I made a book!

The cover

There are several online self-publishing companies out there.  My daughter made some beautiful family albums this way and really inspired me.  So, for a Christmas gift for my husband, I made some photo albums, and then, for me - I made a book of my best paintings of 2012!

It really wasn't hard, and it was fun.  The book came out so well, my husband wanted to gift it to family, so I took advantage of the 50% off holiday sale and had copies made for them.  They really loved it.  It was a gift that didn't require a frame, wallspace, etc.  And they could have a collection of 20 or more images!

I have two for myself.  One, I can show people who are interested in seeing my work when it is not easily accessible to show.  It can become dog-eared and have fingerprints on it - because I will save the other one to keep clean.

Each image is accompanied by the title, size and medium.  Some have a description of the location and if it was painted en plein air.  Some have a little story about my experience there or what inspired me to paint it.

The last page has all the shows I have entered and placed in, as well as the art associations I am a member of.  In a way, it is also like a portfolio.  But to me, it is also like a memoir or scrapbook of a very special year of painting and my progress as an artist.  We all need to look back and see how far we came in the last year.  It helps to inspire us and give us incentive to plan and make goals for the next year.

With that thought, I'd like to wish you all a very Happy New Year - 2013!!!!