Weekend Deals on Etsy and Folksy

From this friday 21st August until Sunday 23rd I will be offering 15% off all jewellery in my Etsy and Folksy shops.

Just enter the code "weekend deals" in the message to seller and the discount will be refunded promptly through Paypal.

I have some great charm bracelets for autumn:

Owl and Teddy Bear charm bracelet

Chunky Berry bracelet

Purple and bronze charm bracelet

Lots more jewellery available in my Etsy and Folksy stores:

http://www.dickandfranny.etsy.com/

www.folksy.com/shops/dickandfranny

Folksy Faves

A few of the beautiful handcrafted items available on Folksy. I can't believe the prices of some of these!! So much time, love and skill has gone into them, I don't know why anyone would by mass produced stuff when they could have such lovely one off originals as these...

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

1. Handpainted wooden boat by Elli Moody
2. Robot Boy Resin Figurines by Mooglet P. Bear
3. The New Forest by Amy Blackwell
4. Cupcake Brooch by Molly's Mum
5. Finn a Plush Green Frog by Covetables
6. Blackberry Fluffy Flower by HMS Designs
7. Country cottage tea cosy by Vintage Town
8. Umbrellas Print by Sparklehen
9. Wilson Chicken Doorstop by Junky Chicken

Folksy Mosaic

1. Untitled, 2. Westbourne arcade, 3. bowl of strawberries, 4. chunky berry, 5. Bottles, 6. Waterjug and onion, 7. Roses, 8. Forde Abbey

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

I sold my first card on Folksy today, woohoo! :-)

Qoop!!

I've set up a store on Qoop!

It's a printing website that's partnered with Flickr so it looks pretty good. I like the variety of prints and products and the site seems mainly easy to use, apart from a few problems setting up the product listings.

Here are some of the products I've set up so far:

Ohio Girl Talks - Interview with me!

The lovely Vanessa from Ohio Girl Talks has done an interview with me about my art and my Dick and Franny Etsy store. She's also doing a giveaway of 5 of my greeting cards. It's great to see I've had loads of lovely comments so far and it's only been a couple of days!

Please have a look at the interview and enter the giveaway if you'd like to be in with a chance of winning 5 of my cards:

Found On Folksy

I've been featured on Found on Folksy! What a lovely surprise to be featured when I only set up my Folksy Dick and Franny store a couple of weeks ago and I haven't had time to stock it fully yet.

Thanks to Jo Whitehead from Glassprimitif for the lovely feature!

In honour of my found feature I thought I'd follow the same lovely seaside idea and show you some of the sea themed items that I've recently listed in my Etsy and Folksy stores. I've always loved the sea and now that I'm living just 20mins walk from Bournemouth beach I have much more opportunity for seaside inspiration!

Here are some of my latest creations that have been inspired by the sea:

Beneath the Sea - Original Monoprint - $90 (£55)
This is an original monoprint from a series of five I created using leaves, string and a feather. A monoprint is a completely one off piece of art, but in this case I developed the theme using similar colours and objects in each print. I love the watery feeling and the textures in this print.

Chunky Aqua Charm Bracelet - $34 (£21)

Aquamarine, turquoise, baby blue and silver beads sparkle alongside beautiful silver charms in this gorgeous, chunky charm bracelet. Hand picked from my eclectic collection of vintage and new beads this bracelet really is unique!

Tropical Waters - Original Collage - $38 (£23)

Mixed media collage with an under water theme.
Contains watercolour, drawing, stamping and collage elements.

Blue Horizons - large Original Watercolour $140 (£86)

Cool blue and white abstract watercolour painting.

I love allowing the watercolour to create patterns and textures

and to merge vibrant colours as I paint. Intense blues and

cool white stripes, blue horizons, waves or clouds...

Sea Air - Fine Art Print $20 (£12)

Giclee print created from my original watercolour painting 'Sea Air'. This blue and white watercolour still life is fresh and breezy and really brings the seaside air in!

