Art

Headhunting Calendar for 2018

by
Headhunting Calendar by Pearl R. Lewis
Headhunting Calendar by Pearl R. Lewis

Daily Headhunting

You have to check a calendar every now and again, right? You might as well derive maximum health benefit from this tedious task. Laughter is good for you, isn’t it? So a healthy calendar might throw some laughs your way. And challenging your mind is good for you, is it not? So a healthy calendar might exercise your mind from time to time with questions and puzzles that stimulate your problem-solving skills. And broadening your vocabulary is not too bad for you either, right? So a healthy calendar might get you thinking about words and idioms that you haven’t thought about in years, or which you have never heard before.

Healthy Calendars

The HEADHUNTING 2018 CALENDAR does all this and more. The wall-sized calendar is illustrated with bizarre “heads” from my HEADHUNTER Collection of line drawings. These large-sized illustrations are perfect for coloring, and will appeal to people of all ages. If you want an extra dose of healthy on top of the good stuff already mentioned, pick up some colored markers and store them near your calendar. (If you keep your calendar on your fridge, you can glue small craft magnets to your favorite colored markers and keep the markers on the fridge alongside the calendar.) Coloring is a relaxing, therapeutic activity that your body and mind can benefit from at any time. Add a bit of color to your calendar while you wait for your first cup of the coffee to brew. Add a bit more as you wait for supper to cook. Then stop by and add yet another dash when you steal into the kitchen for that midnight snack. You are free to take all month to color one head! To learn more about the health benefits of coloring, read this article about the effect of art on healing. If you don’t like color, stick with the uncolored line art, but if you want EXTRA BENEFIT from this calendar, go ahead and color like crazy.

What can you expect to find inside the HEADHUNTING 2018 CALENDAR?

Headhunting 2018 Coloring and Puzzle Calendar by Pearl R. LewisThis is a 12-month calendar in the landscape 11″ x 8.5″ format. As you turn the page to each new month, you will encounter a new “head-focused” word or number activity that is integrated with a peculiar (yes, the art may seem a little odd to those who don’t use their imaginations too often) head illustration. If you want to get aHEAD, then you have to get your HEAD into top gear. This calendar is all about helping you do that in a light-hearted, low stress kind of way. This calendar involves the kind of head-scratching that the whole family can enjoy. Challenge each other to use the new words or idioms you discover. See who can solve that month’s puzzle first. And, for those who just NEED to know if they are right (you know who you are), you can find the puzzle solutions right here on this blog. The solutions will be posted in the relevant month. Just relax and take your time, else it may end up feeling like an exam.

Find Calendar Puzzle Solutions Right Here

If you are not in the habit of checking this blog regularly, do yourself a favor and subscribe. There is a SUBSCRIBE button on this very page, so its as easy as clicking a button. Subscribe and you will get the puzzle solutions delivered straight to your email inbox.  Ahh… yes! Convenience!

Where to Find the HEADHUNTING CALENDAR

The HEADHUNTING 2018 CALENDAR is already available from the online Lulu Bookstore.  Get your Christmas shopping completed early this year. You can scratch everyone off the list in one quick shopping trip. Want to leave your colleagues, parents, besties, neighbors, aunts, and uncles unsure whether they should scratch their noggin or laugh their nut off? HEADHUNTING is for everyone, so join the hunt!

 

Share

Little Mermaid in My Splash Pool

by

Little Mermaid Children's Wall Art by Pearl R. Lewis

Mermaids! Seen one lately? They are easy to recognize: they are those bikini-perfect, half fish, half human creatures that always seem to pop up when you are about to be shipwrecked during some epic adventure. What’s not to love about a mermaid’s life? They are out there body surfing and sunbathing while you have to be at work, fading away under artificial lighting. And have you noticed that their hair never seems frazzled by the salt water?

FISH GIRL or MERMAID?

