Paula Manning-Lewis

New blog post!

2010-04-14T12:34:00.000-07:00

New blog post over at Paula Manning-Lewis.com!

New Progress Pics posted

2010-03-18T13:39:00.001-07:00

OK, so until I get the subscription glitch figured out, I will post a link here whenever I post a new blog on my site. Thank you for your patience!

Latest Progress Pics

subscriptions

2010-03-10T11:55:00.001-07:00

Not sure why, but my subscription sign up on my new blog/website ( http://www.manninglewisstudios.com ) is actually signing people up for this old blog/website. For those of you who have subscribed, please be patient as I figure out what the heck is going on! Thanks also for subscribing to my blog!

www.paulamanninglewis.com

2009-02-18T13:52:00.006-07:00

The new website/blog is just about done and looking pretty good. I even have my own domain name (or two, FINALLY!) www.paulamanninglewis.com and www.manninglewisstudios.com Two domains, same website. So, you can get there either way. It is a much easier site to navigate. I'm still working on getting my prints page done. New print images are currently being designed. Once I figure out which ones will be discontinued you will have several to choose from on the Clearance Page and until the end of February, you can see and/or buy several older paintings on the Clearance Page as well. These are some of my first of the Spiral Abstract Series, some are my absolute favorites.

I'm still having issues getting the subscription link to work on the new blog, but I will let you know as soon as it is fixed.

New Blog/website

2009-01-15T11:58:00.002-07:00

I am currently working on switching my blog and website over to wordpress. You can find my new blog HERE.

I am combining my blog and website in one place at wordpress, it's just so much easier to manage. Plus I like it better than blogger!

I am still working on it, but please change your links and bookmarks because it won't be long before this blog is history! Thank you to everyone that checks in here on a regular basis! I can hardly believe it's been almost 4 years since I started this blog. Time keeps on slippin', slippin', slippin' in to the future!

I was tagged

2009-01-10T14:34:00.006-07:00

Ok, so I don't usually participate in these, but since it's Saturday and I was tagged by one of my favorite artist bloggers, Jessica Torrant, I figured I'd play along.

the rules:link to the person who tagged you > post the rules on your blog > write six random things about yourself > tag six people at the end of your post and link to them > let each person know they've been tagged

1. I was on the swim team in high school, always loved swimming in fact. Started swimming when I was 9 months old in the Atlantic ocean.

2. I was terribly shy as a kid. No one ever believes me when I tell them this, since I'm such a loudmouth now! When I was in elementary school I was picked on excessively, which made me afraid to make new friends or even talk to anyone new.

3. I lived in Hawaii for 8 months when I was 17. My first husband( I married for the first time at 16!) was in the army so he was stationed there. It was not as great as most people would think. My favorite bumper sticker when I was there was "Just another shitty day in paradise". Hawaii is no fun when you are poor!

4. I owned a frame shop in Las Cruces, NM for a grand total of 2 months! I left my first husband and lost everything because of or shortly after the divorce.

5. I am deathly allergic to cats, I can be in a house with cats for about 15 minutes before I start wheezing, my eyes swell up and my nose and throat get tight and constricted. This is the main reason that I am a dog person.

6. I LOVE to sing! I sing aloud in the car, the shower, while I paint, anytime really!

I'm tagging the following people

Raine Klover
Susan See
Jafabrit
Cynthia Guajardo
Carol Adamec
Angela Taylor

Time Management

2009-01-08T12:33:00.003-07:00

Painting in Progress, oil on canvas, 48" square
Detail

I've been working on this current painting for almost a month now?! I need to work on my time management! I haven't spent as much time painting as I would like so far this year. I know, it's only been a week! So much going on with the gallery, business planning, studio management, website updates, etc, etc. Excuses, excuses! Now that the business plan is essentially done, I should be able to get back on track with my painting/working schedule. I hope to have this painting finished by next week.

Lots going on here at Chroma Studios Gallery, check out the Chroma website for more information.

Happy New Year!

2009-01-01T16:04:00.006-07:00

In the gallery/studio today, yes, on a holiday, to get the January show up and the gallery ready for tomorrow's opening reception. The First Friday reception will be open from 5:30 to 8:30 pm. The show will be up for the entire month of January.

Our January featured artist, Nick Harmon, is showcasing 8 new pieces including the entry way floor, and an amazing 7 piece backlit acrylic series that's sure to please.

Nick Harmon is owner of FHAB Concepts, and developer of Fresco Harmony, recently he decided to take a tour of newer galleries affiliated with the AABA (Albuquerque Arts Business Association) to show art and pollinate networks. Not only does he create, original media fine art, he also creates innovative patented wall and floor surface applications.

In conjunction with the opening at Chroma Gallery, we were privileged to be able to finish a section of floor in the gallery in his patented technique. This floor system is not a stain, it's a coating, and it's 100% original, and green. Both the wall and floor concepts were accepted into the International Green Ideas Show in Oct where they were a hit. The artwork is where Nick researches new ideas for other, more practical, applications, ie, counter tops, tiles made from moisture resistant hardy backer, transparent window coverings, glass block and more.

The floor before
My contribution, the drawing of the spiral
The spiral template
Nick getting started
The finished spiral, come on down to see the whole floor!

Life is Beautiful!

2008-12-18T16:59:00.004-07:00

This has been such a crazy year! I can't believe it's already almost over! I can easily say that it has been the worst AND the best year of my life. Worst, because I lost my dad and I miss him terribly. Best, because all of my dreams that I have worked for over the years, have come true this year! I'm not sure why this is, perhaps a lesson from my dad to make sure I remember that life does go on without him. Maybe it's him watching over me and making sure things happen for me. Maybe I've finally figured things out and losing my dad has given me a new motivation to achieve my dreams and goals. Whatever the reason, life is beautiful, sometimes in a sad, profound way, sometimes in an inspiring, wonderful way.

So, as I near the end of the week, and the beginning of my Holiday vacation, or time off in this case since we aren't actually going anywhere, I have started thinking about what I have accomplished this year and my goals and plans for next year. Accomplishments this year are higher in number than any other year I can remember. I can hardly believe that I am now in the place I've been working so hard all these years to attain! For anyone out there who is just getting started, this is PROOF that it can be done! If I can do it, anyone can. It makes no difference where you come from, where you live, what your education is, how much money you have or even who you know. If you have a dream and the perseverance to see it through, you can do anything you set your mind to! I started out as a teenage mother, high school drop out, from a lower middle class family, who had people tell me that I would go NO WHERE! I guess it helps that I have always been motivated by people like that. In fact, I am extremely grateful for those people in my life!

My accomplishments for 2008:

1. We opened our Art Studio spaces and quickly expanded into an awesome gallery space. I am now in the position to help other artists with their dreams and goals

2. I have put together a complete body of work, large and small, in my new spiral abstract style.

3. I have started licensing my art for needlepoint designs, giving me a residual income!

4. We have paid off ALL our credit card debt!

5. I am now becoming a force in my local art scene, people come to ME for advice!

That's all I can come up with off the top of my head, but it's a huge list for me! Next year I have even bigger dreams! Now that we have almost made it through our first year in business, some of the smaller dreams within the business can be started. I have so many ideas that I can't wait to begin.

May everyone have a wonderful, happy holiday season and a very happy new year!

New Painting!

2008-12-10T16:07:00.003-07:00

This is a 22 x 22" oil on canvas. I'm unsure if it's done yet. What do you think? I may work more on it, later....I just started a new large (48 x 48") canvas and I'm getting in to it! Don't have a name for this one yet either.

December Events at Chroma Studios & Gallery

2008-12-03T16:12:00.002-07:00

I have been super busy with the gallery this month! We have several events happening at Chroma Studios during December. We would love to see all our friends, new and old, for the holidays! We have extended our open hours to Tuesday-Saturday 12-6 pm. Shop local and buy from living artists!

1. In case you haven't yet heard, we are holding a silent auction to benefit the Roadrunner Food Bank for the month of December. There are many artists participating and there will be drawings for door prizes on the opening night of the show. This is a great chance for you to help a worthy cause and have a piece of artwork to show for it. The opening reception is Friday, December 5th from 5-8:30 at Chroma Gallery at 1606 Central SE Suite 102. Call 259-6320 or 908-1392 for more information

2. On Saturday the 6th, Chroma will be hosting its first ever figure drawing group from 1-4 in the Gallery. We have limited space, so please call to reserve your place. Cost is $7 per session or prepay 5 sessions for $25. The group will meet every Saturday from 1-4 pm with the exception of the 27th of December when we will be closed. Call Paula at 259-6320 for more info.

3. On Friday, December 12th, Chroma will kick off its Intimate Concert Series. This series of concerts will be held on the Third Friday of most months in 2009 and will feature an acoustic performance in an intimate setting.
From 20 to 30 available seats depending on how much space the performers need. The first concert will be performed by Chroma founder Aaron Lewis and tickets will be sold for $5.00 call 908-1392 to reserve your seat today.

4. On Friday December 19th Chroma will have a closing show for the Silent Auction and wrapping artwork for the winning bidders. This show will be from 5-8:30 as well. Call 259-6320 or 908-1392 for more info.

5. Chroma will be closing on Dec 21st until our First Friday show in January to allow the artist Nick Harmon to come in and prepare the gallery for his Fhab opening.(and to take a short breather).

Back at the Easel and Silent Auction in December

2008-11-19T16:32:00.005-07:00

This has been an awesome month! I'm finally getting back into a routine of painting every day. It feels really great to be back at the easel. It's been over 7 months since I lost my dad now and while some of you may be tired of hearing about it, I can't let it go that easily. Obviously. I have now finished exactly 2 paintings since April 9, 2008. Which is nothing compared to what I usually produce. I am more than ready to get back to my regular prolific self. The studios/gallery are getting easier to run, my husband has been helping out more and we are about to have a virtual assistant to help with some of the load. So, now I will have more hours in the day for painting. Plus, and this is pretty important, I have ideas coming back into my head that fit with my usual happy thoughts and paintings. I guess I should retract my previous statement, I have actually finished more than 2 paintings since dad died. Those other paintings I don't count though, because they were grief paintings and will never be sold.

The 2nd painting I finished (see the last post), now has a title. Since I was praying for a good election result while I painted it, I have titled it "Hopeful 2008".

I have been busy scheduling shows for the gallery for 2009 and have decided to do a featured show of my work in April. Yesterday I spoke with the woman who is licensing my needlepoint designs and got her ok to do a needlepoint/art show. I'm thinking about hanging the paintings alongside their corresponding needlepoint canvas and perhaps have a couple of them stitched to show what they look like once they are done.

In the meantime, next month we are doing a silent auction show to benefit the local Roadrunner food bank. 50% of the auction proceeds will go to the food bank with the other 50% going to the artist that created the work. I will post some of the pieces on my Chroma Studios blog so everyone will have a chance to bid on them, even if you can't make it to the gallery! If you are a local Albuquerque artist and would like to participate please contact me as I would like to fill the entire gallery with the silent auction pieces. At the end of the silent auction, closing reception, we will have a fun event, an artist exchange where artists will be able to trade their work with other artists in the show. Any pieces that don't sell in the auction, or extra pieces that artists bring in will be available for the exchange. Unless, of course, you aren't interested in participating in the exchange. Just a fun event for the Holidays!

New Work, finally!

2008-11-13T12:12:00.002-07:00

I have finally finished a new painting! I haven't titled it yet, but it is a 20" square oil painting on canvas. I was looking for a different shape to the flower petals and really liked the shape of this flower. Don't ask me what type of flower it is as I don't know. I tried to find out but couldn't find it anywhere. If anyone can tell me that would be great. This is obviously an abstracted image of the flower, but the real thing is a tiny little blossom.

Reminder: Alyson Stanfield book signing event at Chroma Gallery

2008-11-11T15:16:00.002-07:00

Just a reminder that Art-marketing consultant and Art biz blogger Alyson B. Stanfield will be at Chroma Studios & Gallery on November 13th from 6-8 p.m. to talk about and sign her book, I’d Rather Be in the Studio! The Artist’s No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion, and to answer your questions.

I’d Rather Be in the Studio! The Artist’s No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion is for artists of all kinds. Painters, sculptors, ceramist, jewelers, photographers, and others will benefit from the easy-to-follow self-promotion practices in this book.

