Danielle J. Scott - Artist

If you have seen many of my drawings, you know how much I love circles! So, as I looked for a fresh new home for my art in the downtown Indianapolis area, it seems meant to be—in more ways than one—that I ended up at the Full Circle Nine Gallery (FC9). I can’t think of a more appropriate name for the home for my art.

Installation Day at FC9, with my long-time friend Jim Kirk and his wife Kate.

The FC9 gallery, on the southside of downtown Indianapolis inside the Circle City Industrial Complex (CCIC), is home to more than twenty wonderful artists. I've had the pleasure of exhibiting with many of them in the past, such as Joy Hernandez, Dan Haynes, Jim Kirk, among others. Because of these great artists, it really does bring a comfort to know I'm in such good company--like coming home among great friends. 

 

The past few years, the FC9 artists have worked hard to transform their slice of the CCIC into an awesome gallery that highlights the unique and creative works that hang on the walls while maintaining the cool industrial flavor of the building. The gallery has a clean, yet artsy, look and flow to best highlights the creative works of each artist from our diverse collective.

 

The CCIC building was erected in the 1920s and was originally home to the Schwitzer Corporation, a major auto industry force during the post-World War I era. Spanning more than a half a million square feet, the CCIC is home to a diverse group of tenants including artists, makers, small businesses, and more. In addition to art, the CCIC is home to many businesses and organizations, including a distillery, a brewery and an ice cream shop. Check out the CCIC website for its ever-growing list of tenants. 

 

The CCIC is also just around the corner from Mass Ave., another artsy area of town with many great places to eat. When you plan your day or night out, you will have no worries about not finding parking, food or fun in the area.

 

You may visit the FC9 during open gallery hours, Saturdays and Sundays, noon to 4 p.m., as well as the first Friday of each month from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The gallery is located at 1125 Brookside Avenue, Suite B23 in Indianapolis. Free parking is across the street from the building and directional signs are posted during open gallery hours. If you plan to make the drive, call or message me and I will do my best to be there, too.

 

With the recent growth at the CCIC, more than 50 artists have studio and/or gallery space inside of the CCIC. This makes the CCIC home to the largest number of permanent artists you can see in one place in the state of Indiana. How exciting is that?

 

I am working on a few new pieces at the moment and am looking forward to expanding my involvement in the gallery. In June, my art will be featured for First Friday, so watch for more information to be posted here and on my social media pages.

Posing with my art, April 2019 First Friday at Full Circle Nine Gallery.
 

April was my first First Friday at FC9. Not knowing what to expect, I was pleasantly surprised at the steady crowd of visitors that made their way during exhibition. Many of the artists were on hand to discuss their art with visitors to the gallery. The ambiance is very exciting. I am looking forward to many more First Fridays at FC9 and I hope to see you there!

 

 

Important Links: 

Full Circle Nine Facebook

Full Circle Nine Website

Circle City Industrial Complex Website

Final Fling for Black, White & Spring!

 

You have been meaning to get there, but haven't made it yet.

      The weather has stunk...It's been cold.

           You've been busy...You had to spring clean.

                 But all that is done, warm weather is here...no more hibernating.

 

Now is the time to get outside and head down to the Speedway Centre for the Arts for the final weekend of my exhibit, Black, White & Spring, Nature Inspired Art!

 

Through Sunday, April 29, noon to 6 p.m., each day, is your final chance to see the complete collection of 30 original fine art drawings together in one location. In addition to the drawings, many fine art prints in several sizes, and card sets, are available from $10 and up.

 

This has been a great month at the gallery so far with several originals being sold. Once the show closes, sold pieces will be gone from my collection forever and may only available as a limited edition high end print or other reproduction item.

 

The Speedway Centre for the Arts is located at 1340 Main Street, Speedway, IN, 46224. Speedway is just a short drive west of downtown Indianapolis and the gallery is walking distance from several fun establishments such as Barbecue and Bourbon, Dawson's on Main, Big Woods Pizza, the A.J. Foyt Wine Vault and more. Free, and no-hassle parking. Why not come on down to Main Street and make a day of it?

 

 

YOUR PHOTOS ON A CATAGLOG OF PRODUCTS

Have you ever wanted to see a photo of your pet, your favorite tree or a beloved family member hanging on your wall or on a blanket, clock, cell phone case or notebook?

