SOLD

Wooo hooo! I sold my grulla Rompadeux to a fellow hobbyist.  I am sooo excited, but nervous too. I hope she likes it as much in person as she does with the photographs.  I have him all packed up and ready to roll, so he'll ship out today.

I had Rompy up on ebay but he really didn't do that well. I had a reserve set on him so maybe that scared some folks off.  I had him listed a little high at $150. Hey, a girl can dream, right?  LOL.  I eventually sold him for $100, which is a very fair price for an unknown artist.

I haven't done too much work this week. The weather has been really wierd.  Rainy, windy, cold, then warm. I am hoping to finish up Sheza soon. I'd like to list her before it gets too close to Christmas. The dappling on her so far is going well. I really don't want to screw that up!

I'll post pix when she's further along.

Sheza

I started working on Sheza. She is going to be a really sooty buckskin.  She went through this absolutely hideous period where I seriously had doubts.  Then, I started blocking in some dapples.

Here she is so far:

Just starting to add dapples here

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I am so terrified I am going to "ruin" her.  I am really going to take my time. I haven't sealed anything in, so I can totally "delete" the dapples. LOL!  It has been way to cold and windy here to do any sealing anyway.

I haven't started on Sadie yet. I am really nervous to start on her as some really experienced artists have been having trouble with her and how she is sculpted. Gulp!

I also listed another of my pieces for sale on Ebay.

Rompadeux

 

 

 

Lesson learned, I put a reserve of $150 on this guy. So far no bids. If he doesn't sell, so be it but at least I won't be "giving" him away like I did with Ben. At least Ben went to a good home, but still.

We'll see how it goes.

November

Here we are at November already. Where did this year go? Our tree will be up in a few weeks. I actually have a decent start on my Christmas shopping this year. I tend to avoid the craziness of shopping at a mall around the holidays.  I prefer ordering online and avoiding the craziness.   Some people enjoy the crowds and hustle and bustle of a mall around Christmas. Not me! 

I haven't been able to work on any horses at all. We had a suprise snowfall on Saturday. I woke up to find a blanket of white on our line. It was beautiful, but caused a lot of problems. Luckily we didn't lose our power. We had a Halloween party to get to and all I could think of was how funny it would be if a Halloween party was cancelled because of snow!

Here are some pictures of the horse I am referencing to paint Sadie:

This mare has such interesting facial markings.  She's just not a plain chestnut!

                                                                                                                         

I curse you weather!

Well, I got a GREAT start on Sadie. A few more light spritzes with some primer, a while top coat, and she would be read to rock. Unfortunately, the weather has decided to become decidedly uncooperative. High winds. Driving rains.  Saturday it was so windy it was knocking our metal porch swing around like it was nothing. All of the beautiful leaves have been knocked down by the hard winds and blown away by the gale-force winds. Definitely NOT a good leaf color year.  Anyway, I was really hoping to have a good start on Sadie by now, but she sits untouched. Which sucks.  I guess if things don't calm down I will finish up that overo drafter and that huge Gus medallion. He's juuuuuust about done. I also need to touch up Blue and try to get him listed (with a reserve this time!)

Speaking of sales, Ben has arrived safe and sound in his new digs in Maryland.  His new owner is thrilled with him. I am glad. He sold for a pathetically low sum. I guess I would rather he went cheap and is loved and displayed rather than languishing at my house in a drawer unseen. 

My Halloween swap partner also received her reiner and foal butterfly customs.  She loved the reiner and plans to show him. That's good news. I sure hope he shows well for her. I'd love to get some NAN-qualified pieces under my belt. I need to get my name out there and show I can turn out quality pieces.

I ordered some business cards from VistaPrint. Free but for shipping.  I figure I need to get in a serious mindset. I figure I will throw a card in when I sell a piece.  I'm not looking for Big Name Artist status but I'd like to have some recognition.

Here's to hoping the weather calms down and I can get started on Sadie!

A Lesson Learned

Ok, so the Ben medallion sold for way less (way, WAY less) than I wanted. Lesson learned. I thought starting the auction out at .99 with no reserve would attract bidders. I now realize that maybe it would have been better starting it out at, say, $25. Oh well. The person who got it is an artist as well and she collects the medallion, so it will be going to a good home where it will be appreciated.  I have him all packed up and ready to go out on Monday.

