2013 Calendars

New This Year!!! CALENDARS!
I'm selling these calendars of custom paintings of cats and dogs that I have done over the years. I've probably painted over 300 portraits, and so it was difficult to select just twenty four. Twelve for my Cat Calendar, and twelve for my Dog Calendar! You can also purchase them at Teal Gallery, a brick and mortar location for the holiday in downtown Corvallis, Oregon.
Here are some samples from the Cat Calendar. I will post some dog portraits later this week.

The paintings in these calendars are all one-of-a-kind, custom paintings. I create a colorful treasure to remember your companion animal friend(s) and the decade or so that they occupy in your life. If you are interested in commissioning a painting of your creatures, please drop me an email, or call me. Please have a look at my website www.tasmanstudio.com to see other custom dog and cat paintings, read about the commission process, and see a sample price list.

Thank you Fall Festival!

Thank you to all who visited my booth saturday and sunday at the Fall Festival in Corvallis. It was so nice to see you all and visit a bit, it was a wonderful show. I am fortunate to have such a warm-hearted lovely group of followers, friends and fans! Couldn't do this without you!!!

ps. Tully wanted to come and help...he stayed home and kept Michael company while all his triathlon coaching kids and friends came and helped him with ice and lunch. Thank you OSU Triathlon Club!

Fall Festival Corvallis

I'm madly packaging, attaching hanging wires, varnishing, gluing, and packing for travel...getting ready to gently haul my art down to Central Park in Corvallis, Oregon for the Fall Festival. I'll set up my little home-away-from-home for the weekend with colorful new paintings, a pile of mixed media, and lots of cards and prints. I am the poster artist this year! Thank you fans, family and supporters! There will be posters and tshirts for sale in the gazebo, which is conveniently located right next to my booth (#17). Hope to see you there!

This piece on the left, called Dogwoods, has a companion piece, but you have to come to the festival to see it!

Some of my favorite artists will be there...Jennifer Lommers, Tam Grieter, Katy LaReau, Cynthia Jenkins (adore her pottery!!!), Jill Mayberg! 

Passion for Pattern Blog Hop!

Today is the day! If you have a passion for color, pattern, beauty....today is the day for a fun and visually enjoyable blog hop...follow the links and enjoy! You are coming from the lovely blog of Sarah Paris.

Since I have my final three shows of the year coming up quite quickly I've had to put down my mouse and my waacom tablet pen and take up the paint brush! So I have been mostly painting lately, not as much designing. One of my goals for this year is to play with how my paintings ideas fit into my pattern designing,  I thought I would create some patterns based on a painting that I have created for the Fall Festival coming up this next weekend. The painting is called "After Our Walk" because only after our walk will my dog Tully settle in for the day, usually underneath the table in his spot, and I can get to work. Below are the beginning ideas for a pattern collection based on the painting.

"After Our Walk"

The blog hop started here, at Claire Smillie's blog, if you'd like to go back to the beginning at not miss out on a single post!

For your next stop, head over to Jacqueline Auvigne. She is a talented and interesting Canadian Artist, Illustrator, Doodler, Surface Pattern Designer, and general Stuff – Maker.

This Sunday...Passion for Pattern Blog Hop!

This Sunday, September 16th, I will be participating in a blog hop of international surface pattern designers! I will be showing off some new patterns and the paintings that inspired them.

Featured on JLW Illustrations Blog Today

Today I am featured on Jennie Louise Whitham's Illustration blog. It was fun to see how she displayed my art and design together. The color is fabulous, and it's really nice to see my work in another context. It enables me to step back a sec and look at it as a regular viewer, which is very interesting and helpful. Follow the link and enjoy!

Time to Shift Gears

It's that time, autumn, my favorite time of the year....love the valley's golden hues, cool nights and warm days. It's time to focus on my fall/winter shows, Fall Festival in Corvallis (which I am the poster artist for this year, Local 14 in Portland, and finally Teal Gallery. First though, must get my galleries happy and well stocked. Here are four small paintings I'm sending to Dragonfire Gallery in Cannon Beach today. Sweet little labrador vignettes!

MOYO Surface Pattern Design Magazine Launch

Thrilled to announce the launch of MOYO the world’s first online magazine dedicated to surface pattern design! And one of my patterns made it into this issue, how fab is that? p.19!!! Yay!

