Artist Blog by Sheep Incognito Artist Conni Togel

Tag Archives: studio

REVAMPING

Art is never permanent…so even some of my “finished” paintings sometimes aquire new life.

This is an older landscape I painted, that needs some fresh air and paint.

It’s 24″ x 48″, oils on canvas – quite a large piece.

BEFORE:

Just A Tree – It Looks Boring

 

I am adding more trees with color, more texture on the tree, and will be changing the sky to something happier…

CURRENTLY:

 

Added Texture To The Tree


The also needs to be some meadow happening…
As always, comments and shares are appreciated!

 

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The Newest Digital Painting From My Studio – KITTIES!

Arielle and Kitties digital pet painting

“Arielle” and Her Kitties digital painting by ©conni tögel

 

Just finished another commissioned Original Pet Portrait Painting, painted with digital media…I am just loving this new painting process – It is portable. It’s clean. It’s fun. And, I can use the same techniques and colors I use for my oil and acrylic paintings without having to set up an easel or wash out paintbrushes. The process is actually quite a bit slower, but more rewarding.

Just click here, if you want me to paint your pet’s portrait as well: https://www.charisma-art.com/Custom-Original-Digital-Pet-Portrait-Painting

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A Happy New Year!

HAPPY NEW YEAR AHEAD!

The year has already shown itself to be going in a good direction – a few days off between shows, is always a very good thing, seeing that I am usually on the road more than I am at home.
We took several weeks off to be home with family, celebrate Christmas, hang out in PJ’s at home, and just not do much of anything.

Christmas was fun, filled with laughter, good people, marvelous cookies, food, hot chocolate, and I think I might be fluffier than any of my sheep ever are, now.

New Year’s Eve was  more of a “Retirement Home Excitement” evening – just hanging out, not doing much of anything, except watching movies with my daughters. Just the right speed after the hectic of the Fall show season…

Then, of course, there was the issue of our trailer going missing from the driveway, and being found in the woods about half an hour away, with all the artwork, panels, prints, and originals being tossed about rather roughly. And, our backup inventory of prints, some tools, and some parts from the trailer gone missing. Fortunately, we are working with a fantastic Insurance company to help us recoup and regroup, hopefully in time for the big show frenzy of Spring arriving.

On the upside of that: the thieves were apparently dumb enough to leave the original paintings on the panels, and to actually steal signed prints, that are very much identify-able. If you see anything pop up in your neck of the woods, or online, by all means, please let me know.

I would post pictures, but something here isn’t working – technical issues are persisting, and, quite frankly, my life is too short to spend hours on trying to sort all that out…I’d rather be painting and re-creating what was damaged in that event.

Not being technically savvy is problematic – but, I do have enough skills to add new discount coupons! And, I love supplying the world with sheepish smiles and happy thoughts!

So to help your year start off with smiles as well, here is a coupon code you can use on my website to “fluffify” your world for the new year:

Enter code “FLUFFY” on the cart at checkout at the Sheep Incognito website to get 15% off your entire purchase!

If you run into any kind of trouble – please drop me a line at the studio through the webform on my website…it’s the only way to ensure that I actually get the mail.

So here’s to a year

Filled with fun – do something silly that makes you giggle, every day.

Filled with peace – don’t sweat the small stuff, and forgive stupidity.

Filled with happiness – focus on good memories. good people. good things. good people.

And, filled with just a touch of sheepish outlook on life: sleep alot. eat as much as you need. hang out with peaceful friends. Bounce when happy. Burp so you don’t explode. Look beautiful in a sunset. Be wary of weird things. Explore new pastures. Eat lots of healthy greens. And most of all: make someone else smile. It’ s what makes everybody’s world better!

 

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WIP “GRASSHOPPER” SHEEP INCOGNITO

NEW SHEEP INCOGNITO PAINTING ON THE EASEL: “GRASSHOPPER”

 

this is a new painting I’ve started on this weekend – we have two shows happening this weekend in Nappanee, Indiana (Amish Acres Arts & Crafts Festival), and in Dublin, Ohio (Dublin Irish Festival), so we needed to beef up the walls of the booth…

 

Title: GRASSHOPPER

Size: 24″ x 48″

Media: Oils on canvas

 

Starting with a quick sketch of Burnt Umber thinned with orange oil, I first established the general shape and figure, then painted the background in.

Initially I thought a black sheep would be the best, but with the background being a bit darker, the contrast will be to weak – so I am adding a warmer, wool colored touch to the sheep, to make it look less cold and stand out more.

 

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Close-up of "Grasshopper"

“GrassHopper” close-up by Conni Togel

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New WIP: Birds of a Feather

birds_of_a_feather

BIRDS OF A FEATHER

NEW WORK IN PROGRESS AT THE SHEEP INCOGNITO STUDIO

Back in the Studio for a bit of painting – with a new one on the easel:

“Birds Of A Feather”.

Completed the initial sketch, not a bit of drying time, and then I’ll start adding the colors. This will be a new knitting painting for all my knitting, spinning, crocheting, weaving, sheep breeding, and Sheep Incognito friends. Of course, birding friends might like this one as well – though I’m not sure what breed these birds are…Kni-Twits?

 

Click the following link to follow along with the progress on the Sheep Incognito by Conni Togel Facebook page

 

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WIP – Back at the easel

BACK TO WORK – WIP “Ewe’s My Sunshine

We made it through this year’s Springtime shows in Florida, just in time for a bit more seasonal weather than we’ve had so far this year. Florida was colder than I ever remember it being for the past ten shows there – so hopefully that will statistically give us warmer temperatures for next year’s shows there.

