Lost Treasure

My husband and I are packing up our lives and moving 8 miles down the freeway. In the midst of all this packing, we found a hard drive that we haven't been using for a while. On that hard drive were all my digital designs from when I was in school. I was really in to drawing in Illustrator way back when. One night I had an image of this face in my head. I got out of bed to sketch it. She was very simple, but expressive. Later, I used the face as an inspiration to design a cd cover for a rock band called Gatos Guapos. The band failed and broke up. (The original cd cover design was a little bit edgier than the design below. ) I again played around with this image to make it more "cute" and less "rock" ......she still looks a little bit angry. But that was the face! I couldn't change the original!

Clandestine?

I have had a link in my Favorites thing for months, maybe years. It is a link to Illustration Friday. It is a fun website for artists where each week you have a theme, you illustrate it and post your illustration on the site. Every Friday, there is a new theme. I made a note to myself to start this week. When I finally got around to it, I checked the site and the theme was CLANDESTINE. Seriously. What in the world would I ever paint in my funky little folk art style that would appropriately illustrate the theme "clandestine"? Any suggestions? I will let y'all know how it goes. (Y'all meaning my mom. I have a lot of followers these days).

My Last Two Custom Paintings

I thought that this Christmas, I would only take on a couple of custom paintings so that I could take my time, get them done early, and deliver them to the client in plenty of time. Well, I started in October and didn't deliver the last painting until...........December 23! Seriously. These were the last two I did. They were both very large scale, and included their family homes in the background. (These photos are not great. It is so hard to take pictures of big paintings!)

This one is for the Klienmans of Salt Lake City, Utah

Here are the Bolls from Seattle, Washington

Hello Etsy! Long time, no see.

I signed up for an etsy account before it was even anything. A really artsy friend sent me a link to it more than 2 years ago, and I totally blew Etsy off like it was never going to amount to anything. Sorry Etsy, I am sorry I ever doubted you. Just look at you now......the most FABULOUS little (BIG) website ever!

I finally have some products to show in my shop CLICK HERE

CHRISTMAS PAINTINGS! ONE DAY SALE!

I have had requests from a couple of out of state buyers the last couple of years.......I am finally going to do it. Before they head off to the Christmas shows, I am making them available online at a discounted rate (because I won't have to pay a retailer's commission). ALL paintings listed below are currently available, the catch is, it is only for ONE DAY!

All paintings I am offering today are painted on woodblocks and are approximately 8X8X1.5 (they are intended to sit on a shelf, not framed). Some of them vary in size, but are close to that.

"Little Christmas Bird" $55 8X12 on woodblock SOLD

"Peace" $50 7X11 on woodblock


"Star Goes On Top" $45 8X8 on woodblock

"Peace Angel" $55 7X11 on woodblock SOLD

If you are interested in purchasing, just email me which one you want at agardner999@msn.com

I will send you a paypal invoice and I will get it shipped to you tomorrow (shipping charges will be whatever post office charges me).

I found my new favorite painting surface!

So, we are building a new house. One day I walked in while the carpenters were cutting this lovely stuff. It was the perfect size and weight of MDF for my paintings! It just makes the perfect big block that stands easily on a shelf. Love it! Here are a few sitting on top of my tv cabinet!

ART MARKET!

Art Market is coming! It is December 4-6. Check out the site for all the details. www.artmarketutah.com

People are so creative.

I have been hanging out on Etsy lately. I get on a kick about twice a year when I decide that I will only buy handmade items. It doesn't last, but I always find some really fabulous items! Just thought this was a particularly creative and unique item!

Small Works Show

I have been preparing for the Small Works Show at Evergreen Gallery. I have wanted to do some simple paintings using some fun color combintations and patterns. Here is one.

"Poppy and a Pear"

8X10 Acrylic on Canvas

McDougal Family

Here is a painting I did for the McDougal Family of SLC. What a beautiful family, and a fun one to paint!

This blog is dead. This blog has been dead for a while. In fact, I am not sure it was ever alive. I feel like this blog could be alive if I only had the will power and motivation to get it done. Having baby number three, building a new house and trying to sell the current house has killed my motivation. But, I am getting on the horse again. I have several shows, commissions, and fun stuff coming up, so I am resolving again to keep it up. Here's a start....

