Rustic Barn Lover

I just love barns! I have drawn a lot of barns over the years but I never get tried of seeing or drawing old barns. It seems like they are fast disappearing from the family farm. A pen and ink drawing will lock our favorite barn forever in our memory. It is really great how God uses our talents to bring great joy to others. Every drawing that I do this year will have a fish symbol hidden in it. 2010 drawings also had a hidden fish symbol.

I have a lot of great childhood barn memories. It was always fun hunting eggs or finding new kittens hiding in the hay. My brother and I would spend hours in our barn swing on the hay rope, build secret rooms and making hay forts.

After a brainstorming session it was decided that, since I am always up for a challenge, the newest and hardest self-imposed challenge yet would starting March 1, 2011. I will draw 100 barns in 100 days! That is the easy part. The hard part is the drawings will be 5"x7". As most of you know I never draw buildings smaller than 8"x10" and usually must custom drawings are at least 16"x20" and often 20"x24". The reason for the smaller drawings is to make them more affordable so anyone who has been wanting a TerpCreek original drawing could afford one. Most original TerpCreek Art is owned by high income collectors, CEOs and business owners.

I am really excited about starting this project and people are starting to send me barn photos just incase I run short of ideas. I will have to schedule my drawing time very well as I will be doing a Pet Portrait Promotion and custom artwork at the same time.  I have also promised to deliver two original drawing to the Freeport Museum in April for their Masterpiece Art Show which is in May.

The barn drawings will be for sale on eBay (type TerpCreek in the search box to find the drawings). This will be a great way to get an original TerpCreek drawing at a bargain price. All drawings will come in a black mat with gold trim, signed, dated and with a Certificate of Authenticity.

Join the "Barn Lover" group and get a chance once a week to buy one of these original barn drawings without having to bid on it. Once a week I will email you a picture of the barn that is available for purchase to those in the Barn Lover's group. The first person to email me that they want to buy it will get it.

It is free to become a "Barn Lover" just email me at Becky@TerpCreek.com put barn lover in the subject line. That is all there is to become a "Barn Lover. In the future there will be barn items that only Barn Lovers can buy. Barn Lovers will also get specials offers. I will not sell or share your email address with others. So get excited and join the Barn Lovers!

Art as the focal point of a room.

The first drawing for the car showcase is now in Detroit for approval. After they OK the drawing I will finish it up and start on drawing number 2. The finished showcase will measure 15 feet long, which will take a total of 9 drawings. Each drawing is an old storefront. This is really a neat project!


Today’s topic is art as the focal point of a room.

Artwork as the focal point of the entire room can be one large drawing or a collection of smaller drawings. If only one drawing is used it should be large enough to catch your visitor’s attention but small enough that it does not over power or distracts from the balance of the room. If you have a large wall space or a shelf in the room then a collections of complementary drawings along with some figurines, greenery or other suitable decorations will look great. The main idea is to not overwhelm the room and keep it within the relationship scale to other items. The room should reflect your personality as well as your home décor.

Another factor that is very important is framing the art. Framing and matting plays a big role in the final outcome of the room. The frame should be evenly balanced with the picture and the room. You do not want a heavy frame on a small piece of art in a little girl’s room or a thin pink frame accented with a football trophy in a boy’s room. Nice thick frames are good on large drawings and in rooms that can balance the focal impact. The mat color needs to complement the room and art at the same time. Sometimes this is a challenge.

My clients are becoming more aware of the way the art works with the rest of the room or maybe I just have got a high class of clients. Either way I am doing more that just drawing. I am getting into more of a decorating business to complement my drawing business. Often I go to the client’s home and we figure where the drawing will hang, how many drawings are going into a display and if we need accent pieces. The final drawings are then assembled on the wall with added accent pieces so the clients can just set back and enjoy the outcome.

So next time you buy art think about where you are going to hang it, if you need accent pieces, if it reflects your personality and if it will go with the whole balance of your room.

Have a great day.

Becky

Bishoph Hill Gallery and Lucia Nights

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. We sure had a great one. We saw 3 of the 4 kids. We had lots of fun talking and mountains of delicious food. Family is so important and we are so thankful that they all still live close enough to come see the us.

