Is there a song about working elves?? Hmmmm

I wonder if my family gets tired of getting a painting from me each year. Gosh some of them must have quite a collection by now. Well one year I wrote a short story and sent it to all of them hahaha.It wasnt a very good story but at least it was something. Since then both my writing and my painting have really improved. Thank you God for that!


These are 4 of the ten or so paintings I am working on for family members. Blues and greens is the theme this year. The paintings are between 6" by 8" and 5" by 7" depending on what I cut them from. I hate to waste paper but they should be able to frame them at 5" by 7" and it wont cost too much. I dont usually do oil paintings this size. No one will buy them for what I would have to charge to sell them. hahaha. I guess that makes them worth even more right? *hopeful look*

Dont forget to check out my website at : www.llmartin.com If you look in the gift shop section you can see the Christmas Fox. There is still time before Christmas to order it. Its a reprint of one of my most popular paintings. I used it as a Christmas card in 1995

Its Christmas Time AGAIN!!!!!

Well this year Im challenged again LOL.

Its Christmas time and I have 35 students to find Christmas presents for. And due to some sort of administration error one of my contracts isn't paying me as much as we thought soooo its just a good thing I'm an artist.

Each one of those clothes pins represents about 10 to 15 3" by 5" Watercolors. Well except the land scape.. those are oils and there are only 6 of those..for teachers aids and such. I have to say.. I am grateful that I'm blessed with talent or I would never be able to pull this off.

I sure hope the children love them. Its so hard to tell when they reach 12. Before that you can pretty much keep a child in awe because they haven't figured out yet what they can do. Now they are pushing the limits at ever turn seeing not only what they can get away with but what they can do with out your help when you show them how.. Its really kind of neat.

Dont forget to check out my website at www.llmartin.com I have prints of the Christmas Fox there and there is still time to order *S*

FOX DEN ANTIQUES:Arts and Crafts Day (#3)

Here is space #25 near the front door of Fox Den Antiques.Tom, the guy who had spaces on either side of me had some amazing things he had purchased at estate sales.

Tom, the gentleman who basically surrounded me on both sides, turned out to be a very interesting chap with a hobby of hitting estate sales and buying anything that he liked for a $1 and usually ending up with more than he bargained for.

Tom had a great number of prints from modern certified fine art prints by quasi well known artists to Currier and Ives reproductions , Mort Kuntsler(the civil war painter) and even a print of Winslow Homer’s. Tom had so much in fact that he hadn’t even had a chance to look through it and price it. What was really interesting about Tom was watching him work.. he is a master sales man and hardly anyone who walked by didn’t get his full attention and didn’t leave with out buying something. He was fun to talk with too. All in all the day went pretty fast.

I would say it was a better than average day. I enjoyed meeting so many people and probably gave away about 40 business cards. Lori liked my work so much that she invited me to have her hang it in her booth. I agreed and left 17 pieces with her and will bring a few more reproductions on Tuesday I hope.

I guess the biggest surprise of the day was at the very end when I was getting ready to leave and all my display things were packed up. Tom gave me the table I had been praying for. Sure it’s a little wobbly, but that’s no problem I can fix it. Now I have a place to write and a place to cut out my sewing projects. All I have to do is clean out the office so it will fit. Thanks Tom. ( and thanks God for getting that one to me so quickly*grin*)

FOX DEN ANTIQUES: Arts and Crafts Day (#2)

I got my vitimine D for the entire year and a sunburned nose.. More importantly a lot of people who haddn't seen my art had the opportunity today!

By noon the sun began to burn off the fog and facing me was the sun.. something at my age I try to avoid if at all possible. I did get a fine sun burn on my nose and I'm sure my annual shot of Vitimine D that afternoon. I had Art work flowing out of the trunk of my car.

Today I was good will hunting… meaning giving out as many cards as possible and talking to people about art or what ever they had on their minds. Several friends I hadn't seen in years wandered by and talked to me about things that varied from art to the housing boom to polotics. One lady, whose visit I enjoyed immensely even had a light hearted discussion with me about what idioms a real southern lady would use or not use that would be perfectly acceptable today.