Author and art-marketing consultant Alyson B. Stanfield, of ArtBizCoach.com, focuses on sharing the artwork directly with potential buyers through electronic and traditional communication outlets—in a manner that is comfortable, not artificial. Artists match Internet marketing strategies with sincere personal skills to take charge of their art careers.

The book includes online worksheets and downloads.

Chroma Gallery and Studios is located at 1606 Central Ave SE Suite 102 & 201, Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Call Paula at 505-259-6320 for more info.

Hopeful

2008-11-04T13:03:00.001-07:00

Get out there and VOTE!

2008-11-04T10:48:00.002-07:00

Today is an historical day for us as Americans! I can hardly wait to get out my vote and I would like to encourage EVERYONE to get out and vote! It makes no difference who you vote for, of course I have MY preference, but the important thing is that we get rid of the apathy and make our voices heard by getting out there and voting!

Old Dan's Records

2008-10-28T17:21:00.003-07:00

So, Saturday was my 39th birthday! To celebrate, my brother came up from Las Cruces and joined Aaron and I at the Gordon Lightfoot concert here in town. It was just amazing! I have loved his music since I was a kid, basically, I was raised with his music. He has always been a favorite. My dad loved his music too, which is how I was introduced.

I knew that my dad would have loved to see this concert, which is part of the reason, when I found out it was happening on my birthday, that I just had to go! I called my brother and told him about it and of course he was in. The entire concert was great, but the best part was saved for last. The last song of the night, 'Old Dan's Records', was proof to us that my dad was there with us. See, for those who don't know this, my dad's name is Dan, and his lifelong passion was collecting records! We just recently finished building shelves for those records in our house (lucky me, I inherited them all!) and have been waiting for a new record needle to come in so we could listen to those records. So, the encore song of the concert was all too fitting! There are a couple of lines that really hit home for us, 'dig out old dan's records...if old dan was still around, you know he'd be so proud'. It made me bawl the night of the concert and it still brings tears to my eyes just thinking about it. The only thing that would have made my birthday any better is if my dad would have been there with us, I still miss him oh so much! I found the video above on you tube, apparently, ours was not the only show he closed with that particular song. Thanks Gordon!

Insert Clever Title Here:

2008-10-22T13:10:00.006-07:00

Grateful, 48 x 48" oil on canvas, available on Absolute Arts

The Calm Before...., oils on canvas, available on Absolute Arts

It's usually difficult to come up with new titles for my blog posts, but when it's just a rambling post with no real direction, it's even more difficult! I have been slogging thru life these days. Had some emotionally draining personal experiences, moved my studio, had a last minute art show to put together, now putting together another art show, trying to fit painting back into my schedule, run a gallery and a household, nurse my sick husband, etc, etc and the list goes on. I know, cry me a river. I hate to whine, really I do! :0

I'm looking forward to this election being over and done with. HOPEfully with the right outcome this time! My 18 year old son is actually old enough to vote AND he's registered! Kinda scary considering he can't seem to find and job and take care of himself! Either way, I'm happy to say that this family has at least 4 votes going to the right candidate this year.

I'm loving my new studio, though I miss my big windows looking down on Route 66/Central Ave. Plus, I'm the only one down here with the gallery, so I'm feeling a little cut off from all the other artists. I don't miss going up and down the stairs everyday!

I finished the large painting I was working on for 4 months or so, it's actually hanging in the gallery now. I just started a new medium sized(20"square) painting that I'm really happy with. I have another 48" square canvas waiting to be painted, but I am fumbling for an idea to start with. Which is why I skipped to the medium sized canvas for now. The photos I'm posting today are of a couple of my newest large paintings. One is "Grateful", I think I posted a progress photo of it at some point, and it is 48" square. Huge for me! The other one is called "The Calm Before..." and it is the large painting I was finishing up when I got the call about my dad's death. I don't think it will ever be totally finished, so I've hung it and called it done. It's been hard for me to even look at, too many sad memories.

Both were posted in my photos of the gallery, but these are better shots. I will list them in my Absolute Arts portfolio shortly.

Last but not least, here is a video tour of the new gallery that I put together last week. The background music is the title track from my husband's new cd "Space Travel". Incidently, the cd release party is this Friday at Chroma Gallery from 6-8pm!

I hope everyone is having a beautiful, wonderful, happy day, week, month and year!

Obama's Art Policy

2008-10-17T10:22:00.003-07:00

I was just sent this information in an email from the Albuquerque Arts Business Association. Very interesting and informative! Supposedly, the person who sent it to the AABA is searching for McCain's Art policy. I wonder if he even has an art policy. If anyone knows of it, please respond with a link. I have already decided to vote for Obama, but this just makes the choice even better for me.

Our nation’s creativity has filled the world’s libraries, museums, recital halls, movie houses, and marketplaces

with works of genius. The arts embody the American spirit of self-definition. As the author of two best-selling

books – Dreams from My Father and The Audacity of Hope – Barack Obama uniquely appreciates the role and

value of creative expression.

A PLATFORM IN SUPPORT OF THE ARTS

Reinvest in Arts Education: To remain competitive in the global economy, America needs to reinvigorate the

kind of creativity and innovation that has made this country great. To do so, we must nourish our children’s

creative skills. In addition to giving our children the science and math skills they need to compete in the new

global context, we should also encourage the ability to think creatively that comes from a meaningful arts

education. Unfortunately, many school districts are cutting instructional time for art and music education.

Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe that the arts should be a central part of effective teaching and learning.

The Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts recently said “The purpose of arts education is not to

produce more artists, though that is a byproduct. The real purpose of arts education is to create complete human

beings capable of leading successful and productive lives in a free society.” To support greater arts education,

Obama will:

􀂾 Expand Public/Private Partnerships Between Schools and Arts Organizations: Barack Obama and

Joe Biden will increase resources for the U.S. Department of Education’s Arts Education Model

Development and Dissemination Grants, which develop public/private partnerships between schools and

arts organizations. They will also engage the foundation and corporate community to increase support

for public/private partnerships.

􀂾 Create an Artist Corps: Barack Obama and Joe Biden support the creation of an “Artists Corps” of

young artists trained to work in low-income schools and their communities. Studies in Chicago have

demonstrated that test scores improved faster for students enrolled in low-income schools that link arts

across the curriculum than scores for students in schools lacking such programs.

􀂾 Publicly Champion the Importance of Arts Education: As president, Barack Obama will use the

bully pulpit and the example he will set in the White House to promote the importance of arts and arts

education in America. Not only is arts education indispensable for success in a rapidly changing, high

skill, information economy, but studies show that arts education raises test scores in other subject areas

as well.

Support Increased Funding for the NEA: Over the last 15 years, government funding for the National

Endowment for the Arts has been slashed from $175 million annually in 1992 to $125 million today. Barack

Obama and Joe Biden support increased funding for the NEA, the support of which enriches schools and

neighborhoods all across the nation and helps to promote the economic development of countless communities.

Promote Cultural Diplomacy: American artists, performers and thinkers – representing our values and ideals

– can inspire people both at home and all over the world. Through efforts like that of the United States

Information Agency, America’s cultural leaders were deployed around the world during the Cold War as artistic

ambassadors and helped win the war of ideas by demonstrating to the world the promise of America. Artists

can be utilized again to help us win the war of ideas against Islamic extremism. Unfortunately, our resources

for cultural diplomacy are at their lowest level in a decade. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will work to reverse

this trend and improve and expand public-private partnerships to expand cultural and arts exchanges throughout

the world.

Attract Foreign Talent: The flipside to promoting American arts and culture abroad is welcoming members of

the foreign arts community to America. Opening America’s doors to students and professional artists provides

the kind of two-way cultural understanding that can break down the barriers that feed hatred and fear. As

America tightened visa restrictions after 9/11, the world’s most talented students and artists, who used to come

here, went elsewhere. Barack Obama and Joe Biden will streamline the visa process to return America to its

rightful place as the world’s top destination for artists and art students.

Provide Health Care to Artists: Finding affordable health coverage has often been one of the most vexing

obstacles for artists and those in the creative community. Since many artists work independently or have nontraditional

employment relationships, employer-based coverage is unavailable and individual policies are

financially out of reach. The Obama-Biden plan will provide all Americans with quality, affordable health care.

Their plan includes the creation of a new public program that will allow individuals and small businesses to buy

affordable health care similar to that available to federal employees. Their plan also creates a National Health

Insurance Exchange to reform the private insurance market and allow Americans to enroll in participating

private plans, which would have to provide comprehensive benefits, issue every applicant a policy, and charge

fair and stable premiums. For those who still cannot afford coverage, the government will provide a subsidy.

His health plan will lower costs for the typical American family by up to $2,500 per year.

Ensure Tax Fairness for Artists: Barack Obama supports the Artist-Museum Partnership Act, introduced by

Senator Patrick Leahy (D-VT). The Act amends the Internal Revenue Code to allow artists to deduct the fair

market value of their work, rather than just the costs of the materials, when they make charitable contributions.

Paid for by Obama for America

Alyson Stanfield's Studio Tour

2008-10-10T14:33:00.002-07:00

I am excited to announce that Art-marketing consultant and Art biz blogger Alyson B. Stanfield will be at Chroma Studios & Gallery on November 13th from 6-8 p.m. to talk about and sign her book, I’d Rather Be in the Studio! The Artist’s No-Excuse Guide to Self-Promotion, and to answer your questions.

The book includes online worksheets and downloads.

My aching back!

2008-10-07T12:02:00.008-07:00

Interior windows looking from front gallery into my studio with my smaller paintings

Featured art in the front gallery, my latest large painting, "Grateful", 48 x 48", oil on canvas

Another of my newer large paintings, "The Calm Before..", 40 x 40", oil on canvas

left side wall in front gallery, my painting "The Vortex", 40 x 40", oil on canvas

The inner gallery/classroom space and art by other studio artists

Back wall in the gallery, another large painting of mine, "Chroma Sunset", 48 x 48", oil on canvas

Aaron in the main gallery

Me talking with a high school friend I haven't seen in 10 years!

The show opening on Friday went very well. We added several new names to our mailing list and had a few sales. It was a long weekend as we had to sit the gallery for our posted business hours for the first time. The weather was cloudy and rainy, so not many visitors on Saturday and Sunday. The bottom two photos above were taken by one of the photographers in the show, Susan See. The others are pics I shot before the show opened.

Monday morning I woke up with a major pain in my back. Actually, it feels more like my hip. I can't tell if it's out of place or if I just pulled a muscle. Either way, the pain is making it difficult to get anything done today. I had planned on painting, but it hurts to stand at my easel. So, here I sit, blogging and basically avoiding pain as much as is possible!

UPDATE: It seems after talking with my brother and mom, that a may actually have a kidney stone! Yikes! My brother suggested I try drinking some cranberry juice, which I did, and the pain subsided almost instantly! This stinks! Any other suggestions out there? I don't have health insurance, so I can't go to the doctor.

Need Something to do Tonight?

2008-10-03T10:13:00.003-07:00

....Then come by Chroma Studios and Gallery for our "Feathers and Flowers" Show. This is our first show as a member of the Albuquerque Arts Crawl. We are excited about our new gallery which expands Chroma Studios into a downstairs space with easy access for everyone. We have plenty of free parking! Come by and have a peek into the working studios of our artists and see the featured work of Chroma founders, Josephine Brionez de Flores and Paula Manning-Lewis, along with the work of our studio artists.

When: Tonight! 5-8:30pm. Show runs through October 31st. We will also be open for the two weekends of Balloon Fiesta, Thursday - Sunday from 12 - 6 pm.

Where: Chroma Studios and Gallery, 1606 Central Ave SE, Suites 102 & 201, Albuquerque, NM

International Artist Day

2008-10-01T10:07:00.003-07:00

Just read the latest post to the Art biz blog and found out that October 25th is now officially "International Artist Day". The cool thing about this for me is that it also happens to be my birthday! What a great gift! It also happens to be Picasso's birthday.

It's been another busy week, getting ready for our show opening on Friday. I will try to get back to more regular posting next week.

Chroma Studios and Gallery First Friday Opening

2008-09-26T11:02:00.001-07:00

We are very excited about our upcoming opening! The new gallery and classroom space are amazing! If you are local, please come visit us!

