Rebecca Nipper

There was an article in the Tampa Bay Edition of the Examiner, by Sarah Dees, that featured all of the artists who participated in last month's Art on the Bay live painting event in St Pete.   They have pictures and contact information on all of the attending and participating artists. Check out this two part article here.

Part One

Part Two

I am listed in the slideshow for part two.

Here is the pic that they included in the write up.

All of us artist folks are a little bit gypsy.  Especially if you do the Ren Faires and such. I have been thinking of getting a little pop up camper to make doing fairs that are a little further away possible.  But now I am coming up with a plan to embrace my inner Gypsy.  I want to build a Vardo.  One that could double as my merchant booth while vending at festivals if the theme is appropriate. 

Will I even really finish this project who knows.  Right now it is just and thought.   I am in the initial planning stages.  Trying to come up with a design and floor plan that meets my needs.  And trying to do so in a way that is tow-able by my car.  I have lots of ideas but there will be a lot more research involved before I commit to any kind of major undertaking. 

My biggest question at this point is how do you register such a vessel with the DMV.  "Um excuse me sir I would like a tag for my Gypsy Wagon"  I can see that going over as well as the time I went to the post office ship a bunch of packages from my Etsy sales wearing a shirt that says "HAZARDOUS MATERIALS" right across the front.

I now have my two paintings ready to go for this weekends Art On Central Live painting event.  One is a Steampunk Faerie, and the other is a flower faerie or garden pixie.  I can't wait to start painting them.  The last week or so I have had very little if any time to paint and am greatly missing it.  I hope to do a few small 5x7 or 8x10 paintings before Saturday just to get the rust out. 

But I have spent quite a bit of time working on new products for everyone.  My pocket mirrors and buttons have came in and they look fabulous.  I am almost worried that I did not order enough mirrors.  I ordered 50 to start with and took some samples into the office which were quickly snagged.  I honestly did not anticipate the popularity.  I have also been hard at work getting necklaces together.  I have opted for a 2x1 inch microscope slide style pendant that allows me to place the cropped images with in the pendant such that it is double sided.  After all the cropping, cutting and careful placing of the miniature prints I must say that these pendants are some of my favorites out of all the jewelry that I have made. 

There is an article in today's Tampa Bay edition of the Examiner.com about Art On Central's live painting event.  You can check it out here.  They listed the names of all of the participating artists.  Including mine as well as several friends who will be there.  This event is not just limited to painting there will also be artists doing sculpture demonstrations and creating other forms of art.  I can't wait!!!

Also I have finally decided to give twitter a try as it pertains to my art.  I am not one for really posting random stuff about what I had for breakfast.  But am always looking for ways to keep better connected to the art community. You can follow me on Twitter here. Next up will hopefully be updates to my Zazzle store and Etsy.  I will share that information with you as it becomes available.

This weekend is Sketchfest and sadly I do not think I will have time to participate in it this go around to all of my Sketchfest buddies I am with you in spirit.  As far as this month's EVP theme "Star Dancer"  I am way behind.  I have only gotten as far as a few notes and scribbles.  I guess the muse is taking her time on that one. 

This has been a busy month and a slow month.  December started off in full force.  I attended Winterfest at Winthorp and felt that this event was successful for both my art and jewelry.  I am confirmed that I will be attending Florida Faerie Festival in March and am excited about this opportunity.  Currently I am on the waiting list for Metrocon.  I hold out hope that I will be able to participate in this event.   I have a short list for other events that I plan on applying for as the applications become available.   I am overjoyed with how many people have bought prints from me this season to give as gifts.  My Zazzle store is up and running and I have added shipping to Australia by request for my Etsy Store.  Also I sold my original painting Calla Frog!!  The beginning of this month I delivered her to her new owner.

Luckily I was able to finish all of the gifts that I was making for Christmas early.  I do as little a possible shopping and try to make as much as I can.  It is part of what makes the holidays special to me.  The second week of December I got knocked down with a really bad cold that has landed itself in my chest and given me a really bad persistent cough for the last 2 weeks.  This has been totally wrecking my productivity.  So I haven't painted, save a few ATC for the "Snow" swap for a group  I joined.  I haven't started even sketching for this month's Enchanted  Visions project.  Even though I know exactly what I want to paint.   This cold has left me so that I can't focus well and I tend to get tired and cough a lot if I attempt to do to much so right now I am just hoping that I will be up to speed to be able to prepare all of the goodies that I have committed to for Christmas Eve and my parent's house and Christmas day dinner at ours.

I hope to have some new content after the first of the year.  I have a lot of great idea's I just need to schedule to time to put them in motion.   But for right now I think I am going to make some hot tea.

