Category Archives: Art Blog

Every week I have an art/creativity blog. I will draw from my own artistic experiences and inspirations, spanning many subjects. It promises to be a colourful and creative journey of inner expression, entertainment and informative eye candy.

My Top Art Picks for 2012

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I’ve had rather a busy beginning to 2012.  What with my book finally being released whilst  keeping up on the art front to hold the fort in place.

For today’s art blog I thought I’d show you my favourite 6 painting picks from January’s busy and tousled easel.

I hope you enjoy them.

Red Poppies in the Forest

Zebra Love

Blue Poppies in the Meadow

Vase of Poppies

Rhapsody in Blue

Blue Poppies — Finding Beauty in Chaos Series

All the paintings above are sold but they are available as greeting cards and prints (just click on the image to take you to RedBubble).

Have a happy and productive Wednesday!

FREE BOOK GIVEAWAY

Get your FREE copy of ‘Creative Expression’ HERE

Or, alternatively, it can be purchased as a paperback at lulu.com.

“Bite size teachings on how to express your creative flare and how to ignite your passion for life.

Learn how creativity is food for the soul and that the world is just waiting to be shaped and moulded by you – the co-creator of your reality.”

My art portfolio book is available HERE to purchase or just to browse through (click ‘preview’ under book icon at lulu.com)…

Art Commissions — The Soulworks Project (Part 4)…The Finished Product!

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Please read Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3 to recap.

Let’s Pick Up with a Hiccup!

So I left off last weeks blog with a slight hiccup…

My client came to see the painting and she liked it but I could sense something was bothering her.

“I had misinterpreted her want for silver, black, a hint of green, pink and purple tones to mean that was all the colours she wanted in the piece.”

When we got into it she divulged that she had wanted more of an orange/pink glow in the sunset and that the whole painting was a bit monotone.  I had misinterpreted her want for silver, black, a hint of green, pink and purple tones to mean that was all the colours she wanted in the piece.

This turned out not to be the case.

What to do next?

I listened to her requests and told her that I would first come up with a digital overlay of what she was asking for.

“It is important to listen to the needs of your client…”

I do this to see what the painting will look like with the changes and if it actually suits the painting.  Here is what I came up with:

What I did here was take the photo of the painting and use the ‘airbrush’ feature in my Ulead programme (most photo editing packages have an airbrush feature) to paint in the required adjustments.

I saw that it actually brought the picture to life.

It is important to listen to the needs of your client but it is also important to stick with the integrity of the painting.  What does that mean?

Integrity Check

Well, if I feel that the changes that the client wants do not fall in line with the artwork then I will let them know.  If I feel strongly that it will ‘take away’ from the artwork, then I try to explain the potential hiccups in changing the piece.

However, in this case, the changes my customer wanted actually enhanced the artwork and I had to agree with her in the end, that it was for the betterment of the piece.

Once we had discussed all the little changes she wanted, I went back to the drawing board (or easel, in this case).

The Finished Project

After implementing the final adjustments to the painting, the Soulworks Project was complete!

Here is a picture of the finished artwork.

Available as cards and prints – click here

My client was thrilled it now hangs in her office/consulting room and she now uses it on her business cards and brochures as well as her website.  Check out her site at www.soulworks.co.za.

Don’t forget your FREE copy of my book ‘Creative Expression’ — GET IT HERE

How to find your inspiration…

Art Commissions — The Soulworks Project (Part 3)…Painting the Picture

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Please read Part 1 and Part 2 if you wish to recap.

Let The Painting Begin…

So with the prelim sketch having been accepted, the real work starts.  You will see, in the photographs below,  just why I never show the client the process.

Layering

Art is done in stages and layers and, usually, only the artist can see where they are going with the process.  If someone were to step into your studio, say, whilst you were busy with your first layer, they would — no doubt — think you were an amateur.

“The reward for any artist is seeing the process evolve into your visualization of it.”

Paintings are built up layer upon layer until the desired outcome is realized.  The reward for any artist is seeing the process evolve into your visualization of it.

Here are the beginning stages:

The canvas is good to go…

The first layer begins…

The second layer starts and you begin to see where this is going…

And then, drum roll, the finished product (or is it?)

