Saturday, September 19, 2015

Colorado artists, oil paintings, plein air paintings,art for sale,

Here are some works from the last few days of the #30paintingsin30days challenge. 

Ken Caryl Towards Deer Creek 16x20 oil/canvas by Tracy Haines
Bid here!

 I find the bigger challenge is not so much in the daily painting, but in all the stuff that follows!  Uploading to  the computer, resizing the photos, then uploading the paintings to eBay,blogs, website and facebook is time consuming.
Deer Creek Valley Barn 16x20 oil by Tracy Haines

Yesterday,  I was interviewed by the Columbine Courier on this project.  That was fun and exciting and I am also very glad to know Extended Hands of Hope will get some exposure!
Please consider supporting this non-profit group which seeks to help young, traumatized victims of sex trafficking. You can do this by bidding on these works. For the month of September I am dontating 50% of proceeds to them.
A Steamboat Cabin, 8x10 oil on board by Tracy Haines
Bid here!

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Benefits of painting daily, oil paintings, #30paintingsin30days, Ken Caryl Valley, Colorado,



I'm halfway through the #30paintingsin30days challenge.  It's not easy; it's a bit harder than I expected.  However,  I've learned a lot in doing this and thought I'd share some of what's helped.

Top 8 benefits of painting every day

1) It gets the juices flowing. 
  Every artist gets in the occasional, miserable rut.  Burn out strikes and the last thing you want to do is get into the studio. I've found that the mere act of laying out the paints, dragging the brush across the canvas,  laying down a base coat of color , is often all it takes to get the inspiration and excitement back.  Ideas flow and pretty soon you can't wait to get to the next painting.  You're out of the rut.

2) Drawing skills improve
It's amazing how much easier it is to lay in a quick and accurate sketch  after several consecutive days of work.  I've found that if a week or so goes by, that initial process is much more arduous, stressful and un-fun.

3) Organizational skills improve
Knowing the time needed to complete, photograph and load up ( to eBay, blog, facebook, instagram and the 30 in 30 site) a piece of art,  one needs to organize not just  the studio and office space, but also  the day and week in general.  Life does not stop when one takes on a daily painting challenge.

4) Self discipline kicks in
No more excuses. No more laziness.  You committed to the project; you just need to get it done.

5) Joy and happiness escalate
Every artist will relate to this.  The artist MUST paint.  She's miserable if she doesn't. He's grouchy if too much time away from the studio passes.    It's interesting.  I find that if I do a lousy painting I'm in a lousy mood.  When I do a piece that works out well, I'm on a near high.  However,  if I put off painting for any length of time, for any reason at all , I'm in a much worse frame of mind than when I paint and have a lousy result. In this way, joy and happiness really do escalate!

6) Business improves
You are not going to sell what you do not paint.

7) One learns new techniques
Particularly when doing daily paintings of smaller works, it's easier to try out new techniques, new subjects, a different palette or perhaps a different support.  Because the piece is small, there is less of a risk of wasting paint or other supplies. When you stretch yourself, you grow, and it's much easier to do this when painting small and often.


8) Overall artistic growth happens
Try it and see. Log your first painting and check it against the 30th.

A Valley Day, 5x7 oil on canvas panel.  Bidding in progress now on eBay!
bid here

50% of proceeds from the month of September go to Extended Hands of Hope Colorado!

Thanks for your support!

Sunday, September 13, 2015

still life paintings, small art, #30paintingsin30days, oil paintings, Tracy Haines, daily paintings

Diet Root Beer,  6x6 oil on Gessobord
Bid here!

This is day 13 of the #30paintingsin30days challenge.  I like this challenge for many reasons.  
Tomorrow, I think I will post some of the benefits of taking a project like this on!

Meantime,  please consider helping in the fundraiser for Extended Hands of Hope- the non profit anti- sex trafficking organization I have been posting about.
You help when you bid for these pieces on eBay;  50% of proceeds during September will go to that group.

Friday, September 11, 2015

flowers, floral paintings, red flowers, daily paintings, Tracy Haines, fine art,

Day # 11 in the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge


And what a challenge this is, trying to paint a new piece every single day.  House is a bit more of a mess than usual and hubby and kid are getting by on left overs and take out. 

Sometimes, painting is the easy part.  It's more work and time consuming than one thinks, to do all the follow up stuff required.  I posted about this a few days ago on this blog, if you wonder about what actually does go into all of this.
"Christies", 6x8 oil/linen canvas
Bidding begins at a mere $ 25.00


As I have said ( and I hope folks aren't tired of hearing the same thing over and over, but this is a good cause), 50% of my proceeds from sales on the #30paintingsin30days challenge will go to support #ExtendedHandsofHope Colorado!

This non profit group helps severely traumatized young girls rescued from sex trafficking.

Thank you for taking the time to look at my blog.  With so many blogs out there, I really do appreciate your interest.

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

#30paintingsin30days, floral paintings, Botanic Gardens, oil paintings, Tracy Haines

Day # 8 of the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge! 

Today's painting was done en plein air at Denver's Botanic Gardens.  What a gorgeous day it was- perfect weather and unending material from which to paint.  It was amazing to see so many other artists out there today. Several groups were there including Plein Air Artists Colorado, Golden Triangle Plein air, and a class from the Art Students League. Seemed like about 40-50 painters and lots of curious onlookers!



Botanic Gardens is a 10x10" oil on 1" stretched canvas.

It is sold unframed and is up for bidding on eBay now until 9/15/15.
 Bid Here: eBay bidding for this piece

Below is an edited black and white version.  I like to drop my painting into photo editor to check the reading of the values; especially when I use bright colors, which can be deceiving.  The values MUST read, and be interesting, or the painting does not work, regardless of how nice the color might be.


