Children’s Cup – It’s About The Children

Life-Changing Weekend-hiv aids orphans in africa crisis

I had the most incredible weekend. My husband and I were priveleged and honored to meet Dave and Jean Ohlerking. The Ohlerking’s are founders of the organization Children’s Cup. There was one thing I just really loved about them–is they are so intense! This couple has a passion to help the hurting and to share God’s love to those that many of us in the western world has turned a blind eye to.

Children’s Cup works to feed, clothe and educate Aids Orphans in Africa. They establish Care Point Centers . Currently Children’s Cup has 12 Care Points in Africa and are looking to continually establish more centers around the world, as well as to continue helping in Africa.

Children’s Cup  APPROACH
It takes a comprehensive approach to the orphan and vulnerable children (OVC) issue and requires treating the whole child. A CarePoint becomes a central point for providing the multiple services necessary. Physical needs are met by providing a meal and vitamins daily. Immunizations and voluntary HIV/AIDS testing are offered. Volunteers teach HIV/AIDS education. Children’s Cup invests in these children mentally by making preschool, basic literacy programs and job training available. Social support is important, teaching life skills through a youth outreach program. Kids’ Clubs on Saturdays give extra support and moral education. Extra care and attention is given to orphan-headed households.

Dave and Jean are doing an incredible work to help these precious children. Aids has left over 60,000 orphans in Swaziland alone and the  number is expected to rise. These little children are exploited in ways that are humanly unimaginable. It’s not uncommon for children as young as 2 years old to be raped. My heart broke as we talked at a local restaurant for hours.  Within moments, I knew that this was a global problem- not just an africa problem , or an aids problem..and then I realized, this was my problem. Many of you have come to know me through my art, then you knew my heart to help and give back.  I have to do something to stand up for the innocent and defenseless ones who can’t take care of themselves alone.

Soon you will be hearing more from me with an opportunity for you to join with me and Children’s Cup as we make a difference. Please consider helping feed, clothe, and love these precious little children.

I’ll post more as my mind can clearly communicate just what my heart is feeling!

The rock artist Bono, of U2 said it like this:

The poor are where God lives. God is in the slums, in the cardboard boxes where the poor play house. God is where the opportunity is lost and lives are shattered. God is with the mother who has infected a child with a virus that will take both their lives. God is under the rubble in the cries we hear during wartime. God, my friends, is with the poor, and God is with us if we are with them.

Pet portrait complete

Here’s the final product for the pet portrait commission. Isn’t he a cutie? I feel like I was able to capture his sweet, sad little dispositon from the reference photos his owner sent me. I’m availble to do commissioned work.. feel free to email me . I truly enjoy working on pet commissions as I am an avid pup lover myself.

 On another note, I am still looking for a retail space. Hopefully we will have that issue settled before too long.

Tonight was a nice night at home. We celebrated an ordinary monday with chicken enchiladas, homemade salsa , refried beans and multigrain corn chips. Yumm! Time to call it a night!

News of the art kind!

I’ve been super busy as of late. I apologize for the little blogging lag. That seems to happen to me from time to time. I’ve got alot of interesting news though that I can’t wait to share with you. I was interviewed today by ArtistRising.Com for a publicity campaign they are launching soon. I joined forces with art.com and several other artist to work with them on making living artists work more accessible to the public. I love the fact that art.com has helped me go more “mainstream” reaching many more people than I can on my own. They also have helped me be able to offer my prints at a great price point, while earning commissions and royalties each month on the sale of my images! Yes , royalties are  a good thing.  I’ll post a blurb here when the launch the campaign so you can take  a look see at what we got going on.

 

This is a photo of a sweet little buddy that I am working on. I’m doing a pop pet portrait of him. Isn’t his face adorable. I hope to get off my duff soon and get the pet portrait site up and running. It just takes time and I sooooo need to be painting. But I thought I’d show his cute little mug.. He looks like he’s saying” Can I have a cheeto?”

 On another note, I am excited to begin work on illustrating my first children’s storybook. It’s a collaboration with a wonderful lady from California. I was honored that she chose me to bring her wonderful story of nawlin’s spirit to life via my paintings. It’s a special project that will take some time but I am so pumped about it. Looks like my plate is going to be pretty full for a while. That’s ok.. I work best when it’s crazy like that.

