My husband is right. They should rename Panoply to Rainoply.

As expected, the weather for Panoply this year was not great. Rain and thunderstorms threatened both Friday evening and all day Saturday, but there were people who came out. And the weather was really not too bad those days.

However, it stormed Saturday night and the result was a broken tent for me. One of my legs and two of my roof supports were bent. The rain continued all morning and into the afternoon causing the festival to delay opening until 3:30. I finally gave up and packed it in. I hang my art on chains draped across the tent roof supports and was afraid the weight of the art would collapse the tent.

The best seller this year – Penny Tile Pendants. I am very happy with how many people bought my little pieces of art and will be sure to have plenty of these at the sidewalk art strolls over the summer.

And I must say that the Arts Council’s Artists’ Hospitality Tent was great. So many yummy treats! Thank you.

[Show as slideshow]

The post Panoply 2013 appeared first on ChromAddict.

I love abstract art. You can look at it over and over again and keep seeing new things. Or interpret it in a new way. I find it very hard to create though. For some reason I get stuck on the idea that my art has to “be something”, that it has to have a subject. I have been working on letting go of this idea and focusing on color. These are my works from this past April.

[Show as slideshow]

The post Abstract appeared first on ChromAddict.

Sometimes inspiration is found in your own backyard. This bike resides under our deck. One of the “rocket guys” brought it out with the intention of turning it into a “rocket bike”. But, he started dating someone and the bike was left behind. Forgotten. I think it makes a wonderful drawing.

The size is 11″ x 14″ and it done entirely with Prismacolor Premier pencils.

[Show as slideshow]

The post Grind appeared first on ChromAddict.

The photo I drew from for this piece was taken at the Huntsville Botanical Gardens, I think on Mother’s Day. It was a beautiful sunny day and the tulips were just gorgeous. They plant pansies and tulips together and it is a wonderful combination.

I kept trying to get the boys to stand still for photos. I got a couple, but they weren’t very cooperative. Imagine that!

I love how the sun lights up the tulips. They really feel like they are catching the sun, like little pots of gold. This winter has been so dreary. I can’t wait for spring weather and sunshine! I’m beginning to feel like the state of Alabama moved north.  I went back to the Strathmore Bristol vellum for this piece. I’m still not sure which I prefer – Strathmore Bristol or Stonehenge. I feel like I can get a sharper edge with the Bristol. THe final piece is 10″ x 8″ and  has been framed. It will be at Panoply!

[Show as slideshow]

The post Suncatchers appeared first on ChromAddict.

I am pleased to announce that “Tight Squeeze” received a Special Recognition – Painting Category award in Light Space & Time Online Gallery’s Abstract Art Exhibition.

The gallery received 970 entries from 26 different countries from around the world, including the Armenia, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bermuda, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom. In addition, the gallery received entries from 39 different states and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The entries were divided into 2 media categories – Painting & Other and Photography & Digital.

The complete online exhibit is available here.

You can see my original post about “Tight Squeeze” here.

The post Tight Squeeze receives Special Recognition appeared first on ChromAddict.

I love the colors in this piece! Orange is so bright and cheery and the cool greens just make the flowers pop.

I tried using Stonehenge paper this time since I’ve seen many colored pencil artists rave about it online. I’m still not sure I’m sold on it. It allows for lots of layering, but it almost seems too “soft”. I didn’t feel like I could get a good, sharp edge like as I can on the Strathmore Bristol Vellum I used on “Morning Blush”.  But, for certain subjects that might be a good thing, so it’s good to know.

While working on this piece I did a lot of thinking about where I want my art to go. I love abstract art. I find it to be such a challenge to create a piece that feels like “something” without it being “something”. My husband keeps shaking his head and telling me, “Your printer could do that a lot faster.” Yet hyper realism is what seems to be “the thing” in colored pencil art. Both the train and flower pieces are way more realistic than I normally work. Does the artist’s self-expression become lost when your goal is to make your drawing look “more real” than the photo? IS that my goal? I feel that the way I zoom in and crop the subject gives the pieces more of an abstract look and that is where my self-expression comes into play in the piece. But is that enough for me? I’m not sure yet. That’s part of what makes art so amazing. Each piece is a new experiment, a chance to reflect, and an opportunity to grow.

[Show as slideshow]

The post Flare appeared first on ChromAddict.

