Facebook Fan Page

As yet another outlet for my art, I have created a Fanpage on Facebook.  Im told that this is the newest way to get yourself noticed.  You create the page, send invitations to people via Facebook to LIKE you, and somehow you are famous !

Im not quite understanding the logistics of this whole thing, but I did create my page and will feature my artwork on there.   I thought that was what my website was for !!?? 

With all of these places Im supposed to be, .........Twitter, Facebook, FB Fanpage, etc, I don't know when I'll find time to paint !

But if you get the inkling to do so, visit my Fanpage  and LIKE me if you like !

Celebrating Life in the Sea

 Painting colorful underwater subjects is an expression of my love and respect for our oceans.
Finding inspiration and then creating works of art is a problem often faced by artists.  My inspiration comes from the underwater photos I take as reference material of the sea life, fishes and corals.  I then let the subjects dictate if the piece will work better in watercolor or oil paints.  The transparency of watercolor's on the smooth surface of hot pressed paper may be what is needed for the delicate shape of a triggerfish or the heavier application of oil paints on canvas for the bulkier body of an octopus or shark.

When people see my art, I would like for them to feel happy and invigorated by the bright colors I use and to feel, if just for a moment, that they have entered this beautiful underwater worlk and become a part of my adventures.

A delicate balance exists between our lives and with that of the oceans.  Educating and increasing public awareness through my art is my mission to get people to think about the health and survival of our oceans for future generations to enjoy.

Gidgets, Widgets and Gadgets

(OceanColorsSmallPaintings)

I have been wondering for weeks just how to get my blog entries to go to Facebook.  I have poked, prodded and twinged everything I could in my blog dashboard, but to no avail.

Then I noticed a few days that a friend of mine, Carrie Jacobson, did exactly what I wanted to do with her blog ( carriejacobson.blogspot.com ), so I emailed her. After a few back and forth emails, she decided to phone me.

Here was how our conversation went:

Me: How did you do that?

Carrie: Hmmmm. Let's seeeee... I don't really remember. I have no idea where that thing was. It was on a page with tabs on it, I remember that.

Me: Dashboard?

Carrie: Dashboard? Maybe. The place where you can design your stuff. Is that Dashboard?

Me: I don't know. I don't see it in Dashboard 
 
Carrie: Well, its probably not on the Dashboard.  Maybe its where you make a new posting.  Yes, there it is ! See the tabs ?  Click on the one that says Amend or Arrange or something.  Then look down near the bottom, about halfway, for a button thing that gets you to the doodad or something like that.
 
Me: The gizmos?
 
Carrie: The widgets.
 
Me:  The gadgets?
 
Carrie:  Look there. Look for something that says 'edit', then hit it and a box will pop up, with a whole lot of other gizmos you can have, and the Facebook one is there.
 
And the conversation went on like this for a few minutes more.  Somehow, through all that clatter and nonsense chatter and laughter, we understood each other and I accomplished my feat.  Now if I can just do it again !!
 
Life is like that sometimes. We stumble, bumble and fumble through it, wondering how we did it in the first place.  But that is what makes it all interesting.

Sketchbook Tour 2011 entry

And yet another page for my sketchbook,  http://www.arthousecoop.com/projects/sketchbookproject

7 Reasons Why I Scuba Dive

7 Reasons Why I Scuba Dive:

Diving in Cozumel

1. Appreciation for beauty: I love color--in my art and in the world around me.  The colors in the fishes and corals I see underwater are so spectacular and beautiful that it brings tears to my eyes at times when I think that HE created it all.

2. Sense of Adventure:  I love trying new things.  I guess I have a touch of reckless abandon.  People always told me I couldn't, ........but I can !

3. Photography: Photography with my Nikonos V underwater camera make the reference material I use for my underwater themed watercolors and oil paintings.

4. Peaceful Feelings: Underwater, I am alone with my thoughts.  All I hear is my own breathing.  Comfortable, relaxed feelings take over my body and mind.

5. Commaderie: I have something wonderful in common with the three girls I dive with and the people we meet on our dive trips.

6. Learn respect: Seeing life under the sea can do nothing but make one respect our environment and want to preserve it.

7. Educating: As I learn more and more about the oceans and the inhabitants, I like to pass this information onto school children.  They are like sponges in that they want to learn and they ask a million questions when I'm done speaking.
Educating and increasing public awareness through my art is my mission to get people to think about the health and survival of our oceans for future generations to enjoy.

Better blogging

My friend, Elizabeth, is a big blogger, who is always trying to nudge me to get at least one entry a week in my blog.

We had lunch together last week and while we were enjoying each other's company she pulled a thick folder out of her canvas bag and handed it to me.  As I opened it she explained that she was taking an online class (with about 400 other women) to better blogging and she challenged me to join her in this endeavor.  

Liz doesn't need to encourage me to find time to paint, but she likes to "push and nudge" me to be a better business person, and that I don't blog faithfully is one of her biggest beefs about me ! 

So..........after much deliberation, I decided to take the "31 days to a better blog Probloggers Challenge."

Task one is to write an "elevator pitch": a short description of the focus of our blogs.  When I started this blog two years ago, I wrote that I was "Talking to you about my life as a scuba diver and the art I have created because of it. "   The painting I put with this tag-line is called "Parrot Talk".  It shows 3 parrotfish in conversation.  I like my original tagline and think I will keep it as such.

Task one completed !  

Sketchbook Project Tour 2011

A sketchbook is a place to put down your heart and soul.

There is a website called Art House Co-op.  It is based out of Brooklyn, NY.  Every year they have a sketchbook tour open to anyone from all over the world. 

You purchase an 80 page small sketchbook from them, chose a theme from a list they provide, and then when they mail you the sketchbook with a UPC code on it, you have a time limit to fill it and return it to them.  You can draw, color, write poetry, paste pictures............anything you want, just so you fill it and do not change the dimensions of the book.  The sketchbooks then go on tour to 6 major cities around the United States, and people can check them out just like a library book with the UPC code. When they return to Brooklyn, NY, they are put into the Brooklyn Art Library as part of a permanent collection.

I have heard about this before, but never thought of doing it until now.  The theme I chose is "Below the Surface".  I am using it to educate people who do or do not have the opportunity to see what I have seen "below the surface" of the ocean.

I am doing sketches, small watercolors, original poetry and whatever else I may think of that will  depict life under the sea.

I'll keep you posted as I progress with the sketchbook and let you now what cities it will be touring.