My Halloween goodies made their way safely to Kentucky and the recipient was thrilled. Whew!  I was sooo nervous she wouldn't like them, but she loved them.  I am so excited to see what goodies I will be getting.

I also signed up for the Blab Secret Santa. That was a lot of fun last year and I want to do it again, even though finances are kind of tight. I'll find the money somehow.

Also, the most exciting news of all, SADIE ARRIVED!  She is so cool. The cast is nice and clean too. I think it took me maybe a half an hour to prep her seams.  It was cute, Morgan saw me and asked me what I was doing. She wanted to "help" so I dug out some bodies and let her "prep" them with a makeup brush. It was pretty cute.

Anyway, I really wanted to get Sadie primered up today but the wind out there is just gale force!  I am hoping maybe tomorrow.  I really want to get started on her this week. I have her color and markings all picked out. I am going to try to sell her as well. Hopefully I can produce a quality piece that somebody will want to enjoy.  I think I will be able to do that. It seems each piece gets better and better. I just have to keep at it.

May have screwed up

Ok, so I listed my Ben medallion last night. As of today, one bid and one watcher. The price is currently at .99. Now, I started it low with the hopes of people getting excited and bidding rather than starting it at $30 and nobody having any interest. I think I paid $35 plus time spent painting it. Now I enjoyed painting it, but it makes me feel bad that nobody so far thinks it is worth more than .99!

I have a Blue medallion I was going to list. Lesson learned. I am starting it out at $25. At least the person who is the winning bidder will give it a good home.  I just was hoping to make some extra cash for the holidays is all. I have no room for this stuff and I really don't collect medallions.

I was going to sell some small resins too, but I don't know. Do I suck that bad? I know the market is really bad right now. People are really cutting back, but still.

There are still four days to go on the auction, but the fact that there is only 1 watcher really disturbs me.  I am keeping my fingers crossed that more people will see this great piece and step up. Otherwise, somebody is getting a heck of a deal.

The inner critic

Today, I put a Ben medallion I painted up on Ebay for sale.  I think the piece turned out pretty nice. I used straight acrylics on him. Here he is:













When it came to the description, I paused a bit before adding my studio name. The little nagging critic in my head kicked in with, "You're not good enough to have a studio! Nobody will care. Who do you think you are??"

I paused a bit, feeling odd selling something I had painted.  But then sense kicked in, I typed in my studio name and listed the piece.

It is amazing how we can be our own worst enemy/critic.

Ok, here we go again.

Ok, so I HAD a blog..and it disappeared. I guess that is what happens when you don't post for awhile. Anywhoo, I am still here and still painting the ponies. 

It is Stablemate Swap time again and I have created these two lil guys:

 They aren't 100% complete, but they are close. I sure hope my partner likes them.

I really have to start listing some things to get them out of the way. I have a lovely Blue and Ben medallion that need to go. I have no room and with a toddler and four cats, it is just a matter of time before something happens to them.  I am hoping to get them listed this Sunday, 99 cents and no reserve.  I have a few Breyers that need to go too. I just am not that into them any more. I kind of bought them when I first got back into collecting and they just aren't my cuppa.  Again, Ebay to the rescue.

I have a lovely, and I mean lovely, resin coming from Lynn Fraley. Sadie Shoo Fly. I cannot wait to get started on her. The minute she hits the house she is getting worked on. I have the perfect reference picked out and everything. I am hoping this is my first serious sales piece. We'll see how it goes. I may end up keeping her.

The market for sales isn't the greatest but I am hoping with the holidays coming up, it will pick up a bit. An amazing horse just sold for over 17K. Now, I'll never reach that caliber but I'd be happy, honestly, to get 50 bucks for a stablemate I painted. I just like doing it. Actually, I feel weird about pricing my work. They say price high and come down. I don't know. We'll see.

On a non-horse note, it is October and the leaves are just starting to turn. I really do love this time of year. The orange pumpkins, the crisp evenings, that smell of burning leaves that floats through the air. Hayrides and scary ghosts, candles. I love it! The holidays are coming up quick and this year I aim to be prepared.  I have a great start on my Christmas shopping already. We are all cutting way back, as times just seem to be getting tougher. Besides, I don't really need that much. I have an awesome family and my ponies to paint. That is all I really need.

Until next time (which will be soon, promise!)