So far so good!

The first day of the open studios was today. It went really well! I sold two drawings so far. The first one sold was the state bird and flower of Massachusetts. Last summer, I was commissioned to do all 50 state birds and flowers for an educational poster. I now have all 50 (49 now) drawings for sale. One for each state.  Below are Massachusetts and the entire poster. All state birds and flowers were created in colored pencil and are approximately 5″x5″. (Framed size about a foot square)

The other drawing that sold was of a Golden Retriever. My parents were dog sitting for their friend’s dog recently, and I really wanted to do a portrait of him. He is the HUGEST Golden I’ve ever seen, and sweet too! This is done in pastel and sold to the owner of the dog (although there were others interested as well!) This portrait was created in pastel on blue paper and is approximately 7″x17″ 

Come to the show and see the other artwork I have on display! Or just stop by to say HI! I’ll be there Sunday, November 30, from 10 – 5, and December 6-7, 10-5. Located at Artsake Gallery, 273 Tolland Stage Rd, Tolland, CT. 

There are also many other studios in the Northeast portion of CT participating in this event. It’s quite a trip to wander around in the woodsy areas and stumble across an artist’s studio you never knew existed! Swing by Artsake to get a map or download one here.

What is an artist’s most important tool?

The pencil sharpener. 
Well, maybe not the most important, but you take it for granted until it breaks and you realize just how much you depend on it.

My pencil sharpener broke yesterday. When I am drawing something in colored pencils, I use my pencil sharpener every few seconds. I need every pencil to be sharp. (I also went through this about a year ago.) It’s surprisingly very hard to find a pencil sharpener that works the way I want it to. They are like snowflakes… each one is different. The one I have had was a Panasonic® KP-4A. It’s a small handheld battery operated pencil sharpener. It had hardened steel alloy cutter blades which ground away the excess pencil, instead of shaving it like a handheld sharpener. Well, I went to Staples.com and found the Staedtler® Mars® Desk battery operated pencil sharpener. It had lots of great reviews and only one bad one. It came in the mail today, and I thought it was going to be bigger. and I didn’t know it has the kind of blade that shaves the pencil. and it’s the most powerful pencil sharpener I’ve ever seen. It’s almost the same size as my old pencil sharpener, except the shavings receptacle is tiny. It actually tears my colored pencils to shreds and breaks the lead. I’m sure it would be fine for a regular pencil, but colored pencil lead is soft and the sharpener needs to be gentle. I forget which sharpener I got last year, but the problem with that one was that it didn’t bring the pencils to a sharp enough point. 

So I’m returning it. Like I said at the beginning of this post, I went through this same thing a year ago, and I decided the same thing. After all that, I’m going to buy another Panasonic® KP-4A. (3rd times a charm!) I know it’s a good buy. It works well with colored pencils. I know it doesn’t seem like the last pencil sharpener lasted very long (a year?) but the one I had before endured all through college. I hope the next one I get will last even longer than that. It should arrive on Monday. I’m lost without my sharp pencils!

Val & Bianca

Here is my latest commissioned portrait:

Detail:

This portrait was a challenge, since a photo like this didn’t exist! I essentially took the pose of someone holding her puppy (Bianca) and put Val’s head on her body! There were other photos, but none like this one. The face that I used was from the same photograph, so the lighting matched up perfectly, and the composition was superb. Here is what I started with:

(I cannot find the full photo uncropped, but you get the idea!) I love doing these portraits for people and getting to know the people. That’s the best part of my job! This was created 11×14 on brownish/gray paper with pastels.

Contact me for more info on pricing and sizes.

Three Pets — One Portrait

This portrait consists of three pets! A Golden Retriever puppy, a cat, and a German Shepherd. The client wanted a portrait for his wife for Christmas, but he wanted to include all the pets! I created an initial sketch and manipulated it in photoshop until I got the right composition. The client then approved the sketch and the final drawing was started. This piece is 16″ x 20″ drawn with pastels on sage green paper. The pastels really give the animals a great sense of softness. Since it may be hard to see in the final piece, I posted a detail of the German Shepherd, so you can get a better sense of what it really looks like.

Detail:

If you’d like to get a portrait done of your pets, contact me for pricing and a timeline. If you’d like to see more samples of my work, visit my website: sarahpaolucci.com

I can also created greeting cards with my artwork! Click here to see samples of my greeting cards… And Christmas cards!!

Come see my art!

I am participating in the Artists Open Studios of Northeastern Connecticut! My artwork along with three other artists will be featured at Artsake Gallery in Tolland, CT. The open studios are a great opportunity to see the art that is happening right in your backyard! Over 80 artists of every discipline are opening their doors and bringing you inside to see the inner workings of an artists studio, just in time for the holidays!

I am showing my artwork, paintings and drawings of illustrations, portraits and animals. Jennifer Hopkins owns Artsake Gallery and she will be showing some paintings as well as her glass beads, necklaces and bookmarks. She will be doing glass bead demonstrations on Sundays. Barbara Cambria is also exhibiting with us. She creates hand-quilted pieces to decorate the home: lap quilts, table runners and wall hangings for adults and children. Jennifer Milavsky is showing the first weekend only. She creates wire wrapped, semi-precious gemstone and handmade glass bead jewelry. This is my first year participating in the artists open studios, but I have seen them in action in the past. It’s so much fun to see all the different artists in the area that you never knew were there! There are so many talented people in the area. Make a day of it and come on by! Stop at Artsake for a map of the area with all the studios, or download it online: 
http://www.aosct.org/map.php

Stop by and see what I’ve been working on! I hope to see you all there!

November 29-30, and December 6-7.
10 am – 5 pm each day.
Artsake Gallery
273 Tolland Stage Rd.
http://www.artsakeframing.com

Custom Portrait

I have created many portraits over the years. Some for family, some for myself and some for complete strangers who quickly become friends. Everyone I have met from doing these portraits, has been so nice and lovely to draw. At my art show last month, I met a lovely couple who collect art. The husband is also an artist and takes many local art classes for adults. They wanted a portrait of themselves created. So I met with them and discussed their options and looked at the different photos they had. Below is the drawing and the photo:

They both really liked the drawing and are very happy with it. I had a wonderful experience working with this couple and hope to see them again soon. This portrait was drawn in colored pencils on cream colored paper. 11″ x 14″

If you’re interested in getting a custom portrait done. Contact me for prices and more information. I can create portraits of any size, in colored pencils or pastel. Take a look at my website for more samples of my work. sarahpaolucci.com