Selling at Handmade at Amazon, Now I'm Happy!

So now 5 days into the launch of Handmade at Amazon, and I am pretty okay with it.  It helps that I sold two portraits already!  Wow.

Colored Pencil Portrait by me
Philadelphia area artist Robin Zebley

This is such a hard learning curve, Amazon is massive and I have to learn to use it, and not expect it to bend to OUR needs.  But man, whatever the glitches and things I dislike, the bottom line is views and sales and they know how to do that.  It's not an Etsy clone attached like a third arm to Amazon, and I guess that's what I expected.  But however they get those eyeballs on my portraits, I'm cool.

Eating Local!

Local Maryland Farm Stand Produce 

We travel from our home outside of Philadelphia to Annapolis to visit family pretty often.

We don't drive I-95 and dodge the Delaware and Maryland Tunnel tolls, but even better, we tack on 1/2 an hour and get the scenic view through farmland.

Yes, there's still gorgeous family farms between Philadelphia and Baltimore!

And a huge benefit is being able to stop and buy from the small farm stands that dot the roadside.

Here's the bounty from two of them.  Ripe today, eat today, and fun to see the actual patch where they all were growing hours before!

Not certified organic, but home grown without GMOs or pesticides.  And not one gallon of fuel was used to transport these from farm to end consumer, me!

The corn is like candy, seriously.  Didn't add a thing, no need to butter, salt or anything!

I'm Philadelphia area portrait artist, Robin Zebley.  You can see my work scattered through this blog about my art and life http://ArtandAnimals.blogspot.com and my site http://robinzebley.com.  Stop by!  Robin

Maryland peaches, zucchini, corn, tomatoes and peppers 

Coupon Code for Custom Kid, Pet or House Portrait! Unique Wedding Gift!

Colored Pencil Portrait by me, Artist Robin Zebley

It's that time of year, the mid-winter doldrums!  If you've been thinking about purchasing a portrait of your child, home or pet, I have a coupon code for you.  Use the code "WINTER" in my Etsy shop, CustomPortraitArt.etsy.com for 10% off any size, any subject. Use as often as you wish til the end of February, 2015.  Or order directly here or from my portrait website for an addition 5% off (total 15%).  Contact me HERE

This little guy's portrait was a Christmas gift from mom to dad.

Since it's positively arctic here now, those fall leaves actually look warm and cozy to me!

Custom House Portrait by me, Artist Robin Zebley

But here you go, a winter scene!  You have to admit, snow is gorgeous!  I added the little dog portrait in the front yard.  You can't really see it but there are tracks in the snow leading from the house, you know he'll be back there quick!

More of my portraits can be seen at my etsy shop: CustomPortraitArt.etsy.com.
I love to talk art, so please feel free to contact me! Robin

Philadelphia Flower Show, review and photos

A day trip to the Philadelphia Flower Show!  All by myself because I want to paint flowers, too.  I see flowers as having personality, is that crazy? 

digitalis

Anyway, I wanted photos I took because when I started out painting and drawing pets, I needed samples and used legal, permissive photos of others.  While that worked out great, lots of others had the same idea and I saw "my" sample elsewhere.  So I want to use my own photos and was looking for some unusual English cultivars I wouldn't see in gardens here.

 

So off I went on a weekday morning, figuring it would be a little less crowded.  Wrong.  It was a mob scene.  It cost me almost $40, between Septa and the admission.   But England was the theme and I am very interested in English cottage gardens, especially heirloom roses. 

I didn't see many roses or cottage gardens or anything that wasn't commonplace here in Philadelphia and its surrounding area.  Forsythia.  Coral bells. Tulips. Daffodils, lots of daffs,  rhodys, clematis, sunflowers, yawn.  The above, for instance, is a garden I could see anywhere on my daily walk with Sarge, my boxer buddy.  Nuttin' special. 

 

Maybe they were there.  It was really crowded and what made it really frustrating was that the judges or some other vips were cordoning off whole sections with humans holding cords to prevent us little people from disturbing them.  Now, come on.  Why can't that take place early or late, when the show is not opened?  Or at least while everyone is gone out to grab lunch?  Grr.

 

I heard comments that there were more vendors than exhibits.

 

And there were a lot of vendors and of course I bought some new african violet cultivars.  Now I need a dedicated place for them.  I replant them in vintage pots, tell you more about them another time.  And some bulbs.  I got some replacement bonzai trees for the ones I killed, trying again!

 

And I got some great shots of orchids, mostly.  Lots of fabulous orchids, since I fail at getting them to rebloom, I have to draw or paint them to "bloom" for me because I just love them!  There were other flowers and plants nearby that I never saw due to the judges-mobs.

 

Now, went last year when the theme was "Hawaii".  Maybe it was just a hard act to follow.  But I didn't feel magically transported to England, despite the British Invasion music, the mock landmarks and all the red white and blue balloons.  Not sure it's worth a trip next year.  :( 

Children's Portrait - Two Little Girls

I love the pose of these girls, love how the light shines on their beautiful faces. In real life, the portraits are much darker on the dark side. I will try and get better photos, but have taken a hundred and they still don't really show the details and coloring exactly right.