Just to recap, here is the prelim sketch that I worked from:

I was very clear with my client that the prelim sketch would not show the intensity of the acrylic paint colours.  The sketch is always just an ‘idea’ of the colour scheme.

Next…

The next step in the process is to e-mail a photo of the painting to the client.  In this case, my client came to see it in person.  

The Plot Thickens — Hitting Unforseen Snags

This is where things get interesting.  Next week I will give the final stage in this commission and divulge what to do if your client has a slight change of mind or vision for the project.

Read  Part 4

Art Commissions — The Soulworks Project (Part 2)…the Prelim Sketch

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Please read Part 1 HERE

The Sketch

The next step of the commission process is to provide the client with a rough colour sketch of the proposed artwork along with a detailed description of how you got there.

With all the specs my client gave me (please see Part 1), I came up with this sketch and then gave her an explanation of how I got to this stage by providing her with the inspiration behind the piece.

INSPIRATION BEHIND THE PIECE.

The trees represent mankind/womankind with their arms (branches) stretched out to the heavens and the feet firmly rooted in the earth.  However, to the left of the painting are a couple of souls who are still turned to the darkness – the illusion of reality and who they are – not being able to turn to the light (sun) yet.  There is one soul making her way to the river to cross it and join the others (she has her branches stretched out to them) on the other side who have fully awakened to the light of the dawn that is upon them.

I have subtly put various branched protruding from the trees turned to the dark to show the obstacles they still have to clear (branches to be pruned)…the trees on the other side of the river are streamlined and facing upwards.

The sun represents the light and the new dawn in one’s life.  The ‘enlightened’ trees are gravitating more toward the sun/light.

The river will reflect silver tones of the light (reflections of the sun/dawn) reaching every corner of the world through the stream of ever flowing energy that can’t be stopped.  It passes the lavender field, nourishing it and causing the flowers to bloom (carrying the theme of flowers being the manifestation of a plant’s enlightenment).

The lavender to the left are swaying in the direction of the right – where the painting is being directed – the blossoming of full consciousness.

The wash of butterflies heading toward the flowers begin as a mixture of hearts and butterflies, putting across the concept of love and loving yourself enough to let yourself be free and fly in the beauty of creation.  The conclusion of the painting is the 2 butterflies alighted on the flower – they have found the piece/peace of beauty in this world.  That will be the focal point of this painting.

I also liked the concept – for you Tracy – of the female trees being on top of mountains to represent a little personal touch that you can relate to with your climbing and reaching new heights.

Please also note that this is a very rough sketch – it is A4 in size.  You can imagine that the canvases will be a lot more detailed as I will have a lot more space to ‘do my thing’.  This is really just an idea of content and colour.  The real thing always is far more impressive.  For instance, the butterflies will be a lot more detailed – I would like to incorporate some silver swirly design in their wings and want them to perhaps be more of a lilac colour (like white with a hint of purple).  So they will be more detailed as will the lavender and the mountains, trees, etc.  I want to subtly incorporate the patterned backgrounds I do (in silver) onto the mountains (I have done a little bit of this in the sketch but it will feature more prominently in the painting).

The next stage (Part 3 — next Wednesdays blog, 25th January 2012) I will show you the process of painting and why I never show the client the painting while it is a work-in-progress. To follow this blog via e-mail and get instant updates when a new blog is posted, please click the ‘follow’ button in the sidebar.

Read Part 3 & Part 4


Art Commissions — The Soulworks Project (Part 1)…meeting with the client

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A step-by-step guide on how a commission is put together

A lot of artists would like to know how one goes about starting a commission and there are also a lot of people who would like to have something commissioned but are too scared to ask.

What is the procedure and what is involved in the process of a commission?

The Key Steps

  • Meet with the client and get a feel for what they want — show them your portfolio
  • If you accept the job, the next step is to supply the client with a quotation for the job (upon acceptance of the quote, I usually require a deposit of 50%)
  • Draw up a prelim sketch of the artwork and give a detailed synopsis of how you got to this stage with the information and specs the client has given you
  • Start the job and show the client the finished work (I usually refrain from showing the client the process as it could cause confusion, as you will see in the blogs to come)
  • Present the client with the finished painting — I usually send a photograph before they actually see it ‘in the flesh’
  • Voila (oh, and get the rest of your payment!)