When: Friday, October 3rd, 2008 5 - 8 p.m.
Opens October 3rd and runs through Oct. 31st. We will also be open for the two weekends of Balloon Fiesta, Thurs. thru Sun. from 12-6pm.

Where: Chroma Studios and Gallery, 1606 Central Ave SE, Suite 102 & 201, Albuquerque, NM

What: Chroma Studios and Gallery Art Opening - Feathers and Flowers

Chroma Studios is happy to present the opening of our new gallery and classroom
space. We have expanded since our grand opening in June to include a gallery
and classroom downstairs. This First Friday, our new gallery will feature the
work of Chroma co-founders Paula Manning-Lewis and Josephine Brionez de Flores.
We will also have live guitar music by Chroma artist Aaron Lewis, who has
recently released a new cd Space Travel. Our upstairs gallery will include the work of our studio
artists Barak Naggan, Sarah Rose, Caroline Blaker, Chris Schelling, Kirk McGee,
Terry Hansen, and vashti b. Plus guest artists, Susan See, Diane Reitz and Michael Gallegos.

Hope to see you there!

Paula Manning-Lewis :)

Overwhelmed

2008-09-22T14:57:00.002-07:00

I have a blog post planned all about the Maravilla benefit for the National Hispanic Cultural Center that we attended on the 13th, I even have photos! Of course the rechargeable batteries are no longer taking a charge, so I can't get the photos off the camera. Anyway, maybe later in the week.

We have under two weeks until our next opening at Chroma Studios. October 3rd is our First Friday show, our first with the Albuquerque Arts Crawl. Lots and lots to do to get ready. We painted the new gallery space at the end of last week and still have to hang art. Plus, clean the floors, promote the show, on and on!

Anyway, figured I'd post something to let everyone know I'm still alive, just busy as usual!

I will try to get photos posted of the new space as soon as I have batteries. Hope everyone is having a wonderful day, week, month and year!

Damn you Rocco!

2008-09-09T08:43:00.003-07:00

Now that I've reorganized and started back on the road to following a business plan, I decided it was also time to whip my fat butt back into shape! I've gained over 30 pounds in the past year and I'm literally making myself sick. I haven't felt 'healthy' in over a year, since I stopped my regular 5 day a week workouts. My back is always killing me.

Enter Rocco, personal trainer and recent Albuquerque resident. I found him on my favorite Albuquerque website, Duke City Fix, in a blog post about his Boot Camp workout class. He actually helped a girl lose 30 lbs. in 30 days on the MTV show 'Made'. That was enough to get me interested. I had planned to go check it out since he offers the first day for free, but ever the procrastinator, I put it off. In the meantime, I added Rocco as a friend on Duke City Fix. So, yesterday, who shows up at Chroma Studios? Rocco himself! I guess he saw the sign for Chroma Studios and decided to stop in to check it out. Really nice guy. We had a nice chat and he gave me a few free passes for the boot camp. Now I guess I had no choice but to show up. He took the time out of his day, so why not go work out?

Damn you Rocco! What a workout! I haven't worked out that hard since my days in real boot camp(Army) when I was 18 years old. I'm a little older now, to say the least! I seriously thought I was going to die, or puke, or both. Thank god by the time I started getting the sick feeling in my stomach we were on the next to last exercise. I have to admit it felt good, once I was done! Although, my ENTIRE body was shaking for about an hour afterwards! What an awesome workout, but I have to say it wasn't like boot camp in one way, Rocco is a funny, nice guy! He made sure I did the exercises correctly and talked about eating candy at the State Fair! Nothing like the drill sergeants I had back in the Army. I'll be back on Wednesday for sure, time to lose that 30 lbs!

Organizing Myself

2008-09-02T17:33:00.004-07:00

I've been working at getting myself back in gear for what seems like months. I guess it HAS been months. I'm just not myself anymore, but I miss me! I need to get back to myself, my art, my routine. It's been hard, but I'm just tired of my whining already. I'm not usually one to sit and feel sorry for myself. I'm usually hyper-motivated, I love life for crying out loud!

This past weekend I took out my planning notebook and started working on revising my business plan. Turns out, from looking at my old planner notebook, it has actually been 6 YEARS since I used it. Ironically, the last date I used it was the day I got a call from a hospital in El Paso to let me know that my dad had suffered his first heart attack. He was ok, going to need bypass surgery, but he would be ok. That day, I rushed down to El Paso and spent a couple of weeks with my dad and helped him out as he recovered.

There were a lot of other things going on that year. Problems with my 2 older sons, hospitalizations, drama, all the things that can derail anyone. However, I hadn't realized until this weekend that I have been derailed for so long!

Not totally, to be fair, I went back to work and I've worked hard with my art the past 6 years. My style totally changed. I've painted a whole new body of work since then. I just haven't worked diligently on my business plan or used my daily planner since then.

Of course, hindsight is always 20/20 as they say. It was interesting to make that discovery though. So, I finally sat down and worked on my plan on Sunday afternoon for a couple of hours. I started all over, from scratch, after looking at the old plan and realizing how things have changed in the past 6 years.

So, as a way to get myself going, I just finished reading Alyson Stanfield's book "I'd Rather Be In The Studio". I have been a subscriber to her Artbizblog for years and have always enjoyed her newsletters. Her book is great! It's completely up to date with the 21st century. She spends a lot of time on the internet, blogging, websites, etc. I've read many, MANY artist promotion/marketing books and I have to give Alyson's book a big fat two thumbs up! I'm even thinking about using it for an art marketing class I'm putting together for Chroma Studios.

After all that, I'm feeling pretty motivated again! Yay! I have so much work to do, a new website to build, art cd/dvd to put together, mailing list to update, etc, etc. Not to mention blogging more often!

Over at my other blog

2008-08-27T14:52:00.003-07:00

I just started a new series of artist interviews over at my other blog for Chroma Studios. Terri Hansen is one of the wonderful artists that has her studio here at Chroma, follow this link to read the whole interview.

Grateful,

2008-08-22T11:26:00.008-07:00

for a wonderful week. This has been the most productive week I've had since March!

Back on Track, Newest Daily Journal Painting, 6/10/08, framed, $50

I finally finished framing a bunch of my daily journal paintings and put them up in my etsy shop this week. These paintings are small (9" square with frame) and make great little groupings. Follow the link above or click on the box in the sidebar to go to my etsy shop directly.

Now I just have to get back to painting more of these little gems. I just realized that the newest one I have was painted more than two months ago! I'll get there eventually, in fact, I think I'll go paint a new one RIGHT NOW!

Feeling Great!

2008-08-19T09:51:00.002-07:00

What a wonderful, beautiful day! This is the first week I've been back in full swing since April. I may have thought I was back before now, but I was kidding myself. Or just trying to psych myself out. Finally, it's true. I've spent more time painting this week (and it's only Tuesday) than I have in months. I'm close to finishing my first large canvas since my life changed forever. I'm still thinking about what to title it.

My dad was right, life does go on, and it does get easier.

I don't have much to write about today, just trying to get back into the habit of blogging more often. Time keeps getting away from me. One of the promises I made myself back in April was that I would no longer be a time waster. No more procrastination. No more excuses. Life is too short and I have way too many goals to reach. So, it's time to switch back into high gear and get busy!

I just recently received my second check for royalties on my needlepoint designs. One of my goals in the near future is to get a link up to the company selling my designs and the retail locations where they are available for purchase. I have about 6 weeks to get 4 more designs painted and shipped off in time for the January trade show.

I guess I had better get back to work!

Gallinas Canyon

2008-08-13T13:22:00.013-07:00

The whole gang, left to right, back row first, my sons Nate and Jeff, Aaron and I, oldest son, Bryan and front row, brother Travis, his wife, Charlene and family friend.

Once again it's been too long since my last post. So much going on! I'm finally back in the studio at work after two weeks of home improvement projects and a wonderful camping trip.
July 30th thru August 1st we went on a camping trip to the Gila Wilderness with a specific purpose in mind. Along for the trip were my husband, Aaron, three sons, my brother, his wife and a good friend of the family. Gallinas Canyon is a place we know well. My dad took us there many times as kids and then as teenagers. This was also the last spot we camped with my dad during the summer of 2005. Camping has always been a favorite past time in my family. This time we were there to set my dad free, to spread his ashes in his final resting place.

One of the last times I saw my dad we discussed what would happen after he passed away. We discussed where he would want his ashes spread. Of course he told me he didn't care, he won't be here so it doesn't matter to him. When I mentioned the canyon to him, he agreed it was a good choice.

Wednesday the 30th we arrived at our camp site and set up camp. The weather was beautiful, the creek was running with lots of water and we found a perfect campsite at the end of the road. We spent the first night around the campfire, roasting marshmallows and playing music. My brother improvised a marshmallow song that was too funny! My dad always loved listening to Aaron and Travis playing guitars around the campfire.

The next day, after eating a yummy camp breakfast of Chorizo and egg burritos, we set off on a hike down the canyon to find the perfect spot. We had to cross the creek several times and in several places the water was up to our knees. The water was cold but refreshing. Our old 21 year old dog, Rusty, decided to follow us on the hike and had to be carried across most of the crossings. The canyon narrowed more and more as we continued down. At one spot we had to climb up the canyon hillside to get across a waterfall section.

We finally found a huge rock sitting in the middle of the creek with a small waterfall beside it and decided it was the perfect place. Just before we took out the box containing dad's remains, a Monarch butterfly flew by us and hovered over the waterfall as if to confirm "this is the place". My brother and I took dad's ashes out and together we emptied them over the waterfall and into the rapid water below.

No one really had anything to say, it was a melancholy moment and we spent some quiet time giving each other hugs and saying goodbye to dad.

On the way down the canyon we had passed a spot with a swimming hole and small cave area. This is where we went back to enjoy a dip in the cool creek water and take a break before we hiked back to camp. We found a tree there and left a small memorial to dad. My brother had brought some teaching pins of my dad's and we carved his dates into the tree below them.

It was such a wonderful feeling of closure once we returned to camp. We had now laid dad to rest in a beautiful place and it felt as if he was there with us.

Dad would have truly enjoyed the second night of camping! Sometime in the evening a big, dark cloud drifted in and settled over our camp. At some point my sister in law and I decided that it was time to get ready for the rain, and just in time! We got everything put away and the rainfly on the largest tent fixed just before it started to pour! It was one of those crazy New Mexico monsoon rains that went on for about a half hour and in no time there was water running through the camp and directly UNDER the tent we had taken shelter in. The best part was all the loud thunder and lightning. Dad loved thunderstorms.

Anyway, to make a long story short, we made it through the rainstorm, although everything was damp. The next morning we packed up camp and had to find someone to give us a jump start as the batteries on BOTH vehicles died. We made it home in one piece and since the trip I haven't felt sad about losing my dad. I just think about the awesome place we laid him to rest and how much he would have enjoyed the camping trip.

Speechless

2008-07-26T08:04:00.008-07:00

People who know me well may find it hard to believe I could ever be speechless, but it's true, I've had a down month and I tend to shut myself off from the outside world when I'm down. It's been a while since I posted a blog and I figured it was about time.

I've had dad on my mind a lot this month. I think the shock is just wearing off.

It's not getting any easier, in fact, it seems to be getting harder. I've tried to move on and get back to my regular routine, but whenever something reminds me of dad, which is a LOT, I get all choked up and feel the pain all over again.

I like to paint happy, cheerful, colorful images. I like to be a positive person, happy and grateful. It's hard to paint and think like that when I've never felt so sad. I hate to whine, and that is the main reason I haven't blogged recently. I don't want to sound like I'm whining.

People tell me it takes at least a year to get past the grief. I guess I should be kinder to myself. I wonder if I'll ever get past the grief.

I have gone back and forth about posting this blog, too personal and all that, but I needed to get it out.

Above is a progress photo of the painting I'm currently working on. It is a 48 inch square canvas. I still have a ways to go on this one!

Bicycle Commuting, Tom Waits and Cloudcroft

2008-06-25T09:34:00.004-07:00

Sorry about the long gap between postings! Aaron and I took a little getaway vacation last week. We spent a couple of days at the family cabin in Cloudcroft, NM and then headed down to Las Cruces and ultimately El Paso for the Tom Waits concert.

