Traditionally Painted Cards for Hanukkah and Kwanzaa

Instead of showing Christmas Cards, this month's selection of designs by Greeting Card Universe artists who use traditional methods, features designs for some of the slightly less catered for 'holidays', Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year. 


There are so many New Year's cards to feature that I've split this post in two and this time, we'll just showcase cards for Hanukkah and Kwanzaa. Watch out for the New Year's Cards next Thursday!

Hanukkah Greeting Cards

Christi Madden

http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/cmaddenart      

Pastels

Diana Ting Delosh

http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/dianascards

Ink and Watercolor

Audrey Ascenzo

http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/audreyscardstore

Watercolors

Dorcas
 http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/dorcasscardstore

 

 White Dove Studio

 http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/whitedovestudio

Acrylic 

 

Monica Palermo

 http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/monicapalermo

   

 

Betty Matsumoto-Schuch

http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/bud

Watercolor and Prismacolor pencils

     

Miriam Schulman

http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/schulmanart

Watercolor

 

Judy Adamson

http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/community/store.asp

Handpainted Paper Collage

           

Watercolour

James Peele

http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/cardsbyjamespeeleart

Graphite and Watercolor

Kwanzaa Greeting Cards

Bambi Papais

http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/bambiscardstore 

Angie Rowe

http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/calabashcards

Mixed Media

(paper, fabric, yarn, string, acrylics)

         

         

Gerda Steiner

http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/Send2Smiles

James Peele

http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/cardsbyjamespeeleart

Watercolor Pens

(This one has the bonus of a recipe inside!)

 

Judy Adamson

http://www.greetingcarduniverse.com/judyscardstore

Handpainted Paper Collage

     

I hope you enjoyed seeing what lovely designs can be produced with minimal digital input. Please click on the images to get a better view of the designs.

And if you find something you really like, even if you don't want to buy it right now, you can show your appreciation by using one of the social media buttons on their stores - such as facebook, twitter and google+. Thank you!

Instant Art

One of my digital doodles!

I’ve just come across this link on the Greeting Card Universe forum.

It’s a discussion of the photography of German photographer, Andreas Gursky, in particular his ‘Rhein 11’ , which has recently been sold for 4.3 million US dollars. Do, at least, have a look at the photograph in question, even if you don’t plough through all the comments!

But reading just some of those comments certainly made me think!

It made me curious as to why the majority of the artists/photographers who commented were so very negative about the work in question, in spite of the explanations of Gursky’s intentions and the ‘message’ he intended to convey through his photography.

It didn’t seem as if they were interested in knowing what the photograph was all about; their sole criterion seemed to be the immediate visual impression it made on them. Was it ‘beautiful’ – no! Was it ‘cute’ – definitely not! It wasn’t even technically accomplished, according to some.

It seemed to me as if most of us look for certain qualities, usually to do with beauty, or ‘cuteness’, when judging a work of art and if we don’t see it immediately, we dismiss the work and move on.

I suspect that the internet has a part to play in this.

Maybe we are seeing so many images, day in day out, that we’ve lost the capacity to stop and linger on a piece of art, in just the same way that most of us ‘skim’ rather than read?

Generally, I’m not in favour of ‘explanations’ of works of art – or music, for that matter. For me, it’s all about communication and if the work itself doesn’t speak to me, without a written or spoken explanation, it has failed in its purpose as far as I’m concerned (though, of course, it may ‘speak to’ others!).

But often, I think, a piece of art needs time to convey its message. 

Sometimes a piece grabs my attention with all the immediacy of a tannoy system.  More often though, an image’s message affects me only if I give it time. When I visit an exhibition, I never look at all the exhibits in one visit. I like to make several visits and limit each visit to one or two pieces – unless of course there’s an expensive admission ticket to be mindful of!

Have you seen people sitting or standing in front of a great work of art for what may be hours on end?

Have you wondered whether they’ve just come in out of the cold for a sit down? Well, maybe they have! But maybe they are silently absorbing the message of the painting in front of them. Maybe they are thinking about the painting, trying to understand it with their minds. If so, that’s not what I mean.

Obviously we are influenced by our surroundings; you don’t need to be an interior designer to recognise that colours and shapes influence our mood. Maybe it’s a subliminal influence – I don’t know the science of how it works. But in the same way, a painting or photograph, a work of art that we live with or see regularly, will, over time, seep into our souls and we will gradually hear what it wanted to communicate.


