Art Squirrels Unite!

There’s a new artist collective in town, and we’re calling ourselves the Art Squirrels. The collective consists of myself (Cindy Coleman), Bethany Bachmann, Janet Kenna, Amanda Preston Araujo, Jenny Treanor, and Amy Vaclav. The 6 of us have worked together previously – in November 2022 we were joined with Linda Geer for the Pastiche show. Sadly, we lost Linda last year. We wanted to do another show together and were throwing out many (MANY) different ideas. In an attempt to wrangle our thoughts, Amanda called us “Art Squirrels” and the name stuck.

Our new show is titled “Emergence” and will be at the Smiley Cafe through May 12. Initially I had planned to paint an image with wildflowers (I did include my painting “Lupine” in the show), but I have always wanted to paint this hillside near Ouray. It’s my favorite spot to visit in the fall. Last year my husband I camped in the scene (far left, back behind the green trees). We could hear the wind roaring through the valley all night, but we were tucked away into a quiet little space, just the two of us. When we woke up in the morning, we made our tea and coffee and walked through the trees to greet the morning. The beauty and the silence as the sun hit the hillside and awakened the colors was breathtaking, and I knew that THIS would be the time that I would paint the hillside. The finished piece is actually 2 paintings framed side by side and named after the song “Fire on the Mountain”; the left is titled “Gold in Them Hills” and the right is “And it’s Waiting for Me There”. They’re sold together and can be purchased here. Show details below; I hope to see you at the opening reception! (and stay tuned for more shows from the Art Squirrels!)

Unique Gifts!

I still have a few fun gift items left in my online store! Great teacher gifts or for anyone that you know that loves Colorado and the southwest. Purchase these items and more at https://www.duckgirlart.com/gift-items (and if you live in Durango, use code LOCAL for free delivery!) Hurry! The store will close December 19 for the holidays.

25 Paintings in 3 Days

I went to Crested Butte last week for an art opening, and ended up spending 3 solid days in the condo PAINTING! I painted 25 minis, ranging from 2” x 3” to 4” x 6”. It was such a great time!

On my drive up there I was listening to John Denver. When I started dating my husband, he bought me a CD box set and said, “you should learn these.” His family are big fans of Denver and I found myself loving the songs as well. As I was listening, I kept catching lines of the songs and thinking, “oh, that would make a good title.” Therefore, all of the paintings are named with lyrics from John Denver songs (that in itself was fun!) Any guesses as to which ones?

I framed all of them, and they’ll be listed with my paintings on my website beginning 11/22. Prices will range from $35-$85. Here’s a video to see them in more detail.

I live in southwest Colorado and am constantly inspired by the landscape around me. I have multiple folders of “to paint” and this was a chance for me to explore some of those images. I somehow managed to cover every season (I kept jumping around painting them). There are so many that I’ve wanted to paint for some time but didn’t feel like they’d look good large, so I just went for it. It was such a great time and I just love looking at the group together. I hope they will find happy homes where they will be cherished and loved.

Here’s your chance to own a Duck Girl Art original! Paintings go on sale 11/22/23 at 6:00 am MT.

Visiting Arches

We live about 3 hours from Arches National Park, so it’s a favorite place to visit in the spring. Last year our niece came to visit for Thanksgiving, in the hopes of skiing. Even though we had one of our biggest winters in awhile, there wasn’t snow yet in November, so we decided to road trip to Moab instead. We thought that we wouldn’t have many crowds since it was a holiday, but we forgot to take into account that foreigners don’t celebrate Thanksgiving, so there were quite a few people there. Nevertheless, we had a fabulous time. The best part of the trip was that I had just painted the Park the week before, so the paintings and colors were still really fresh in my mind.

The painting of Delicate Arch is of course the show stopper. Every time someone sees it they walk up closer to inspect it, saying “I thought it was a photograph!” As of this printing, four of the paintings are still available for purchase. Check them out; there are also canvas prints, pillows, note cards and more.

So what goes into an Art Festival?

