Merry Christmas, Happy New Year...Be My Valentine?

First and foremost, I hope that you had a wonderful Christmas and that the new year will bring you love and prosperity! One of the realities of being in "retail" is the challenge of staying ahead of the curve. Which is why, even though we are still in December, I'm already looking forward to the spring and the first major holiday...Valentine's Day. My wildflower-decorated Keepsake Boxes will make a fabulous Valentine's gift, don't you think? And these flowers will last forever and since the box is not filled with decadent candy (not that there's anything bad about roses or chocolate), your sweetie won't be worrying about working off the extra calories. Another advantage...they make great gifts for the guys, too. Take at look at all of the designs available at my online store by clicking here.

Views of Casa de Linda Studio and Gallery

If you have ever wondered what my studio and gallery look like, here's a glimpse from my recent Holiday Open House. I rent a space in a historic building in downtown New Braunfels, Texas, owned by the New Braunfels Art League, a non-profit, co-op that runs a wonderful gallery downstairs. From my studio/gallery upstairs, I can look out on street lined with businesses, but my favorite is Henne Hardware, whose claim-to-fame is being Texas' oldest hardware store. Like many of the buildings in this old German community, both Henne's and the Art League's still have their wonderful pressed tin ceilings. It makes a great place to paint, teach and exhibit my work -- my wildflowers. The space is not large, but as you can tell from the photos, I fill the walls from top to bottom so that my clients can see the work hanging when they come to visit. I rotate my available work between my studio/gallery, the gallery downstairs where I exhibit regularly, Art Frame and Beyond in San Antonio (Stone Oak), Gallery on the Square in Wimberley, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center in Austin and at special exhibits at restaurants, coffee shops and other galleries.

WEARING MANY HATS...BUT IT'S ALL ABOUT CREATIVITY!

Hello there! Not sure how you found my blog, but welcome! You may be a regular visitor, so welcome back. But if it's your first time to land here, you may be curious about what, exactly, I do. Well, first and foremost, I'm an artist. I've created a line of bright-n-bold-n-happy wildflower paintings that are finding their way around the world, as original art in private collections, as a line of greeting cards being distributed in the UK, New Zealand and Australia, and on a wide variety of products, ranging from mugs to mouse pads, through my online store (be sure to check out my new 2008 Wildflower Calendar!).

In addition to creating art, I love to teach art. I offer classes from my art studio housed in a 94-year-old building in downtown New Braunfels, Texas, above the New Braunfels Art League Gallery. Specializing in classes for beginners, I offer on-going painting classes and occasionally offer drawing and painting workshops, which I am doing this coming Spring.

When I'm not painting or teaching, I'm working as a freelance writer, graphic designer and marketing/PR consultant for local non-profit organizations and businesses. I've been serving on the "Be A Part of the Story" capital campaign committee to build a new library for Canyon Lake, the community that I call home when I'm not at my studio in nearby New Braunfels. If you care about libraries and would like to donate, you can do so online by just click here. Every little bit helps!

So that's a little about who I am. Just trying to make the world a better place. Who are you? Leave me a comment and tell me how you found my blog.

AS SEEN IN...ART BUSINESS NEWS MAGAZINE

Art Business News is a slick monthly magazine distributed worldwide so I'm very pleased to announce that I had a news brief item in the November issue. You can view it online by clicking here.

DECEMBER EVENTS

A quick little overview of the month to come for Casa de Linda Art Studio and Gallery!

AUSTIN- WILDFLOWER CENTER
I'm heading back to Austin today for the close of the 17th Annual Holiday Shopping Event at the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center. Met many nice folk yesterday and several of my wildflower mugs, coaster tiles, ornaments, magnets and other items will find their way into stockings or under the tree this Christmas! Hours today are Noon-5 p.m. Thanks to everyone for the support!

SHOPPING ONLINE
If you've been thinking about ordering from my online store, there's a "free shipping" offer for purchases over $50 that ends at midnight today. Just enter the following code before you check out: JINGLE50.

If you are shopping online for Christmas, you might want to do so in the next week. For what I can understand from the company I'm working with, orders placed by Dec. 9 can be shipped economy and still arrive in plenty of time. After that, you might need to bump up to other levels of shipping to get your order before Christmas.

MY STUDIO/GALLERY OPEN HOUSE
Downtown New Braunfels will host its annual Wassailfest on Thursday, Dec. 6, from 5-8 p.m. Tons of fun for the family! And if you come, please come up to my studio! I'll have paintings by 20 of my students (ages 10 through adult) on exhibit, as well as my own work and my husband's photography. Looks like the weather will be great for a stroll in New Braunfels, which is just beautiful at Christmas. I'm there Thursday 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 10 a.m.-5 p.m. and Sunday, Dec. 9, Noon-5 p.m. We are having a reception for my wonderful students on Sunday afternoon in case you'd like to meet the "artists." And some of them are even offering their work for sale!


ART CLASSES IN JANUARY
I'm working on my schedule for the Spring and will be offering drawing and a special painting workshop in addition to my on-going painting class. Let me know if you are interested! I'll post more on that later.

HOPE TO SEE YOU SOON!