Paint Party Friday

Paint Party Friday: Week 50 Check-In

2012-02-24T00:02:00.046-05:00

Welcome to Week 50 of Paint Party Friday!! Wow! Last week was another awesome week with so many wonderful paintings by our regular and a number of new partyers. Great to have you all joining us!

Last week, unfortunately, had one overwhelming factor hindering our enjoyment of the party and our fun in visiting each other and leaving comments. Blogger has changed their word verification so it is now all captcha and asks "Are you a robot?" We hadn't known it but we have discovered we are robots. We find the new word verification very difficult to read. Some of you have vision and hearing problems and we know for you it is much worse. Many of you have voiced your frustration with the new captchas, so we are again entering a plea here. PLEASE turn off your word verification.**

One of the things we love so much about PPF (and we are frequently told that it is what you also love) is the community of artists here and everyone's warmth and friendliness in visiting each other. We want to encourage visiting and commenting. Captcha is seriously discouraging it. People are leaving rather than entering those annoying letters.

It is the default setting on Blogger so you may have it on and not even know it! First thing to do is check to see if it is on. We are not techies, but here is our attempt at an explanation:

- Go the your Dashboard

- Click on Settings

- Click on Comments

You want to show comments so we can all see what everyone is saying
Please allow anyone to comment as not everyone uses Blogger and it helps our friends and fellow PPFers who have their own websites or use Wordpress or Typepad to be able to comment
The next 6 are less important - whatever you prefer*
Comment Moderation - if you are getting odd comments or spam gets though the usually very good spam filter that Blogger employs or are paranoid (like EVA. Kristin and PPF don't use it and have had few if any problems - knock on wood!), you may want to approve comments. (If so, enter an email address. One you can look at easily because on Fridays it might be busy!)
Show word verification - NO!
Remember to SAVE!

Here are two links to perhaps better explanations with more visuals - a Youtube video done by Randomosity and a post by Cheriquitecontrary with screen captures.

While we are talking about Blogger settings, PPFer Geri of My Heart Art has a great explanation on getting replies so you are not a "no-reply blogger". (Dashboard - Edit Profile - check "show my email address" and enter it - SAVE profile.) We changed our settings when she first mentioned it and it is great to hear back from someone who has appreciated your comment. If you are uncomfortable with sharing your personal email address then email us (link on sidebar) and we can send you an invitation to get a gmail account which you can forward to another address.

**Having said all this, if you are having serious spam or security issues, of course you should keep word verification on or if you've tried the other options and moderation (and deleting spam) isn't working for you. We want you to feel safe.**

Phew - was that enough talking? Barely time for a poll. Last week's showed that while most of you are painting purists and haven't used digital painting programs, many would be willing to try! This week, we thought we'd ask about blog security since it is on our minds.

Have a great time at the party!

*EVA has found that even with moderation some spam slips in unless she uses "embedded below post" on the Comment Moderation Placement section, then none does.

Paint Party Friday: Week 49 Check In

2012-02-17T00:02:00.008-05:00

Welcome to Week 49 of Paint Party Friday! It is great to see so many familiar faces every week and meet some of the new players joining in... and, of course, to see your wonderful painting efforts!

In our poll last week, we were talking about secret ingredients - and asking you to share your secrets! Many of you will add anything (and everything)... with book pages being the most popular choice. There are many of you who are purists however and prefer their secret ingredient be the most obvious - the paint itself!

We are noticing though that some of your paintings don't actually include paint or other secret ingredients. They are entirely digital! This week's poll asks about your digital painting experiences. If digital painting is something you have experimented with, or are a master of, we hope you will tell us more in the comments about the tools, software, apps etc that you have liked, found valuable and would recommend we try!

Have a great time at the party!

Paint Party Friday: Week 48 Check In

2012-02-10T00:01:00.014-05:00

Welcome to Week 48 of Paint Party Friday! Last week was another great week of amazing painting and creativity (and partying)! So wonderful to each of you at the party and to see all your efforts!

Last time we talked about your favourite paint brands and it seems the leading choice is Golden with Winsor and Newton coming in second for those with favourites. Something to remember perhaps, for the next time we go shopping (or when our spouse/family/friend asks what we want for ____ occasion). It's great to learn from the experiences of others as well as to try new things on our own.

We've seen hints over the last year, of special touches many of you add to your paintings. This week we started wondering - what are the secret ingredients in your paintings?

Have a great time at this week's party!

Paint Party Friday: Week 47 Check In

2012-02-03T00:02:00.004-05:00

Welcome to Week 47 of Paint Party Friday! Last week was another busy party with great paintings shown to us by all of you wonderful artists - new and returning!! It is such a joy to see you all here and creating!

In our last poll, we asked about brushes and what shape you prefer... Flats were the most popular choice but for most of us, it depends on what we are painting. And no one seems to be a fan of fan brushes! Which makes us wonder - if you do like fan brushes - in what situation are they your go-to brush?

Thinking about brushes made us wonder about the paint you use on them... This poll may be a little tricky as there are brands that are available in some countries and not in others. (And some of you use only watercolors - not all of those brands are captured in the poll choices. Sorry about that...) Please let us know what your fave is if it is not included. Newer painters may not know the difference between the paints. (EVA says - that's me!) Please help by telling us in the comments more about why you prefer your favourite (if you have one) to other brands.

Have a fun time schmoozing and checking out all the great work at the party!

Paint Party Friday: Week 46 Check In

2012-01-27T00:02:00.076-05:00

Welcome to Week 46 of Paint Party Friday!! What a party last week - over 90 painters! Wow!! It is great to have you new PPFers join us and wonderful to see so many people coming back each and every week. And the art! And the talent! Fabulous!!!

For new paint players, (and any of you who have previous asked but who slipped through our cracks or crevasses or chasms....) if you would like to be listed on the left sidebar of Paint Players, please send us an email (on right sidebar) or ask in the comments and we will try to be sure to make that happen. (And if we haven't by next week, a friendly reminder might be necessary...)

It is also great to see how adventurous and open to experimentation you all are - our poll showed that the majority of you are willing to try any shape of canvas. Rectangles are otherwise the most popular choice. Thinking about shapes... we started to wonder about what shape paint brushes you like best?

A couple of little housekeeping notes on comments. Internet Explorer and Blogger seem to be spatting again and causing some of you to have problems leaving comments. Switching your browser to Chrome seems to alleviate these issues. We were using Chrome so we haven't noticed the problems. Maybe using other browsers might also help but we haven't tried.

Also Blogger seems to have changed their captcha/word verification on some design layouts so you have to scroll down through a window to find the darn word. And those words seem to get longer every day! The other word verification system captcha we find almost impossible to read - and we ARE humans! Most PPFers love commenting and everyone really loves receiving your comments. With a group this big, anything that slows us done as we "work the room" makes it less likely for people to stop and chat. We don't use captcha or word verification and have never had any problems so we think it worth turning off. However, we all want to feel secure. The "comment moderation" settings are another way to protect yourself by looking at and approving your comments before they are published. EVA uses them, Kristin and PPF don't. PPF has had almost no spam, maybe none. (Thank you!) EVA noticed that each time she turns it off, some spam seems to sneek through. Something to consider to make commenting easier for us all?