Cornish Harbour - Original Watercolour painting - $68 (£42)

Beautiful original watercolour painting of a cornish harbour at dusk.

Don't you just wish you were there?

To see more of my art and jewellery please have a look at my stores:

Dick and Franny on Etsy

I've now listed over 100 items in my US store!!

Dick and Franny on Folksy

Early days for my UK Folksy store, just 3 items at the moment but watch this space!

LIFE, DEATH & KAHLO

My talented and philosophical friend Christine Moor recently set up a new group on Flickr for Picture Series - Bildtafeln. Christine says about the group:

"Collecting and combining images as a picture series to illustrate a certain theme. Discovering images in its multilayered functions in context with others and work out the different meanings and symbols, that are hidden and show up in certain combinations.

Illustrating certain aspects of images such as compostion, light, contrast, perspective. Illustrating terms and themes of the everyday live experience in culture and society. Images as a "language" that has its own rules to narrate a story..."

The group already has a stunning selection of 'Picture Series' images and I must confess I am addicted!

Here are my latest contributions:

IDENTITY

1. Untitled, 2. hiding, 3. Justus, 4. Day Thirty-Seven, 3 SIXTY 5, 5. Identity, 6. IMG_0838, 7. shadow, 8. 50/365, 9. Bat Girl - The Morning

LIFE, DEATH & KAHLO

1. FRIDA KHALO, 2. PASSAGE ( in memory of R.B. Kitaj), 3. I've seen things...., 4. Ecstatic, 5. Rose, 6. Ars Moriendi (The Art of Dying), 7. Ode To Frida Khalo, 8. dreamcatcher, 9. No para Innita: The Populi Interview.

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Craft Giveaways!

I've been thinking about doing a give-away for some time, perhaps even start doing monthly give aways! So I thought I should do a bit of research into the sort of things people are offering - there are some great freebies out there, here are some I came across today....

Bree and Brandon Bliss are giving away a gorgeous Bird Pillow from their Etsy shop Little Pink Orchard

Knitting needle/Crochet set & yarn giveaway from eKnittingNeedles.com - Giveaway hosted by Felting.CraftGossip.com On until 7th July 2009

Sew Fabulous are giving away an Amy Butler Midwest Modern Fat quarter bundle. Giveaway on until 30th June 2009

Kelly Goree is giving away a series of stamping goodies over the next few weeks, relating to Jennifer Mcguire's Thinking Inking class

Daisy by the Sea is giving away this pair of beautiful glass and silver filigree heart earrings .

The giveaway is being drawn on the 1st of July.

Ohio Girl is hosting a giveaway for Cards Corner until the 17th of July. Hany will be giving away 2 lovely sets of felt birds and 2 wired angels from her shop.

Architecture Art on Etsy

1. Charles Bridge - Arkitektur

2. Blue House - James Keniston

3. Westbourne Arcade - Francesca Whetnall at Dick and Franny (me)

4. Sanctuary of Light - Aaron Overstreet

5. Tall Houses - Dancing Girl Art

6. Ion Gardens - Olechko

7. Laundry Day - ArtQuirk

8. English Cottage - ArtWorm

9. Architectural Column - Ahvantegarde

10. Custom House Portrait - Doodle and Hoob

11. Sunlight in Uzes - Mozo

12. Royal Albert Hall - Olechko

13. Old Blue House - Debra L Phillips

14. Prague Church - Inkfinger Sutter

15. 1849 Antique Drawing - Banana Strudel

16. A bit of Paris - ArtQuirk

Portraits

I would love to have the time and subjects to paint and draw more portraits. When I lived in student flats at University it was great to have lots of willing subjects available! Hopefully I'll find some time and people to get back into portraiture again someday. For now I'm happy to enjoy the amazing variety and beauty of portraits on Flickr - there are some stunningly talented people out there, here are some of my favourites:

1. Alma Garret, 2. Disturbed, 3. susan, 4. SUEÑOS DE BAILAR, 5. V, 6. Commissioned George, 7. Misia, 8. Paula Ramires - Portrait, 9. M6, 10. grief I, 11. SARAH VAUGHAN (American Jazz Vocalist) re-post from 2008 by request, 12. Rostro ( Autorretrato), 13. study #2, 14. sp drawing, 15. pastel portrait of laura from 07, 16. version

Created with fd's Flickr Toys.

