Thursday, 21 July 2011

Lucian Freud in pictures


Girl with kitten - 1947


Blond Girl - 1985, Etching


Eli and David 2005-06


Rabbit on Chair 1944



Girl in a dark jacket - 1947


Girl with a white dog - 1951


Interior at Paddington - 1951


Bella and Esther - 1988


Naked portrait with reflection - 1980


Reflection (self portrait) - 1981

Lucian Freud - Obituary in the Guardian

Tuesday, 5 July 2011

Treasury Tuesday - Mermaid Dreams

A selection of beautiful Mermaid related items from Etsy, Click on the Treasury to link to all the items: Mermaid Dreams

Who would be
A mermaid fair,
Singing alone,
Combing her hair
Under the sea,
In a golden curl
With a comb of pearl,
On a throne?

I would be a mermaid fair;
I would sing to myself the whole of the day;
With a comb of pearl I would comb my hair;
And still as I comb'd I would sing and say,
“Who is it loves me? who loves not me?”
I would comb my hair till my ringlets would fall
Low adown, low adown,
From under my starry sea-bud crown
Low adown and around,
And I should look like a fountain of gold
Springing alone
With a shrill inner sound,
Over the throne
In the midst of the hall;
Till that great sea-snake under the sea
From his coiled sleeps in the central deeps
Would slowly trail himself sevenfold
Round the hall where I sate, and look in at the gate
With his large calm eyes for the love of me.
And all the mermen under the sea
Would feel their immortality
Die in their hearts for the love of me.

But at night I would wander away, away,
I would fling on each side my low-flowing locks,
And lightly vault from the throne and play
With the mermen in and out of the rocks;
We would run to and fro, and hide and seek,
On the broad sea-wolds in the crimson shells,
Whose silvery spikes are nighest the sea.
But if any came near I would call, and shriek,
And adown the steep like a wave I would leap
From the diamond-ledges that jut from the dells;
For I would not be kiss'd by all who would list,
Of the bold merry mermen under the sea;
They would sue me, and woo me, and flatter me,
In the purple twilights under the sea;
But the king of them all would carry me,
Woo me, and win me, and marry me,
In the branching jaspers under the sea;
Then all the dry pied things that be
In the hueless mosses under the sea
Would curl round my silver feet silently,
All looking up for the love of me.
And if I should carol aloud, from aloft
All things that are forked, and horned, and soft
Would lean out from the hollow sphere of the sea,
All looking down for the love of me.

The Mermaid - Alfred Lord Tennyson

Monday, 23 May 2011

Learning to sell Art online - 6 tips that made me think

It's almost 3 years since I first set up shop on Etsy, and over that time I've been slowly learning how things work, and how I could make improvements. I've read hundreds of advice articles on Etsy and on other blogs and a few tips really stood out -

1. Nail your niche

Your shop should have a consistent aesthetic or product line. Don’t try to be everything to everybody. A shop full of cohesive work that connects with a potential buyer is a powerful thing. It is possible to work in several media and still have a cohesive body of work. Some artists and crafters have a well-formed sense of style, I'm still finding mine, but my shop can be the focus for the consistent aesthetic I'm aiming for. If your items don't fit together, don't be afraid to open a second shop. Build a cohesive body of work in your shop.

2. Do what you love

Be original and keep yourself interested in what you're making and selling. If you are not interested and excited by what you are doing, why should your customers be? There are millions of shops on Etsy, unless you are doing something unique and being true to yourself then you are not going to stand out. Give your items something that makes them unique - your style!

3. Make it look great

Take the best photos you can. Use all 5 listing photos and show all aspects of your art - a framed version, a packaged one, a hand held view etc. Create a strong image with your banner. Make a memorable impression. Present your items so exquisitely that they become irresistible!

4. Answer all questions

Answer all your buyers potential questions by giving full descriptions which include all details they might want to know. Try to imagine what you'd be wondering if you were looking for a particular item.

5. What's in a name?

The name of your shop is important, as are the words you use in your descriptions and tags. Certain words have different meanings and spellings in different countries (e.g. Watercolour is Watercolor in US English). It's important to have a shop name that has a universal spelling/meaning and doesn't include a rude word in any language!

6. Pricing

Pricing is incredibly difficult! I have often worried about under pricing or over pricing. If I price too high will I get any sales at all? If I price too low I'm under valuing my work and making my art look cheap. After reading a brilliant blogpost on the art of pricing photography I re-did my calculations and I've come up with a much more realistic pricing structure. To have even a remote chance of making a success as an artist I need to start pricing realistically so that I'm not making a loss with every sale!