Please make sure to use your post URL address NOT your blog home page URL address as there are many late visitors who get confused as to which post is for PPF when they arrive (after Friday) at your website. If you are unfamiliar with Mr. Linky, an explanation of how this tool works can be found on Week 1 and Week 2 Check-Ins.

Have a marvelous time at this week's Paint Party!

Paint Party Friday: Week 45 Check-In

2012-01-20T00:02:00.002-05:00

Welcome to Week 45 of Paint Party Friday! 2012 is really off to an awesome painting and partying start!

In last week's fun poll, we learned that most of us are not very superstitious, at least not about Friday the 13th! We heard about superstitions new to us and strange things that happen to some of you. (We really want to watch Robin walking down the street when she is angry to see the streetlights blow out!)

In last week's links, Netty posted her new paintings on triangular canvases given to her by Valerie-Jael. Triangular! That was the first time we had seen triangular canvases. And it made us wonder - what shape do you prefer to paint on? And bonus points (haha) for telling us in the comments about the strangest shape you've painted on! ;)

Hope you have a fantastic time at the party!

Paint Party Friday (The 13th!): Week 44 Check In

2012-01-13T00:02:00.032-05:00

Welcome to the Friday the 13th edition/Week 44 of Paint Party Friday! It's wonderful to see the new year start with a number of new painters joining us for the first time! Welcome! And Welcome back to everyone who has been here before - great to see so many familiar faces already in 2012.

Wow! We were blown away by some of your answers to last week's poll. 11 (Eleven!) of you want to paint a painting a week! Quoting Oprah - "You go girls!" - PPF is here to help keep you accountable for your efforts. Many others want to paint at least one painting a month. And most of us just want to paint! (Yay!!!)

Since PPF falls on Friday the 13th this week, we thought we'd have a fun poll and ask about your superstitions - if you have any!

We hope you have a great time at the party and that Friday the 13th brings you only GOOD LUCK!

Paint Party Friday: Week 43 Check-In - Happy, Creative 2012 Everyone!

2012-01-06T00:02:00.004-05:00

Welcome to Week 43 of Paint Party Friday! Happy New Year! We hope that all of you have a fabulous and creative 2012 filled with time to make LOTS of art! (And to show us your paintings here...)

Last week, we talked about resolutions. Some of you had art related resolutions and goals, others didn't make them and an increasing number of you preferred the idea of a Word of the Year. We (EVA and Kristin) posted about our "Words" as did Lisa/WrightStuff and others. Geri/MyHeartArt has even started a blog hop about the Word of the Year so if you want to share yours, please join in.

Some of you talked about wanting to paint a specific number of paintings in 2012. Gloria has twelve (12 for 2012?) in mind... (though we suspect she may paint more...) and Mary mentioned her lofty goal of a painting a week. What about you? Do you have a specific number of paintings that you want to paint in 2012?

Please make sure to use your post URL address NOT your blog home page URL address as there are many late visitors who get confused as to which post is for PPF when they arrive (after Friday) at your website. If you are unfamiliar with Mr. Linky, an explanation of how this tool works can be found on Week 1 and Week 2 Check-ins.

Have a fun time at the party! We've set out celery and carrots sticks to make up for all those cookies last month...

xoxo

Kristin and EVA

Paint Party Friday: Week 42 Check-In

2011-12-30T00:02:00.046-05:00

Welcome to Week 42 of Paint Party Friday! As the year winds down to a close and we enter 2012, we hope you are all enjoying the holidays. It is so wonderful to see that so many of you are continuing to find time for painting even with all of the hustle and bustle of the season!

Last week we discovered that most of us looove cookies (and we even had a couple of delicious sounding recipes and tips shared)! We were surprised to discover that some of us don't eat cookies! (What?!? Ha ha!) This week, we're wondering how you're planning for a fresh new year? Are you making resolutions?

All our best wishes for a wonderful, happy, healthy, exciting, cheerful, prosperous, productive, creative, paint-filled New Year!!!

xoxo

Kristin and EVA

Paint Party Friday: Week 41 Check-In

2011-12-23T00:02:00.073-05:00

Welcome to Week 41 of Paint Party Friday! It's fantastic to see so many of you still painting with everything else going on at this time of year!

The Holidays are here and from the results of last week's poll, most of us are still scrambling to get everything done. We know that we are! This week we're having another lighthearted and fun poll. We want to know what your favorite holiday cookies are... Please feel free to share recipes (or send us some)!

We want to wish you and your families all our very best wishes for a Merry Christmas, Happy Hanukkah and a joyous holiday season in what ever way you celebrate. Have a great celebration!

Much Love,

Kristin and EVA

xox

Paint Party Friday: Week 40 Check In

2011-12-16T00:02:00.041-05:00

Welcome to Week 40 of Paint Party Friday! (Week 40! How fast the weeks fly!) The holidays are quickly approaching and we are thrilled to see that so many of you are making painting (and partying) part of your holiday traditions!

Last week we asked if you give your paintings as gifts. Your wonderful creations make fabulous gifts and most of you, for part of your gift-giving, make at least a few gifts or paint a few paintings for your loved ones. (We've seen lots of art we'd like to receive! ;) Lucky loved ones!)

For the next few weeks we are switching to fun, light and easy polls. This week, we wonder - are you ready for the holidays yet?

We hope that you find some relaxation (by painting?) in the midst of the holiday chaos and that you have a great time at the party!

Paint Party Friday: Week 39 Check-In

2011-12-09T00:02:00.003-05:00

Welcome to Week 39 of Paint Party Friday! How great to see so many of you painting (and partying) here even in these very busy times!

Last week we asked in the poll about whether or not you create paintings to reflect the season (whatever season it may be - Christmas is on many of our minds, of course, but we have seen lots of Hallowe'en inspired painting here at PPF too!) Many of you do paint for the season/celebration from time to time or depending on the celebration, others don't and some were inspired to try!

This week we have a similar question as last - we're thinking about paintings as gifts - Christmas, birthday, wedding or other occasion. Do you give your paintings as gifts?

Have a wonderful time at the party! So glad you made time to drop by and mingle!

Paint Party Friday: Week 38 Check-In

2011-12-02T00:02:00.008-05:00

Welcome everyone to Week 38 of Paint Party Friday! We hope those of you who celebrated American Thanksgiving last week had a wonderful long weekend, that your clothes do up (again) and that you found some time to paint!

We have been seeing a trend lately.... a lot of your paintings are starting to look a lot like Christmas! So we thought we'd ask about the impact of seasonal celebrations on your art. We hope you'll also tell us your favourite seasonal creation in the comments!

Hope you have a fabulous time at the party and that you still have time to paint at this crazy time of year!

P.S. BTW - the charming and wonderful nutcracker above was created by Kristin during her 30-30-30 project last year and was excitedly bought by EVA to join her extensive nutcracker collection. We both love him and thought he would be fun to share with you!

Paint Party Friday: Week 37 Check-In - HAPPY THANKSGIVING Weekend to our American Partyers

2011-11-25T00:02:00.010-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving Weekend to all our U.S. friends! We are so thankful to have all you wonderful painters participating in Paint Party Friday and sharing the love of painting with one another.

