Sunday, December 23, 2007

Happy Holidays


Hope everyone has a safe and happy holiday.


Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Art For The Day

This painting would make a great addition to your collection or be a perfect gift. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Komen Foundation.

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Art For The Day

©Melissa Earley


South Carolina artist Melissa Earley has been an art-o-artist for about five years and during that time her pieces have been in machines all over the country. She has heard from several buyers one of her favorites being a dad who told her how excited his kids were to put their tokens in and chose her work, and how they'd shown all their friends at school.

Melissa is known primarily as a bead artist so she's happy to get recognition for her paintings. You can see more of her work at http://www.melissaearley.com/.

Thanks Melissa for taking the time to talk to me and thanks everybody for stopping by.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Art For The Day


©Rosetta Bentz



Rosetta Bentz has been an Art-o-artist since 2003. Her Art-o-mat "Portraits of Humanity" are her doodles of life and she loves creating them. Rosetta says "No two are ever alike and each one is individually drawn. They are all different and they all have similar qualities to them. Just like real people. We are all different, but made up of the same stuff. And, to me, they are androgenous. Not quite male and not quite female. They are very different from my paintings. I paint/draw/create from feelings and memories that compel me to move forward. I very rarely copy or try to imitate. I work full time at a day job, I work full time as an artist and I work full time promoting/marketing my work. I regularly exhibit mostly in the Tri-state area. I enjoy being a part of AOM. I love it that little pieces of me/my work are scattered throughout the country in very interesting places. I have gotten emails from people that bought my work, appreciate and enjoy having it and tell me so."


Rosetta shares a studio in Long Island City, NY with her husband who is also an artist. You can see more of her work by visiting The Bentz Sudio.com. Her art-o-mat pieces are currently located in the Michigan Art-o-mat.


Thanks Rosetta for taking the time to talk to me and thanks everybody for stopping by.

Sunday, November 11, 2007

Art For The Day

©Rose Refour - Acrylic on Canvas - Untitled - 2007


This past Wednesday was Rose's birthday. We took the day off and went shopping in the morning. We stopped and had lunch and then went to have her ears pierced. She did not have pierced ears and has been wanting to have them pierced so she could wear my diamond earrings no less. After that we did more shopping and then came home and she gave herself a manicure. The program she attends gave her a party and she got more presents. I think she had a great birthday.

Have a great week everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Thursday, November 1, 2007

Art For The Day

©Camilla Bostrom


Gothenburg, Swedan artist Camilla Bostrom has been an art-o-artist for a year. She also does product and Fashion Design. You can see more of her work by visiting the following sites:

www.scebno1.blogspot.com
www.myspace.com/scebno1
www.oiidesign.se
www.freshfish.se
www.fashionway.se
http://www.metalmanproject.com
http://www.hdk.gu.se/examina/exa06/pd0cambo1.shtml

Thanks Camilla for taking the time to talk to me and thanks to everyone for stopping by.

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Art For The Day

©Christel Weixelman

Christel is originally from Alaska but now resides in Seattle. She's been an art-o-artist for a year and a half and her pieces are currently in the Michigan Art-o-mat.

I like the retro feel that this piece has to it. You can see more of her work on her Myspace page, her blog, or her website. To learn more about Art-o-mat, visit artomat.org.

Thanks Christel for taking the time to talk to me and thanks everybody for stopping by.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Art For The Day

©Rose Refour


Have a safe and Happy Halloween everybody.

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Art For The Day


©Della Nohl


Della is a photographer currentlyy living in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. While on a six month camping trip in the south and southwest Della wrote once sometimes twice a week to her friend JoEllen about her adventures. Della had a habit of starting but not keeping up with travel journals so this way she had a record of her travels. Once she arrived in Wisconsin she borrowed the letters from JoEllen, made copies of them and put them together in book form.

She was already familiar with Art-o-mat from living in New York and when her husband spotted a machine in their local library he suggested that she submit her Camp Letters to the project. They were thrilled when she was accepted. That was in 2004. Since then her pieces have been in several machines around the country including the Michigan Art-o-mat where I got mine.

Della is always excited to hear from buyers and the most frequently asked questions are "Can I Open The Envelope?" and "Is There A Letter Inside?". The answer to both of those is "yes".