Cloudcroft was a nice break from the heat. The second day we woke up to cloud cover and 50 degree F. temps! The first day we were there we had no water most of the day, it seems the village water people did some work and "forgot" to turn the water back on to the cabin. It took them 5 hours to get up there and turn it back on! Talk about slow moving, in a town the size of Cloudcroft, I doubt they were that busy!

Now, on to the Tom Waits concert! What a blast! It was definitely one of the best concerts of my life. Only second behind the Police last summer and pretty close to tied with the Page/Plant concert we saw in 1995. Waits is quite the entertainer, well worth the $90 ticket price! Plus it made my hubby super happy to see one of his favorite musicians ever.

Saturday we stayed in Las Cruces for my brother's housewarming party. So, needless to say, we are dragging a little this week.

Yesterday we bought bicycles. Today was our first commute to the studio. WOW! I knew it was going to be a rough ride at the end because we live in the valley and the last few blocks to our studio are uphill, but damn! I thought my heart would jump out of my chest! Once again, needless to say, it's going to take a little while to get back in hill riding shape. It's been a few years since we've owned bikes, but it's been even longer since I've used a bike for commuting. We decided that it was time to stop spending $80 a week on gas, and riding the bus isn't really a big cut in money, but riding bikes is not only free(other than the price of the bikes), but it's great exercise AND good for the environment. Time to put our money where our mouth is!

Proud of Pride

2008-06-13T09:15:00.004-07:00

Peace Pride, oil on canvas, 12 x 12", completed

This weekend is the Albuquerque Pride Festival and I will be there with my art at booth # 27. For those who don't know, Pride is a festival that celebrates the gay, lesbian and transgender community.

My first and only time(so far) at a Pride Fest was a couple of years ago when Aaron and I went with my dad. My dad was a gay man and I have to say I was very proud of him. It can't be easy to come out of the closet in a country full of hate crimes and discrimination. I am dedicating this show to the memory of my dad. He would have been here cheering me on and we would have had a wonderful time. So, in his memory, I plan to have a blast this weekend.

The Pride Fest runs thru Saturday at 8pm. Saturday morning there will be a parade down Central Ave. into the state fairgrounds. There will also be concerts and a pet parade.

I had planned to do a whole series of paintings for the show, but only ended up with time enough to finish one. "Peace Pride" is available for $300, plus I will have prints available for $20(13x13" matted) and $8(6x6" matted).

Grand Opening a Hit!

2008-06-10T12:17:00.006-07:00

This past Friday was our Grand Opening art show and open studios event. Most of the photos posted were taken before and after the show. I had planned to take more during the show, but the place was so crowded and I was so busy talking with our guests that I ended up putting the camera away.

The show was a huge success! Many people came by to see the space and ended up staying for the three hours to enjoy the art, talk with all the artists, enjoy a little food and beverages and many even left with a piece of art or two. I have been told by several people that this was the best art opening they've been to in some time. I would have to agree with that, even if I am a little biased. The art was amazing, the artists friendly, the refreshments yummy and the atmosphere in general was positive.

Thanks go out to everyone that came out to support Chroma Studios. Thanks to the guest artists that brought in their wonderful work, to the studio artists for all the hard work they put into getting everything ready, to the musicians(Aaron and Michael) that created a festive atmosphere and to our good friends Kathy and Benita that prepared the awesome food!

Chroma Artists from left to right, Michael(guest artist), Barak, Vashti, Josephine, Terri, Angelo, Aaron and Paula(Chroma Artists not pictured, Diane Reitz, Chris and Amy Schelling, guest artists not pictured, Ray Maseman, Jacqui Lewnes and Brandon Atencio)

You're Invited!

2008-06-04T11:49:00.008-07:00

Please join us for our Grand Opening celebration!

When: Friday, June 6, 2008 5:30 - 8:30pm

Where: Chroma Studios

1606 Central Ave SE Suite 201

(there is plenty of parking in the East and West parking lots and in the adjacent church)

Who we are:
Chroma Studios is Albuquerque’s newest professional artist’s studio space. Located on Central just West of University, Chroma is home to 10 professional artists and a growing community of visiting artists and students. We are dedicated to promoting the work of established and emerging artists through studio spaces, exhibitions, and class offerings.

Meet the artists:

Painter Paula Manning-Lewis creates stunning works of art that incorporate spirals depicting the cycles of growth and invention, inspiration and experience, failure and success. She is a passionate and inspired artist is one of the founding members of Chroma Studios.

Aaron Lewis is an accomplished musician who will be gracing us with his tunes on opening night. Lewis is currently mastering tracks for his third CD “Space Travel”. He plays gigs througout New Mexico, and teaches music to children in his spare time. He is also a founding member of the Studios.

Josephine Brionez de Flores is another founding member, born and raised in Barelas. Brionez de Flores is a prolific artist who shows her work throughout New Mexico and internationally. Her feather masks are held in private collections throughout the world.

Angelo Flores, the final founding member, is an entrepenuer that creates custom engraving on pendants for all occasions, ie graduation, new baby, memorials, etc.

Diane Walton Reitz studied fine art at Schular Fine Art School in Baltimore, Maryland, and received a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree with a specialty in painting and illustration from Texas A& M. She has been living, painting, and teaching in New Mexico since 1998, and is a member of several New Mexico art associations. She is represented by Chroma Studios, and Dreamscapes Gallery.

Terri Hansen is an award winning classical realist painter who has recently relocated to Albuquerque and positively loves living here. Primarily an Oil and Watercolor artist, her compositions and colors are unmistakable for their highly charged dramatic flair.

Chris and Amy Schelling are a husband/wife artist team. Chris paints colorful abstract oils and Amy works in several media.

Israeli Barak Naggan is a professional adventure travel and nature photographer and videographer. On his first visit to the American southwest several years ago, he became deeply inspired by the area's natural beauty and in 2002 he made New Mexico his home. His photographs have shown in Israel, California and New Mexico, and have been published in several magazines including Men’s Journal and National Geographic Adventure.

vashti b, a New Mexico native, is an artist who explores text, found objects and mixed media in her work. She is a professional teaching artist who works to promote literacy and a culture of creativity and kindness.

Please join us for an evening of refreshments, music and art as we introduce ourselves as well as the work of several other local artists.
See you there!

For more information or any questions call Paula at 259-6320.

Mi Vida Loca

2008-05-28T12:38:00.005-07:00

Peace Pride One, 12" oil on canvas, in progress

Hectic, crazy, overwhelmed, emotional.......this is my life currently! We are in the crunch time for preparing for the grand opening of Chroma Studios. Picked up our postcard announcements this morning. I have to get busy writing blog posts for my other blog(Chroma Studios) to introduce all our studio artists. Because I've been so busy and haven't started yet, I'm going to have to group artists together instead of everyone getting their own daily post. We've hired my youngest son to help with getting all the trim painted at the studios. Thank God for summer break and bored teenagers!

This weekend, same as last, we have to travel down south to Las Cruces/El Paso. Aaron has a gig on Saturday in Las Cruces and we have one more load of stuff to clear out my dad's house. Gas prices are skyrocketing so basically the money Aaron is making on the gig will all go towards gas! Oh well, it's all about the exposure, right?

I'm working on a new series of Peace paintings, incorporating rainbows, for an upcoming show. I have a booth at the Albuquerque Pride Festival this year and wanted to do some special pieces for that in memory of my dad. The painting above is the first one, in progress. It's a 12" square oil on canvas. I plan to make prints and notecards of these images.

Surprise of the Week!

2008-05-21T07:39:00.003-07:00

I was pleasantly surprised yesterday to find that my Etsy shop was featured as shop of the week on the front page of Duke City Fix! DCF is a local news/community website here in Albuquerque, all about the Duke City (Albuquerque's nickname). The same website that had the group show this past Friday at VERB Collective. Spring Griffin is the blogger that wrote the feature, thanks Spring!!

New Grief painting.....Life Goes On......

2008-05-20T15:11:00.004-07:00

Life Goes On

I think I may be finished with this painting now. This is the last (for now) grief painting. It's time to move on and get back to my regular paintings. I have a large one that I blogged about what seems like long, long ago. I was supposed to finish it the day my dad passed away, but it didn't happen for obvious reasons. My next goal is to finish that painting. Until then, here is a new painting, this one is 20 x 20", watermixable oils on canvas. I could probably do more, but I feel ready to move on!

Life is slowly getting back to normal. Summer is almost here. My youngest son finishes up the spring semester this week. Another trip down to Las Cruces to help my brother and his wife move into their new house! It has been HOT the last couple of days, topping 90 degrees!!! I can only imagine, it will be even hotter down south of here!

Also, coming up soon is the Grand Opening for our new studio spaces! Chroma Studios! I've started another blog just for Chroma news. I plan to interview our studio artists there as well as writing other interesting art related stories. We are having a grand opening reception/art show on the first Friday of June, June 6th 5:30-8:30 pm. If you are in the area, come down and see our great new space! We plan to have some fun summer art and music classes coming up soon as well. We will have more information about classes and upcoming shows at the opening.

Another planned event I'm excited about is our monthly Salon group. Our first topic of discussion will be "Censorship vs. Artist Responsibility". For anyone that doesn't know, a salon is a group of creative people getting together to discuss certain predetermined topics in a safe, friendly environment. We have had salons in the past, but it has been years!

Life really does go on

2008-05-15T08:45:00.007-07:00

So, a couple of days ago I started what I think will be my last grief painting. It's called "Life Goes On" and I can't believe how easily the ideas have flowed for this one. Yesterday was my second day working on it and it also ended up being the first day that I felt almost normal again. I did think about dad a couple of times, but I didn't cry or tear up, I smiled. I will post a photo of the new painting once I finish it.

Yesterday, I went to the dedication of a public art project that my artist friend, Vashti, worked on. The project was three worm composting benches that were painted for a comminity garden. She worked with kids from a local community center and also had some high school students helping out. It was so refreshing to see the kids all happy and excited about going to see their work in the garden.

Another event that has me excited is a group art show, Porque Burque, over at VERB Collective here in Albuquerque. The opening is Friday night from 5-8:30pm. Check out the link for more info. It is a show of members of the Duke City Fix website. I have two pieces in the show and my hubby Aaron will be opening up the night with a set of his guitar music. There are also four other Chroma Studio artists participating.(Vashti Gamble, Josephine Brionez de Flores, Barak Naggan, and Terri Hansen)

I grieve

2008-05-12T10:11:00.002-07:00

This is a great song! Thanks to Sus for reminding me of it! I first heard it on the City of Angels soundtrack, which btw, is one of my favorite movies of all time. Check out the video at the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O18A4RugiMs&eurl=http://www.last.fm/music/Peter+Gabriel/+videos/+1-O18A4RugiMs

Grief Paintings

2008-05-08T13:20:00.007-07:00

I've finally had some time in the studio to paint my emotions and work thru some of the feelings I've had surrounding my dad's passing. Working thru my emotions and pain has been very helpful. I have finished 3 out of the 4 grief paintings that I plan to paint. I doubt these will ever be for sale, but I wanted to share them. Dealing with my dad's death has been the hardest thing I've ever gone thru. I still wake up every morning and think for a minute that it must have been a bad dream. Then I'll realize that it's very real. Tomorrow it will be one month since he left us and life is finally getting back to the regular routine. Normal is different now. I can't even remember the last time I've gone this long without talking to him on the phone or seeing him in person. Even though he lived 4 hours away from us, we almost always saw him on a monthly, if not more frequent, basis. I still miss him like crazy! There may end up being more than 4 of these, but for now, here they are;

Denial, 8 inch square oil on canvas

Pain, Sadness, Grief, 8 inch square oil on canvas

Anger, Heartache, 8 inch square oil on canvas

Contact your Congressperson!

2008-05-06T09:41:00.003-07:00

I just received this forwarded email and wanted to get the word out to everyone I know. Below is the forwarded email and a link to the website. You can go to the website and send emails directly to your congressperson. If you are an artist, this is very important!

This is serious stuff. Congress is getting pushed by big companies to change the way the copyright laws currently work. If you have deep pockets, you'll weather the change...But if this law is passed, you will be forced to register (for a fee!) every single painting, photography, lithograph, sculpture, or pot that you make. The current copyright – you create it; therefore it's copyrighted – will no longer exist. The only way to stop this is to stand up and be counted.