Last week we talked about sealing paintings and the watercolourists pointed out that they really had no need to do that! Other media primarily used varnish or spray fixatives.

To celebrate American Thanksgiving - which will technically be over as this week's PPF post goes live - we thought we'd do another fun poll and ask about your favourite fixings or side dishes. For extra credit (haha), tell us if you have a favourite use of turkey leftovers in the comments!

Hope you have (had) a great Thanksgiving if you are celebrating and have a fun time at the party!

Paint Party Friday: Week 36 Check-In

2011-11-18T00:02:00.007-05:00

Welcome one and all to Week 36 of Paint Party Friday! Great to have previous PPFers returning and new ones joining in the painting fun!

Last week we talked about how you start a painting. Of course the answer depending on the media to some extent. The watercolour painters had no need to prime. For oil and acrylics, gesso and pre-primed canvases were most popular answers though many of you had tried all the ideas the poll suggested and more! Some of you even showed us your techniques in your posts. Fabulous!!

This week we are going to go to the other end of the process and ask how you finish up your paintings.

Have a great time at the party!

Paint Party Friday: Week 35 Check-In

2011-11-11T00:02:00.008-05:00

Welcome to week 35 at Paint Party Friday! It is fabulous to see new painters joining in every week! All painters are welcome here - no need for invitations, just jump in and show us what you've been painting this week, and spend a little time visiting with all the other fun painters while you're here.

Last week we enjoyed learning more about why you buy the art you buy and we hope you did too! It seems when we are charmed, we buy! This week we want to learn a little bit more about your creative process... We're wondering how, and with what, do you get your surface ready to paint?

Have a fun time at the party!!

P.S. If you have any suggestions for topics you'd like to discuss (and turn into a poll) please send us an email!

P.P.S. Blogger seems to be acting up again - especially in Internet Explorer. Using Google Chrome solved most of our problems, if you're having a challenge maybe switching browsers might be helpful.

Paint Party Friday: Week 34 Check-in

2011-11-04T00:02:00.023-04:00

Welcome to Week 34 of Paint Party Friday! Last week over 90 of you wonderful painters dropped by, in search of chocolate and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, and especially to share your panitings and visit other partyers. Wow!

This week we thought we'd carry on the previous week's conversation about buying art. We're wondering why you buy the art you buy?

Hope you have a great time at the party!

Paint Party Friday: Week 33 Check-In

2011-10-28T00:02:00.095-04:00

And now for something a little bit different... and a little bit fun and Halloweeny! Welcome to Week 33 of Paint Party Friday where this week the big treat, as always, is sharing in and seeing each others' painting endeavours!

Last week our poll talked about where you buy art and while "all of the above" won (as usual), the top three were - from Etsy stores, from the artist directly and from art festivals or friends who are artists. That suggests to us, that these could also be good strategies for selling paintings (if you are so inclined). The contact between buyer and artist seems to encourage you to buy and so contact with you as an artist, may encourage others to buy from you.

We would like to explore that further but Hallowe'en is fast approaching as is the Day of the Dead (Dia de los Muertos). Many of you have been showing us art inspired by these celebrations and we thought we'd join in with a silly, fun poll and ask - What's your favourite Hallowe'en candy?

Please make sure to use your post URL address NOT your blog home page URL address as there are many late visitors who get confused as to which post is for PPF when they arrive (after Friday) at your website. If you are unfamiliar with Mr. Linky, an explanation of how this tool works can be found on Week 1 and Week 2 check-ins.

By the way, our friend and fellow partyer, Natasha May, is having a Halloween Party !! Join in the fun on October 31st at her blog if you'd like to partake in some artsy Halloween festivities.

Meanwhile enjoy all the wonderful paintings and fabulous fellow artists here at Paint Party Friday!

Paint Party Friday: Week 32 Check In

2011-10-21T00:02:00.174-04:00

image created at dumpr

Welcome to Week 32 at Paint Party Friday! So great to have you all at the party, showing off your painting and visiting with the rest of us PPFers!

Last week there was a great discussion at the party about framing - until the poll died temporarily. Everything seems fine now. (We are sorry - it was beyond our control and ability to fix it - we're so relieved it came back!) While you could, you told us that you use a number of different techniques for framing or that you paint the edges so framing may not be necessary. A number of you mentioned that buyers often want to make the framing decision themselves, and that made us think it would be worth looking at painting from a buyer's perspective, as we've spent the past few weeks looking at it from a seller/creator's perspective.

So we wonder about the paintings you buy - this week we'll ask about where you buy and soon we'll discuss why you buy what you buy. The answers are interesting in and of themselves but we hope they also may help those of us who wish to sell art, to understand buyers' decision making processes.

Hope you have a great time at the party!

P.S. We've had a number of people raise the issue of Blogger commenting and the time it takes to fill out all those annoying "captcha"s aka word verifications. As you probably know (haha) Kristin and EVA are not techies or programming whizzes and are trying our best in our technological naiveté to manage PPF and keep all the players happy. Kristin and PPF eliminated all blogger moderation and word verification. So far - no problems! You may want to try taking off the word verification and just delete any questionable comments if they happen. (Or you may prefer to do as EVA does and still moderate (approve) comments without using word verification but people sometimes get confused then as to whether their comments went through. Not a perfect system either.)

It is also important to allow "anyone" to comment as some of our players have their own websites and do not use google id, blogger, wordpress etc and they want to comment but can not! (This would help everyone to visit you.)

The decision is ultimately yours and we want you all to be comfortable no matter how you decide to manage your comment settings. We just thought it was worth mentioning since we've received so many comments and emails regarding this subject.

Some PPFers also love to reply to your comments but can't - Geri has eloquently explained here how to change that so people can reply directly to the comments you leave them.

We understand Blogger is changing everything on us soon so there may be more things like this to chat about as most of us (using Blogger) adapt to these changes next month. Let's try and help each other out and make it easy to visit, socialize and spend time together. Thanks everyone!!

Paint Party Friday: Week 31 Check In

2011-10-14T00:02:00.008-04:00

Thank you all so much for your comments last week - we are so thrilled that Paint Party Friday is helping most of us to paint more!! Welcome everyone to Week 31 - the "Framed" edition!

Two weeks ago, we were talking about marketing your art, and there were many great suggestions in the comments, including donating pieces to charity auctions, showing your work in businesses or restaurants displaying art and signing your emails with hints like MimiTabby "I also paint gorgeous watercolours" plus many more. Have we said how awesome and helpful your comments always are? Wow! Thank you! And this week we are hoping for more comments as we know the poll won't catch everything...

That same week Scarlet asked "I'd like to learn how to frame my own work. I have no idea how to do this but would love to learn. I'm wondering if anyone here frames her own artwork and HOW." Great question! We know some of you do (as does PPF hostess Kristin) and we think this is a very good topic to discuss to help show off our paintings to the fullest extent. We wonder - How do you frame your art? (And if you have favourite video-tutorials that show HOW, we'd love the links!)

* The blog poll site is currently down and so seems to be our poll :( Hopefully it will come back soon (14Oct2011 7pm). Sorry!

Have a great time at the party!

