Mi Bittersweet Reunion…

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great lakes, hancock michigan, houghton, houghton michigan, lake superior, Michigan, portage lake, portage lake bridge, travel, up, upper peninsula, yuppers

I have been away for a week visiting the Upper Peninsula.  My husband’s family planted roots in Michigan after a long journey from Finland.  This was a first, and likely last, family reunion as all of the “old timers” are getting on in age.  We stayed in a lovely home along a canal in Houghton.  You can see our view below in the third picture.

I really enjoyed the beauty that surrounded me at every turn.  The wildflowers were blooming shamelessly in bursts of pink and yellow.  The mountains were lit up with the sun during the day and the lakes were illuminated with the moon at night.  Many memories were shared with me.  I was struck by the Finnish tradition of the family sauna and blessed to get a photo of the place where his mother spent Saturday’s communing with relatives.  And much to everyone’s surprise, the boat that my husband’s grandfather used to take them out onto the lake, was still there on the property.  The old homesteads have been sold to strangers, but they were all kind enough to let us walk around inside and out.  It was a special time and I am so glad I got to be a part of it…

 

 

 

 

 

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Where Do You Want To T.R.A.V.E.L.?

Tags

abstract maps, art maps, buy maps, buy maps online, buy world maps, travel, travel maps, traveler, traveler's gift ideas, traveling, wall maps, world maps, world travel

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/map-of-the-world-2-colorful-abstract-art-sharon-cummings.html

Map Of The World 2

Travel Art

Mixed Media Painting

Sharon Cummings

2012

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Where have you always wanted to travel?  I think the next on my list will be Canada.  We just got back from a mini-vacation to Venice…..Florida that is.  And while we didn’t go far, it sure was lovely to get away from work and home responsibilities for awhile.  Just the sand, surf and a tropical drink in my hand….ahhhh  But back to work!

Where do you want to go?

T.R.A.V.E.L. In My Studio

Tags

eiffel tower, mixed media art, nasa images, paris, paris france, parisian, the eiffel tower, time travel, time traveler, travel, traveler, traveler's gift ideas

Time Travel….

It is said that reading takes you to far away places in your mind and let’s you experience a place without moving from your chair.  I feel the same way about painting and creating.  I can choose to go to Paris, France for instance.  I can immerse myself in colors and shapes from any time and place.  Looking at this view of the Eiffel Tower “takes me there” in a way.  It is such a magnificent structure that I feel I have enhanced in my art.  This piece is a composite painting using a vintage post card and layers of other imagery.  My choice of nebula brings to mind a timelessness and connectivity of all.  I can see this place…and if I close my eyes, I can feel it too….

To learn more about this piece, click here:

http://fineartamerica.com/featured/the-eiffel-tower-paris-france-art-by-sharon-cummings-sharon-cummings.html

Ahhhhh…..The Salt Life

Tags

beach, feet, florida, fun, ocean, salt life, sarasota, siesta key, summer, summer vacation, toes, travel, trip, venice

I’ve got my toes in the sand.

Be back soon.

Ah.

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…

Tags

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!

F.I.G.H.T.I.N.G. Changes Art?

Tags

art, art maps, asia, canvas, china, countries, country, culture, fighting, geography, india, indian, indian conflict, indian culture, indian people, indian territories, kashmir, kashmir dispute, kashmir region, kashmir region of india, map, map of india, maps, paintings, pakistan, prints, sharon cummings, southeast asia, travel, travel maps, war, world map, world maps

 

As many of you know, I love to create maps using my original paintings.  My World maps are extremely popular with my country maps running behind in second.  Sometime last year, I got a special request to produce a map of India. I was delighted to work on this piece because India is a very uniquely shaped country which for an artist keeps it interesting.  I finished the work and listed it on Fine Art America.  It wasn’t long before another artist who was Indian pointed out that I had left off the upper most region.  This region is called Kashmir.

The region is divided among three countries in a territorial dispute: Pakistan controls the northwest portion (Northern Areas and ‘Azad’ Kashmir), India controls the central and southern portion (Jammu and Kashmir) and Ladakh, and the People’s Republic of China controls the northeastern portion (Aksai Chin and the Trans-Karakoram Tract). India controls the majority of the Siachen Glacier area, including the Saltoro Ridge passes, whilst Pakistan controls the lower territory just southwest of the Saltoro Ridge. India controls 101,338 km² (39,127 sq mi) of the disputed territory, Pakistan controls 85,846 km²(33,145 sq mi), and the People’s Republic of China controls the remaining 37,555 km² (14,500 sq mi).

A lot of the maps I looked at before putting mine together left this area off or had it shaded out.  So I left it off too.  However, after consulting with a few Indian friends and my Southeast Asian studies professor husband, I decided to include it in my map.  As you can see, my map clearly shows this highly contentious region.

