Arts By the Bay Gallery

After promising for over a week, 

I finally have time to give you a little peek 

at the Arts By the Bay Gallery

in Havre de Grace, Maryland.

I decided to break it up into two posts since

it seemed to be a very daunting and long task

to complete it in just one post.

I hope you enjoy this tour of the outside

of the gallery...

The Arts By the Bay Gallery is located 

at 500-B Warren Street in Havre de Grace, Maryland.  

The area has a very quaint Main Street feel 

and is surrounded by many shops, restaurants, and outdoor facilities.

It was founded in 2008

by the Arts and Entertainment Committee

of Havre de Grace Main Street, Inc.

The gallery is a unique place 

because it is a co-op.

A co-op requires the artists themselves to work

the gallery, thus allowing the public, at any given time,

the opportunity to meet one or more of the artists.

Many times the artist will bring his/her work with him/her

when he/she mans the gallery and 

allows the public a glimpse into a work in progress!

Arts By the Bay Gallery is also unique

in that it is a non-profit organization.

In order to meet the operating costs for the gallery,

it accepts help and support from patrons.

Sponsorship levels range from the Picasso Sponsorship of $100 or below

to a Corporate Sponsorship of $1000 or more.

Arts By the Bay Gallery is run with the love and dedication

of local Harford County Artists.

It is a wonderful place for local artisans to show off

and sell their work and

also a wonderful place for the public to come to

learn about and enjoy many forms of art.

Keep watching for a tour of the inside of the gallery,

showing some of the art that is currently being offered this quarter.

I hope you enjoyed this little outdoor tour of 

a very special place in my heart.

⓽

Spreading Sweetness

I love making others happy and 

spreading joy whenever I can.

Sometimes that means

I secretly pay $5.00 toward the person behind me's order

at Panera Bread.

After giving the cashier an extra $5.00 over my total,

I whisper and explain that I want to pay

for the person behind me

and every time the reaction is the same...

"What?  Really?  Are you sure?"

Isn't it sad that kindness is so surprising in today's world?

When I tell them that I do NOT want them 

to tell the person who paid for him,

they are equally as flabbergasted

that I don't want recognition or thanks for it.

My payment is seeing the surprised and happy face

the person makes when she realizes her coffee is free that day.

You'd think she'd won the lottery!

I just like to sit back from a hidden corner, 

see the smile spread across her face

and then I can go about my day.

Sometimes spreading joy means 

bringing a sweet treat to a hard working, deserving office,

which I recently did for my husband and his staff.

My friend, Theresa Ray, and her husband, Deward, 

own a cupcake and creperie cafe in Havre de Grace, Maryland

called Sweet Devotion.

So, I asked Theresa to hand pick an assortment of her most popular cupcakes.

Oh my gosh.

Do you know how difficult it was not to taste on of each kind?

Delicious!

It was great to see the smiles on everyone's face at the office

when my kids and I delivered these special treats.

Of course the kids and I had to have one as well

but the best part was allowing the workers

a 5 minute break in their long, tough days

to devour and enjoy this little piece of love.

Theresa and Deward make their treats with love

and the kids and I delivered them with love.

Karma is a good thing.

I guess the Beach Boys really knew what they were talking about

when they said sang about good vibrations...

when you send them out into the world

they come back ten fold.

A drop in the middle of a lake creates

ripples all the way out to the edges.

Sending good vibrations to all of you today...

⓽

You Know How Life Happens...

and the next thing you know, 

it is a week later and you are like, WTH? 

 Yeah, that happened to me the this week.

Everything (mostly) that happened has been

amazing, wonderful things, 

however it all has been 

time eating, life sucking, exhausting

and well, 

all consuming.

But good...so I'll take it ;)

I like to try and share some of my Iphone images

every once in a while because

while they are not amazing images

in and of themselves,

they do have a rawness and realness to them

that I love.

One of my favorite pics of ALL TIMES

happens to be an Iphone picture 

and it is the one of my son

peeking through the bubble at the playground.

He is so happy and silly in that picture 

and it makes my heart sing.

I promise, promise, promise, 

I have not forgotten about the gallery tour...

it will be coming soon.

I didn't want to rush through that post

because the gallery deserves the time 

I need to write it,

so I am waiting until I can breathe and 

do justice to the tour ;)

Hope y'all have a wonderful weekend!

⓽

Practicing Digital Painting

I know I promised to give a tour of the Arts By the Bay Gallery today

for those of you who are out of state;

however,

I ran out of time to do that lengthy post and 

didn't want to leave you with nothing!

So, I will be working on that post today

and in the meantime,

please check out my latest digital painting and 

tell me what you think...

The above image was digitally painted using the photo below as reference.

I shared a baton twirler example last week

and I thought I would continue practicing

with a different subject matter.

I am still learning technique and 

also trying to find my style

so this is all experimental,

but I think I like the progress I am making and 

feel like I am heading in the right direction.

I would never, ever give up photography,

but it is fun to spread my wings and challenge myself with 

something I never would have thought I could do!

I respect everyone's honest opinion and will willingly take 

constructive criticism.

Don't be afraid to tell me your true feelings on the digital painting

as long as you use kind words and a warm heart to say it!

Thanks everyone, for checking out my work.

xoxo

⓽

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for more content and updates!

Douglas Williams- Fine Art

I would like to introduce you to Douglas Williams, 

a great friend of mine and fellow artist.  

Doug is an amazingly talented artist who lives in Harford County, Maryland 

and shows his work at Arts By the Bay Gallery in Havre de Grace.  

