Fellow Artists, scam emails, online auction ripoffs

Fellow artists, beware of a scam that could hurt you. It is from someone wanting to purchase your art and since they have their own shipping company, they do not want the price to include shipping. If you get an email that mentions the above, run.

I got one like that (same wording) and I conversed with them. I was leery because of scammers, but maybe, just maybe, it could be a true buyer. I looked at the phone number which was UK, but the most recent person to look at my site was from, get this,
N I G E R I A, no one from the UK. But this person has to have gone to my site to see the names of my paintings, so why no UK? We got to the point of him wanting my information, and I just never answered him back, figuring if he was for real he'd pursue it further. Never heard from him again. So go back through your site stats and see who was looking just before they sent you the email. Bet it was Nigeria.

Just be careful if you see emails that are misworded, bad grammar, etc. Research them before you commit to anything like giving them your personal information so they 'can send a US check directly to your bank.' Yeah right.

Another thing is you need to go to the online auctions, there are many, and check out the artwork. Many cross stitchers who sell patterns are selling your paintings. Go through each one and see if your work is being stolen off the internet. You can get them kicked off the auction site if they are. Please report them, let's get them off the internet. They have no business stealing from us like that. Most will tell you that they didn't know. Yes, they knew, they just got caught and if you say, well just don't do it again, they WILL do it again. You can also make them pay a percentage of what they have already sold. Keep that in mind.

People, it is NOT OK to pull stuff off the internet unless you contact the artist and get permission in writing to use that image. It is a copyright infringement. Most artists will give you that permission, depending on what it will be used for. Please ask.

Also beware of those paintings sold by 'the original artist' from China. This is your art being ripped off. Buyer, please do not purchase these items, they are actually stolen artwork.

Le Cadeau du Cheval, The Horse Gift, Las Vegas!

The Horse Gift will be coming to the Cowboy Christmas show at the National Finals Rodeo in December. It will be displayed from December 4th to December 13th, 2008. I can't wait to see the mural in person!


AND.........On December 6th and 7th, William Shatner is scheduled to be at the display signing prints of the mural! His likeness is on one of the panels of the mural. It will be so great to meet him, have pics taken with him under the mural, and have him sign my personal copy!!!!!

If you are in Las Vegas during this time, be sure to stop by and see just how big the mural is!

Taking A Break

This is Taking A Break. A working cowboy is off his horse for a short break....., probably talking to friends, looking at stats, whatever a cowboy does on a break. Acrylics on hardboard, 11x14.

Purchase or inquiries can be made by contacting me at sues.art@gmail.com.

Calico Western Art Show, Calico Art Gallery

Just returned from a very successful weekend at Calico Ghost Town. During the venue, the promoters had an art show and my Panic was entered into Acrylics. It won! And it also won the People's Choice! I am so very excited. The awards are really great tile-on-wood plaques and will have a place of honor in my home.

The Calico Art Gallery also asked to be able to represent me in their gallery and have taken 5 paintings and prints to display. The paintings they have are: Panic, Getting Ready, Desert Canaries, Naptime, and Reassurance. These can be seen on this page on my site.... http://www.sues-art.com/calico.html

I am also finishing up another 'Boots and Spurs' painting and a mustang wearily walking in a high wind. These will be finished and available in a few days.

Calico Ghost Town, Western Art Show

"Back Off", acrylic, 14x18.

"Looking", 8x8 Acrylic

"Tidbit" 6x7.5, acrylic.

If anyone is in the area, I will be at Calico Ghost Town, Yermo, California, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (Halloween weekend) selling my wares. I will have 10 original paintings and prints for sale. Come by and say Hi!

The above paintings are for sale on my site as well as the show in Calico.

Storm Horses: "Panic"

This is my newest painting, acrylic, 14x24 on Hardboard. Something has spooked the horses, ....the wind is blowing, the dust swirling....., and they are running for their lives. This painting is for sale on my site http://www.sues-art.com

This is number 2 in my Storm Horses series. The first one was finished and sold to a friend several years ago. I love horses running during a storm and will probably do more within this series.

New Painting, Western Series

This is my newest finished painting. It is called Dustbath, 11x14, acrylics on HardBoard. A mustang has decided he needs a bath to rid himself of the itchies.

Other paintings I am working on are Desert Burros, two wild burros in the Nevadan wilderness. Another on my easel is of burros again in the same barren landscape. How the real wild burros are able to eke out an existance is beyond me, they have my admiration.

Dustbath is available for sale now, original and prints, and the burro paintings will be available within a few days.

