18 day show

Well, for 2 old people we did ok, butts dragging we finished the 18 day show at Gatlinburg, packed up our display headed downtown to Bubba Gumps for supper, great shrimp. a little on the loud side, music and people. The show in this tough time of our enocony ended ok but only because we did not have an hotel bill, we can sleep in our own bed and we ate at home part of the time.

Gatlinburg Craftsmens Fair October show

Home our butts a dragging, booth set-up, easy unload, we had a great porter to help us. I thought we would never get the display racks set-up and then the hanging of art work Wheeee! Rest tomorrow, show starts on Thursday Oct 9... We will have at least an hour work to do on Thursday morning if not more.

We hope to see a lot of you all at the show, doing your Christmas shopping, Fiss on the wall street and their bad management, I vote for lets have real feel-good Christmas...

Gatlinburg Craftsmens Fair

Here we are days away from setting up the show, my bones ache to think about doing it, my left knee is still giving me a fit.

All the crap going on in wall street and they tag this bill with the Orphan's Law which literary takes an artist's copyright and throws it to the wind, leaving us artists running around like a chicken with our heads chopped off, any one can steals our art we created, this takes our jobs as free-lance and art show artists away. BaaHumbug on the people in Washington and shame on them.

One of my greeting cards you can find at greeting card universe/kaymurphysscardstore.com

Any who back to business I will have 7 new christmas cards images with bookmarks, 6 for sure. That is if I can get myself to working on the last card image. Here's hoping you guys come to the Gatlinburg show to shop and forget about this crap for a day and enjoy ourselves.

Gatlinburg Craftsmen's Fair

Well, here it is getting down to the wire for the fall show in Gatlinburg. If you are planning a day trip to the mountains to look at the leaves, spend a couple hours at this show, held in the convention center downtown Gatlinburg 10:-7: each day Sunday 10:-5:. Do your Christmas shopping at this show. Meet and talk with the artist who does the work. Buy something special from them, you sure can not find this quality of work in cheap imports. Support you USA hand -made art and crafts. We will be there for the full 18 days.

I will have Christmas cards #10, envelope with printed image on the outside and with a same image on a laminated bookmark inside the card NICE GIFT for anyone, especially a book worm. Also my images on laminated magnets, NICE GIFT art gallery on the front of your ref. Called Kitchen Art. This year you can remember your friends and family without spending a fortune.

I will be having a special on my children's book, buy both for $40.00 with free bookmarks.

Cards

Visit my card shop, I have a lot of NEW ones up, my old collectors may find a different slant on these cards, please feel free to order from this site. I feel you will be pleased with the finished product.

CLICK ON THE KAY'S CARD SHOP ON THE RIGHT. "Greeting Card Universe". This will take you to my cards. "Under Kay's Art links"

Have fun. Feel free to email if you need something special. I have Birthday, wedding invite's,Christmas, missing you..Check it out.

New Stuff

I have been working on NEW gift ideas for my clients, I am offering "Gift in a Card " tm. A Christmas or greeting card with a Bookmark inside, also magnets with small print images of mine on them, "Kitchen Art"tm. Magnets are big enough to give the client a nice piece of my art, one of my prints. Decorate that ref..

See 2 of my magnets images above. Great gift idea for this coming Holiday season, don't break the budget this year, buy from Kay Murphy's Studio, give a wonderful gift for a small amount. Bookmarks, Cards,and Magnets are designed and produced in house by Kay Murphy's Studio.

Here we are back home

Tear down is hell, too many vans, trucks/trailers and motor home/trailers in the building at one time, let so many out and then let the same amount in, would help..They do have great porters to help but you have to ask for one. All in all we can live with it and will be doing this show again in October. The promotors are wonderful people and they do their best to help with any problems.

The show was like all art and craft shows in 2008 (slow) people not spending money but Gatlinburg had more people walking the streets Sunday night then I have seen in a long time. We talked with a lot of locals and new comers just moving into the east TN area. Back to the drawing board, maybe I can find something they just can not live without, one can hope!

Visit my website http://www.kaymurphysstudio.com/ for new art work originals and giclee's

Show is set up in Gatlinburg

Set up was fairly easy, pulled almost to our booth, Yipeee! It takes so long to get the display racks up, must be our age showing...Great thing with this show is we can sleep in our own bed, driving back and forth is a little pricey but then so is the motels anymore and I have to go in and clean everything after seeing the 60 minutes special about how the house keeping does not clean..
Lots of tourists in Gatlinburg today, streets were crowded even in the heat of the day. You all come see us at the show...

Sunday July 13th

Oh My here we are on count-down, just days away from setting up for the Gatlinburg Craftsmen's Fair, we are doing the full 10 days July 18-27. Cargo trailer needs to be unloaded and then reloaded, making sure only the right boxes of paintings are unloaded inside the convention center, once unloaded there is only so much space for your back up boxes.

Looking forward to doing this show again, great people run the show, many nice people show and sell their work at this show. Good food, good music and great art and craft. If you are visiting the Smokies, spend a day or two enjoying the shopping at the Craftsmen's Fair.