In the weeks to follow, I will be taking you through the last commission that I did for a very special client who wanted a triptych for her office.  I will be addressing every step that is taken up until the painting is delivered.

Today’s Art Blog is going to look at the first step:  Q&A

Step 1 — What does your client want?

This is obviously a very important step and one of the deciding factors if you and your client are on the same page.  When you have finished questioning your clients likes and dislikes, you can assess whether or not you resonate with each other and the project.

I never take on a commission that I don’t feel comfortable with.  If it goes against my style, principles or anything else, this step will let me know if I will proceed with the client to the next stage which is quoting for the job.

Here were my clients specs for this commission:

She wanted to incorporate

  • Nature
  • Butterfly (part of her logo)
  • Silver spirals/patterns
  • Peace
  • Connection
  • Mountains
  • Well-being
  • Joy, Beauty and Fulfillment
  • Inspiration
  • Passion
  • Green, purple and silver colours
More specs from the client — you can never know too much, only too little!

When we discussed these ideas, she conveyed to me that she liked the spiral patterns I use in my art (see picture below for example) and she also liked the idea of having a human form in a tree (see my other picture below).

 “It is vital that you show your client a portfolio…”

This was important information and got me on track to visualizing this piece.  It is vital that you show your client a portfolio so they can point out the colours, subjects and styles they like of yours.  It also helps the client get an idea of what you are capable of doing.

As she is having this painting commissioned for her office, we also delved into her practice and what that entails.  She is an NLP practitioner (Neuro-linguistic Programming) who wants something pleasant for her clients to look at whilst in they are in session.  It has to be something that ties in with what she offers.

Next week I will be posting the prelim sketch of the painting along with the detailed synopsis of how I interpreted her needs.

Read Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Heaven on Mother Earth…

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The Dream of a New Beginning in 2012

A few weeks before the end of last year I sat down at my easel in deep thought.  I wanted to attempt to paint a picture of how I would like to see the New Earth.  What is my ultimate Utopia?  What does it look like?  What colours are there?

After some quiet time and inner reflection, this is what I came up with…

The original is sold but this is available as prints and greeting cards…

Key Components Behind the Inspiration of this Piece:

I wanted to incorporate:

  • Bright, vibrant colours
  •  Positive energy
  • A feeling of reconnecting with Gaia/Spirit of the Earth
  • A place where all Gaias inhabitants can live with each other in symbiance
  • Clean running water
  • Luscious vegetation

 

 

My art portfolio book is available online…

Something Red…

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In keeping with a festive colour scheme, I will be posting some red-themed art today.

I have decided to choose one artwork from each of my main categories of landscape, form, seascape, floral and wildlife (well, if you consider a dragon to be wildlife).

I hope you enjoy…

You can view my full portfolio here where you can purchase prints, posters, greeting cards and more…

For my blog on Something Blue CLICK HERE

Thanks for looking!

Ignite Your Creative Flame!

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 The search for purpose or meaning in our lives is rooted in the deepest feelings

that stir within.

To find our unique spark, that will ignite the flame.

That which burns to give birth to creation.

For it is creativity that leads us to fulfilling our dreams and stokes our fires.

A world without creativity would be unbearable to try to even imagine…

Inspiration takes on many forms.

 What does your creative expression look like?

Have you found yourself lost in time when you are immersed in your passion?

What is it, no matter how insignificant to you, that makes you feel at home?

And reminds you of how beautiful life can be?

Find the answer and find your gateway to utilizing your divine, unique gifts – everybody has

a gift(s) although the packages may vary.

There is no stopping creative flow…

It will never cease to be.

The only limitations to creation are the ones that are self inflicted.

Sign up HERE to receive your gift of inspirational wallpaper designs from my book ‘Creative Expression’

The above quotations and art have been taken from my new table book ‘Creative Expression – How to find your inspiration…’ available now — CLICK HERE.  All the artworks above are available to purchase as prints at RedBubble.

Why I love to paint flowers…

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When I paint a flower I feel an overwhelming bliss – an excitement to capture the beauty and magic of what I see and feel when I am in their glorious presence.