Paint Party Friday: Week 30 Check In

2011-10-07T00:02:00.100-04:00

Welcome to Paint Party Friday (Week 30)!

We are thrilled to have so much enthusiasm for PPF and there continues to be great fun and inspiration at the party each week. Thank you all!

With any group there are bound to be a few growing pains along the way and it has recently been brought to our attention that Paint Party Friday is starting to veer off course a bit. This week we'd like to address that and get back on track by sharing our original intention behind the creation of PPF. You have built this into an amazing playful and helpful group, forming many great cyber-friendships, and bringing fabulous talent and paintings to be shared here:

"In early 2011, we (Kristin and EVA) each mentioned on our blogs that we wanted to paint more this year. We had both just finished up the intense Sketchbook Project and have been participating in the fun Sunday Sketches (with Blue Chair Diary). We realized that having a weekly check-in helps us actually find the time in our busy lives to create. Otherwise procrastination often sets in. But where were the painting check-ins? If they existed, we didn't find them. So we decided to create one!

Paint Party Friday is a fun place to visit and check-in to show off your Works-In-Progress (WIP) and your finished paintings. Let us help you celebrate what you've done! There are no rules, we are here to play, paint, share our efforts with our friends, encourage each other and hopefully accomplish more together!"

We still want to avoid rules. So we have a big favour to ask all of you wonderful partyers. PPF is about painting. It has turned out to be great fun and we always want to attend the party ourselves. But if we haven't painted, we don't link. (And that usually keeps us painting!)

Your visits are awesome. Everyone loves being visited and you are the best visitors ever! PPF feels like a loving family. If nothing has been painted and people still link though, it takes up visiting time that could have been spent visiting those who have painted. We'd really appreciate it if everyone could respect that and only link in a week when you have a painting to share. Many of you already do this (Yay!) - if the rest could join in... that would be super! Thank you so very much! (And if you could make sure to link to your blog post url versus your blog home page url - also appreciated.)

With that in mind, we hope you continue to share your weekly painting accomplishments with us! Whether you use watercolors, acrylics, oils, or mixed media and whether you paint on canvas, paper, in a sketchbook, on walls, wood (or chairs) - the paintings you create are welcome here!

Here's Mr. Linky!

Hope you have a great time at the party and lots of fun painting!

P.S. What incredible comments and advice last week! We will return to that next week.

P.P.S. It was hard for us to talk about things like this issue, fearing to offend anyone. (We hope we didn't!) Since people are mentioning it to us, we felt more of you might silently be thinking the same thing and so it should be addressed.

Paint Party Friday: Week 29 Check-in

2011-09-30T00:02:00.026-04:00

Welcome to Week 29 of Paint Party Friday! Whether you've been with us from Week 1 or are joining us for the first time today, we're so happy you're here to share the joy of painting!

For the past couple of weeks we've talked a lot about pricing paintings and where to sell them. There have been great discussions and you have shared so many wonderful insights - Thank you all! Your comments raised some more questions and this week we are thinking about marketing. Marketing and sales go hand-in-hand, yet they are vey different activities. This week we're wondering: How do you get your name and artwork seen by potential buyers?

Please make sure to use your post URL address NOT your blog address as there are many late visitors who get confused as to which post is for PPF when they arrive (after Friday) at your website. If you are unfamiliar with Mr. Linky, an explanation of how this tool works can be found on Week 1 and Week 2 check-ins.

Have a great time at the party!

P.S. If you have a topic, you'd like to see turned into a PPF poll question, please email us your idea!

Paint Party Friday: Week 28 Check-In

2011-09-23T00:02:00.032-04:00

Welcome to Week 28 of Paint Party Friday! Whether you're a seasoned PPF participant or new to the party, it's great to have you all here! It's never too late to join in the fun with your painting efforts - just finished or works-in-progress!

Last week we had a very lively and informative discussion about pricing paintings. You raised so many good points to consider and we enjoyed it so much that we didn't want the fun (and learning) to end! This week we're wondering where you sell your artwork. We'd love to find out more about what venues work for you, why you sell where you sell, and any insights about which sites you've found to be the most (or least) successful. We can't wait to read your thoughts - Please share your knowledge with us in the comments section!

This should be an enlightening and interesting conversation at the party (in the comments) so please check back often and join in the discussion. Whether you are interested in selling your art or you just love to paint for yourself, have a great time at the party!

P.S. If you have a topic, you'd like to see turned into a PPF poll question, please email us your idea!

Paint Party Friday: Week 27 Check-In

2011-09-16T00:02:00.005-04:00

Welcome to Paint Party Friday Week 27! We are thrilled, as always to have such a great turnout at the party! Since we've had some email questions about people wanting to join in, we want to say YES!! If you want to paint (and party), you are very welcome and indeed invited to join in the fun!

Last week we discovered what your upcoming goals are and (surprise!) for many of us, painting is at the top of our priority list! No matter what your goals, what you are painting, or what other creative ventures you are working on, you all continue to inspire us.

Last week in her PPF post, Kat (from Kat's Nature) posed a question about pricing her finished oil painting. We thought it was a very interesting topic and since it is relevant to many of us, we wanted to discuss it further. So this week we're asking: How do you price your artwork?

Please make sure to use your post URL address versus your blog address as there are many late visitors who get confused as to which post is for PPF when they arrive (after Friday) at your website. If you are unfamiliar with Mr. Linky, an explanation of how this tool works can be found on Week 1 and Week 2 check-ins.

This promises to be a lively conversation at the party (in the comments) so check back often and join the discussion. Have a great time at the party - whether you are interested in selling your art or you create for yourself.

P.S. If you have a topic, you'd like to see turned into a PPF poll question, please email us your idea!

Paint Party Friday: Week 26 Check In

2011-09-09T00:02:00.001-04:00

Welcome to Week 26 of Paint Party Friday! The half-year mark - how the heck did that happen already? We are delighted to have so many regular paint players and new participants every week. The talent in this group leaves us in awe. It sounded like a busy long weekend for most of you - seeing friends, soaking up the last of summer, refocusing with the kids back in school - and a little bit of painting!

And here in the Northeast (EVA is in Ottawa and Kristin in Buffalo) there are already signs of leaves changing colour and falling. Which makes us wonder about your plans and goals for Autumn?

Have a fun time at Paint Party Friday!

Paint Party Friday: Week 25 Check In

2011-09-02T00:02:00.004-04:00

Welcome to Week 25 of Paint Party Friday and the Labor Day weekend in North America. It's the last long weekend before many schools start a new school year. It used to be that that all schools started here after the long weekend but now it is more staggered. We still think of it as Back to School time though!

Most of you are ready for Autumn to arrive. There a few stragglers (like one of us) who want an endless summer but most of you were ready to move on! This week we wonder what the long weekend (if you have one) means to you? For those of you in the Southern Hemisphere and elsewhere - is there anything special about the passing of August to Spetember for you?

Please make sure to use your post URL address versus your blog address as there are many late visitors who get confused as to which post is for PPF when they arrive (after Friday) at your website. If you are unfamiliar with Mr. Linky, an explanation of how this tool works can be found on Week 1 and Week 2 check-ins.

