A friend a while back once said to me that if I made a coloring book, she would buy it. Well, I’ll do you one better… Introducing Long Blue Straw’s own Watercoloring Pages. I did the drawing, now you do all the fun.
Sold as a kit: Package includes 8 individual sheets each with a separate drawing, all printed on Arches Natural White 90 lb (185 gsm) watercolor paper; Scholastic Short Handle Red Sable Round Brushes (sizes 4, 2, 3/0); and Winsor & Newton Cotman Watercolor Pan Set (12 colors.) All to get you started on your own watercolor journey. Click Here! for the kit.
Or Click Here! for just the pages. My first series, so excited.
Hoping these will be a success so I can have an excuse to do more. (wink, wink)
Yeah, baby. Smiling, smiling… I have grown up around hot air balloons. My hometown is famous for them. The Great Wellsville Balloon Rally takes place in my hometown every summer. Seeing them fly overhead hoping they would land in your yard was my inspiration. And when they did, you could help puff out the air from the enormous array of colors right in front of you that you’re actually touching. What could be more glorious for the child in us all?
The Rally has always promoted the event with the most beautiful posters. Year after year, waiting to see what this years would be… For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to be THAT ARTIST. I know those posters played a small roll in me wanting to pursue art. Well, my friends, I’m thrilled to announce that this year I was chosen as the Balloon Rally artist! Yay Me!! Above are my poster design options. (I am a graphic artist by day, that’s how I pay the bills, so I threw my talents in for good measure.)
And the winning poster is:
Not the one I would have chosen, but I couldn’t be happier! I can’t wait to be there this summer and see the town a glow with my art! Poster, t-shirts, a trailer wrap! Oh, my… Can’t contain my excitement! Wellsville, here I come!!
Josephine Skriver with her Face Factory Paris shirt. Yeah, making the big time, dressing this gorgeous Victoria Secret supermodel. Couldn’t be more stoked. A big thank you to Face Factory for the opportunity (kiss, kiss)!
As an artist, I don’t have the luxury of a dedicated marketing team… so, enter social media. It’s the perfect and simple way to get my art out there and seen. Today we are experiencing the world in a completely different way than anything before. It’s all at our finger tips, literally… and, you know what? I want to be a part of it.
Thanks to social media, not only do I have the ability to show my work to thousands of people (I actually have more followers on Instagram than the entire population of my hometown) but I get to create something that makes people happy, sad, angry, or whatever… just sparking an emotion, even if it’s for a split second. I paint things that altered my way of thinking and tug at my sensibilities. And sharing this with people and having them respond with a “like” is a new age conversation. And in the time of fractured attention spans I enjoy altering someones thinking as my image flies by their screen. And when someone takes the time to leave me a comment, well… I know I’ve evoked a response, and that’s pretty amazing. Something I created has had an impact on someone else.
What social media do I use? Well, Instagram is my go to. Then facebook and pintrest. Of course my blog, www.longbluestraw.com where I do, on occasion, bloviate about my art. But, I do have to admit… I’m on instagram all the time! I constantly “check-in” with the artists I follow. I love to see what they are creating, what they are up to, what others are saying about their art. And I love to discover new artists and become part of their community. It’s like having a conversation without actually speaking.
If it wasn’t for social media, I wouldn’t have discovered a lot of new art, seen places I’ve never been, entered contests I would have never knew existed, been contacted by people who have hired me. And most importantly, I’m able to justified myself as an artist. You can just pull up my instagram portfolio and, boom!… Look at all that… Artist!
But the best part about social media for me is that I now have lots of new friendships with other artists from all over the world. Connections that I would have never made before, and that’s pretty cool.
My illustration was spotted at Paris Fashion Week! Can you stand it?!? I’ve gone international!
Coming up soon, I’ll be partnering with Face Factory Paris, on one-of-a-kind t-shirts. Your face, painted by me, on a t-shirt. Stay tuned…
Childhood dream realized!