I believe that could be true of Andreas Gursky’s work.

Can you imagine living alongside Rhein ll and how that would affect you? I very much doubt if it would make you feel glad to be alive; in fact it might well even depress you! But in that case, as a ‘social comment’ it would have succeeded. There is plenty to be seriously concerned about these days – our fragile economies and the deepening rifts in our increasingly unequal society.

We can turn a blind eye, preferring ‘the kitten in shoes, raindrops on rose petals or a naked woman’s behind’, mentioned in one of the comments; or we can wake up to the ‘message’, which at least allows for the possibility of doing something about it!

Thank you to Lj for sharing this interesting subject on the forum.

Hanukkah Greeting Cards . . .

. . .on

Mugs, Mousepads & More

Hanukkah Greeting Card with Candles by Flutterby Designs

Browse thousands of greeting cards on Card Gnome!

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Defending Ourselves against Art Critics – Inner and Outer

My view of Art Critics

A few months ago, Greeting Card Universe announced a ‘raising of the bar’ that would entail the reviewers trawling through all the 500,000 cards on the website, weeding out those that were considered to fall short of their ‘marketability’ standards.

Hard as this was for some of us to swallow, they were well within their rights to do this.

The administration expressed their awareness that this would cause upset among the artists and sure enough, a great wailing and gnashing of teeth soon followed.

But quite quickly this was followed by other artists’ voices, attempting to pacify those who were panicking, assuring them that this new move was in fact for our benefit, that it would help us to ‘improve’ and that the new, higher standard expected of us would bring us more sales. So the protests subsided – for a while!

Once the ‘cull’ got underway, however, more angry and upset artists posted their woes on the forum. Again, others tried to assuage their anger with the same old story – it’s good for us, it’s the only way we will learn to create good designs, we should all be approaching this new move positively – ‘take your medicine and be grateful’.

But what these oh so positive people failed to understand is that we are not all alike, as people or as artists. What may encourage some, will discourage others, possibly terminally!

For instance, I’ve just been asked to remove the ‘trash can’ from this photo -

Spot the Trash Can!

The truth is that I tend to be a ‘broad brush’, ‘general effect’ type of person in many aspects of life. I don’t pay a lot of attention to detail and I was probably so enthralled by the overall impression of the snow in our local park that I didn’t even notice the litter bin. So, on this occasion, far from being upset, I was actually quite glad of this ‘critique’.

But there are others, some of them still ‘embryonic’ artists, certainly younger and less confident than I am, artists who are constantly plagued by the voice of their Inner Critic, probably already burdened by perfectionism. And for them , the  prospect of an Outer as well as an Inner Critic is disastrous. Some of the outpourings on the forum and closure of ‘stores’ demonstrate that for some it’s intolerable.

“Perfectionism cuts the nerve of effort” Amy Harris.

And it can be the enemy of creativity too, according to this well researched article from the ‘Artists Who Thrive’ website.

Clearly we don’t all learn from the criticism of others and being asked to raise one’s standards to a rather loosely defined standard of ‘professionalism’ and ‘marketability’, definitely is not helpful to all.

On the other hand we do want to sell our art.

So maybe the solution for anyone in this situation is to keep reminding themselves that while one person may reject your work, there is likely to be someone else who will absolutely love it! 'One man's meat is another man's poison.' Maybe the market you are in is not the right one for you? Perhaps spending time finding other outlets for your work will be better use of your time and effort than trying to produce work that will please the wrong market?

But whatever you do, don’t stop creating!

Doodle, explore a different medium, try any - or all - of these 6 Tips for getting past ‘Creative Block’ –
Create without judgement, simply for the joy of creating, treat your creating time as play time, with the curiosity of a child and no particular goal in mind.

And here’s a special tip for any greeting card designer who is ‘stuck’. When you’ve used the 6 Tips above to turn down the volume of that destructive Inner Critic, create cards for your friends and relative, those you can be sure will appreciate your work.

By the time you’ve done all that, you’ll probably be ready to face those Outer Critics with a far more relaxed attitude and pick and choose whether their criticism is helpful or not!

Do you respond best to 'carrot' or 'stick'?

Photo Card Invitations . .

. . .for you to personalise!