I’m thick in the season of art festivals and I thought I would share with you what exactly that means. There are hundreds (thousands?) of art festivals that happen throughout the year all across the country, and as an artist, you have to do your research and decide which festivals to apply for. Apply for? Yes, exactly. Each festival has an application fee to be juried in. You have to submit images of your work, an image of your booth, an artist statement, resume sometimes, and a fee, ranging from $30-$75ish. If you’re accepted into the festival, you then pay the submission fee, which can be anywhere from $300-$700+. Plus you’re encouraged to have your own insurance ($300) and there are often city fees ($25ish). Then there’s your tent, weights (40 lbs per leg), walls, dolly, painting storage containers, and everything else that goes with your display. It’s a lot, right? Now let’s talk about location. You have to travel to the festival! Which means gas, food, and lodging expenses. It’s a lot of upfront costs!

And now it’s festival time! You’ve spent months creating, framing ($$$), labeling, and it’s finally here! Some festivals allow you to set up the night before, but for others, you’re up at 5:00 am and you hurry to be set up by 9:30 because, let’s face it, the festival starts at 10:00 but people are wandering around at 8:00. All of this work, and NOW you have to be ON for the next 7 hours, talking to people and trying to convince them how amazing you are and how amazing your work is and oh, you HOPE they will fall in love with one of your pieces and take it home! And of course there are the people who tell you that they could do it better (yes, these people actually exist), and other artists who like to pull out their phone and show you all of the cool things that they do (insert eye roll emoji), and if you’re lucky – there are the wonderful people who tell you the absolute nicest things about your work (and I LOVE these people). Of course, it’s nice if they actually buy something (even if it’s just note cards!) after they’ve gushed about your work for ten minutes. For me, it’s REALLY hard to sell myself. I have a hard time telling people “here’s why you should love my paintings”. These make for really long days. Sometimes you do well and sometimes you don’t. And it’s incredibly discouraging when you have to pack everything back up and bring it all back to your studio. I much prefer the days when I can celebrate with a glass of prosecco!

So keep these things in mind if you’re heading to an art festival. Even if you’re not going to buy anything, you can always throw them a bone and follow the artist on social media (my instagram and my facebook). You never know when they’ll post something that you’ll have to have. And remember that at the end of the day, I’m just a girl, standing in front of my festival booth with my paintings, waiting for them to be loved.

Check out my About page for upcoming festivals and events.

Custom Paintings

One of the things that I love to paint is custom commissioned paintings. What does that mean? Someone contacts me with an image that they have – maybe it’s from their vacation, or it’s the place that they got married, or their happy place – and I paint that image for them. And maybe they give it as a gift or they keep it for themselves. I try to recreate that special place, that moment that your heart was full, so that you can forever look at this painting on your wall and smile. I love doing that for people.

I can paint just about any size that you want, although larger pieces will take longer so take that into consideration if you have a tight deadline. I also take process photos/videos so you can see how the painting came together (it’s magic!)

This one was fun – it was a low res photo that they took while on vacation and they wanted it made into a painting – I love the way that it turned out!

This one was for a wedding – a favorite place that the bride and groom like to go. If you look closely, there are hundreds of little hearts in the painting.

A Christmas present memorializing a special camping trip.

I’m already taking orders for the holidays (I know!!) so please contact me if you’d like more information!

What a WEEK!

Lately I’ve had a lot of people tell me that they’ve seen my work everywhere, that I’m the hardest working artist they know, that I’m putting it out there. And let me tell ya, I feel it!

So much is happening these days. The week started out with being notified that I was featured in Voyage Denver. It’s a fun little read if you’d like to know more about me and my work.

This week I got accepted into Artisans of Mancos – an artist co-op just outside of Durango. I wasn’t expecting to have my work there until the end of the month but they texted and said to bring it in yesterday, so there I was throwing things together. It was all super last minute so I still have some ideas and more to display, but here’s what it looks like so far. If you happen to be in Mancos, stop by! 101 Grand Ave.

After my morning flurry of setting up at Artisans, I went home and prepared for the opening of Pastiche, a group exhibit of 7 women interpreting 8 different works of art. It was a fantastic opening – we got such great feedback from everyone. I painted 2 Van Gogh’s and although mine were direct interpretations, it was pretty challenging to recreate with chalk what was originally done in oil paint. This exhibit is upstairs at the Smiley Building in Durango (1309 E. Third Ave), and will be up until January 8.