By 1 pm there was the first vestiges of the change of the day. There is a tattoo parlor on the next street over. And they were having a live rock band and motor cyclists and road racers started arriving with loud showy roars. For a fleeting second one wondered what one might be in the middle of..

I mentioned to one worried vendor that if any of the motorcycle people had their Ladies with them we would soon have a new wave of customers. It wasn't long until several couples did in fact show up. I thought it interesting that the guys with long hair tucked it up so they looked more main stream.
After a while some lady walked by my spot and asked what was going on with the music( like I know every thing hahaha) I said, " Why didn't you know? Its Ozz Fest!" (yes a few people actually smiled at that hahaha!)

FOX DEN ANTIQUES: Arts and crafts day (#1)

When the sun finally came out I had art work spilling out of the back of my car.

Its 5am Saturday October 30, 2004. I've already had my shower. I'm listening to the radio. It's a Foggy dark Saturday morning. The fog is heavy and WTOP radio is telling those of us who are reluctantly awake that when the fog burns off it will be 80 degrees and their will be intermittent showers. It's a crummy day to have paintings outside.

I'm a trouper I've done this hundreds of times over the years. I know the drill. You go, you drink coffee, you look hopefully at the sky and when there is a break, you pull out three or 4 pieces that can be easily snatched up if it rains, then you do your best to make a sale.

I pulled my car into my vendor spot, #25, right in front of the building. And very close to the front door incase I needed to go inside. It was kind of Lori, the event organizer, to allow me that. My options were to leave, to stay and set up or to wait it out until the weather cleared.

By 8:30 I noticed the misting drizzle was nearly gone although the fog was still thick but clearing. I pulled out the new Fine art reproductions that were framed and the one framed painting on canvas. I had two goals.. to prove that my work was good enough to be hung inside and to test market the fine art reproductions. I made my only sale of the day by 8:45. And discovered that if I had more of those two prints framed and out where people could see them I would have sold more.

More Bitter Sweet: The Passing of a Generation

My Aunt June passed away yesterday morning......

http://www.angelfire.com/jazz/llmartin0/bit.html

The Buck. Last of the series offered for sale.

The Buck
The Buck is one of the last of the deer and horse series. It was completed in 1994 and framed in a simple maple frame with a deep red/brown cherry stain. The painting was painted on Wild Cat Mountian near Front Royal Virginia and was one of the pod bucks that lived on the property of the artist's parents. At that time the artist was reusing, muslin some of which was printed on in fabric ink. This is the case of this canvas which was gessoed over by the artist then the Buck painting applied in polymer which wont chemically react to any fabric ink that might leeche through the gesso. The Canvas is 24 inches by 24 inches and is ready to hang. It is offered for sale for $800 firm plus any shipping and handling that might be incurred. If the painting must be shipped insurance is required and will also be added to the price. Contact the artist via e-mail or if you have her business card phone her.

Were some of my inspirations come from...Mom's House.

These are the trees behind my mom's house on the mountian.
Taken just a few min apart from the sun set down the drive way in the west, you can see why visiting there always inspires me. I have done hundreds of paintings from there, including my deer and horse series from the 1990s. Double click on the picture to see it bigger.

If you would like to see some of my deer and horse series paintings
click here>> Nature and Country Life. At this time all of the paintings on that page are sold and in private collections. I hope to have the Judd-Crossman gallery site linked to the www.llmartin.com site very soon. I need to up date The JCG site first and finish the www.llmartin.com site. I have a lot of new work that needs to be put up still.

My table at the River Front Christian School Bazaar on Saturday October16th. I was there at 7:30 am setting up and taking these pictures. It rained on and off but a lot of the students stopped by with parents and grandparents so I could show off their art work too. It was a great day really even though we didnt have a lot of people stop in because of the rain Im sure. 

Provocative Laughter: Little purrs now and then

These two kittens are creating a little conterversy at my mom's house.
Smudge is the one on the left andTucker the name of the little boy. Last Friday night he spent trying to pull the sheet off of me and clawed up the back of my leg.

