Friday, December 14, 2012

Cat Herd


"Cat Herd" by Ann Tuck.  15" x 60".  Oil on Canvas.



I may have thought of the idea for this painting as I was herding my two busy little kids around the grocery store...I don't know, but judging by the background,  I think these cats are heading off to a conference room.  

It's now available at UGallery.com.  They'll ship internationally and even let you try the painting out in your home for a week.

Click here for more details.

Thursday, December 13, 2012

Huge Sheep!

Sheep #2 by Ann Tuck.  Oil on Canvas 60"x48"
Here's my HUGE sheep painting.  It's available through UGallery.com.  They ship internationally and will let you try out the painting in your home for 7 days.

http://www.ugallery.com/ann-tuck

Wednesday, December 12, 2012

Box Elder Bug

Box Elder Bug by Ann Tuck, 6"x6" Oil on Canvas
I hear that box elder bugs can be a terrible nuisance, but ever since one kept me company in my office for a winter, I've had a soft spot in my heart for them.  I was nervous that I would accidentally squish him underneath my engineering diagrams, but he was always there to greet me every morning until spring came.

I put this up for auction at DailyPaintworks.com and I shortened the duration to have the auction end on Sunday night for holiday shopping.

Click here for auction details.



Tuesday, December 4, 2012

Woodcarving Weekend

Christmas ornaments made in woodcarving class.
I spent my weekend at the John C. Campbell Folk School learning how to carve wood while my husband tried his hand a blacksmithing.

It was a nice excuse to get away for the weekend and learn something new (including contra dancing!).  The meals were great and we enjoyed meeting the other students.

Many thanks to our woodcarving instructor Charlie Leverett who did a fantastic job of teaching.  I really learned a lot.  (And I got through the class without cutting myself!)

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Blue Ornaments

Blue Ornaments by Ann Tuck 11"x14"
My neighbor caught me hanging these ornaments on a tree in the front yard for this painting, and she didn't even bat an eye--I guess they're getting used to me around here.

I posted it for sale just in time for the holidays.  Oil on canvas 11" x14".  Click here for more information.

Sunday, November 25, 2012

Power Your Christmas Pyramid with the Fireplace.

Power your Christmas Pyramid Carousel with the fireplace.

Here's a little something that my husband came up with as we were putting up Christmas decorations today.  "Hmm...where can I put this pyramid carousel were the dog can't get it?  Mantle?...I wonder if the heat from the fireplace could power it?"

As it turns out, it can.

Clamps and board can be disguised with
ribbon and a garland.
We ended up clamping a board to the mantle and tying the pyramid to it (I also included a piece of rubber non-skid mat to keep it in place).  We found that using a narrow board works best as it does not obstruct the flow of warm air from the fireplace as much.  If you have a decorative metal grate, or a pretty tray, that would work too.

It works like a charm every time we turn on our gas fireplace, and we don't have to deal with candle wax dripping on the wood.

The clamps can be disguised with ribbon, and a garland looks smart when hung from the protruding board to the ends of the mantle (be careful not to let the garland obstruct the flow of warm air)



Saturday, November 24, 2012

Four new stationary designs


New Personalized Note Card designs by Ann Tuck
I added four new designs to my line of personalized note cards just in time for holiday gifts.

Instead of baking holiday cookies to send to my friends and neighbors, I order these personalized note cards for them.  They're zero calories, they don't take up much space in the house, and they are something that can actually be used.  I order some for each of my childrens' teachers as well, and everyone seems to look forward to them each year.

Your friends will think of you every time they use them.





































Note:  Enter your name by expanding the “Personalize It” box to the left of the note card and you can see how it will look with your name. (See tutorial below for more detail).  There is a nice selection of papers to choose from, but I find that the “Basic” paper choice looks great. If you’d like to customize your name with a different font or color, just click the orange “Customize” button under the note card.  (Tip: to raise or lower the name by small amounts, hold down Ctrl while you click the up and down arrows).

These cards are shipped with envelopes.


For more information, see my previous post on my stationary here.  You can see how to inexpensively personalize a big batch of the cards yourself.

Here's a quick tutorial on personalizing the cards on Zazzle:

Click the "+" next to  "Personalize it" to personalize the cards with your name.

Enter your name or your recipients name in the text box.
Now you are ready to order.

You can also choose other paper types by expanding the "Options" selection.
I found that the "Basic" option is so nice that I haven't bothered to try
the other options.  Linen would probably be nice too though.

If you want to change the font, or color of the text, you can click the
 "Customize it" button. 

