DJ Geribo's Art Apart Newsletter
Winter 2016
Having trouble viewing in e-mail?
View this e-mail in your browser

Welcome!

Winter Behind Us and Springing Ahead

Looking back a few months at a time is sometimes a good thing. It helps us better plan our future. We might decide to change a direction we were going in, or we might decide to stay on our path. Or maybe we just need a few adjustments. Or a completely new plan. When I look back on the past few months, our winter months that here in the Northeast are typically cold and snowy, I have to revise my plans that were so clear to me when I wrote my Fall, 2015 newsletter. My writing was about as fruitful as our snowfall. But it did help me realize something – I need a deadline!

I’ve been working on one book in particular and it seems as if the day-to-day has taken over my time. Instead of ignoring everything else in my life and just putting all my energy into completing this book, I went with the flow and ended up far off from my goals. So, I set a deadline to complete the book and then gave myself another month to rewrite.

I also had goals for painting which, after three months, also need some revising.  But I knew I wouldn’t do much painting since I typically keep the heat in my studio during the winter months only warm enough so that my plants don’t freeze. I do have several painting goals and hopefully I can do it all. Guess I’ll have to put my Wonder Woman costume on!

Writings & Musings

Being a Writer

There is nothing like hearing words of wisdom from a pro, like Hemingway, Carver, and Faulkner. Those who are so well-known that everyone knows them by their last name. Well, I came across a book (at my swap shop) that was full of pearls from the likes of the above-named plus others like Steinbeck, L’Engle, and Bradbury. And in just a few short readings, I have acquired several new suggestions for improving my writing skills.

One in particular I really like, from Raymond Carver who says to “write about what you know about.” He also talks about the elements that are important in the short story: “choices, conflict, drama, consequences, and narrative.”Hemingway talks about “…walking into a room and getting a certain feeling or emotion, …remembering what it was that gave you the emotion….the noises and smells and what was said…make it clear so the reader can see it, too, having the same feeling you had….watch people, try to put yourself in somebody else’s head.”

Link to DJ Geribo's Writing Blog.



These are just two simple suggestions from two master writers but ones that are powerful. I always have a notebook in my purse and after I read the Hemingway quote, I took a few notes the next time I was in a social situation. It really made me think about and pay attention to my surroundings.
Sometimes, besides reading fiction, it is good to find a quality book on writing from the best of the best and treasure the knowledge that each has to share. 

I love painting fruit and veggie still lifes. I've painted them on 4"x4"  gallery-wrapped canvases as well as on larger canvases, along with several other fruits and veggies. This one is definitely the smallest I've ever painted. At just 2"x2" this little painting is just as bold and colorful as any still life I've ever painted. 

 See more miniatures for sale on my website.

You can't really go to the ocean without seeing a seagull flying overhead or sitting on a rock. Opportunists extraordinaire, they are always looking for a handout whether it is a clam or a discarded French fry. This guy looked like he was just enjoying the day, pretty much the same thing I was doing.  

My Books
I’m still working on my first adult book but I’m also cleaning up and preparing one of my children’s books for illustration. Although I was planning on hiring someone, I’m beginning to reconsider and may only hire this person for the cover illustration.

Although it seems like a no-brainer when it comes to hiring someone to illustrate your book, whether it is for 10 illustrations or the cover only,  there are a few things to consider and discuss before either of you sign on the dotted line and it mostly comes down to compromise. Consider this:  you may want a few more smaller illustrations scattered throughout the book, say, two smaller ones instead of one large one,  and the illustrator’s contract may state that she will provide only one large one – if I want two small ones they will count as two, regardless of size. This is what I mean by compromise.


All of my books can be purchased through our publishing website, www.BBDPublishing.com


Right now I’m reading and reviewing everything I can find to help me make the right decisions for me as the author. Bringing my own contract to the table is something I have to consider, particularly if the illustrator’s contract outlines conditions acceptable to the illustrator without considering what I want from the illustrator and what she needs to provide for me. It is all part of doing business, on a professional level, with another party. My husband, who is an internet architect and builds website solutions for business owners, wouldn’t even think of starting work on a website design without a signed contract (and a down payment) from the client.