Visit my website for a sampling of the art I will be selling. http://www.kaymurphysstudio.com/

Bill and I do our matting and framing plus over 7 years ago I decided to purchase an Epson printer now working with my 2nd Epson running 9 inks and still loving doing my own Giclee prints. Once in a while I do get a little crazy and do some fun stuff with Photoshop or Corel....Come see and pick yourself out a nice piece of art work for your home, we may as well spend our money on our nests instead of on oil, feathering some-one-else's.

Back from the Cullowhee show

Nice show, too little money made, about 40 exhibitors too many. Money seems to be tight at all the shows, motels are charging way too much for their rooms. Most people attending were not that interested in art/craft.
Off to the next show Gatlinburg Craftsmen's Fair, we are there for the full ten days, you all stop by and help keep us awake. Our New Bookmarks were a big hit, 4 of them went on to Germany, many stayed in the US. Our framed ACEO cards are doing very well, especially the horses. Gatlinburg show is July 18th-27th, 10-7 each day except Sunday closes at 5.

Cullowhee NC show

Looking forward to the show in Cullowhee NC this 4th of July week-end, hope the weather is cooler, it can be hot set-up, thank goodness a/c inside. This show is close enough we can and do drive back and forth, gas will cost as much as a motel room there, at least a nice motel. Our 2nd year at this show, really enjoyed last year except it was hot and humid setting up and tearing down.

Come see us and enjoy the day and take something home that's made in the USA. Hope to see you at an art show.

Price for Bookmarks

Finally after much thought and a little math I came up with a price for my Original Art Bookmarks, they are 2 x 8 size, laminated. $5.00 each or 4 for $18.00. Please feel free to email to order yours.

Many are from either my paintings, photos and or digital art..

More cats

Two more cat prints. Hope to see some of you at The Cullowhee NC show held in the Western North Carolina Univeristy, a great little mountain town. If you can't join us there come to Gatlinburg TN for the Gatlinburg Craftmens Fair held in the convention center, downtown. I will be there the entire show 10 days. This is my Fat Cat series....Available in Bookmarks too.

Cats prints for children's rooms

Work, Work and more work. New cats prints for children's room and of course on my new bookmarks for cat lovers.

Gearing up for 2 art shows

Here I am less than a month from a show, getting back in shape is the big thing. I have not done a show since March, boy oh boy. We do a 2 day show in Cullowhee NC our second year there. We will come home from that show and take on the ten day show in Gatlinburg, TN. this is a laid-backed show with local artists and craftspeople. Lots of great one of a kind pieces. Very talented locals and few traveling pros. If you are in Gatlinburg on vacation, be sure to check this a/c fair (Gatlinburg Craftsmen Fair) out and take home something nice for yourself. I am working on NEW Original Art Bookmarks. They are laminated and have really turned out great. New original oils and Giclee' s. I will also have for sale at this show. Still working on Otter Woman, need to finish her and start on something new.

See image of one at the right.

New Illustration

Finally I get a chance to work again, just finished another mailout to card and children's book publishers, Wheeee! Now to keep my fingers crossed that a art director somewhere likes what I do....

My newest illustration is "The Tuff Enuff Gang".

I am now sketching out "The Christmas Fairy" and a story that goes with her.

See you later

New oil

Finally got a start on a new oil, 20 x 20 sides painted, no frame needed. Lord I love these canvas. Titled "Otter Woman", painted in mostly shades of brown and beige except for the red feathers in her hair, couple more days of work on this one. Back in the southwest images, they never stray far away, an image will start to nag at me, I end painting it in my mind before I ever get it on paper or canvas. I will post an image when it is finished.
Weather is wonderful, flowers are popping up all over, got some Fairy Lillies I ordered today, so planting tomorrow. Gurney's has shipped my trees we ordered too, they should be here about Monday, 2 more Quaking Aspen and a Red Oak.

Finally I get to paint again

While Bill works on the taxes I hide at my drafting board and paint between the "What's This and Where's This"

Working on smaller images some 2 x 2's. I did finished a 5 x 5 watercolor of a Native American lady. I love and read all I can on shamanism and magic, my world would be very dull if I thought magic did not exist, so I keep my eyes open and my heart and hope I get a small peek into this other world. I hope the mystical element shows in my work, people seems to really like the magic it brings to their lives.

I have a native gal nagging me to paint her, they walk around in my mind until get them on canvas or paper, as soon as the taxes are finished I will start to work on her, she is calling for a big oil, so I am looking forward to painting her. Check out my website http://www.kaymurphysstudio.com/

Chantilly show

We have just returned home from our show in Chantilly at the Expo Center, I will be so very glad when the 2008 show season is over, buying customers are few, more buy-sell retail people invading the last of the real art/craft shows. I see more of the old-timers retiring from the circuit. Bill and I love what we do for a living and I really hate to see a way of life that we have done for almost 30 years go down the drain because people can no longer afford to pay for a home, put gas in a car and buy nice paintings and crafts to decorte their home. I wish we could get rid of the greed in this world we live in.