The magazine is packed with interviews, design briefs, colour challenges, art reviews, student showcases, design tips, inspiration, trends and more, this free resource will be published quarterly. Grab a cup of tea and sit down and enjoy!

Open publication - Free publishing - More color

Paris??? YAY!!!!

Oh my...I've been invited to be "artist in residence" for the Tilton Paris tour!!! I couldn't be more excited and thrilled! I get to go to Paris, AND I get to go with Marcy Tilton, designer extraordinaire, textile aficionado, gallophile a la Paris! First thought, what can I bring to the tour as artist in residence...then....what kind of sketchbook am I bringing? Perfect! Second thought...shoes, must have some fabulous walking shoes...next thought, oh my, I have a lot of work to do before I go! Must get to work! Here is one of Marcy's jackets....how fun is that?

Artistic Expression

If anyone has been following my blog lately, you will have noticed I have had several different logos on there. Probably most folks have come and gone, and haven't seen them all, but being a former graphic designer who knows how important brands are, I am very self conscious about it. I really shouldn't be designing on the fly and publishing each iteration I fall in love with. But that's what I've been doing, and I'm no closer to a final design than I was a few months ago.

As an artist, I've been creating with paints and pastels professionally for about 15 years...I have a recognizable style, which sometimes I love, and sometimes I want to be different, but for better or for worse, it's mine, and it's here to stay. I get curious, about other mediums, about how other artists and craftspeople work. I added polymer clay to the mix about 10 years ago just as magnets at the holiday craft shows, but in the last 3-4 years I have developed a style of polymer clay collage that fills a price point in my my art market, and generates some nice income, and it is fun to do. It is very different from my paintings, but somehow, when I show them together, they get along and complement one another.

Ok so far, a little crazy, but manageable. Now I've added surface design, which I LOVE. I have no idea if I can, change my career and go off into this commercial realm. I don't know if I can keep it all, but even as I type that I think everything I have created up to this point will just make me a more awesome surface designer...I've got so much experience...and if I focus my attention on this, I could really create some beauty in the world. Does the world need more beauty? Always.

M2 Final Showcase

One of my pattern collections, Retro Flower Power, is featured on Rachael Taylors blog as part of the The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design Module 2 Final Showcase. I couldn't be more proud! http://rachaeltaylordesigns.blogspot.com/2012/08/module-2-final-showcase-part-2.html
This online class has been a journey of discovery and remembering for me, re-igniting my passion for sketching, and then learning how to turn these sketches into fun and colorful designs and also the practical steps to take them out into the world. The community of fellow designers that I have come to know through these classes is so supportive and it is very satisfying to watch us all grow and develop as designers. Thank you Rachael!

Underpainting with Dots

For once I took photos when starting a painting...and I found GOLD! It's just the very beginning of my under painting, but I love the energy and the colors, the drips, the light and then with a funky pattern on top...delish.

More Miss Chamois

I've been busy here at Tasman Studio, and I must've been making more noise than usual in the studio yesterday and woke Miss Chamois up from a nap. I've got half finished paintings everywhere, all kinds of books stacked up, sketches taped on the wall, it's humming.

I am readying for the Art Guild Clothesline sale that is coming up right up on Saturday, Aug 4 in Corvallis. I am also finishing up some design projects from my class with Rachel Taylor and working on some large pieces for my art shows this fall. I'm so excited about my new paintings, I can't wait to show y'all, but they are not ready yet, and I don't like to show my in-progress paintings, there is so much that happens in the studio that I don't want to subject to real or imagined public opinion. Easier to hear and follow my intuitive instincts, and let the paintings rest when they need to, for as long as they need to. So we will make do with Chamois photos and stories for now.

Love the head on the floor, looks so uncomfortable, it's one of her favorites.

Catching some sunshine.

Love this poem....

design by me  )

Two Color - Succulent Inspired Tea Towel

I love color, so to limit myself to two colors on a project was very challenging
...and quite a lot of fun.

Editing

"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love or hate it, and while they're deciding, make even more art."

-Andy Warhol 

Today I got "called out" by my good friend Claire, who noticed that I said I toned down my colors in my India inspired print...editing for what I think is public consumption. So since I am practicing listening and following my intuitive creative inclinations I am posting the original colors that I love out of respect for my personal aesthetic.

