D.O.G. Days Of Summer…

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animals, art for sale, art marketing, art sales, artists, big dog, dog, dog days of summer, dogs, fawn, fawn mastiff, marketing, mastif, mastiff, mastiffs, pet portraits, pets, selling art, summer, Summertime, summertime blues, sunshine, travel, vacation

It’s that time of year again.  Around the second week of July I start to get frantic emails from other artists asking me why the sales have all dried up. Some are so afraid of the lack of traffic and sales that they fear that the online art market has crashed.  These emails come from people who are relatively new to selling their work on the Internet.  Relax.  This is normal. Sure I am still making regular sales, but only at a fraction of what I earn most of the time.  This part of the year it always slows down to a crawl.

Why?  It’s Summertime!!  And folks who have been trapped inside all Winter are finally able to get outside and enjoy sunshine and green grass.  Families go on vacation, prepare older kids for college, go to family reunions and travel a lot in general.  It is not a time for decorating your home or office.  There is plenty of time for that when you are stuck inside 9 months out of the year.  Those in academics do not get paid over the Summer which is something I always factor in since I married a professor.

So what can you do?  I find that this time of year is a great time to do some traveling myself.  I plan trips to visit family and old friends every year.  My husband and I head to the beach as much as possible since it is not crowded and prices are super low.  Studio cleaning is always on the agenda as I love the freshness of organization come busy season.  You can also enjoy the freedom to create artwork that is fun and free from thoughts of marketability.  I have been stocking my stores with new items in preparation for the Fall rush.  It is a lot of work that has no reward at the moment, but I expect it to pay off later.

Join a new site.  Learn a new Social Media avenue.  Take a photography class. Forget about sales for awhile. They will come back.  They always do.  For now just enjoy this doggone Summer!

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B.E.A.C.H. Bunnies…

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art, bahamas, bather, beach, beach home, beach house, beach sand, beach towels, beaches, beachy, coast, coastal, colorful, cottage, cute, female, florida, fun, girl, girls, home, house, key west, ladies, lady, laying out, legs, lido, miami, miami beach, ocean, painting, people, prints, sand, sarasota, sarasota florida, sea, siesta key, sun, sun bather, sun tan, sunbather, sunbathing, sunshine, suntan, tan, tanned, tanning, tommy bahama, travel, trip, tropical, vacation, whimsical, woman, women

They sizzle.

They turn.

They worship.

They burn.

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Enjoy this Summertime treat from my Mother-in-law Betty Cummings.  She was inspired by a walk along Siesta Key Beach in Sarasota, Florida.  She used bright colors in her oils to achieve this tropical look.  I am so fortunate to own some of her original work.  And now everyone can enjoy prints too!

Making The Old New Again…

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12 step, aa, alcoholics anonymous, art, beach sunset, buy, courage, for sale, get, get well, god, healing, health, inspirational, lotus, lotus flower, motivational, niebuhr, online, orange sunset, paintings, peace, poem, poet, poetry, prayer, prints, reinhold, reinhold niebuhr, serenity, serenity prayer, sharon cummings, strength, sun, sunset, sunsets, sunshine, twelve step, understanding, warm sunset, well, wisdom, yoga, zen

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/serenity-prayer-with-lotus-flower-by-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html

I have a lot of artwork stored in my computer.  I’ve listed some pieces, only to take them down later due to lack of interest.  But what I have found is that I can continue to work with a piece at a later date to create something entirely new and fresh that DOES get a lot of attention!  This is a very new process for me.  In the past, when I was done, I was done.  I never went back to an old piece to rework it. I think that the digital age has really helped me over this hump.  Out with the old and in with the new!

12 Steps…

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12 step, aa, addiction, addictions, alcohol, alcoholic, alcoholics anonymous, alcoholism, art, beach sunset, bulimia, buy, courage, drug addiction, drugs, food addiction, for sale, gambling, gambling addiction, get, get well, god, healing, health, inspirational, motivational, niebuhr, oa, online, orange sunset, overeaters anonymous, paintings, peace, poem, poet, poetry, prayer, prints, recovery, reinhold, reinhold niebuhr, serenity, serenity prayer, sex addiction, sharon cummings, strength, sun, sunset, sunsets, sunshine, twelve step, understanding, warm sunset, well, wisdom

 

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/serenity-prayer-with-sunset-by-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html

 

I am not an alcoholic.  In fact, I rarely drink and when I do I am such a lightweight it is laughable. A half a glass of wine and I am good.  However, I have done a 12 step program.  I am a recovered Bulimic.  Bulimia is a form of food addiction.  I have not binged/purged in over 20 years.  It was a long and difficult journey and I got some professional help too.  

These days I have a very healthy outlook on food and even at Thanksgiving keep my portions to what is right for my body.  I no longer crave the physical pain of overeating to mask the emotional pain from childhood abuse.  When I feel hurt, I grab a paint brush instead of a cookie. I am healed.

The Serenity Prayer was a big part of my recovery and I still repeat it in my head whenever I am feeling stressed.  It is a very calming mantra.  

For all of those who have dealt with addictions and have overcome, I solute you!  For those who are still struggling, I dedicate this piece to you. May you also find the peace, courage and wisdom you need….

The One

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anniversary, art, beach, best friends, blue sky, bradention, brothers, canvas, coastal, coastal living, encouragement, encouraging, engagement, Family, florida, friend, friends, friendship, ft. myers, gift, help, helping, love, lovers, miami, naples, ocean, paintings, palm, palm fronds, palm tree, palm trees, palms, paradise, photography, photos, prints, romance, romantic, sarasota, sea, sharon cummings, silhouette, sisters, st. augustine, sun, suncoast, sunshine, tall trees, tree, trees, tropical, tropical palms, tropical trees, wedding

 

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If you are lucky….you have that one person in your life that has stuck with you through thick and thin.  No sin has been so great that it has not been forgiven.  No hardship so horrible that the burden could not be shared.  That special someone has a voice and heart that beckons a phone call at any hour.  A hand that is always at the ready to steady you or just to say “I am here” and “I will stand by you”.  For many it is Mom, but my Mother abandoned me emotionally and physically from a very early age.  My Dad passed when I was 10 and though I have had friends come and go in my life, for the past nearly 12 years, I have had that special someone.  Thank you Bill….my husband….my love….the one who is always by my side….

And we were side by side when this shot was taken….

Wish You Were Here…..

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art, beach, beach house, beach sand, beaches, best beaches, blue sky, bradenton, brandent beach, california, clouds, coastal, coastal living, coastline, florida, hawaii, home, honeymoon, horizon, house, landscape, ocean, oceanscape, paintings, perfect sky, photographs, photography, photos, prints, sand, sarasota, sarasota florida, sea, seascape, sharon cummings, shore, shoreline, siesta key, Siesta Key Beach, sky, summer, summer sky, summer vacation, sun, sunbathing, sunshine, surf, surfer, surfing, travel, tropical, tropics, vacation

No words needed….ahhhhhh

See more here:

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