How?
Today at 6 pm Eastern Time (New York time)
The Society of Illustrators
128 East 63rd StreetNew York, NY 10065

Will hold a live meeting and a WEBCAST.You don't have to leave home!
Just log on to: http://www.illustratorspartnership.org/And send this out to every artist you know!

Oh well.....Life goes on

2008-05-05T12:53:00.003-07:00

As my dad used to say. Life is getting back to normal a little more everyday. Tonight we have an artist's meeting at the new studio. This will be my first full week back at work. We'll see if I make it thru the whole week. Last week we took off Thursday-Saturday to get the house clean and put my dad's record collection away in one of the bedrooms.

Not sure if I've written about my dad's record collection before. My dad was nuts about music. When I say nuts, I mean he had OCD. He collected records, I'm talking vinyl here, albums and 45s, starting when he was around 16. He ended up with a collection of around 40,000 records! It's difficult to picture that many records, so let me help with the visualization. His record collection takes up one FULL bedroom! That is records all around the room floor to ceiling! Now, many people have record collections, but not only did he collect them, he organized them! They are all cataloged extensively. The 45s are cataloged chronologically by the week they hit the Billboard top 100 and also by artist alphabetically. The albums are cataloged in alphabetical order by artist. He had the top 100 singles from 1943 thru the early 1990s!

Some of my best memories as a kid were the times I spent with my dad listening to music. It's no wonder I married a musician! Dad always had a record room. When I was younger it was just a closet or half a room, but as I got older, they took up more and more space. I remember weekends spent combing yard sales, Goodwill and anywhere else he could find records for a quarter or less. My brother and I would always whine because it was so boring! He always had a list in his wallet of the records he was looking for to fill out the collection. Every week when he received his newest Billboard magazine he would show me which songs had gone up the charts, which had fallen, and which were new to the charts. That was always my favorite part because he would then play any new records for me and we would talk about what we liked or didn't like. He loved to make me mix tapes of my favorites and I would play them on my cassette player over and over. If there was a record I liked, he would buy it for me and make a tape. I rarely got to keep the record myself, unless he had a double of it!

Now, all those records are in my house and I look forward to playing them soon. We still need to put up shelves so they can be accessed and set up our record player so they can be played. I know he will be there beside me, listening to music, just like the old days.

Home again

2008-04-28T12:46:00.003-07:00

Another week has passed and we are finally home, at least for a few weeks. This past weekend we went through dad's things and started moving things out of his house. It was way more emotionally difficult than I thought it would be. I had thought I was doing better, that is until we started clearing things out of his house. Then the emotions all flooded back in!

We are back home again and trying to get back to some semblance of a normal life. Time to get back to work and go on living. I keep hearing my dad saying "it's time to move on". I know he wouldn't want me to sit around missing him and crying over him, but somehow that doesn't help much. However, I know that moving on is what I have to do in order to get past my grief. Life does go on and I'm ready to get back to my life now. Sometimes I wish I could just forget that my dad is gone. I know that will never happen.

I'm sure everyone is getting sick of hearing me talk about it. Thank you to everyone who has left me a comment or emailed me with condolences. It really means a lot to know people are thinking about me. I will eventually post more about it but for now it's time to move on.....I know, dad, I know, I should have moved on already!

So much of my work has backed up on me while I've been floating around the past 3 weeks. I am very ready to get back to painting everyday! Plus there is a grand opening of Chroma Studios to get busy planning.

Thanks again to everyone for all their love, support and good wishes the past few weeks. I love you all!

Never the same again

2008-04-22T17:38:00.001-07:00

It's been almost two weeks now since my dad passed away. I can still hardly believe it is real. I feel like I've been floating around above my body while it keeps moving around on autopilot.

I always wondered how I would handle the death of one of my parents. I thought it would be unbearable, and while it has been very difficult, somehow I keep on living, breathing, laughing and loving. My dad was right, life goes on. The problem is it will never be the same. I don't know how it could ever be the same. I used to talk to my dad on the phone almost everyday. We never talked long but we always ended with "I love you". I am so thankful that nothing was ever left unsaid.

My brother is a much better writer than I am, I am much better at expressing myself visually, so I will share what he wrote for the Memorial services because he said it all so well. I will eventually paint my emotions to exorcise them, until then..........

I cannot even explain the hole in my soul created by my dad's passing, But I know that anyone who has lost someone close to them, someone that was so instrumental in their development as a person, and a role-model for their existence, knows exactly how I feel. He was so important in my life, and I don't know how I will ever live without him. The emptiness is so painful and I know that it will never go away, but I keep trying to believe that everything happens for a reason, and that he left our world exactly how he wanted to. I feel so lucky because I was so very close with my dad and never left a thing unsaid. I ended every conversation with "I love you," and always knew the extent of his love for me…no question! It is still so unthinkable that he is gone and I will never have another chance to talk to him, or laugh with him, or even cry with him. But I know he is with me and I hold on tight to that thought. Dan "The Man" Manning, my father, lived for every minute, loved everyone he knew with no discrimination, and embraced life like no one I have ever known. And I promise you what he would say right now is…..life goes on…enjoy it!!

RIP Dad, I love you

2008-04-13T11:53:00.002-07:00

Life is way too short! Last Wednesday, one day before his 65th birthday, my dad, Daniel P. Manning, passed away from a heartattack. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him. Most especially by me and my brother. I will post photos and more about his life later this week.

In case anyone who knew him sees this, we will have Memorial services for him on Friday the 18th at noon at Chapin HS in El Paso, Tx. and on Saturday the 19th at 5pm at the Mission Inn Best Western in Las Cruces, NM.

Where does all the time go?

2008-04-07T10:58:00.002-07:00

I've been bad about blogging lately. Weeks are flying by, faster and faster, wasn't it just Monday yesterday?

Settling in to the new studio space. All the studios are rented now, for sure. We are having our first artist's meeting this Friday. One of the things I've been trying to decide lately is whether I should start yet another blog to keep the Chroma Studios news separate from my art news. Problem is that I hardly have enough time to keep up with the blogs and websites I have now, do I really need to add another one to keep track of? One of the features I am planning for the studios blog is individual interviews with each artist in the space. I'm thinking weekly, but maybe I'll do them all in 10 days. There are 10 studios here, but a couple of them have more than one person. We actually have 12 people total. Of course I don't need to interview myself.

Spring is finally here in northern NM! It has been so nice going on our daily walks to the river again. We always say we're going to walk thru the winter, but it never happens that way! I am a wimp when it comes to the cold. You would think that 4 years in Northern Colorado would have fixed that, but it actually made me worse!

I can tell it's been awhile since I've blogged because I'm all over the place and don't know what to write next! Oh well. I guess that's all for now, just wanted to put up a new blog so you wouldn't think I'd dropped off the earth! :)

Introducing......Chroma Studios!

2008-03-25T13:54:00.009-07:00

Here are some photos of the new space.

Reception area

My Studio

My studio, looking into the reception area

Aaron's Studio
My husband and I both have our studios here, plus there are 7 other studios.

One space left!

Currently there are 6 other artists with one empty studio. 1 mixed media artist, 2 photographers, 4 painters and 1 musician. I have someone coming to see the last space tomorrow. I will get links up to all the other artist websites soon.

Multipurpose room

We are planning our grand opening show for the first week in May. Not sure about the exact date yet. I will keep you updated on that. We also have a conference room/classroom/gallery space. Let's just call it our multipurpose room.

One of my favorite spaces is the patio out on the roof! We sit out there on sunny days and eat our lunch.

Finally, back online!

2008-03-19T14:35:00.002-07:00

Moved into the new studio space and after several days and several people trying to figure it out, we have our internet up and working now! I have lots to blog about but have to go out of town tomorrow and have to finish one of my needlepoint designs before I go, soooo I will get back to blogging when I get back. I will also have photos to share of the new studios!

New work!

2008-03-10T12:01:00.009-07:00

Update: OK, so I couldn't get the video to work, so above is a photo of my latest piece. It's not a great photo, as it's difficult to get a good shot of such a large painting! This one is 48 inches square. I THINK it's done!
Still in progress, I cannot wait to move into the new studio space so I can finish it up! I just don't have the room at home! We are counting down the days until move in, Thursday is the day! We now only have one, possibly two, spaces available! We rented three on Friday and the one that is left could be split into two spaces. I'm having a difficult time getting anything done at the house, so it will be great to get in there!

Also, in preparation for my move, I'm cleaning out my stash of stuff! I have several embroidered, beaded butterfly and dragonfly brooches as well as some vintage Mucha and Vogue posters listed in my Etsy shop for incredible prices. Check them out!

Busy, Busy, Busy!

2008-03-05T14:08:00.004-07:00

Wow! Time has flown since my last post! I have been super busy with everything going on, but it's all good stuff, so I'm happy. We are still showing the new studio space to prospective renters. We were down to only 2 spaces left but unfortunately, a couple people had to back out on us so now there are 4 spaces available again. If you are interested you'd better jump on it soon though, we are making the rounds at First Friday this week so I don't expect there to be any spaces available after the weekend!

Lots of other exciting things happening as well! My husband will be appearing on television tonight on two different shows. They are both local cable access channel shows so unfortunately you have to be local to catch them. However, he does get a dvd of his appearance so I know he will be posting some video on his blog and youtube as soon as he can.

Also, it looks like a may have a position as curator for a local arts and entertainment venue. I don't want to mention any names until I know for sure. I should be meeting with the current curators soon. I will keep you posted.

I am close to finishing the second of two large canvases I've been working on over the past few weeks. They are reserved for a gallery on Canyon Road in Santa Fe. Again, I don't want to mention any names until I know for sure. I have taken some video of the first one and I'm waiting for my camera batteries to charge so I can upload and post it.

And in other news, I have several new needlepoint designs that will be released to the public at a trade show in Dallas next month. I have promised to save them for the show, so until then I can't post photos here.

The best news for me is that I'm finally feeling better after suffering through a bout with the flu for the past 3 weeks! It was the strangest sickness I've ever had. There is definitely a new strain going around this year! It seems just about everyone I know has had it and some of them have suffered for over 3 months! So, I count myself lucky to be feeling better after only 3 weeks! I just pray I don't relapse!

Attn. Albuquerque Locals: New Studio Space opening soon!

2008-02-24T16:34:00.004-07:00

This new space is something I've been dreaming of for a long time! I along with 3 friends and my husband have finally found the perfect space and there are still 3-4 studio spaces available!

Call for Artists - Looking for high quality studio space?

Chromatic Horizon Studios, Albuquerque's newest art & music studio space, is about to open on Central Ave. two blocks west of University, in lovely east downtown Albuquerque. Get in on the ground floor of our eclectic opening, and enjoy the kind of studio you deserve!

We offer an intriguing, classy, centralized location in a large office space, with secure individual studios, 24 hour access and a great view of our ever-changing Albuquerque horizon. Studios range in price from $175 - $350, with central heat & refrigerated air, free wifi, an upscale reception area, nice restrooms, parking, a communal kitchenette, access to an excellent classroom / mini show space, and countless other perks, including open studio nights, courtyard shows, and more.

Best of all, we're an artist-run studio space and active community of artists devoted to making Chromatic Horizon a cool place to be. Teach classes in our conference room, participate in shows, special events--and decision making, in our democratic, pro-active environment. We hope to attract other members who want to participate in our events and planning!

Our artistic body so far consists of two painters, a photographer, a jeweler, a mixed media artist and even a classical guitarist/composer.

Please contact me for additional information, or if you would like to arrange a meeting to see the space. There is a jurying process (no fee), which requires a brief interview.

View Larger Map

How many people have your name?

2008-02-23T07:36:00.002-07:00

A friend sent me this link and I found it very interesting that I am the ONLY Paula Manning-Lewis in the USA! There are 99 Paula Mannings and 744 Paula Lewis'. So I guess using the entire hyphenated name is a good thing as an artist since I am the only one!

HowManyOfMe.com

There are
0
people with my name
in the U.S.A.

How many have your name?

Featured on another blog

2008-02-17T13:44:00.002-07:00

George McKim was kind enough to feature me and my etsy shop on his blog! Thanks George! Now it's my turn to feature him. Stay tuned.......

It's a beautiful life!

2008-02-12T11:17:00.000-07:00

So much going on right now, I barely have time to breathe! Figured I'd write a quick post to let you all know what's up. Several deals in the works, can't really say much until I know more, but stay tuned and I will keep you posted.