 If you have an order placed please know that I am working to get your paintings out to you on time. It does take a while so if you have a question, doubt or worry feel free to email me and just ask how things are going.

Take care everyone..

I’ll be in touch soon!

Angel

Original Painting or Giclee Print on Canvas?

                                     

                     Swaying in the Quarter, available as print on canvas here

              

I just recently recieved this wonderful email from a would-be collector wanting to know exactly what is the difference between purchasing an original vs. a giclee on canvas. I thought  this information might be  valuable to you.

> Hi Angel,
>
> I’m really interested in several of your pieces.  I’m not sure which way
> to go between paintings vs prints on canvas (remarqued edition).  Although
> the description of the prints on canvas (remarqued edition) sounds like I
> wouldn’t be disappointed, what would be some negatives compared to
> original paintings?
>
> Happy Mardi Gras,
> Martin
Hi Martin-
Thanks so much for your email. I appreciate your interest in my art. Here
are the pro’s and con’s of prints on canvas vs. an original painting.

Obviously an original painting is considered an investment that should
appreciate each year as an artist continues to mature and expand their art
career. Originals are more “collectable” meaning they would be the best
return for your money if an artist were to be later discovered as one of the
great masters of their time. ( Like Pollock, Van Gogh, Matisse or Picasso)
Resale value of artwork is much higher if you own an original. Now while I
am not going to say I am the next Picasso, my career has been advancing and
my work is becoming more valuable, causing higher demand. Of course, this
also means the prices for originals increases as my career expands each
year. Getting in on earlier work means you may be able to get a better price
than waiting over the course of time, thus allowing you to snag a true jewel
that will be worth so much more as time goes on.

Prints on Canvas offer a wonderful option for the collector who isn’t a
serious art investor/collector. My giclee prints on canvas are archival for
100 years and are color corrected to be as vibrant as the original. We use a
very reputable printer, who prints each giclee individually instead of “mass
producing”.  The prints are on stretcher bars, so the appearance is one that
looks just like an original painting on canvas. Each print on canvas is
sealed with a sealant to protect the giclee. Another added value of
purchasing a print on canvas as while they look just like an original, the
cost is much more affordable. This allows my collectors to be able to start
a collection of  my work, and purchase several of their favorites to quickly
amass a grouping. If you just love my art for the art’s sake, this is a
great way to go. I personally can not distinguish between the original and a
print on canvas from across the room. Remarquing takes a giclee to the next
level, by having the artist actually hand embellish the print by painting on
it. This adds originality, makes the giclee more unique and also enhances
collectibility by having the artist place their “dna” on the piece making it
more desirable. A good remarque also adds emphasis to the highlights of the
work, further blurring the line between an original and a giclee.

All in all, the decision basically boils down to the collector. Many of my
collectors only prefer to purchase originals simply because they desire to
have an original painting. Others enjoy collecting prints on canvas due to
the affordability . The bottom line is it really just depends on what you
want, both are a great option.

If you need anymore help- please feel free to email me. I’d love to help you
make the process as easy as possible!

Take care,
Angel
www.neworleans-paintings.com

Great weekend-my present to myself

                                            

It has been a great weekend. We spent it quietly, with a nice dinner alone with hubby on Friday night then back home to chill out. Saturday morning we had our traditional big breakfast with the whole family. I have 2 gorgeous teenage daughters, 17 and 14 who seem to very seldom be at “home” anymore. So we all ate together, which I am a stickler for. I believe it is really important to all be at home, eating at a real table without the phone ringing or other intrusions as many times a week as possible. So we tend to stick to the routine of a large Southern breakfast at least 3 times a month on Saturday. Homemade buttermilk biscuits, eggs, bacon, grits, homemade skillet potatoes, etc.  The only problem is the huge mess to clean up afterwards.

Saturday night we went to eat with some friends of ours and enjoyed lingering as we caught up on the details of our lives. It’s so wonderful to have people in your life you can just be yourself with!

 Work has been going great–lots of orders for originals as well as a boatload of giclees on canvas I need to remarque. Over the last 2 days I’ve had 3 orders for paintings come in so I’ll be busy this week playing catch up. If you have ordered, things are all on schedule and I’ll be contacting  you soon with the details of the shipping process.