Le Cadeau du Cheval, The Horse Gift, unveiled!!

The Horse Gift Mural Mosaic was unveiled a few minutes ago (1 p.m.) at Spruce Meadows in Canada. This is a gorgeous mural that will be travelling all over Canada and the U.S. My panel is #188. Many thanks to Phil Alain, Lewis Lavoie, & Paul Lavoie for allowing me to be a part of this fantastic mural.

To see the mural in an interactive grid, please visit the mural mosaic site. There you can click on each individual panel to see it larger and to see the panel before it was painted by the artist. http://www.muralmosaic.com/Cadeau.html Remember, my panel is 188. ;>)

DeBeque Wild Horse Days

Just returned from Wild Horse Days. If you have never been there, it is quite the experience! A very small town, it is the only Wild Horse Sanctuary City in the United States. During the venue there is a parade (some of the horses are BLM wild horses), vendors, singers, atv poker runs, mud bog racing, dancing in the street at dusk, and of course, BLM wild horses on display. These are not just any wild horses, they have been tamed and were very comfortable around people. You need to watch them interacting with people, it is totally amazing. You would never know they had no contact with humans until about a year ago.

I did very well as a vendor, selling my Mule Ears Grand Canyon original painting, prints, and also got 3 commissions. It may be a very small town, but the people there have huge hearts and make everyone feel welcome.

If you have a vacation planned for next year, DeBeque, Colorado, Wild Horse Days should be one quaint stop on your trip. Maybe I will see you there!!

Wild Horse Days & The Horse Gift Unveiling

August 23rd I will be in DeBeque, Colorado, Wild Horse Days, as a vendor. If you are in the area on Saturday, please come by and say Hi!!! I have never been at this venue before but have heard nothing but wonderful things about it. This venue is a fundraiser to help the wild mustangs that are in the area. Please come by and enjoy the festivities that they will be providing. I will have original paintings, prints, and notecards for sale there and look forward to the nice weather and wonderful people.

The Horse Gift Mural Mosaic, Le Cadeau du Cheval, will be unveiled at Spruce Meadows on September 3rd! Only a few more weeks and we will see what the entire mural looks like. There is a teaser of the horse's face on the Spruce Meadows site.

8 Minutes of Peace, 08-08-08

Today the winners were announced for the 8 Minutes of Peace contest. The contest had 64 entries that were juried down to only 20 entries. My entry became one of the top 20 considered for the Grande Prize. Today I found out that mine was one of the runners-up. I am so excited! This is such an honour for me. If you wish to see what the contest was all about, the 64 original entries, the top 20, and the winners, please go to http://www.8minutesofpeace.com/

Early Autumn Hunger

Here is another installment in my Western Art Series. This is a mature bull elk feeling the hunger of autumn, calling for the ladies. Acrylic, 9x12, on Hardboard. If you wish to purchase this or any other painting, please email me. I have others on my site for sale too, feel free to browse. Prints will be available soon for almost all of my works.

http://www.sues-art.com/ * sues.art@gmail.com

Western Art Series, "Reassurance"

In keeping with my western art series, I have just finished "Reassurance," two mustangs grooming and reassuring each other during a potentially stressing time in the desert. This painting is 18x24, acrylic on hardboard and will be entered into competition in early August. If you wish to purchase this, or any of my paintings, please email me at sues.art@gmail.com.

Number one in my series is "Waiting His Turn", a roper is awaiting his turn in the team roping challenge. It can be seen further down in my blog.

8 Minutes of Peace painting accepted!

A few weeks ago I entered an art contest. The theme is 8 Minutes of Peace. Our paintings/artwork were to incorporate the theme into an 8x8" panel. There were 64 entries shown on the website and the top 20 are to be judged for the final winners. My painting made the top 20 and will be one of those in the running for a grand prize of $1000!!!

Please visit the 8 Minutes of Peace website and it will give you more info on the theme as well as show the top 20 paintings/artwork. http://www.8minutesofpeace.com

New Western art painting series ......

I have begun a new series with my art. It will encompass all aspects of Western art including rodeo action, relaxed shots, horses at leisure, even cows.

The first in my series is "Waiting His Turn," a team roper is watching the action and waiting his turn to go.

This is acrylic on HB, 11x14. If you wish to purchase this, please contact me at sues.art@gmail.com. You can see my other works at http://www.sues-art.com.

Thank you for visiting my blog!!