These two were orphans and the little girl we didnt think would live. They were only three weeks old when my neice found them and phoned me telling me the mom had abandonded them. We think she was ill. I told my niece what to do and she convinced my sister to run over to*PET SMART* in Winchester, Virginia and buy formula and kitten bottels. My niece did a great job saving these kittens of course I think my two sisters helped too.

They are now ready to adopt out. I havent any Idea if it will actually happen. My sisters have been under such stress with all the changes of jobs and such that the kittens came along just in time to cheer them up. There is spontanious laughter at mom's now. Its been a long time since that has happened. this weekend when I was home I discovered that each kitten had adopted one of my sisters hahahaha and at night when its time for bed the kittens climb right in with them. It is my understanding that smudge will actually climb under the covers and put her head on the pillow. *thoughtful look* Misha used to do that when she was a kitten. In Fact Misha would get tired of waiting up for me and just put herself to bed. Amazing the first time I lost her I found her in my bed with her little furry head on the pillow and her body under the covers. hahaha ..

NewPainting! Fire Tree Ponies by L.L.Martin

I've spent a month reorganizing after taking my little siter to college. I really miss her but call her twice a week.
I'm trying to adjust to not having a tv so i started going to the library and checking out videos. There are still two tapes from the last series of "All creatures Great and Small" I havent seen. Bad timing on my part hehe.
Then someone suggested that I buy rabbit ears. Well there are only a couple of channels that I really miss since I lost my cable. PBS is one and now I get the brit coms on Saturday night and all is right with the world. (wish they would bring back "To The Manor Born"*little sigh*).. and I checked out the book: Andrew Wythe's Helga Series. I poored over it.. studied it.. did 4 watercolor paintings..not yet as good as his..and started this oil of ponies.

I cant belive I finished it in three sittings. But then horses to me are like writing my name sometimes. I dont think I got the colors right when i resized it .. but at least you all can see it. This painting is probably going to be a fundraiser donation. But there are more to come in the series of ponies and trees. If you want to see it bigger just double click the picture.

See more of Linda L. Martin's work at www.llmartin.com or see her other blog: Linda'sArt News
to view the 14 paintings of Las Lonely Girls and See her exhibition schedual for the Fall.

how come i still have ads and when do i get paid??

*glances UP at the top of page* how come i have ads at the top of my page and im not getting paid for them?? well we shall see what happens next hahaha

New Painting From Linda L. Martin

Sentinals
July 2004
Copyright2004 Linda L. Martin
Oil on Watercolor Paper

View more of Linda L. Martin's Oil Paintings on www.llmartin.com
For information on purchasing paintings email: contact@llmartin.com

I love personal messages and comments pertaining to my work
or something you read or want to contribute to my musings.
However, all spam will be blocked and reported)

New Painting form Linda L. Martin

Break in the Storm
July 2004
Oil on Watercolor Paper
Copyright2004 Linda L. Martin

View more of Linda L. Martin's Oil Paintings on www.llmartin.com
For information on purchasing paintings email: contact@llmartin.com

I love personal messages and comments pertaining to my work
or something you read or want to contribute to my musings.
However, all spam will be blocked and reported)

New Painting From Linda L. Martin

Butterfly Weed and Astors
July 2004
Copyright2004 L.L.Martin
Oil on Watercolor Paper

View more of Linda L. Martin's Oil paintings on www.llmartin.com
For information on purchasing paintings email : contact@llmartin.com
(all spam will be blocked and reported.)



Recent New Paintings

Just a little side bar on Kinkade

I happened across the transcript of the 60 mins interview with Thomas Kinkade last evening. In additon to all his other marketing skills he is trying to pass off retouched glacee' prints on canvas as original art work. Correct me if I'm wrong but doesnt original mean the frist .. from which all copies were made????

See now this is the thing that makes me mad.. and makes it hard for me to sell my work. Because people(buyers) get confused by this streatching of the truth and dont realize that they are actually buying a copy that has been painted over, not  by kinkade but by possibly and army of assistants especially trained in Kinkade's techniques. Factory painting.. combined with print making.. and each piced a unique and different piece.. though from all the same mold. This makes kinkade not an artist so much as the designer of a reproduced commoidity.

