My new book, Wicked Bugs, will be out in May 2011. No, this isn't the cover--this is the graphic design for a traveling exhibit that will be going around the country after the book comes out. If you happen to be affiliated with a botanical garden, science museum, zoo, etc., read all about the outdoor version of the exhibit here. There's also an indoor version, complete with (optional) live bugs--more news about that as I have it.
This is all coming about because I met the people at Outhouse Exhibit Services at a garden show in Kansas City. You never know what might happen in Kansas City.
More about the book in the fall, when I have a cover design and other details to share. Meanwhile, if your garden club, bookstore, botanical garden, Master Gardener group, etc would like to be a stop on the book tour in May/June 2011, shoot an email my way at amy at amystewart dot com. I'm putting a list of cities together for book tour consideration.
And now I'm back to proofreading bug names...
Fruit stands are great fun to paint. And in this case, I managed to get just the right kind of figure in the scene--a guy standing around waiting for someone to buy his wares. This particular stand, if you're curious, was somewhere on Seventh Ave, in the forties, I believe.
This is 5 x 7 inch oil on thin masonite board. Click here to bid.
Go here to see more paintings.
Some of you may remember that a few months ago, we posted an online survey to gauge the interest in a new website called GreatGardenSpeakers.com. The idea was to make it easier for garden clubs, botanical gardens, flower shows, conferences, and other such venues to find speakers with expertise in gardening, nature, horticulture, ecology, landscape design, and floral design.
Well, guess what? After a few hectic months of consultation and design, we're live and ready to start signing up speakers. Feel free to visit the site and check it out.
In particular, here are a few things you might want to do:
On a personal level, I've thought for a long time that a speakers bureau dedicated just to garden, nature, and design speakers would be a wonderful thing. Garden clubs and master gardener groups all over the country host speakers every month, but the program chair duties rotate annually, making it hard to stay in touch with them. Even the botanical gardens, flower and garden shows, conferences, etc. may have staff devoted to scheduling events, but they are often juggling so many things at once that it's hard to spend hours on the Internet searching for speakers.
Great Garden Speakers has some nifty features that I hope will make life easier for these groups. The ability to post Audience Reviews is a big deal as they rely on word-of-mouth recommendations. We also created a Coming to a City Near You feature that lets speakers post the cities they may be traveling to. That lets groups take advantage of speakers who are already coming through town, potentially saving on travel costs and fees.
Anyway, go check it out, and let us know what you think. Oh, and in case you were wondering--the geniuses responsible for getting this off the ground are:
Mary Ann Newcomer Amy Stewart
Here's another painting based on the bar at the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans. I just love the way bars are lit--all that beautiful, jewel-colored light coming through the bottles. You'll see more of these in the weeks to come!
This one is 8 x 8 inches on 1/2 inch panel with slots in the back for easy hanging. Click here to bid. Go here to see my other paintings on eBay.
I just got back from a three-week painting trip in New York. I took a workshop with Karin Jurick the first week, and then, because I had my paints and supplies with me, I actually continued to paint for a little over a week--until I had to stop to let the paintings dry. I didn't want to carry an easel around New York and set up somewhere--painting is kind of messy, so clean-up is awkward, and the people keep moving around! But I did work from photos, using the fire escape in my apartment as a studio. Bliss!
This is Smith's Bar in Hell's Kitchen, on 8th Avenue around West 44th Street. I just loved the neon sign.
Many more New York paintings in the weeks to come--I have a stack of paintings I finished while I was there, and hundreds of photographs I hope to paint soon!
This is 8 x 10 oil on board, with slots in the back for easy unframed hanging. Click here to bid, and don't forget to check out my other paintings here.
When I go to New York, I always visit my publisher, not because I really need to, but just because it seems like an author-ly thing to do. They recently moved to an office on Varick Street, just below Greenwich Village. The view from their building is amazing. I love all of these rooftops, and of course having the Empire State Building and the Chrysler Building in the distance is not bad, either.
This is 5 x 7, oil on 1/2 in board with dovetail slots in the back for easy hanging. Click here to bid and go here to see other paintings I've posted on eBay.
I'm on a real New York kick right now. In 3 weeks I'm headed there to take a painting workshop with Karin Jurick, a painter whose work I absolutely love. I'm still working from photos from last year's trip, but expect to see a lot more when I return in June!
I'm still debating whether or not to take an easel. It's not required for the class, but I figured that as long as I'm going to all the trouble to pack my paints and other supplies, I might as well bring and easel and paint in the park a few times.
This is the corner of St. Mark's Place at Cooper Square. St. Mark's is a lively little street that is very crowded with cheap trinket shops, but there's also a few great little places to eat there. It's a street I walk down a dozen times whenever I'm in the city. I always find something worth painting there.
This one is 8 x 10 oil on 1/8 inch masonite panel. Click here to bid, and go here to see the other paintings I have listed on eBay.
Change is good
