In The Works!

In progress, destined to be: a colored and  b&w matted print, downloadable art, downloadable coloring page and part of a future coloring book, Feathers and Blooms! #adultcoloringbook #downloadableprints #sandeelkinsart #birds #penandink #illustration #parrot

First Downloadable Digital Coloring Page!

Announcing my first ever downloadable digital art/coloring page!

I will still offer this as a matted pen and ink print but thanks to the advice from my new colorist friends, I'm also offering it in pdf form to download and print and color as much as wanted.
The digital file that the buyer receives is a high quality print pdf with images printing at 600 dpi.

The first images offered will come from those assembled in my coloring book for adults but I am currently working on new unique illustrations just for digital download.

All copyrights still apply and the pieces may not be used for commercial use.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW OR BUY!

Date Book Now Available

CLICK HERE TO ORDER

New Offerings in my Etsy Shop

These three will soon be offered as matted prints and the pen and ink will be offered as a downloadable pdf for colorists. ETSY SHOP

I've ignored my Etsy shop for a long time...far too long. In anticipation of soon putting up new work, I decided to do a little shop maintenance. I hate to admit it took me most of yesterday to redesign the home page but I was trying to use the methods from years ago when there is now a quick, easy way to update...and they actually give the dimensions you need to design to which they didn't do before; you had to guess! So, after hours of struggle and frustration (I admit, I yelled at the screen and Etsy quite a bit when they kept erasing my updates. :( ), I managed to design and post this new banner and new profile pic and update all of the announcements and "about me" thingies in about thirty minutes...no joke! I'm now a happy camper and ready to start the new year with a fresh look and freshly stocked shop. :D

VISIT THE SHOP!

Alice, A Coloring Book for Adults by Sande Jones-Elkins, BUY NOW.

An illustration from my new coloring book for adults, Alice.With 56 illustrations to color it offers hours of relaxing therapy. Available on Amazon, BUY NOW.

The White Rabbit

From my new coloring book for grown ups, Alice

My new coloring book, Alice is available on Amazon.com. Click HERE TO BUY.

Coloring book Pages

I'm going to start posting a colored page every few days or at least once a week from my new coloring book, Alice. Here is the link to BUY the book.
Sample Page:

The Book Has Posted!!!

It's available to purchase! Follow this link to view, Alice, A Coloring Book for Adults.

It's so close, I can smell it.....and it is soooo sweet!

The coloring book has been accepted and proofed! It will be available for purchase in a few days and I'll add the link to it then.

It is 120 pages with 56 illustrations for you to color. It will only be available on amazon.com at first but will soon be available for distribution to online and brick and mortar stores and libraries. It will be available in Great Britain and Europe as well as North America. The U.S. price will be $8.99.

This has been more of an ordeal than I anticipated. I enjoy the drawing so much but the editing, assembly and business side of this is stressful. Of course, this is my first venture into this medium and my first experience with having a book published. I'm hoping that the next one will be much easier.

I'm already working on a day planner/calendar that can be colored for 2018.

ALICE cover completed!

It won't be long now! Just finished designing the cover of the coloring book. Now, it's just assemble and upload!

Coloring book 1 finished

Fini!

The coloring book is getting much closer i just finished the last illustration of book 1 of the Alice series. 

Where am I at?

My plan, my hope, is to be both back in my studio and workshop creating whimsical characters from wood and to also finish and publish my first coloring book for adults before the end of this month, October. I tend to think I can do more than I actually can...today is a prime example...but I've finally gotten a clue as to why I'm such a procrastinator and have very little follow through. I'm a great planner but sticking to that plan is hard for me. But, I am making progress and I'm trying to put blinders on to prevent distraction. I'm not sure whether I need to be staring at the big picture, as in the whole forest, or if I should be examining each individual tree. I'm thinking, I should take a chain saw and demolish it all! So, in the end, I am making progress, I do have a plan and I'm kind of sticking to it. I don't always get everything on my list done but I am at least getting something done every day. Instead of boring you with the process, I will post photos and video of my studio once it is done. I will try to post several coloring book pages as I go. The "PLAN" is to get back to work on the illustrations for the coloring book next week. I will try to work on the coloring book during the week and my studio on the weekends. If all goes well.....or at least somewhat smoothly, ha...., the book will be published somewhere around the 26th. I hope to be at work on my first wood pieces by October 30th at the latest. And I'm thinking, the sign from the last piece isn't exactly sculpture but it might be one of the first pieces I complete and offer on my website, completely personalized for the buyer of course. I'll also offer a few Halloween pieces even though Halloween will probably be a memory by the time I post them. I just have several customers that I've been promising witches, those wicked ladies, for a coon's age (have no idea how long that actually is but I've always believed it to be a very, very long time.) Then there will be animals....most likely horses of courses first....and Santas to kick off the Christmas holiday season. My plan is to do very intricate and detailed pieces that have their own, unique story to tell but I will try to cover lower cost points as well. So, that's all of the news for now. I will keep you all updated as progress is made and, fingers crossed X, deadlines met.

