Fresh!

He's fresh alright, just 11 days old, in fact he may be fresher than that gallon of milk in my refrigerator.... Now that's a fresh baby! This little guy was such a sport and a great model, in fact.. I swear he was posing for me at one point! He moved his head in the direction of the camera everytime I switched angles. I think he was ready for his close-up! And with eyes like this, he certainly deserves one!




Look at those precious fingers all intertwined! Doesn't he look comfy!

Got Gossip?

Wendy Deane, business owner and artist in Valley, Nebraska sat down to talk with me today what’s going on at The Gallery.

(This is Wendy)

Becky: Hey Wendy! What are you up to today?

Wendy: Hi Becky! Well, later today I’m going to do a little painting and I’m getting ready for the Valentine’s Day Tea that we are hosting here on Saturday.

Becky: That sounds like fun.

Becky: You know Wendy, you are such an inspiration to me. You are not only an amazing artist, but you are an equally amazing business woman. It’s not often a person has both sides of the equation working for them like you do. I’m assuming the artistic side comes naturally, do you feel like running a business comes just as naturally?

Wendy: For my business it does, since my business is pretty untraditional. I was very aware of the saying “starving artist” when I bought this building. I just kept thinking if the art doesn’t take off what else can I do with the building? I will embrace whatever comes to me and that attitude has allowed me to be very unique with my business, which has brought me customers through some very unconventional avenues.

(one of my personal faves)

(her signature textures)

(another favorite of mine)

Becky: The Gallery offers unique and one of a kind hand painted artwork, created solely by you. When designing a piece do you plan it out first? Do you take into consideration trends or seasons or do you just paint from the heart?

Wendy: All three combined. With custom pieces I have to really get inside my customer’s head, I have them look at past pieces that I have created and ask them what they like and what they don’t like. I look at their home and other art pieces they currently own. Some customers are very specific about what they want, the colors and the design concept; others are more open to my interpretation.
Whenever I am commissioned to do a custom piece I make a 2nd piece based off of the original but with whatever different twist I think it needs and put that here in my gallery. I consider my signature pieces to be my textured pieces, some customers love them and some hate them, rarely is anyone on the fence about them. [laugh]

(her living space which doubles as a party room and bed and breakfast)

Becky: We should mention that The Gallery is so much more than an art gallery. Tell us what else The Gallery has to offer.

Wendy: Well, #1 it’s an art gallery that I use to showcase my own artwork. But because of the amount of space I have and the unique layout of the space I also rent out the main level for parties and fundraisers. It’s also a gathering place for community groups. The main level also serves as my studio and my work space.

The upper level is actually my personal living quarters. I have completely renovated it, keeping many of the original details like exposed brick walls, original wood floors but have modernized it quite a bit. Aside from my own personal living space, I also rent it out for parties, I host cooking classes with Delicious (the pastry shop next door) in my kitchen and it can be rented as a bed and breakfast. In fact, Hollywood stars, Marg Helgenberger and her husband Alan Rosenberg rented this space for 3 days and after staying here, they purchased 5 pieces of my original artwork.

(the most gorgeous master suite on the planet)

(the focus of the show Rezoned - her master bath that was converted from an old freight elevator!)

Becky: Your space never ceases to amaze me. I love the “old” feel with the modern twist. I grew up in an old farm style house in Nebraska and your space really reminds me of home. I absolutely love how you have kept the details from the late 1800’s but yet it doesn’t feel “old”, it just feels welcoming. Maybe I’m just a sentimental sap. I loved my home growing up. I loved every creak in the stairs and the wobbly banister and everything. Of course my home wasn’t near as grand as The Gallery, you really did a lot of work in your space to make it such a commercial success and in 2007, your space was featured on the HGTV network show Rezoned. Tell us about that.

Wendy: Well that really was quite a surprise how that all came about. I am an HGTV junkie and I will stay up late watching whatever they have on. They kept running commercials about registering for their dream house, so one night I went online to register and I started surfing around their site and I came upon the site for the show Rezoned. They had this box saying that you could submit your own space and possibly be on the show. So since I was always taking pictures of my space as we renovated it, I uploaded a couple pictures and hit send, without giving any information on how to contact me. The next day I had an email from them asking me to fill out a questionnaire, but I couldn’t open it, so I just sent another email back with some of the history of my space, but again, never leaving any contact information. Within an hour, my phone was ringing and it was the TV show saying they googled my name and found me in some newspaper article and tracked me down! They told me they were going to be filming in Kansas in four weeks and could they stop by and film here on their way back!

Becky: Did you sleep for the next four weeks?

Wendy: Not much [laugh]

Becky: Okay Wendy, time to change subjects… What do you love to do on your day off?

Wendy: I don’t really have a day off – you know how it is [laugh], but I do make time for fun. Every event I host is a big social event for me. I’m at all of these awesome parties and I get to meet and talk with so many wonderful people. My social life is really amazing right now.

I also love country dancing. I go out dancing at least twice a week. And every Tuesday I spend with my 3 ½ year old granddaughter. Most of the time we spend the day at her house, but sometimes she comes here and she paints right along side of me.

Becky: What is your all time favorite home made food?

Wendy: Desserts win hands down, but really anything my sister makes. I love her Hearty Chicken Vegetable Soup, her tiramisu, anything with sugar in it.

Becky: Ooooh! A girl after my own heart… I’m a sugar junkie too.

Becky: Thanks for letting me come by today Wendy!

Be sure to check out more of Wendy's artwork at her website http://www.wendydeaneartist.com/

Still Looking...