We hope you have a super long weekend and a great time at the party!

Paint Party Friday: Week 24 Check In

2011-08-26T00:02:00.016-04:00

Welcome to Week 24 of Paint Party Friday! Summer is almost over (in the northern part of the Northern Hemisphere anyway) and it is so great that everyone is still painting and new players are joining in - fabulous!! A few people asked in the comments last week about getting listed in the "Paint Players" section on the left hand side. If you are not there and would like to be, please feel free to email us at paintpartyfriday (at) gmail (dot) com (you know what we mean... one must be careful about email addresses with those nasty spambots on the web) and we will add you to the list.

Last week we enjoyed learning more about your favorite flowers - some had favourites but most of us love them all particularly wildflowers in the summer. They definitely bring us all lots of joy (and provide wonderful inspiration for some of our paintings too)! We've been having so much fun with our easy breezy summer posts, but as the days are getting shorter we are wondering what is still left undone on your summer fun to-do list?

Have a fabulous time at the party and we hope you get out there and cross some fun to-dos off your list!

Paint Party Friday: Week 23 Check In

2011-08-19T00:02:00.002-04:00

Welcome to Week 23 of Paint Party Friday! We were thrilled to see new players arrive at the party last week (Welcome!) and to have all of you continue to paint and participate even during these busy summer months! You are awesome!

Last week's easy, breezy poll was about birds and if there was a favourite, it was hummingbirds and owls but most of us love to see all birds. We also learned about other kinds of birds we don't normally see, Rosie even posted a link in the comments so the non-New Zealanders could hear a tui sing! This week our poll asks about another common yet inspiring aspect of summer... We wonder, what is your favourite flower?

There are many late visitors during the busy summer months and it gets confusing if you link with your blog url instead of your PPF post url as to which post is for PPF. To encourage people to visit your PPF post, please make sure to use your post URL address versus your blog address. Thanks! If you are unfamiliar with Mr. Linky, an explanation of how this tool works can be found on Week 1 and Week 2 check-ins.

Have a fun time at the party!

Paint Party Friday: Week 22 Check In

2011-08-12T00:01:00.000-04:00

Welcome to Week 22 of Paint Party Friday!! (Week 22! Should we stop counting yet?) We are so happy to have each, and all, of you painting and visiting and joining in the fun here over this easy breezy summer!

We hope those of you in the UK and Northwest are finally getting some sun. But rain or shine, one thing we've heard a lot this summer are the songs of summer birds. We suspect those of you in the Southern Hemisphere may have winter birds visiting you? We've been seeing birds appear as inspiration in your (and our) paintings and we wonder... what is your favourite bird?

Have a great time at the party!! (Both Kristin and Eva are away this weekend so our visits won't be timely but we hope to see your painting efforts when we can.)

Paint Party Friday: Week 21 Check In

2011-08-05T00:02:00.006-04:00

Welcome to week 21 of Paint Party Friday! We hope fun, relaxation (and some painting), are top priorities on your summertime to-do list! For our friends in winter - we hope these posts add a little sunshine to your days!

Last week we discovered that nothing can quench a summer sized thirst like good ol' water... Although quite a few of us definitely enjoy a cool refreshing cocktail now and then! This week we're wondering what you do to keep busy in the summer... What is your favorite summertime activity? (Other than painting, of course!)

Hope you are enjoying your summertime activities! Have fun at the party!

Paint Party Friday: Week 20 Check-In

2011-07-29T00:02:00.005-04:00

Welcome to Week 20 (!!!) of Paint Party Friday. As the summer rolls on we continue to take it easy, but we are still making time for painting. We are thrilled that you are too!

Last week we savored the flavors of summer by asking about your favorite warm weather eats. It seems that most of us enjoy the freshness the season has to offer, and lots of us love to grill! This week, we're wondering what sorts of beverages accompany your yummy summer fare? We want to know - How do you quench your summertime thirst?

Help yourself to a margarita, enjoy the wonderful paintings of this week's players and have fun at the party!

Paint Party Friday: Week 19 Check-In

2011-07-22T00:01:00.002-04:00

Welcome to Paint Party Friday (Week 19)! We are so happy to see how many of you are continuing to paint even with summertime distractions and vacations. Speaking of vacations, last week we enjoyed learning about how you like to spend your holidays! There are many different ways we have fun, but it seems that most of us agree - we could definitely use more free time!

For our "easy breezy" summer poll think week, we're wondering: What is your favorite summertime food?

Please make sure to use your post URL address versus your blog URL address as there are many late visitors who get confused as to which post is for PPF when they arrive (after Friday) at your website. If you are unfamiliar with Mr. Linky, an explanation of how this tool works can be found on Week 1 and Week 2 check-ins.

Hope you are enjoying the heat. Have fun at Paint Party Friday! (We have an easy breeze and/or air conditioning here!)

Paint Party Friday: Week 18 Check-In

2011-07-15T00:02:00.002-04:00

Welcome to Week 18 of Paint Party Friday! We hope you are enjoying an easy breezy summer...

We've found that one of the best ways to re-charge our creative batteries (other than eating many delicious flavors of ice cream) is to take a holiday! For this week's poll question (assuming you aren't already away on holiday...), we're curious... Where is your favorite vacation destination?

If you are unfamiliar with Mr. Linky, an explanation of how this tool works can be found on Week 1 and Week 2 check-ins. Please make sure to use your post URL address versus your blog URL address as there are many late visitors who get confused as to which post is for PPF when they arrive (after Friday) at your website.

Have a great time at the party!

Paint Party Friday: Week 17 Check-In

2011-07-08T00:02:00.008-04:00

Welcome to Week 17 of Paint Party Friday! (Where has the time gone?!?) We hope you are finding some time to enjoy all of the fun and simple pleasures that summer has to offer... And we also hope you are finding some time to paint!

In last week's poll we learned that you have many different ways of celebrating - all of them sound great to us (well, except for the catching up on chores! hee hee). This week we have a "cool" easy, breezy summer question for you... We want to know: What is your favourite ice cream?

We also wanted to mention that one of our fellow partyers, Geri Centonze, is launching an online directory for blogging artists! You can read more about it here.

Thank you for spending some of your summer at our party... We love this time of the week!

Paint Party Friday: Week 16 Check-In

2011-07-01T00:01:00.000-04:00

To all our fellow Paint Party Friday players who live in Canada or the United States - Happy Canada Day! Happy Independence Day!!

Welcome to Week 16 of Paint Party Friday! The sun is shining, the weather is warm (in the North anyway) and it is a holiday weekend for many of us. Last week we talked about the Seasons and our painting productivity. For most, the season is irrelevant to you. And for those who find one season more productive, the majority favour summer and winter (evenly). Spring wasn't chosen by anyone as their most productive season.

One thing that many of you mentioned in the comments was that the summer, while inspiring, was so busy with other activities that it made it a challenge to paint as often as you'd like. We are with you on that. We also find that it is often more challenging to be at the computer when it is so beautiful outside. Do you find that? Summer deserves to be easy breezy - it is far too short here!