Since she is fortunate enough to have a machine nearby, Della makes a point of purchasing pieces to give to family and friends as gifts to spread the word about Art-o-mat.

If you would like to see additional samples of Della's photography you can visit the American Indian Artists website at www.amerinda.org. She's listed under both name and discipline in the NAAR (Native American Artists Roster) and also as stills photographer for the feature film "The Reawakening."

Thanks Della for taking the time to talk to me and thanks to everyone for stopping by.







Wednesday, October 24, 2007

Art for the day


©Elin Waterston


I am so intrigued by the ideas that my fellow art-o-artists come up with for their art-o-mat pieces. Remember these items have to either fit into a box, or be done on wood the size of a pack of cigarettes.

Elin Waterston has been an art-o-artist since 2005. Her pieces can be found in the Michigan Art-o-mat as well as in the machine in Hawaii. She enjoys hearing from buyers to find out where her pieces end up and has had the opportunity to swap art with some 40 plus art-o-artists.

You can read more about Elin's art-o-mat adventures by visiting her blog and see more of her work on her website. Thanks Elin for taking the time to talk to me.

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

To learn more about Art-o-mat visit artomat.org

Sunday, October 21, 2007

Art For The Day


©Betty Refour - Encounters - 2007


Rose and I have been very busy. We have lots going but hopefully we'll get caught up soon. One of these days I plan to finish showing the pieces I got from my fellow Artomat artists.

We went fishing last week with the Day Program that Rose attends. As far as I know that was her first time to fish but she won the prize for catching the most fish. She caught three. She was no where near as excited about it as everyone else was. She also was asked to design Halloween cards for someone as well as Thanksgiving and Christmas ones. I'll be sure and post those sometime.

Hope everyone is having a great weekend. Thanks for stopping by.


Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Art For The Day


© Tiffany O'Brien



Tiffany has been an art-o-artist for six years. During this time she has heard from a few buyers as well as someone in Europe that received one of her pieces as a gift. She has collected over 50 pieces and got the opportunity to paint one of the machines which is located at Monkey Hill in New Hope, PA.

To see more of Tiffany's work click here and to learn more about Art-O-Mat visit artomat.org.

Thanks Tiffany for taking the time to talk to me. Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Monday, October 8, 2007

Art For The Day

© Mary Bradley


California abstract artist Mary Bradley has been an art-o-artist for a little over a year. Her art-o-mat pieces can currently be found in machines in Murray Hill, WI-Doylestown, PA-Austin, TX-Sacramento, CA-Rochester, NY-Whitney, NY-Cleveland, OH-and Detroit, MI.

To see more of Mary's work click here to visit her website and to learn more about Art-o-mat vist Art-o-mat.org.

Thanks Mary for taking the time to talk to me. Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Saturday, October 6, 2007

Art For The Day






When my baby cooks her eggplant she don't read no book and she's got Giocanda kind of dirty look. And my baby cooks her eggplant about 19 different ways but sometimes I just have it raw with mayonnaise.


Oh sorry, I got a little carried away. Whenever I see Laura Gentry's "Stray Eggplants" I think of Michael Franks "Eggplant" song, didn't mean to get off track.


Iowa artist Laura Gentry has been an art-o-artist since 2003. She has heard from about 70 buyers and you can see their pictures and comments by visiting her blog. In her first year of being an art-o-artist Laura tried several 2D projects before deciding to do something sculptural so it would be more unique. She had always loved eggplants and found them rather random so she decided to make little eggplants with random words on them. Laura has made over 700 eggplants, no two with the same phrase. She has traded with five other art-o-artists and her "Stray Eggplants" can currently be found in the Michigan Art-o-mat, the Chambers Art Hotel in Minneapolis, MN as well as locations in Suffolk, VA; High Point, NC; San Antonio, TX and Providence, RI.


Laura would like to raise enough money to create a giant eggplant installation somewhere but says "I'll have to sell a lot of little eggplants to get there".


You can visit Laura's website, blog or myspace page to see more of her work. Also visit Art-o-mat.org to learn more about the Art-o-mat project and if you have never listened to Michael Franks The Art of Tea you can hear sound bites from it by clicking here. If you listen to nothing else, you have to listen to the Eggplant song.


Thanks Laura for taking the time to talk to me. I guess I need to take a photo with my eggplant.


Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.



