collage

Another Art Contest Opportunity – My Entries

| marandarussell

In the past couple months I have actually entered art into 3 different art contests/exhibitions. I already shared the art I submitted to the contest I placed in last year, but thought I would share a few artworks I submitted for a brand new contest. This contest will be choosing a variety of artworks that will be exhibited in New York and Oregon, and will be used to produce derivative products based on the selected art. If my art is chosen, I will get a 25% royalty on all products sold with my design, plus whatever the art sells for at exhibit.

I tried to pick a variety of my recent artwork to submit. I decided to go with this cute wolf portrait:

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A nice abstract design:

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And something a little inspirational and personal:

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I hope they pick at least one of my pieces for their exhibits!

I Won 3rd Place in Another Art Contest!

| marandarussell

Maranda Russell, Untitled #1, 2.5 x 3.5

I got some great news yesterday! The above artwork won 3rd place in the “Finding Your Inner MozArt” art contest! I get $75 in prize money plus whatever the piece sells for, so not bad!

I think the best part for me personally though, is that the head judge is the Director Emeritis of the Museum of Contemporary Art San Diego! This is the first time I’ve had someone that important associated with a major art museum recognize and reward my artistic endeavors! I know we shouldn’t focus too much on important job titles and all that, since the art itself is most important, but it still rocks to be recognized officially like that!

I saw quite a bit of the competition works for the contest and they were very impressive, so I know winning 3rd place really is a big deal! Had I been a judge, I would have had a hard time deciding!

2 Vintage ACEO Artworks: Edgar Allan Poe and Victorian Shoes

| marandarussell

Here are a couple more vintage-themed ACEO artist trading cards. Both are mixed media pieces. The first one here features paper with an Edgar Allan Poe stamp in the background, so I had to feature that! I thought the scissors looked kind of cool with it too. Then I painted over it with oil pastel and watercolor.

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This second one was made with some victorian shoe stickers against a paper background of print and flowers. Lastly, I added a little random scribbling in black, white, and yellow gel pen if I remember right.

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Check out my art currently for sale on my Ebay store!

March 2019 OwlCrate Jr Subscription Box “Birds of a Feather”

| marandarussell

I got my first OwlCrate Jr subscription box! This book box is for middle grade books and each month a theme is chosen revolving around that month’s book. This month the theme was “Birds of a Feather” and the book is The Simple Art of Flying by Cory Leonardo. I chose OwlCrate Jr instead of the regular OwlCrate box because I thought I might enjoy the middle grade books better than the YA books. I do love YA books as well, but well-written middle grade fiction holds a special place in my heart.

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Here is what came in the box:
– The book (obviously lol)
– Author-signed bookplate
– Letter from the author
– OwlCrate Jr monthly magazine
– National Geographic’s Ultimate Explorer Bird Field Guide
– Pineapple scented tropical birds stickers
– Flamingo gel pen
– Mini owl plush toy
– Parrot keychain
– Spoiler card and card for next month’s theme (which will be “Crack the Code”)

I loved this first box and am excited to see what else they send in the future! I’m halfway through the book and love it so far. It is a sweet, sad, and funny story about a pair of brother and sister parrots living in a pet shop. Right now I just got to the part of the story where the siblings are split up when one is adopted and it is breaking my heart a little.

I love the bird field guide, the owl plushie, and the flamingo pen. Plus, I’ve already made a couple ACEO collage artworks with the stickers:

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(Art available for sale on my Ebay store!)