First steps with a new shop!

So, I've taken the first steps to a new and improved online shop and I've opened the originally titled Francesca Whetnall on Etsy. I'm still not 100% about the name, but I thought it keeps it pretty simple and clear by just using my name. I'm still working my way through the other tips and I've got a lot more art to list, but I hope it will make a clearer aesthetic statement than my original etsy shop - Dick and Franny . I've still got a load of under-priced art and jewellery at Dick and Franny, but I'll probably move that shop to just jewellery, or close it down altogether...

If you have any comments on my new shop or other advice you'd recommend please leave me a comment. I hope some of these tips might be useful for others anyway. Below are my main sources of advice:

Have a look at these great articles for more tips and advice

Fantastic article that convinced me I really did need to start a new shop with a clear focus on Art -
Niche Thyself: Variety vs. Consistency in Your Online Shop by Wonder thinking

A great list of questions you need to answer -
20 Questions your buyers are asking by Mel from Sparkle - Rama

Fantastic article on how to price your work -
How to price portrait Photography - by Jodi Friedman, MCP Actions

More pricing advice -
The Art of Pricing - Can I disagree with the Storque Article please? - by Magic Jelly

Lots more tips from UK and Irish sellers on Etsy -
Etsy's UK & Ireland Seller Support Team - Top 5 things you wish you'd known

Thanks also to:

Amity UK
Jacob de Graaf of Modern Folk
Alchemy Fibre Arts
Cards & Craft
Deepa at Lazy Giraffe Jewellery
Bread and Circuses
Mandy Williams at Socky Socks

Monday, 2 May 2011

Postcard Portraits

I'm still loving JKPP and still trying out new styles. I just can't help doing something different everytime. I'm sure I could develop more if I stuck to one style for a bit longer but I just can't resist switching techniques and medium after almost every picture...

Until now! After trying a postcard sized watercolour portrait I have managed to stick to this style (for some of the time anyway). Here are some of my latest paintings, all watercolours painted on postcard sized watercolour paper.



Stella Tooth ~ Portrait Artist from London.
Postcard sized watercolour
Find out more about Stella and her art at her website here


Susanne Dutoit ~ Artist
Postcard sized watercolour
See Susanne's stunning art on her photostream here


Paulien Maria ~ Documentary Film maker
Postcard sized watercolour
Visit Paulien's Blog here


Arturo Espinosa ~ Artist
Postcard sized watercolour
See Arturo's beautiful artwork on his photostream here

You can see all of the portraits I've done for Julia Kay's Portrait Party here
And you can find out more about the Party at the JKPP Blog

Tuesday, 26 April 2011

Little green monster

His name is Harry but his friends call him Stinker...


Finger painted with Brushes on my iPhone.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Monday, 18 April 2011

Glass Blowing

Beautiful video showing glass blowing artist Kiva Ford at work.

Amazing stuff!


Handmade Portraits: Kiva Ford from Etsy on Vimeo.

Monday, 4 April 2011

Dick and Franny ~ April Discount!

I've just listed some of my new prints in my Etsy store in a brand new Printmaking Section and to celebrate I'm offering a lovely 15% discount on EVERYTHING in my Store for the whole of APRIL for all of my blog readers!

The code applies to ALL items listed in my shop (excluing postage and packaging).

To claim your discount simply type BLOGAPRIL2011 into the 'Shop Coupon Code' box when you place your order. The total will be recalculated to include the fab 15% off!


Tuesday, 29 March 2011

Monoprints ~ Echoes of Venice

I've been on an experimental printing course this term and one of the many techniques we tried out was monoprinting. I've done some monoprints in the past, which I really enjoyed, so I had a good idea of what could be achieved. Monoprinting is a form of printmaking which uses images or lines that can only be made once, unlike most printmaking, where you create multiple original prints. There are lots of different techniques you can use to create a monoprint, including painting, drawing, collage and other mark making techniques. You can use one or several techniques to build up an image on a plate (which can be anything from a piece of card to a metal or wooden plate) which you then transfer to paper by either just pressing the paper on to the plate, or you can use a press or a roller. It's a bit tricky to explain it all without photos or diagrams - I'll try and do another post to show the steps some time!

The beauty of monoprinting is in it's spontaneity and its combination of printmaking, painting and drawing. The characteristic of this method is that no two prints are alike, a monoprint is a completely one off piece of art.

