Saturday, March 28, 2009

Perker Painting

Perker in-progress, Oil on Panel, 16" x 24", © 2009. Jennie Traill Schaeffer

This is my newest percolator, painted. I started this about a week or so ago and it's sitting on my easel waiting to be completed. Without a lot of time to ponder over my work, I set up the percolator and just painted. Using the brush and palette knife it has a lot of texture and movement to the paint. It's good to see this on the computer, on a smaller scale away from the easel, I see areas that need some work. Check back soon for the finished piece.

***Vote for TraillWorks as your Favorite NJ Gallery
Go to www.newjerseylife.com
click on The Reader’s Choice A-List and select Galleries

Friday, March 27, 2009

It's a Mixed Blessing

Wedding Cake Portrait Commission, In-progress, 6" x 6" ceramic tile

I am so grateful that in such a tough economy TraillWorks continues to grow and do well. In the first few months of 2009 I nearly filled all of my available lesson slots, sold a painting and received two Wedding Cake Portrait commissions. All of this while adjusting to life with a four month old. Up until this point, with the help of two wonderful moms (mine and my mother-in-law) and husband, Joel and I have been managing the workload together.

Now as more commissions come in, and my marketing and painting time have decreased I see the need for more help. I'm looking into all sorts of daycare options, from a college helper to actual daycare facilities. The entire prospect makes me feel very torn; sending him to someone else to care for him while I develop my artwork seems almost cruel on one hand.

On the other it's an opportunity for him to develop socially and eventually appreciate that his mom was able to run her own business (I hope). The success of TraillWorks is a mixed blessing for me and my new family, bringing new challenges and opportunities. I'd love any advice from moms who are artists!


***Vote for TraillWorks as your Favorite NJ Gallery
Go to www.newjerseylife.com
click on The Reader’s Choice A-List and select Galleries

Thursday, March 5, 2009

The NJ A- List

Depression Glass, 7" x 5", Oil on Canvas, ©2009 Jennie Traill Schaeffer

This artistmom deserves to be in the A-list. Take a minute and visit NJ Life Magazine's web site and vote for TraillWorks as the best place to find the perfect painting. Scroll down to galleries and antiques and select TraillWorks. Voting will continue through April 15th and the "best of" businesses will be published in their October issue.

Above is a recent painting I just completed last week. A bit influenced by my October visit to see the Morandi exhibit at the Met. I had a strong urge to paint anything the other day and had about an hour to focus on this piece.

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Snow Day

Yesterday with all the unfounded warnings of the worst storm of the year (Newton only got about 1.5") I cancelled my lessons and stayed home. I would have blogged yesterday, but miraculously I screwed up my networking connections and so my husband who worked at home had to use the internet on his laptop. So I was forced to spend the morning sleeping. 

Being an artist and a mom with her own studio to run, I rarely take time for myself to rest. I'm constantly going and constantly feeling I'm not doing enough. So yesterday's weather and networking mishap were a blessing in disguise to catch up on some long overdue shut-eye while Joel was sleeping. 

I'll be posting some new artwork next time I'm online, so check back soon!