Art For The Day


© Betty Refour - Intertwined - 2007 Private Collection - Acrylic on Canvas


My sister Rose and I went to Dallas for a few days and we had a great time. She loves to stay in hotels and have room service so that's what we did. When we got there she got out the phone book and made a list of all the places she wanted to go. She added to the list a visit to two friends neither of which still live there. She wasn't too happy about that, but we kept pretty busy nonetheless.

This is a painting that I did for a couple that bought two paintings from me at my solo show back in July. I had to deliver it to their office and I was pleasantly surprised to learn that they had hung the other two paintings in their office and planned to do the same with this one. I always wonder what people do with my work after they purchase it. Some people keep in touch and purchase more or send referrals but some don't so I am often left wondering what happened with the painting. If you purchased one of my paintings and haven't kept in touch I'd like to hear from you.

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Tuesday, October 2, 2007

Art For The Day





© Woodie Anderson



North Carolina artist Woodie Anderson has taken something that most people see as a nuisance and created some really cool art. She uses the subject line from unsolicited email and creates collapsible fine art prints. Her serigraphs (screen prints) are cut into squares and then stitched together and folded neatly so that they fit inside the Art-o-mat vending boxes which are the size of a pack of cigarettes.


Woodie has been an art-o-artist for 2 years and her art-o-mat pieces can currently be found in the Michigan Art-o-mat. Thanks Woodie for taking the time to talk to me. I love my new collapsible print.


To see more of Woodie's work visit her website or her Flikr page. And to find the Art-o-mat nearest you and to learn more about the project be sure and visit art-o-mat.org.


Don't forget, I was lucky enough to get sixteen art-o-mat pieces so over the next couple of weeks I'll be sharing them with you along with a little info about the artists.


Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.





Monday, October 1, 2007

Art For The Day


©Aaron Kraten



I first noticed California artist Aaron Kraten's work on Myspace and became an instant fan. This painting brings to mind a female Super Hero who by day is an Indie Designer with a big heart, designing everything from textiles to fast cars. But by night she's a super hero putting villains in their place.


Aaron has been an art-o-artist since 2002. Some of his pieces can currently be found in the Michigan Art-o-mat. As a result of being an art-o-artist he has gained clients that have purchased larger pieces. To see more of his work visit his myspace page and his website.


To learn more about Art-o-mat and to find the machine nearest you click here.


Thanks Aaron for taking the time to talk to me. Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Art For The Day

(c) Rebecca Grantham - Plein Air Art Puzzle

 

Ohio Plein Air Art-o-artist Rebecca Grantham used a really cool concept for her art-o-mat pieces that she has dubbed "53 Pieces, 2 Paintings, 1 Artist. This photo is of one piece but there is a different painting on each side. How cool is that?! What Rebecca did was used 53 wood blocks, ( now keep in mind that these blocks are the size of a pack of cigarettes) and she has painted not 53 individual painting or even 106 individual paintings but she has painted a section of two larger paintings onto these blocks. I get dizzy at the thought of having to keep up with which piece went where as she embarked on this. Nonetheless she has done it and I think it turned out wonderful.

Rebecca has been an art-o-artist for almost a year now. Her art-o-mat's are currently located in the following machines:  Ursus Gallery in Ohio, The Clevelend Center of Contemporary Art in Ohio, The Kentucky Center For The Performing Arts in Kentucky, Dacing Eye Gallery in Michigan and  Pop Deluxe in Wisconsin. To get more information on these locations visit Art-o-mat.org 

One of the fun things about being an art-o-artist is hearing from buyers and Rebecca has heard from two buyers and has had the opportunity to swap with one other art-o-artist.

Thanks Rebecca for taking the time to talk to me. To see more of Rebecca's work visit her website at http://www.RebeccaGrantham.com and to read more about the art puzzle and to see if you can figure out where this piece goes visit her blog at http://pleinairlandscapes.blogspot.com.

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

PS Don't forget I'll be talking about art-o-mat artists for the next couple of weeks so do stop back by. And again if your city is artomatless contact your local officials and demand a machine be installed immediately! 
 

Monday, September 24, 2007

Art For The Day

©Took Gallagher - 2007 Cat People Collage




Michigan Art-o-mat






Michigan artist Took Gallagher is the host of the Michigan Art-o-mat as well as an art-o-artist. She was kind enough to send me 16 pieces of art from her machine since I was unable to attend the Anniversary Party and Swap Meet in August. Took does collages of Cat and Dog people.