The prints below are my favourites from my recent monoprint experiments. To create them I mainly used a roller with a variety of coloured relief inks. I also used shapes cut from magazines, and some tissue paper collage (the technique of including collage pieces in a monoprint is also known as chine-collé).



Thursday, 10 March 2011

Portraits 2010

Julia Kay's Portrait Party has been such a huge inspiration to me in 2010, I've explored lots of different styles and techniques and learnt loads from all of the amazing work everyone else has been producing. These are some of my favourites from the portraits I've done.
I just wish I had more time to spend painting and drawing everyone!

Some of my JKPP faves

1. Sue Hodnett - Artist, (central picture) Watercolour
2. NC Mallory - Artist, Digital (Photoshop)
3. Valerie Beeby (Purple Owl), Watercolour
4. Shitao 师涛 - Tim Williams, Artist, Watercolour
5. Giorgio Bordin, Watercolour
6. Anna Black, Watercolour
7. Neil Davidson, Pen
8. Serious Erica ~ homage to John Bavaro, I-Phone
9. Straw Herring, Watersoluble pencils
10. Anne Watkins - Artist, Fineliners
11. Frank V2 - Homage to Sue Rama, Digital (Photoshop)
12. The Happy Painter, Mixed Media
13. Hans 3/Peter Vanayk Fineliners

Created with fd's Flickr Toys

You can see all of my JKPP portraits here
See my previous New Portraits and JKPP posts

Wednesday, 26 January 2011

Print Shop Revamp

I realised my Cafe Press shop was a total mess so I've given it a bit of a revamp. I've now got some lovely new sections, and some fab new products like my gorgeous iPad cases! Here are a selection of my favourites...

One of my favourite paintings, 'Sunday Papers' available as a framed print in my new Framed Art Prints section -

An iPad case from my new Office and Stationary section


A simple but elegant valentine's card from my Valentine section -


I love these cushions! From my new Home Decor section


These greetings cards are great, really good quality. This one is 'Salzburg in Winter' from my Cards and Postcards section 
Last but not least, one of my best selling designs, my Circles T-shirts come in a selection of colours and styles. From my Clothing range!




Sunday, 28 November 2010

Butterflies

It's cold outside.
I've taken loads of photos this year but not managed to post any of them so I thought it would be good to post something sunny, summery and beautiful. 

Painted lady (Vanessa cardui)
Painted lady (Vanessa cardui)

Painted lady (Vanessa cardui)

Silver-washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia)

Silver-washed Fritillary (Argynnis paphia)

Peacock Butterflies (Inachis io)

Peacock Butterflies (Inachis io)

Friday, 25 June 2010

New Portraits

I've created a new portraits section on my website and started updating it with some of my recent JKPP portraits. It's such a motivating group I've really been learning new ways to paint and draw and although I've drawn many pencil portraits in the past I used to lack the confidence to paint portraits. Now I can't wait to try out a new technique on a new face. Thanks again Julia!
I've also joined a new group with similar ideals, called Doodle Face. Even more faces to have a go at!

My website home page shows a random selection of images - sometimes I just can't stop refreshing the screen to see what combination comes up next!

Here are a few of my latest favourites:

The Happy Painter - Donna

The Happy Painter

I'm a huge fan of Donna's painting style, she is so free and expressive with her watercolours, I would love to learn that skill.  I started this portrait with the hope of emulating some of Donna's style  and capturing some of her energy and happy spirit. But my initial attempt was failing to capture any likeness.
So, I dampened the face area and started again with a more accurate drawing (in my initial attempt I'd begun with watercolour without any drawing lines). I then used Gouache to build up face. I've had some lovely comments on Flickr about the texture of the skin - but I wasn't really thinking about it's texture, I was just trying to get the right colours and tones in the right places - and it seemed to work quite well. Although this isn't a perfect likeness, it's quite close and I'm pretty happy with it as a painting.

What Donna said - "Oh yeah! The eyes, the eyes have it! And I am jealous of the way you do noses and skin!!! Yeehaw. I LOVE IT!"


Fairsquare - Sean Cronin

Sean Cronin - fairsquare

Sean's drawings are stunning, he's done many beautiful portraits for JKPP including a great one of me which I posted in my last blog - it's one of my favourites and really captures my frowning stare!
After my experiments with Gouache on Watercolour paper I thought I'd have a go with some Acrylic paper I've had for years but never use. I drew a quick pencil stetch to begin with and then used a combination or watercolour and acrylics to loosely sketch in the colours and tones. Although this isn't as 'finished' as it could be I really like the fresh and loose feel of the painting, so I decided to stop before loosing that.
As soon as I'd taken a photo of the portrait it was much easier to see where i'd gone wrong with the likeness, but nevermind! I think I captured Sean's sparkly eyes and slightly cheeky smile at least.