But not this mermaid! The model for our mermaid painting would be the average fish-girl next door if you were living some cool, underwater fairytale life. She is all about stopping to smell the roses instead of rushing home to fix her hair. She is the fish-girl you would want to take home and marry – if you were into cross-species marriage. This mermaid LOVES life, and she is happy with who she is and how she looks. No fake smiles or pretending to be who she isn’t. No “three hours in front of the mirror” episodes while she applies waterproof mascara before hitting the waves. This mermaid is wide-eyed and eager to learn and discover. Spunky and determined to enjoy life for what it is, this little mermaid would love to grace you child’s bedroom, playroom, or nursery wall, and set an example of quiet confidence.

ORIGINAL ARTWORK

This circular mermaid cartoon image is an ORIGINAL, one-of-kind acrylic painting on a circular engineered wood substrate. As with other paintings in the circular series of CHILDREN’S WALL ART (available at Zisubu Artique), the surface of the painting is lightly coated with sealant, and the artist (that would be me in this case) has signed and dated the back of the painting. The painting measures approximately 10 inches in diameter. The substrate resembles a solid wood block and has an approximate thickness of 0.625 inches. The edges of the block are painted black to serve as framing for the painting.

MERMAID STARS in VIDEO

Like moving art? This mermaid painting was featured in the “bubbles” in a music video of a trumpet duet composed by Eddie Lewis.

 

Share

Dragons Chasing Their Tails

by

NoDragon Art by Pearl R. Lewist all dragons are fire-breathing lunatics determined to turn you to ash. Some are puppy-cute, fun-loving, tail-chasing dragons that want to lick you in the face and then go home with you. It’s the fun-loving kind of dragon that posed for this children’s painting. And he promises that he will NOT turn into a blood-chilling, nightmare-inducing maniac when you turn off the lights. This chubby, green dragon is focused on turning around the bad reputation that dragons everywhere inherited – thanks to a few cold-blooded, iron-hearted, completely insensitive ancestors. Notice the claws? That’s right – there are no claws. This dragon took the time for a manicure, and he is flaunting the new gecko digit look.

The “dragon chewing on his tail” painting is the first in a selection of children’s wall art that I will be releasing this year. The themes for these paintings are not drawn strictly from the fairytale genre, but they do borrow from the more light-hearted side of the classics.  If you are looking for imaginative, detailed, ORIGINAL wall art for a child’s playroom, bedroom or a nursery, this series will probably have at least one theme that appeals to you. And, while these paintings are advertised as “children’s art”, no-one will tell if you (the respectable adult) choose to display one in your office, studio, garage, or craft room.

Why did I start the series with a circular painting? Everyone knows that the windows to the world of the imagination are circular. You knew that, right? (Don’t admit it out aloud if you didn’t know.) On top of being a portal for the imagination, there is something particularly calming about circular structures. If you are designing for a child’s environment, it makes sense to deliberately introduce calming structural elements into the décor. Circular structures can help to balance the vitality and energy of the bold colors often chosen for decorating children’s rooms. You can expect to see a few circular paintings in this series, as I explore the world of the imagination through the circular window.

The “DRAGON TAIL CHASER” is an ORIGINAL acrylic painting on a circular engineered wood substrate. The surface of the painting is lightly coated with sealant, and it is signed and dated on back of the painting. The painting measures approximately 10 inches in diameter. The substrate resembles a solid wood block in density and has an approximate thickness of 0.625 inches. The edges of the block are painted black to serve as framing for the painting.

Block paintings should be mounted or hung flush with the wall. There are various ways to achieve this, but I prefer the use of a small d-ring hanger which attaches to a small nail in your wall. When you purchase “DRAGON TAIL CHASER” (or one of the other paintings from this series) from Zisubu Artique (an ETSY store), your order will include a triangular d-ring mount and screw for quick and easy mounting. (If you prefer, you can also mount a block painting directly against the wall using heavy-duty mirror tape, but that can prove messy if you want to move the painting to a different spot.)
Share

ACEO: Start Small to Collect Big Value Art

by

Saxman ACEO Series by Pearl R. LewisSMALL BEGINNINGS

Don’t be afraid to START SMALL. This is particularly true if you want to put a creative idea on paper. If you have limited time and resources to spend on your creative adventures, it makes sense to start a project that you can finish quickly without spending a small fortune. So what is a good way to START SMALL? ACEOs.

