I have donated one of my Krinkled Peony Digital/Traditional Mixed Media Paintings to the Huntington Arts Council, annual silent auction fundraiser. This piece is a combination of Digital painting and Traditional Colored Pencils.

The finished mixed media painting is matted & finished in a 16×16″ natural wood color frame.

Bidding is underway at the Main Street Petite Gallery. Almost 50 artist members of the Huntington Arts Council have donated original work in oils, watercolor, photography, prints, diamond and topaz jewelry, silk and more. Bidding opportunities start at $25, and go until 6 p.m. on Friday, December 4.

This is a great chance to own an original piece of art or purchase one as a gift for a favorite relative or friend. Stop by the gallery at 213 Main Street in Huntington, two blocks east of New York Avenue, to see both the art and all the raffle items.

Poster for the L’Art Pour L’Art Silent Auction for the Huntington Arts Council

The proceeds support the exhibition programs of the Arts Council’s two galleries. Some of the wonderful raffle items are: a pair of subscription tickets for the Long Island Philharmonic; gift certificates for Besito, Honu, RED Restaurant and others; and theater and movie passes.

The gallery will be open for the duration of the auction Friday evenings until 8 p.m. and from 1 to 5 p.m. on the first three Saturdays of November. A “Rockin’ Sock Puppet Making Workshop” is on tap for kids ages 5 to 11 on Saturday, November 14 from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Then on November 21 at 2 p.m., some of the donating artists will be at the gallery to talk about their work.

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Great Cow Harbor Day is celebrated each year in the picturesque town of Northport, Long Island, NY.

The parade begins at noon on Sunday, September 27, 2009 and the day of festivities continues through 5pm.

I have just received my booth assignment.

Find me at Booth # 8 in the same location as last year, on the path closest to the harbor. That’s easy.

My booth will be located in the same position as last year’s Great Cow Harbor Day overlooking the harbor.

I will be showing and selling my Botanical Fine Art Digital Paintings. My Art is inspired by my gardens, so drop by and talk to me about your gardens and all the success you’ve had this year since we had so much rain.

Stroll along the beautiful Northport Harbor and enjoy the full day of family fun activities

I found this explanation of Cow Harbor Day in Wikipedia:

Cow Harbor Day is an annual festival celebrating the history of the village of Northport, New York, which was once known as Great Cow Harbor. It is held annually on the Sunday of the third full weekend in September, always following the Great Cow Harbor 10K held on the Saturday before.

Cow Harbor Day draws thousand of visitors to Northport each September. Events kick off with a parade down Main Street, featuring floats, the areas best high school marching bands, antique cars and a temporary resurrection of the trolley that was once commonplace along this route. Bovine related costumes and floats are also a common theme. Celebrations are held at Northport Memorial Park at the harbor’s edge with live music, boat races, and other attractions. For the past two years, the parade has been led by the US Coast Guard and Coast Guard Auxiliary Band from the local Ft. Salonga, NY Flotilla. Each year an appearance is made by the Regimental Band of the United States Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY and Northport High School Marching Band and flag team.

Since 1977, there has also been a popular 10 kilometer footrace, the Great Cow Harbor 10K, which always takes place the day before Cow Harbor Day. The New York Road Runners Club considers the race an important run-up to the annual New York City Marathon, and practicing runners can be seen charging up the local hills starting in August.

As a side note, my husband Dave is running in the Great Cow Harbor 10K the day before the show. I sure hope he’s recovered enough to help me set up the booth!

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The historic use of limiting editions of prints was during a time when prints were made from art carved or drawn onto stone, wood or other surfaces that degraded with use. As more impressions were made the surface wore out and the image became less crisp. Limiting the quantity of the printing run helped to control the quality of the print and of course the value.

Digital printing does not suffer from this problem since there is no degradation in resolution, or crispness, from one print to the next. In fact, what can happen as technology evolves and equipment gets better and faster, later prints may be of higher quality then original prints made years earlier in the cycle.

New Technology Offers New Forms of Creativity

So how do I offer my customers a solution to their desire for a unique piece of my Art rather then the Open Edition pieces I generally offer?

Custom Art Work Created Just For You

Custom Editions brings my customers into a collaborative effort in the artistic process of helping me to create a unique Art Work specific for their home or office design ideas.

Here’s how:

You select a piece of Art from my array of Standard Digital or Traditional Paintings.

1. I can print your selection on different surfaces like Fine Arts Paper or Canvas.
2. I can put different finishes on each canvas print, i.e. Matte, Semi-Gloss or Gloss.
3. My standard work is designed in a 3×4 aspect ratio, i.e. the height to width relationship. I can customize the composition to fulfill specific sizing.
4. I can print at any size that would work for the space you have in mind. Super-size up to 64 inches and mini-sizes for grouping.
5. I can customize the colors, most particularly, the backgrounds, to suit your design ideas.
6. I can combine traditional paint with your digital print to make a truly one-of-a-kind Art Work.
7. I can customize framing or do away with framing altogether using the Gallery Wrapped canvas style.