I'm working on my largest canvas to date, a 48 x 48" oil painting, a new spiral abstract flower.

I have a couple of Canyon Road galleries in Santa Fe interested in seeing more of my larger work which is why I'm busy painting more!

Preparing to move in to my new studio (again, I know, I've only been in this studio for 1 1/2 months!) at the beginning of March. Much nicer place(heat and air conditioning!) with a gallery too!

Spring is coming! I love this time of year! I'll post more news soon, I promise!

Another week already!

2008-02-06T14:12:00.000-07:00

Dreamscapes #2, 20 x 20" oil painting on canvas

Sheesh! I've been so busy, I let another week slip by without a blog post. I'm working on new needlepoint designs that I can't share until they've been released to the public. However I do have a couple of photos to share. The first is my latest Dreamscape painting.

The other two are photos of a found art painted rock(what does she actually call them?) by Jafabrit that I was able to aquire all the way out here in New Mexico! Long story short, one of the Jafagirls has a gallery here in Albuquerque(Dreamscapes) and she gave it to me at her First Friday show last week. Jafabrit wanted me to post photos so she could see which one I got.

In other news, I'm planning to move my studio yet again, hopefully for the last time for awhile! Previously mentioned gallery, Dreamscapes, also rents studio space so that's where I'm going. It is actually only two blocks away from my current studio, still on 5th street. I'm excited as it is a very nice place and Jan, the owner, is a wonderfully nice lady!

Oh and in case I don't get back to post another blog before this weekend, my husband Aaron is playing a gig here in Albuquerque on Sunday afternoon at the Market Cafe located on the corner of Corrales Rd. and Alameda Rd. He plays from 12 to 2pm. So, if you are in the area, come out and enjoy some great guitar music and a yummy lunch!

A Whole Week!

2008-01-29T17:02:00.001-07:00

I just realized that I mentioned my recycled, hand painted furniture in the last post, but forgot to post the photos. OOPS! See them in my Etsy shop. (I was unable to load them here, something up with blogger)

It's been a week since my last post. I was out of town last week from Wednesday to Saturday. I went down to Las Cruces (my home town) to help a long time and very dear friend pack up her mom's house. Her mom, also a cherished friend, is moving to New Hampshire to complete her PhD. She has lived in this house since before we were born (as far as I know), almost 40 years let's just say. It was like going back in time and reliving all my memories of growing up. I spent a LOT of time in that house. It was so much fun to hang out with my friend and her mom. We haven't spent time alone, just the girls without kids and husbands, in at least 20 years!

Since I came home I have been busy, busy, busy in the studio. I'm currently working on some new needlepoint designs. I hope to have all my designs posted together with a link to the company that is selling them VERY soon! As soon as I know where they are being sold retail, I will also post that information. I had contemplated selling them retail in my Etsy shop but decided that I didn't want to compete with the shops. So I will provide a list of shops as well as a link to the website where they can be purchased wholesale. So far I have 9 designs completed with a couple more in the works. However, there are a couple that I won't be able to share until later in the year because they will be released exclusively at a show in April. I will share more information about that as it comes available.

I am also currently working on finding companies to license my designs for use on tiles and fabric. If you have any recommendations please let me know.

More recycled paintings

2008-01-22T14:46:00.000-07:00

Purple Night ACEO(2 1/2 x 3 1/2")

Green Moon 8" square oils on canvas board

I've been painting a lot of smaller pieces on recycled matboard scraps. Each piece is gessoed by me before I start. The mat scraps are plentiful in my framing studio. When I am out of ideas for larger paintings I like to paint small ACEOs or 6 - 8" squares. It helps to get my creative juices flowing and I usually come up with my next large painting concept while I'm at it. That is exactly what happened today! I painted Purple Night aceo and then came the Green Moon on 8" canvas board. Now I'm working on a similar idea on a 20" square stretched canvas. It was a very productive day in the studio. I've also jotted down some ideas for my next needlepoint designs.

Above and below are photos of all the aceo paintings, daily journal paintings and handpainted furniture I've finished in the past week. All are available in my Etsy shop.

Please Don't Break My Heart 7" square Oils on recycled matboard

Waves of Love 6" square Oils on recycled matboard

True Love ACEO

Flowerette ACEO

Heart in Love ACEO

Two Hearts ACEO

Music Playing 8" square Oils on recycled canvas board

Needlepoint designs a hit!

2008-01-21T11:05:00.000-07:00

The weekend of January 11-13 my needlepoint designs made their debut at the TNNA(The National NeedleArts Association) Trade Show in Long Beach, California. They were a hit! My sales were great according to the company representing my designs! I debuted with 9 designs and had a few that sold really well. So, now I'm busy working on more new designs. If you are interested in seeing/buying any of my fine art needlepoint canvases, you will need to contact Lynda with Dreamhouse Ventures. I don't think she has my designs up on her website just yet, but I plan to post a page of my currently available designs with a link to her website until then. I will try to get all the images posted by this evening. It is so exciting to think about my designs going out into the world! My goal is to have at least 50 designs by the end of this year. I have 9 so far, so I guess I'd better get busy.

I also have a new section planned for my etsy shop. Recycled, handpainted tables. These are mainly the small, round, decorator tables. I have saved several from the landfill by taking them off people's hands on Freecycle. Freecycle is a great site, if you have never heard of it before, please follow the link and sign up! It is a national site, with smaller member groups around the country. Basically, people post listings of things they are trying to get rid of or things they want and other people respond to take things off your hands or to give you things you want, and it's all FREE! It's a great way to keep things out of the landfill and you would be surprised what people will take! It is so true that one man's trash is another man's treasure. I plan to put up the tables on my etsy site sometime this week. The cool thing about these tables is that they can be used as a table or hung on the wall like a piece of art. Plus, they're recycled!

I've been having a hard time deciding what to blog about. I have visited so many cool artist blogs and they all seem so much more interesting than mine! So, anyone out there, give me your ideas for what you want me to blog about. Is there any burning questions on your mind? What do you want to know? Do you like the blogs with nothing but images? Should I talk more about the art? Help me out people, I need ideas! :)

New aceo paintings in my shop

2008-01-16T19:42:00.001-07:00

I've been trying to work out a slight painting funk by painting a bunch of little ACEOs (artist cards editions and originals), plus I did a little 6 inch square painting. You can find them in my etsy shop.

Dreamscape

2008-01-10T11:24:00.000-07:00

Today's new painting is a 20 inch square called Dreamscape. If you look at the studio photos in my last post, you can see it in progress on my easel. This was a quick painting, it's a little different from what I've been doing, but it flowed from that place where painting comes easy and I never get frustrated. I've been working on another painting that I've named Controlled Chaos that has been nothing but frustrating. So, I took a break from that one to start another and Dreamscape is what resulted. I guess I should do that more often!

Not sure if I've mentioned it here yet, but I have put a bunch of paintings on sale in my Etsy shop. I'm working on cleaning out and organizing and decided to let some older work go at a scream of a deal! The discounts range from $5 off to $100 off!

New Paintings and Studio Photos

2008-01-09T15:23:00.000-07:00

Reconstruction, 20 x 24 inches, watermixable oils on canvas

Two new paintings finished this week. The first one is called Reconstruction and I started it last year, just put the finishing touches on it Saturday. The second one is called Organized and it is one of my small daily journal paintings from yesterday.

Also see below, photos of my new smaller painting studio. Still at the Factory on 5th in Albuquerque, it's in a different building. At first I had a little trouble getting used to the smaller space, but now it just feels cozy! The new space is only around 8 x 12 feet. My office and framing workshop are now back at the house in one of the spare bedrooms vacated by my sons in November.

Organized, 8 inch square daily journal painting, Watermixable oils

Robert Genn's Twice Weekly Letter

2008-01-08T08:28:00.000-07:00

For those of you who receive the emails from Robert Genn, I made it to the clickback!!! I was so excited to see it I had to share! For those of you who have never heard of it, check out http://painterskeys.com . This is a twice weekly email that discusses different apects of being an artist. I finally responded to Robert's last letter "Art in bad times" and my response was posted to the clickback ! Now if I can just get an answer to my question. If anyone has an answer, please let me know.

January 7th, Already!

2008-01-07T16:04:00.001-07:00

Here it is the 7th and I still haven't finished organizing my studio and office/framing space. Good news is, I'm almost done! I had to wait for the person that was in my new studio to move out so I could move in. So, now I'm all moved out of the old studio and my new smaller painting studio is organized and clean! I started a new painting yesterday, my first new painting since the beginning of December. It feels good to be back to painting.

I'm currently in my home office/framing workshop. I'm working on cleaning out files, organizing my workspace, typing out my goals for 2008 so I can post them up on the wall and now....taking a break from it all to blog! :) I just realized it's been almost a week since I posted last and decided I'd better blog in order to keep my goals intact. I still need to post my list of accomplishments for 2007 and goals for 2008! I'm already behind! Most of my blog friends have already done it!

I guess I should go easy on myself, I did have to move out of my studio in to two new spaces. It isn't easy to split everything in different directions after having everything together for years.

I love having my painting studio separate from my office. I am now able to paint with no distractions, no internet beckoning me as I work! I will take and post photos sometime this week of the newest painting I finished on Saturday and the painting I just started yesterday. It's been cloudy and rainy here for two days, so I will have to wait for the sun to come out!

So far, 2008 has been a great year, and it's only just begun! One of my resolutions this year is to stay positive no matter what happens! But truly, it has been a great first week. I'm feeling so much better now that my studio is organized and my office is almost there!

I guess I'd better get back to sifting through papers!

Happy New Year!

2008-01-01T12:45:00.000-07:00

Happy New Year everyone!

I know it's supposed to be a holiday, but I'm down at the studio today. I have to get my studio packed up and ready to move. I'm not moving far, across the parking lot, into a smaller studio.

I have lots to blog about, but not much time to do it right now. Once I get the studio cleaned, packed and hopefully moved(I'm waiting on another artist to move out of the new studio), I will blog about my accomplishments for 2007 and my goals for 2008. I'm looking forward to a wonderful year!

Shop Local!

2007-12-30T17:28:00.000-07:00

I was mentioned and linked to on a local blog talking about shopping local on Etsy. Thanks to Spring Griffin for the link!

http://www.dukecityfix.com/profiles/blog/show?id=1233957%3ABlogPost%3A26821

Down with Commercialism!!

2007-12-29T11:09:00.000-07:00

There is a great discussion going on over at Cynthia Guajardo's blog the past couple of days. She was unsure if she should veer off the regular artist post topics and go into the controversial subject, but I'm so glad she did! I feel the same way she does, but I'm not as good at expressing myself! I have to recommend the documentary The End of Suburbia to complement the discussion. My husband and I watched it about a week ago and I think it's an important topic! Some people may discount it and say it will never happen, but it's coming people! Wake up! I would tell you more about the subject but I think the movie says it all better than I ever could.

Another New Year

2007-12-27T11:08:00.000-07:00

Our 2007 family portrait

Christmas is over and New Year's Eve is closing in. I have a love/hate relationship with the Holiday season.

I HATE the commercialism of it all. This year we gave mostly handmade by us or traded with other artist gifts. They were a hit!

I LOVE the family connection and the reflection on the year coming to an end. We went to see The Nutcracker ballet this year. My sister in law is the ballet mistress for the production in Las Cruces, NM. My brother started dancing in the production around 6 years ago. He's one of the uncles. It's so fun to see my heavy metal loving, musician brother dancing around to classical music. It's a little ironic! The show was amazing this year, we haven't been in about 5 years and they had all new costumes and sets. I love the ballet!

I LOVE looking forward to a fresh new year to start over and do things differently. I have many new goals and plans. I'm looking forward to a wonderful 2008! Election year again, hopefully with better results this time!

I doubt we will celebrate New Year's Eve this year. I can't stay up that late anymore. Actually, I have no desire to stay up that late. I love sleep! I'm more of a morning person now than I was in my younger years. I like to get up early and enjoy the peace and quiet of the morning before anyone else is awake.

Happy New Year everyone!

Commissioned Portraits

2007-12-18T17:24:00.000-07:00

Painting portraits is my specialty. I have been painting commissioned portraits for almost 25 years! Nothing I paint is more challenging and rewarding. Below you can see some examples of portraits I've been commissioned to paint over the past few years.