What is an ACEO?

ACEOs are LITTLE artworks – literally. To qualify as an ACEO, the creative work must measure exactly 2-1/2″ x 3-1/2″. That’s the size of a poker (not bridge) playing card. The acronym “ACEO” stands for Art Cards, Editions and Originals. Although typically two-dimensional artworks, ACEOs may sometimes include elements that transition the piece into a three-dimensional artwork. Textured collages and sculptures are examples of this digression from the world of flat. ACEOs can be originals of any medium, but limited edition prints are also common amongst collectors.

YOU CAN BE AN ART COLLECTOR

If you like the idea of being an art collector, but don’t have the financial resources to purchase large gallery works, ACEOs are your ticket into the business. For just a few dollars, you can start your collection today. eBay is a great place to start your search for little pieces that match your tastes.

ACEOs have the added benefit of being well suited to the creation of an artwork series. If you have a few different ideas that share a common thread, you can use each idea as a theme for a new ACEO and string the cards together as a series. An example of this is the SAXOPHONE MAN ACEO series that I recently launched as part of a bigger “musician” ACEO collection. This original series features caricatured silhouettes of sax players in different lighting conditions. The pieces in this series are multi-media works including ink, marker, paint and colored pencil.

Click to BID on this item.
Click to BID on this item.
Share

Four Ways to Use Coloring Pages this Christmas

by

Turn your MERRY CHRISTMAS family coloring pages into gift wrap paper - #ZisubuArtiqueColoring is nice to do, but what do you do with your masterpiece when you have filled the page with a rainbow of color? Do you throw the page away? File it in some dark drawer never to be seen again? Keep it visible in the hopes that someone will notice your artistic genius and compliment you? You invested a lot of effort into filling the page with color, so it only seems right to do something creative with your masterpiece. But what?

4 WAYS to USE COLORING PAGES

Here are FOUR ideas that will work for using and/preserving any colored page, but are particularly well suited to Christmas themed paper such as the MERRY CHRISTMAS FAMILY COLORING PAGES from Zisubu Artique. Have fun celebrating the countdown to Christmas with these easy-to-implement ideas.

1 – MAKE TABLE PLACE MATS

Many local office supply stores offer lamination as a service. Take your family’s masterpieces and have them laminated in the heaviest coating your budget will allow. (Don’t forget to ask each family member to sign and date the back of their page before you take the trip to the store. That way, next year when you pull out the placemats for December, you will be able to reminisce together about your masterpieces.) The laminated pages make unusual and festive place mats for your dining table throughout the year, but especially at Christmas.

2 – MAKE CHRISTMAS GIFT WRAP

A letter-sized (or A4) page is just the right size for gift wrapping a tiny gift. If you are giving small items (e.g. plastic gift cards or small candy bars or toys), they can easily be wrapped in a colorful page. Turn the unwrapping session into a fun guessing game, by getting each gift recipient to guess who colored their wrapping paper. If you are only wrapping BIG BOXES this Christmas, consider wrapping the boxes in simple kraft or other monotone paper. Cut the undecorated border away from the colored region of the page. Glue the vibrantly colored part of the page onto each of the six sides of the plain-paper covered big box to produce unusually decorated gift wrap.

3- MAKE A STRING ART GALLERY

Remember those strings strung above the fireplace on which people would hang the Christmas greeting cards they received in the mail? Borrow from that idea and create a string gallery for your family’s Christmas greeting masterpieces. Use colored clothespins to hang the pages from a line, and create a festive “art gallery” in your living room.