Here I show the various options for customizing.   If you change the font or size
of the text, you may need to move the text up or down on the page.  Use the
arrow buttons to the left of the font selection to do that.  For finer
control of position, hold the Ctrl button down while you click the
arrows.

Saturday, November 17, 2012

Another Sneak Preview


Reversible placemats with napkin by Ann Tuck

Another sneak preview--Reversible place mats with napkins.  More on this soon.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Geometric Loopy


"Geometric Loopy" by Ann Tuck






















I had fun stitching together circles to make this pattern and got lost in all of the variations that I can make from it.  In the end, I stuck with my simplest version. The red-orange makes me happy and this pattern goes well with my "Arrow Flower" pattern.  You can purchase fabric here.   

"Geometric Loopy" removable wallpaper by Ann Tuck






















Also available in removable wallpaper and for a limited time in wrapping paper (purchase here)

Sunday, November 4, 2012

Pomegranate

"Pomegranate" 6"x6" by Ann Tuck
I did this little painting plein air in our yard on a very nice morning.  It's pomegranate season and our tree is happily producing even though it's really not supposed to do so well in our area.

This one will sell in a DailyPaintworks auction ending on Sunday night.  Click here to see more.

Bees!

"Bees" by Ann Tuck 30"x40"
















"Bees" by Ann Tuck






I just posted this painting for sale on Ugallery.  Click here for the price and to see more detail views of this piece.

I spotted these lovely bees in Arizona at the Sunset Crater Volcano.

UGallery will ship worldwide and they give you a week to try the painting out in your home before committing.








New!

I was asked if I could offer prints of my "Bees" painting, so I made them available as well as a painting of a single bee that I did. ImageKind does a beautiful job with my reproductions, and can deliver them framed or as stretched canvas.  I love that they can make huge prints of my work--Just think how a 44" square stretched canvas of my "Bee" painting would look over the fireplace.  

Click here to find my gallery of prints.  You'll find the bee prints in the "Fauna" gallery, or just click the images below to be taken directly to the bee prints.

Thanks for asking!


 







Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Groovy Arrow Flowers

A new design for sale.  I used a traditional arrow pattern and Groovitized it with flowers.  I just put another design in very yummy red/orange for sale that goes great with this pattern.  More on that later.

Also available in removable wallpaper.



Sunday, October 28, 2012

A Wider Audience


I sell my small paintings online at DailyPaintworks.com, but I haven’t been wanted to risk selling my larger works online to someone I don’t know.  Besides that, I’ve always said that packing a large painting for shipping can take as much time as creating the painting itself. 

So this week I started with Ugallery, and I think they are going to improve how I sell my work.  They have a stunning gallery and are all set for selling my work online.  They will ship across the world and let their customers try the paintings out for a week before committing.  For me, the risk of shipping an expensive painting to someone I don’t know is eliminated, and they send me a box to ship my painting in.  For that, I’m glad to share a commission. 

To top it off, my audience has grown from the people who set foot inside my local gallery to a global audience.

You can find my gallery at Ugallery at http://www.ugallery.com/ann-tuck . 

Wednesday, October 24, 2012

Deft

Today I am very pleased.  My mother had given me a little money for my birthday a few years ago, and I still hadn't found the perfect thing to spend it on until I found this painting by Carol Marine. http://www.dailypaintworks.com/fineart/carol-marine/surprise!/96096

I've been a fan of Carol's work for a long time, but this painting really spoke to me.  The title of the painting is "Surprise!" but I think "Deft" when I see it, because I know that Carol is one deft painter.  She comes at her little paintings with a big flat brush and plunks that paint down right where it needs to go.  The light is fantastic, and that tea bag!--just a few confident strokes of paint and I could swear I can feel the warm vapor on my face and make out the fragrance of the tea.  I think it's Darjeeling.

I can't wait for it to arrive in the mail.  Before I hang it, I'm going to sit and admire it while drinking my tea.  Then I'm going to invite a friend to come and sit and admire it and drink tea with me.

This painting will be with me forever, not like clothes that will go out of style.  

You can find lots of other very nice pieces at DailyPaintworks.  Many of them are small and priced around $100, which are the perfect thing if you and your spouse can't agree on art.   You can sign up for the DailyPaintworks daily e-mail and receive beautiful things in your inbox every day.

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

My painting in a Axe/Lynx commercial.

Perhaps many of you have seen the commercial "The Ideal Woman" for Axe (or Lynx depending on what country you are from) body spray for men.  My painting is featured in the last scene.   Someone had recently asked for press about my work, so I searched for the ad on YouTube this evening and found plenty of videos of it in several languages.