As if this wasn’t enough, this morning I woke up and prepared 6 paintings to be delivered to the Earthen Vessel Gallery in Durango – at their new MAIN AVENUE location (934 Main Ave Unit A)! I was pretty excited that Valerie (the owner) wanted to hang them right behind the counter as you walk in the door, out front and center. I’m excited to see where things go with the new location!

AND of course I was still doing my “real” job all week – graphic design involving signage, newsletters, ads, donor letters, and I can’t even remember all the rest. ha ha! I’m looking forward to painting tomorrow (commission!) and then Monday I’ll be returning to Willowtail Springs for my third artist residency (I CAN’T WAIT!) I’m really looking forward to painting all week and I can’t wait to show you all of the fun new work. Stay tuned!

How to support artists (without spending $)

I’m lucky in that a lot of my friends and family support my art business. But what happens when their walls are full and I’m telling them about an upcoming show (and I can tell that they want to roll their eyes)? Here are some ways that you can support me – and other artists – without having to spend a dime.

Tell your friends! Maybe your walls are full but you can always tell your friends about paintings that you like, or invite them to an art opening or festival. Word of mouth goes a LONG way with art. Here are my upcoming events.

Follow on social! Most artists (including myself) are pretty active on social media. Liking, sharing, and commenting on posts helps draw attention to the art and gain new followers. If you’re not already doing so, here’s my facebook and instagram. You can also follow me on pinterest or subscribe on youtube.

Show us your art! Take a picture of your new painting, note cards, etc. and share it with your friends. I love seeing my paintings in their new home, or someone enjoying my puzzles or coasters.

Tell us about it! Write a review on google, facebook, or etsy. (this goes back to the word of mouth thing) If you think it’s great, perhaps others will too!

And if you DO want to support an artist monetarily….

Gift art! If your walls or full but you’d still like to buy something, buy it for someone else! Maybe you have a graduate in your family, a housewarming to go to, or a wedding coming up – all of these events are great opportunities to gift someone artwork. You can even commission artists to paint a photograph that you have, so then you’ll have a special piece to treasure for years to come. (email me if you’re interested)

Become a patron of the arts! Many artists have supporters or patrons who help them fund their art, whether it’s for supplies or fees for festivals (these REALLY add up). I have a Team of Ducks who sponsor me, and in return I give them artwork. Their support is so important to me; it helps me to actually profit from my shows and not go into debt doing them (framing is expensive!) More information about my Team of Ducks here.

No matter how you decide to support artists, I want you to know that we TRULY do appreciate you. You are the ones who make it possible to utilize our creative outlets, and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Rocky Mountain National Park

Alpine Meadow

Colorado Rocky Mountain High

Rocky Mountain Meltdown

Waiting for the Clouds to Rise

Wapiti Wilderness

I’m really excited with how my latest National Park series turned out! I try to paint a variety when I look at the parks and this was no exception. I felt like I just had to paint the elk – you can’t visit Rocky Mountain NP and NOT see the elk! I really like the painterly style that I did that one in as well.

“Waiting for the Clouds to Rise” was tricky – it’s tough to paint mountains when they’re covered by clouds, so I kept working in and out of it and I think I finally achieved what I was going for.

Each one of these paintings invites the viewer to step inside, to follow the trail, to take a hike and go exploring. And I love that. Prints available here; original paintings here; note card sets here.

To Help the Ukraine

Convulsive Motion

Fervent Uproar

The Road to the Clouds

I’ve been thinking a lot about what I can do to help the people of Ukraine. I’m not one for painting flags, but I realized that these 3 original paintings are representational of the Ukraine flag (blue and yellow). All 3 are for sale on my website and 75% of the sale of the original paintings and 100% of sales of prints will be donated to the Red Cross in support of the Ukraine people. The paintings are 9″ x 12″ and are available unframed ($200) or in a 12″ x 16″ frame ($275). Prints are available in 8″ x 10″ ($55), 11″ x 14″ ($85), and 16″ x 20″ ($125). Thank you for your support.

Click here to buy Convulsive Motion original painting; here for print.

Click here to buy Fervent Uproar original painting; here for print.

Click here to buy The Road to the Clouds original painting; here for print.