We've decided to make the summer weeks of Paint Paint Friday a little lighter, a little silly and a little easier. We will be here every week for you to check-in. The posts may be shorter. The polls may be more frivolous and not the least bit painting oriented. Mr. Linky will always be here. We will try to visit everyone and see your painting efforts but it may be at a little slower pace. An easy breezy summer. To celebrate the "easy breezy" carefree summer days, Kristin is kicking off CareFREE Fridays! - FREE collage paper downloads every Friday during the summer! (Please be sure to stop by her blog to check it out!)

With that in mind and the holiday weekend at hand, we wonder how you celebrate your nation's birthday?

Hope you have a fabulous time at the party and a great holiday weekend for those of you who live in countries having birthdays!

Paint Party Friday: Week 15 Check-in - Seasons

2011-06-24T00:01:00.013-04:00

Welcome to the first of the Summer editions (or Winter - for our players in the Southern hemisphere) of Paint Party Friday! It is great to have you here!

Last week we talked about challenges, prompts and themes. Thanks for all the great ideas! We haven't had much time this week to update the page we created to help with inspiration and motivation - but we've started. Meanwhile, if you think of others, please email us or mention them in the comments. Most of you use prompts etc when one compels you, though a good number of you have never met a challenge or prompt that you didn't like! In the comments a number of you said "PPF is all the challenge I need." Wow!! Thank you SO much! We are thrilled PPF is helping you paint more!

This week, our thoughts turn to the changing seasons. Summer is here - Yay!! And that makes us wonder if the seasons affect your painting productivity? Tell us more in the comments about what season works best for you and why!

Hope the new season is treating you well and that you have a fun time at the party!

Paint Party Friday: Week 14 - Challenges and Prompts

2011-06-17T00:01:00.006-04:00

Welcome to Week 14 of Paint Party Friday! We had such a great time last week with your wonderfully insightful comments!! It's great to have you back or joining us for the first time!

Last week we were musing about Muses. And it was very interesting and fun! A slight majority felt they had a muse or many muses - whether invisible, the invocation of family members' spirits, pets, your children or some muses who are currently AWOL. Some of you were unsure or even scoffed at the idea of a "muse" but there was little doubt of your OWN creative force shining through in your painting.

We were also thrilled and impressed with how many people actually read the comments as we went off on a tangent that will continue here this week. We, and even muses, sometimes need prompts and challenges to boost or jump start our creativity and painting efforts. That's what we'd like to explore further in this week's poll and we hope, in all your comments.

We (Kristin and Eva) met because of prompts and challenges, and through them came up with the idea for Paint Party Friday. Last year we both participated in:

Sunday Sketches with Sophia at Blue Chair Diary*

Inspiration Avenue's Weekly (themed) Challenge*

Mr. Toast's (themed) Creative Tuesdays

Creative Every Day and Art Every Day Month

The Sketchbook Project 2011

and probably a few others. These are great fun! But none of them was about painting. Thus Paint Party Friday was born. From the comments we had last week the feedback was overwhelming to keep PPF as is - no themes or prompts. "It's like a great virtual Open Studio Day here, and I love it." was one of the comments - Thank you! What a lovely description!

Prompts, themes and challenges can be amazingly important to keep many of us inspired and productive - so we want to know about your favourites! And we especially want to know if you host one!* Tell us what you love, what's fun and what really works for you. We will create a page that anyone can visit as needed if their creative fuel starts running low.

And here's the check-in! If you are unfamiliar with Mr. Linky, an explanation of how this tool works can be found on Week 1 and Week 2 check-ins. Please make sure to use your post URL address versus your blog URL address as there are many late visitors who get confused as to which post is for PPF when they arrive (after Friday) at your website.

* = PPF players who have challenges or prompts. Here are a few more to check out:

Kat at Wright Story's TICTOCC Inspiration
Diana Evans' Sweet Saturday
Paula - Buenos Aires is talking about starting an Artist's Way check-in

Do you host one we haven't mentioned yet? Please tell us more!

Have a great time at the party!

Paint Party Friday: Week 13 Check-In - Honouring The Muse

2011-06-10T00:01:00.072-04:00

Welcome to this week's Paint Party Friday! It's wonderful to have you here for PPF, especially as the weather in the north tempts many of us away from our paints and into the long awaited sunshine.

Last week we talked about your creative process and how you start your art. Paint Party Friday players (PPFers) are a versatile (and talented) group! You have either tried everything or you fly by the seat of your pants - which some might say involves trying ANYthing.

In your comments and posts, the underlying theme of the Muse keeps arising. Otherwise known as - the little spirit (as NatashaMay described), the divine, the voices, my invisible friend as SunshineShelle created or Creation (who Victoria Pettella says owns her) - the Muse seems to hang out with PPFers.

We thought this might be fun to play with this idea and explore it further.... (For the sake of ease, we are using the term "Muse" but please think of this in terms meaningful to you.) This week we have two polls on that theme. One short one:

One a bit longer:

We look forward to your comments in more detail - in our comments section below or on your own post today or in the near future. (We know that many of you have everything ready to go for the strike of midnight and will only read this after your post is written.)

BTW, if you have ever painted or wanted to paint your Muse, we would love to see what you have painted or will create!

And finally - the check-in! If you are unfamiliar with Mr. Linky, an explanation of how this tool works can be found on Week 1 and Week 2 check-ins. Please make sure to use your post URL address versus your blog URL address as there are many late visitors who get confused as to which post is for PPF when they arrive (after Friday) at your website.

Party On, PPFers!!! (Sorry - a little channelling of our inner Wayne and Garth there...)

Paint Party Friday... Week 12 Check-In - The Creative Process

2011-06-03T00:01:00.004-04:00

Welcome to Week 12 of Paint Party Friday! (Can you believe we've been doing this for 3 months?!?) This continues to be one of our favorite places to be... We are so happy to see so many friends returning and we're thrilled to meet new painters each week!

Last week we discussed distractions and creative blocks and asked how you deal with them. There were many different ways we all get through them but it seems most of us try to keep the creativity going no matter what. Hooray for perseverance!

This week we're curious about your creative process. Some of you have talked about your process on your posts and others have shown us photos and videos! It is fascinating to see and experience other artists' work in progress and to discover the way that you create what you create. So we are curious about how you do what you do and especially how you start. Tell us more - in the poll, in the comments and in your posts!

Have a fabulous time at the party!

Paint Party Friday... Week 11 Check-In - Creative Blocks

2011-05-27T00:01:00.018-04:00

Welcome to Paint Party Friday where we love to paint, to party and to join our friends (all painters are welcome) to show off our efforts! We're happy to have you join us!

Last week our poll talked about distractions. That topic was partially chosen due to Blogger's problems the week before and this week there are more! Sometimes one can't log-in and other times one can't comment. Yikes!! That will sure put a damper on the party if it is not resolved! Some people have been commenting as "Anonymous" this week (on our personal blogs) and signing their names to the comment to work around this issue, so make sure your settings allow anonymous comments just in case. We switched from Internet Explorer (IE) to Google Chrome to be able to log in and comment. This works and seems to be the best solution as the problems are IE-associated. Hopefully none of you will have any issues and all will be working perfectly but until then let's use as many creative workarounds as we can think of! (We have a back-up plan we hope never to use.)

