December 29, 2010

"Palm Presence" 30" x 30" oil/canvas $2200
My Choice: Painting of the Year 2010

Happy Old Year! Yes, that's what I'm proclaiming this last week of 2010. Sure, there have been challenges: Big ones! Lousy ones! Expensive ones! Still, in the realm of What Really Matters, this has been a year of great success. Will you join me for a moment in celebrating a few accomplishments you helped make possible?

1. Giving. When the earthquake in Haiti occurred I didn't have much cash to send to help with relief efforts. Then the idea came to hold a benefit Open Studio. Generous patrons of my work on Vieques helped me raise $1000 for Partners in Health. The Vieques Humane Society also auctioned one of my paintings and so did the Navy League. Very cool! It's a good feeling to put my gifts in a position to gift others.

2. Galleries. Thanks to shows given by Terri Haugen, at her Les Sirenes Galerie D'Art in Frankfort, MI and Craig Bell, at the WARD Gallery in Petoskey, MI, my work has received wide exposure in Northern Michigan, my new home.

3. Teaching. I loved all the teaching opportunities I was offered in 2010. Private and small group lessons for eager students in Vieques gave me the opportunity to develop a sure-fire way to show beginning plein air oil painters how to get going. Then, the Crystal Lake Art Center in Frankfort, brought me another group of wonderful students. I gave one workshop and taught a 4-week plein air oil painting class. We traveled to nearby beaches and farmsteads to paint the Michigan landscape. Heaven!

4. Painting, painting and more painting. 2010 was a tremendous year for quality time behind the easel. 4 months in Vieques, followed by a long outdoor painting season in Michigan that lasted well into October. I painted in my new (as yet unfinished) studio as well -- larger, semi-abstract work -- that gave me the chance to really push design and colors. Lots of paintings -- see them now in the various galleries above and on my website.

5. Recognition! “The island works of talented landscape painter Ellie Harold … are some of the most evocative of their kind on Vieques.” John Marino, Frommer’s: Puerto Rico (2010). This mini-review was fun to find whilst Googling along one day. Also appreciated was the honor of curating and judging the 6-County Juried Show of the Crystal Lake Art Center.

6. Sales! Last and certainly not least, in 2010 I've sold upwards of 40 paintings in 2010! And this in an environment about which many people say, "No one is buying." Well, someone did -- you did -- and this is terrific! Success isn't always about making a sale; it means lot more to an artist than income when a painting sells. There's tremendous satisfaction in having work appeal to a viewer so much that they want to own it. I work hard to put my work in front of people who I believe will appreciate and buy it, as sales allow me to continue to develop myself as an artist and realize further the gifts I have yet to
give. I've posted "Palm Presence" as my choice of Painting of the Year -- it could be yours! Send me an email (eharold@aol.com) and let me know your choice.

I'm looking forward to 2011 and will keep you posted about my artistic goals for the New Year. For now, however, I want to know I am deeply grateful for your interest, support and patronage in 2010. I love that you take the time to read these newsletters and give me your feedback. It helps me feel connected to you and gives me hope for what we each create day by day.

With great appreciation for you and all the gifts I've been given,
Ellie

Ellie Harold Fine Art | P.O. Box 1087 | Frankfort, MI 49635 | USA

December 22, 2010

"Winter Scene"
20" x 20" oil/canvas
$1375

I've neglected to post to this blog for many months. My e-newsletter is easier to use so I do. Still, for those who want to check in with my work this way, here's my latest painting. This scene is in the alley in back of the apartment where we're living while our house (across the street) is being renovated.

It started snowing here in Frankfort on December 2. What a difference to the landscape the fluffy white stuff makes. I love it! I've not yet made it our for a plein air session -- too cold! -- so I've used photo references and the view out of my tiny studio window.

This winter wonderland makes the Solstice and Christmas seem all the more seasonal here. It's a dream come true for this Elfie-one. I hope you and yours are snug and warm, enjoying making meaning of this time of year for yourself.

Ellie

PS I have a few 2011 calendars left: "Up North" and "Vieques." Go to www.EllieHarold.com to order using PayPal or other means.