I am never happier than when I have a house full of flowers and the scent hangs on the air. Or when I am in my garden just being present with the smell of lavenders on the breeze.

They are my main source of inspiration because I still cannot fully fathom their exquisite beauty. Eckhart Tolle put it in a nutshell when he said that we could look upon flowers as the enlightenment of plants. I could look upon flowers all day and still be mesmerized. They are a true gift to us and to gaze upon their delicate wonder is to look at the unfolding of pure potential.

Here is an example of one of my floral paintings called ‘Red Poppies – Finding Beauty in Chaos’ from my new portfolio book – the original is still available and can be found in my art brochure 2011, which can be downloaded for free (see sidebar or click here to download):

To read more about what inspires me, please visit  or click on the book below – you can view a full preview of the book (preview button is at the bottom of the book icon on Lulu.com).

Art Portfolio - Cherie Roe DirksenSubscribe here to receive my monthly newsletter and free gift or click ‘sign me up’ in the side-panel to receive blog updates as they are released.

Fun with Fruit and Vegetables!

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As promised, I am continuing with the unveiling of my Vege-Tate Gallery in today’s Art Blog.

If you missed out on last weeks blog — here is a recap:  How many carrots does it take to screw in a light bulb?

Here are the last of the designs (for now — I see this as an ever-growing project!):

For all the Steve Jobs Fans

Even lettuce can be corny!

Yeah, we’ve all heard this one before!

Another one for the well-endowed lady…

Juicy, very juicy…

No orchestra is complete without one!

Is your Grandmother sheepish?

Enough is enough…a special thanks to Templeton for coming up with this one!

The sorrows of love (and the pining that ensues)

If coconuts had udders, coconut milk wouldn’t be so readily available

To check out the store in its entirety, please CLICK HERE.

I have another store dedicated to these amorous fruit and vegetables, where you can find a host of products such as key-chains, aprons, mugs, iPhone skins, magnets, cards, mouse-pads, bags and a whole lot more…ENTER STORE HERE

   

How Many Carrots does it take to Screw in a Light Bulb?

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I’m not too sure what the answer to the joke is…perhaps none as they were all rooted to the spot?

The Vege-Tate Gallery — Beginnings…

My idea for a Vege-Tate Gallery grew into full blossom when my husband and I decided to try and plant a vegetable garden around the back of our house.

This was no easy task as we have vegetable guzzling baboons to contend with on a regular basis — so strong fencing and locks were needed for this venture to succeed.

I am happy to report that my actual vegetable patch is doing very well and is starting to bear the fruit of our hard-earned labour.  Well, except for the poor runner beans that never made it to the finishing line due to a critter biting them off at the base of the stem, which consequentially led me to create the ‘Has Bean‘ design.  You have to work with this!

Whilst planting the seeds of the garden, my mind started pondering all these crazy ideas for a vegetable joke shop with lots of corny but fruity ‘green’ humour.

The designs started to take shape as I sketched out the ideas as they came to me, with a little help from the hubby.

The Next Step

When I had a good 20 designs to work with, I began the digital journey of drawing them onto the computer (yes, using my mouse!  I am still using that old archaic rodent until I get my digital pen) and loading them as t-shirt designs.

I am officially launching my new gallery entitled ‘The Vege-Tate Gallery’ — I do hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoyed creating them.

The link to the store is here.

Below are my personal favourites.  Next week I will showcase the rest of the store along with some other fun merchandise from this range.

Literally for the man who has everything!

This one is for the ladies — especially the ones that can make a grown man cry!

For The Beatles fan

For the humble…

For the melon appreciation club

For the overworked!

For the political activist

Keeping abreast of things

Please let me know what your favourite design is!

Something Blue…

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Today is going to be a visual blog.  I have taken some of my favourite paintings/artworks with a boisterously, blissful blue hue/theme.

Come take a journey with me, let’s waltz through the world in blue…

I hope you enjoyed this trip with me.

What colour do you like to see in monotone art?  What is your favourite general colour?  Is there any colour you tend to wear more or have the inclination to paint your walls with? Spill those colourful beans!

And I’ll end it off with a blue t-shirt design…

Some More of My Best Selling Art Prints

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If you want to see my top selling art prints then click here.

