Snag your 2016 Sheep Incognito Wall Calendar, before we run out… we only have about 100 of 1000 left.
Sheep Incognito 2016 Calendar, Limited edition, 24 pageshttps://www.charisma-art.com/2016_sheep_incognito_calendar
Trying Out New Things In The Studio
“Our heads are round, so our mind can change directions….”
That is my mantra lately – some call it “squirrely”, others call it “uncommitted”, still others call it “creativity”. Whatever it is that makes us think around the corner, it is what hit me recently.
Sheep have happened. and, I love pInting them – they make me smile. But why stop there?
So I’ve started to add new critters, new media, and new techniques to my studio.
Most recently, my easel has been my ipad, with a nice painting app, to explore the process of digital paainting. It seems a much more portable and forgiving media – not to mention, that the juried fine art shows offer a digital media category that needs some smiles as well.
So here are my first endeavors with the new roadmap I am following for a bit:
TITLE:”Cowllamaty”
llama painting by Conni Togel
A new Alpaca Painting in the making
Oh, and, of course we will offer these as prints on paper and as hand-embellished giclée eproductions on canvas soon!
Keep an eye on my website: Charisma Art Gallery Website
We made it to our first show in 2016 in Dunedin Florida – our trailer had been stolen, broken into, everything dumped in the woods, and much of it destroyed, right before Christmas.
Nonetheless: Christmas was awesome, and it gave us at least a few days to be with family.
And, fortunately I have insurance that will hopefully cover most of the lost art and the damage to my show setup and other artwork.
So with beautiful weather under palm trees, life is still good.
Even with some rain and some flooding this afternoon, we still ate happy to have made it down here, even if the panels are crooked, the frames scratched, and some of the sheep a bit muddy – they still have the capacity to make people smile.
Which is nice.
The Year after “The Year of the Sheep”
Even though the Year of the Sheep is over, every year needs sheep – especially if they make you smile…which is why I have more Sheep Incognito than ever on my website, for you to add to your life, your friends’ lives, your enemies lives, and random places and people…in a world that is increasingly becoming volatile, and dark, the Sheep Incognito add light-heartedness, kindness, happy thoughts, and innocent moments back to the world.
Join my efforts in making the world a better place!
Limited Edition Sheep Incognito 2016 Calendars Are Running Out!
Make sure you grab one by clicking this link, before we run out of them – we will not be reprinting these, so if you still need a calendar with sheep smiles for 2016, snag one now From the Sheep Incognito Online Shop
HAPPY NEW YEAR AHEAD!
The year has already shown itself to be going in a good direction – a few days off between shows, is always a very good thing, seeing that I am usually on the road more than I am at home.
We took several weeks off to be home with family, celebrate Christmas, hang out in PJ’s at home, and just not do much of anything.
Christmas was fun, filled with laughter, good people, marvelous cookies, food, hot chocolate, and I think I might be fluffier than any of my sheep ever are, now.
New Year’s Eve was more of a “Retirement Home Excitement” evening – just hanging out, not doing much of anything, except watching movies with my daughters. Just the right speed after the hectic of the Fall show season…
Then, of course, there was the issue of our trailer going missing from the driveway, and being found in the woods about half an hour away, with all the artwork, panels, prints, and originals being tossed about rather roughly. And, our backup inventory of prints, some tools, and some parts from the trailer gone missing. Fortunately, we are working with a fantastic Insurance company to help us recoup and regroup, hopefully in time for the big show frenzy of Spring arriving.
On the upside of that: the thieves were apparently dumb enough to leave the original paintings on the panels, and to actually steal signed prints, that are very much identify-able. If you see anything pop up in your neck of the woods, or online, by all means, please let me know.
I would post pictures, but something here isn’t working – technical issues are persisting, and, quite frankly, my life is too short to spend hours on trying to sort all that out…I’d rather be painting and re-creating what was damaged in that event.
Not being technically savvy is problematic – but, I do have enough skills to add new discount coupons! And, I love supplying the world with sheepish smiles and happy thoughts!
So to help your year start off with smiles as well, here is a coupon code you can use on my website to “fluffify” your world for the new year:
Enter code “FLUFFY” on the cart at checkout at the Sheep Incognito website to get 15% off your entire purchase!
If you run into any kind of trouble – please drop me a line at the studio through the webform on my website…it’s the only way to ensure that I actually get the mail.
So here’s to a year
Filled with fun – do something silly that makes you giggle, every day.
Filled with peace – don’t sweat the small stuff, and forgive stupidity.
Filled with happiness – focus on good memories. good people. good things. good people.
And, filled with just a touch of sheepish outlook on life: sleep alot. eat as much as you need. hang out with peaceful friends. Bounce when happy. Burp so you don’t explode. Look beautiful in a sunset. Be wary of weird things. Explore new pastures. Eat lots of healthy greens. And most of all: make someone else smile. It’ s what makes everybody’s world better!
As a professional artist, it is easy to fall into a rut – where the familiar is easifly found, the usual processes make things simple, and re-hashing subjects saves time.
Guilty as charged. Of all of that.
But, because the creative, slightly whacky artistic part of the brain demands to be fed, there is also the “I Double-Dog-Dare You” of the mind, to slip out of the comfort zone into something a little more unccomfortable – the Zone of the Unknown.
New techniques.
New subject matter.
New ideas.
New Production methods.
Perhaps a new location. Anything to change the stagnant one way roads on the mind-map into a new, interesting tapestry of interestiing things to explore.
And so I diverted from the Sheep Incognito path for a few moments – not burning bridges behind me, but rather a step off of the well-worn path into a small patch of forest I have not explored yet: the hugely diverse, and not yet familiar field of digital painting. Something I’ve been wanting to try for years, but had not yet had the chance to play with.
Armed with a huge list of questions, I approached some good artist friends, to ask a hole in their tummies about best software? Best hardware? Best computer? And, most important: will I be able to keep my work recognizeable, even with a different media and technique, possibly with new subject matter, as well?
Being blessed with good people to know, is – in fact – as they say, a blessing. I learned more in a five-minute conversation with them, than I would have been able to find in a library in weeks… so, thank ewe, dear friendly Friends (ewe know who ewe are, cawcawww) – for inspiration, support, and confidence-building. This is a step into the unknown – so here goes…
After a few initial mis-starts, I just finished my first full-fledged digital painting. I did use reference photos, simply because there is no reason to do things a difficult way, if the easy way works better.
The Sheep Incognito Original Oil Painting “Hanging By A Thread” now Discounted!
Click here to snag the best deal of the year on one of my Sheep Incognito original oil paintings:
https://www.charisma-art.com/hanging-by-a-thread-original-painting
Hanging By A Thread
As always, I can do a layaway for this original Sheep Incognito oil painting – 25% down, the rest in equal installments over 6-9 months…
Perfect for the fiber artist in your home, your yarn shop, or your museum collection of fine art – all those places need smiles!
The Sheep Incognito Original Oil Painting “Hanging By A Thread” now Discounted!
Click here to snag the best deal of the year on one of my Sheep Incognito original oil paintings:
https://www.charisma-art.com/hanging-by-a-thread-original-painting
Hanging By A Thread
A NEW SHEEP INCOGNITO HAS ARRIVED!
Dancing with the Stars
DANCING WITH THE STARS – Original Oil Painting by Conni Tögel
A new Sheep Incognito has joined the fold:
TITLE: Dancing with the Stars
SIZE: 9″ x 12″
MEDIA: oils on canvas
PRICE: $425 +tax +shipping