 

I don't just put my own art on products for sale...I can put any photograph on the items in the catalog of 150+ items including prints, cards, art boards, calendars, stickers, apparel, pillows, clocks, wall tapestries, bags, phone cases and laptop sleeves, mugs, pencil cases, journals and notebooks. See the posting below for a list of products and prices.

 

The prices shown are for taking your photo and doing the basic editing to be able to upload it to my product site. Once it is ready, I will send you a link to preview your product(s). Then you will be able to purchase it directly from the site at your convenience. Please note that if extensive editing or redesign work is necessary, an hourly rate may be added to your final price.

 

In the two photos below, you can easily see how you can take one photograph and make it work for multiple products. Note that while some photos and drawings can work on all items, most do not because of vertical and/or horizonal orientation. Please keep this in mind when selecting your photo and item(s). In some cases, I can outline a pets head and/or isolate an item for a repeat pattern. This method works well for use on many different products, especially clothing.

PERSONALIZED DRAWING OF YOUR PHOTOGRAPH

Upon request, I can make a black and white drawing, color drawing, or a watercolor painting of your photograph. Prices for this service vary depending upon the detail, size, and time required to complete your specific request. Once your artwork is completed, it can then be uploaded to the website for placement on any and/or all appropriate items in the product catalog.

 

PRODUCTS WITH PRICES
For specific descriptions of each item listed, visit my Redbubble website. Prices do not include cost for shipping, which will be base upon your location and calculated upon checkout.

 

I am very excited to help you personalize any of these products. Please email your photos, your questions or special requests.

 

Thank you,

 

Nature Inspired Art 

What does nature mean? According to the dictionary, nature is the physical world and everything in it (such as plants, trees, oceans, stars, etc.) that is not made by people.

 

My hope is through my art, you discover the many shapes and forms, both real and abstract, nature so amazingly takes. Though your eye may initially be drawn to one of the instantly recognizable features, like a tree or flowers, an elusive concept or the many hidden forms interwoven among the intricate details of my drawings will captivate your attention.

 

I invite you to joing me at the first in person Open House I have had for my art in almost three years. While I have had a few small multi-artist shows and sold artwork here and there, I am very excited to be the feature artist in the gallery and have numerous piece of my work on display. Even more exciting, I have seven new pieces framed just for this show!

Tree of Eden, Ink Drawing, Copyright 2018 Danielle J. Scott

 

I chose this drawing, Tree of Eden, as the centerpiece for my exhibit. I even scanned the drawing so I could enlarge and adjust it so that it would work for me to turn the concept of the original ink drawing into a mixed media piece. I am very please with how that piece turned out.

 

Tree of Eden/Color, Mixed Media, Copyright 2018 Danielle J. Scott

 

I was so happy with how it turned out, I then scanned the colored pencil/watercolor version into Photoshop where I added a background to it.. It's just been a week and I am excited that I have already sold reproductions of this version and am just waiting for my current phone to break to put this piece on my own new phone case as my sample art. 

Tree of Eden/Color II, Mixed Media, Copyright 2018 Danielle J. Scott

OPEN HOUSE DETAILS:

The open house is Friday, March 30 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Speeway Centre for the Arts gallery at 1340 Main Street, Speedway, IN. Free, kid-friendly and open to the public.

 

After opening night, my art will remain on display for you to see through the end of April. You may visit during open gallery hours, Wednesday through Sunday, noon – 6 p.m. (or message me) or call 317-654-7323 during gallery hours to request a personal appointment.

 

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Speedway Centre for the Arts is located at 1340 Main Street, Speedway, IN. Nestled in the heart of Speedway, you will find Main Street and the area just around the gallery has suddenly sprouted into a great family- and/or date-night destination hotspot--and it's just minutes west of Indianapolis. Go-karting, a winery, breweries and several great restaurants are all walking distance from the SCFA gallery--it's big city flare with small town charm.

My art has found another new home!

 

I am very excited for a former business colleague of mine, Becky Banks, who I knew from back in a different lifetime when I wasn’t working full-time as an artist. On October 2, she officially opened Turning Over a New Leaf, a full service florist and gifts shop, in Gas City, Indiana.