These are some more of my best selling art prints online.

I love doing the backgrounds for these paintings.  Many people have asked me if it is a stencil – definitely not!  This is all done by hand and no pattern is ever the same.  It is like a fingerprint.

White Poppies

The Poppy Collective was a huge painting, the first large one I ever did of poppies.  It was definitely a challenge to do, especially the background as you can well imagine.  The painting measured 760mm x 920mm.

The Poppy Collective

Sunset Reflections was purchased by my sister and hangs in her bedroom.  It was a marriage between the poppies and the sunset/landscape.

Sunset Reflections

Another poppy painting has made it into the best sellers list ~ Poppies in the Rising Sun.  This particular one was featured on the RedBubble homepage.

Poppies in the Rising Sun

And there you have it — some of my Best Selling Art as Prints and Posters via RedBubble.

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My Best Selling Art as Prints and Posters

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What the Public Want

I’ve strung together some of my best selling art prints (taken from online sales) over the years.

I thought it was quite interesting to see what was popular in my collection and perhaps, you the viewer, will get a kick out of seeing what people are buying to beautify their spaces.

Heck, maybe one of them will even tickle your fancy!

To visit the print store — where you can buy not only framed and mounted prints of all the art below but an array of other products from canvas prints to skirts (select ‘Available Products’) — just click on the pictures below.

Let’s Get Started…

Number 1 is ‘Raw’ (painted to the music of Jeff Buckley) and is part of my Rock Art Series (read more about that HERE). At the moment, this painting is hanging above our bed and I’m in love with it.

No. 1 ~ Raw (Rock Art Series – Jeff Buckley)

Jeff Buckley --- Raw 24 x 36 LR


Number 2 was also somewhat of a surprise as it has turned out to be not only a best-selling print but also the most viewed item on my RedBubble portfolio, clocking up a whopping 15 254 views as of December 2015.

No. 2 ~ Tree Silhouette

The next one was inspired by the Lord of the Rings trilogy and is called ‘My Precious’.

No. 3 ~ My Precious

Frodo by Cherie Roe Dirksen

My Tree of Life Series watercolour called, ‘Dusk’, is in at no. 4.  It’s currently clocked up more than 14 000 views.

No.4 ~ The Tree of Life Series – ‘Dusk’

Tree of LIfe by Cherie Roe Dirksen

In at no. 5 is ‘Zebra’ — a macro painting of a zebra’s face.  I just happened to sell a poster of this one today!

No.5 ~ Zebra

And here is Three Pink Poppies.  I must admit that this is one of my favourites as well.  Just because I loooooove poppies so much! 🙂

No. 6 ~ Three Pink Poppies

Pink Poppies

Number 7 on the list is my reproduction of Starry Night.  Vincent Van Gogh is my all-time favourite artist and I wanted to re-create this work.  This does come as a surprise for me as one would think that if you were going to buy a print of this, you would buy the original as a print.

However, I am flattered but have to give all recognition to the original artist for the beautiful rendition of the night sky.  The original was never sold as my husband did not want to part with it, so I gave it to him and it is in our bedroom.

No.7 ~ Reproduction of Starry Night

This painting was the first I did in my Rock Art Series and it was painted to one of my favourite bands, Radiohead. This is now hanging in my hubby’s new music studio.

No. 8 ~ Escapism (Rock Art Series — Radiohead)

Escapism - Rock Art Painted to Radiohead by Cherie Roe Dirksen

And, again, another one from my Rock Art Series makes it into the top selling prints — ‘Metamorphic Dilatation’ (The Beatles). This one is quite funky, vibrant and colourful and also hangs in the music studio.

No. 9 ~ Metamorphic Dilatation (Rock Art Series — The Beatles)

Beatles Rock Art by ©Cherie Roe Dirksen

The next one has a similar theme to the previous painting but was a mural I did on the wall of my husbands music studio in our previous house. Alas, we had to leave it behind but at least I have the photo!

No. 10 ~ Musical Mural

musical mural hi res

I would love to know which of these stands out the most for you?

Thanks for looking!