I imagine that being a host makes it very difficult not to have a vast collection of art-o-mats. I think she has shown restraint by only having 150. I asked Took some questions about her art and her experiences as a host and here's some of what she had to say:

Where is the Michigan Art-o-mat located? The current location of my first machine is Dancing Eye Gallery in Northville, MI...about 30 miles wnw of Detroit. Since I do not have a venue of my own, my machines are considered "Community Machines" by Artists in Cellophane. My first machine is considered my "permanent" machine and stays at at location at least 6 months, while my second machine will be a "temporary" machine, staying at venues for
various lengths of time.

How long have you been an Art-o-artist? Since 2000 but I did not become very active until 2004.

Are there other machines that your art is located in besides of course the Michigan Art-o-mat? Egg Design in Lexington, KY, Kishwaukee College in Malta, IL, The Whitney in NY, Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts in Louisville, KY, Clients & Profits in Bonsall, CA, Bucks County Library in Doylestown, PA. I know one of my first locations was Rayko Photo Center in San Francisco, CA.

Have you heard from any buyers? Only one in the very beginning. Other AOM artists have written though.

Have you collected or traded with other Art-o-artists? I have done one trade
with an Art-o-artist from MySpace. I have bought larger pieces from several Art-o-mat artists. I have been an Art-o-mat collector since 1999. I have quite a collection!

Is it a blast being a host? Oh, Betty -- being a host is a dream
come true! I get to see all kinds of art, new art, new artists. I get
to talk about Art-o-mat to anyone who will listen (LOL) and promote the
project. I have been interviewed by several local newspapers and
magazines. I have been contacted to do an early morning radio
interview. With the acquisition of the 2nd machine I will be able to
reach even more communities. (She is waiting for her second machine to arrive any day).

I am planning "Submission Sessions" to show interested artists how to
submit their prototypes to get accepted the first time through. I feel
that I have a lot to offer in that area, being a sort of a "triple
threat" -- host, artist and collector -- I can see 3 sides of an
artpack from 3 points of view. I am really looking forward to hosting these
sessions! My goal is to be able to have one column in each machine
dedicated to Michigan Artists -- but I need to do some heavy duty
recruiting (smile). I have SO many ideas for prototypes/series and I
cannot possibly make all of them, so I am very happy/eager to share
some with my fellow Michigan Artists.

Oh -- as a host, I am also getting involved as a sponsor of Detroit
Derby Girls. Yes, flat track roller girls!!! I will get a banner at
their bouts, an ad in their programs and be linked to their website. I
am very excited about this!!! Some of the girls came to the Art-o-mat
Party at Dancing Eye Gallery and we had a blast!



I had such a great time "talking" with Took about Art-o-mat that I could not possibly include our entire conversation here but I hope that you will get as excited about Art-o-mat as we are.

If you are interested in being a host or an art-o-artist you can find more information at artomat.org. You can also find locations of the Art-o-mat machines. If your city is artomatless please contact your local officials immediately and demand that a machine be installed.

Keep in mind that these are all original works of art and the cost is only $5.00. With the Holidays fast approaching they would make a great gift for anyone and with all the artists to choose from you are bound to find something you'll like.

Thanks Took for taking the time to talk to me and did anyone notice the other nice thing she did? She designed this piece especially for me - it has my initials on it:)

Please do stop back by during the next couple of weeks as I share with you what other art-o-artists had to say. And if you missed yesterdays post please take a look at it to see a preview of the artists that I'll be blogging about.

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.







Sunday, September 23, 2007

Art For The Day

I don't often get jealous but when I heard about all the fun that was had at the Art-o-mat 10th Aniversary Party in August I became very jealous. One of the things that the artists did was swap art. I wanted to swap some but I thought to contact each artist to ask for a swap would take way too much time so I contacted the host of the Michigan Art-o-mat and asked her to send me some. It was so hard selecting, I wanted them all but I finally selected 16. After I got them they were all so amazing that I tracked down as many of those 16 artists as I could, (yes the thing that I said I didn't want to do) and asked them about their art. I wanted to know how long they had been art-o- artists, if they had heard from any of their buyers, what machines they were in plus any thing else they wanted to share with me. Over the next couple of weeks I'll share with you what they had to say.
 