4 – CREATE A JUNK JOURNAL

Junk journals (also called dream diaries, keepsake albums, traveler notebook, etc.) are fun books that you can fill with all sorts of ephemera (that’s scrapbook talk for odds and ends that mean something to you e.g. newspaper cuttings, ticket to the first movie you ever watched with your husband-to-be, recipes, quotes you love, dreams you cherish, etc.). You can think of a junk journal as a scrapbook with none of the OCD rules of real scrapbooking. Create a junk journal to document this Christmas countdown and cover your journal with one of colored pages. Use other colored pages to make unusual interior pages for your journal.

COLORING IS AN INVESTMENT

Coloring is good for you, but it is also a time investment. Don’t toss your colored pages in the trash. Invest a couple extra minutes this festive season, and turn your coloring efforts into something useful that will start conversations and bring back memories in years to come.

Share

Colorizing CHRISTMAS with Ready-to-Color Christmas Greeting Cards

by

Colorable Christmas Cards in the Color the Carols BIG COMBO Christmas Gift SetCHRISTMAS IS BUSY

Christmas is coming. Oh, don’t we know it! One look at the calendar got me thinking about our family’s Christmas card list – not an email list, mind you, but an old fashioned list of names and addresses. This paper list brings together people we like to bless with a genuine paper Christmas card. That, in case you don’t know, is the kind of card that required a tree to sacrifice its life, so it’s a special thing.

It is astounding how quickly people ditched this tradition of sending paper cards in lieu of a generic email one-liner sent at the last possible moment. Yes, postage isn’t free (but you could trade one cup of Starbucks coffee this year for quite a few stamps). Yes, some places have unreliable postal services (and perhaps some of your greeting cards may not be delivered, but what is life without a wee bit of risk). No, you don’t have less time in the day than anyone else. Everyone everywhere is BUSY. (If you are not busy most of the time, take a moment to share your secret for extra hours in the day in the comment section below – I know we all need to find more time in the day.) Here is my challenge for you this Christmas: how about embracing a new thought this festive season?

Consider this idea: This year I will spare a few minutes to send a physical greeting card to someone I care about. Is that a crazy idea?

READY-TO-COLOR CHRISTMAS GREETING CARDS

For those creative folk who have a few extra minutes to invest in others, as well as in their own sense of well-being,  ready-to-color greeting cards are ideal. Buying a few packs of ready-to-color cards should definitely go on your “Christmas preparation list”. (Santa could use an efficient “list” person like you on his staff!)

Ready-to-color Christmas cards are a lot like traditional greeting cards. The big difference is that the color in the feature illustration is applied by you, and not by a printing press. You can use paint, markers, or pencils to add color to printed coloring cards. With digital coloring cards, you will use software to fill spaces in the digital card with color, and then you can print your finished work.

NEW CHRISTMAS DESIGNS

Recently, I was busy working on a new range of coloring card designs when a customer approached me to ask for Christmas versions of the cards. I had not initially planned to release any coloring Christmas cards this year, but the customer’s request got me thinking about how Christmas coloring cards could be more than just greeting cards. I imagined how a Christmas card coloring activity could provide hours of fun for families, friends, church groups and more. So I put aside my planned designs for a while, and improvised some Christmas designs for cards. Zisubu Artique now stocks sets of coloring Christmas cards.

PRINT AND COLOR GREETING CARDS

For those who like to do all their crafting from scratch, there are the “print and color” Christmas cards. You simply print the PDF card pages on cardstock – each page has two cards – and you are on your way to making hundreds of Christmas greeting cards (or just a few, if your Christmas list isn’t too long).

Not everyone likes to wrestle with their home printer – I know mine is rather temperamental about processing card stock. (Some days is plays nicely, and others it makes a big mess of the card projects I try to print.) If you don’t want to waste time loading cardstock one page at a time, printing, cutting the cards, going shopping for envelopes, and then FINALLY sitting down to relax with a coloring activity, the “ready to color” Christmas cards are perfect for you. The price of the “ready to color” cards includes all the craft work, so all that is left for you is to open your box of crayons and start coloring.

