Friday, December 12, 2008

12 Drummers Drumming

12 Drummers Drumming
12 Drummers Drumming, painting by Delilah Smith

About This Painting:
The ‘twelve drummers drumming" were the twelve points of belief expressed in the Apostles’ Creed: belief in God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, that Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary, made man, crucified, died and arose on the third day, that he sits at the right hand of the father and will come again, the resurrection of the dead and life everlasting.


Media: oil
Size: 10 in X 8 in (25.4 cm X 20.3 cm)
Price: $100 USD
How to Purchase:

Buy this painting on PayPal
Price: $100 USD plus $10 USD s/h
Or, send me an email

Thursday, December 11, 2008

Happy Colors


Whether you’re consciously aware of it or not, color has a huge effect on your day-to-day life. Just look around you—stores, restaurants, spas, even schools are painted certain colors to stir a particular emotion or reaction. For instance, a spa may have soft green walls to evoke feelings of peace and calm, while a fast food restaurant’s décor probably contains lots of bright reds and yellows—colors known to increase appetite.
I’ve also noticed that color can have a profound effect on physical and emotional health, so make sure you are surrounded by happy colors.

Happiness—a bright yellow that brings sunshine to your morning breakfast or lightens up a dark entryway. Creates an atmosphere of hospitality and warmth.


Home Page Art by Delilah = http://artbydelilah.com

Monday, December 08, 2008

Challenges

Ireland 2008
Challenges are how we learn and grow.
Success is the result of solving problems and moving forward in the face of difficulty, so expect "interesting" situations in 2009.
Taking them in stride builds your confidence. As an artist we are always solving problems, sometimes in our paintings, our lives,and other times in how we market our art but we strive to move our careers forward.
This summer I visited Ireland were my great-great grandmother came from. She was a mail order bride, who came to the US during the " potato famine in 1850. I saw a ship that was similar to the one she came over in, they were called death ships because over half of the passengers would die on the voyage. It gave me a vivid, painful picture of the terrible condition the trip to America in this ship had been. The challenges she faced coming here, no money,poor health,and not able to speak the language. I think this is something many people do not realize that at the time most Irish of "Peasant Stock", as my Grandmother refereed to us, did not speak English. I didn't mention that this little Irish mail order bride was 13 at the time. She built a new life here by overcoming the the difficult challenges of her time.

As I prepare for the New Year I will be approaching the challenges of a slower economy and how to market my art in these times of economic downturn. As artist we must keep focus on both sides of our business development; the business of making art and the business of marketing it. I will be trying to learn new ways to grow my business so I can do what I love to do best make art.


Home Page Art by Delilah = http://artbydelilah.com

Saturday, December 06, 2008

Made in America

All of my artwork is original American Made.

My thanks to Michael Solomon who forwarded me this thoughtful article from the Christian Science Monitor:"It used to be that we made a lot of stuff: televisions, clothes, washing machines, radios, typewriters, shoes, telephones, and furniture. And we also used to make the stuff out of which stuff was made: steel, aluminum, plastic, rubber, glass, and electrical components. Today that's largely made overseas. They send us their stuff and we send them our money.It also used to be that Americans liked to make stuff. Think of all the things Thomas Edison invented. Or consider Henry Ford, who made the car affordable, perfected the assembly line, and paid workers a decent wage. Countless others, such as my grandfather, worked as toolmakers and machinists because they liked to work with their hands. Today we rely on people around the world to do that innovation for us."What's up with this? Aren't you making "stuff?" Yes, I know YOU are, but one of the reasons art fairs are so popular with the public is because they all have stopped doing things with their hands. How many times has someone stood in your booth and envied you your creativity and wished to be standing in your shoes? Lots.How are you feeling about creativity? In what other country would you have this opportunity to stand in the streets on weekends and have people tell you how wonderful your work is?"Today's schools must help teach our young people the value of manual labor and help us take advantage of the greatest place to be for innovation. A Japanese neighbor visiting a US factory told me once that he envied Americans because they did not accept cultural limitations in improving the way something is made. He said that you could never go against the grain like that in Japan."Need some food for thought? (I know you had enough food over the last week) Read the rest of the article at the Christian Science Monitor.
Tags: creativity

Home Page Art by Delilah = http://artbydelilah.com

Tuesday, December 02, 2008

The Twelve days of Christmas


One partridge in a pear tree was Jesus Christ.
Two turtle doves were the Old and New Testaments.
Three French hens stood for faith, hope and love.
Four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
Five golden rings recalled the Torah or Law, the first five books of the Old Testament.
Six geese a-laying stood for the six days of creation.
Seven swans a-swimming represented the sevenfold gifts of the Holy Spirit: prophesy, serving, teaching, exhortation, contribution, leadership, and mercy.
Eight maids a-milking were the eight beatitudes.
From here on, the order is different from the original song!
Nine ladies dancing were the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
Ten lords a-leaping were the ten commandments.
Eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful disciples.
Twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points of belief in the Apostles' Creed.
I am currently painting a painting for each of the 12 days of Christmas they can be seen as they are completed on my painting of the day blog.



Home Page Art by Delilah = http://artbydelilah.com