He has always been an artist, but has been practicing fine art since 2009.  

This past weekend, I was lucky enough 

to be trained by Doug to work in the gallery

and when we were finished going over all of the procedural stuff,

he allowed me to watch him work on his latest creation,

a beautiful squirrel.

To watch Doug work is mind blowing.  

He uses micron pens to dot and scratch his way through a piece.

It is a practice in patience and love.

Each piece he creates is typically between 8x10 and 11x17

and can take anywhere from 20-30 hours to complete.

Sometimes he adds color to his work and other times he does not.

Doug has a special love for wildlife and that love

is reflected in his artwork.

He has this uncanny knack to create human like emotion in the eyes of the 

animals he creates that immediately causes the viewer to 

feel an attachment to the creature.

Seriously...

You can not look at this finished product and tell me

you can't feel the curiosity oozing from this squirrel.

You can FEEL the eye contact as if it was the 

living, breathing creature itself.

Amazing.

Doug does do commissioned work,

and as a matter of fact, we collaborated on a project last year.

In the image below you can see a very large piece illustrating a bull.

That piece was created with a bit of help from me,

I am proud to say.

A person commissioned Doug to draw this bull

and I was honored when Doug called to hire me

to take the reference photos.

Yes, I went out into a field unprotected,

ducked behind trees and bushes,

and took the reference photos for this piece!

It is truly a miracle how Doug was able to take

the personality and details of that particular bull

and translate it into this beautiful pen and ink art.

To know Doug is to love him because honestly,

he has one of the best sense of humors I have ever seen!

His wife, Kim, is hysterical as well and to see

them banter back and forth is well, a riot, to be honest!

His sense of humor will often come out in his artwork.

Check out these below:

(My daughter actually purchased a print of

the one with tree frogs giving bunny ears!)

Sometimes Doug does have a creepy side too...

and that is all I will say about that!

Check out "Stitchy" below.

Yikes.

To see more of Doug's amazing work,

head on over to his website,

D.S.Williams Art.

He offers originals, prints, and card sets 

(which I am a proud owner of too!)

If you do stop in, please take a minute to sign his 

guestbook there and tell him Tracey sent you over.

I know he would really appreciate any comments you have to offer.

⓽

*The three photographs in this post are mine, however,

the rest were taken with permission from Douglas Williams

and he maintains the copyright on these images.

Do NOT take his work from this site without his permission.

I know y'all won't because you are the best blog fans a girl could have,

but felt the need to clearly state that for all of the other creeps in this world 

who think it is ok to steal work without permission.

*Dont' forget to follow Nine Acres Designs on Facebook!

If you are so inclined, please use the share buttons below

to share this post with your friends and colleagues through 

Google, Twitter, Facebook, email, or Blogger!

A Sprinkling of Snow...

like powdered sugar on a waffle,

makes the dull landscape pop ever so slightly,

especially next to a beautiful old red barn.

Hoping you and yours have a wonderful, long holiday weekend!

I will be spending this weekend with family,

as I hope you all are,

so I'll be back blogging on Tuesday.

Please check back on Tuesday for an inside look at 

Arts By the Bay Gallery...

I have a special tour I am planning for those of you

who live out of state and can't be here to enjoy it!

People Watching

As I said yesterday,

the middle of winter is difficult for me.

But one of the things I do enjoy,

especially at this time of year,

is people watching.

I am, by birth, a very nosey person.

(Yup, Mom, I got that from you!)

It intrigues me to eavesdrop

(I can't believe I am confessing this)

and listen to what is happening in other's lives.

And I thought MY life was a handful!  ;)

I also love to watch how people react to one another.

How do the lovers at the table across from me hold hands?

What expressions do their faces make?

Why does that idiot insist on making a fool of himself

by dancing in the mall

when everyone is staring at him?

Why does the woman next to me at the stoplight

look like she has been crying?

What's happened to make her cry?

It's a sickness, I tell you.

My husband knows this about me very well by now

and will often catch me staring off into space at a restaurant

watching the commotion around us.

I ALWAYS sit facing the crowds, not facing the wall

because it is a need for me to know what is happening around me.

Last Sunday we took a drive into the beautiful 

Havre de Grace, Maryland

to drop off some new pieces to Arts By the Bay Gallery.

We stopped in at McGregor's restaurant for some lunch

(see it there on the left hand side of the street, center of the image?)

and I happened to have my camera along...

So when we sat down at a high table in the bar area, 

I was excited to see I could spy on a few customers sitting at the bar.

I loved how the light was JUST SO

coming in through the front window.

So, I seized the opportunity and on top of people watching,

I was people shooting :)

Don't you just love, love, love 

how the outside RESTAURANT sign was reflected

so clearly along the wooden room divider in the lower portion of the pic?

To me, there are so many questions in my mind when 

I view these images.

For instance,

what is in the take home bag in the second picture?

Who is it for?

Is she taking it home to someone or is it for her to eat at a later time?

Does she know the two men sitting next to her?

How are they related...friends, relatives, strangers?

Why are they here and not at a Super Bowl party?

I know, I know...

It is a sickness.

But at least it keeps my mind off the fact

that it is the middle of a dreary winter

and I am feeling sad and anxious for spring...

at least for a little while :)

⓽

Hey, y'all, if you have not already,

please check out the PROJECTS tab

on my website, Nine Acres Designs!

I have two projects listed so far, Concerts and Resting Places.

I am hoping to add more to the mix as I 

continue to add to the site, so check back.

Hugs to all.