 

Installing the sign is an exciting step for a new company

Through maintaining our relationship on social media, Becky has seen my career grow as an artist. Over the summer, she contacted me to inquire about selling my art in her new shop when it opened. I was flattered that she thought of me, and I am now thrilled to be a part of her new creative venture.

 

The moment you walk into A New Leaf, you can tell Becky and her family put many hours of hard work and love into renovating the historic building. The beautifully restored original hardwood pine floors are a perfect complement to rest of the interior design and inventory, which includes artisan gifts and fresh flowers and plants. Artwork is spaced out nicely on the walls and neatly on displays along with flowers and other gifts for purchase. It almost feels like an art gallery than a gift shop.

 

My ink drawings on installation day at Turning Over A New Leaf, pre-opening. 

Currently, 17 of my original works are for sale in the gift shop, including ink drawings, watercolors and colored pencil designs, as well as prints of my work in card versions. In addition, this is the last place you can pick up remaining copies of the first edition of my coloring book Fabulous Flowers and Trees (less than 12 at last count).

 

I am very proud of Becky for taking the leap into running her own business. I hope you will join me in wishing her every success. If you are in or near Gas City, Ind., are, plan to stop by A New Leaf soon!

 

 

Turning Over a New Leaf

Full-Service Florist and Gifts

313 West Main St., Gas City, IN 46933

Ph: 765-573-3366

www.anewleafflowersgifts.com

 

They say, “When it rains, it pours.” Just recently, opportunity has been calling for me to get my art out in public venues once again. The crazy thing is that these opportunities seem to be coming to fruition all at once.

 

In addition, this has been one busy week for my art business. I say business because, well, because the business side of art can seem like a lot of work to an artist. Especially when it seems you are super busy and you are doing a million things for your art, except creating art. However, the positive side of the coin is that I can feel my art business growing. As I mentioned in my last blog, for the big picture, it is all about balancing the business with creating and marketing myself.

 

Back to discussing the opportunities where you can now see my art…

 

Sometimes you have to find the right art, which can be sold for the right price point when deciding where you will sell your art. So I made the decision to change out the inventory that I have at the Wabash Brewery. I have five pieces on display there, including some of my watercolor designs!

 

     Wabash Brewing Taproom & Brewery

     5328 W. 79th St., Indianapolis, IN  46268 

     W: http://www.wabashbrew.com

     FB: https://www.facebook.com/wabashbrewingllc/

     T: @wabashbrewing

 

A former business colleague (we didn’t work in art together, so this was a surprise!) contacted me to let me know she was opening a flower and gift shop. She had admired my work on social media and wants to have my work in her new store. After learning more about the opportunity, I was very excited to be a part of this opportunity. I have taken some inventory to her store and will post more information about this cute gift shop when she is ready to announce her grand opening. When the venue opens, you will be able to see 16 of my ink drawings and several of my watercolor and colored pencils original designs.

 

About a month ago, the Speedway Centre for the Arts (SCA) put out a call for artists. For the last several months I have been wavering as to whether or not I wanted to go back into a gallery in or near Indianapolis. There are some great art communities in Indianapolis, co-ops, galleries, working studios, etc. I weighed the pros and cons of many. The ones I really liked either had really high price tags, a long wait list for space or were too far for me to drive on a regular basis. Speedway seemed like a perfect fit. The space is a nice building in an area that has seen revitalization in recent years. I spent the majority of my childhood a couple of miles away from downtown Speedway and the Indianapolis 500. This seemed like a perfect fit.

 

So, earlier this week I, and half a dozen other artists, went before the SCA board with my portfolio. I showed three pieces of my art. They asked me questions and let me ask them questions. It was nice to know they had a screening process. On Thursday, I found out I was accepted into the gallery and Friday I did my artist orientation.

