Pinterest!

Hello, my name is Gillian McMurray and I am a Pinterest addict. Yes, I too have been swallowed up by the latest social media craze - which is very unlike me. I have never been one for diving in at the first sign of a new online social site. But Pinterest is different. Sharing inspirational pictures, seeing other people's favourites and, best of all, finding huge numbers of art and craft tutorials. I cannot tell you how excited I am about that and I have come across loads of new ideas and things to try thanks to Pinterest.

However, on a more serious note, there has been a lot of talk online and in the media about Pinterest's copyright issues and their claim that they can do what they like with images regardless of the copyright of the original photographer. I know that copyright is a hot topic right now. There are artists and photographers who have seen their work 'stolen' from web sites and copied in tens of different ways. That must be a truly horrible situation for them. However, in Pinterest's case it is clear that if they are to survive they will have to change their policies. It is only a matter of time. Let's face it, Pinterest are not going to be able to use any of the images with impunity. They would be bombarded by law suits. So I will be sticking around to pin a few more tutorials in the hope that Pinterest will get their house in order sooner rather than later. However, if you want to find out more about using Pinterest, they copyright issue and how best to use it for marketing then I have some links to a few articles of interest:

Copyright is Not the Problem, You Are! on Skinny Artist's blog
The Pinterest Guide to Selling Art Online on The Abundant Artist's web site
56 Ways to Market Your Business on Pinterest on Copyblogger

And finally, if you would like to join the fun and take a look at my boards than just click the image below or the one on the top right of the page. I'll be happy to see you there and you might even find a great little tutorial to teach you something new.

Words of wisdom and history

With the post Christmas buzz for paintings and commissions slowing down I worried that January might be rather quiet. However, I need not have worried. My beads have been flying off the metaphorical shelves. So much so that I didn't have time to work on new designs. Luckily last week I managed to get some creative time in and create some new, never seen before beads.

First up are the Vintage Word beads. Five beads with inspirational words on them. Great for grungy and vintage crafts in the style of Tim Holtz. What's more, I can even produce sets of beads with just one of those words or even totally different words (within reason).


Then we have some flag beads. So far I have just made American and British beads but if they sell then I hope to try other nation's flags. Of course, if anyone wants a specific flag produced as beads I can always do a custom order too. However, in Britain this year we have a few historic occasions to look forward to in the Olympics and the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. That was what inspired me to make the beads in the first place. These beads are ideal for paper crafts like scrapbook pages that commemorate any of these occasions but they are also great for making jewellery. My plan is to make some earrings to wear during the summer's festivities. Whether I get around to making some is another matter. To abuse a quote by Scotland's premier poet, Rabbie Burns - the best laid schemes of mice and (wo)men, go often awry

She Sells Sea Shells

I have been painting a few new things over the last week or so. I decided to try my hand at painting what you might call natural history artefacts - a.k.a. shells, feather, fossils, etc. It made a nice change to not have to paint fur, which drives me round the twist. But the architecture of these little 'bits' amazes me. Most people overlook their beauty but I have always had a fascination with picking up shells on the beach or feathers from the roadside. Or, at least I did until I brought home a tree branch that must have been home to a spider's egg sac. Let's just say the story didn't end well for someone who isn't overly keen on spiders in the house. I tend to photograph things of beauty now. However, if you take the time to look at shells or feathers you see how wonderful they really are. Little miracles of nature. So I was inspired. I've added a few pictures here but feel that I will have to find a few more 'little miracles' to paint soon.

The first two are shells found on a beach on the west coast of Scotland.


The next two paintings are sharks teeth found on the south coast of England during a fossil hunt.

And this is a fossilised bivalve from the same trip.
Mussels. They may be a form of food to many people but I love those shells.

Season's Greetings!

I would just like to wish everyone a fabulous and festive holiday season. The last few months have been wonderful for my art with more sales and commissions than I have ever had before. So I just wanted to say thank you to all of you for your support and custom this year and I hope that 2012 will bring more creativity and excitement for all of us :o)

Animal Art Resource

This new blog has just been brought to my notice. Written by a fellow Facebooker, the Animal Art Resource will become a resource filled with tutorials, advice, ideas, how to sell your art, build a website and online presence, networking, etiquette, shows, dealing with clients and the public and 'getting over your phobias'. There is just an introductory post right now but I can't wait to see what else it will hold over time. I have been painting and drawing for over 20 years and have struggled mightily with all kinds of issues regarding creating and selling my art. This resource will be a huge help for many artists and budding artists in the future.

Buttons, buttons everywhere

Crafters often have a thing for buttons. I have, I know many other crafters who have and the craft shops are full of little packets of buttons. But there is a new twist to working with buttons. Actually, it's a very old twist - thread wrapped buttons.

I was watching Create and Craft on TV a few weeks ago and a lady, Gina Barrett, came on to show us how to make thread wrapped buttons. So pretty. I was inspired, nay, hooked. So I bought her first DVD and have been making buttons ever since (well, when I get five minutes to sit down and relax). A few simple materials are all that are needed - threads (I used size 5 and 8 cotton perle, rayon, embroidery silk or floss and viscose gimp) and button moulds to wrap the thread around (I use a double layer of watercolour paper although there are proper wooden moulds available). They have wonderful names like 'Death's Head Wrap', 'Star of David' and 'Chequerboard'. Each design is a genuine button making technique from the 14th century onward. I think that is part of the reason they appealed to me so much. I love history and to be able to make something that people made in the past is a direct link to history.

I have included a few pictures of my buttons here but if you want to check out Gina's web site where she sells her DVDs and other goodies then you can find it here .

For the birds

I love painting warm and fuzzies, i.e. mammals. They are undoubtedly my favourite animals. But over the last few weeks I have been adding more birds to my stock of paintings.

My garden is full of birds, from the usual garden birds like blackbirds, great tits and green finches to less common visitors to this area, nuthatches and long tailed tits. Add to that the countryside birds like partridges and pheasants and the garden is frequently crammed to overflowing. Last week while I was out walking I got very excited when I saw a goldcrest in the hedgerow. I always wanted to see one but thought they didn't exist in this area. So I was very excited, so excited that my attempt to photograph it was stymied by my hands shaking with excitement. As a result I have plenty of subject matter for producing bird paintings. The three birds below all visit my garden and now they have been immortalized in watercolour. How many birds can say that?

I have listed these three birds on Etsy along with a few other ones so if you want to check them out then drop on by. There is also a variety of commission that I have been asked to paint over the last few weeks. Check out the 'sales' section on the left of the page to see them.

Tools and techniques

My words of wisdom are on The Altered Page today along with those of a multitude of talented people. It's all about techniques and tools so pop on by and see what we creative types think are our favourites.

Day of the Dead earrings

Yesterday one of my fabulous customers, Eri, sent me a link to some earrings she made using some of my Day of the Dead beads. Absolutely magical. The triangles are made from wood, decoupaged and decorated with glitter glue and swarovski flatback rhinestones to make individual and funky earring tops. My beads are sandwiched between gold plated rondelles with AB clear rhinestones that show them off to perfection. I always enjoy seeing what people use my beads for but these earrings really blew me away. If you want to see them in greater detail then take a look at Eri's Etsy shop, ericosmicgirl, or the listing here.

Over on Billie's Craft Room...

... I am the artist of the month. Billie came across my work thanks to Seth Apter's Pulse project and very kindly asked me if I would contribute to her blog. I was more than pleased to be asked and wrote a few of my thoughts down for her to publish. It has been such a thrill and a great pleasure. If you want to take a look and find out a little more about me then drop by her blog and say hello.