Here it is:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1r01V1PjgA

The painting is of Paraguay and is owned by a friend who lives in a palace in Buenos Aires where some of the scenes were shot (her palace was featured in the movie "Evita" as well).  I just happened to see this commercial in a movie theater in England.  Had I not seen the movie, I would probably have never known that this painting was featured in a commercial.  The guys who were at the movie with me were totally unfazed by my "Oh!  That was my painting!".  Those Brits are hard to impress.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Article. Let your passions follow you.

Ahh...He hits the nail on the head.  http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/30/jobs/follow-a-career-passion-let-it-follow-you.html?src=me&ref=general

Maybe one day this article will make it easier to explain myself.   I often get the "So glad that you were able to stop doing engineering and concentrate on what you really love to do."  I really love engineering too.  I'm just doing the task at hand at the moment.  Very hard to explain.

Thursday, September 27, 2012

Sneak Preview!

Pillows by Ann Tuck

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Repositionable Wall Decals and Removable Wall Paper Now Available.


Spashy Watercolor Peel and Stick wall decals by Ann Tuck


 



Great news!  Spoonflower started selling wall decals and wall paper today.  This is a picture of my splashy watercolor butterfly wall decals in our craft room.   I'm very happy with how the product works and the colors printed out beautifully.  After seeing these butterflies, my daughter asked if she could have them in her room, so it's a good thing that they are respositionable.  They can be easily removed and placed elsewhere.  She might like my Guinea Pig wall decals that are also available.
The Spoonflower wallpaper is removable so it's great for renters and college students and it's being used for tons of other craft projects besides wallpaper.  The material is also said to be very safe for kids' rooms.  Click the caption under the photos for more information.  Almost all of my designs can be purchased as wallpaper.  Just select "Wallpaper" under any of my designs in my Spoonflower gallery.
Nasturium wallpaper by Ann Tuck - great for a breakfast nook.
Guinea Pig Wallpaper - Wall Decals also available
Watercolor Butterflies wallpaper by Ann Tuck
Bees Wallpaper by Ann Tuck
Japanese Brush wallpaper by Ann Tuck


Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Bus Line

"Bus Line" by Ann Tuck 6"x6" Oil on Canvas
This will be my last painting to be auctioned for a while.  The kids will be out of school next week and I won't get as much painting done.  I'll spend the summer taking reference pictures for more paintings instead.

This painting is of the bus line at our school.

Remember Teacher Appreciation Week this week and make sure to give a big 'Thank You!" to any teachers you know who are great at what they do.


Monday, May 14, 2012

Nandina by a Blue Wall

"Nandina by a Blue Wall" by Ann Tuck 6"x8" Oil on Canvas























Ooops!  I forgot to blog this one when I put it up for auction.  The auction ends this evening.

I painted this one plein air (outdoors on location).  The nandina bush was growing next to a wall of someones ceramic studio that was painted a delicious blue color.  I should have asked what color  of paint that was.

Click here to bid

(I'm new to auctioning my paintings and I'm trying to figure out the best starting price for my work.  Please bear with me while I try a few different ways.)


Sunday, May 6, 2012

"India Ink Bees" by Ann Tuck


I made the semifinal round of the Fabric 8 contest chosen from over 750 entries!

If I'm one of the final 8 chosen, I’ll be asked to make a collection of 8 designs that coordinate with my entry and if I win, I’ll have a contract with Robert Kaufman Fabrics.

Here’s the contest page.  There is more than one contest being held.   This is the “Fabric 8 Semifinal Round”  They are looking for bold modern designs using pen and ink with watercolor.

There are some other great designs there too.  If you like mine.  I hope you’ll vote for me.  Voting closes on Wednesday the 9th.  

Wish me luck! 









Friday, April 27, 2012

Guinea Pig Fabric

Guinea Pig Applique Fabric by Ann Tuck






















Update:  You can purchase this fabric here:  http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/1136378 and also choose to purchase this design as wallpaper (removable so it's great for renters)
Also try this design: http://www.spoonflower.com/fabric/1137690 if you just want to use the guinea pigs for applique' or cut outs for other crafts.  You can also choose to purchase this design as wall stickers (repositionable).

Removable guinea pig wallpaper by Ann Tuck


















I entered this fabric design in Spoonflower's design contest.  This week's theme is "What's the New Owl?".  My immediate thought was guinea pigs.  Lucky for me, I have friends with an adorable guinea pig named Summer who was happy to model for me.  Click here to vote for my design.