Which brings us to this week's poll inspired by some of your comments about distractions. (There are always such awesome comments!) And according to last week's poll, most of us are easily distracted. "All of the above" was the winning answer by a long shot! This week we want to know more about how you deal with distractions and creative blocks...

Have a fun time at the party!!

Paint Party Friday... Week 10 Check-In - Distractions!

2011-05-20T00:01:00.017-04:00

Welcome to Week 10 of Paint Party Friday! What a distraction last week was with all the Blogger problems. Thank you for your patience with the late start after our lost post (which still has never shown up) and for turning PPF into an all week-end party. Instead of the party having only a trickle of die-hard partyers, it was a strong and fun party with lots of newcomers - welcome to all of you!

The vast majority of you looked at disasters with a positive attitude and felt that they brought out your creativity, for some in the form of art but mostly creativity in other forms - finding new ways to cope and creating work-arounds. Blogger's problems were a distraction to us all and that is what this week's poll is about - What distractions keep you from painting?

Tell us more in the comments, we always love reading them! (Please be sure to take some time to read the comments - there have been profound revelations, wonderful ideas and great advice given in these comments.)

Have lots of fun at the party!

Paint Party Friday: Week 9 Check-in - The Party After the Storm

2011-05-13T15:35:00.001-04:00

Welcome to a very chaotic Week 9 of Paint Party Friday. We had a brilliant and amusing post (haha) scheduled to go up at 12:01am Friday. It, like so many of your posts, is now lost in all the problems Blogger had overnight. This was the equivalent of a tornado or a hundred year flood for those of us with Blogger. An anomaly, a black swan, it was definitely a challenge to many of us. The same thing could likely have happened to Wordpress or TypePad. It might not have affected as many of us but who knows. So think of this party as one where the heat and power have gone out but no lives were lost. We still have food (and wine) and we are going to have a great time!

We'll skip the poll this week and try to recreate what we would have been said this week in next week's check-in. (They say those posts will return. Anyone taking bets on that?) Meanwhile, here's a question for your comments: How do natural (or technological) disasters affect your creativity?

Hope you enjoy the belated party!

Blogger Challenges - PPF Week 9 Post Lost

2011-05-13T14:49:00.000-04:00

Hi Everyone,

It's been a perfect storm. The bridge (Blogger) to the party was washed out last night. We hoped everything would be up when it was repaired but the storm also destroyed the check-in post. It will take a little time to rewrite so please join the party when it gets off to a late start!

Road to Paint Party Friday

Thanks!

EVA and Kristin

Paint Party Friday: Week 8 Check-in - Colour My Painting World

2011-05-06T00:01:00.017-04:00

Week 8!! Can you believe it?! Welcome back everyone! New players - we are thrilled to have you join us and look forward to seeing all your painting endeavours!

Last week our poll showed that those of you who preferred a size, like to work in the 5 to 24 inch range of canvases. Most of you are flexible and will work on any size canvas. Many of you will work on any recycled material. Annabelle even paints mushrooms! This week's poll was inspired by last Friday's post by Stephanie about choosing a favourite colour. We'd like to know if you have one, what is it and ideally why (in the comments) you love it so?

If you are unfamiliar with Mr. Linky, an explanation of how this tool works can be found on Week 1 and Week 2 check-ins. Please make sure to use your post URL address versus your blog URL address as there are many late visitors who get confused as to which post is for PPF when they arrive (after Friday) at your website.

We'd also like to give a shout-out to the Charity Art Auction at Inspiration Avenue which some of our players are participating in. There are beautiful pieces there for a great cause. We hope you visit and bid high and bid often! It ends May 7th.

Looking forward to seeing your painting this week!

P.S. Kristin says color and EVA says colour but Kristin is so sweet she goes along with the Canadian/British spelling of some words here. We rather like "u" - and you, too! ;)

Paint Party Friday: Week 7 Check-in

2011-04-29T00:01:00.008-04:00

Welcome to Week 7 at Paint Party Friday! So great to see so many of you returning every week and to meet new painters who have just discovered the party!

Last week we learned about how you started painting. Most of us are either self taught painters or have taken assorted courses but are not formally trained. Some do have degrees in Art. Lots of you included favorite books in your comments and posts. Others admitted to being online tutorial/course junkies and even linked to some of their faves.

What great ideas to help us learn from each other! Thank you!! Please keep those ideas flowing! And we all seem to be like Michelangelo, who said "I am still learning."

This week's poll is influenced by a quote from another famous artist "So I said to myself-I'll paint what I see-what the flower is to me but I'll paint it big and they will be surprised into taking the time to look at it. I will make even busy New Yorkers take time to see what I see of flowers." (Georgia O'Keeffe). So we ask, does size matter?

Have a great time at the party! We look forward to hearing more about the sizes you like to paint in the comments.

Oh! If you haven't already, make sure to check out what Kristin's Chocolate Covered Peep Pops inspired in Mari at Plucky Chicken Heart! LOL! (Maybe she had one too many or perhaps that chocolate was spiked?)

Paint Party Friday: Week 6 Check-in - Happy Easter!

2011-04-22T00:01:00.002-04:00

It's our favorite time of the week... Another Paint Party Friday! Welcome Painters - new and returning... We can't wait to see what you have to share!

Last week it was great to see what inspires you and learn more about what you love to paint. Most of you are inspired by many different sources. This makes our visits to each other even more exciting! This week we're interested in the "how"...

Whether you've been painting since you could hold a brush, or painting is your new found passion, we'd like to know how and where you've learned your techniques. We hope you share your favorite books, tutorials and online classes in the comments section or in your blog post. This has become such a great place to learn more from each other!

(If you are unfamiliar with Mr. Linky, an explanation of how this tool works can be found on Week 1 and Week 2 check-ins.)

Happy Easter! This is a holiday weekend and many of us are either away, busy with family and religious celebrations, opening cottages, spring cleaning or catching up on our painting. Visits and commenting may be sporadic as a result. Let's make it a drop-in weekend party so visit when you can! Have fun at the party! Kristin made Easter peeps!

Paint Party Friday: Week 5 Check-in

2011-04-15T00:01:00.008-04:00

(created at dumpr)

Another week, another Paint Party Friday! We are so happy to have you back or dropping in for the first time! We continue to be awed by the amazing talent that we discover as we visit each other and see what everyone is up to with their painting efforts. Whether we manage to get our visits in on Friday, on the weekend or into the following week, we love how you are painting and really getting into the party.

Some of us have even started to take it LIVE! Last Friday, EVA bundled up her paints and joined 4 girlfriends at one of their homes to paint and party. It was a fabulous time!! Paula has a painting class, conveniently on Friday, and it is really turning into a party. Kristin's PPF LIVE last week was spent appreciating paintings at a gallery with preschoolers - definitely a different kind of party, but still fun!

Anyone else taking Paint Party Friday LIVE? Tell us more about it in the comments or write about it in your blog. At EVA's PPFL (well, Diana's, but she doesn't yet have an art blog), everyone else hadn't painted in years, so the biggest dilemma was "What to paint?" Yikes! Luckily we were looking out a gorgeous window so that provided initial inspiration for some of the players.