Every artist needs beautifully designed marketing pieces and a fantastic website to tell their story and brand themselves. I want to help artists tell their story, so I’m working up marketing packages. Stay tuned!

Sparnett Art contacted me about a website and agreed to be my “test subject” for a website plan designed for artists. She specializes in colored pencil pet portraits and does very nice work. She’ll be at the Madison “Art for Paws” on April 6th, so go see her! Her new website launched a couple of weeks ago and we had our training session last night. I’m so excited to help a fellow artist market her beautiful art on the internet! Check out her new website at www.sparnettart.com.

[Show as slideshow]

The post Sparnett Art Website appeared first on ChromAddict.

Wow! “Morning Blush” received a Special Merit Award in the “Nature 2013 Exhibition”, Light Space & Time Online Gallery. “Morning Blush” is part of the Painting category in this competition.

About the Competition from Light Space & Time Online Gallery

Our competition for February was our 3rd Annual “Nature” Art Competition and we asked artists for their best interpretation of the theme “Nature” by depicting the physical world. “Nature” was considered to be anything that was not created by or had been substantially altered by man. Subjects which encompassed the theme “Nature” included geographical matter, natural objects, wildlife and natural environments.  The gallery received 672 entries from 20 different countries and from 33 different states and the District of Columbia.

Due to the volume of entries we created three (3) media categories, in order to make the judging and the results fair. In addition, for this particular competition we have an Overall Winning Artists Category, which is the “best of the best” and consists of the best entries from the 3 media categories. The following are the categories that we created from the entries received; Mixed Media & Other, Painting and Photography. Each category has an explanation as to the specific media which makes up that category (see below).

Due to the volume and the outstanding quality of the entries received this month, we awarded our normal 1st through 5th places, 5 Honorable Mention awards and then a group of Special Recognition awards for each category mentioned above. The amount of Special Recognition awards is based on the volume and the quality for that particular media category. The Overall Winning Artists Category consists of what we considered to be the top ten winning entries from all 3 media categories.

This month we also included Special Merit awards. Special Merit awards are given for any art that we felt could easily be judged higher (and were) but due to the size constraints in each media category, this art was not included. Otherwise, any of the Special Merit art, in many cases, is interchangeable with the best art that we selected for the top tiers.

You can view the online exhibit on the Light Space & Time Online Gallery website.

For more information about the piece, check out my earlier post.

The post “Morning Blush” receives Special Merit Award appeared first on ChromAddict.

Carrie, Deb, Jackie – Country Chic!

The American Advertising Federation – North Alabama held their annual ADDY® Awards Gala last night at the Baron Bluff Building, Burritt on the Mountain. It is a beautiful new building with a spectacular view of Huntsville. I see many weddings and receptions in its future

The theme for this year was “Country Chic” and everything from the southern fare to the rooster ADDY Awards was perfect. Hats off to Katiya McKinney, this year’s ADDY Chair, for a job well done. Hy Creative’s Winners’ Poster is also awesome! And I love the rooster awards created by Drop Metal Studio.

I am proud to announce that ChromAddict Studio had a hand in three winning entries this year. My redesigned logo featuring symbols for Art, Print, and Web won a Gold! My annual Holiday Card won a Silver. And SocialK Communications entered the stationery set for Jackson Center that we worked on together and it also won a Silver. I am honored to have won this year.

We have so many talented people in North Alabama and the ADDY Awards is always a great reminder of how lucky I am to be here. Congratulations to all of this year’s winners and to Silver Medal winner Tim McElyea with Media Fusion, Inc. and Lifetime Achievement winner John Malone with Lite 96.9 WRSA.

About the ADDY® Awards

The ADDY Awards Competition is a three-tiered national competition conducted annually by the American Advertising Federation. The ADDY Awards Competition is the advertising industry’s largest and most representative competition for creative excellence.

[Show as slideshow]

The post 2013 AAF-NA ADDY® Awards appeared first on ChromAddict.

ChromAddict is happy to announce that I’ll be exhibiting at Panoply this year in the Art Marketplace. Event dates are April 26 – 28.

Panoply is an Art’s Council Program that celebrates music, dance, theater and visual arts. Tickets are $5 per day or $10 for the weekend. Kids 10 and under are free.

Visit the website for more information.

The post Panoply appeared first on ChromAddict.