Tuesday, February 16, 2010

8"x8" "Sweet Bite" sold on www.susanhongsammons.etsy.com


I've been away from my home, my family (including 5 pets), the cold, and my computer because the opportunity to paint in Sedona came my way thanks to Karen. And thanks to painting year around in Chicago, we had the gear necessary to paint in Sedona winter. Each morning we woke to a snow storm which turned to a rain storm which turn to hail. Fortunately the temperatures were mild to us. I think we both derived an off-beat satisfaction of being able to paint in their crazy weather. At one point so much hail and sleet was coming down that they closed the roads but we still manage to paint. Once I figure out how to down-load my pictures from my new camera I'll show some of my plein air paintings of the red rocks as well as several of Karen painting in the storms. I think it was everything a plein air adventure should be.
So why am I showing this painting of a pepper. I'm showing it because I'm attempting to clean up my life style and eat in a healthy manner. Sedona host several excellent raw/vegan groceries and cafes. I use to tease that I was a morning vegan because by the end of the day I'd fall into bad habits, chips, licorice, etc. But now I've discovered green smoothies (which are really yummy and have taken my craving away for the crappy food groups) and juicing. So after shopping for produce I can't help but paint them. Their colors and textures are so inspiring. And after I've painted it,... I can eat it!!!!! (p.s did you know watercress is 84% protein)

12 comments:

Karen said...

Green Smoothie Power!
Raw Power!
:)

I can't believe you got it together to post already (AND that you got an Etsy store open)....I'm still working on it all!

I miss the painting trip!

susan hong-sammons said...

I miss painting in AZ too and just having better weather to try to nail all that is necessary.

Jill Berry said...

Nice texture~
& variations in the background.

You 2 are die-hards!
Just strap a snow board on ya & call it a new winter sport!
We got a bit of sleet last Friday & I'm pretty sure nobody in our group braved it.

Etsy huh? Interested to see how that works for you...compared to your galleries.

susan hong-sammons said...

Hey Jill,
yes, just watch for us in the next winter olympics.

I've had some success with ebay and my small paintings but got tired of posting. Karen told me about Etsy which I thought ment tiny handmade art. Turns out size has nothing to do with it. But I hope it will be a nice venue for my small paintings and hand painted cards as it's not worth it to sell the small pieces in galleries after their commissions (not that I don't think galleries deserve every bit of their commissions because as you know, sell art isn't easy). Plus I don't have a still life gallery,... at the moment.
p.s. we'd rather paint without the hail

Gary Keimig said...

Hi Susan. Thanks for the comment on my blog. You have some great art posted on this blog. Love your portraiture.
I myself have wondered about the Etsy concept. Guess I need to check into it.
Keep up the great art.

susan hong-sammons said...

Hi Gary,
Thanks for stopping by.
I'm hoping Etsy will be another nice venue to show/sell my small-scale paintings which I feel are my strongest. Hopefully others will too.
Happy Art-making

Mary Sheehan Winn said...

Oh, I just LOVE Sedona. I'd love to see snow on those red rocks.
Lovely paintings, too.
Thanks for stopping by my blog :D

Janelle Goodwin said...

I'm not surprised that you two managed to paint in that weather. You're two tough cookies! Funny, my brother was in Sedona the same you were. Looking forward to seeing those red rock pictures. Good luck on Etsy. I agree that eBay is a pain and I think it's not worth the time and frustration.

Brad said...

I meant to ask this on a past post when you had traveled but how to you get all your supplies on the plane, meaning the flammable stuff like turp or mineral spirits? Do you buy it there, I suppose?

susan hong-sammons said...

Hi Mary, Hello Janelle, Thanks so much for stopping by.
Hey Brad, We check our materials or mail them ahead. Sedona has a couple of places where one can buy mineral spirits, I prefer Gamsol by Gamblin, and if all else fails, you can run to a hardward store and use that grade mineral spirits. Neither of us use medium outdoors. I think it's key to pack light when painting outdoors.

SamArtDog said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
SamArtDog said...

Hi Susan--
Long time, no comment. But don't think I haven't been watching. Your trip to Sedona with Karen sounds like a great escape. Can't wait to see your plein air stuff. Doing oils in the rain/sleet sounds a lot more possible than pastels. Congrats on opening an Etsy; hope you sell tons!
p.s. Juicing rocks!