Im telling you folks.. artists better be doing what they are doing because they have something to say.. and because they just love doing it.. because the middle class art consumer is being decieved and they are just plain ignorant about what art is.. and what a print is. Who suffers for that..??? Those who think they are investing in fine art.. but are really investing in a very collectiabe copy.. and those who are making real art who cant get their price... because people dont think ther work is as good as Kinkades.

The essey stands... with the above addendum. *long sigh*

Thomas Kinkade Vs Andrew Weythe????

Oki just had to vent this out once and for all..
just click the link to read the essey:

http://www.angelfire.com/jazz/llmartin0/kinkade.html

Perfect on July 4th: Still Life

I've started the complex frustration and prolonged agony of painting still-lives. Its a hard exercise and I balk at the thought..yet, know that it is necessiary if I am to improve and keep my landscapes and my women fresh.
 
Perfect is my sister's little black cat. She is infamous this little "Perfect" Cat. So tiny and fradgile at barely 4 lbs. She among all the mountain ferals was aloud to venture in and stay. She is infamous for eating every potted plant anyone has tried to bring into the house and for waiting for the "perfect" time to hide under my mothers bed and wait until her rebellious parakeet escaped while the family was out one day.  Alas poor "chirp" we knew him well.  I fully expected banishment.. for Perfect. Mom taught that bird a bunch of stuff besides how to escape his cage when no one was home. The sweet little bird is only a memory now and the occaional little yellow or green feather that pops up when the bed is made.
 
The vase was my grandma's. The flowers I picked on July 4th from along the drive way.. they are red clover, white queen anne' s lace and blue wild bachelor's buttons, some also call chickory. Its a tradtion I started about 18 years ago.. picking red white and blue flowers for the table on the 4th. Sometimes it was for my grandma's reddest roses to be included. This year they were so unhealthy that my sister cut them back completely. Maybe by Fall we will have them again. 
Believe me www.llmartin.com is not a dead domain link or dead site.. no matter what the danged browers say. I work on it a couple of times a week. hahaha. so check out more of Linda L. Martin's fine Oil paintings at www.llmartin.com  !!!! Yes the site is really there.

People with no asthetic depth will look at this painting and see nothing of its importance. But the more I look at its parts the more I see what I was saying and doing subconciously. i dont think this is finished yet but i probably wont work on it anymore today. Do you see the difference between the shaded side of the body and the part that is in the light... gosh look at this sweet gentle beauty of a face in the light.. she is seeming at peace.. this sweet repose.. but in the shade she has cried tears, has bitten her lip until it is brused. her arm is strong and ready to fight, her hair falls across her back is some great spun spiritual shield so none can attack her from out of the darkness... she is alluring and sensual in the light.. but that is a mistake of the eye and lustful heart.. for if you look at her shaded hand it holds gently, it comforts and steadies. the most stlized part of her skirt covers her womb a place of birth rebirth and great comfort. This great exercise in futility becomes not a stylized mismash of mediocre art, but a statement of womenhood: powerful, emotional, embracing, sexual, comforting, protecting and controlled. my selfesteem took a heavy blow this past week in the midst of all the turmiol. I was told that I was not a very good artist and that it was futile that I keep painting...a friend who turned enemy.. who thinks that the work of robert kinkade is equal to the mastery of andrew weythe (rolls eyes).. it only hurt because im always afraid down deep inside that im not good enough at what i do.. so i drive myself harder and harder... there is more to this painting.. but i wont even discuss it here. The eye .. the quick eye will see it..hahaha. oh e-mail me when you think u understand. i dont think anyone will get it. well maybe one person.(wink) 

Look at this static arm! its some sort of benigned tense, yet completely ready for action... it is like a soldjiers arm when he is at attention. The hand is almost clenched in a fist but not tightly so. it could go either way. Like a hidden tension. it is a fighting arm or a loving arm and capable of great action as well as great inaction.