New art! Calico Kitten, Hamster, and Lion paintings

Finally...some new work to share. This job I now have is really cutting into my painting time. Even though it's only 3 days a week, it's ALL DAY 3 days and then I run behind on what I need to do for my kids/pets/house/yard/etc. So I furiously try to "catch up" so I can paint - but alas, there's always the emergency of one kind or another coming up, and it puts me behind. Sigh.

Last week it was the broken glass door. Yep. The husband decided to mow the patio. Why? Because there were weeds in spots growing through the cracks. Well, apparently he hit a rock - or something - on the patio and it shot it out and hit my sliding glass door on the studio/extra bedroom. It shattered. It's still shattered, too, because the best I could get him to find out (since I was at work when this happened) was it is going to cost $250 to get it replaced.

Now, I got this job to help pay our REGULAR expenses...and already my earnings are going out the door for something else. And the husband says he probably shouldn't mow the yard anymore....which is a big hint for ME to do it (which I've always done anyway, but that was when I wasn't working somewhere else and had time for it). Go figure. :)

Anyway ----I have had the past several days off for the holiday weekend and in between other "stuff" I had to take care of, I've managed to complete 3 miniature paintings in the My Tiny Pet series.

The first is Serena...she is a Calico kitten and she's ready for you to adopt her - which you can do right here and now! Wouldn't she just look adorable sitting on your desk or in your bedroom?

The second is Granny. Granny is a grey hamster and she is nestled between a cluster of Granny Smith apples. You can adopt Granny here.

And las but not least - we have Samson the Lion. Truthfully, I'm in no hurry for anyone to adopt him -- but if he tugs at your heart strings I'll send him to you rather than take him to work with me tomorrow. :)

Hope you enjoy these new works - all are acrylic on miniature canvases (3"x4" and 4"x5"). Be sure to stop by GalleryFridge.Com and check out the new art show I put up there this week, featuring another fabulous CafePress artist!

InJoy,
Jai

P.S. You'll notice a new look here on my blog, on the website, and at my Cafepress shop...that was another project I worked on over this weekend which has been long overdue!

New art! Greyhound Dog and Hamster paintings

How CUTE are these? Berry Boy the Hamster is a 3" x 4" painting and Sasha the Greyhound is a 4" x 5" painting. Both are OCMA paintings in acrylic (OCMA=original canvas miniature art). And both are the first paintings in my new series "My Tiny Pet" (http://www.MyTinyPet.com).

Tiny pets are fabulous! You don’t have to feed them, bathe them, or exercise them. You don’t have to take them to the vet, as they never get sick and don’t need shots (plus they’ll live FOREVER). You don’t have to board them when you leave town - in fact, you can easily take them with you! Your tiny pet can stay in any room of your home or office. There’s only two things you have to do for your tiny pets - give them a home, and adore them. All they desire is to see the love in your eyes. And they’ll always look back at you with love in theirs. :)


You can adopt these two tiny pets by purchasing their paintings! Berry Boy has already been adopted, and you can adopt Sasha here.

Also, Sasha is included in my Greyhound art show featuring fabulous Cafepress artists over at GalleryFridge.Com.

InJoy,
Jai

Check out GalleryFridge.Com

I've started a blog at http://galleryfridge.blogspot.com/ to help promote the work of other Cafepress.Com fine artists. Each week the art show will change. This week, I'm featuring the art of Melody Lea Lamb, a very talented ACEO animal and wildlife artist. Sign up using the box on the page to be notified of new shows when they go live. And if you're a Cafepress artist and want your magnet art to be featured, drop me an email and I'll put you in the que! :)

InJoy, Jai

My daughter's rose photography series "The Roses of Dixie Lane"

My 14 year old daughter Allyson has completed a series of rose photographs which we have put together into a calendar, large poster, small poster, and other items. The series is titled "The Roses of Dixie Lane" and features some of the BIG BEAUTIFUL ROSES growing in our neighbors' southern gardens!

This is a project she has done in order to raise money to purchase a new camera. We hope you enjoy the images and if you are in the market for gift items, we hope you'll select some of her rose items and help her get started on this exciting and creative career!

InJoy, Jai

My favorite in the series is this one - I just love the colors!

Dixie Lane Rose 9 Framed Panel Print

2 More OCMA's! Lavender Fields and Calla Lily

I'm starting off the day here with two more OCMA paintings (original canvas miniature art).

The first is a calla lily portrait which gave me a bit of a struggle, but I eventually got the colors right. I wanted it to GLOW against the purple background. It finally worked, though I spent way too much time on this painting. You can bid on it here. It is size 3"x4".


The next painting went much more smoothly. My three crows that are present in my first miniature OCMA landscape are also present in this painting. They continue their journey, this time over golden fields filled with lavender. You can bid on this original painting here. It is size 4"x5".


Hope you like them!

InJoy,
Jai

My first OCMA Painting and What is an OCMA?

We have ACEO's (art cards editions and originals, size 2.5"x3.5" must fit in a trading card sleeve), OSWOA's (size 4"x6", must fit in a photo sleeve) and now I am introducing the OCMA.

Don't get me wrong, I *love ACEOs and OSWOAs*! I like to frame and mat mine, however, and I thought it would be AWESOME to also have a small work of art style which would NOT have to be framed and could hang on the wall immediately.

