Our weather last month has been a challenge to those of us who are desiring to get to the outside to paint. One lovely sunny day and here I go, right out into my own backyard. I’ll paint for a couple of hours practicing using my paints to capture shading and light points in my painting techniques. For me, I enjoy just being outside. Unfortunately, those days have been few and far between. Today started out with puffy white clouds and bright Carolina blue skies. Two hours later, it is now all a muddle of cool greys and there’s the smell of rain coming in again. The last couple of weeks have been about the same way. The sun peeks out, but the cold breezes, make for nothing but a chilly cold day. For me, the good thing about March is that the month following it is April.
Ah, April, a month that brings to mind fuzzy little bunnies, flowers popping up from the ground, birds singing and new life pushing out to claim its place in this new year. Trees are sprouting forth a green covering of leaves that will provide shade to all the forest critters when Summer comes in with all guns blazing. For those of us chasing Spring’s beauty, we will be right out there with cameras and canvas, paints and pencils, driving through the country looking for the perfect places that scream beauty at us. Of course time is the enemy here for as the earth turns it moves shadows and light so that what you saw at early morning can look quite different by late afternoon. Plein Air painters spend many hours learning what needs to be captured first so that they can hold that special moment they see and get it nailed down to their canvas. Those of us who are occasional outdoors painters will find the way our scene changes to be something that can be confusing. It’s all part of the learning curve that we will go through as we start to spend more time painting out of our studios and in the open air.
A couple of weeks ago, Carter Works Art’s first series of business cards were finished. These lovely cards feature my Desert Evening painting scene on one side and the Rising Sun on the front. I have been making sure that our customers are getting our cards, along with extras to pass along to their friends. Jeff Pearce, with Raleigh Stamp and Seal, did a great job of capturing the essence of my paintings onto the business cards. We expect to have the second series done soon. It has the Mountain with Waterfall on one side and Evening by the Riverbank on the front. I must take a moment to again thank Raleigh Stamp and Seal for how they have taken care of not only our business cards, but also the signature stamp and other stamps that we are using. If you do have a need for any of their services, I know that you will find yourself pleased with the level of expertise and care that you will receive at Raleigh Stamp and Seal.
We will be posting some new paintings and photographs within the next month. Some of the items that are currently being offered will be removed from our website. These items will no longer be available from Carter Works Art. We do have an upcoming line of our Fantasy Faces pins coming in early Summer. We also will be offering some other jewelry items. Nothing like having something to wear that you can be sure you are not going to see on the person standing beside you. Please do remember to check out Mark’s knotting creations. He’s had requests for team colored items and camo colors are always popular. As with any new business, we are still exploring what items appeal to our customers. It always helps us to have customer feedback so that we can remain open to adapting some of our artistic offerings in forms and styles that may be of interest. As an added treat for our customers who order from us this month, we are offering an extra 20% off on any of our handpainted ceramic items. Just email us for the CODE and we will send it to you to use so that you can apply your discount to your order.
So, as I look outside at the grey skies and hidden sun’s rays, let me leave you with a cheery thought. Spring is on it’s way and we are moving towards it with the passing of each blustery March day. Here’s hoping that we get a great warm day complete with puffy clouds and sunshine making the colors around us dance.
Happy Painting!
Dianna and Mark Carter