Yeah, nice and zingy. 

Might be interesting to see that this complicated pattern is based on some very simple sketches. Here's my first sketch of my idea. I scanned it in and mirrored the two pieces, cleaned it up and made sure where the designs meet each other made sense and I have this. Which I work some magic on in Illustrator. Then I decided it needed the smaller piece and some random flowers, so I sketched those and repeated the process.

India Inspired Pattern

I'm trying to get better about posting on my blog and on facebook regularly. So, short post, big picture. I created this design from a very very simple sketch, and I was pleased to find out what I could do create with these little sketches. I'm very interested in complex damask, Indian paisley, and brocade patterns, and this begins to reach into that territory. The colors initially were pretty zingy, I toned them down a notch from my original idea (bright pink and orange, my current weakness).

Summer Windowsill

I keep some kind of flowers or leaves on my windowsill above the kitchen sink all year long. Makes me happy. Currently, my two most favorite colors are orange and pink, preferably together. These sweet peas grow wild all around western Oregon right about now, and I always pick a few bunches. The orange Salpigloss is from my garden. While we're at it, I love that ultramarine blue too!

Gratitude - Remembering my very first commission

Barbara's painting.

This morning I found a deck of cards I created myself years ago, I guess similar to "angel cards", I thought of them as messages from my smartest self, or my future self that knows more than me know, my intention was to use them when I felt stuck, as happens every now and then to us all. They all have a title and an inspirational explanation, with examples from my life and with people that I know that have inspired, mentored, or encouraged me. Leafing through them I was amazed at my insight and wisdom at the time, each card a distillation of a quality that I wanted to emulate or bring into my life. One card I came across was called "Art Lover" and on it was a photo of Barbara, the very first person who commissioned a custom painting from me. At that time she was an interior designer in San Francisco area, and I was honored that she had actually commissioned a painting from Moi (she got chops)! but the photo of her says it all, she is a sweet person, reminding me that like-minded folks are attracted to me and my work, and to trust in that. It's been 13 years since I painted her piece (and 100s of commissions and paintings later)...just seeing her face, and reading the card brought me such gratitude for all the success I've enjoyed over the years. Thank you Barbara for believing in me and giving me a boost along my journey!
Card Title: Art Lover "Supporter of Beauty. Woman of High Regard.
The perfect people and events will arise to meet me as I follow my path."
Here is a photo of some of the cards I created. You can create your own inspirational deck of cards, start collecting a stack of photos (or a folder on your computer) and think about the people, places, idea that inspire you! Glue stick, sharpie, away you go.

Dog + Pretty Textiles = SATISFACTION!

We have taken to calling Chamois our "Wander-dog" because she has recently decided it's a great idea to go on walk-a-bout. In our neighborhood where plots are in acres, and there are no fences, just woods, this can mean a long way off. She is 13 years old, has two bad knees and a wobbly hind end...maybe she's decided, "to heck with all of these rules, I'm heading out"...because when I find her she is a happy dog, catching up on the "neighborhood" doggie newspaper. But now that I'm on to her wily ways, no more Mrs. Nice Guy from me, she's either going on her lead or staying on the deck, unless I'm specifically watching her.

COVET GARDEN
An online, FREE magazine...packed full of stories of the creative life, fabulous photos, and how creative folks build and feather their nest. Sweet mag!
http://covetgarden.com/

Confessions of a Textile Addict

In my paintings, one of the many fun things I do is decide what kind of patterns to decorate with! Recently I've started thinking about putting pattern on actual things, and decided to take some textile design classes. AND I have discovered a new creative avenue and I'm SO excited to dive into this creative expression....trumpets and bells here! That said, I'm not sure how this plays out yet, I'm not sure of the specifics of how this is going to happen, but I do know that I wake up every morning with a big YES, excited about what I'm going to create and terrified while learning the hows of getting it out there!  My paintings will be in my designs too, I just haven't figured that out just yet.

While I'm here, I will tell you a little about the e-course, The Art and Business of Surface Pattern Design by Rachael Taylor and Beth Nichols. I only took Module 3, and I would recommend taking all 3 Modules. I might take them in reverse. Absolutely packed with industry info, technical workshops, inspiration, real life examples, and a great community of fellow artists. I highly recommend.

Stay posted...more on this to come!