Be Natural Mini...

The last two weeks have been busy for me. I did manage to squeeze some time in for painting. One of my new creations is what I'm calling the "Be Natural Mini" (at least for now). I'm thinking with Christmas approaching, I want to think about painting more mini canvas for Christmas gifts...
I also love the idea of turning the Be Natural collection into a line of stationery.

Black Women with Naturals

Now that I have made the decision to share my art work with people that I actually know, the pressure to be “good” has more of an impact on me than I thought it would. But again, I go back to the lesson I learned last week, “there are no accidents in art”.

Anyhow, the question that I have been asked the most is will I "paint more than just Black women with afros?". And my response - "YES, of course I will!!" However, I also need to remind you that I JUST started painting SIX weeks ago. Can I perfect my Black Women first?? LOL While many people are eager to see what else I can paint, I’m comfortable for now, painting my faces! And I need to get through the rest of the alphabet first! Remember, I’m only at “I”. So for now, LCherise will stick to painting Black Women with Naturals…

www.LCherise.com

Every artist needs a website and tonight, I created a quick and easy website!
www.lcherise.com

Football and Painting

I had to move my art studio to the living room this afternoon! I had two personalities (that's how I will refer to my paintings I think) to complete AND I had to watch NFL RedZone to catch highlights of the Chargers. Two of the things about being on the East Coast now, is football starting so late in the day, and watching teams that I would not normally watch...

Anyhow, Georgia has been finished for a while, but I wasn't happy with her nose. I played around with it some more today and decided, I'm just going to leave her alone. Another lesson that I learned in my art class is that "there are no mistakes" in art!! Georgia is wearing a Brooch I ordered online from a website called fabulousbrooch.com. I'm sure the Brooch was made in China.

Hadiya means "A Gift" in Swahili. And I thought the name was fitting for my last painting... she too wears a Brooch that I bought on fabulousbrooch.com. She is also the largest (11x14) personality that I have attempted and I really like how her hair turned out.

I was in such a paiting mood today, that I already started "I". I don't know what her name is yet, because I typically don't name the piece until after she has eyes. LOL I hope to share her with you later this week!!

Almost Ready for Etsy...

It's been what, about 4 weeks now since I started painting and I finally decided to share my blog with more than 5 people... I got up this morning with a renewed vision - that secretly hiding my talent between the "3" corners of my kitchen floor isn't going to get me too many places. Not that there is really any place I need to be, well that is except Etsy. Etsy.com, That's where all professional artists seem to be. Of'course what makes you a professional is not when you're selling your art work, but when someone is actually "buying" your artwork. And at this point, I'm not in either category just yet.

As an a new Artist, I have realized that there's a little more to think about than just painting a Canvas and posting it online... Do you want to create prints? Sell the originals? How much should you charge? Do you want to do custom peices? Or Work with what you got? These are some of the questions that have come to my mind. As I explore the work and talent of other artist and what they do I honestly don't know what route will be the best for me. BUT, what I do know is that I will Sell something!

In fact, I'm so sure of it, that I officially created my Etsy store tonight. Grant it, I have nothing to sell right now, but I will... soon. And hope you plan on making a purchase!
http://www.etsy.com/shop/LCherise

It's okay to start over...

One of the things that the art instructor told us was "it's okay to start over". And starting over, means just painting over what you have already done (not getting a new canvas). As a new artist, it is a very important lesson - one that I am glad I learned this early in my talent.

As a result, I looked at Fatimah on Wednesday with a new perspective. She had been sitting for a full week (or two) because I didn't quite know how to finish her and I really didn't like the direction she was going in. With my new lesson in mind, however I reminded myself that I could start over... and that's what I did, sort of, I "fixed" her skin color and changed her mouth, and repainted the background. And I was happy with the outcome!!