START A NEW TREND

Start a new trend in your family or business this year. Send Christmas cards that are colored by your family, your friends, or your business’ staff members. Or send an uncolored coloring card with a little note that encourages the recipient to sit back, relax, and enjoy coloring as they count down to Christmas Day.

Share

Colorable Christmas Cards in the Color the Carols BIG COMBO

by

Colorable Christmas Cards in the Color the Carols BIG COMBO Christmas Gift SetThe Color the Carols BIG COMBO is a sensory experience that focuses on coloring and listening. This COMBO includes a colorable Christmas card, in addition to a Christmas-themed, adult-friendly coloring book. This post addresses some of the questions asked about the Christmas cards included in the BIG COMBO.

  1. 1. How many Christmas cards are in each BIG COMBO?
    The BIG COMBO packs are created by including ONE A2-sized colorable card from a set of my Christmas designs. Although the theme is still Christmas, these designs are not repeats of what you will find in the COMBO’s COLOR the TRUMPET CAROLS Christmas coloring book. Each BIG COMBO has a randomly selected card design, so there is no way to guess which card is in your pack until you open your package.
  2. Is there a message inside the card?
    Each card design incorporates a Christmas-focused scripture on the front, and the card is left blank inside so you can add your own personal message. The designs are easy to color, so feel free to pass the coloring task on to one of the younger members of your household, if you don’t have time to fill the card with color. You might even twist the little someone’s arm to write the message inside for you. Seeing your child’s handwriting in a greeting card can make the experience of receiving a card in the mail an extra special experience for a loved one.
  3. “What will the design on this mystery card look like?”
    I thought it best to let the set of six designs speak for themselves. Two of the six designs are in landscape format, and four are portrait styled designs. There are angels, Mary with the baby Jesus, word play abstract designs, the wise men, and a three-panel nativity scene. The COLOR the CAROLS BIG COMBO will only contain one randomly selected, colorable card. If you would like to purchase the complete set of cards, they are available from my ETSY store. (I packed six designs in the set, so the whole family could sit around the kitchen table and color together. If your family has more than six members, order a couple of packs, invite the neighbors, and turn it into a coloring party. Or cut costs by printing a set of colorable cards on your home printer. )

 

Share

International Artists Day – 25 October

by

International Artists Day - 25 October - #InternationalArtistsDayDo you practice any of the creative arts? Do you dance? Write poetry? Paint? Sculpt? Sketch? Compose music? Doodle? Capture moments in photographs? Perform on stage? Busk at the train station? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you can consider yourself an artist.

The 25th of October is devoted to celebrating artists and their contribution to the world we live in. Michelangelo and Beethoven and Shakespeare had their day. Yes, their creative efforts do continue to impact us in significant ways. But with every passing day, new artists are born into our world. They add to the influence and the capacity to influence. If you have made and continue to make art in any form, then you are an artist, growing in your craft. We celebrate YOU today – #InternationalArtistsDay – and look forward to how you will continue to change the world in your own way.

If there is someone whose creative expression inspires or encourages you, copy the image from this page and post it on that person’s Facebook page or Twitter feed. Take a moment to acknowledge their creative contribution to your life. Express some gratitude to the creative people who help to make the world a better place by opening our eyes and ears to the beauty they experience.

#InternationalArtistsDay

Share

Bigger is Better for Christmas Gifting

by

#ColortheCarols - Color the Christmas Carols COMBO ComparisonIf you have spent any time with me, then you know I struggle to get through a conversation without asking questions. How. Why. When. But it seems I am not the only one with a case of the dreaded questionitis. You have questions, too. And it only seems fair that I should spend some time answering your questions. (By the way, if you would like to ask me a question, feel free to use the contact form on this website to connect with me.)

I am going to devote a few blog posts to answering questions about our family’s newest creative project: the Color the Carols COMBO. If you are not already familiar with this product, you can read more about it how this project evolved in earlier posts on this blog. In this post, we are going to explore why there are TWO versions of this COMBO, and which one is the best fit for YOU.