What Sean said - "Franny, you've got me! I'm dead chuffed! This is great. Thank you so much - love this."

Devon Lawrence

Devon Lawrence

Devon is the only person so far who has chosen to tackle a portrait of me at an early age. His drawing is so beautiful and delicate, it's really lovely. Devon also has a fantastic set of photo references to choose from.

In attempt to learn from previous mistakes I tried to draw a more accurate pencil sketch before starting to paint this. Unfortunately my impatience kicked in and I didn't entirely perfect the likeness before diving in with the watercolour. In this painting I've tried to keep my washes large and fresh, and avoid having to rework them too much. I'm fairly happy with the results even though it did start to get a bit overworked in places. I also had to use a little bit of white watercolour in places to pick out the highlights - I would have preferred to have managed to keep the white paper showing for these, but I wasn't careful enough.

What Devon said - "Beautiful work Franny!"

Thursday, 27 May 2010

Julia Kay's Portrait Party

A month ago today I stumbled across a new group on Flickr - Julia Kay's Portrait Party. The group's rules are simple, join the group and draw or paint portraits of other artists and invite other artists to draw you!
I’ve always wanted to paint portraits, but it’s not always easy to find the sitters in the ‘real world’. So this is a great pool of resource – not only photographic, but also for the inspiration of seeing everyone else's style and technique.
It’s such a motivation to have the encouragement and support of a thriving group of diverse artists like this!
In the last few weeks I’ve painted and drawn in totally new ways than I’m used to. And now that I’ve added my photos to the pool it’s a whole new joy to see the amazing and creative versions of me. Anne Watkins summed it up beautifully - waking up to find new portraits of herself was like finding love notes in a bottle – treasures flung across the unknown – from people she could not hear or touch, only see and imagine.
For a great description of the birth of the Portrait Party and it's exciting growth, see Julia's article on the Women's Voices for Change site.

Here are just a few of some of my favourite portraits, some of the portraits I've done, and some of the fab portraits of me!















1. Andrew Mirzoian by Mariah O'Neill
2. Gila Rayberg by Jennifer Lawson
3. Margaux B by R K Schlueter
4. Peter Vanayk by me
5. NC Mallory by me
6. Me by NC Mallory
7. Wally Torta by me
8. NC Mallory by Wally Torta
9. Me by Sean Cronin
10. Sean Cronin by Timothy Schorre

To see more of the portraits or join the party go here
To check out Julia's great photostream go here

It was so difficult to choose just a few favourites that I'll be posting more soon!

Sunday, 2 May 2010

V&A Fabrics

A few weeks ago I went along to the Victoria and Albert's Quilt Exhibition - Quilts 1700-2010 .
It's a great exhibition with some beautiful quilts, some of my favourites were the ones with amazing appliqued people, trees and animals.  I'll have to scan my photos to show some examples...

Anyway, as part of the exhibition's merchandising they've collaborated with Liberty and re-created a number of the original fabrics from the quilts. With beautiful designs dating from 1700+ I just couldn't resist. I haven't done any patchwork for a few years now, but I hope I'll have some time this year to put some of these lovely fabrics to use!


1. India Flower (Blue), 2. Seaweed, 3. Palm Tree (Blue), 4. Petals, 5. Stripes, 6. Seed Head (Blue), 7. Rose, 8. Leaf (Brown), 9. Shells

Friday, 30 April 2010

Folksy Friday - Vintage Roses

I love vintage fabrics, and that classic English floral style. Hearts and roses, bows and lavender - delicious!
This Folksy Friday was also inspired by Deborah Good from Pretty Goods, who featured me on her beautiful Folksy Friday last week, and to Haptree who posted a fantastic blog explaining how to create this Folksy Friday layout!

Thank you Deborah and Haptree :-)

Here are a few of my favourite Folksy finds with a vintage fabric theme. Who needs Laura Ashley or Cath Kidston? Not only are these beautiful creations lovingly and individually designed and hand made in the UK, they are also amazing value for money!

All of these lovely items were found on Folksy. Click on the picture to view more of each talented seller's creations:


Pretty Vintage fabric lavender Heart by Pretty Goods Vixens Shoes Ring by FluffsStuffs
Jug Slip cover by The Cotton Potter Lovely Bag by Just Gill
Lavender Key Rings by Dinky Daisy Vintage Fabric Rose Scented sachet by Padleigh Corner

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