8 Minutes of Peace

This is my entry in the '8 Minutes of Peace' contest. Because of the World Olympics being held in Bejing on 08-08-08, it is being proposed that we pause for 8 minutes on the 8th day of each month at 8 p.m. in our own time zones to offer peace in some form to our neighbours.

My entry, I hope, represents that 8 minutes. The two halves of the world being seen at one time forming an 8 being supported by one man and one woman of different races indicating unity and peace.

For more about 8 Minutes of Peace, please check out their website. Sometimes it takes a bit to load if you are on dialup, but the message is worth hearing about. http://www.8minutesofpeace.com/

I hope you will find it in your heart to help your neighbours in some form at 8 p.m.

Finished!! The Horse Gift Mural Panel

I have finally completed my panel for Le Cadeau du Cheval. If you wish to see it, you will need to go to the mural site and look at it there. Just seeing it on a page is nothing compared to seeing it integrated with all the other growing number of panels. I can't wait to see it in its entirety. Keep clicking on the site to see the mural grow!! (put it in your favorites, or bookmark it, for future reference!!)

http://www.muralmosaic.com/Cadeau.html

The Horse Gift, almost done

This my latest installment and it will probably be the last WIP pic because I am to the final tweaking stages and the next pic will be the final one of the panel that I will submit.

This has been a fun ride, through all its 'OMG, I'll never get this right' to one of the head honchos for the mural telling me he loves it.

I would love to do it again. These murals give you freedom while having restraints. It pushes you beyond what you think you can do, but reels you in, making you conform. I feel so honored to be a part of this. This has been a learning experience and has enhanced my art considerably.

The mural grid is active, check it out. http://www.muralmosaic.com/Cadeau.html. My panel will be on there soon.

Mural Mosaic, my latest installment

Le Cadeau du Cheval, The Horse Gift Mural Mosaic...............


One more step closer to finish. Still lots to do but the generalities are now there. It is still a sketch at this point, color values will need to be addressed, etc. I think I will call it Foundation.

The Horse Gift is started, and Gus is finished!

Le Cadeau du Cheval, the Horse Gift: Here is my foal with his mama. It is just sketched in right now and a little will be done each day until I get it the way I want it. They have started to put finished panels on the mural site, so if you want to see it as it develops, go here http://www.muralmosaic.com/Cadeau.html

I was able to get my commission of Gus done in time for the buyer to unveil it to her parents for their anniversary. Gus is their baby, their 'fur'baby, and they love him to death. If you would like to see Gus done, click here http://www.sues-art.com/wip.html and scroll down.

Le Cadeau du Cheval, the Horse Gift

I got my panel! I am so excited. I can see horses in it that I could not see in the online pic of it. It looks like a herd, but then again I can see the foal laying there. Choices, choices!

The pic here is off the internet and is actually way too blue, in real life the panel is chestnut brown, gray and magenta.

I will let the panel sit across the room from my computer for a day or two before actually deciding on what to paint. I will post updates as I go along.

The Horse Gift Mural Mosaic

The mural I am a part of is called Le Cadeau du Cheval. It has been interpreted in English to be The Horse Gift. I think it should be given its direct translation of The Gift of the Horse. God gave us the Gift of the Horse, and this mural will be interpreted by over 200 artists to reflect what the horse has truly meant to us in history.

We were told that the panels are on their way to us right now and we have until July 1st to get them back to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. I already have something in mind for my panel and can't wait to see the true canvas to see if my interpretation will coincide with the colors painted on it.

Keep watch here for updates.

The Horse Gift Mural Mosaic

The Horse Gift is a mural made up of 240 panels, each individually interpreted by a very diverse group of equine artists. http://www.muralmosaic.com/Cadeau.html

I am proud to be a member of this project! We have just been given the chance to pick 3 panels to paint, only one of which will be sent to us. So even though we saw and chose, we will not know which panel until we receive it.

Here are the 3 panels I chose: http://www.sues-art.com/horsegift.html I wonder which one I will get for my painting?

Yay! My membership just came through!

I am now a member of an elite group of equine artists. This is a very exciting time for me...., my artwork is taking off, I have another mural I am a part of (another blog later, I promise!), and now letters after my name! Wahoo!!

I have just joined Equine Art Guild and have the opportunity to rub elbows with other horsey artists. It is always nice to be able to communicate with those who hold the same interests.

Take a tour, lots of very very good artists in the Guild. http://www.equineartguild.com

Glory of Horses!

Our mural in-the-works is still going forward, still on track. New artists have signed on, others have left the project for reasons of their own, but it is coming together in the most magnificent way.