I can work from life or photo, preferably photo for kids and pets. You may provide the photo or I can take photos for you for an extra $25.

My prices are moderate for my experience and are based on size, medium, and number of people/pets. Starting at $150 for a pencil 8 x10" with one person/pet and going up to $1,400 for an oil 20 x 24" with four people/pets. Email me for an exact quote for your commission.

Prices include basic professional framing. A 50% deposit is required to begin and the balance is due on approval of the portrait. You may also order prints or notecards to share your portrait with family and friends.

Buy Handmade

2007-12-17T14:02:00.000-07:00

Here is a link to an article in the NY Times about buying handmade. I received it in an email from the Handmade Consortium, the group that started the Handmade Pledge for this holiday season. If you are interested in taking the Handmade pledge (not just for the Holiday season after all), click the logo on the sidebar to the right.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/magazine/16Crafts-t.html?em&ex=1198040400&en=f6aed7d6861c7a73&ei=5070

Being and artist married to a musician, we don't have a lot of money for buying handmade this year, but we will be MAKING most of our gifts this season. I also plan to do some trading with other artist friends in order to give gifts of art other than mine(my family must be tired of it already!).

I also take a cue from my mom who has been giving us handmade gifts for as long as I can remember! One of my husband's favorite gifts every year is the music themed shirt she makes for him every Christmas.

The article referenced above refers to the environment and global warming as a good reason to buy handmade, but more than that, for me it's about a gift that comes from the heart of someone taking time out of their lives to hand make something for you.

Peace on Earth and give handmade this Holiday season!

Changed my mind

2007-12-15T12:23:00.000-07:00

So, after thinking about it for a week I have decided not to move out of the Factory on 5th after all. I will still be moving however, into a smaller studio. I'm moving my office and framing equipment to the empty rooms at the house and keeping my painting studio here. I will no longer be in the main factory building but I will have a smaller studio in the front office building. That will eliminate the problem of open ceiling and no privacy, plus the new studio has a skylight AND windows so my light will be much better. After telling all my artist friends about the move I decided I would miss the comraderie too much. Also, I need to have a place for studio visits that won't interfere with my home. I never have liked the idea of inviting clients to the house.

I was working late here at the studio last night and finished a couple more needlepoint designs. One I like, the other I'm not so thrilled with. I may work on it a little more to see if it can be salvaged. I will try to get photos posted soon. I will be working on a new design today as well.

I have to leave the studio early today because my brother's band is coming up from Las Cruces to play a gig in Albuquerque tonight. I have to get home and do some cleaning and cooking to prepare for their arrival. If you are here locally, go check out Wormhole at Burt's Tiki Lounge downtown. The show starts at 9:30pm.

Today's excitement!

2007-12-13T12:27:00.001-07:00

I just received a call from the woman who is licensing my designs for needlepoint to let me know that I've sold my first canvas! Time to get busy painting more designs! Thanks Lynda!

Is that enough exclamation points for you? I know, I overuse them, but I'm just so tickled!

I will have some new designs posted soon. I'm currently working on a couple of smaller flower designs.

Blogstrings

2007-12-13T12:24:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Ren for posting on her blog about this;
BlogStrings

My blog is now listed there too!

NEW ACEO limited editions

2007-12-11T12:42:00.000-07:00

I mentioned in an earlier post that I would be putting up some special limited editions for the holidays. I know, it's kinda late for that(unless you buy soon!), but these will be in my etsy shop indefinitely. Of course they are small editions, only 10 each, so they will go fast at only $5 each!

I have 20 images total that I will be listing throughout today and tomorrow. Here's a link to my ACEO section so you can see them all together;
http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=42046&section_id=5242019

Some of the images are ones that I have printed at other sizes, but some are not available anywhere else. The originals have sold and I never made prints of them before.

In other news, the show in Gallup was a great success! The weather was cold and snowing, we had to spend the night because the interstate was closed overnight. I was able to convince a couple of my artist friends to go along too, so we had a great time! Thanks again to Lyndon at House of Lyndon, for showing my work!

Factory on 5th and other thoughts

2007-12-07T11:05:00.000-07:00

Tonight is the First Friday show at the Factory on 5th. I am almost ready in the studio, busy printing business cards and rehanging art on the walls.

My latest news regarding the Factory is starting in January I will no longer have my studio here. My two older sons have moved out of the house and it makes no sense to keep paying rent for an outside studio when we have two empty rooms at home.

In some ways I'm happy about the move, I will be able to work anytime of the day, I won't have to commute anymore which will save us money on gas, and we will save the money paid on rent.

In other ways I'm not happy about the move, I will miss the artist friends I've made at the Factory, I will no longer have a "place of business".

At the same time, there will no longer be the distraction of the dramas that occur when more than 5 artists are working in the same building. One of the problems I've always had with the Factory is that the ceilings are open so there is no real sense of privacy. Everyone knows each other's business. Music has to be low so it doesn't bother the other artists.

Some people don't have my sense of courtesy, so there is always someone else's music blasting over mine. I like to blast my music while I paint too, but I feel bad about annoying other people. I won't have to worry about that anymore.

Two Show Openings this week!

2007-12-05T14:38:00.000-07:00

First Friday at the Factory is this Friday from 6-11pm. The Factory is located at 1715 5th Street in Albuquerque.

Saturday I will be at an opening in Gallup at the House of Lyndon, 227 Coal in downtown Gallup, from 6-9pm.

Also, I have been cleaning out my original drawer in my flat file and found a bunch of paintings that I listed in my Etsy shop. Clearance prices on most of these paintings. Lots of smaller sizes, watercolors, aceos, etc. Check out my Etsy shop to see what I have!

Goodbye to my little angel

2007-12-02T14:39:00.000-07:00

I wish I had a better photo of him, but he hated to have his picture taken!

This has been a difficult weekend for me. My little Yorkie, Yoda, had to be put to sleep last night. His kidneys failed and he was at least 12 years old, so it was the best thing to do. Doesn't mean I won't miss him terribly.

He adopted us one day almost five years ago when he showed up on our front porch covered in blood. Turned out someone had kicked him and broken both his jaws and so of course looking for his previous owner was out of the question. It so happened that it was a couple of days before my sons left the state to go live with their dad for the year. Yoda got me through that very tough time without my kids because he needed nursing back to health. He was my little angel. I don't know what I would have done without him. I miss him so much, but I know he is better off now because he is no longer suffering.

Painting Frenzy

2007-11-28T13:38:00.000-07:00

I've been busy painting everyday, finally getting into a rhythm, feels great!!! I have finished a couple of larger canvases as well as a daily journal painting and a new needlepoint design. Life, in general, is great these days, even with the colder weather!

Also, finally got around to updating my blog with a new header, a subscription sign up box and links to the other artists with studios here at the Factory on 5th(on the right hand sidebar). I also updated my blogroll list, wow, it's about time!

I now have my larger paintings up for sale on: http://www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/m/manlewis/

Deconstruction, 24 x 20" watermixable oils on canvas

Meditation, 20 x 20" Watermixable Oils on canvas

As usual, the smaller daily journal painting is up at Etsy.

Star Spiral, 8 x 8" watermixable oils on canvas board

Albuquerque Sun needlepoint design

Winter Arts & Crafts Show

2007-11-27T16:35:00.000-07:00

Presented by the Duke City Renegades Art Guild (I will be participating in this show :)

Come on by the Factory on 5th and get a little holidy shopping time in!

What:
The Duke City Renegades, a local arts & crafts guild, is hosting their first-ever winter art show.

You’ll find original paintings, art boxes, photography, designer purses & bags, crochet handicrafts, vintage-inspired jewelry, assemblage, beaded and hand-forged jewelry, and even recycled fashion clothing–all under one roof! A wide range of prices and items will give you something to talk about!

The show is indoors in the main Factory gallery building.

When:Friday, November 30th, 2007. 4 p.m. - 10 p.m.

Where:At the Factory on 5th Art Space (in the main red brick factory building).
1715 5th St. NWAlbuquerque, NM 87102(between Aspen and Haines).
From I-40, take the 6th st. exit (one way, heading south), then make a left on Aspen and a left on 5th St. (one way, heading north). The Factory is on 5th St., right between Aspen and Haines.

Refreshments provided. Free parking.Contact: aunteres@juno.com for any additional info.

Hope to see you there!

Yay Monday!

2007-11-26T14:54:00.000-07:00

After a long weekend of turkey and family, pie and pooping out(all day Sunday on the couch in front of the tv!), it's great to get back into the studio! I had planned to get at least one day of painting in, but of course that didn't happen. Actually, I did get into the studio for about an hour of painting on Saturday, while I waited to meet family for lunch. That doesn't really count though since I was just getting started when I had to stop!

I must say, Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Lots of family, food, and football! We actually had the whole family together this year(except my dad, who we saw a week or so ago). I ate way too much, but it was all so yummy! The best part was, we went over to my in laws for dinner, so we didn't have to cook!

I LOVE my job! How many people can say they woke up excited about getting back to work this morning?! Even though Monday is my day to catch up on bookeeping, filing and all around office work, just being in the studio makes me happy!

I'm thinking about issuing some special edition prints for the Holiday season. Not neccessarily holiday art, but limited edition prints that will only be available until the end of the year. I also have many, many notecards to post in my Etsy shop. So keep an eye out for some fun new items in my shop in the next week or so.

Holiday Special!

2007-11-21T17:48:00.001-07:00

From today thru December 15th you can buy one item in my Etsy shop and get the second item(of equal or lesser value) for 50% off!! Just wait for the revised invoice before you pay.

Happy Holidays everyone and hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving! Eat lots of turkey!

Thanks Ren!

2007-11-20T20:06:00.001-07:00

For calling and letting me know that my "beautiful music" handpainted guitar made it onto the front page at Etsy.com! Check it out! I'm so excited! Now...if someone would just buy it!!! :)

http://www.etsy.com/treasury_list.php?room_id=16030

Secret revealed

2007-11-16T14:13:00.000-07:00

So, if you read this blog with any regularity you remember me mentioning a connection I made while set up at the State Fair in September. The deal is happening now, so I think it's safe to announce without jinxing it! My art/designs are being licensed for a fine art handpainted needlepoint company that sells wholesale to shops. I'm so excited, it's great to finally be able to share the news! Below is a photo of my second design. The first design was already sent off for production and I forgot to take a pic of it. How it works is I will paint the original design on needlepoint canvas and then the original is sent off to a painting service that makes the copies that are sold. If you've ever seen a needlepoint canvas, you know that the weave of the canvas is open to allow for the threads to be sewn in. NOT easy to paint on! However, it is fun! My designs will be premiered at a trade show in January, so keep your fingers crossed for me that they do well!

Also below is my latest daily journal painting that I am about to list in my Etsy shop.

Misunderstood, 8 x 8" watermixable oils on canvas board

Silent Auction Art Show this weekend

2007-11-14T09:46:00.000-07:00

Not sure what happened to this post?? It just disappeared!

Anyway, I will be participating in this show today!

Absolute Arts

2007-11-13T15:31:00.000-07:00

I took the plunge today and have started an artist portfolio at Absolute Arts. I will no longer list my larger, more expensive original paintings on Etsy. You will now find all my originals other than my daily journal paintings at the following link; http://www.absolutearts.com/portfolios/m/manlewis/

Please do me a favor and check out my portfolio and let me know what you think! Thanks!

New Work, Finally!

2007-11-12T13:09:00.001-07:00

It's not that I haven't painted anything new recently, it's that I haven't been keeping up with photographing and posting new work!

The first painting is the large canvas I've told you about in the past couple months. Finally finished!! I was so pleased with how it turned out. This is a 40 inch square canvas in watermixable oils. The second photo is a detail of the middle of the flower. I plan to post this one for sale on Absolute Arts, that is, once I get signed up for an account on Absolute Arts.

The Vortex, 40 x 40" watermixable oils

Detail

The other three paintings are daily journal paintings, 8 inches square.

In Time

Simple Spiral

Agitated

First Friday at the Factory on 5th; Tonight!

2007-11-02T10:51:00.000-07:00

To all those who live here in the Albuquerque area, come down to the Factory on 5th tonight for our November First Friday show!