If you can think of it I can probably do it.

Let’s get started on your Custom Editions collaboration. Visit my website for additional information.

Call me, Mary Ahern at 631-757-9459

Or email me at mary@MaryAhernArtist.com

Let’s make Art together!

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I’ve just created a series of digital paintings of a Krinkled White Peony that was blooming in my garden this past June.

For my inspiration I chose an herbaceous white single peony that was introduced into cultivation in 1928. The plant grows to about 3 feet tall and wide. This year with all the rain it grew so very tall that I had to add a peony cage to one of them since it was so heavy due to the huge amount of flowers that it produced.

A single white “Krinkled Peony” which grew in my garden this June.

The petals are so delicate they remind me of crepe paper that I used to use when I made my paper flowers as a child. The golden yellow stamens add a dramatic accent.

One of the very rare sunny spots in my garden hosts the peonies.

I’ve been tending this plant for over a decade and a few years ago moved it from a rather shady location where it bloomed each year but didn’t flourish. Though most of my garden is in some percentage of shade I decided to divide and transplant this perennial into the sunniest part of my garden. Since then it has more than tripled the amount of flowers it produces.

In this series of work I’ve decided to augment the dramatic simplicity of the single peony with different colored backgrounds. Each of these pieces will work individually but they also work as a group.

Single White Peony series of digital paintings.

As with many of my other works, I offer these digital paintings in a variety of sizes and framing treatments. These Fine Art works are available on Fine Art paper and also on UV treated canvas either framed or gallery wrapped.

If a specific design plan comes to mind, I can also customize the color backgrounds to suit the creative intent.

I will be showing these Art Works for the first time at the Northport Art in the Park, Saturday, July 25, 2009 from noon until 5pm.

Hope you can stop by the show and say hello. If you can’t and you would like to find out more about my work, you can contact me on Facebook, Twitter, my website MaryAhernArtist.com and here on my blog by posting a comment.

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Join us this Saturday, July 25, 2009 for another exciting event in the picturesque Village of Northport, NY. This multi-disciplinary annual event will be held in the Village Park surrounded by the lush tableau of water, boats, trees, playgrounds and the old time Village feel of another, calmer and genteel era.

There will be music, dance, poetry and of course, near and dear to my heart, Fine Artists and Artisans.

I will be showing my Digital Paintings with a few additional surprises!

Mary Ahern Artist booth in The Northport Art in the Park annual event

Come to see these exciting events and enjoy a visual feast of The Arts.

Location: Northport Village Park
When: Saturday, July 25, 20009
Time: 10:00AM – 5:00PM

For additional information visit: The Northport Arts Coalition website.

I am trying to register my “Mary Ahern Artist” username on my Facebook business page but the rules say I need to have 100 fans in order to accomplish this goal. Please visit my FB business page and if you will, please register as a fan of the page.

You can click on the Facebook link at the left hand column of this blog to get to my Page.

Thanks for your assistance.

…mary

Garden Tour, Sunday June 14, 2009 from Noon until 4 pm.

(Copy of Newsletter sent to my emailing list.)

Newsletter Highlights:

Art, Blogging, Facebook and a Garden Tour

Bridge over the dry stream bed

I am really excited about the upcoming Garden Tour sponsored by the Northport Historical Society this coming Sunday, June 14, 2009 from Noon until 4 pm.

I am doing a comprehensive redesign of much of my garden this year and I’m really looking forward to showing and talking about this work-in-progress. I’ve been gardening on this little piece of ground for twenty years and I finally bit the bullet to tackle some real challenging gardening issues that develop as a garden ages.

Since my garden is such an integral part of my life as an Artist, this redesign and rethinking plays itself out over many of my artistic endeavors.

To see my garden and the other six magnificent gardens on this Tour please visit the Northport Historical Society home page to get your tickets, tour guide and map.

Social Networking

Stand out in a crowd

I have joined the millions of people who have embraced Facebook as a means of staying connected with friends from the past, present and future. As an Artist and a Garden Designer, I enjoy showing my Garden and my Art. If I don’t share it in words and pictures with the many friends I have from afar, I will only have me as an audience. All that beauty just for my eyes? Far too selfish for my taste. So please visit me either on Facebook and/or on my Blogs.

For my Blog enthusiasts I’m made some changes.

Since I found that different folks enjoy different subjects, I’ve split my Blog into 2 different entities.

For those who enjoy reading about Art I have this blog.

Art Naturally – Musings of My Life as an Artist.

This Blog talks about Art Shows, Influences, Reviews, New Work, Education and more.