Okay, this is a mock up that I did on the computer of a sign I want to make for our entry. I know this is probably in the distant future at the moment because there is soooo much more we need to be working on both me in my workshop and studio and us, as in Steve and I, on the house. But...I'm a planner and it is nice to have ideas to aspire too. Besides, I've already told Steve to be on the lookout for barn wood. lol And I intend to offer this in my Etsy shop as soon as the original is finished. I can customize it with your family name and date. 

Fail

Okay, so the sketch a day failed miserably.

First, there was interference.....of the four legged, whinnies and escapes from his pasture several times a day coupled with the, I don't have a truck to drive because my husband's is in the shop and add to those two, I step in a hill of fire ants and now my foot is blistered and swollen....and did I mention, I have to walk a quarter mile to continually get my youngster in?...actually he's seven now and should know better but he's terribly spoiled.

Secondly, I have a hard time just doing a sketch. They always turn into more finished drawings that I hope to one day turn into paintings. So, there are several as yet unseen that are totally different from the two I did manage to post. Those two weren't typical of me but I wanted to push myself into new territory to perhaps loosen me up a bit or maybe get back to my roots? Who knows....the point is, I will not be posting anymore required drawings.

This does not mean I've been idle. I've been working on everything I shouldn't be....insert laugh here. No, this is true. Whenever I'm trying to meet a deadline, even if it is self inflicted, I am easily distracted. So, this week when I should have been working on the house...which actually means working to get my studio and workshop space finished...FINALLY!!!....so I can get back to work on REAL work...aka, work for other people to buy and display lovingly in their homes and cherish forever and ever. But I did not work that much toward those goals. No, instead, I worked on a photo of my mom as a young woman that I hope to turn into a large painting and hang on my own walls to love and cherish forever and ever. It is a project near and dear to my heart and one I do plan to finish hopefully by early 2018 but for now, I should be working on more pressing goals. That being said, here is the photo and the work I've done on it. The image cropped off the front of the car and so I had to google and google and finally ask some antique and car savvy friends to help me identify. We never did find the exact model but I'm happy with this which will serve as my model for the painting. I will remove all background so I have no idea why I put that in. I guess I thought that I don't have enough to do....insert laugh here.

My mama, the original Ginny Pearl (although she hated her middle name, I love it)
I intend to do a large painting (for me) of this image. I had to "finish" the front of
the car which was cropped, in the photo, right below the headlights.

Sketch a Day

Day 2

A Sketch a Day

Day 1

Where is that Coloring Book for GrownUPs?

Several people have been asking about the status of the coloring books. I've decided to make the Alice series two books instead of four. It only makes sense to have one coloring book covering one whole book in the set of Alice's Adventures. Also my life has become more complicated lately which means that I've just been trying to fit in the editing of book one for weeks now. Time wise, the entire next month is not looking any better. I'm one of those people, agree with me or not, who feels like things happen in their own time and you can't rush that process. When I have roadblocks in life, instead of going around them, I work through them. All of my time and energy at the moment is devoted to working through a landslide. Book one is finished except for designing the cover and insert pages but I want to do it right and it wouldn't be right to rush that process because of other obligations. So, I promise that the first book is coming and it will be bigger than planned (twice as many pages) and better than planned (rushing causes mistakes and cuts down on quality so.....) I appreciate your patience as much as I've appreciated your support and encouragement and I will let you know as soon as book one (of two) is published and posted to amazon.com. Thanks for understanding!

Moon Hanger

I'm still at least a month away from being back in my studio and workshop. Honestly, just getting started today on the task path that will lead to my new studio space and since I tend to over estimate what I can do time-wise, it might be a wee bit longer. I'm hoping not too long though since I would love to be back in the workshop by the first of September so I can get out some of these beauties in time for Halloween decorating.

#witches, #Halloween, #WickedLadies, #SandeElkins

Since many of my Halloween fans are like my Christmas fans and leave their decorations and art work out year round, it might not really matter that much that I meet that deadline for them but for me and my mental health, I think it is essential. I've got to get back on track and have my physical activity catch up with my brain activity, lol....you all know that I already have not only the studio space and workshop designed in full in my head but many of the sculptures and other art work I want to do as well. But, as THEY often say, time will tell. Let's just hope time tells its tale quickly!
I have a new personal blog that really goes hand in hand with this one, https://moonhanger.blogspot.com/. Yes, some of you may have noticed the name change. A week ago...well, actually, yesterday...it was Dream Hanger but I titled a post Moon Hanger and there was that spark of magic again!