Two countries would like to see this map changed and it is possible with enough fighting that it will.  As an artist, it is not for me to take sides.  I am not making a statement here.  It is simply for me to create and if change is required in the future, I will do so.

Until then…..enjoy India!

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Gimme A Break…

Tags

abstract art, art, Artist, earth, faabest, figurative art, girl, impressionism, impressionist art, landscape, nature, painting, play, summer, travel, vacation, women, work

The weather in Florida is really lovely right now.  It is not too hot yet.  I have been working really hard on commissioned paintings for the last two weeks and have been taking some much needed time off.  A nice stroll by some water…getting in touch with nature…..taking photographs with my husband. This is what a day off looks like for me captured in the art above titled “Summer Stroll In The Park”.  I absolutely love what I do when I am creating for myself or for a collector.  Art is my passion!  But even I need to take breaks now and again. 🙂

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When In Rome…

Tags

amalfi coast, art, art prints, bologna, canals of venice, canvas, colorful maps, colosseum, countries, country, europe, european, florence, genoa, interior design, italia, italian, italian food, italian restaurant, italy, italy map, leaning tower of pisa, map, map of italy, maps, milan, naples, palermo, piazza del campo, pompeii, prints, rialto bridge, rome, santa maria del fiore, sharon cummings, st. mark's square, travel, turin, vacation, venice, verona, wall art, wall decor, wall maps

Do as the Romans do.  I always thought that meant something scintillating, but all it really means is: It is polite, and possibly also advantageous, to abide by the customs of a society when one is a visitor.  Oh well.

Today’s map study is the beautiful country of Italy!  When I think of this place, my first thoughts are always about food.  Italian plays a part in my heritage so I can tell you that there is nothing like a homemade pasta sauce with fresh herbs and spices.  There is an art to perfect marinara. It cooks slowly all day long.  The smells that fill the house are insanely taunting.  Turns out that I have Celiac disease and all of that pasta I grew up with was tormenting my insides.  5 years ago I switched to Gluten Free fare and get to still enjoy those delicious tastes!

Some fun facts about Italy:

*  Italy is approximately 116,400 square miles (including Sicily and Sardinia), which is slightly larger than Arizona.

*  Italy is one of the most crowded nations in Europe.^a Its population is estimated to reach 58,126,212 by July 2009. The population of United States is estimated to reach 307,212,123 by that same date.

*  Italy is said to have more masterpieces per square mile than any other country in the world.

*  In 2007, a dog named Rocco discovered a truffle in Tuscany that weighed 3.3 pounds. It sold at auction for $333,000 (USD), a world record for a truffle.

*  When McDonald’s opened in 1986 in Rome, food purists outside the restaurant gave away free spaghetti to remind people of their culinary heritage.

*  Parmesan cheese originated in the area around Parma, Italy. Italians also created many other cheeses, including gorgonzola, mozzarella, provolone, and ricotta. No one knows when the pizza was invented, but the people of Naples made it popular.

*Vatican City is the only nation in the world that can lock its own gates at night. It has its own phone company, radio, T.V. stations, money, and stamps. It even has its own army, the historic Swiss Guard.

*Over 50 million tourists a year visit Italy. Tourism is vital to Italy’s economy and provides nearly 63% of Italy’s national income.

French Panties?

Tags

arc de triomphe, art, art prints, artwork, canvas, eiffel tower, europe, european, france, french, french alps, french maps, french riviera, les plus beaux villages de france, louvre museum, map of france, mont saint-michel, painting, palace of versailles, paris, paris france, parisian, posters, print, sharon cummings, travel, wall art, wall decor

All the ladies in France,

Don’t believe in underpants.

So they walk around town,

With their hineys hanging down.

As a kid we used to sing this little song that ended with all of us giggling at the thought.  I have no idea where this ditty came from, but I had the impression for many years that French ladies never wore panties!  Funny.

It is interesting what you “think” you know about a country that you have never visited or studied. I grew up on a horse ranch in Myakka City, Florida and we were not cultured or exposed to much outside of our little town.  It wasn’t until I moved away at 18 that I started to learn more about the real World.

As a youngster the French brought us french toast, ballet, french fries, armoires, croissants, brassieres and pie a la mode.  But they did not bring us panties!

Some interesting facts about France:

* There is a Victor Hugo street in every town in France.

* France produces over 400 types of cheese!

* Crayola is a French word that means “oily chalk”

* The number of times the French kiss each other as a form of greeting varies depending on region. In Corsica, the number of kisses can be as many as 5!

* Coco Chanel’s real name was Gabrielle Bonheur.

* The French had an early version of the internet called Minitel, where as long as 1984, they could pay bills and shop at home using the Minitel service.

* Paris nicknamed “city of lights,” lights actually refers to the number of intellectuals who live there