There is a "Small Works" show coming up at Evergreen Gallery. If you haven't been to Evergreen, you should stop by. They have some GREAT stuff! Here is the link for more info.

http://www.evergreengallery.com/id27.html

ART MARKET!

I Love Fall! And here is my plug for Art Market. I know I haven't blogged in forever, but I have decided that I am going to make an effort to do so more often. I have started doing a little more painting lately, so maybe that will motivate me to get going on the blog. Check out the Art Market site. www.artmarketutah.com

The show is one day only! October 11th

ART MARKET!!

It is soon to be my favorite holiday!!! Valentine's Day. It is also my favorite show of the year! I love Valentines' Art market. It is on the 9th at Sugar House Garden Center. Check out the website for details. www.artmarketutah.com

I will be rotating some of my gallery paintings and will have some of these things available at Art Market. They will also have a clearance section for all artists and vendors to clearance items.

little Valentine's magnets! My favorite!

Painting of the week: Damask and Orange Flowers

Damask and Orange Flowers

16x16 Acrylic

on gallery wrapped canvas (2in.)

This was a fun painting to paint. I wanted to paint something a little more serious, but not realism by any means. This is kind of a half-way-in-between-ish painting. Check my website for more details. http://www.anngardnerdesign.com/

I was TAGGED!!!

I was tagged by my friend Nicole, a very talented and busy mama!

Here are the rules:
1. Link to the person that tagged you, and post the rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself.
3. Tag 7 random people at the end of your post, and include links to their blogs.
4. Let each person know that they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

I am finding it difficult to even come up with 1 thing about myself!!!

1. I love American Idol. Even in it's 7th season. I had a moment of let down this year when I turned 29, and realized that I am too old now to audition. It was a sad moment because just the moment before that moment, I remembered that I couldn't sing.
2. I am a computer freak. Can't live without it. We have 5 computers in our house. I don't know how we got this technology dependant. Aaron and I each have a lap top, we have a kids computer, a family computer, and a media center to replace the dvd, vcr, dvr, tivo thing (funny that we have this cause I watch about 1 hour of tv a week.)
3. I graduated number 1 in my class in college! Doesn't that sound amazing? Well, let it be known that I was the ONLY one in my class. (I graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Art. Most people didn't even know that was possible. My degree category was the only one in the commencement program that only had one person in it).
4. I have been to 15 countries (including the US).
5. My website was featured as #1 on sk*rt for 2 days! That was fun. I got lots of comments from people all over the country. www.anngardnerdesign.com
6. I love to do house projects. This year we conquered laying our own bamboo floor and tiling a backsplash in our kitchen.
7. I have a subscription to 6 house design magazines. (All you have to do is call yourself as an interior designer, and new ones will turn up in the mail all the time!) My favorite is Dwell!

I LOVE VALENTINES DAY!

I almost forgot! I just added tons of new magnets to my shop!
Check them out here!



Get $5 off your total order when you use the code: CAMPERPOINTS

*just a note, if this code doesn't work, google "cafepress coupon"

you are bound to find a few

PAINTING OF THE WEEK: DANCE!

Here's a little painting of a dancer inspired by my little 4 year old dancer
(Although it looks nothing like her).
Does every little girl love to put on dress ups and dance around the house as much as mine?

This cute little dancer is available on a handy tote!

CLICK HERE TO GET IT!

Lots of other fun little items there too!

Original Painting available at Evergreen Gallery in Salt Lake City Utah

contact me for purchase information

Happy New Year!

Hello fellow art lovers. I have taken a 5 day break from painting, and am getting back up on the horse tonight. I have 2 commission paintings for the month of January that need to be finished right away. I have decided that I am going to limit my commission paintings to 15 for the year. I did about 15 for Christmas this year and MAXED myself right out. I am going to concentrate on my gallery work and on my prints. So, if you are ready to put your name on my waiting list for this year, please email me soon! Watch for magnets, note pads and fun prints to come soon!