the racetrack seems like an antiquated hobby.

Naturally, I loved The Black Stallion as well. I wish I could find it, but I have a Grade 1 drawing of me riding The Black. It's such an adorable picture - I love kid's art - but it's a picture I keep finding and losing over the years. The next time I find it, I promise to scan it in!

Another one of my hobbies...

Esprit, World Equestrian Games model
Originally uploaded by Calzephyr

Livejournal recently had a Writer's Block question about things people collect...well, as you might have seen from my YouTube videos, I collect model horses. Many people think at first that model horses are like model cars, and while some people do enjoy repositioning, rehairing and repainting models, most of mine are straight out of the box!

In fact, I just unboxed this beautiful silver fella, Esprit, Breyer's 2010 World Equestrian Games model. I only get a couple of new models every year nowadays - with over 300 Breyer and Peter Stone horses, so space is a bit of a premium!

One of the many facets of showing model horses is photo showing. This is where you take pictures of your horse, find a show to enter (either online or snail mail) and wait for the results. They are fun to enter and I used to be really into it! I had a really poor camera though - an Olympus Mini. Now I have a great camera and no enthusiasm for photoshowing. Go figure!

I love Esprit so much that I just had to take some pictures and this one was my favourite.

It's a Purple Pony!

I need a little sign that says "Make Hay While the Sun Shines" because then it would remind me to do more productive things when our wacky weather is behaving nicely! For instance, I should have taken a photo of this ACEO outdoors on Saturday when I had the chance.

I drew it a few weeks ago at an artist trading card get together graciously hosted by Studio Todorovic at Art Central. Originally it was going to be one horse, but I didn't have an eraser, so I thought I would just go ahead and make it two horses in tandem. I used Copic markers for whole card. This line of markers is just wonderful to use, unlike Prismacolors. The nibs are replaceable and they have no odour.

The original card is for sale on Etsy - I do believe it's the first new thing I have listed in a long time!

Big yellow horse coming through!

Until spring rolls around, this is the best picture I can get. The distortion I was going for didn't quite happen, and the pose is almost more of an homage to Geroge Stubb's "Whistlejacket" but I'm quite pleased with how it turned out. Painting "loose" or "different" is not usually something I do :-)





Acrylic ::: 24x24" ::: December 29, 2009

And it is done...

I put the final tweaks on my yellow horse painting this morning and when it's light enough, I'll photograph it tomorrow. It felt so good to mark it down as complete today in my sketchbook.

A few people have seen it in progress, and it's not a very complicated painting. The complications came from the horse's legs (which I'm still not entirely satisfied with) and the green colour field. The original green colour more or less cancelled out the darkness of the horse's legs, and it needed to be pushed back. It really killed me on Sunday to paint out the whole area including the horse's legs. Then I discovered that the distortion I was going for was part of the problem with the legs - I ended up mixing some light blue to slim down the rump. I spent all day painting on Sunday and I found myself mentally exhausted just from the sheer amount of thinking and problem solving required.

Monday was far easier - I touched up some areas and then gave myself some time to think about it. The colours I chose were based on Franz Marc's colour theories - some of you may recall that I wrote an art history essay on one of his paintings and this was inspired by it. He called yellow the "feminine principle" and I discovered it's very, very hard to paint around yellow, nevermind mixing up the purest shade of it. There are some areas where the colours vibrate against each other and I like that effect.

Hopefully by tomorrow I'll think of a catchy name for it. My husband suggested "Horse Dodging Laser Beams" and then threw in a few sound effects to boot!