2017 Art Year in Review

I spent a lot of time on my art this year - and accomplished a lot of cool things!

• Eight large format colored pencil drawings, five 8x10 drawings, and ten 5x7 drawings were on display at the Village Theater in Canton, Michigan throughout the month of November as part of a two-person exhibition "GRRRLS Like Us".

• I was commissioned to create eight custom watercolor bouquet paintings through this listing on Etsy, from people as far away as Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Washington D.C., and the United Kingdom. I also added a "Rush Order" option, which promises a finished custom painting at your doorstep in five days.

• I had artwork available for sale at the Paint Creek Center for the Arts in Rochester, Michigan all year - including original Michigan-themed watercolors, original floral colored pencil drawings, and lots of boxed notecard sets.

• My Great Lakes Notecards have been selling well on Etsy, with several orders places around the holiday season.

• I reached over 630 followers on Instagram (and received lots of great comments!) by posting pictures of artwork in progress.

• I was commissioned to create a large acrylic triptych (a painting on three separate canvases), which I'll be working on soon in early 2018. (More on that to come in future blog posts!)

• And I finished lots of exciting artwork (including the aforementioned colored pencil drawings and the custom watercolor bouquets)! Here are some of my favorite art pieces I completed this year:

"Anticipation" - 8"x10" Colored Pencil Drawing on Tan Paper (SOLD)

8"x10" Custom Watercolor Bouquet commissioned by Blake (SOLD) 

8"x10" Custom Watercolor Bouquet commissioned by Brent (SOLD)

"Great Lakes in Rainbow" - 8"x10" Watercolor Painting

"28 Years" - 22"x30" Colored Pencil Drawing on Black Paper

"Religion Bouquet (Stronger Together)" - 19"x25" Colored Pencil Drawing on Black Paper

"Shame" - 8"x10" Colored Pencil Drawing on Tan Paper

8"x10" Custom Watercolor Bouquet commissioned by Mark (SOLD)

"Great Lakes in Metallic Copper & Red" - 8"x10" Watercolor Painting

"Gender Bouquet (Stronger Together)" - 19"x25" Colored Pencil on Black Paper

8"x10" Custom Watercolor Bouquet commissioned by Michael (SOLD)

8"x10" Custom Watercolor Bouquet commissioned by Paul (SOLD)

"Sexuality Bouquet (Stronger Together)" - 19"x25" Colored Pencil Drawing on Black Paper

You can find many of these pieces for sale at my Etsy shop: etsy.com/shop/ArtworkbyAndreaArbit. I will be adding more inventory soon (including the items that didn't sell at the GRRRLS Like Us exhibition!) so definitely check back to see what new stuff gets added in 2018. :)

I hope you continue to follow me on this blog as well as my Twitter and Instagram accounts as I keep creating into 2018! Happy New Year, everyone!

GRRRLS Like Us: Exhibition Review

My colored pencil artwork was on display next to Mariel Collins' work at the Cherry Hill Village Theater in Canton, Michigan from November 7-December 3, 2017. The turnout for our opening reception was good, and we heard a lot of positive comments about our drawings - both individually, and how they paired together for the exhibition, which we titled "GRRRLS Like Us."

Now that the exhibition is over, several of these pieces are now available for sale in my Etsy shop. I also have several blank notecard sets available there, featuring art prints of these same drawings.

Below are the photos of each of my 23 drawings, framed, hung, and lit on the Village Theater atrium walls. Good lighting is so important for colored pencil drawings on black paper like these - without strong, directional spotlights, they can look a little dark and you lose a lot of the detail work I put into the pieces.

Here are the drawings, in alphabetical order:

"28 Years" - 22x30" Colored Pencil on Black Paper

"30 Years" - 22x30" Colored Pencil on Black Paper

"Ability Bouquet (Stronger Together)" - 19x25" Colored Pencil on Black Paper

"Anticipation" - 8x10" Colored Pencil on Toned Tan Paper

"Class Bouquet (Stronger Together)" - 19x25" Colored Pencil on Black Paper

"Dying Roses" - 5x7" Colored Pencil on Black Paper

"Endurance" - 8x10" Colored Pencil on Black Paper

"Flowering Herb" - 5x7" Colored Pencil on Black Paper

"Gender Bouquet (Stronger Together)" - 19x25" Colored Pencil on Black Paper

"Hydrangea Hues" - 8x10" Colored Pencil on Black Paper

"Norfolk Rose" - 5x7" Colored Pencil on Black Paper

"Pink Impatiens" - 5x7" Colored Pencil on Black Paper

"Purple Rose Trio" - 5x7" Colored Pencil on Black Paper

"Race Bouquet (Stronger Together)" - 19x25" Colored Pencil on Black Paper

"Radiant Dahlia" - 5x7" Colored Pencil on Black Paper

"Religion Bouquet (Stronger Together)" - 19x25" Colored Pencil on Black Paper

"Rose with a Hint of Aqua" - 5x7" Colored Pencil on Toned Tan Paper

"Rose with a Hint of Purple" - 5x7" Colored Pencil on Toned Tan Paper

"Sexuality Bouquet (Stronger Together)" - 19x25" Colored Pencil on Black Paper

"Shame" - 8x10" Colored Pencil Drawing on Toned Tan Paper

"Tulip Bouquet on Purple Ground" - 5x7 Colored Pencil on Black Paper

"White Poinsettia" - 8x10" Colored Pencil on Toned Tan Paper

"White Rose" - 5x7" Colored Pencil on Black Paper