Click here

to see 

Invitations to Customise

Carole Returns the Favour

After agreeing to an e-interview for this blog, Canadian Wildlife Artist, Carole Barkett, asked me to answer the same questions as I had asked her. And here is the result on her blog:

Country Mouse Studio

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Guest Wildlife Artist, Carole Barkett, from Canada

This month's Guest Artist is Canadian wildlife painter and fellow Zazzler, Carole Barkett, of Country Mouse Studio.

 Carole's Zazzle store

 Carole's Greeting Card Universe Store

Carole's prints at Fine Art America

Carole introduces herself: 
 
I live in Vernon, British Columbia.  It's the Northern part of the Okanagan Valley.  It would be a beautiful place to draw landscapes as it is so beautiful and varied.

I don't have a good profile photo.  I'm the only person who takes photos in my family so they are all of other people. That's why I use the avatar.  


As usual with e-interviews, I asked Carole when she began to be interested in Art:
My mother inspired my love of art.  She grew up in a very poor family and got into trouble for drawing as they told her she was wasting paper.  So she always made sure I had plenty of art supplies.   Then, in her retirement, she took up oil painting and introduced me to it.  She also sparked my interest in birds and nature.

Fun Birthday Humor Owl, Bird, Nature, Wildlife by countrymousestudio
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Have you done formal Art Training?  The only training I had was a home study course from North Light Art.  When I learned to see and draw negative spaces it took the pressure from drawing the actual thing and for the first time I was able to see some success.

The other valuable lessons I learned were from the book "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain".   Once I realized I was my own worst enemy I was so excited.  I wanted everyone to try it.


I'd like to jump in here and add, that I, too, am very enthusiastic about that book, though it's one that I lent to someone and never got back - usually the sign of a very useful book! It is still available on amazon so here's the link! 'The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain' by Betty Edwards - plenty of reviews to give you a good idea of what it's about!



Carole, what is the most important thing you've learnt from experience, or other people?
I've gained the most knowledge by having my art for sale.  It's a very humbling experience.  The art I love and think turned out the best often no one else likes or even notices and often the art I'm reluctant to put for sale, sells.  I am still learning what is best for me.

Funny, "LOOK a mouse pad! Cute Mousepad by countrymousestudio
View other Funny Mousepads

Who is your favourite artist and why?  I don't have a specific favorite artist or even a favorite type of art.  If it touches my heart or appeals to my eye it doesn't matter what type of art it is


Do you paint regularly? Roughly how much time do you spend painting?  Not regularly enough.  It's an emotional thing for me.  If I paint when I am inspired and enthusiastic I can just paint all day or all week finishing 3 or 4; but if I'm not inspired, I'm just wasting my time.  I've tried to put myself on a routine but the things I paint end up in the garbage.


What is your favourite medium?  I love oil because it is similar to sculpture which is my favorite but I'm too sensitive to the chemicals so I use watercolors.

I think watercolour suits your wonderful little critters, Carole - and your larger ones as well!

Cute Curious Seals, Sealed with a Kiss by countrymousestudio
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What subject matter draws you to paint it?  Birds, Animals and Nature and a sense of humor if possible.  It would also include landscape but I always ruin them with details.


Do you paint from photos, sketches, memory, en plein air?  I paint from memory, good reference photos and plein air when possible.


Where do you sell your work?  I started at local markets, art shows and Artist Co-operatives. Now I sell my work on Zazzle ,  Greeting Card Universe. and Fine Art America.


How do you feel about parting with your originals when someone buys them?  It's very difficult, they're like my children.  Then I want to see them again to see how much has changed in my style.



Do you or have you ever painted to commission?  Yes, I painted pet portraits and that's when I discovered I need to be inspired to paint. I can understand that - I'm just the same!


Do you have any particular future plans or projects in mind? Or where do you foresee your artistic journey taking you?  I have no idea.  For years I just wanted the desire to go away because it kept popping up when I was too busy with family to deal with it so this is the first time I've been able to focus on it.

Funny Little Bird with Hat, Merry Christmas by countrymousestudio
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Thank you, Carole, for taking the time to share your thoughts and experiences with us! I know how busy life can be for us freelance artists!

And I hope you will all have enjoyed seeing Carole's wonderfully humorous little characters. You can see more of them in her Zazzle store and on Greeting Card Universe. 

Or keep up to date with Carole's new designs by following her little country mouse on Twitter!