The search for a new studio space continues–I just missed out on a great spot in the historic district of town by minutes on Friday. At this point I am seriously considering asking my dad to help me draw up plans and add a studio space on our property. My preference is to be in town but there just isn’t much available. It would have it’s pro’s and cons but seems like options are running out.

 I went ahead and spoiled myself a bit by buying me a brand new Canon Rebel xti digital slr. It is so fine. I love it.. still trying to learn all the in’s and out’s but it is going to be a wonderful tool/toy. The quality of the photos are incredible and that is with me taking the photos! =)  Hopefully next week we will have a few sunny days so I can sneak away from the studio and do some shooting.  Of course, I’ll post when I get everything uploaded.

On another note, I am so tired with Lexie Lulu Maria deciding that 3:30 am is the perfect time to wake up for a potty break. She is religously committed to waking up at that time and screams with bloodcurdling persistance until I get up and put on my robe to take her out. That’s not really a problem, but the fact she won’t go peaceably back to her crate is! So for the last 3 weeks or so I have been getting up then going back to bed on the couch with her so she won’t wake up the whole family. Nice of me, huh? She just loves her “mommy alone time” and snuggles right up and sleeps til morning. The problem is my back isn’t so sure the couch is the best place and its taking it’s toll.  Putting her in my bed is a problem, cause it’s way up off the floor and she tries to take a nose dive. I sure do admire people who have children later in life, because at 37 it is alot harder than when I was 23!

 Well, going to go spend some family time tonight and enjoy hubby’s day off tomorrow. Hopefully he’ll let me squeeze in a bit of painting.

I’ve decided to switch to wordpress!

I’ve made the decision to switch over to wordpress for my  blogging needs . We will see how it goes. I’ll be updating soon, right now I am setting up customization, options and links. More in a bit.. Hope you all enjoy your weekend..

My new Baby Chihuahua

Here’s a quick photo of new little baby. She’s a real cutie but quite a handful . Lexie Lulu Maria is spunky, sweet and spicey all rolled into one. She has our hearts wrapped around her little paws . It’s been so great to have such a healthy pup. She loves to snuggle while I am doing computer work, on the couch or anytime she can get someone to pick her up. I’ve jokingly told my hubby I need to get a baby-sling so I can get some work done. I do hope she settles into not wanting to be held while I am in the studio. I find it a tad hard to hold a paint brush in one hand, and the chi in the other arm. It leaves no place for me to put the palette!

I’m apart of a new artist collective that will be launching very soon. Once it’s ok to give the go ahead I’ll tell you all about it.

But I knew you all wanted to see pics of the newest baby here.. isn’t she a cutie!

Hilton in New Orleans Decorating with my art

I am excited to inform you that my art print ” New Orleans Night Light” has been chosen to grace the rooms in the newly remodeled Hilton St.Charles. This is a wonderful opportunity for me to broaden my realm of influence artisticly. For my collectors, my art going more ” mainstream” only adds additional value to the work they own.

For me on a personal note, I see this as a dream come true. I’ve worked very hard over the last 10 years trying to be successful with my art. At times it has seemed that I was the only one that believed in myself. Somehow I managed to stick it out and now it is paying off. I have lots of anticipation for 2007. Suceeding as an artist is very difficult but one of the most fulfilling careers.

For all my collectors, be watching for a by invitation only sale on my prints on canvas. They look incredible .

More later. I hope to post a photo of my new baby sometime soon. She is a doll!

Back from Paradise

We just got back yesterday from a weeks stay in Cozumel. I wanted to surprise my hubby with a getaway for his birthday. The weather was gorgeous for most of the week. Cozumel is a wonderful place to ge if you love sun, water and being able to do nothing if you so choose. We stayed at Allegro Resort. The staff there is the most hospitable and warm group of people. The water is beautiful, the food ain’t bad, and the snorkeling is phenomenal. We did a trip to Palancar, Columbia and ” Hollywood ” reefs and had a great time although the water was a bit choppy and that made it a bit more strenous. It was nice to take a break after such a busy time before Christmas.

Needless to say I am excited about some great new opportunities I’ll be sharing with you in the near future. Just wanted to check in quickly to say I am back and I’ll have new works up for all to see soon.

I’ll post more photos of Cozumel once I get them uploaded and tweaked so you can enjoy the beauty even if it’s just by photo.