JOB STORM CLOUDS HAVE SILVER LINING

Victoria Kloch and Studio Hound Lucy Bean

JOB STORM CLOUDS HAVE SILVER LINING _ press release

Many Reach for New Dreams in Small Business

NEVADA CITY, CALIFORNIA — As new job creation slows and unemployment remains stalled at high rates, many are finding a silver lining to these dark clouds by creating their own enterprises and giving newfound time to their personal interests.

Challenger, Gray & Christmas’ job market index revealed that 8.7 percent of job seekers gained employment by starting their own businesses in second quarter 2009—compared to just 2.7 percent during the last quarter of 2008.

Victoria Kloch was nudged by the economic downturn and calling on her passion for fine art acrylics, created Painter’s Showcase, a new online e-commerce website and gallery experience for artists and art lovers.

“I have always been drawn to art and had painting as part of my life. My own painting does something for me that nothing else does—this is a big light bulb for me, which reaffirms my life.” States Kloch.

A Bay Area native, Ms. Kloch moved to the foothills when very young, building a home off the grid and raising two daughters. “My art took a back burner while I was raising my family, but was always simmering somewhere in my life.” Around 2001, Kloch found herself working in an online business venture for someone else, and the opportunities of combining this with art began to percolate. Dabbling with a variety of available services for fine artists, she quickly saw how fine art fell to the wayside on an internet highway crowded with crafts, functional art, and beauty products. “I just knew there had to be a better way. Fine artists need to be seen away from a jumbled online marketplace, they need a longer time span for their art to be viewed and most of all they need a way to be featured prominently on a homepage.” states Kloch.

As a painter listed on Etsy, she was fortunate enough to be featured and saw how this brought important recognition to her and her art. Kloch describes it this way, “There was so much traffic. I was finally being seen. While I was delighted, I couldn’t help but notice how rare it was for fine art to be featured. I wanted to make it possible for any artist to choose to be showcased on a website landing page—not only for them to be able to choose this, but to do so at an affordable rate.” Painter’s Showcase offers a Premium Showcase that does just that, bringing new art to the top level of the website. This also makes looking for art more interesting because a visitor can always ‘meet’ new art and artists.

EBSQ Self-Representing Artist Forum recognized Victoria’s painting ‘Abadejo’ with a Members Choice Award in 2009. Kloch says, “This was one more important step for me in seeing how exposure changed everything for me and my art. Painter’s Showcase will make its homepage available to artists and attract art buyers with an aggressive marketing plan and by delivering on its promises. Our success will be the shared success with our artists.”

Kloch will be engaged in painting and providing a community for artists—a very good thing as the economy struggles to its feet. A grandmother of 4, she is also excited to be sharing business opportunities with her daughters, Dawn and Tara. “My daughters’ special business skills will be greatly appreciated as we grow this business from the easel onward. I like to think of it as moving one brush stroke at a time, and like a painting, it is coming together in a wondrous way. This is a great time to act on small business development, people are ready for new ideas and technology tools are more affordable than ever.”

About Painter’s Showcase

Painter’s Showcase is focused only on fine art and does not charge sales commissions or require lengthy service contracts. Designed and conceived by artist and e-commerce entrepreneur Victoria Kloch, www.PaintersShowcase.com fills a special niche in the expanding online art community.

With a minimum fuss at set-up, no long-term contracts, and a mere $15 per month, plus 30 days to try the service free of charge, artists can now easily create galleries online. Buyer-seller relationships are direct and transparent. Learn more, sign-up for Beta testing or newsletters by visiting www.PaintersShowcase.com .

About Victoria Kloch

Painter Victoria Kloch lives in the foothills of Northern California, where she has painted for many years.

Victoria is a gallery represented artist and has gained notoriety with awards for her work. She has spent the last decade managing a variety of online enterprises, including an e-Bay market.

“I started offering my paintings through various e-commerce websites and noticed that fine art was being crowded by crafts and other collectables. My vision of a community for painters, illustrators and sculptors is realized with www.PaintersShowcase.com. Painter’s Showcase is a place to buy and sell fine art, where artists can learn and support one another while furthering individual creative expression and profitability. For buyers, our search capability helps right-match the art you seek, by location, price, color and medium. Buying directly from artists, without any commission or transaction fees is best for artists and collectors.” states founding artist, Victoria Kloch of Painter’s Showcase.

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Come join in the fun!

We're chomp'en at the bits, and we are almost ready to go. Visit Painter's Showcase!

Showcased artist Lisa Duffy

Puddin Cup Print - From Original Drawing




Sleeping sweetie - Original baby pencil drawing

Los Angeles Ca. Artist Lisa Duffy, spends a great deal of time in the right side of her brain dancing to colors and sounds. Lisa says "I delight in the beauty that I see, and is inherent in the things around me".

Lisa started out drawing these sweet babies as a way to raise the money to get her shop started. She soon found that she fell in love with the innocence of these tiny replications of ourselves when she got lost in their beauty and wanted to give them a voice. To purchase these little treasures, visit her at Monkey Knees and watch as her shop grows.

