Life With Cats and Art August 2023

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Hi to all and welcome to new subscribers. Since many of you are finding me through my Etsy Shop I thought you might want to know a little about the history behind it. 

I opened it at the beginning of the Covid Pandemic. Something I had been thinking about but never found the time. The galleries and exhibition venues were closed and everyone was at home so I went to work.

My main POD (Print On Demand) site powered by Fine Art America (Pixels) began offering masks so I customized my images and began setting up my first listings on Etsy selling masks. They sold like crazy. I had to learn the ins and outs really quickly and I was processing orders and making new listings day and night. People also wanted their pets on masks and they sent me photos and I would customize them to fit the masks. I also joined some other POD sites that offered different styles of masks and put my work on them as well. Then those styles had to be be listed on Etsy for people to order them. I've been asked "what is a listing?".  First, you take good pictures of your item. You are allowed up to ten photos. In the Etsy Handbook, available to all sellers, all the details are spelled out. There are resolution and size requirement as well as other attributes that go into making quality images of your product. You need titles and good descriptions with details about the item, keywords, prices and shipping info. If these are not done well you will not be found in the search.  SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is king here and you must learn about it in order to succeed. This applies not only to an Etsy Shop but anywhere your work appears on line if you want to be found. Then you must promote yourself all over Social Media.

This is the process that continues today. I have more then a thousand sales and am listed as a "Star Seller". In order to achieve this status from Etsy your shop is evaluated every month and you must maintain a 5 star review rating, on time shipping and excellent customer service. 

I have my work on several PODs (see below) where people find an item they like and can order themselves. When I find something I think customers of my Etsy Shop would like I create a listing for it and add my images on the product(s). Some may come from one of my current PODs and some directly from a website where I find something unique. There are products where I make a sale on a POD and then create a listing for that item with other images of mine as well. It's hard to explain how it works and my husband will never truly understand. I find it amusing that he keeps asking me to explain it but promptly forgets until I have to explain again that the Etsy customer pays Etsy, Etsy pays me, then I order the product and have it drop shipped to my customer anywhere in the world. 

 As you can imagine, there is a lot going on in my creative life. Considering that there are around 3.9 million sellers on Etsy you have to keep improving your listings and creating new work if you want to be found. Some of my listings are works from my studio, including small framed prints and original art. I spend a lot of time with several POD sites, editing photos, promoting and creating. 

Red, my ginger boy and Bella, my calico/tortie girl say hi. (I thought she was a tortoiseshell but have been told if there is any white then she is a calico). Both are rescue kitties and they love to hang out wherever I am. They are indoor cats and have no interest in the outdoor life but love to watch the goings on from the safety of the screened catio or in air conditioned comfort. They have a pet door they use to go in and out and sometimes they like to lay out in the hot, humid air. Maybe because it feels so good when they come back inside.

Now that fall is near there are back to school promotions on notebooks, laptop sleeves and more. 

So far in showing the history of some paintings we have explored Cats and Flowers, Meowjongg - Cats Playing Mahjongg, Jazz Trio, Jazzy Cats, CAT Scan, Cats and Koi, The Cat Cafe, The Cat Crew and from my Safari Series of Moms with babies- Lioness and Cubs, Giraffe and Calf, Elephant and Calf. If you have a favorite you would like to see featured just contact me. 

Anatomy of a Painting

Portrait of Bella 

This is my current painting in progress. The title may change but I thought the progress of the painting was interesting although quite frustrating.

This was my original reference photo. I decided to flip it because the eye reads from left to right and makes a better composition if your eye enters the painting from the left and is led across to the focal point (the cat). In a landscape this isn't as important.

 I wanted the cat to be larger on the canvas so she would be the center of interest and have the chair as background. This was the block in stage. As I worked on the cat and chair I felt that the chair was too overpowering and the brown too close to her color . 

I wanted to bring in more color. I was going to add a blanket or cushion to the chair and after working on the interior room design I was sorry I didn't stick to that idea. I decided the background was too busy with the green wall, window, curtain and dust ruffle. 

This is it in it's current state. There were a nunber of changes as I worked on the values, contrast and colors. The goal was to simplify the design and emphasize the cat by darkening and blurring the background. I will wait for it to dry and then evaluate.