Blog Posts - AM Landry Art

Fundraiser

3/3/2015

Wow! The fundraiser for my favorite rescue group was great! I've fostered before, and adopted, but I've never been able to contribute a significant amount of money, something desperately needed to pay veterinary bills. I'm so pleased to have been able to do this. And we're going to do it again soon, particularly late April.

The attendees seemed to enjoy painting their own pets' pictures, even though some had a tougher time than others. They all came out great, and overall, I think they had fun.

It was fun for me, too, so I've decided to keep doing it. I'm going to start booking parties once or twice a week. One of my next parties will be "paint your ABSTRACT pet," which will give perfectionists a break :) and give them more freedom with their creativity. It should be a bunch of fun. I'm open to more ideas and coming up with thoughts every day.

Meanwhile, I'm working on a commissioned design I absolutely love. I'm shipping a couple of other jobs out this week, so I'm excited to get the reactions. Because I relapsed from the flu last week, I'm just getting back on my feet after nearly two weeks, but the next few days and weeks are going to be super busy. I'm excited about things to come.

Mad Scientist Experimenting

1/25/2015

It's been a long time since my last post because there has been a lot going on. My dog has a rare cancer in his middle ear, and that, among other things, has kept me quite distracted.

As my contribution to the pet rescue Kismet Pet Adoptions, I will soon be teaching a mini-workshop as a fundraiser. All proceeds will go to the rescue. I know so many artists who are doing paint/wine parties. I would like mine to be a little more instructive than just a fill-in-the-blanks party, but after a few glasses of wine, who knows what will be possible. Anything that exposes ordinary people to the arts and gets them interested is worth the time.

Supplies are coming out of my own pocket. As a result, I've been experimenting with some slightly less expensive supplies to use. I have used a wide range of brushes in my own art from the cheapest to the very expensive, and really, it just depends on the brush. Sometimes the cheapest brush is awesome, and sometimes the most expensive is dreadful to use. I know fellow artists who use big chunky brushes with long handles and broad strokes. I prefer to use short handles and have some brushes as small as size 0 all the way up to the kind you use to paint fence boards. Because I like to do tiny details, many of my brushes are very small. My prof once called my brushes "one-hair wonders" because they only had little wisps of hairs. I guess my writing and drawing background makes me want the brush to feel like a pencil, a precision writing instrument. I've never been able to endure a dull pencil.

Among my experiments also are different levels of acrylic paints. I've used several brands of those over the years as well. My favorite brand is Golden for its smooth, buttery texture. Liquitex Basics run a close second, and Artist's Loft gets used for garage sale signs, etc. (i.e. I don't like it). Today I bought some small bottles of cheap decorative acrylic paint. They are very fluid in comparison with my usual paint, but I actually kind of like them for just that reason. I can't imagine I'll be doing whole 24x36" canvases with these, but they should work perfectly for my class.

I'll try to post after my dog's surgery and after the class has occurred to share how it went.

Changes

10/22/2014

As I am sure you noticed on my home page, I am working on changing my site. It's a total overhaul, complete with new name, new look, and lots of new art coming up. I will redirect from the old site to the new so that anyone who has found me before can find me again. I am also implementing some organizational strategies that I hope will keep me more focused on creating and save time in the long run. I have, for many years, earned my living by keeping others organized, but I let my personal life get too messy. Now it's time for my personal, artistic, and business goals to combine in a way that keeps me on track while allowing me the freedom to be off track for creativity. This is a new concept for me, and seems kind of non-artist-like, but I believe it will be of huge benefit in the future. Thanks for sticking with me through this "construction" phase.

At the Show Today

10/11/2014

I will be at Lakeside Mall in Metairie this evening with another artist tending to our show. If you plan to be out and about tonight, come on by and browse the beautiful work our artists have created. You might even want to buy one and take it home with you. :)

Setup Day

10/4/2014

Show setup day is always exciting and stressful. I need to have all my artwork finished, wired or framed, inventoried, photographed, and cataloged for the event, and I have to be at the venue early to set it up just right.

I've been painting like crazy to get some new pieces ready for tomorrow, too, so that means lots more work but also lots more variety. I won't know how my booth looks until I put everything up tomorrow morning. Having new work to show is very exciting.

I do hope you're reading this and planning to go see my work at Lakeside Mall sometime in the coming week. I'll be there next Saturday afternoon and evening. See you there!

Poll results...

10/3/2014

I recently took a poll of the people who know me and my art best, and the responses were unanimous. They all think my website name should be changed. Their observations were astute, and I paid attention. I have a bit more to learn about the tweaks I need to do to make the website look the way I want it to look, but the learning process is SO fun. I hope to be able to get it just the way I want it within the next few months. The old site will redirect to the new one, so if you're already hooked on this one, you'll still be able to find me.

Meanwhile, I hope you're enjoying the new paintings I've been adding. As I complete them, I'm putting them up, and most will be on display at Lakeside Mall for our Metairie Art Guild show there, in the Macy's wing on the Veterans Boulevard end of the mall. The closest entrance is right near the roundabout between Macy's and PF Chang's. We set up Sunday morning, October 5th, and take down the following Sunday, October 12th. I'll be taking my turn as a show representative Saturday, October 11th, from 3:30 to 9 p.m., so please stop by and say hello!

Don't Panic!

9/23/2014

I'm telling myself this because I just took a deep breath and pressed enter to send a synopsis of my first children's book to a literary agent. It's exciting and terrifying all at once. I provided all the information they asked for on the submission form, nothing more, nothing less. They didn't ask for the whole story or any of the illustrations. Now all I can do is sit back and wait to see if they respond.

If I don't hear from them within a couple of weeks, I'll try another agent. For now, though, I'll just have to wait and see. It's a sweet story, and it's personal. It would be nice to have it published.

Here I am!

9/16/2014

I promised I would post about a particular new painting, so here I am.

My grandparents had a dairy farm when I was a kid, and I loved being around cows. Nowadays, living in the suburbs, I don't get to be around cows that often.

My latest work, the Purple Cow, is fabulous (in my humble opinion). She didn't start out that way, though. I use bits and pieces of what pictures I have on paper and pictures in my head for a blend of images and emotion for all my paintings. I went through several photos of cows that I got from friends, so she doesn't really look like any one particular cow. This is typical of my way of painting.

This is how she started:

She went through several transformations as I gradually made up my mind how she should look. Her phases are shown below.

So, you see, nothing ever starts exactly the way it ends. I'm sure some artists are more calculating and are able to go precisely from point A to point B without changing their routes, but this artist meanders a little like ... well, a cow.

I'll get back to you...the check's in the mail...I'm almost there

9/2/2014

I have ideas about what to dazzle you with next. It's just been so busy lately that I ran out of 24-hour energy devoted to work and other things, including my very important time painting. I'm back in school, learning web programming this time, and I LOVE it. I will use my own website as my first guinea pig for all my new custom programming, but it's only been a week for me so far. You may have to wait a little longer to see the fruits of those labors.

My next post will show you the gradual process of one of my new works of art, one I'm particularly in love with, and I'll explain why in my post.

Thanks for being so patient!

Love,
AM

Oh, yeah. I write poems, too.

8/15/2014

Most of my writing is spontaneous, usually triggered by a feeling, a memory. Well, a memory tonight inspired a poem, and I'll share it with you. The spacing is intentional.

Anne-Marie