Showcased, Artist Carmen Beecher

Realist oil painter, Carmen Beecher takes us to far away places with seascapes, landscapes, still life, portraits. Her vivid colors sets the viewer in a tropical paradise. Painting is her life force as she finds painting therapeutic.

_Carmen Beecher says, “It's hard to imagine life without painting. It's like food for me: I need it on a regular basis. Sometimes a painting just flows naturally; sometimes it aggravates and confounds me. But, no matter, I will paint for as long as I can hold a brush”.

Her passion for painting is expressed timelessly in her classic style and she welcomes commission work.

To find out more about Carmen Beecher and where you can purchase her works go to Camen's Beecher Blog Spot.

Thank you Carmen for sharing your talents.

_Victoria

Showcased artist Carol Schiff

Showcased on today's blog, features artist Carol Schiff. She is an award winning artist who has joined the daily painting movement. Carol has painted, taken workshops and instruction for over 15 years. She paints landscapes, still life, animals, people as well as modern abstracts, whatever draws her into the moment.

There is no limits with this Florida based painter. Her diverse interest leads her to many subjects with one thing in common, an amazing sense of color. Carol masters her pallet with impressionistic combination's that bring free style fluidity to her medium of choice, oils and pastels.

As you can see, the unsurpassed talent of this painter creates light and transparency with thick, luscious paint, vibrant colors and darling brushstrokes. Speaking from an artist point of view, I find Carol Schiff an artist for artist. Though it is obvious she has instinctual talent, she has achieved the skill that inspires the artist in me to reach to a new level.

Below are just a few of Carols still lifes.

To see some of Carols larger works visit Pieces of 8



For purchase information visit Carol Schiff Studio Blog

Carol, thank you!

_Victoria

Showcased artist Nata Romeo

Award winning artist, Nata Romeo is currently working on her “Tree Series” where she anthropomorphically creates tree and human. Her thought provoking paintings bring wonderment to the viewer, suggesting if trees were human, just what might they have seen in their long life spans.

I find this artist a natural when it comes to illustrating books for children as she brings out the child in all of us. Nata Romeo is a free-lance artist, she welcomes commissioned services for book illustrating, as well as custom paintings. Lean more at Nata Romeo's blog.

She is an Official member of SCBWI (Society of Children's Book Writers & Illustrators).

To see more of the enchanting works of Nata Romeo visit her on-line portfolio at EBSQ

Thank you Nata for allowing me to share your wonderful work!

_Victoria

intimate landscapes . georgia o'keefe

INTIMATE LANDSCAPES
The Canyon Suite of Georgia O'Keefe

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art & Design . Dana Self . Universe

This is a gem of a book. For all of the Georgia O'keefe fans, I highly suggest this little treasure.

Until very recently, an extraordinary and important series of Georgia O'Keefe's paintings was unknown even to her most ardent admirers. Rediscovered in 1987, the twenty-eight watercolors, now known as the Canyon Suite, shed light on a seminal period of the artist's life and early career.

In addition to being a turning point in O'Keefe's painting style, these watercolors are also among the first abstract works of any American artist. They are at once a stirring vision of the light, landscape, and scale of the plains of the Southwest and an intimate emotional tableau - in turns majestic and hauntingly vast. Accompanying these paintings are excerpts from the writings of such authors and artists as Wassily Kandinsky and Arthur Wesley Dow

spring fever

I'm have a touch of spring fever. We are buckling down here for a big storm in northern Ca. I wanted to get a picture of this brilliant colored purple iris before the hard rain hits. I hope you all are doing well. Please stop by and say hi!

looking for painters, illustrators, photographers

"In a Box" by Saul Steinberg


CALLING ALL painters, illustrators, photographers. Sign-up at Painter's Showcase today!

The new fine art community for sellers and buyers of fine art!

Me and Lucy Bean

Meet "Lucy Bean". The newest member of my family. This sweet little Boston Terrier girl was born on 12/22/2009. I think that she must be planning on the next doggie Olympics cause she was sure working out at 3:45 am this morning.

I love Lucy!

Guest artist from Mackin-Art

"Round Island Lighthouse" beaded evening bag


"Isn't It Grand" Neck-piece

"A Multitude" This is ATC sized, 2 1/2" x 3 1/2"

This featured bead work was skillfully created by backwardglances
Her craftsmanship seriously takes my breath away! I have never seen anything like it. These unique treasures are so exquisite that they'll ultimately be passed down from generation to generation.

Get to know more about her and view her portfolio at Mackin-Art Blogspot.

Enjoy!

Guest artist Moonangelnay

Title: Contemplative Lemur
Size: 8x12 or 8x10 Inch Archival Print
Media: photograph, digital collage abstract

Creative Fine Art Photography By Naomi Morgan. With busy bees, and wondering sheep, this artist has a vast array of inspirational flowers and Scrabble Tile Collage Sheets.

There is something for everyone here providing a handful of fine art paper choices for her prints as well as fine art giclee photography paper & canvas prints for your home decor. She will also accommodate you with offering every size imaginable to choose from.

Visit Moonangelnay at Etsy here.