6 -11pm at 1715 5th Street

Over 20 artists will be showing with lots of free refreshments and entertainment by my wonderful husband, Aaron Lewis, on guitar!

Hope to see you there!

I will get back to posting more photos on my next post! :)

Day two of photos!

2007-11-01T13:22:00.000-07:00

Day two of posting photos, today, more Grand Canyon and on to the Sequoia National Forest! If you didn't see the photos I posted yesterday, be sure to scroll down. I'm discovering that I am way too camera happy when I'm out with my camera! I still have a couple hundred to sift through! Stay tuned for day three! :)

This one I took of another hiker to give you an idea of scale!

After the Grand Canyon, it was on to the Sequoias, first photo shows the scale! huge!

I can never resist taking photos of pretty fall leaves!

Tomorrow I'll start posting the California coast and San Francisco photos.

In closing, I have to say it's SO GOOD to be back in my studio. I'm working on finishing a large painting that I've posted about before and I'm very pleased with how it's turning out! Can't wait to finish it and get some feedback! So, back to painting I go!

Home Sweet Home!

2007-10-31T11:39:00.000-07:00

We arrived home last night and today I'm finally back at my studio! I'm so inspired by our trip that I can hardly wait to get back to painting. Seems there is always something to delay that. All in all we had a wonderful trip, check out a few photos below. I am going thru all the photos a little at a time. I took over 300 pics! These first few are from the Petrified forest and Grand Canyon, both in Arizona. Tomorrow I will get some more up. It's hard to pick which ones to post!

I hate to even mention it because I don't like to dwell on the negative, but the only bad thing that happened on the trip was having our van broken into while we were staying in the city! We ended up spending one of our days finding a place and waiting to have the window replaced! They only got Aaron's book bag and our hiking backpack because we took everything of value with us to the hotel room.(not that Aaron's music theory books aren't valuable, you just wouldn't figure anyone would steal them!) We're from Albuquerque, NM, we know better than to leave valuables in the car!

On the way home we stopped in Gallup at the House of Lyndon Gallery where I show my work. We dropped off new work on the way out and picked up the old work on the way home. I will be showing more new work at a show there in December. Lyndon now has the painted guitar, Universe and several other pieces. If you live in the area, please drop in and take a look at the new work and say hi to Lyndon while you are there! They have recently expanded the gallery to another room and it looks amazing!

OH AND DON'T FORGET this Friday is First Friday at the Factory on 5th. I will be showing the paintings that just came back from the gallery which will be new to the Factory since they've been at the gallery since before I moved in! :)

The first three were taken in the Petrified Forest National Park.

The rest were taken at the Grand Canyon. First and second are your typical tourist shots, the last three were taken on our grueling 4-5 hour hike! It was so awesome!!!

My birthday in San Francisco!

2007-10-25T21:45:00.001-07:00

Today we rolled in to San Francisco! What a crazy, cool place! The trip so far has been way awesome! So far we've hiked the Grand Canyon(not the whole thing just a couple miles down) and Sequoia National Park, Oh and we stopped off at the Petrified forest on the first day out!

Today, my birthday, we had lunch in Santa Cruz and a great dinner in Chinatown! Tomorrow, we will go to Fisherman's wharf and around San Fran in general. Thanks to everyone for all the birthday wishes, here on the blog and by phone today. So happy to know that so many people care! I'm feeling kinda old as my knee and back are in pain from all the camping, hiking and walking! But, I'm having fun, so I don't care!

I have taken around 200 photos that I still haven't gotten downloaded to the laptop! I will try to get that done tonight so I can post some. I'm not sure that will actually happen until I get home though, but I promise to eventually share!

Hope everyone is having a wonderful day, week, month and life! :)

Taking a Trip

2007-10-20T09:02:00.000-07:00

Been busy the past week or so getting everything wrapped up before we take a trip to San Francisco. Getting everything packed up and ready to go today. We will be gone for 9 days and will start at the Grand Canyon for a couple days, then on to Sequoia Natl Park before getting to San Francisco the day before my birthday! I can hardly wait, should be lots of fun.

In reality though, this is meant to be mainly a business trip! We will be scouting out the area for galleries and shops to sell my work to, as well as looking for venues for Aaron to play guitar. Hope to also see a long lost friend that we haven't seen in ages! Also, this will be Aaron's first time to California and the Pacific coast!

Anyway, hopefully my camera batteries will cooperate on the trip so I can post lots of pictures when I get back!

Any Etsy orders that come in while I'm gone will be shipped out the week after Halloween when we get back.

More older new work

2007-10-11T09:09:00.000-07:00

What I mean by the title is that this painting is an older new piece that I haven't yet posted here or on etsy. Today is the day! I'm working on getting everything posted that was skipped during the State Fair when I was too busy to post regularly. I hope to also have my two painted instruments up in the Etsy shop today. I finally put the beaded strings onto the guitar but still have to take some good photos.

This painting is called "Universe" and it's 20 x 20" oil on canvas.

UUGGHH!

2007-10-10T11:13:00.000-07:00

Working on my portfolio today. Updating my bio, resume, and writing my artist statement. Writing is one my least favorite things to do. At least this type of writing. I journal and blog all the time, but this is professional writing! I have to sound educated and interesting. English was one of my better subjects in school, I always got As, but it is so difficult to write about myself. Anyone else out there have this problem? I almost wish I had one of those fill in the blank forms I could use and just input my information. I've been browsing the Art Biz blog for help. How fitting that she has been covering this subject recently! Alyson sure is a huge help!

Other than forcing myself to work on the business side of things, I'm getting ready for our trip to San Francisco. I can hardly wait! It has been over 20 years since I've been to California. One of the things I've been doing to get ready is searching galleries online in the San Fran. area. WOW! There sure are a lot to see. I'm trying to narrow it down online so when I get there it won't be so overwhelming. We will only be there for 4-5 days so I want to see as much as possible without wasting time on galleries where my art wouldn't fit in.

Here are the photos of my new studio that I've been promising for months! The photos are taken from the door looking in and going left to right respectively.

Office area with the portraits I've painted of my sweet hubby

Storage/Work area, I also have a nice tall window although it's east facing

The back wall with some of my older work

My painting area with comfy chair for reading/writing, large painting in progress

Finally! New work!

2007-10-08T13:29:00.000-07:00

Dancing Sun Rise and Shine (SOLD!)
Sunshine (SOLD!)
Centering (SOLD!)

Actually, these are paintings I did while I was at the Fair. Just now finally getting them posted on Etsy and here. Currently, I'm working on a new large canvas. I will take a photo soon, I promise. Actually, this painting has been started for over a month, but the finish took a while to come to me. Still not finished, but at least I know where it's going.

I had to buy a new easel to accommodate the larger size I'm working on. I've realized that the small canvases are restricting my inspiration. So, it's time to go big!

We have made plans for a trip to San Francisco at the end of October! I can hardly wait. It's meant to be a business trip, but my birthday is the 25th, so it's going to be fun too! The plan is to scout out galleries in the Bay area. I have had many people tell me my work would do well there. We shall see!

First Friday, October

2007-10-04T12:21:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is First Friday(Arts Crawl) at the Factory on 5th. Come on down from 6 to 11 pm to see my studio, new work and the work of over 14 other artists. Free Parking, refreshments and guitar music played by my husband, Aaron Lewis.

Factory on 5th
1715 5th Street
Albuquerque, NM

Hope to see you there!

In the Studio

2007-10-02T16:16:00.000-07:00

After a well needed break, I'm back in the studio today. Spent most of the day working on a large painting I started a couple months ago. I had been stuck on it but finally had that moment of AHA when I knew exactly where it would go next. I love it when that happens! I will try to take a progress photo tomorrow. I have been itching to get back to painting! I did some painting out at the Fair, but nothing big. I plan on doing more big paintings in the near future.

This week is First Friday at the Factory on 5th! I only have three more days to get my studio cleaned up and art hung! Yikes!! I'm working on getting all my art hung, old and new, in my studio. Brought in several older works that I had at the house. A few landscapes, a few portraits. Thought it would be interesting for people to see where I came from before painting my spiral abstracts. I don't think I've posted a photo of my studio since I moved in, so I'll try to get that done too, once I have everything hung.

Hope everyone is having as wonderful a day as I am! Smile, it will make you happy!! :)

I Survived the 2007 NM State Fair!

2007-09-24T08:18:00.000-07:00

Made it through another year at the fair! Always fun, always exciting! Thursday was the most exciting day. One of the Belgian Draft horses got loose and charged into the Arts and Crafts area, causing the characature(sp?) guy to go diving across the tables of the booth next to him. Luckily, the horse made a sharp right turn and ended up out in the street instead of going through our tents.

The same day we had a cloudburst of rain(1 1/2 inches in 20 minutes) that created a river through the entire Arts and Crafts area. Of course, this happened at the moment Aaron decided to go check out the south end of the fair and my booth neighbor had gone on a bathroom break, so I stuggled to get tarps up while rain poured in and got everything wet! Luckily, the next morning everything looked much better than it did when we closed early. Thank goodness for Clear Bags! Nothing of mine was actually damaged, all the water stayed on the outside.

The last weekend ended up being the best of the Fair, so I ended up doing well on average for the whole show.

I'm very excited about a contact I made on the last day, but I will keep that a secret until I work out the details and make sure it happens. This contact is a woman who wants to license my art for a special product! This is the type of direction I have been wanting to take my art and I'm blown away by how everything seems to be coming together for me!

As always, I met some very wonderful people out there, thanks to everyone who made it a wonderful show!

This week we plan on taking it easy! Today we will do nothing but lay around the house and watch movies! Seventeen days straight of 12-14 hour days is difficult when you aren't used to it! We can finally have some homecooked meals (no more Fair food!) and actually do our grocery shopping! Not to mention getting the house cleaned up and doing the laundry!

Tomorrow I hope to get back in the studio for a few hours. I have a couple more shows scheduled for the month of October, I will post info about them once I get back to work. Plus I have several new paintings to photograph and post. Until then, hope everyone is having a wonderful day, week, month and year!

Six days to go!

2007-09-18T10:34:00.000-07:00

At my studio today. Taking a break from the Fair to ship out orders and rest a little. Aaron is out at the booth holding down the fort. Last night was his show at the boxcar stage, it went VERY well! The State Fair has been lots of fun, but very exhausting! This Sunday is the last day! Next week we will take it easy, in fact, Monday we plan to do nothing but sleep in and watch movies! I can hardly wait.

I've sold a couple more of the framed daily journal paintings!(Fire and Bold as Love) So, if you are interested in buying one, I suggest you do so soon! Of course I plan to make more.

I don't usually like to write much about my personal life here, but my two younger boys are giving me fits! Teenagers! They seem to think at 17 and 14 that they are ready to move out on their own! They don't even have jobs! So, along with spending 12 hour days at the fair, we've been coming home to arguments and hassles with the boys. We even had to call the police the other night and didn't get to bed until way past midnight! Aaron is about ready to kick the 17 year old out on his butt! It wouldn't be the first time! Actually, we did kick him out, but he came back a couple days later and "says" he'll follow the rules. We'll see!

Funny thing is, everything else in our lives is going wonderfully! I hate to wish away their childhood, but I am looking forward to having an empty nest! Why is it that teenagers think we are doing things to try to hurt them? I'm just trying to help them have an easier life, you know, graduate from high school, get a job, etc!! I've decided that they act this way so I WON'T miss them so much when they finally do grow up and move away. Anyway, sorry, but I had to vent about that!

New Daily Paintings and Painted Instrument

2007-09-11T12:36:00.000-07:00

Just listed four new Daily Journal Paintings in my Etsy shop. Also, I've been keeping busy at the State Fair by painting one of my recycled instruments. This time it's a Russian Balalaika, another stringed instrument. My husband has had this one for some time, it is totally unplayable as it doesn't have a soundboard. So, now it has been recycled into a wall hanging. I'm not completely sure I'm done with it, please let me know your opinions!

Handpainted Balalaika

Business at the Fair has been pretty slow, which is why this instrument is taking me MUCH less time than the guitar. Also, I finally finished the guitar, stringing it with beads. I will try to get a photo posted soon.

Spiraling, 8 x 8" Daily journal painting

Let it Rain, 8 x 8" Daily journal painting

Hypnotized, 8 x 8" Daily journal painting

What the World Needs. . . ., 8 x 8" Daily journal painting