Circles & Sales

Woohoo!
I've been having a great week for sales, I've sold a couple of paintings, a couple of bracelets and a few cards!!! Which is great - It seems that my little Etsy shop is picking up some views and building up an audience. It's great to know that people like my work and I'm getting some really lovely feedback too.

I've also not been doing too badly with sales in my CafePress shop. I started selling on CafePress nearly 2 years ago now. Their products are great - it's such a nice idea, anyone can upload photos or their own designs and paintings and the site will print your images on any of a range of products when someone places an order. So the site takes care of the production and postage of your items for you and you earn a small commission when your designs sell - genius!

So far my best selling item is my 'Circles' throw pillow - it is gorgeous, so I'm not surprised :-)

I've also sold a fair few of the same design on T-shirts:

I also recently sold this framed print - it's great to think that my work is hanging on walls across the world now! This week I've sold paintings, cards and jewellery to America, Canada, Russia and the UK, wow! :-)

The only drawback in the past has been that the site was US based, with all of the prices in dollars. But now they've got a UK version, with prices in pounds which is great!

Please have a look at my online shops to see more of my art and many more exciting products!

My UK Cafe Press site: http://www.cafepress.co.uk/whetnallart
My US Cafe Press site: http://www.cafepress.com/whetnallart

My Etsy store for Original Art and Jewellery: http://www.dickandfranny.etsy.com/

Chunky Charms

I've been doing quite a bit of beading on and off over the past few months - here are some of the results.

1. rich harvest, 2. disco black , 3. treasure chest, 4. pink & aqua, 5. egyptian queen, 6. red and black , 7. purple & bronze, 8. apple green & silver, 9. silver & plum, 10. owl necklace, 11. blue, 12. green & mean, 13. green & mean, 14. woodland, 15. aqua, 16. chunky berry
Created with fd's" Flickr Toys.

I sold a few of them at the Hastings exhibition and I started listing them in my Etsy store yesterday and I've had a sale already! yay!

Please visit my shop for more: www.dickandfranny.etsy.com

Bicycle Blues

Some great bike based art on a selection of Etsy items:

I want to ride my bicycle, original ACEO by me:

The Patrick Connection - A slideshow of the Exhibition

Interview with an Artist - Thomas Whetnall

Tom studied Illustration at the University of Westminster. A mixed media artist and illustrator, his work ranges from detailed pen and ink drawings to painterly digital designs. He has recently designed a series of health promotion illustrations for the NHS in Wandsworth, so you may have seen his work on the side of London buses or in the London Underground. You can see more of Tom's work at http://www.whetnall.com/.

Name: Thomas Whetnall

How would you define your artistic style? Slightly odd inky drawings

When did you start? 2004 ish

What is your favourite media and why? I like cheep, water soluble ink. It's unpredictable and interesting to work with. I can go through loads of it without worrying.

How long does it usually take you to complete an artwork? An individual drawing will take an hour at most. Formulating an image and making a version i'm happy with can take ages though.

What advice would you give other budding artists? Don't over think. It will ruin every thing.

What or who is your inspiration? Nature, science and history.

Which artist, past or present would you most like to meet? Meeting a caveman would be pretty neat. or leonardo da vinci.

Do you find art relaxing? No, it is stimulating.

Which is your favourite gallery and why? The natural history museum, because you can't improve on the marvels of nature.