I am so behind.  Usually I have everything together that I plan of doing for holiday gifts already complete and set aside for wrapping.  To be honest I haven't even begun.  So today in between laundry, running a few errands and painting.  I started a Christmas/Yule list.  Since I like to make as much as possible for my family and friends to be this far behind is quite unnerving.

This year since there has been a lot of changes in my family. I decided to keep things simple.  I know that my mom wants things that are mostly consumable since her house is going though some growing pains and more stuff is just not realistic when the house is overflowing.  The more that I think about it the more I realize that there is very little I need or want this year, so my husband and I plan on spending some money on the house.  I have some little goodies for my niece and things that I know that she will need.  I am gifting one of my originals to my mom because I know that it is her favorite.  As soon as I finished framing it I knew that it was meant to be hers.   I ordered some of the mugs from my Zazzle Store . They are really pretty and I was very impressed.  I plan on making some gift baskets with a mug, some teas, coffee and chocolates for those around me.  I am also working on a small painting that will be a gift for a friend.  I also am planning on making some things special for all of my friends with little kids.  But I am not going to tell you because I know that some of you are probably going to read this.

I will be putting in applications to the Florida Faerie Festival and Mega Con.  Once I know for certain I will post events that I will be attending in the New Year.  I have a few new paintings that I will be posting shortly.  I also am planning a large Florida Wildlife scene that I hope to start painting in the next few weeks.   As well as a series of flower faeries. 

I have just figured out the other day what I need to do for Thanksgiving dinner.  Just need to get the recipe from my mom My day job has been kicking my butt lately so I have been stress painting.  Last weekend I hid in the art room and painted all weekend, finishing two paintings. I call it stress painting.  I need it, and when I am in that zone the world no longer matters for a while.  My boss told me that I wasn't allowed to get so good with my art that I didn't need a real job any more.  So I guess as stressed out and behind as I feel at work I can't be screwing things up too bad.

Well that is about it for now.  I will show you guys some of the new stuff soon.  Can't show you the Christmas stuff yet that will have to remain a surprise. Hehehe:) 

I have been having tons of fun creating new art and new ways to offer my artwork.  I decided to Open a Zazzle Store.  Now you can get a selection of my paintings on coffee mugs, paintings, tote bags, mouse pads and more.  I will add to the selection as I learn more about cropping and editing my artwork for use in this manner.  I just placed an order for some of the coffee mugs.  I can't wait to see how they turn out.  You can check out my Zazzle store here. Let me know what you think.  http://www.zazzle.com/bejeweledfaerie*  Also if there is some thing that you want me to create send me a line and I will see what I can come up with.

Now the other thing that I have been playing with is bookmarks.  These I have been making myself.  Really I have been having too much fun.  To bad the day job has to get in the way of it all. In addition to excerpts of my paintings I have been working on a few book mark sized paintings.  These I will make reproductions of but I also plan to offer the original painting as a book mark as well. 

This weekend on Sunday I will be at the Italian Heritage Festival at the Tampa Bay Golf and Country Club, in San Antiono, FL.  This is a new event for me and I am excited about the opportunity.  I also have a few events in the works for December and will post them as I know more.   

This is always a busy time of year for me. I love going to all of the art and craft shows that are open this time of year. Both as a vendor and as a visitor.  I enjoy finding and creating special one of a kind items to give my loved ones as gifts.  I feel that finding some thing that is as unique and special as the person for which you buy it for brings a special magic to the holidays.

I know for many it is a little early to start thinking about Christmas shopping and what to get everyone.  Being someone who enjoys making the majority of my Christmas gifts every year I usually starting thinking about it and making a mental list in January.  By July I am making a serious list and am beginning to gather supplies and start creating.  By October I am in full swing.  This year I am back to doing a few fall craft shows something that I have taken a break from the past few years.   So to me it is not early. 

As you are starting to make your holiday lists I encourage you to buy handmade this holiday season.   Look online at the many talented people offering their wares for sale.  Skip the Mall.  Check out some local art and craft fairs or weekend open air markets that are in your area.  Get out and talk to the artist who are vending at these venues.  It is a great way to really see the quality of the work that artists make their passion.  A lot of work goes into participating in these events and it is nice to see and talk to people who appreciate that effort.  If you are in the Tampa Bay area check out my Event's page to see were I will be. There are lots of vendors at these events and I am always pleased with all the great people that I meet.

So as fall sets in and you are staring to think about your holiday shopping remember that there are other options out there.  Skip the Mall and buy handmade.  You are guaranteed to find wonderful and unique gifts that are truly special and will be cherished for years to come.

Check out my links page to link to my talents friends also click on the icon below to find others who have taken the handmade pledge.  

This weekend was quite busy.  Friday I did a few things for EMG Sketchfest.   Since I had a bust weekend I was only able to devote a few hours to it Friday evening.  But I got three prompts done and one of them was part of my September Enchanted Visions painting Adrift. 