Again, it is all part of doing business. Keeping it as professional as possible should always include having a contract.



 

Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known.          
                                         ~Oscar Wilde


This is my current display at the LRAA Gallery in Tilton, NH.


The Lakes Region Art Association Gallery is located in the Tanger Outlets in Tilton, NH. The hours are 10am-6pm on Fri, Sat, and Sun.
 
It was a quiet winter in the LRAA Gallery, but now we are looking forward to things picking up.

We have many plans with special monthly exhibits and workshops and regular advertising. We have a new member who is a pro with marketing and she is already finding lots of ways to get the word out about our new gallery. If you haven’t been there yet, you need to come for a visit and bring family and friends!

Notice the large blank space in the upper left corner of my gallery space. That is where my "Fox Hunting" painting was located. It was sold on my birthday and was a wonderful birthday present!!!!

On My Easel

Not really ‘on my easel’, but some of my artwork is now at the Vynnart Gallery in Meredith, NH. I’m very excited about this and look forward to a busy summer season. Although this is the drawback of living in a seasonal tourist area; you have to get all your sales in a short period of time. Of course, this is also the issue in the Lakes Region Art Association Gallery in Tilton, NH. The Tanger Outlets, where the LRAA Gallery is located, are definitely a destination for many people, but it is pretty quiet during the winter season, particularly after the holidays have come and gone.

So now I have an added incentive to complete more paintings with two locations that I need to have artwork for and with each changing out regularly.

 This is part of my display at Vynnart Gallery in Meredith, NH.




Go to My Website to See My Latest Paintings

The last time I gallery sat, a woman came in and was impressed with my miniature portraits. She told me she thought I was underpriced (yes!) and thought she should commission me to do a portrait of her Coby who passed away end of last year, before I raised my prices! She kept her word and the next day she sent me photos and a couple of days later her check arrived in the mail.

Although Coby's eyes were mostly closed in this photo, she also sent me photos with his eyes more open but you could see the beginnings of cataracts. She sent two different poses of Coby in the grass with the dandelions - I chose the one where he is looking at you since he is more engaged with the viewer. She also wanted his collar out of the painting so I took care of that, too.

Sometimes people want the collar and tags to show, especially if the pet always wore them. For others, the dog is the only thing they want in the painting. But they usually also have a pose that hits them, where the pet is in its element and looks happy. Especially if the pet was sick and has since passed away. Remembering our pets when they were healthy and happy is how we want to remember them. And I'll do my best to provide a painting that will bring back only the best memories of your pet when you look at it.
 

Authistpreneur

author/artist/entrepreneur

Someone who is an author, an artist, and an entrepreneur.  Any person who writes or has a published novel, who paints fine art/illustrations, and also has established businesses using the combination of artistic talents.
                                                                - DJ Geribo

 

What I'm Reading

Although I haven’t done as much writing as I planned to do during the winter months, I have been reading. And I am including in the mix the Pulitzer winners I wanted to read starting with “The Age of Innocence” by Edith Wharton. Wharton’s vocabulary was impressive. As an English major, I’m always inspired by another author’s extensive use of the English language. I am always working to strengthen mine as well.

The story is timeless: two people who should be together but one is married. And then when the one is free, the other is married. Of course, this was all happening in a time when a married woman having visits from a single man was inappropriate.

To balance the seriousness of early 1900 New York snobbery, I also read a few middle grade books: “Pawn”, “Holes”, “The Thief Lord”, and “Wayside School Gets a Little Stranger”. Two of the stories, Holes, that he won the Newbery Award for and Wayside School, were both written by Louis Sachar. Pawn was OK but a bit too predictable. These are children’s books so I can’t ask for too much. "The Thief Lord" by Cornelia Funke was recommended by my sister-in-law who has read several of Ms. Funke’s books. It was entertaining and I did enjoy it. But now I’m ready for another Pulitzer winner. I just started reading “The Sound and the Fury” by William Faulkner. I’m thinking this book will be more of a challenge for me!

Go to My Blog to See What I'm Currently Reading

I hope you enjoyed my newsletter. If you did, please share on Facebook, Twitter, or Forward to a friend. I welcome your comments!
Share
Tweet
Forward
Copyright © 2016 All rights reserved.