For those of you that are unfamiliar with Art-o-mat, Art-o-mat's are pieces of art, either done on wood or packaged in a box the size of a pack of cigarettes, wrapped in acetate and sold in refurbished cigarette machines around the world. There are over 500 artists that participate in this project.


This slideshow is a preview of the work that I'll be blogging about but these photos don't do any of the art justice. You cannot fully appreciate an Art-o-mat until you've held one in your hand. I hope you will come back and see what the artists had to say.


Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.


 


 


Monday, September 17, 2007

Art for the day


(c) Rose Refour - Please Watch Where You're Going! 2007 Ink on Paper

For as long as I can remember the streets in the downtown area of our City have alternated directions. So instead of 6th Street going East and West it only goes West and 7th only goes East. The same with the North and South Streets.

This city gets a lot of tourists. On any given day you can go into the downtown area and see dozens of people visiting the Oklahoma City Memorial, taking photos, leaving gifts and so on.

So because of complaints from tourists the City decided to change the streets so that instead of going only East or West, North or South, they will soon all go both directions. Recently Rose and I went downtown and turned onto one of the streets that had been only a northbound street. I saw no signage and the stripes had not been changed so seemingly out of nowhere we were headed head on into another vehicle. Thank goodness we were all ok.

I usually take a note book with us where ever we go. That way if Rose wants to tell me something she can write it down since she doesn't always speak. Well soon after this incident she got her note book, drew this photo and handed it to me......I think I scared her really bad as indicated by her big eyes and lack of hair.

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Saturday, September 15, 2007

Art for the day

(c) Rose Refour - Roses - Acrylics on Paper

Rose started an Adult Day Program this week. I thought it might be a good idea for both of us to get out and be more social. I grew up here but had not lived here for about 28 years until our mother was diagnosed with cancer. I know very few people here and so my plan was to get Rose into a program where she could make friends and I would work part time or do volunteer work and make friends as well. The Director of the program learned that I am an artist and asked me to teach an art class. This is what we painted and of course I didn't think to bring a camera so that I could take photos of everyones work. Rose and I both made new friends this week.

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Do You Accept Art Money?

(c) Betty Refour for Art Money


Imagine a world where you can go to the store and purchase whatever you'd like and present Art Money to pay for or receive a discount on your item.


Well that is exactly what artist Lars Kraemmer had in mind when he developed the Art Money concept ten years ago. Struggling as an artist and having a difficult time making ends meet he decided that he would create "money" and take it to local shops in Copenhagen, Denmark. Some shopkeepers embraced the idea where others did not but nonetheless an idea had taken root.


Today there is a Bank Of International Art Money and over 1000 artists from around the world participate in this project. There are also shops around the world that accept it and hosts that will put you up for the night while traveling in exchange for Art Money.


I am happy to be a part of this project as well as the 10 Year Anniversary Show for Art Money on September 15, 2007. It will be held at Pressen in Copenhagen, Denmark from 1-6 pm with an after party to follow starting at 8pm.


Hmmm....I wonder if I could get an airline to accept Art Money.


Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Art for the day

Here are some of my paintings available on eBay. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to various charities through eBay Giving Works. To visit an auction click on the photo of the auction you would like to visit.



Have a great day everybody,thanks for stopping by.

Sunday, September 2, 2007

International Online Art Exhibit

I am proud to announce the participation of Worldwide Women Artists Online in an International Online Exhibit. Thirty-four member artists will be featured.


World Wide Women's Artists Online is an international collective of women artists showing and selling their original art on the worldwide web.


Texas artist, Sharon K. Shubert is the first WWAO member to host this new series of international group exhibits on her website.


The Countries represented are Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, The United Kingdom, and The United States.


The 34 exhibiting artists will be showcasing a variety of mediums and styles. Sharon has put together a creative and interesting show. The exhibit can be viewed September 1-30, 2007.


All works are available for sale. Contact information for each artist is available on Sharon's web site.


Be sure to see this wonderful international showing of creative women artists and vote for your favorite piece of art.