So I created the OCMA. OCMA stands for Original Canvas Miniature Art. To meet the criteria of being called an OCMA, a piece of art must be on wrapped canvas with the sides painted, and ready to hang with no need for a frame. The piece of art must be size 5" x 7" or smaller. It can be created with any medium (acrylic/oil/color pencil/pastel/collage/etc) as long as it can be created on a wrapped canvas with the sides painted. Any subject matter can be portrayed in an OCMA.

Unlike ACEO's and OSWOA's, which must be able to fit in standard trading card or photo sleeves, and are often displayed or kept in such a manner, the OCMA art is ready to hang on your wall as soon as you receive it, with no need for matting and framing due to the sides being painted. Of course, your OCMA can be framed, and because of the mediums required for painting on canvas, your miniature painting has no need for glass in the frame.

Because of the miniature size, you can display your OCMA painting in those small spaces in your home or office easily. Also because of the small size, OCMA paintings are often very reasonably priced, enabling those who are on a budget to be able to collect original art, too!


Here is my first OCMA. Titled "The Journey", it features 3 crows flying on a journey across a colorful sky filled with fluffy white clouds. This miniature painting is a size 4"x5" and is on wrapped canvas with the sides painted - it's ready to hang upon receipt. Here's a link to the Ebay auction for "The Journey".

InJoy,
Jai

More Hamster Art! A Chiropractor scene...:)

Oh my gosh, I *finally* finished this illustration! It seemed to take FOREVER. But that's because I'm working at another job now (for a chiropractor...hence the inspiration for this painting) and I have gone from 6 days a week of being able to work on my art to only 2 a week. But hey, not much has been happening in the art world for quite some time, so it's rewarding to have something meaningful to do with my time.

So here I am on my day off posting my latest. I'm not sure how many will see it ('cept my "blog stalker" of course), but it will be up here forever and ever for those who stroll in at a later time.

I had a lot of fun creating this illustration. Like I said before, it's inspired by my new job, plus the fact I seem to love painting hamsters lately! This is a larger painting than all of my others...it's an 8"x10". The original is up on Ebay, and of course, products and apparel are available here.

I have to work at the gallery tomorrow, but it's only part of the day, so I plan on starting something new. Actually, I have purchased a ton of little canvases. Since I have so much acrylic paint here, I decided to get these canvases and do some minis. Mostly I do ACEO and OSWOA size. These will be OCMA's.

So what is an OCMA, you ask? OCMA stands for Original Canvas Miniature Art. And yes, I came up with that abbreviation myself. :) I guess you could say I've decided to start a new trend!

To meet the criteria of being called an OCMA, a piece of art must be on wrapped canvas with the sides painted, and ready to hang with no need for a frame. The piece of miniature art must be size 5" x 7" or smaller. It can be created with any medium (acrylic/oil/color pencil/pastel/collage/etc) as long as it can be created on a wrapped canvas with the sides painted. Any subject matter can be portrayed in an OCMA.

Unlike ACEO's and OSWOA's, which must be able to fit in standard trading card or photo sleeves, and is often displayed or kept in such a manner, the OCMA art is ready to hang on your wall as soon as you receive it, with no need for matting and framing due to the sides being painted. Of course, your OCMA can be framed, and because of the mediums required for painting on canvas, your miniature painting most likely has no need for glass in the frame.

Because of the miniature size, you can display your OCMA painting in those small spaces in your home or office easily. Also because of the small size, OCMA paintings are often very reasonably priced, enabling those who are on a budget to be able to collect original art, too!

Maybe some other artists will join me in creating OCMA paintings as well. My paintings I'll be doing will be size 3"x4" and 4"x5" for now. In the future, I might do some 5"x7" paintings.

InJoy,
Jai

Cotton Candy Trees...in RED, GREEN, BLUE & PURPLE

Wow! What a week. PHEW. Since I'm working now, I didn't get as much done on my art as I intended. I'm still working on a larger hamster painting...I hope to have it completed by tonight. I did complete this series of 4 OSWOAs (original small works of art) paintings - they are size 4x6". I call these my Cotton Candy trees as they are fluffy and colorful, just like cotton candy!

The originals of these trees are on Ebay this week. Prints, cards, apparel, and more can be found here. They will add just the right amount of pop and color to any environment! Hope you like them.

InJoy,
Jai of http://www.jaiart.com

Radio interview about ART, ACEO's and OSWOA's

I did a cool online radio interview today with Rachel Dickson, owner of the Dickson Gallery here in Jackson, TN. Check it out here - be sure to turn your speakers on. We talked about ACEO's and OSWOA's, the two different sizes of art that are very popular online right now. I think some of you will enjoy it!

InJoy,
Jai

Floating Roses...Dali Style!

My neighbor gave me these gorgeous roses this week and I decided to preserve their beauty in mini paintings. These are the first two of these vermillion/peach and yellow roses in a series of 4. Both are on Ebay.

Even though I have two more to do in this series, I'm going to take a break and begin work on my next hamster illustration. The next hamster painting features a hamster CHIROPRACTOR scene...since I'm working for a chiropractor now, I thought it would be fitting. :) I'm also following that design with an art gallery hamster scene.

They are both going to be larger sized...8x10" on 8 1/2" x 11" paper, suitable for matting in an 8x10 mat and framing in a larger frame. I have only worked small up to this point, and even though 8x10 is still small, it's a bit bigger than what I'm used to. I'm crossing my fingers they turn out okay!

Hope you enjoy my Dali style floating roses...and come back by Monday to see if I have the hamster illustration done. InJoy, Jai