This is colored pencil on dark red Mi Teintes pastel paper. I love this paper personally, and chose it because it's almost black but warmer and I think it works with dramatically lit subjects.

I had a question from a tweetpal who wanted to know how I blend the colored pencil so you don't see the pencil strokes? Here's my answer. The way I like to do that is with a lot of layers, and I do mean a lot in some spots. I also use a cut stencil brush to polish the skin and push it right into the pits of the paper so no paper shows. I use dull "points" to glaze color on. I also love to use the sides of the pencil "lead". It makes it nice and subtle...a nice light touch. I only use sharp points at the end for details, which don't even show in this photo...the eyelashes, the transitions in colors...

Anyway, I spent about 10 times on this as I do a dog portrait! I learned a lot that I will be able to use in my next human portrait! I hope you enjoy it! Robin
I'm artist, Robin Zebley. I've done hundreds of pet portraits over the past 8 years and now am building my portfolio of "human" portraits! My site is "http://robinzebley.com

The Social Life of City Dogs...BETTER than a Backyard!!

We love Kevin Bacon here in Philadelphia, he's a local boy! But his father, Edmund Bacon, was a city planner and we dog lovers really love him. He made sure there was plenty of green space where dogs...and their "owners" could congregate and socialize. In fact, he felt that "dog space" was crucial to a friendly, social city environment. And he was so right!

My recent stroll in Rittenhouse Square Park shows lots of dogs..and their owners, hanging out. You see folks chatting who don't seem to "go together", and whose paths probably would never cross...lawyers and dishwashes and students and little old ladies...whose furry friends bring them together for conversation and fresh air. This isn't even a "dog park", but dogs are welcome there.

And the dogs! Besides the squirrel stares (see above!) the dogs get socialized as pups in a way that the backyard simply can't do. Across the park, at outdoor cafes, you see dogs politely observing the goings on as their owners enjoy drinks or dinner.

Dogs enjoy ...and need...the social life as much as we do! I've heard people say they can't have a dog because they don't have a backyard. NOT TRUE! We raised Otto the first 5 years of his life in a rowhouse. 3 times a day walks were necessary and FUN! He met up with his buddies and his buddies' owners became friends. Not only were the dogs not fat, but the owners weren't either. Great fitness, as well. In fact, I think backyards are kinda lonely places for an "only" dog...yet some rescues insist on it. And I think they are wrong.

Phillies, Eagles and the Organized Art Studio

Yesterday we were stuck inside with Hanna's all day rain (which we needed!), and I got started on a pretty big project...reorganizing my art studio. I really needed to not only clean it, but reconfigure it for woodcut relief printing. I have several blocks cut, but needed a dedicated spot for this relatively messy work.

Found filed away some pieces I've done but haven't done anything with...some cool acrylics and colored pencil pieces that I've done over the past year, prepping for small shows this fall or put them up for sale online. Hmmm..mulling that over. I used to do ebay but that's gotten expensive and some say hostile to artists in the last year. Here's one, an 8 x 10 acrylic and colored pencil horse painting.

So what do Philadelphia sports teams have to do with all this? Plenty! I love sports and am still working on my studio and here smack in the afternoon both the Eagles are playing St. Louis and the Phillies are playing an important game against the Mets! I could "listen", but besides taking this break to blog, we've been switching between channels!

So to my fellow Philadelphians, hey, I know you understand. To the art world who think I'm crazy...welllll...here's my excuse: Philadelphia sports teams teach us hope and faith and keepin' on. THIS YEAR it will happen! Here's to the fully optimized studio...well, if not this year... :D

Tips for Taking Photos of Your Pet for a Portrait

Beautiful day in Philadelphia! And John and I are celebrating our 36th wedding anniversary. I'm a lucky girl. I was thinking about a post of Q and A for portraits, being that I've answered a lot of questions from so many wonderful animal lovers, who have commissioned me. But the number 1 "Q" is "How do I get a decent photo of my dog?" (Cats seem to make better models!)

Here's a few of my hints:

1. Take a LOT of photos. Many dogs change their spots when the camera comes out. Otto gets VERY VERY serious. Some look sad, or frightened or disturbed. So you probably won't get to take a shot or 2 and have it turn out. Others are so curious, they just come up and sniff the camera, especially if you are doing #2 on my list.

2. Get down on or near their face level. It's easier if they're on a couch or a bed.

3. Don't use flash. Get outside in the early morning for a nice soft light that will cast interesting shadows on their features and show their colors true. Or snap them near a window.

4. Don't worry about getting everything you want in one shot. If you like a pose, but his eyes are shut, that's okay. I take what I need from a variety of photos. Face from this one, pose from this one, tail from this one, coloring from this one.

5. Don't worry about what's in the background, I promise I won't include the trashcan or hubby's sneakers!

6. Some ideas: Put them in the car. They will be distracted hanging out the window looking at everything outdoors, and have a natural, interested look. This is a great spot to take a bunch of facial shots. Get a buddy to talk and play with them while you shoot the photos. Put them in a chair. On a bench. In the back of the truck. Take a shot of them asleep. Or just as they are waking up.

7. Again, take a LOT of shots. It's my job to put them all together!

Do you have some great tips for photographing dogs? Share them with us! If you haven't stopped by my portrait website, please do. It's http://robinzebley.com