Photography Experiments.

One of the things I've been researching regarding promoting my artwork and selling online has been photography tips, as even the most amazing paintings and products will not sell if the photos are of poor quality. 

This great article is the first I read can be found on the Folksy page https://blog.folksy.com/2017/08/15/how-to-take-product-shots-on-your-phone

it inspired me to pop straight out to my studio and set up a photo shoot. 

These straightforward tips certainly helped a lot and to be honest I'm not sure why I didn't go down that route before. 

This farm animal themed jute bag is an example of a rather basic photograph using a plain white background, I feel it definitely helps show a clear view of the product with no distracting extras and is a valid photo to include in my shop although it isn't particularly eye catching. I am planning to take a few more slightly more imaginative shots that will hopefully bring it to life therefore helping potential customers visualise having the product in their life. 

https://folksy.com/items/7161041-Friends-not-Food-Jute-Bag

When it came to taking photos of my greeting card designs with white backgrounds I realised that the white backdrop would not be a great way of enhancing these items, so I decided to give brown a go as the card and envelope stand out well against the darker paper. I chose a flat lay shot for this card and spent a bit of time searching my studio for props that would suit the design without distracting from the product( this lovely ink brush was a gift from Japan).

https://folksy.com/items/7160469-Red-Squirrel-Blank-Greeting-Card

As well as taking snaps of my artwork I decided to use some of these tips to photograph some of my mum's vintage perfume bottles with the view to making some greetings cards with the images. Mum has hundreds of various bottles but I thought I'd share a photograph of this Hartnell "In Love" group as they're some of my favourites from her vast collection.

It was interesting to photograph something a bit different as it's all experience and will hopefully encourage me to think of new ideas for future products.

If you're interesting in seeing my other product photos please pop over to my Folksy shop... within the next week or two I'll be updating the items with extra images.

https://folksy.com/shops/ChristineDobbinArt

Well, I think I'm all blogged out for the day, so best crack on with some of my commissions!

Thank you. :D

Artistic Family.

Good morning! 

So far I've had a few ideas about things to include in my blog, I've been reading  tips about blogging and about networking so feel as if my head may explode with ideas! 

Anyway, I thought I'd write a little about my family as we are all creative, although in very different ways. 

My mum does't currently draw or paint, but I remember as a child drawing with her and trying so hard to make mine as good as hers. Mum is also very imaginative when it comes to writing and really should put pen to paper more often. 

I have an older brother who became interested in script writing while studying at art college. Inspired by The Troubles in Northern Ireland Andrew wrote a one minute script to enter into a Channel 5 competition, he won his category and resulted in this film, produced by Laurie Castelli. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZsPNiO1KFQ

Last but not least I will mention my dad who is sadly no longer with us. He too was inspired to create artwork focusing on The Troubles and had first hand experience as he was in the RUC. 

Ships were his other passion and I have fond memories of his shed where he painted and also built various model ships ( this is an old photo of our cat Snoopy sitting in front of one of his dramatic paintings.) 

In his memory I set up a Facebook page featuring his artwork, so if you would like to see further examples of his work, here is a link.

https://www.facebook.com/desidobbin/?ref=bookmarks

So, as you can see I had was fortunate to grow up around such talent!  

If you want to keep up to date with my recent pieces, I'm usually most active on Facebook, please pop over and join my page. :)

https://www.facebook.com/watercolourportraits/

THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY. :D 

#FolksyFriday

Well, I'm back already mainly because it is #folksyfriday and I wanted to join in. The idea is to share some items from other Folksy shops, to spread the word about all the gorgeous things that are for sale. The Folksy folk, suggest using a theme for the items shared such as a colour or an animal etc, I decided my theme would be new Folksy shops as I'm also a beginner so know it is great to have support. 

So here is my photo montage which also features my red fox greeting cards along with a variety of lovely items( including the purse I have just purchased- oops! ) 

First of all we have some reusable kitchen roll from Earth Kind Creations, great for those who are conscious of the environment. https://folksy.com/items/7165889-reusable-kitchen-roll-unpaper-towels-washable-wipes-zero-waste-eco-friendly 

I added my red fox cards as my shop is also new and I didn't want to feel left out. 😉 https://folksy.com/items/7160467-Fox-Greeting-Card . 

As I have bought this gorgeous, quirky purse I have added a link to the shop "The Farmer Wants a Wife" so you can check out what other items are available https://folksy.com/shops/susanhewitt .

Now, how cute are these penguins? They were created by "The House of Milly" and come in other colour schemes https://folksy.com/items/7165466-Pumpkin-Pikachu-Love-Penguins-3D-Picture-Art-by-House-of-Milly .

And finally a t.shirt that would be perfect for any budding astronaut, I wonder do they come in adult sizes? https://folksy.com/items/7166266-Personalised-Kids-Future-Astronaut-Print-T-Shirt

Yay, so that's blog number two sorted, now to come up with some ideas for number three! If in the meantime you want to see what I'm up to with my commissions, please check out my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/watercolourportraits/

Hello!

Well, here I am again, attempting another blog. In the past I have started blogs but despite having lots to say when face to face with people, I seem to run out of things to say via blogging(perhaps I'll focus on images to begin with..) 

Hopefully my blog can run nicely alongside my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/watercolourportraits/?ref=bookmarks , my Folksy shop https://folksy.com/shops/ChristineDobbinArt and my website http://www.christinedobbin.com ( which does have a previous blog attempt on there... eek! ) 

Anyway, I'm going to pop off now and do a little research and hopefully will return with loads of inspiration! 

Bye bye from myself and my gorgeous little girl Eleanor Belles.