This week's poll thinks about the incredible diversity we have seen so far and wonders if you have a favourite subject?

(By popular demand, we have added an "all of the above" choice - but we'd still love you to tell us more in the comments!) Last week we learned so much about how music inspires and augments your creativity. Silence, nature and classical music were strong accompaniments to painting but we learned from your comments that it really depends on your mood and what you are painting. Some of us create our own mix of music and Priti Lisa has even offered to send you a copy of hers! We're excited to see what you've painted this week!

(BTW, if you are unfamiliar with Mr. Linky, an explanation of how this tool works can be found on Week 1 and Week 2 check-ins.)

Have a great time at the party!!

Paint Party Friday: Week 4 Check-In

2011-04-08T00:02:00.003-04:00

We're so happy to have you join us for Paint Party Friday - Week 4!! Whether you are a return player or a new visitor, your contributions and painting efforts are very welcome here.

Last week you shared with us where you like to paint and most of you like painting in your studio. What a "studio" is, varies considerably but let's call it a space devoted to creating. The comments were wonderful as you told us about your special spaces. Many of us would like to be outside to paint when weather permits (soon we hope in North America!) and others paint where they can find an open flat space to work - be it scrunched up on the floor, at the kitchen/dining room table or at a desk.

Can you guess what this week's poll will be about? Some of you, like Ileana, mentioned it in your comments, so we thought we'd discuss it this week!

BTW - There are awesome comments - very worthwhile reading! Maybe more worth reading than this post even! ;)

This week, the sound of music is on our minds:

(If you are unfamiliar with Mr. Linky, an explanation of how this tool works can be found on Week 1 and Week 2 check-ins.)

Paint Party Friday seems to be turning into an "all-weekend event" according to the great comments! So many talented and enthusiastic artists inspiring us to paint more and paint often! It starts Friday but goes on until you've finished visiting new friends!

We'd love it if you used this week's comment section to tell us more about what music inspires you while you're painting and what you're (like Kate Boone) really NOT a fan of! (Remember you can now subscribe to the comments by email so you can follow and participate in the conversation more easily!) We may even discover new and talented artists of the musical kind through your comments!

Have a great time at the party!!

Paint Party Friday: Week 3 Check-In

2011-04-01T00:02:00.013-04:00

Welcome to the third week of Paint Party Friday! It's wonderful to have you visit, check-in and share your painting efforts with us, whether you are a returning player or new to the party!

Our poll last week showed that for most of you, there are either multiple reasons why you paint or you can't imagine not painting! In creating the poll however, it seems we missed one or two very important categories (though "because the voices tell me to" might have captured a bit of it). In the comments, some of you pointed out that you paint to become more connected to the divine. Others spoke of painting as therapy (Kat W's late check-in entry was a very powerful example of art therapy) and how it has helped them. Isn't it wonderful that painting is not only fun, but so good for us in so many ways?

This week we're wondering about where you like to paint....

(If you are unfamiliar with Mr. Linky, an explanation of how this tool works can be found on Week 1 and Week 2 check-ins.)

We've added something new! One of the things we had hoped would happen with PPF is that conversations would start to occur in the comments section. However that meant you would have had to come back regularly to see what everyone was saying. Challenging, especially on a week day when lots of us are at work. We have added (successfully we hope - cross our fingers) a "Subscribe to Comments by email" button at the bottom. That should make it easier to keep track of the comversations and come back and jump in! (Thanks Gloria for trying last week - sorry that General Hospital won out!)

Have fun at the party! We're so happy you could come to play and we're looking forward to seeing everyone's painting efforts this week. You are such awesome artists!!

P.S. We have a number of international players. Yay!! When you visit them and see another language, just hit the "translate" button at the top and Google will translate their blog for you.

Paint Party Friday: Week 2 Check-In

2011-03-25T00:02:00.001-04:00

Welcome back to Paint Party Friday! (If you're playing for the first time - Welcome! We're so happy to have you here!)

We were absolutely thrilled about the response to last week's party... So much inspiration, motivation, tips, advice, and even a couple of paintings created expressly for Paint Party Friday:

Catherine Constance Heather Stillufsen

Thank you Catherine for bringing the bubbly and Heather for creating such a fun sign!

The results of last week's poll are in! So, what do you like to paint with? Anything goes! There is a strong preference for acrylics (though some of you dislike them according to comments) and then watercolours. It's fun to learn what others like to paint with! Now we're going to ask about why you like to paint:

Again, most of you know how to use Mr. Linky but just in case you don't, you type in your name in the first box (that you'd like us to call you) and then the url/link to your post (not your blog url) about your painting efforts in the second box. When you come back in following weeks, your name will likely automatically be entered but you need to redo or paste over the url/link with your new post's address.

We look forward to more conversations being carried on in the comments! Want to tell us more about WHY you paint or about a new technique you've just discovered? We'd love to hear! Let's have some fun!

EVA & Kristin

Thank You!

2011-03-19T07:00:00.002-04:00

Wow!

Thank you to all of our wonderful Paint Players! We couldn't be more thrilled about the turnout to the party... Thanks to all of you, our very first Paint Party Friday was a great success. We had such fun visiting your blogs, meeting new friends, and seeing familiar faces. We were amazed by the diversity of all the paintings and completely inspired by your wonderful work and enthusiastic response to the challenge.

We love the supportive atmosphere that has been created by all of you, and we hope that Paint Party Friday continues to be a place where we can all come for encouragement and motivation!

See you next Friday...

EVA & Kristin

P.S. You don't need to have a finished painting to play along... We'd love to see your works in progress!

Welcome to the first weekly Paint Party Friday!!

2011-03-18T00:01:00.016-04:00

Kristin and EVA are so happy to have you come and party with us! We hope this will be a great place for us all to work on our paintings, have a place to check-in, have some fun and chat about our efforts.

We thought it would be fun to do some polls as we go, or at least as often as we can think of ideas for polls! So here is the first one:

Most of you may know how to use Mr. Linky but in case you don't, you type in your name in the first box (that you'd like us to call you) and then the url/link to your post (not your blog url) about your painting efforts in the second box. When you come back next week your name will likely automatically be entered but you need to redo or paste over the url/link with your new post's address.

We hope you will not only comment but carry on conversations in the comments. If you want to address a comment to someone specific, usually the best way is to start the comment with @thenameoftheperson and then carry on with what you want to say. Here is something we'd like to know: How would you like PPF (Paint Party Friday) to help you?

There are few rules. Just please be polite. Spam-like comments will be deleted. Let's see how it goes and have some fun!

Coming Soon...

2011-02-25T20:45:00.007-05:00

Acrylics, Oils, Watercolors or Mixed Media

Big Works or Small Pieces

Finished Paintings or Works In Progress

All Painting Accomplishments are Reason to Celebrate!

Please join us for a Paint Party...

A Place to Check-In

Meet and Chat with Other Painters

and Have Some Fun!

When: Every Friday!

(Starting March 18th, 2011)

We Hope to See You Here!

Please grab a button and invite your friends:

* UPDATE * Everyone is welcome to play along! If you are planning on "partying" with us and would like us to include your blog link in the sidebar, please leave us a comment on this post with your blog info. This is going to be fun...