Oh the sweet little faces...

Christmas is coming!

Only 1 day left to order for Christmas! 

Don't forget to get on my list before Saturday November 15th at midnight!

Custom ornaments are $129. Each tiny masterpiece comes in a pretty gift box with a paw print ribbon and care and feeding instructions. Ornament sizes are 2 5/8" or 3 1/4" glass balls.  If you don't specify, you will receive the larger ornament, Click here to order a custom pet ornament or for more information!

You may also want a gift certificate for an ornament to give to a special friend!  Those are also available on my website and can be shipped to you or your gift recipient. They are also available for email and digital download up to Christmas day in case you need a gift fast at the last minute!

There is another option for you!  If you want to take a chance you may be able to find a breed specific ornament in one of the two galleries I'll be supplying this season,  Look for a small assortment of breed specific ornaments at these two galleries below after Thanksgiving!  These are painted on 2 5/8" glass balls, are less detailed, but still super adorable and priced at $70 or less.

Raiford Gallery, Roswell, GA

2 Rules Fine Art, Marietta Square, Marietta, GA

Stay warm and have a nice weekend!

Oh the sweet little faces...

Shoprags, and other things that are working for me...

I know it's already February, but I haven't taken a moment to say Happy New Year yet.  Unbelievable! I have been habitually accustomed to an end of year message, and then a sparkling next year's message inciting problems establishing good habits and breaking old ones, and my particular brand of obstinate laziness, aka, procrastination, followed by the fluff of my intentions for the year.

This year, I want to do something different. No. I want to do a lot of things differently. I want to improve, as I think I do a little each year, but I also want to remember some really great things that worked for me.  So, that's how I begin the year, with little posts about things that worked and how I plan to improve them!

Shop rags, freshly folded out the dryer.  My trusty companions in the studio. They carry the stains of my efforts, the memories of every painting I've painted in the last 6 years since I began my career as an artist.  It's pretty cool when I think about it, and really, it hadn't occurred to me until I began folding them just about 15 minutes ago, that they really do have the marks of all of my combined works since 2008.

The first major success I want to mention, one that has been steadily climbing the past three years in a row, are my custom painted pet ornaments. Yep, painting those cute little critters have REALLY worked for me. My customers even seem to enjoy the ordering process as well as receiving my work. They even enjoy sharing their little treasures with others, which has proved to be a wonderful referral business for me.  The only downside to painting ornaments is handling the volume that comes in late in the year. I even had to extend the deadline from Halloween to November 15th in 2013 because people still weren't in the mood for Christmas shopping. But, then, the floodgates opened and wow, what a year I had. What a delight to paint so many sweet lovely little creatures, but I was so swamped that I hardly had time to enjoy my own holiday. I was also disappointed to have to turn away a large number of ornament orders, because many found me very late in the year and there just wasn't enough time to paint them all. Fortunately, there were a number of clients who opted to receive a gift certificate or who were willing to wait for delivery after Christmas. I learned that I need to better understand how to reach people year round so I can be painting these ornaments all the time. So, my goal for improvement is to reach my audience earlier, continue to deliver an outstanding product, delight my customer, and enjoy every part of my holiday to the max!

Thank you for giving me the joy of painting as I begin year 7 of my adventures in painting. If I could share with you how happy this makes me, it would be in the form of a gigantic smile and big hug.

Have a nice day,
Rebecca

Shoprags, and other things that are working for me...

#2; 29 faces

Wow, another day, another face.  Would you believe it already?  lol

Cassie in progress
To order your own, visit my Etsy shop

This one isn't quite done, but she's getting close enough I can post her and go memorize my lines for my acting class tomorrow.

While I'm on a roll, I'm on another challenge worth mentioning. No wheat!  (hahahah, on a ROLL! get it? flour?! ok, never mind.)  To top that off, for giggles, I've also "mostly" eliminated the other white starches: sugar, potatoes and rice are relegated to just one day per week.  I'm on Day 6 today and feeling rather fantastic!  Can I get a woot woot?  Eric just handed me a sugar free cocoa with marshmallows. (I didn't say I'm perfect, pretty sure I made that very clear!)


