All you need is tea and fuzzy socks!

Image from 89 días de Otoño: 10 consejos 

There is nothing more wonderful than being cosy under a snugly duvet! Winter is time for Sweaters. Boots. Fall. Leaves. Scarves. Hot chocolate. Cuddling. Jeans. Tea. Hoodies. Crisp air. Late nights. And Sunday sleep-ins. And what is more wonderful than to experience it under a beautiful duvet, printed with gorgeous, original art on a brushed cotton/poly cover. Each one is made to order and then softened afterwards to ensure you a no-nonsense day of lazing about in comfort after calling in sick at work.

I change my duvet covers with the seasons - warm colours for winter, cool colours for summer. With so many colours and designs to choose from from my duvet portfolio, you will never be without the right feel for your bedroom! 

All you need is tea & Fuzzy socks duvet cover - Twin

With a Brushed polyester printed topside and soft cotton/polyester off-white underside, the duvet cover has a concealed zipper and ties for securing your duvet inside. It is machine washable on a cold water gentle cycle. Use a mild detergent, but stay away from the bleach.

Someone somewhere is thinking of you duvet cover - King size

The duvet covers come in the following sizes :

Twin : 68" x 88"
Queen : 88" x 88"
King : 104" x 88"

Aloe sunset duvet cover - Twin

Coffee! Coffee! Coffee! duvet cover - Queen

And for Spring, "Daisy serenity" duvet cover - Twin

There’s serenity here… The one place where I can finally hear my thoughts.

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Know when it's time to move on

You have to start somewhere. Your career might begin in childhood when a parent praises a class assignment and hangs it on the refrigerator. You move on to making work for family and friends and it gets seen in private homes. Everyone encourages you, so you put your art at the local coffee shop.

Your art might sell and it might not sell at the coffee shop. You don’t care. Okay you kinda care, but heck! You have a free place to hang your art. So you keep putting it there over and over again. Why not? It’s comfortable.

That’s precisely when you know it’s time to move on. When something starts feeling too easy, you must re-evaluate and make sure it’s serving your goals. You’ll never get anywhere by playing it safe. Moving beyond your comfort zone is a big step, but necessary if you want more from your art.

Read the rest of the article here at ArtBizBlog 

I would love to hear your experiences with marketing and showing your art, what methods do you use, which have you found are worthwhile and which are you giving up, and why?

Regards

MAREE

Turn precious memories into inspirational works of creativity

Inspired by childhood memories - I'll never forget the sounds and the special moments spent with my father on these fishing trips

Each moment is filled with miracles—very special treasures to discover. All we need to do to see miracles is to look with a spirit of gratitude.

We usually think of "seeing" with our physical eyes. However, when we begin looking deeper than physical sight, we begin to see the perspectives with which we colour our experiences. When we take notice of all that we have to be thankful for, miracles appear.

Today holds the chance to build new dreams, achieve new successes, and show new kindnesses to others. There will be moments in which to see, hear, touch, taste, feel, laugh, and love. Our senses and emotions are the windows through which we view these unrepeatable miracle moments.

Take a few moments just for yourself, and notice what you are experiencing. What do you see? Look around you. Notice the different shapes, colours, lights, and shadows. Listen to the sounds around you. Notice how you suddenly became aware of the loudness, textures, and rhythms of various sounds. Notice also any silences.

Notice the sensations of touch and the awareness of aliveness within you from head to toe. Become aware of any smells, or recall a favourite fragrance such as a bouquet of roses, an orchard filled with apple blossoms, or a rain-drenched pine forest.

Having my daily fix of a Latté! My hair styling salon ‘Une Belle-Vous’ sports a lovely little restaurant and coffee bar, “Bistrot de Paris”, and they serve the most delectable meals and coffees in a gorgeous up-market setting with a lovely relaxing atmosphere. Nothing better than going blond and enjoying a Latté in the process!

Be aware, most of all, of the relationships and friendships that have added joy to your life. Notice the various qualities your thoughts give to each of your experiences.

"We do not remember days, we remember moments."

If you were to list the greatest miracles in your life, what would they be? Think of those special moments you are grateful for. Then share a miracle with someone today.