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Christmas Gift Ideas…Part 3

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A Recap

In the past 2 weeks I have discussed great sites such as RedBubble and Zazzle for creating your own gift designs, whether it is from photographs or your own personal artwork.  See Part 1 here and Part 2 here.

Need inspiration?

Today we are going to go behind the scenes and discuss getting inspired.  It’s not an easy thing to obtain if you are stuck for motivation or ideas.  This is where perusing other artist, designers and photographers websites or works on sites such as RedBubble is such a great way of seeing what other creative beings are up to.  Not that you want to copy their ideas but it does, more often than not, lead you to do something that is triggered by someones idea but made completely different by your creative style.

A lot of these gift ideas use captions along with images that can really have that added ‘wow’ factor touch.  So, to get you going on some inspirational visuals, I have been introduced to a site called Pinterest and I want to share this wonderful site with you.

Pinteresting…

For those of you who are not acquainted with the site, it is a really great visual social network.  Displaying not only art, design and photography but also captions, short quotations, illustration, fashion, home decor designs, food and a whole lot of other fantastic things to stir up your creative juices.

“Set aside some good quality time for this as I guarantee the candy feast your eyes will be lapping up is going to make time fly…”

It is a fairly easy site to navigate and it allows you to ‘pin’ any image you like, adding it to your pin board on the site where others can have a look too and repin if they desire.  You also get to check out what other people have pinned on their boards, whether it be their personal creations or other images they have nabbed off the web.

Again, these pictures do fall under copyright laws — so obey!  But have fun getting inspired and motivated to start your own creations.

Set aside some good quality time for this as I guarantee the candy feast your eyes will be lapping up is going to make time fly out the window…next thing you look at the clock and hours have passed as you have perused the many visual delights!  Enjoy and, most of all, have fun.

Future projecting

Can you imagine how impressed your family and friends will be when you present them with a gift of your very own design?!

It is a great way to express yourself, feel a sense of achievement and to get that Christmas list looking good.

If you still feel like making your own gifts is just not for you, here are some more gift ideas from my store:

  

Christmas Gift Ideas…Part 2

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A little bit of silliness never went astray!

Over the past couple of months my husband and I (no, I am not the queen) have been trying to plant our own vegetable garden.  This is not as simple as it would usually sound as we live near Cape Point and have baboons for neighbours.  And as you can surmise, baboons eat vegetables.

So the plan is to build frameworks with chicken wire around our vege garden to protect it from our hairy adversaries.  A challenge to say the least.

So what has this got to do with art?

Well, during our spates in the garden, we have come up with some witty vegetable ‘catch-phrases’.  I was wondering how to incorporate this new avenue into my art and have come up with a bold solution.

The vegetables have given rise to new unfounded inspiration…(picture opposite – ‘Can you handle me?‘:  Warning!  I come with many different layers…and I can make a grown man cry!!!).  This has led me to create the….*drum-roll*…

The Vege-Tate Gallery

In a moment of pure silliness I invented a joke shop, which I have named The Vege-Tate Gallery, that hosts a number of incredibly cheesy vegetable quotations accompanied by my digital artwork of these tasty morsels.

I wanted to make the designs simple yet effective.  At first I contemplated freehand drawings and then scanning and cropping them into a T-shirt design but decided to go the digital route.

This involved my hand, the mouse and the simple paintbrush program that most Windows packages come with.

I then transfer these crude drawings into Photoshop, where I can put them on a transparent background and ‘clean’ them up.  Finally I add the text and upload it to the site (at the moment I am using RedBubble but you can also do this on Zazzle – see my previous article for all the goodies you can create there).

Voila!

Another gift idea for Christmas in the (shopping) bag…

How can you do this?

If you struggle with the graphics side of things, you can use photographs instead.  Ever taken a funny photo of a child or pet? – well, use that! Everyone has at least one crazy catch-phrase they can use as an excellent and unique gift idea for that someone special.

The wonderful thing about both these sites is you can have the gift sent directly to the person, so it is simply fantastic for those relatives and friends overseas!  No excuses.

Can’t be bothered?

Visit my ever-growing store and have the hassle taken out of Christmas shopping.

This is my first batch of vegetable produce:

Feel free to post some of your creations here for others to see and get ideas from.