Saturday I spent out and about St Pete with friends, and the Tampa Bay Photography Group.  I got a ton of really great pictures at Sunken Gardens and around town.  A few of them were used as reference in this Adrift Painting. 

I went to bed Saturday still wondering how I was going to draw the second figure for Adrift.  I woke up Sunday thinking I would have Thor take some pics of me to used as reference.  I look on Deviantart and one of the people who is on my watch list added some new stock.  I was so excited because the poses were perfect.  It was as if he did them just for me.  The rest of Sunday was errands and house work.  I made three lasagna dishes.  One for the freezer, one to pop in the oven after work tomorrow, and I still had some left so I made the third and gave it to a friend.  We did our shopping and I got a new bedspread, Laundry is almost done.  I am very please that I did however manage to sit down and pound out the rest of the sketch for Adrift.  I love the way it is laid out and I am sure that this is going to be one of my most exciting paintings yet.  I can hardly wait to get started painting it. 

Alas the night is here and it is time to settle in and get ready to go back to the real world tomorrow.  I like my day job and am thankful for it.  But I wish the weekends didn't seem to evaporate so quickly and I had more time to follow my whims.  So I leave you now with two of my Sketches from this months Sketch Fest.  This first is form the prompt  "Gone Fishing" and the second is "Self Portrait as you see your self".  Followed by a small sampling of some of my favorite photos taken at Sunken Gardens. 

Enjoy!

I was browsing around Etsy and felt like making a new Treasury of Items that have attracted my attention.  This one is all flowers that you can wear and accessorize with that are under $20.  Have fun and enjoy.

http://www.etsy.com/treasury/4c703d0a28256d91f21c0047/adorn-yourself-in-flowers-for-under-20?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=Treasury&utm_campaign=Share

Well Thursday my printer bit it.  I had a paper jam when trying to make a sympathy card for a co-worker. I clean out the paper jam and get plastic parts with the paper.  The thing that really had be miffed is that I could see what was broken, I could see how to fix it.  A small plastic part for the paper feed got knocked out of it spot I just had to snap it back in.  But thanks to our disposable society and HP's sturdy can't take it apart engineering.  There was no way for me to fix it.  So my trusty HP Photosmart 8250 will be going to the electronics recycling collection on Monday.  I guess I am just lucky that work is organizing on right now.

So Saturday we set out looking for a printer.  I did a lot of online research and I knew what I wanted  and how much I could spend. So after much driving around and comparison shopping I decided on an HP Officejet 8000. It got good reviews and everything and people said it has "Printshop Quality" color images.  Well that didn't last too long.  The image quality was terrible.  There were lines down the page as if the print heads needed replacing and you could see all the little ink dots.  HP usually makes a good printer and given the reviews I guess I just got a lemon.  We got it all packed up and I looked around online since there was nothing else that I had seen in the store that met my needs.

Late last night as I looked all over the I found the HP Photosmart B8500.  I have had a lot of luck with the Photosmart series in the past.  Online from HP and Staples it was about $170 more than I paid for the Officejet.  But it had all the feature I needed and some that were just really cool to have.  Well when I went to return the officejet the guy at Staples looked up the Photosmart B8500 and there were some in stock there at the store.  Hot Dog I don't have to order it and wonder about who is going to be home to receive it.   The guys said that they don't have them on the floor any more since they are no longer going to carry them in the store.  Well we get to the checkout and the difference came out to be $39.  This one works great and I am happy with the images.  Plus I can print up to 13x19 inches.  Which I probably wont do too often but it is nice to have that capability.  And it still fits in the cubby that the old printer was in so I don't have to figure out where to keep it.

On the art front.  I found out that I will be attending Necronomicon this year.  It has been a few years since I have last been to the Con.  In the past I have operated a table in the Dealers Room.  This year I have elected to participate in the Art Show.  I hope to display 3 or 4 original paintings as well a selection of my jewelry favorites.  Since I have been out of the show circuit for so long I am excited to be returning.  I look at this as a opportunity to interact with other artists. I hope that by showing some of my art I can get some feedback that will help me to strengthen my artwork and learn some new skills.

So now it is Sunday afternoon and I am wondering what happened to my weekend.  I don't feel like I got any of the normal weekend stuff accomplished.  I did get a chance to start a yet to be titled painting.  I am pleased so far how it is turning out, and I look forward to using a new type of paint in it.  I recently found some gold and silver metallic watercolor paints by Holbein.  I did a small practice painting with them just to see how they would react with the other paints and what effects they would produce, very simple painting but the subtle results I got with the metallic paints are very exciting.   I anticipate that these will become a fast favorite in my fairy and fantasy palette.