Thank you Summer

Thursday, April 26, 2012

Kumquats in a Blue Pot

Kumquats in a Blue Pot by Ann Tuck 6"x6" Oil on Canvas
I bought a kumquat tree, planted it in a pretty blue ceramic pot, and marveled at how well the colors worked together--so of course I painted it. 

I just put this painting for sale on a DailyPaintWorks auction.


Kumquats are fantastic in chocolate fondue, by the way.

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Rock Point

"Rock Point"  by Ann Tuck 30"x40" Oil on Canvas


I spotted these two bright and shiny water towers in Arizona during our "UberTrip" (family car trip).  I love the pinkish reflections on the bottom of the tanks from the red earth below.
  
This painting is available at the Lagerquist Gallery. 


Wednesday, April 18, 2012

Personalized Flat Note Cards

Personalized Flat Note Cards Designed by Ann Tuck


When we moved into our house, our new next-door neighbor came and introduced herself and handed me a beautiful flat note card with her name embossed on the top. “Welcome to the neighborhood…” and her contact information were written on it in beautiful cursive.   I remember thinking how elegant that was, and I still have the card after all of these years even though her number has been programmed in our phone all this time.   She, of course, turned out to be the best next door neighbor anyone could have.

Her card inspired me to make note cards of my own and, even though most of us don't sit down and write letters the way we used to, I found them to be very handy as a nice way to write a quick hand-written note to a teacher, a thank you note, or a card enclosed with a gift.  Then I realized what a nice gift they would make—something that would actually be useful, and wouldn’t take up much space in the house.  Instead of making batches of fattening cookies to give to neighbors and friends during the holidays, I order a big stack of these note cards and personalize them for friends at home with my printer and they’ve always been a big hit.  At the end of the school year, I give a set to our children’s teachers because I know they can always use some personalized cards to send a quick note home to parents.  They would make great Mother’s day or bridesmaid gifts too.

Now my note card designs are available online to be shipped to you with your name on them--Just expand the “Personalize It” field to the left of the note card and enter your name and you can see how it will look.  There is a nice selection of papers to choose from, but I find that the “Basic” paper choice looks great.  (See my full tutorial showing how easy it is to personalize these on Zazzle HERE)



Technical Stuff:
If you’d like to customize your name with a different font or color, just click the orange “Customize” button under the note card.  (Tip: to raise or lower the name by small amounts, hold down Ctrl while you click the up and down arrows). 



Bulk Printing for the Holidays:

If you would like to do like I do during the holidays and personalize a bunch of note cards yourself at home (they are cheaper bought in bulk), just order some cards with no name.  I've provided name templates for lining things up correctly and a practice print guide that you can use to make sure that you get things right before printing on the real thing.

See below for instructions:


A stack of blank note cards to be personalized at home for gifts.



Instructions:

These are instructions for printing names on a batch of blank note cards to give as gifts during the holiday season. If you only have a few names to print, it is much easier to just order the cards with the name already printed on them. If you have several people that you want to give cards to though, it's less expensive to buy blank cards in bulk and print the names yourself.

Once you set up printing for your note cards, all of the personalization will be a breeze and you can use the name template for another batch next year as well. I suggest not doing that the night before you want to give your cards out though because sometimes the process is a little frustrating. You may even want to experiment with these print guides before you order.

1.  Print out the print guide I provided.  Make sure that no scaling is selected (make sure that the practice cards measure 4.25" by 5.5" after printing)












2.  Cut out the practice cards.



















3. For most printers, you will load the card upside-down.













4. Adjust the paper guides to fit the card size.












5. Open the Name Template that I provided.  Select the text box and type in the name (I suggest trying the longest name first).


















6.  Try printing the name on the practice card and see how it looks.  Select the text box (at the edge, not the sizing boxes) and move up or down as needed.  It may help to change the font or size to make a better fit.  If you need to try again, just print again on the same card because it may take a few tries.  When you think you have it right, try again on a blank practice card.  Make sure to save your Name Guide—now each name should be easy to print.  Save the guide to use next year for another batch of gift note cards.



          






Sunday, April 15, 2012

Small Bee Painting


"Bee" by Ann Tuck oil on canvas 8"x8"

I did this little 8"x8" painting of a thirsty bee that I found drinking water from a paper towel that was placed in a drinking fountain at Sunset Crater Volcano in Arizona. 

I did a large painting of four bees earlier this year and I received such nice responses about it that I decided to make this small painting for those who like to purchase from www.DailyPaintWorks.com 

The painting is oil on canvas (staples are hidden on the back) and is 8"x8".  I'm selling it on a DailyPaintWorks auction.