PineShoreStudio/Paintings by Helen Harris

I like to refer to the ACEO format ( 2.5" x 3.5" ) as "pocket art". As a grandmother I proudly carry around the grandbabies photos...but how many of my fellow artists "pocket" their paintings? It certainly makes more of an impression than flipping out the ol' business card! My watercolor/ collage techniques are right there to see & feel with my potential customer. "Buds" my newest ACEO featured at left is currently available for purchase through my web site

I find myself with a day off from bakery/cafe . I'm treating myself to some painting time today + I hope to revisit some of my art marketing information that I've neglected too long during this past year because of the bakery. These past few years while working daily at my painting I'd developed quite an extensive marketing plan that encompassed a number of sites where my work was available. Now I find after working 12 hour + days at the bakery my available time to market on the internet or @ shows is limited. How to best use this limited time and effort is now the question I face for the coming year. Do I simply keep what I had ? Do I scale it down & concentrate on 1 or 2 sites ? Which is most cost effective? How do I reestablish my presence after being out of sight this past year? hmmmmmm... back to the drawing board. The painting "Sugar Pines" at left is currently available as a print/greeting card . This makes a wonderful holiday card & currently i...

Moments stolen in this past week,sneaking in a few brush strokes created this new ACEO. If you are new to this format, let me explain. Artist trading cards (ATC) are miniature pieces of art that are traded around the world. When these pieces of art are offered for sale, it is referred to as an ACEO: Art Card Editions & Originals. The only criteria is that the dimensions of the card be 2.5" x 3.5". A trade mark of my work is that the image is adhered to a complimentary colored mat board presenting the image as a finished piece measuring 2.5" x 3.5". This work is currently available for purchase from my web site .

On October 31st, my new business venture The Cookie Cab celebrated its one year anniversary. Happily I can say it has been a success. In fact, it expanded from a bakery to a bakery /cafe, adding sandwiches & soups ! Celebrating the anniversary, we expanded to a second shop The Cookie Cab Retro Candy & Nuts that has been well received by the town. As I have stated in my blogs this venture has detoured my painting career..lol..I guess that's an understatement. Through it all I have hung on to the fact that the day would come that I would paint again ......and I am! Not as prolific as once before but the paintings are beginning to surface & I have participated in two shows. At The Cookie Cab , I created The Cookie Cab Gallery, where I feature the works of local artist. Part of our business plan is to "pay it forward". The Gallery wall is free of charge to these artist & all sales go to the artist 100% ..no commission is taken. A few sales have been made,...

This was the final version of ColorBurst that was recently framed. It will be exhibited at The Cookie Cab until October 1st , then at my opening /meet the artist, October 2nd, 1-4pm at Idiosyncrazies in Pt . Pleasant,NJ.

Feeling like I'm getting back into my painting again. This past week I was able to finish a painting, photograph it and send it off to my framer . I have always worked with more discipline when I know I have a deadline, even if it it is a self imposed one. I am scheduled for a solo show, in October. I inventoried my current work and know I have enough to mount a strong show but simply feel I need to add newer work at this point. What is lacking right now is my marketing. I have not been out on the summer tent show circuit this season because of the need to be at my bakery/cafe, The Cookie Cab . I am curious to hear from other artists who did go out and brave this unrelenting heatwave and get feedback as to crowds,sales etc. I'm feeling a bit out of the loop and missing the give & take I always enjoyed during the art shows....anyone willing to share their experience from outdoor shows this season?

It wasn't until I began painting again this past week that I realized that my music had stopped along with my painting. As my brushes swished in the water,splashed into the paints ..I started up my cds ..and like old friends reunited, the conversation of heart and soul picked up without missing a beat. If I ever doubted it,this time away from my art, taught me that it is not just what I do it is an important part of who I am. Let the music play.....again!