Life has been busy around Terp Creek. I have been at 4 craft shows this season. I have also been busy doing custom orders for the holidays only 2 left to complete unless I get some late orders this weekend.

We made another trip to Bishop Hill Gallery to restock the supply of stone coasters, which are selling very well. Be sure to check out Bishop Hill Gallery when you go to Bishop Hill, IL. They close for the season from Dec. 13 through Jan. 31, 2011 so you better hurry and go this weekend for the Lucia Nights Dec. 10th and 11th from 6 pm to 9 pm.

We are currently in the process of looking for an art studio. Don’t know if we should build a studio on our farm or build on to the house. I have been trying to think of something unusual to use for a studio. I know of an airplane that was converted into a hotel but I since I don’t have a plane that idea may not work. I keep having this feeling that someone will come up with a fantastic idea. If you have any ideas email me at Becky@TerpCreek.com or leave a comment. My goal is to have my studio up and going by the middle of next summer.

Have a wonderful holiday season.
Becky

Checking correctness of drawings and other art.

Today I would like to share some secrets on checking the correctness of your drawings. The following steps are before you frame your art. Additions and corrections are faster and easier to make on an unframed drawing.

These are the steps I found most helpful over the years to check art for correctness in the shadows, perspective, details or places that still needs some work. Always do these steps before delivering any art to the client.

1. Hold the drawing so you can see it in a mirror. Sometimes places that need more work will jump out at you.

2. Turn the drawing upside down and look at it in a mirror. Make any changes to your art if needed as you go through these steps.

3. Now set the art upside down in your living room or someplace you will see it a lot. Continue to look at it and make changes for a few days.

4. Finally set it right side up a few more days. Make changes if needed.

When you are satisfied with the final project then frame it and deliver it to your happy client.

Happy drawing!
Becky

Backdrop for Detroit, MI Car Showcase (Building 1)

The drawing for the car showcase backdrop is coming along nicely. The finished project will end up in the Detroit, MI area. It will be made up of numerous color pencil sketches of vintage storefronts. The showcase will hold precision cars with the backdrop drawings being the city.

I love the design of this first building. The client wants it named "Becky’s Art Studio". I feel really proud that he has picked and named this building as the first drawing in the project. I don’t know what the next drawing will be. I took over 90 storefront photos for him to pick from. So far only 6 storefronts have made the cut. I may have to go on another Sunday drive and take more photos. I just love Sunday drives even if they are not on Sunday.

If you want to see a detailed progress of this project you can follow it on Facebook by clicking the facebook link on this blog.

Have a great weekend.
Becky

Western IL Animal Rescue and Spoon River Drive

Pets are still a big part of my drawings. October 9, 2010 is Western Illinois Animal Rescue is having a doggy 5K. TerpCreek.com will be donating to that event. I will be there around 8 am, so if you are there look me up.

The backdrop for the Detroit car showcase is coming along nicely. It will take some time to get all 15 feet of it done.

Spoon River Drive was nice last weekend. Sunday was a wonderful day to go and check out the vendors and beautiful scenery. This weekend will be even better, however I am not going to be on the drive this last weekend.

Have a great weekend,

Becky

Mt Pleasant Old Threshers and Pies

Things are buzzing at TerpCreek.com. I passed out flyers for the pet's promotion at Mt Pleasant Old Threshers Show and got some orders. We took a Novo motor to show and ground corn with it.

I spent last week baking pies for our church tent for the Prime Beef Festival. I made 46 pies in 3 days. Wow that kept me really busy, our house smelled like a bakery. I made us a pear almond pie, which was a new recipe for last year. Next year the new pie will be "Alabama Apple" which, is from a new friend I made at Mt Pleasant.

Great news! I got the contract that I mentioned last month. I will be drawing a backdrop for a showcase. This showcase measures 16 inches by 15 feet. The showcase will hold precision cars and will be located in the Detroit, MI area., more about that in later blogs.

Thanks for stopping by.
Becky