  1. Why create TWO versions of COLOR the CAROLS COMBO?
    It is said that variety is the spice of life, is it not? We know people like to be able to exercise their freedom of choice, plus we wanted to create variations that would work for a variety of different folk. But we didn’t want to offer too many choices – that makes shopping stressful, and this COMBO is all about de-stressing. So we settled on two variations: the basic COMBO, and the BIG COMBO. Both COMBOs are currently sold and shipped (domestically and internationally) by the Tiger Music Store in Texas. Both COMBOS are ideal as gifts (or to treat yourself) – the BIG COMBO simply packs a few extras into the parcel.
  2. What is the difference between the COMBOs?
    The basic COLOR the CAROLS COMBO includes the following items: a copy of the UNADORNED TRUMPET CAROLS CD, a copy of the COLOR the TRUMPET CAROLS adult-friendly coloring book, an insert that lists all 49 tracks from the album in alphabetical order (so its easy to find your favorites quickly), and a letter from the creators of the product.
    The COLOR the CAROLS BIG COMBO includes the following items: a copy of the UNADORNED TRUMPET CAROLS CD, a copy of the COLOR the TRUMPET CAROLS adult-friendly coloring book, an insert that lists all 49 tracks from the album in alphabetical order (so its easy to find your favorites quickly), a letter from the creators of the product, PLUS a set of colored pencils, a pencil sharpener (because it’s easier to color with sharp pencils), and a ready-to-color Christmas card (and envelope – so you can mail it as soon as you have finished coloring the card).
  3. Which COMBO should I get?
    The COMBO you select for yourself depends on what you already own (or can borrow from your children’s school supplies). If you already own a box of colored pencils or markers, then you probably don’t need a set that contains these items – the basic COMBO will suit you. The colorable Christmas card is a fun item to add your own creativity to, but note that the BIG COMBO only contains one such Christmas card. (The basic COMBO does not include a colorable card.) Need more than one card? You can buy a family-sized set of these ready-to-color Christmas cards directly from my ETSY store.
    If you are buying a COMBO as a gift, and don’t know the recipient too well e.g. you have no idea if they already do a lot of coloring or not, consider buying the BIG COMBO. It includes everything the gift recipient needs to get started right away with coloring. (A coloring book without crayons is a bit like a battery-operated toy without batteries – not so much fun.) The major advantage to purchasing the BIG COMBO is that you can start coloring as soon as you unpack your order. No need to make a trip to the store to get colored pencils or a sharpener. You are ready for coloring action, so there is no excuse to put off starting your relaxing countdown to Christmas.
Share

National Color Day – 22 October

by

National Color Day - 22 October - Celebrate by Filling Your World with Color - #ZisubuArtiqueHappy National Color Day! Today we celebrate color, how it influences us, and how it allows us to express ourselves. Ditch the black and white outfit for today, and wear something vibrant – choose a color that says, “I am alive and loving life!” Then take another bold step and use color to be creative. #NationalColorDay is a day to indulge in activities like painting or coloring. If you have never colored as an adult, today is the ideal day to give this relaxing activity a try. You can try your hand at coloring, and it doesn’t need to cost you a cent. Feel free to download a FREE coloring page here, pull out that dusty box of crayons, and fill spaces with crazy blends of color. Perhaps share the LOVE – invite a friend or family member to color with you.

Or turn over a new leaf today, and invest in your wellbeing. Challenge yourself to 30 days of coloring, starting today. Download a meditative, scripture-inspired coloring book that lets you soak up inspirational scriptures while you start your journey into the world of colorful expression. Or take a moment today to place an order for a physical coloring book – for yourself or as a gift to inspire someone else.

How we experience life is often the result of how we to choose to see it. You can choose to view the world as a miserable, unkind, grey world – or you can choose to paint over the greyness with your choice of vivid colors, and learn to LOVE LIFE. You choose.

To celebrate #NationalColorDay, here is a video (MOVING in MIRACLES by Eddie Lewis) that let’s you flow with a river of color:

Share