Gift Ideas for Christmas…Part 1

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Part 1 – Getting an Idea

As unbelievable as it is, Christmas is starting to loom over the horizon.  I don’t even want to go into the fact that time is definitely speeding up because it is of no actual help to us when we start to think of the panic and mayhem of the ‘silly season’.

So, this weeks art blog is going to be one of many, leading up to Christmas, on getting creative with gift ideas.

Feel free to post/comment anything that you have discovered that is of help in the great gift ideas department!

Today I am going to be talking about the wonderful idea of designing your own products.  There is a great store called Zazzle, that allows you to customize designs that are already available or, if you are feeling creative, to design your own products.

Zazzle Dazzle!

It is easy to open an account with them and only takes a few minutes to get started.  They also offer tutorials on how to make a start.  Click here to go to the store.

The excellent thing about Zazzle is that you can send the product directly to the person you are making it for and you can add a personal message with the gift for them.  Nothing could be simpler!  Just the click of a button.  This makes it so easy for those loved ones overseas that you want to send something to.  Zazzle also offers affordable products – there is something to suit every pocket.

All that you need to do is upload a photo onto a mug, T-shirt or any one of their massive product selection.  Or you can really get creative and start working on your own masterpiece (maybe you already have some art or sketches ‘lying around’ gathering dust from yester year).  All that needs to be done is to get a good quality digital image of the desired picture and you can start designing your own product.

Sounds easy?

Well, it is!  Get creative – design your heart out (you can even slip in a bit of doodling at the office while no-one is watching…although I don’t want to get you fired – perhaps leave it for your lunch break).

There is no excuse for not finding some idea that will work and that is yours…this is your chance to show your family and friends at Christmas how innovative and productive you really are.  And besides a little head-swelling, you are giving them something from the heart.  Your personal creation.

Right, this all sounds really fantastic but I have no ideas – where do I start?

To get you started, here are some useful tips…

  • What are you passionate about?  Horses, dolphins, flowers, a great sunset, anime, stick art, collage, patterns?  Start from here and brainstorm…
  • What style do you like?  Simplistic, photographic, 70’s retro, digitally enhanced images, hand drawn?  Figure out how you are going to implement the design…so for instance you have a great photo of a flower but you like impressionist style painting – well, most computer programs offer special effects that you can apply to your image.  Play around with different effects and most important, have fun!
  • Do you have a great photo of someone that you can use to create a personal gift with – this has to be the most simple way to give a unique gift.  Just remember to make sure that they also like the photo – there is nothing worse than getting a beautiful photo framed for someone only to find out that they think they look ‘hideous’.  If you do this you may have to redirect them to my article on yesterday’s blog ‘Do you take things personally?’…just for a laugh. 🙂
  • Try recognizable signs and symbols if you are having a tough time figuring out what to do.  Peace signs, hearts, stars, emoticons…there is a wealth of stock available for you to use.  Just make sure you add your personal touch to it.
  • If you are really stumped then do a Google photo search for images that you are interested in and start to work out a plan from there.  Be careful not to use someone elses work for copyright reasons.  You can get ideas but don’t be a copycat.

If you truly don’t feel like going to the effort of creating your own masterpiece then here are some unique gift ideas from my store that you can personalize (add a name or phrase to)…

    

Or you can visit the store here…

Remember that you can personalize these products when you are in the store (click on the ‘customize’ button at the bottom right hand side of the product).

Stay tuned for more gift ideas in the weeks to follow and don’t forget to share your comments and inspirational ideas for the festive season.

Painting Dolphins

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As promised, in my previous blog about whales (read here), this art blog is going to be about painting dolphins.  As I explained in the ‘Why you have to love whales’ blog – I live in Cape Town and am privileged to see these beautiful mammals expressing their joyous souls on a regular basis.

I have not, sadly, swum with them (yet) – as was the case with the whale – but I have seen pods of dolphins in the False Bay area and what a sight and fuel for inspiration they are!

I have no fantastic tales (or tails) to regale with today so I am simply going to stick to the technical aspects of painting underwater scenes…

The technical side of painting underwater (and no, not physically!)