50% of proceeds from the 30 in 30 challenge this month, September 2015, got to Extended hands of Hope. Pass the work and please bid! 

If you are interested in my Ladies Fall Artists' Retreat, please see post from August 31 for details.

Monday, September 7, 2015

paintings of flowers, oil paintings,original art,#30paintingsin30ays,Colorado, Ken Caryl

Day # 7 of the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge!

This is also a fundraiser for  Extended Hands of Hope, a non-profit organization that helps underaged victims of sex trafficking who have endured tremendous abuse. Please lend your support by bidding for this piece on eBay.  A full 50% of proceeds from the 30 in 30 challenge go to this organization.


Ken Caryl Flowers
9 3/4 x 12 oil on 1/4" board
Sold Unframed
Bidding starts at $ 25.00 Bidding ends 9/14/15 around 5:45 mountin time.
Bid here

Sunday, September 6, 2015

#30paintingsin30days, Daily paintings, oil on linen, Colorado Landscape paintings,ladies fall plein air artists retreat,

View From Cabin Fire Pit
6x8 oil/linen
#6 of #30Paintingsin30days challenge
Price: Bidding starts at $5.00 on eBay

50% of all sales from this 30 in 30 challenge will be donated to Extended Hands of Hope, a local Denver non profit helping underage victims of sex trafficking.
If you would like to help, and would like to bid on this piece, here is the link to eBay for this painting:
Bid on eBay




If you are interested in joining our Ladies Fall Artists' Retreat coming in a few weeks, please scroll down to the August 31, 2015 entry below for details!

Saturday, September 5, 2015

daily paintings, #30paintingsin30days, Tracy Haines,original art,Colorado landscapes,Ken Caryl,rocks

Ken Caryl Outcropping
8x10 oil/board
Bid on eBay:
eBay

This painting is # 5 in my #30paintingsin30days challenge.  More work goes into this than I thought.  I will describe the steps in the process below.

First,  this challenge is also a fundraiser.  Half of the money I receive from these paintings is earmarked for an emergency center for young girls rescued from sex trafficking.  Read more about this non-profit shelter at ExtendedHandsofhope.org

Daily Painting Process for the 30 in 30 challenge

The process from start to finish takes several hours every day.  First, I do thumbnail sketches of the idea I have for a painting.  Then, I lay out the paints and begin a value underpainting. When I am satisfied with that, I lay in the color.  The painting process takes me anywhere from 1 1/2 to 3 hours for an 8x10.
Next,  I take the painting outside and photograph it.  After uploading to the computer I crop the work, title and number it, then save it in different sizes for uploading to facebook, eBay,etc.

Since these paintings are going on eBay for bidding, the process of uploading and describing the piece on eBay takes another 10-15 minutes.
Otherwise, I go into paypal and make a price-specific "buy now" button which goes up on both my blog and website.

Once on eBay, I copy and paste the bidding link for uploading onto my website , blog and facebook.  The blog itself takes time to prepare- anywhere from 20 minutes to 45 minutes.

Finally, I upload to the 30paintingsin30days blog, my website, then facebook.

The order in which all of this is done matters, because links back to my own website and blog matter in order for my art to be seen by as many people as possible.  This is absolutely key to running a successful art business.

Well, thanks for taking the time to look over this blog, and please consider helping in the fund raiser by bidding on eBay!

Friday, September 4, 2015

fundraiser sex trafficking oil paintings for sale daily paintings landscapes Colorado

Deer Creek Road 8x10 oil/panel
Price determined my you!
Click here to bid:  eBay bidding



Day #4 of the 30 paintings in 30 Days Challenge!  This piece is from a scene I often pass as I drive to Deer Creek Park to hike or run.  The views along this lovely winding road are spectacular all year long, but particularly in the fall and spring.  And the winter! (Summer too) 
 Well, all year long.

Since I will be painting and posting daily this month, I have decided to place these paintings on eBay. In addition,  I thought it would be nice to put this month to good use and try a fund raiser.  50% of sales from the 30 in 30 paintings will go to help support a budding new operation: Extended Hands of Hope.  This local ( Colorado) non-profit organiziation seeks to help underage girls who have experienced extreme trauma through the horrors or sex trafficking. 

You may read more about this organization here:  Extended Hands of Help

Thanks for your support!

Thursday, September 3, 2015

oil paintings landscapes,trees,Colorado landscapes original art daily paintings 30 paintings in 30 days

Day # 3 of 30 paintings in 30 days!


Coyote Trail by Tracy Haines
16x20 oil on wrapped canvas
$400.00, unframed



local pick up or shipping


I am very much enjoying this challenge.  A theme is developing too:  paintings in and around my home in Ken Caryl.
If you are interested in painting the Colorado mountains in the fall, take a look at the information from the August 31 st post on this blog and sign up!

Thank you for taking the time to view my art!

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

pastel paintings daily paintings #30paintingsin30days Colorado landscapes


Reflections on a Pond ll,  7x7 pastel on watercolor paper by Tracy Haines, $ 55.00, unframed

Day # 2 of the 30 paintings in 30 days challenge!

This is a 7x7 study in pastel on H20 Color paper.
It is sold unframed and must be mounted behind glass when framed.

This piece is available for purchase via paypal on my website:

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

Daily paintings pastel paintings 30 paintings in 30 days art for sale Tracy Haines Colorado Landscapes


Reflections on a Pond
8x10 pastel, unframed
Tracy Haines
$ 95.00





This month, September, 2015,  I have joined Lesli Saeta's 30 paintings in 30 days challenge.  I had heard about this in the past and was looking forward to trying it myself.
The goal is to paint a completed work every day and post the pieces on her sight.  

If you are interested in joining me for the Ladies Plein Air Painting Retreat, see the post on August 31 st for details.

Thanks for taking the time to visit my blog!