Have a grear Labor Day weekend everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Friday, August 31, 2007

Art for the day


©Duane Kirby Jensen - Sisters - 2007 Ink on Paper - Intended for the private collection of Horace Augustine but will probably end up in the private collection of Betty Refour

When I first started messing around with Photoshop my mom sent me this black and white photo of her and her sister. My aunt had died years earlier and the only photo she could find of the two of them together other than when they were children was this. The photo was tattered, faded and scratched and she wanted me to restore it. I was like "sure no problem"....as I looked in the phone book under "Photo Restoration". I took it somewhere and had it done, it was way too important for me to tackle myself.

Not long ago one of my cousins asked me to paint the photo as a present for his Dad, their brother, but I already had someone in mind that I wanted to paint it. I showed my cousin Duane's work on Myspace and we agreed that we would ask Duane to paint it in his unique style. Duane agreed and this is what he came up with.

Ladies, we will forever miss your beauty, charm and grace along with your words of wisdom and encouragement. We were lucky to have had you in our lives.

Thanks Duane for giving us another memento to cherish. My mom's favorite color was blue.

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Monday, August 27, 2007

Art for the day


©Rose Refour - The Swan - ink and colored pencil

My sister Rose loves swans. She has a collection of them including two plastic ones that she puts out on the lawn during the summer. They have to be in a precise location and if anyone moves them she races outside and gives the culprit a look that says "How dare you touch my swans!" as she snatches them and puts them back in their place. There are plants in them and if anyone tries to water them she becomes upset. When you come to visit make sure you stay away from the swans.

We will probably add this image to our line of cards.

Have a great week everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Friday, August 17, 2007

Art for the day

©Betty Refour - Water - Acrylic on 16 x 20 canvas

This is a commission that I did. Hope everyone is having a great summer.

Have a great weekend everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Friday, August 10, 2007

Art of the day

This is a painting I did using acrylics on gallery wrapped canvas. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the Y-Me National Breast Cancer Organization.

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Wednesday, August 8, 2007

Art for the day

I put together a short video of some of Rose's work. Thanks for watching and have a great day.


Tuesday, August 7, 2007

Art for the day

This is a painting that I did that is available on eBay. Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.


Sunday, August 5, 2007

Saturday, August 4, 2007

Art for the day

This is a painting that just returned from a show at a local gallery. This would be great for a gift with the holidays fast approaching.

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Thursday, August 2, 2007

Art for the day


© Rose Refour - Untitled - Ink on Paper


Rose sold her first piece of original art yesterday! It was an ATC. Whenever something of hers sells I am always so excited. Most of the time she looks at me like "what's all the excitement about?" but once she said "Let's go shopping!". Well yesterday she didn't make any comment but then a short time later she came and handed me a list. On it were the following items: royal blue headband, brown belt, fingernail polish, turkey, white short sleeve blouse. I think she wants to go shopping again:)

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by. We will probably put this drawing on a card in case anyone is interested.

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Art for the day


(c) Betty Refour - Untitled #10 - Mixed Media on Canvas

This is a 3 x 4 inch painting that I did using texture gel and acrylics on canvas. It's available for sale on Artbyus. This would be great for a gift or to keep for yourself.

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Monday, July 30, 2007

Art for the day

(c) Betty Refour - Acrylics on Wood

This is a piece I did for Artomat. If you are not familiar with artomat then you are in for a treat. These are vend ready pieces of art that are sold in refurbished cigarette machines in the US and abroad. It's another great and inexpensive way to collect art. All of the art is the size of a pack of cigarettes. They are usually done on wood blocks like mine was but they can be done on just about anything as long as the work of art will fit inside a box. There are all types of art in these machines and the most exciting part, to me anyway, is that you don't know what you're getting until it comes out of the machine. There are over 500 artists from around the world participating in this ten year old project. Take a look at their website to find a location near you and to see what you might find in one of these machines. If your city is artomatless I suggest you contact your local officials and demand a machine be installed immediately!

This project is great exposure for artists. Someone saw the pieces I did on my website and contacted me to do a commission. I'm almost done with their painting so I'll be sure and post it when I'm finished. I'll also post my next batch of artomats when I'm done.

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Art for the day

(c) Rose Refour - Round and Round - Ink on Paper

This is an ACEO that my sister Rose did. It's available for sale on eBay with a portion of the proceeds going to the Autism Society of America.

