Leduc Grain Elevator painting complete

I'm happily still working on the Leduc series. (For those who are new readers, I am working on a series of 12 paintings of Leduc, Alberta - six rural and six city paintings. I will be making art cards and prints of the paintings in time for the Alberta Winter Games in February). I am working on a painting of the new Leduc skate park now, but the Elevator painting above was finally dry enough to add the lettering, so although I'll make some adjustments in the next few days, I'm able to post the final version.

I have the skate park painting almost complete - I am excited about that painting because it's got lots of neat shadows in the deep caverns of the 'bowl' and the young boy who is biking in the bowl casts a delightful shadow. In another day or two I should be able to post it.

I have two left to complete the series, so the next one will be of a Telford Lake scene - I've drawn it out and I'm ready to start painting right away. I'm so close to the end of the series that I'm already thinking about what my next project will be.

I have a commissioned portrait of a young lady to complete in the next few months, a painting of
some hockey players, and a few other small projects that I'll work on, but I am starting to think about a series for my next year fall show.

Marketing is a huge focus of mine, and I'll be keeping my eyes and ears open for new opportunities in the year to come. Johnson Gallery in Edmonton features my work in their ads in Canadian Brushstroke Magazine - a really great magazine for the Canadian art industry. (There's some wonderful stories about CDN artists covered in the mag - www.brushstrokemagazine.com )

This blog is a marketing tool, but to me it is also a motivating tool. In order to keep regular updates on a blog, one has to have either work or articles to publish. I can't recommend this highly enough, however if an artist is not prepared to update at least three to four times per week - every week, it's probably not the way to go. People who get interested in your blog will want new information on a regular basis or they will get bored and choose other blogs over yours.

After 25 years in publishing, I rarely am at a loss for things to write about, and I am constantly stimulated by artist friends, gallery owners, art suppliers, collectors, etc. When they ask me questions, it gets my thought process going and suddenly another article is in the works. I am just thrilled that my love of writing and my love of painting come together in such a cohesive way.

If you have any products you'd like discussed, I'd be glad to do some digging with the manufacturers or other artists; or if you have any topics for future articles, please sent me a message or post it in the comments. If it's about painting, I'd love to discuss it.