Easter Sunday

Easter Sunday has been very quiet and peaceful, we have had the same yellow cat visiting us every so often, he's fat and frisky and plays like a young kitten so we kind of think he's one of the kittens a stray cat had under one of our yard barns last summer. He's a joy to watch and I'd love to make a pet out of him but who would feed him when we are at a show? I figured if he's meant to live here it will happens but for now we'll just enjoy watching him and talking to him.

Spring in Tennessee

Here we are with spring-like weather, Bill is mowing the grass along with a haft dozen other neighbors. Pear trees are blooming, red-buds are starting to peep out. What a great time of the year. Our Aspen trees we planted have leaves coming out Yeah.
Our next show is in Chantilly, hope its better for all of us than the last show. Not much to mutter about.

Working on getting the ACEO's packaged

Spent most of the day in Knoxville but one good thing I got to see a bald eagle up close and in fight. How pretty. I was setting in the truck on UT hospital parking lot waiting for my husband, when this great bird flew really close. All the photos or paintings in the world does not this bird justice as to see it in flight. We once had a Red-tailed hawk fly with our truck arms length, eye level beside the driver's window for about a mile, talk about a thrill for both of us.
I have worked most of the evening packaging my aceo's, at least I could watch the tely and do this. I am looking forward to getting on the road again, seeing old friends but most of all making some money.

Storms today

Today has been a mixed bag, rain, high wind. Thank Goodness it did not last very long. We are still trying to finished up framing for the show, boy are we out of practice.

Is the rest of the artist's on the show circuit getting just a little bit worried about how this season will be? We have been though some tough years on the circuit but this one with the high gas prices, hotel prices and food is really going to take a toll in every one's profit.

At the right is a sheet of Horse Head ACEO's New for this season and uncut sheet sells for $90.00 single images are $9.99 each. Back to the drawing board...

More Aceo's

I grew up with horses so I guess most of us paint what we know and love best, this one is titled Beauty. The other one is titled Goldie. Both are from acrylic paintings. they are 2.5 x 3.5 inches.

No snow today sunny but cold, good day to work, so I will be cutting and signing the backs of the ACEO's.

Looking forward to the first show of the season, if any of you are in Richmond at the Carolina Craftsmen Spring Classic stop by our booth and say Hi.

Just a little snow

Well fooled again by Mother Nature, just a skiff of snow and today snow showers. Gatlinburg and the mountains have a few inches tried to talk Bill into driving to Gatlinburg to play in the snow but that didn't work. So here I sit working on mailouts
for the spring shows and my blog..

One of my new ACEO's acrylic on canvas Blue-Eyed Paint
at least I do have 15 new aceo's to start the shows with this
year, originals and matted and framed Giclee prints. I do my
giclee's on 60lb Polar White paper.

It has been a trip painting these little guys, been a while since
I have painting this small. It has been a trip for Bill too figuring out how to cut molding this small. They look great!

Snow tonight

Golly Gee, waited all winter for it to snow, here it is, snow always puts in the mood to paint a quiet, peaceful snow is falling kind of painting. Just hope it really does snow. I still have a bunch of printing and matting to do, so Bill can finish up on framing. So goes today.

Sort of like this one. Be sure to check out my web-site lots of Giclee prints paper and canvas for sale www.kaymurphysstudio.com

Monday

We have worked most of the day, me at the computer, Bill framing. Wheeee! Ready for something to eat, got the paper prints printed on my NEW Ravens and Apens trees trio..

One more illustration finished, had a ton of fun with this piece, tore up the first one and finally got it where I wanted it to be. Unusual colors for me, but works.

New Illustration image

The Fairy Tree, I have a thing about faces in trees, I have painted several over the years, this the first time I have visualized a fairy in my paintings. I will have giclee paper prints on this image. This is a mixed media, I used everything but the kitchen sink to complete this one.

It''s getting closer and closer to my first show the season. Lots of printing, matting and framing to yet be done...Hurry! Scurry! is the way I feel about now.

Feb 15

New Illustration finished, now working on a red fox, need to work more as show season is coming up fast, lots of matting, framing and printing to be done before the middle of March. Thank goodness for a hubby who does my framing, packing and backing the cargo trailer.

Well back to the old graphic table. happy painting!

I hope that I learn to do this right, I am an on the road artist showing and selling my art at juried shows and festivals in eastern US. I have over the years licensed my art to several greeting card publishers and now after close to 30 years on the road, I am doing more free-lance work.

Last November I self-published 2 childrens books which I sell on my website and at the shows.

No, I was not raised by a pack of dogs, Dad was an avid bird hunter and raised setters and pointers, so I grew up with a bunch of four-footed friends.

My mom was a week-end artist, so to keep me out of her paints, I had my own box of oils early in life, so I guess you say I have just a little turpentine in my blood. I am a member of SCBWI, which is great society for childrens book illusratators.

Tomorrow is my birthday so no posting on that day, I will be adding some images of work so you may seen my style, hope to make other artsy friends along the way with this blog.