How do you define Art? Illustration of nothing in particular.

For more of Thomas's work see his website and blog:

http://thomaswhetnall.blogspot.com/

The Patrick Connection - Joint Exhibition

For the past few months I've been preparing for a joint exhibition at Hastings' Art Forum Gallery. It's a family affair and I'm really looking forward to it. Both of my brothers and two of my cousins will be showing their work. We've all got really different styles and work in different media so it should be a very interesting mix - I can't wait to see it all together!

On display will be art by:

George Whetnall

George studied Fine art at Camberwell school of art. He's exhibited in London and Barcelona and his work includes video installations, sculpture and abstract paintings.

Thomas Whetnall

Tom studied illustration at the University of Westminster. A mixed media artist and illustrator, you may have recently seen some of his work on the side of London buses or in the underground!

Robert Tremain - Fine artist

Robert is a fine artist, oil painter. His subjects include figurative, landscape and abstracts.

Polly Glass - Product & Jewellery Designer

Polly aims to extract the best and most exciting qualities from mass manufactured and hand made techniques when designing and producing her work.

Francesca Whetnall (me!)

My main love is watercolour and this exhibition will provide a showcase for my latest work. Still lives, architectural landscapes and botanical studies.

Red Tulips

I'm trying to absorb some abstraction and expression into my painting. To add more life and colour than a naturalistic impression might allow. I love pattern, colour and painterly-ness, and hopefully I've managed to capture some of that in my latest painting. Any comments or suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

Please visit my Etsy shop to see more of my work - Dick and Franny

Painting Clearance Sale!

In an attempt to declutter I'm having a clearance sale on some of my older work. These paintings are lovely but I just haven't got the space to keep as many as I paint. I've listed three sets of 4 paintings so far, and will be listing more. At between $30 and $55 for each set of 4 these are great value sets and huge discounts on the original prices! What am I thinking with such massive reductions!!??

I've picked each set carefully into groups of similar style and subject. Below are some highlights from the sale, to view all of the available sets click here: Clearance Sale

Interview with an Artist - Tracee Murphy

Tracee Murphy is a talented and creative artist I met through the fantastic Watercolor Works team of Etsy Artists. Her work is fresh and loose, a style that really appeals to me. Tracee is also the founder of the Watercolor Works team, she puts so much hard work and creativity into the group, she is a real inspiration!

Name: Tracee Murphy
How would you define your artistic style? Loose and painterly
When did you start painting? First started 10 years ago, but i have been painting more as an artist for the past 2 and half years.
What is your favourite media and why? Watercolor, of course. It's what i'm drawn to and probably has a lot to do with the fact my mom is a w/c artist too.

Cactus Flower - Original Watercolor (22 x 30 inches)

How long does it usually take you to complete an artwork? Several small paintings can be done in a day, a 1/2 or full sheet anywhere from 1-3 days unless i'm not happy with it and i put it away for a while. depends on how much detail the painting involves.
What do you like best about being an artist? Artist freedom and license to paint anything any color or any way i want!
What advice would you give other budding artists? I'm still budding, but for newbies i'd say practice, practice, practice, but most of all just enjoy what your doing and if you like your work then others will too.

Original Watercolor (8 x 10 inches)

What or who is your inspiration? The many wonderful local artists i get to be around in classes, workshops, and art organizations.
Which artist, past or present would you most like to meet? Terry Madden is my favorite artist and I've already had the privilege to meet him. i just hope i get to meet up with him again.
Which is your favourite gallery and why? The Art Center of Corpus Christi is where i'm currently putting in my work and trying to get involved with.
How do you define Art? Art is in everything whether you design buildings, a landscaper, tattoo artist, etc.

Cool Winter Landscape (5.5 x 7.5 inches)

To see more of Tracee's work -

Website - http://www.traceemurphy.com/
Blog - http://traceemurphy.blogspot.com/
Etsy - http://www.traceemurphy.etsy.com/

Art for Comic Relief!