Dolphins - Cherie Dirksen original paintingPainting underwater scenes are quite involved as they require a lot of layering.  This ‘wash’ of blue that needs to be repeated until the desired effect is achieved, needs time and patience…and I paint in acrylics – for those who paint in oils the process takes even longer as the drying time is slower.

  1. The first layer consists of getting the basic blue background started – then I apply the subject matter.
  2. When that is done the watered-down blue paint wash layering begins until the right monotone colour is produced and ready to go out into the world.
  3. The most rewarding part of this journey is in the varnishing.  As soon as you apply that coat of gloss varnish the painting comes alive and the water looks wet again (like it does when the paint is first set to canvas).

Magnifique!

Perhaps this can give you a better appreciation of how much time and effort (or in some cases, curses and tears) goes into these deceptively tricky aquatic scenes.

Inspiration

With every work of art comes the inspiration behind it.  With this painting, as with the whale painting, I have put it down in the form of a poem.

The Poem 

‘Dolphins – The Spirit of Freedom’

You never let us forget how to love
How to laugh
How to smile
How to be light-hearted

You never let us forget how to be
In the moment
In this space
In this time

You never let us forget about beauty
About simplicity
About friendship
About sincerity

You never let us forget about fun
Being in the heart
Playing with each other
Soaking up the bliss

You never let us forget why we love you so
Why we feel connected
Why you are important
Why you are here

You never let us forget
Who we are
Why we are
When we are

Please never let us forget

If you also have an affinity for dolphins and would like to splash out and have this original painting gracing your wall – click here for details.  I also have a wide variety of products to choose from with this specific dolphin design – for prints, posters and greeting cards click here, for gift ideas click here.

For those of you who still need convincing about how wonderful dolphins are, please do yourself a favour and watch this incredible short video – your heart will melt…go on, you know you want to. 🙂

Why You’ve Got to Love Whales (and Paint Them!)

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Whales - Cherie Dirksen original painting mammals marine life cetacean

Today’s blog is going to be about the mammals of the world beneath the waves and what inspired me to paint this picture (left).

I live in Cape Town, in the False Bay area.  We are privileged to get the annual migration of whales to our seas every year round about July/August.  It is such an inspiration to be able to watch these majestic creatures from the shore as they play and parade their beautiful bodies for us to take snap shots of (I do believe that some of them definitely ‘work it’ for the camera!).

“After much coaxing, my father got me to come down off his shoulders and reach out as this tremendous toddler swam by…”

An Real-Life Encounter with a Human Toddler and a Baby Whale

I was only about 4 years old when I got to touch my first free-range whale.  My father and I where swimming at the notorious Fish Hoek beach (recently been in the news for shark attacks) when a calf – wanting to ‘play’ with another baby (me) – casually made its way towards us.

I was initially terrified, even a baby whale is the size of a small car!

After much coaxing, my father got me to come down off his shoulders and reach out as this tremendous toddler swam by, allowing me to touch it’s back before it swam away back to its mother.

An experience I shall never forget and one that has led me to feel a great bond with them.

“I often get a flipper coming out of the water in recognition (or perhaps telling me to stop)”

My husband often raises an eyebrow when we are out walking along the coastline and I start wailing like Dori from ‘Finding Nemo‘ (you know, the fish character played by Ellen DeGeneres who can ‘talk’ to whales) but I tell you now – it works!  I often get a flipper coming out of the water in recognition (or perhaps telling me to stop).

Inspiring Grace 

But on a more serious note – how can you not be inspired by such creatures?!

My first painting of a whale was a creation of the pure love I have for these amazing mammals.  I am not going to go into too much semantics about them because I put my feelings down in this simple poem…oh go on – have a read then!

Whales – Beloved Cetacean of the Deep

In the depths of the ocean you reside
Anchoring the light for all
Majestic and graceful
You help us from afar
Your song passed down through generations
You never lose sight of your goal
Determined in purpose
Showing the way
Amidst the adversity of lower vibrations
You carry on your star mission

Some of us feel your presence
And we love you and thank you

Like the pod, we are all one
Unity consciousness will prevail
And contracts will be fulfilled 
Our gratitude is yours
As are our hearts

My next blog is going to be about…you guessed it – dolphins.  Well, we can’t leave them out you know.

Related Blogs:

Painting Dolphins