New Website!

My New WeBSite!

I just realized that I hadn't written about my new website yet. If you found my blog through the website, this post is redundant but I will cover some new material or at least, lengthier explanations.

I've had so many websites before that I've lost track....I also have more blogs than I can keep up with but let's not talk about that. As for the websites, there has been: S. E. ~ Folk Art, Gray Horse Designs (mainly for my equine photography and graphic design stage), Sande Elkins ~ Photography, Sande Elkins ~ Artist, Sande Elkins Art....and probably a few more I've forgotten.

So, I'm sure you're asking, "Why did you choose to name this site Ginny Pearl ~ Sande Elkins Art (.com)?" Well, this question has a rather complex answer. First, I wanted to name my entire business just Ginny Pearl in honor of my late mother, best friend and biggest fan, Virginia (Ginny) Chrisman-Jones....as for the Pearl, my mom hated her middle name so she is probably yelling at me from on high right now. I think she would forgive me that one and not just because she loved me beyond measure but because everyone I've talked with loves the name. Second, why then did I include, Sande Elkins Art, in the domain name? That was so that people who've known me and my work for years and those searching for me on the web would not be confused by the Ginny Pearl. And finally, thirdly, why did I not include the entire title as it appears in my banner, Ginny Pearl~the Art of Sande Jones-Elkins in the domain name? That would just be too much for anyone to have to type.

An Idea

I haven't done any woodblock printing in a long time but it is a process I enjoy since it involves carving, wood and in the end, a great textured print. I was checking the links from my website to my Etsy shop this morning when I came across an artist's shop that offered..."original ink and colored pencil" art. Their prices were low for original work especially work as detailed as what they were doing. I asked myself how they could possibly do that? Either they are a lot faster than I am at drawing even small work that is so detailed or they were happy making 5 cents an hour. Then I realized how they worded the posting. I came to the conclusion that they were either doing hand made prints such as wood block or linoleum printing and then coloring it in or they were printing or having printed in some form the black line base and then coloring it in... still would be considered "individually handmade." There was no other way that I could see that they could duplicate the drawings so closely especially without adding that each piece was individually drawn and so would have variations from the one pictured.

This is an antique piece from India which was/is used to print on fabric. I have several of these that a friend gave me as a gift. I post this image to give you an idea of what a woodblock carved for printing looks like. You can either press directly to the surface you want to print like you would with a rubber stamp or you can use a brayer to roll over a piece of paper which is lain over the inked woodblock.

Anyway, enough about their business practices or at least, my guesses about their business practices and truth in advertising. What intrigued me was a way of replicating a drawing exactly each time but doing it entirely by hand...without the aid of personal or outside printer. And I remembered the old woodblock prints that I used to make my Christmas cards for several years. You get the rough textured quality of the wood...which I happen to love....but you still have great detail and each piece would be unique and original. I would love to offer these on cards again. That way, they wouldn't be too difficult for me to manage without a press and doing them by hand and the buyer could still frame them. It would work economically for me also. Offered as original and as is and considering the work involved in carving the woodblock, printing and coloring in (where applicable), I could ask a bit more for each card than I would with a card I had an outside printer do. I'm not talking "take a loan out" pricing. I mean they would probably sell around $8-$15 depending on whether they are colored in or not. I don't think that would be too high for a small original piece of art. This idea has me even more excited about getting back into my workshop and studio soon!

A New Beginning

It's been a very long time since I've posted and there is an explanation. From the time of the last post until finally having surgery mid-February of 2017, I was very sick. The final diagnosis, uterine cancer. The prognosis, excellent....the cancer was caught in the very early stages and was contained. At 61, recovery took longer than I expected but the good news is, I'm back. During my downtime, I worked toward my first ever coloring book for adults. It is based on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and will be a four book series covering both books of adventures for Alice and friends. I will be posting updates here soon along with some of the illustrations included. I will also be adding some drawings with color added. The first book in the series should be published in the next two weeks. My intention was to publish before the end of June but life interfered with living once again. There were too many interruptions, too many family and friends needing my help, too many mini-disasters in my life. But all is good and I've always been a firm believer in things happening when they are suppose to happen. So, I'd say, my first book is suppose to be published in the next two weeks. haha

Here's a little taste to whet your appetite.