With the rain and the cooler temperatures, we did not get to do a lot of venturing that we had planned to be doing this year  – we spent quite a bit of time indoors, trying to dry out damp jackets and socks from the few times we did manage to go out.

We also spent quite a bit of time in mechanics shops – the mobile studio RV we travel in was having some severe digestion problems, causing it to stall out in the middle of traffic (always exciting to be the jackass at the front of the traffic jam in rush hour at a major intersection and be stuck there for 20 minutes or more.) We managed to oggle our way home with lots of stops on the way, so next week will no doubt bring more of that along with some major costs for repairs. But still – would not trade my job for the world. We meet quite a few “successful” people – stressed about their retirement funds they are trying to fill so they can do what we do when they are too old to enjoy it…I’ll take that pay cut and do things now instead.

My retirement fund is non-existent – might buy me a burger when I retire.
My investment fund – I think I remember having one, but don’t know if any of the companies are still alive. I prefer to invest in my kids instead.
My savings – hmmm…I think those went to the ex to buy my freedom from him.

My way of life – “disorderly”, “uncommon”, “unprecise”, “unplanned”, and “adventuresome” – yep. And what I was planning to do when my retirement fund was filled, my investment fund was doing well, my savings were enough to live on, and my kids were all grown.
I’ve decided life does not wait for you to accomplish things – you are meant to live, and roll with what comes your way. That is what I am doing. For better or for worse.

So in keeping with that, I’ve been spending some time in the studio again (liking the look of the word “Studio” much better than the word “Cubicle” for myself) – here is the status of the Work-In-Progress “Ewe’s My Sunshine”:

Ewe's My Sunshine

Ewe’s My Sunshine

 

The purple will be mostly covered by extra white wool, the sun will be more defined and a bit lighter. So far, I’m liking his face – makes me happy to see him sitting on my easel when I walk into the studio.

 

If you have not been to my facebook page yet – here is the link:
http://www.facebook.com/SheepIncognito

It is often easier for me to update the facebook page, than my blog here, because I can do that via my iphone. So your best bet is to go visit there as well for updates, specials etc.

Right now, we have the Sheep Incognito Spring Fling 2014 going on – search Twitter for #SISpringFling for special discounts on original paintings, out of print giclées, prints, etc.

If you are a yarn shop owner, contact me at conni.togel@gmail.com to inquire about our affiliate program.

 

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Office Work – Is the death of artistic creativity….

After spending most of my day working on the paperwork associated with running an art business, I have decided that I am not made of the stuff that it takes to be a “paper pusher”.

The two brain hemispheres that it requires to be both a creative artist, and a business owner/tax filer just do not work well together. I can keep my desk rid of piles of random bills, receipts, invoices, show applications, sales records, to-do lists, and idea sketches. I can answer emails in a timely manner, and I can get all bills paid, all taxes filed on time, and have everything neatly sorted into my filing cabinet. I can post daily on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Flickr, Instagram, Etsy, and my website.

I can also break out my pallette, sketch out a brilliant idea for a painting, lay out my colors, pick the right brushes, dance with the brushes in hand, turning a blank canvas into something that makes people happy, sad, or silly. I can evoke emotions adult people had long forgotten.Taking pictures along the way to share with my followers on Facebook. Gathering Ideas for a grownup children’s book. Coming up with new titles, new color combinations, new projects to work on. I love doing that.

What I seem to be NOT able to do, is to do both processes together, without compromising the quality of either part. My desk is usually a mayhem of various papers in varying stages of “dealt with”. Paintings – I usually have about ten standing around unfinished, abandoned, or not even started yet. Projects – I have a list as long as a diving board, with not enough time to even get started on one of them.

How do you keep it all rolling smoothly without dropping the ball on either one? It seems as soon as I devote time to one side, the other falls apart. I’m frightened of the day the IRS decides to audit me – how will anybody  be able to find anything or make sense of any of it?

I’ve found that the more I work on the office/business side of things, the less creative I become. It seems to be a downward spiral…

If you are of the creative sort – how do you keep track of everything without losing the ambition to create?

 

 

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A Different Kind of Christmas

Celebrating Christmas usually is my favorite time of the year – the lights, buying presents for loved ones, the food, the times together playing games, watching movies, doing puzzles, and laughing…

This year, all that was toned wayyy down in our house – a sick mom is really no fun for anyone…I spent five days sick on the couch, with no energy to do much of anything. The kids were troopers, and very caring and condiserate – but I know they missed the hubbub and joyful atmosphere we usually have in the house…

So the question is: fake it to make them happy, or just go with what is, and see it in contrast to the happier christmasses we’ve celebrated before and will be celebrating again?

Never quite sure what the better approach is for that…the good part is, that I am slowly on the mend and gaining a bit of energy back. We are making the most of the few days during christmas break to do all the things we had planned for Christmas…

And who knows, I might even get some painting done this coming week – it’s been a long while since I’ve had a chance to work in my studio.

New Year’s Eve will be a marathon of Hobbitses, Dwarves, and Elves – can hardly wait…

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New Studio In the Making

The studio is coming along nicely –

Sheep Incognito Studio floor

Sheep Incognito Studio floor

the floor is finished, and the easel is moved in.

Now, to add storage space for all my materials – it will give me a chance to eliminate extra ballast that I’ve been schlepping around for a few years.
First though, we are printing up a orders for the past few shows…

Coffee Oh yes, it will be a thing today…

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