To Ride is to Free Your Soul Horse Lover T-shirt from Zazzle.com

To Ride is to Free Your Soul Horse Lover T-shirt from Zazzle.com

Creating some new designs in the new year: this one sums up a horse lovers sentiments. A charcoal rendering of a bridled horse head with the text "To ride is to free your soul". Simple and unique.

Just Made it to ZPro!

Its pretty cool to be rewarded for one's work and efforts, especially when you feel as new to the process as I still do. I finally have the ZPro symbol beside my name on my posts in the Forum! It is so exciting to me to see the visible sign of having achieved a certain level of success at Zazzle. The Autumn and Christmas sales are what pushed my sales over the top, though I'd been climbing along steadily.


This sort of reward is definitely motivating. This year I really need to learn how to promote more thoroughly, design better, stronger designs, and continue getting my nature and landscape photography up and develop my other shops. I'm having so much fun with it while at the same time finding an audience for my work. It is wonderful!

Ever since damaging my back at work and experiencing a powerful flare up of Fibromyalgia I haven't been able to do much work outside the home. It was discouraging (to say the least!) until I found Zazzle. No, Zazzle is not a get-rich-quick scheme. Not by a long shot. However, the longer I'm in it, the longer I'm building up my design and product repertoire, the more I see it as serious business and the more I take myself and my artwork seriously. Its amazing.

I'm in a wonderful learning curve at a 'school' that includes so many talented artists and designers: my fellow shopkeepers at Zazzle!

I am very thankful! And very excited! Dare I already imagine making it to the next ZPro level?

Why not!

Live and Learn: A Commission Experience

http://www.zazzle.com/chestnut_pony_in_wooden_frame_print-228270136514590971http://www.zazzle.com/rich_chestnut_pony_portrait_print-228169531032407243

The originals of these are Stall Portraits, a small (5.5"x7") acrylic painted portrait of the horse or pony painted on a gesso'd wooden plaque, with the client's choice of background and trim colours. The lower portion of the board is open for an engraved brass name plate. I used to hand letter them, but I don't care for hand lettering really (I'm not a calligrapher!), so now that space is better served by the brass name plate. They are meant to be attached to the stall door, to be a portable and unique representation of the horse so even at an extended stay at a show you have a sense of home-away-from-home.  Of course, they're lovely used anywhere: a tack room, in the home...

 I retain the copyright to my artwork regardless of who it is created for (unless I've stated specifically otherwise, as with the donation of "Grace" to the Georgia Horse Rescue) so I think I will get busy putting their digital versions on Zazzle. They'll make lovely cards etc.  In fact, I've become rather attached to these little portraits.