The hard to find male Scarlet Tanagers are among the most beautiful birds in the eastern forest. They have rich red bodies and black wings. This is a mixed media artwork on canvas with texture. 8×10″

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scarlet tanager art

songbird art

red bird art

While I still have not found time to learn the camera or even adjust the settings (this Sunday for sure!), I am taking the advice of many of you and shooting everything I see!  While on the way to work, I passed by the site of my Amateur Mistake and decided to try again.

One more thing … I’m attending a meeting at the Boars Head in Charlottesville, VA.  This next photo is a a completely unedited photo of the sunrise on the ice of the pond.

Practice, Practice, Practice

“My Cup Runneth Over” is a quotation from the Hebrew Bible^[1] (Psalm 23:5) and means “I have more than enough for my needs”.  As I spent a good part of this week painting a bathroom instead of canvas, this sentiment could not have been more true.  My husband and I worked the remodel project ourselves and it gave us a lot of time to talk.  William spent a few year living in Southeast Asia on a small island in Indonesia.  Modern plumbing was scarce and the average American potty would seem like opulent luxury to those poor people.  I am thankful for all that I have including indoor plumbing.  We have two rest rooms…..more than enough for our needs…..indeed.  My cup runneth over…..

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/bird-talk-bird-of-paradise-by-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html

There is no shortage of strange and fascinating flora and fauna in Florida.  Luckily we grow more than mold. 😉  I’ve always been attracted to The Bird Of Paradise flower.  The leaves and are boring and a dull green, but when they flower it is an explosion of color!

As I continue my photographic learning journey, I am delighted with the choices I now have.  I can choose to list a pure photograph or I can process the imaged to create a unique work of art. Either way it is a joy to create!

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/inner-strength-abstract-painting-by-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html

If you are an artist or photographer who has a dream of making a career out of your craft, you will need three things:  practice, promotion and patience.  And you will need them exactly in that order.

Practice means that you will be painting a lot of paintings.  Many will be thrown right in the trash because they just didn’t work out.  Photographers will be taking many photos in a single shoot only to find that none of them work or if you are lucky one is good enough to list for sale.  You will try new things that will either be total flops or lead you to something really cool and interesting.  You will invest money that seemingly never pays off.  These days I sell about 5 prints a day on average from the various POD sites I am on and about 2 originals per week. The majority…

A Slam Dunk!!

This year you’ve got this……bag the traditionally hyped up gifts or if you must, make them REALLY SPECIAL.  It’s time to think outside of the box. Consider a beautiful piece of artwork that will show your love and affection!  It will last a LIFETIME!  Every time your love looks at the piece hanging on their wall or sitting on their desk they will swell up with a warm feeling.  Seriously….you will blow them away!

http://fineartamerica.com/weeklypromotion.html?promotionid=136728

Wanna pump it up a notch and SCORE major points? Sure you do!  Write a love note on the back of the gorgeous print you just bought them.  Perhaps a Neruda poem (look it up….they will melt!)?

Planning on proposing or giving jewelry?  Why be ordinary?  Tape the engagement ring to he back of the romantic print!! Imagine that…..a beautiful ring and a piece of artwork to mark the occasion…

Bryce Canyon Utah views of this incredible canyon. Image number 505.  Bryce Canyon National Park is located in southwestern Utah, USA.  The major feature of the park is Bryce Canyon, which is not a canyon but a collection of giant natural amphitheaters along the eastern side of the Paunsaugunt Plateau.  ( Prints for sale on line –  Bryce Canyon Utah Views 505 )

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/ethereal-orchid-by-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html

I found this beauty at Selby Gardens in Sarasota Florida.  It’s just a phalaenopsis of the more common variety.  But once I got the photo home and did a little magic, I was able to create a ghostly almost ethereal effect.  

A busy day here…..I am going to do another show in March!  But I will keep new work coming when I can. 🙂

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/blue-dragonfly-by-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html

I have really been branching out lately into new techniques and media.  I do not know if it is peri-menopause, the rotation of the sun or just a new mindset, but I am feeling so much happier about myself and my work.  I am finding myself a lot less critical and more open to the process of creativity.  “Making a sale” is taking a back seat to “making a moment”.  Yes….I am spreading my wings and it feels so good!

In his series ‘The Real Toy Story’ photographer Michael Wolf captures the truth behind made in China stickers. The series exposes the viewer to row after row of anonymous faces, but it’s effective enough just to see that there are actual people behind the knickknacks rather than a succession of robotic machines. Interspersed within the wide shots of the factory are intimate portraits of laborers, giving even more of a human feel to the series. Though Wolf’s project is, at times, depressing, especially when you think about all the hard work these people put into their livelihood everyday without much acknowledgement, it is also eye-opening and insightful. It is through the photographer’s journalistic eye and his decision to share their faces and work environment that they are finally given some much deserved recognition. (text by my modern met)