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Art for the day

(c) Betty Refour - Untitled - 2007
The original painting was done using acrylics on canvas. This image is available as a print from Imagekind.

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Art for the day

Tapestry #4 (c) Betty Refour - 2007

The original painting was done using acrylics on canvas. It's available as a print from Imagekind.

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Art for the day

(c) Betty Refour - Wide Open Spaces - 2007 - Ink on Paper

This is another ACEO that I did. I've been doing a lot of these lately. The only other art I'm working on are three commissions. I'll be sure to show those when they're done. You can find this ACEO in my eBay store.

Be sure and stop by my note card blog and take part in our contest plus find info about contests from other bloggers. Have a great week everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Friday, July 20, 2007

Art for the day

Landscape 2 (c) Betty Refour - 2007 Ink on Paper


This is another ACEO that I did. It's available in my eBay store.


Have a great weekend everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Thursday, July 19, 2007

Art for the day

Landscape - (c) Betty Refour - 2007 - Ink on Paper


I haven't been able to paint much lately. Our roof was damaged during all the rain here and the basement and utility room flooded. We've have repairmen working on the damage but I'm just like a child with company. I hover around and ask questions and probably drive them crazy. I have done some ACEO's though and this is one of them. You can find some of the ones I did in my eBay shop. If you are unfamiliar with ACEO it stands for Art Cards Editions and Originals. These are small pieces of art 2.5 x 3.5 inches - the size of a trading card. They are considered an affordable way to collect art and they are traded and collected around the world.


Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Deal Of The Day


I will occasionally offer Special Discounts on my art and notecards to my readers. Today's deal is 10% off on orders of $10.00 or more from Noteworthy Crafts. This discount will automatically be calculated so there's no need for codes. For additional savings visit our Special Offers page.

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Sunday, July 8, 2007

Art Show




I wasn't sure what to expect from my show Friday night because I really don't know very many people here. I've only been selling and marketing my work here for less than a year, I had been in the DFW area before. But when I got there there were already people there!

I am always so ill prepared with digital cameras. You would think by now that I would remember to bring additional batteries but that was not the case. I had fully intended to bring my film camera too but of course I forgot that too. I got three shots and then the camera died:(
The turnout was great - I sold two pieces and got a commission (yeah). Thanks again Shelly for having me.

My work will be there until September 2nd for anyone who would like to see it. L.JiElle is located at 2924 Paseo in the Paseo Arts District in Oklahoma City. Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Monday, July 2, 2007

Art for the day

Ok so this morning I got ready, synced up my Ipod, gathered my art and headed over to L.JiElle. When I got there I found out that the current artist had not been able to get by to collect his art yet. The owner informed me that they would hang my art, so I Got A Reprieve:) I'm not sure why I was stressing over the installation but I was.

My show Seeing Red will open tomorrow. Opening reception is Friday July 6th from 6 - 10 pm. The show runs until September 2nd. L.JiElle is a salon and gallery located at 2924 Paseo in of course the Paseo Arts District. I will post more photos after the reception. If you've never been out to the Paseo it is quite a treat and the gallery walk is every first Friday from 6 - 10pm and every first Saturday from 12 - 6pm. Everything is open during this time and all of the businesses support local artists so there is a lot of art to see. Thanks Shelly for inviting me to show my work at your beautiful salon.

Have a safe 4th everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Sunday, July 1, 2007

Art for the day

© Betty Refour - Tapestry #5 - Acrylic on 4 x 5 inch Canvas

© Betty Refour - Making Connections - Acrylics on 5 x 5 inch Canvas

 

Making Connections and Tapestry #5 will be part of the group show Small Works Small Wonders. The show will be held at Gallery One located at 2927 Paseo in the Paseo Arts District. Small Works Small Wonders will open on July 6th and run through July 29th. Opening reception is July 6th from 6 - 8pm. There are many many wonderful pieces that will be included in this show all 13 x 9 inches or less, so please do stop by.

Tomorrow I hang my solo show and that should be very interesting. I've given direction on how I wanted things done before but I've never hung one myself. I'll have photos later in the week.

Have a great day everybody, thanks for stopping by.

Friday, June 29, 2007

Art for the day


© Betty Refour - Untitled - 16 x 20 Acrylic on Canvas

Have a great weekend everybody, thanks for stopping by.