Intermission

Since I have been doing such a great job NOT painting, I thought I would embrace it and enjoy the summer. My son has exactly only 1 month left of summer and then he will be back to school and I will be heading back into the studio.

I have enrolled in a few online classes this summer. The one I am in right now is Sketchbook Skool’s Seeing course. So far it has been great and I’ll be posting my assignments on Flickr and Instagram. I’ll share those links with you once I get something posted.

My Etsy shop is still open and don’t forget to check out my deals on Ebay.

Last week my kids and I headed out on a photo shoot. I have been wanting to paint some landscapes, so we drove out into the country to get inspired. The photo above is from that trip.

Have a great summer! See you soon!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to you and your family!

No Painting Today...Just Planning

Yeah! I'm going to be teaching art for one of the local elementary school art clubs!

I'm really excited about this, because deep down I have always wanted to be an art teacher. Especially an elementary art teacher.  I'm also scared out of my wits! I hope my kids enjoy the projects I'm coming up with. I hope they aren't too advanced or too childish. I'm sure I'll be learning a lot too!

Well, back to my paperwork...

Remembering Grandma...

My Grandma, Eula Marie (Porter) Hingst, passed away January 4. She was 88 and as I was thinking about her all week I realized she really lead a great life. So, I'm trying not to be too sad.

Here are a few things I thought I'd share about her:

she was the absolute best grandmother 

she always wanted to see her grandchildren 

she always had time for us 

she had a huge garden and would work in it in her high heels 

she had lots of shoes...all styles and colors 

she was a 5th and 6th grade teacher

during the school year she always had her hair "set",
but in the summer she would get it cut short so it was easy to take care of 

she traveled to Europe, Ireland, Hong Kong 

i got to go with her to Europe! 

she cared...a lot

I miss her very much and I want to be just like her someday when I'm a grandmother!

For Zoe

Zoe getting comfortable at the dining room table among all our projects.

Last week I took my best four-legged, hairy, friend, Zoe, to the vet for a check-up. It was time for her yearly exam and I had a few concerns to talk to the veterinarian about. Mainly she had a lump on her belly. The vet felt the lump on her belly and right away said THAT HAS GOT TO GO!

My heart almost stopped.

She basically had a lump in her breast and as it turns out, it was a pretty good size.

So, I scheduled her to have it removed. She went in yesterday and I heard that everything went well. They actually removed 2 lumps and she has a long incision. I get to pick her up at 3:45 this afternoon and I can't wait to have her back home!

I just want to say, make sure you have your female puppy spayed before her first heat. I did not do this for Zoe. If you don't do this before her first heat she has a much greater chance in getting mammary cancer.

So, now I'm really trying to get some paintings sold. I'm having a 35% off sale in my painted chic! etsy shop. Just use the coupon code FORZOE at check-out. Sale starts today and will end at the end at midnight November 29.

I am slowly adding new painting to the shop, so if you see something on my blog that you don't see in my shop, just send me an email or convo me on Etsy and I will get it added for you.

Hopefully I can help you with some of your holiday shopping and you can help me pay my veterinarian bill. :)

Thanks for stopping by!

Look What Just Arrived!

WOW! I'm way too excited about this.
It's Fashion Sketchbook by Bina Abling. Just look at how thick it is!


Can't wait to get started!

First Stop...Times Square

On Sunday, October 23, we checked out Times Square.

On the Subway

For many New Yorker's the subway is a way of life, for us it was a novelty! We stayed at the Extended Stay America in Whitestone, Queens, New York. So, every morning we caught the q20a bus and headed to the Flushing/Main St. subway station and took the No. 7 train into the city.When we got really good at this we took the No. 7 EXPRESS!

Most locals use their subway time to nap, listen to their MP3 players, make phone calls, read, etc. As you can see I had to take it all in!

You definitely want to avoid rush hour if you can. People crowd on until they are stuffed in and at each stop more and more people get on. On our last day we got on the train at a rush time and I started panicking that Gabriel was suffocating. And made it vocally know. Totally embarrassed my husband. I didn't care.

I would also suggest you have a plan if someone gets left behind. Once my husband got on a train at the last minute, Gabriel and Hattie followed right behind, but I got left behind. They got off at the next stop and I took the next train and met them there. Whew!!

Really, the creative minds at Sesame Street knew what they were talking about.

New York City or Bust!

Last week we took a family vacation to New York City!

I have always, ALWAYS, A L W A Y S wanted to visit New York and actually, I have always wanted to LIVE there. Starting Monday, I'll be sharing with you the sights that we visited and some funny things that happened along the way.

Lincoln Arts Festival

It was a great weekend for a festival!

First of all, I want to thank all the wonderful patrons who came out to visit. I loved meeting and chatting with each and every one of you! It was also absolutely wonderful meeting and chatting with other artists. Something that I really need to do a lot more of, instead of staying in my studio totally focused on working! I received so many nice complements.