Still looking for that baby girl to do a fun session with. And don't forget it's all gratis. The whole session will be artist's choice as I will get free creative reign on all my new ideas! I'm guessing all you mama's out there think there is no way you'll get chosen, but hey, there is no harm in asking right? So call or email if you want to lend your sweet baby to me for an hour or so this week.

Check this link for the details http://beckyedwardsphotography.blogspot.com/2008/01/wanted-1-baby-girl-4-9-months-must-be.html

I'll be back on Monday and I've got some fun stuff for you, so be sure to stop back!

One (okay two) of my favorite things

Do you ever stop to appreciate the smallest things? Oh I do and it's a little bit crazy how much joy I can derive from drinking a fountain Diet Coke from McDonalds. I honestly think they have some secret carbonation recipe on their fountain pop machines, because it is so much better from McDonalds than anywhere else.

And that mixture, in the bowl... yep another one of my most favorite things. Dry Roasted peanuts mixed with plain m&ms - Peanut M&M's just won't do, it's got to be that infamous salty sweet mixture. What's even better, is if you put it in the refrigerator for a bit. mmmm...



Your assignment is to fully appreciate one of the small things in life today and hey, let me know what it is and I'll post it here for you! Keep it clean though, this blog is rated PG.

Laundry Day

It's laundry day here in the studio! And look at this cutie pie just waitin' for the wash. With this little one around the house, I think laundry day would be more fun, don't you!




A few more of my sweet little friend, she loved to be swaddled and who doesn't love their baby burritos!



This last one was a little smile for mommy.

Wanted: 1 baby girl, 4-9 months, must be able to sit

I need a baby girl! Not to keep... just to photograph. And maybe coo at too, while I'm at it.

I have some cute new ideas that I would just love to try out! So here's the deal. If you have a baby girl between the ages of 4 and 9 months that can sit unassisted, you like pink and fru-fru things and you would like her to be a model for a few hours, give me a call.

The session fee will be waived and you will receive 2 complimentary 5x7's for your time. A model release must be signed before the session.

And if YOU don't have a baby, but know someone who does, be sure to let them know!

Call or email me and let me know if you are interested.

Featured Photographer on Blogs of Photogs

A pretty cool thing happened to me about a month ago. I was the very FIRST featured photographer on the new "blogs of photogs" blog. It was quite an honor to be among the featured artists from not only around the country, but around the GLOBE.

Sometimes I feel like I won an emmy... LOL but well.. not quite. But it has lots and lots of people reading my blog, so I guess I better step up my game a bit! I have a lot of cool ideas in store just for your blog reading pleasure, so be sure to stay tuned.

You'll have to check it out the blogs of photogs here http://www.blogsofphotogs.blogspot.com/, you can get lost in the inspiring work of the many photographers featured on this site, so get a cup of coffee (or can of diet coke in my case) and just sit back and enjoy. My feature is the Dec 22, 2007 post.

Enjoy!

The Black & White Sale Limited Edition Sessions

The Black & White Sale Limited Edition Sessions will be held on February 16 - 17, 2008

The $225.00 Limited Edition Session Fee includes:

*30 minute in studio session

*8-20 beautiful black & white portraits to choose from

*2 - 8x8 framed portraits

*2 - Gift Portraits (8x10 or smaller)

Additional purchases of black & white portraits will also be on sale

*10% off Gift Portraits (8x10 and smaller)

*15% off Wall Portraits and Canvas Wall Art

*20% off Canvas Squares 10x10 to 20x20

We will also be introducing our new line of black & white frames!

Call to book your session soon!

Sale prices are only valid on Limited Edition Session purchases. May not be used to purchase portraits from previous sessions.

Schedule your Mini Session on Jan. 21st!

Schedule a mini session when your kids are out of school on Monday January 21, 2008 (Martin Luther King Jr Day) and receive 1 complimentary set of personalized Valentine's Day trading cards (wallet size).

How cool is that!

You can check out the mini session details by clicking this link.
http://beckyedwardsphotography.blogspot.com/2007/11/now-booking-mini-sessions.html

Call 402-657-9031 to schedule!

Cute Valentines Day Cards!

We are going to have some Valentine's Day fun with these very cool, very original and super trendy trading cards! I can tell you, they have met the 3rd and 4th grade girl stamp of approval, which is not easy to do at all!

You may add these cards on to any mini session purchase. The only catch is they must be ordered no later than Feb. 1, 2008 in order to have them in your hands by Feb. 9, 2008. That also means, that the mini session must be scheduled no later than Jan. 26, 2008. You may read more about the mini sessions at this link: http://beckyedwardsphotography.blogspot.com/2007/11/now-booking-mini-sessions.html

Wallet style: 75 cents per card, 24 card minimum

Lollipop style: 3x4 cards come complete with tootsie pop and personalized with your child's name. $1.25 each, 24 card minimum

And just a cute little picture of Kelsey during our fun little Valentine's Day session.

Call or email me to schedule your mini session!

Blog Contest Nov-Dec 2007

***Congratulations to the Smith Family! Image #6 is our winner!***

Welcome to the Life as Art Blog Contest for Nov - Dec 2007! Here is how it works! I will post one image per regular session on the contest. You vote for your favorites and the winners cash in. Cha-ching! It's just that easy!

The image with the most votes will win a $50 gift certificate to spend anyway you like!

Vote for your favorite image from Nov and Dec 2007 by emailing me the image number. Just put the word "Vote" and the image number in the subject line.

Only one vote per email address will count.

Voting ends on Monday Jan. 7, 2008 at noon.
Winning images will be announced on Monday Jan 7th before 5pm.

Okay! Have fun and GOOD LUCK!

***Congratulations to the Smith Family! Image #6 is our winner!***