For the rest of March I'm donating 30% from the sale of a selection of my paintings and prints to Comic Relief - see the 'Comic relief' section of my Etsy shop - Dick and Franny .
Red Nose Day is Friday March 13th and my 'charity special' will last until the end of March!

For more info about Comic Relief and Red nose day visit their site: Comic Relief

Struggling

I've been trying to combine drawing with painting, but I'm still working out how to achieve what I'm aiming for, and work out what that is. I want the clean line and detail of a pen drawing, with the colour and freshness of a watercolour. Here are a couple of my recent attempts.

In this painting of Forde Abbey in Somerset I started with a sketch using derwent drawing pencils in earth colours. I then added paint with large loose brush strokes, adding extra texture with salt. I also used some pastels once the paint was dry.

I started this expressive painting of Barcelona sunshine with some bold pen drawing for just a brief outline. I then went mad with bright blues, purples and yellows!

Any comments will be much appreciated! :-)

Snow!

Oo, I was so excited at the snow - more snow than the country's had for the last 18 years! But it amounted to just a sprinkling here in Bournemouth. I spent a morning running around trying to take some good photos before it all melted away and was then very jealous to see the beautiful coverage that the rest of the country had received!

Happily, we still managed to find a bit of snow at the weekend and had great fun creating this 7ft beauty :-)

Where troubles melt like lemon drops

Someday I'll wish upon a star,
Wake up where the clouds are far behind me
Where trouble melts like lemon drops
High above the chimney top that's where you'll find me
Oh, Somewhere over the rainbow way up high
And the dream that you dare to, why, oh why can't I?

1. Beanie by NuxieMade 2. Lemons by paper Moth 3. Earrings by Celisa 4. Lemon and Lime by Virgilla Art 5. Daffodils by Hammelman Art 6. Tutu by Dancing Elf Designs 7. Songbird by HomeStudio 8. Frankie bracelet by FireLily 9. Caged by PBCB Studios 10. Daisy Lollipop by Sweet Lollipop Shop 11. Earrings by Sora Designs 12. Cherry Limeade by KLynnae 13. Necklace by Paper and glue 14. Star by Waldorf Mama 15. Lemon Posies by Karen Faulkner 16. Waratah by Emberatia

See the Treasury here!: http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=36858

Collages

Some of my recent collages - I like to use a bit of everything - magazine scraps, watercolour, ink drawings and rubber stamping.

Escape

Towers

Untitled (Time flies)

Fossilised

The Art of Recycling

I am a real horder, I can't throw anything away and I've been saving up stamps, old paper bags, magazines, old tickets, postcards, fabric, beads, broken china, bits of metal and plastic and scraps of anything, ever since I can remember. I like to think that I'll eventually use all the junk in a massive artistic outpouring of beautiful collages and altered art sculptures. I love patchwork, collage and mosaic partly because of their potential for recycling old rubbish into beautiful new works of art.

Kaffee Fassett's books on patchwork were a real inspiration to me and have so far resulted in 3 baby quilts, 4 cushions and 1 and a half full sized quilts. I've got a massive collection of fabric scraps taking up boxes of space. Gaudi is another icon and inspiration - Barcelona is beautiful because of his amazing architecture and mosaics. Again, I've got boxes full of broken plates, cups and tiles. I just love the mix of colours, textures and patterns.

The beauty of rubbish as art is that anyone can do it. I've got a fantastic book about 'Outsider Art' full of the amazing creations of hundreds of people from around the world. Nek Chand's garden in India is one of the most amazing, hundreds of mosaic people and animals in a concrete, landscaped garden. I'd love to see it one day, if not have a go at creating something like it! For now I'm sticking to paper, with a bit of collage and mixed media. There's something really additive about collecting and creating. I think it's a combination of the colours, patterns and images and the act of creation that I enjoy. I can't get enough!