Some patrons could see my love for Wayne Thiebaud in my work. Someone said my work reminded them of Carol Marine's work. Which totally bowled me over. I'm such a fan!

When I got in the car all I could say..."Now what?" Which is what I'm thinking right now...now what! We'll see...

I'll probably be taking a few more days off from painting. My studio is a total mess along with the house. The laundry needs to be done, etc!

See you in a few days!!

Back to Festival Prep

It's happening this weekend you guys! The art festival...my first EVER!!

1. Painting inventory - I have just tons of paintings! For the art festival I'm concentrating on my oil paintings. I have to decide which I will hang with a frame and which will not be framed. I have 79 oil paintings and 28 acrylic to show at the art festival!
2. Add hangers to the backs of paintings - This is for the non-framed paintings. I hope to give you a little tutorial on this soon!
3. Record information - I like to record information on the back of each painting...and I'm a bit behind at the moment!!
4. Website design - finally! I had a good thing going over on heatherhingst.com, but it felt weird to not include my whole name. I used to use just Heather Bennett, but do you know how many "Heather Bennett's" there are? A lot. So, soon you can visit heatherhingstbennett.com! I didn't get as far on this as I had hoped.
5. Facebook Fan Page - I've been putting this off for a few years now. I just don't know what to call it. Heather Hingst Bennett Fine Art, Heather Hingst Bennett Studio, etc...what? Suggestions are welcome!! Doing this after the festival!
6. Epson Stylus Photo R1900 - Order ink and paper to make prints. 
7. Props for festival tent.
8. Prints
9. Artist statement handout.

New!!

New painting tomorrow! I'm really excited to start painting again!

Today we visited my husbands parents. My mother-in-law has a huge garden and we brought home some fresh tomatoes, peppers, and sunflowers.They just might turn up in a painting tomorrow!

The picture above is their barn. Love it! I've been wanting to paint that too.

End of Summer Break

Well, I've been taking a little break haven't I? It really wasn't planned, but it felt so good to just enjoy the last bit of summer. My son returns to school on Tuesday of this week and I'll start my painting up again. I just want to thank those that stop by my blog. I have some fun stuff lined up that you won't want to miss!!

i'll see you july 6!

I'm going to take a blog break, but I'll be back on July 6th with a new painting to share with you.

For those in the U.S., have a happy and safe 4th of July!!

If you're in the area stop by and see me in Seward on the 4th!!

welcome to Heather's Art-O-Rama!

I've been busy getting all my art together for 4th of July Crafts on the Square in Seward, Nebraska. Seward is just crazy on the 4th! And the square that surrounds the court house is just packed with vendors and shoppers.

If you're in the area, stop by!

definately a monday

I painted this morning and really didn't like what I came up with. I thought it would grow on me, so I went out to run some errands, made dinner and went back to check on it. I still didn't like it. So, it's back to the drawing board for me.

expecting a new family member

My son has talked us into getting a hamster. Today my job was to get this little home ready to go. It was pretty easy to put together. I only had to get help from my husband when it came to the spiral slide. Can't wait to see a little "hammie" enjoy this space.

I wonder what this family member will think! :)

little paintings all in a row

Just an idea of how a bunch of 6"x6" paintings would look displayed. Of course, you would definitely make sure to hang them straight. I just hung these really quick to see what it would look like and I LOVE IT! :)

If you want to hang canvas panels directly to your wall like this I would suggest using the 3M Picture Hanging Strips for a hassle free way to hang a group of small paintings in random sizes or one consistent size.

This is a corner of our living room. Since this room has been my studio for the past few years we haven't really decorated it yet. It has 2 love seats (like the one above), an unfinished coffee table and a dresser. Pretty BORING!

I'm planning to tackle this room very soon!

HAPPY 2011!!

 It's here already!

I have lots of new stuff planned for my blog this year. Some topics to look forward to are:

• The 40-something fashionista
• Do-it-yourself decorating
• The practice of painting daily

and more!

I'm sure you have some wonderful plans for the new year! What are they?

I am still working on a few goals and will share them with you soon!

I currently have my favorite daily paintings from 2010 on ebay with a buy one get one free deal. Bidding starts at $9.99 + $5 shipping anywhere! Take a peek! Thanks!

study :: the model

Here is the "model" for this week. I have a nice vintage hat collection that has been sitting in a box in our basement. I really love this hat. I wish it fit me because I would totally wear it!

I have been drawing this hat for a few hours a day since Thursday. Sometimes I concentrate just on one area, such as the bow. Everyday I have made a full drawing of the hat. Tomorrow I'm going to place it in it's still life setting, draw it some more and get ready to paint it.

I'm excited to see how my painting will turn out.