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For my http://www.northporthistorical.org friends I have

The Garden-Artist – My Garden, My Art, Where Passions Merge.

http://maryahernartist.com/garden-blog

My Garden Blog shows where I grow the inspiration for my Art.

It also follows in words and photos the Garden Design projects I’ve created and worked on in the Garden I’ve enjoyed for the last 20 years.

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I hope to see you in my garden or if you can’t visit, I hope to share with you online.
Keep smiling!
…mary

Mary Ahern with her Digital Mixed Media Paintings

As an added bonus I will be showing some of my Digital and Traditional Mixed Media Paintings during the Garden Tour. Orders may be placed for pick-up after the Garden Tour ends at 4PM.

If you’d like to call to ask me questions about my work or would like to place an order for pick up please email me with your name and phone #.

The North Shoreian has just published their April Home and Garden issue with my “Single Yellow Daffodil” on the front cover.
A delightful article about my work is featured inside this publication which is a magazine covering the North Shore (of Long Island) Arts, Culture & Politics.

The Column is called  “The Creatives”

Mary Ahern: Capturing a Moment in Art

by Shaughnessy Anne McKenna Dusling

If you’d like to read the whole article please click here and visit the Press section of my website.

If you’d like to see an online version of The North Shoreian  magazine please click here.

The North Shoreian.  April 2009 Home & Garden Issue

This is an exerpt of the article:

Classically trained painter, and Northport native, Mary Ahern, has spent the past twenty-five years studying and mastering digital painting and design. Mary’s interest in digital painting was stimulated when she was working for a company that created graphic technology for use in the television and production industry. Beginning as a salesperson in the early 1980’s, Mary began learning about the newest advances in this medium. As technology progressed, these high-tech digital systems became a practical expense for the small business owner and were readily available. In the early 1990’s, Mary invested in her own system and created her own graphic design company, Online Design. Her company was 100% digital which was unique at a time when paste-ups and mechanicals were still the norm in graphics.

Champagne Poppies on a Brown Background

In addition to graphic design, Mary has combined her interests and talent in painting to create her own style and method of art. Her digital paintings are created by using the computer as her medium. Mary trades in her paintbrushes and paints for a pressure sensitive stylus and graphic tablet…
Mary’s abilities as an artist are not limited to digital painting. As a traditional painter, Mary is very talented. Mary mixes mediums, such as watercolor, oil paints, pastels, colored pencils and graphite, to create her works of art. She has been doing traditional painting and drawing for over thirty years and her work reflects many hours of time and commitment to the art.
In addition to art, Mary is very devoted to growing a private garden. She spends many hours cultivating the soil, planting, pruning and nurturing her flowers. Not surprisingly either, she adds a degree in Ornamental Horticulture to her already impressive resume.

The Artist Mary Ahern with some of her Digital Paintings

Finding something that inspires is one of the most important steps for Mary as an artist. Mary states, “It is very important that I really like the subject that I choose because I spend so much time with it…

Mary’s clear dedication to her garden transpires into her devotion to her art. On Mary’s impressive and self designed website, you can visit her two blogs. One is devoted to art in general, touching on her visits to various locations, book reviews and her journey as an artist. Mary also has a blog devoted to gardening, in which she posts photographs of her beautiful plants as they grow and transform, and even shows the plants alongside her art that she has created in homage to the specific bloom…

If you would like to learn more about North Shoreian Artist Mary Ahern, her garden, her masterpieces or to purchase her work, visit her website: http://www.MaryAhernArtist.com

The Art League of Long Island has a show titled, “Double Take” from January 10 through February 1, 2009 in Huntington Township, NY.

I was pleased to join an international group of digital artists at the inaugural exhibition of the brick-and-mortar physical gallery at MOCA, the Museum of Computer Art, in Brooklyn NY. The show was on display at this new and wonderful space located in Park Slope from Sept 2 – Sept 18, 2008 with a reception on Sept 6th from 4-6pm.

Don Archer & Mary Ahern at the inaugural exhibition of the MOCA:Museum of Computer Art

MOCA was established in 1993 by computer artists Don Archer and Bob Dodson to promote digital art in its various forms and manifestations, including 3-D rendered art, fractals, enhanced photography, animation, mixed media, computer-painted and -drawn art, etc. Many talented artists have given them access to their work, and what you see in their archives and current exhibit are some of the best work that they have solicited. Some of it may be of technical or historical interest, some of it may be innovative and unusual, and some of it may have potential (dare we say it) as high art.

As an online museum, MOCA is host to hundreds of world-class digital artists and thousands of their images, all available for viewing online. It is one of the most heavily-trafficked, comprehensive, frequently-updated and respected computer art museums on the Web. It tries to keep abreast of the latest and best in digital art. Both beginning and advanced artists frequently visit the site, if only to see what the competition is doing.

Visit the MOCA Virtual Museum at: http://moca.virtual.museum and take a look at what’s new in the world of Digital Art.