This will be one grand billboard of sorts to call attention to the plight of the 'old' horse, the one who seemingly has no worth, the one who has given its all and only wants security and a good stable home, the one who was once wild and has a lot to give. This mural will help those charities who work with and for horses.

It will travel all 50 states, overseas, other countries and continents. It will truly be an international inspiration.

I can't wait for it to hit the road. It will be a little bit yet as all the panels are still being shipped, painted and assembled into the greater picture. Actually I can't wait to see the finished project!!

Creative Shop Talk...

I was recently invited to join a new site dedicated to helping online business websites.......

"Creative Shop Talk is a forum for and about online website owners. The forum became live on January 16, 2008. We have nearly 100 forum members who come together to share their experiences, and support with each other. Our goals are to form a community of other website owners who wish to share and support others. Independent thinking one step at a time, to enhance and improve our online business sites."

So far I am very pleased with the help they have given to me. If you own your own business site, give them a look-see. Perhaps they can help you, or you can help others with your expertise. Creative Shop Talk Hope to see you there!

A work in progress "On the Easel"....

This is my latest work on the easel. I tentatively call it "Itchy" for obvious reasons. I think one more golden glaze on the foal and it should be finished. For this and others in progress, go here.

Gus, what a character!

Picked up a new painting commission tonight. The subject is Gus, a gorgeous white kitty totally adored by his people. This will be an anniversary gift for a friend's parents.

After seeing the pics that were available of Gus, I cropped and photoshopped one that I think will be great.......took out the wallpaper, lengthened the table, added the flowers on the table.. Gus still needs to be moved a little to the right, but can you see what he is sitting in? OMG, he must be a hoot at home!

Be sure to check out the progress on my site Gus

The Creation

As well as painting, I also work in silver. The pendant above is not for sale, it is my favorite piece and I have decided to keep it. It is called TheCreation, if you look carefully you can see the tooth and breath of the dragon as it creates the earth below. Components are silver, abalone and Apache Tear.

Please go to my site to see other silver jewelry I have been working on.

Mule Ears

Have you been down the Grand Canyon on muleback? If so, you will recognize this scene. Everywhere you look, every pic you take, will have a set of mule ears showing.

I found a photo on the internet of a perfect Grand Canyon scene. I asked the photographer if I could paint it and she said "Yes! Just let me know how it turns out." Well, I think it turned out very well and offered this 'mule wrangler' a matted print for herself.

This is what she had to say...

"Sue, that is unbelievable. You captured it! I wish I were talented!
I will absolutely enjoy and frame whatever you can send me. This is art--no question about it. It moves the soul and makes you think in a way you wouldn't have otherwise. Please please PLEASE send me a print and it will take a primary position on my mantle among the things that make the greatest impact on my life. It is a timeless memory of a timeless place; and you have not wasted your time in resurrecting the memory forged by being in that magnificent place at that time, as you did so excellently.
It is really a masterpiece and brought tears to my eyes. You surely know you have a gift from God.

Patricia"

To see this as it developed, click here.

Whew, what a ride!

My panels, 116 and 78:




The past few months have been so enriching for me. I have always liked to do art in any form and decided to do it fulltime in 2007. In October I was accepted as one of over 150 artists to participate in a mosaic mural called Glory of Horses. This was to be 16' by 20' consisting of 240 panels 12" by 16". Each panel would be a section of the mural corresponding to that number (I received panels 78 + 116). The Mother Image was not to be revealed to the artists until the unveiling to the public. This was to keep the artists from 'painting to the image'. The concept was to have the artists look at their panels, interpret what they said to them, and paint accordingly. All panels were to represent the glory of horses throughout the ages in some form or another.

Right after I was accepted to be a part of the Creation Team, I received a fortune in my fortune cookie that said "Look with favor upon a bold beginning." An omen! Then a couple of weeks later I got another one saying "Your road to glory will be rocky, but fulfilling." I took this as a truly meant-to-be situation. I must say this adventure has been great fun!

I received my panels on Feb 20 and took the day just looking at them in order for them to 'talk' to me. You can see the results on my website Sue's Art. They will receive them back on March 10, in transit as I 'speak'. The unveiling of the mural will be held at the Midwest Horse Fair, Madison, Wisconsin, April 18-20, 2008. After that it will go to the Museum at Churchill Downs to be displayed for a few weeks before, during, and after the Kentucky Derby. After the Derby it will begin its 3 year worldwide tour. For more information about the mural, how it came to be, what it represents, go here: Glory of Horses