Special moments Laptop sleeve - Do you remember the days of Drive-In theatres? Sitting in the car, watching a movie, having a snack and making out? Smile! Miss those days as drive-In theatres have disappeared in South Africa with the advent of DSTV.

Synonymous with Drive-In theatres is a roadhouse. Luckily these have still survived the onslaught of progress! Pulling in for a quick snack or, in the case of Harry’s Roadhouse in Randfontein (Gauteng, South Africa) above, leaving your car and having an excellent meal to shame any up-market restaurant at tables in their beautiful gardens.

 

May you continue to celebrate all the wonders and precious moments that make your life special! And may you turn all those precious memories into wonderfully inspirational works of creativity!

Why do I paint?

 

Enter these enchanted woods

I just can’t help myself.
I paint to learn and to grow, to laugh and to be motivated.
I paint to understand things I’ve never been exposed to.
I paint when I’m crabby.
I paint for strength to help me when I feel broken, discouraged, and afraid.
I paint when I’m angry at the whole world.
I paint when everything is going right.
I paint to find hope.
Painting describes my thoughts and what’s hidden in my heart.
Painting for me, is spending time with a friend, myself.
A book is a friend.
You can never paint too much.
I find life in painting.

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Does criticism of your art impede your creativity?

"Guineafowl in my garden"

I've taken my talent for sketching and painting pretty much for granted over the years - some people can whistle and some can't, some people can sew and some can't - and I've never ever worried much about criticism. It doesn't really touch or affect me. There's two things that I believe - I believe that beauty is in the eye of the beholder and that you can please some of the people some of the time, but not all the people all of the time. I often see art online or in galleries and fall totally in love with it and the next person looks at me as if I'm mad. I've also seen stuff that I think is pretty mediocre and a friend can't stop raving about it.

The same goes with my own art - something I think is really good and I'm quite chuffed with, will get no attention at all and another piece, that I sometimes feel is not worth even showing in public, gets rave reviews.

One inescapable truth of the art world is that, throughout your career, all kinds of people will say all kinds of things about your art whether they tell you to your face, write about it, make videos about it or blog about it.

Now here's the thing. Some artists have a habit of spontaneously asking people what they think of their art. Why an artist would even ask someone, hardly makes any sense to me in the first place. That question should be the one you ask yourself, not anybody else. Your art is ultimately all about you and your belief in what you're doing, regardless of what anyone else has to say. Just know that any time you ask people what they think of your art, you instantly put them in an awkward position and you open yourself to criticism you might not want to hear. In almost all cases what they'll tell you will not be what they think of your art, but rather what they think you'll want to hear -- which is usually that they like it. In other words, asking the question is basically pointless because you'll have no idea whether the answers you get will be honest or not, and no real way of finding that out. 

Don't let criticism get to you. Don't let it stunt or impede your creativity, your enjoyment of what you're doing. If you want to post your art online for everybody to see, develop a thick skin. That doesn't mean you ignore criticism totally - have an open mind and give it some thought, nobody is too old to learn something new and it could possibly make you a better artist. You should be willing to listen to what they have to say and see what you can potentially learn from it.

Don't take it personally. You need to find a safe distance from your creative work in order to not feel personally attacked when someone tells you they think your art stinks. But let's face it, it's very rare that someone will say that to your face (lol!), but on line it's a different matter. There are many people out there that are venomous and say nasty things just because they are nasty, so realise that it actually has nothing to do with you, but is their stuff.

People are going to criticize your creative work anyway, but that’s okay because your work will eventually define your audience. Those who like it will stick around and wait for you to create something else, while those who don’t like what you are doing, will wander off towards their next adventure. A big mistake would be to suddenly start painting dragons when, what you really like doing, is painting roses. Never create for anybody but yourself.
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Elbert Hubbard said, "To avoid criticism, do nothing, say nothing, be nothing." So you can either do nothing, be nothing and feel safe from criticism or you can stop looking to others for acknowledgement or approval, trust your instincts and enjoy doing your art.
- Some info from ArtBusiness.com

"Keepers of the Sacred Law" - W&N watercolour on Bockingford 300gsm - In memoriam to Coco, a Black Crow, whom I was lucky enough to have in my life for 20 years.

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