Have a good night,

Rebecca


“How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.” 
― Anne Frank

#2; 29 faces

#1; 29 Faces

Maxmillion

Custom Pet Portrait on an ornament
Order a custom ornament

It's time for repetition!  Go!  Do the same exercise for a month straight to get you into the groove, thereby creating a good habit! In this case, it's double habit forming bonus month!

How so, Rebecca?

Easy. (lqtm). Paint every day. Blog every day. There, 2 habits. But, best of all, you have to show up, every day, and we know showing up is half the battle.

A group of fellow artists are on a kick this month to blog every day in February and post a new face with each post, creating 29 faces to post. I heard it takes 27 takes in a row, over and over and over, before your action becomes a habit.  

So, in my typical non-committal fashion, I'm joining the challenge with only 24 days left to make all 29 faces, so I wont alter my personality too much by forming any good habits.  I'm no stranger to challenges, though.  Remember 31 days of rhinos?  That challenge, which is also educational to the reader, is still only at 23 rhinos. But, I'll pick it back up in March again and finish it this year and have a little show somewhere, sometime.  Another very memorable challenge I did a few years ago was to write a novel in 30 days; 1500 words a day, 50,000 words in a month (for the NaNoWrimo, National Novel Writing Month). I actually completed that epic challenge!  Talk about proud!  However, would you believe that not only could I not write for months afterward, yes, it destroyed my blogging for months, but I even lost interest for a while in checking my email!  hmmm...this exercise might have some medicinal benefits. (curing a habit?)

LOL.

Well, here you, my first face.

Have a good night, 

Rebecca

#1; 29 Faces

Almost Oprah's Favorite Things!

Custom Hand Painted Ornaments by ME, Rebecca Salcedo

Oprah took a cue from Good Morning America, I think, when she chose to put precious hand painted pet ornaments on her list of favorite things this year.  You wont be surprised to learn that she didn't choose me, or I might not have had time to write this post!  And because this is my blog, I am posting my own handpainted ornaments, naturally. (snort)

But lets give some credit where credit is due!  The very lucky lady Sherry Kendall, who paints from her studio in Woodbine, Maryland was chosen by Oprah for her sweet stylized pet adorned Christmas ornaments.  At this moment, she is likely simultaneously praising the virtues of Oprah's generosity and cursing her for not putting out her list in March, because I am confident that is how much time she probably needs to paint enough orders to fill the demand created by the beloved TV Icon!

On behalf of all artists, particularly custom painters out there, I would like to thank Oprah for bringing to the public eye these wonderful gifts, but I do have one request for her and everyone else on TV, this season and beyond, who has noted these as awesome:  "Please consider what the artist has to go through to get those done in just 4 weeks time before you air your segment, and do the right thing to support that business--make sure that you find a way to say to the audience the most important thing--that you can order this as a gift certificate to give, because that is probably all the very fortunate woman will be able to deliver to the majority of those coming to her site to buy!


Praise Oprah and her incredible power to instantly give people success!

Praise the artist who has dedicated his or her life to pursuing creativity and wants to deliver!

Praise the customer who is willing to order now and get delivery after Christmas! 

Anyway, these sweet hand painted pet ornaments are not Oprah's exact choice, they are mine.  Probably the closest I'll ever get to the "favorite things", but I'm not complaining.  One victory for any custom painter is more exposure and understanding for all! Woot Woot!

Ben, for Janie in ATL

Congratulations Sherry, your ornaments are adorable and I wish you years of business filling all those orders!

If you can't get to Sherry's website because she is inundated with business, hop over to my shop, Smelly Rhino Studio, and order an ornament today.  Or google hand painted pet ornaments and find some other shop that you love!  A keepsake you'll treasure forever, not just this year's favorite thing.  You'll get it soon, not before Christmas, but soon! 

Happy Christmas and Merry Shopping,
Rebecca
SMELLY RHINO STUDIO

Almost Oprah's Favorite Things!