Norman Drake's Newest Painting

I discovered Lakeside, Ohio two years ago when I went on a retreat for the Artists Way through and artist friend Wendy Fedan. I had a wonderful time! Although it is a woman's retreat Wendy allowed Norman to join and photograph the group. From some of his photos Norm did this painting of where some of our classes where held along Lake Erie. For me it is so nice to have a painting of a treasured time at Lakeside.

Getting Ready for the Festival of the Arts

Last week we started to make a list of what we needed to accomplish for setting up our booth for the up coming Festival of the Arts held by St. John Medical Center in Westlake, Ohio.  This is our first year to display our work there and I can say we are very excited.

We have our tent from last year, but the lattice siding bowed with the heat. Norm is reinforcing the siding  with metal conduit pipe. It seems to be working nicely.  The other thing we have been working on is adding extra display walls for inside our 10' x 10' tent.  We have painted and hinged three 30" doors to add extra hanging space.

Hopefully soon I will be able to add some pictures.

The other item of news is our purchase of a new Epson printer that prints on canvas up to 44" wide. We have to redesign our office space to make room for the new printer. This will enable us to print larger paintings for our clients and keep down the price by eliminating the need to send them out for printing. The printer has 10 colors which will be great for color reproduction.

Again when done I hopefully will be able to post pictures.

Another up and coming art festival we will be participating in is the Lakewood Art Festival in August.

Please mark your calendars for some summer fun and I hope to see you there!

Holiday Photo Becomes Portrait

Sometimes inspiration is found in looking at our photos from the past. 

Norman was rummaging through some of our photos from one of the many Christmas parties we had and found this picture of Jeanne. He thought it had potential for a painting.

And here it is...

What is nice about digital portraits is that you can play around with the layout.  I suggested a tighter crop for an alternative.

You never know what might make an interesting painting. In this case the pose was an interesting one. Norm used this one to try out some new brushes he designed. He wanted a soft look. 

Please add your comments and give us feedback on which layout you like. Your comments are welcome.

What Could be Better than Fixing a Photo?

So often we have have a really great photo of a loved one as in the case of Holly Lauch. She brought us a photo of her daughter Emily that had gotten ruined in a frame. Moisture had glued the image to the glass and the glass in the frame had broken. Holly thought all was lost. 

It was certainly a challenge. But here it is as a digital painting... warmer and more vibrant.  Plus Norm could even do more.

Holly was redecorating her bedroom where this portrait would be hung so we asked for some paint swatches. This helped Norm to add some greens in her bedroom walls to be added to the painting in the background as well as reflected color in her dress.  We could have the painting work with Holly's color scheme.

That is the nice thing about painting and illustrating on a digital screen.  It is not only Echo friendly, no oil paint or turpentine to dispose of, it is easier to color match and add color to a painting to coordinate to a particular color scheme.

Thanks for the challenge Holly! Wait for the story on her other daughter's portrait.

Youth Remembered

Bill, a friend of Norman's, dropped by for a visit while passing through. In catching up Bill discovered Norm's portraits. We told him about our relatively new business of Your Precious Portraits and he pulled out a treasured picture of his wife Bobbie that he carried with him and asked if Norm could do a portrait.
Well here is:

It was so touching to hear him talk of his wife of many years.  His picture was one of the few he had of her when she was young.  Isn't funny that even as we age, inside we don't picture ourselves as getting older. We think of ourselves in the prime of our youth. Maybe that is our spirit. Hers is beautiful.

I can certainly see that Bill still lovers her very much.  She is a treasure.

To see the original picture check out our gallery

Open House at True Custom Framing by Design

It was not too long ago Norm and I were eating at the Stone House Grill when I noticed a frame shop that had opened up 2 doors down.  Of course I had to investigate.  We walked in and met owner Jesse Guardado and his wife and like us he had just started his business not too long ago.

It was a start of a friendship.  We came up with the idea of promoting his framing and our artwork in his store.  Just recently last week Jessie held an open house promoting a 50% discount on on framing an gave us space to feature Norman's art screen.

Here is Jessie below with one of Norm's pieces: Girl with Red Umbrella, in the background showing possible framing of a portrait.

Here I am discussing the benefits of digital painting being echo friendly and the economics of digital painting.

Below is one of Norms paintings that Jessie recently framed. It is painting of our dear friend Jan Dragala's horse. Jan is a designer and artist as well. She worked with us at American Greetings for many years. She now passes on her talents and insights to the students she teaches.

Here Jessie and potential customers look at one of Norm's paintings of a little girl we entitled Precious.

She is the granddaughter of another dear friend Dan Forst who also worked for many years at American Greetings. She graces one of business cards and indeed is precious.

  

Again there I am below. I have to say it was fun meeting so many people who are interested in the arts.

Again there is Jessie below discussing the limitless possibilities of framing with those that came to the open house. He works with his clients and will customize to his clients needs. He also does a lot of out of the box thinking when it comes to framing the unusual. 

The Art of True Custom Framing by Design is located on 24960 Center Ridge Rd in Westlake, Ohio.

Come check out his shop and prices and support the small business man.  He loves to please his clients.

Completion of the Art as a Privacy Screen

It has been a rather long project of trial an error but mission accomplished. Norm and I came up with the idea of putting a painting in a privacy screen format. You can see a version of this painting called Favorite Path in the gallery.

Here is a shot Norman took of the screen in our solarium. The beauty of it is the painting is also on the reverse. So the painting can been viewed from the outside as well.

I am excited about the possibilities of this new format and what we can do for our customers. 

A New Project in the Works

I have been working with Norman on producing his paintings as a folding privacy screen.  This photo is showing the project in its beginning stages. There are four panels that will be framed and attached with hinges. I am also looking to add possible feet to the bottom of the screen. Here are the four panels with one side completed laying on our dining room table. I can't wait to see the other side attached and to work on the framing. I hope to update you with our progress.

For the Love of Cats

"Let's Play" Portrait of Elvira

Fellow cat lover, Lori Ericsson, has adopted a new kitten.  She had shown me pictures of her pride and joy when I asked if I could have a copy for reference for a new cat painting. Norm and I brainstormed on what creative liberties we would take. Here is the result.

Here is your Elvira, Lori. She's "purrrfectly"cute and steals your heart.

The Love of a Child, A Gift of Christmas

The Prize

‘Time it was and what a time it was it was, a time of innocence, a time of confidences…’

These simple lyrics by Simon & Garfunkel describe life as a time of innocence when Marc was just a small boy. His eyes do appear to be focused on the prize, and his confidences have guided him through all he has accomplished thus far in his life.

It seemed like only yesterday when this photo was taken at Patterson’s Fruit Farm in Chesterland, Ohio.  A ‘yesterday’ that has led us to today, where Marc is now a fourth year Pharmacy student at Duquesne University.  You will never meet prouder parents! 

These are the words of Marc's father.  He commissioned a painting of his son from a small photo he treasured as a gift. We wish him and his family a very Merry Christmas and a very Blessed and Happy New Year!