 

I will officially begin my time as an artist at SCA in October with three original ink drawings on display. I will also have some of my coloring book sets for sale here. For more information about SCA, to learn about art classes, or to stop by the gallery:

 

     Speedway Centre for the Arts

     1340 Main St., Speedway, IN 46224

     P: 317.654.7323

     W: http://www.speedwayarts.org/

     FB: https://www.facebook.com/SpeedwayArts/

     T: @speedwayarts

     Email: speedwayarts@gmail.com

     Memberships: $30/year

 

I have accepted an invitation to participate in the Frankfort Community Public Library’s Friends Art Show 2016, “Seasons of Indiana” to support arts programming for children, adults and art exhibitions. The show will be on Friday, November 11 from 7:30 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. and the art will remain on display throughout that weekend. In addition to coloring book sets, cards and prints, I will have three original pieces on display.

 

     Frankfort Community Public Library

     208 W Clinton St, Frankfort, IN 46041

     W: http://myfcpl.org/

 

In addition to the above opportunities, I have registered for an online business class specifically targeted to the needs of artists. This class will take place in October. I have spent a lot of time creating over the years. I have a huge portfolio of work. It is time for me to work diligently on my business for a little bit. Not that I won’t spend time creating. It is just that I have to re-balance so that I can make sure I am able to market myself and ensure that my business is on a solid foundation and not set up for failure. 

 

With the new ventures in place, I am hopeful to see you in one of these venues in the near futures and hopefully your home will be a new home for one of my designs!

My Journey from Part-time to Full-time Artist

In 2009, I took a big leap in my art career and participated in a public art show for the first time. Prior to that, I drew. I painted. A lot. So much so, since I graduated high school in the late 80s, I had built up quite a portfolio of work without really thinking about ever doing anything with it. I ended up doing my first art show after a good friend convince me not to let my art continue to sit in my closet collecting dust anymore.

 

Thus began my career as an artist. After some initial momentum with a few shows, I put my art in a gallery in downtown Indianapolis. During this time, art was a part-time, on-and-off hobby that I tried to fit around my full-time day job. Then in 2011, I got married and moved an hour away from my full-time job and gallery. Something had to give, so I pulled out of the gallery, and most of my extra time was spent commuting with no time left for creating art.

 

In late 2014, I was fortunate enough to be able to quit my full-time job. My goal was to do art full-time. However, family obligations kept me from pursuing this goal. I did make time to create some art on occasion as well as begin the tedious process of organizing my portfolio and building a digital history of my work. Though I have come a long way, I still have a long way to go to meet all my goals in this area.

 

Create, Market and Manage to Build Your Art Business

"The world is filled with people who were given great natural gifts…yet never produce anything. And when that happens, the world soon ceases to care whether they are talented.”

                                            ~From Art and Fear by David Bayles and Ted Orland

 

This quote, one of my personal favorites, is true. You must be able to continually produce work to be a successful artist. However, the work is only one piece of the equation. You have to balance a variety of important activities as well. If you’re like me, creating art has never really been my problem. Over the years, even with a few long spans of creator’s block, I’ve built a portfolio of nearly 200 pieces of work. Yet, like many artists, I don’t focus like I should on marketing and business activities.

 

It can be difficult to find the right balance between creating art, marketing and business management. You have to invest time and money, stock your studio, and decide what and when to create your next piece of work. To market yourself, you have to be a relationship builder, book and promote events, and learn to leverage social media. As a business manager, you must track your inventory, maintain/update your website and contacts.

 

Getting Organized

Over the past couple of months, I am thankful I have been able to devote more and more time to my art and my art business. While creating a steady stream of work is a huge part of being an artist, I have had to take small steps back from making art so I could get a handle on the inventory I already have. Some of the things I’ve done (or am in process of doing) to help myself work smarter include:

• Creating a spreadsheet to track my artwork by name and other identifiers
• Organizing the art supplies in my home studio to make things easier to find
• Getting photographs and/or high resolution scans of every piece of my art
• (Finally) Building my own website
• Updating my information on my Redbubble and Fine Art America websites
• Joining local artist organizations, keep my information up-to-date on member rosters
• Finding constructive ways to network with artists (local, online)

 

The above graphic is a screen shot of a my art inventory spreadsheet. I have very specific columns for categories I want to track long-term. The highlighted fields give me an instant visual of which originals have sold and which pieces I have out in galleries or shows. I also have a second page in the file where I track expenses as well as sales, including any prints and other items with my art printed on it.

A Work in Progress

It has been a few months since I last created any work worth adding to my portfolio. This week, I decided it was about time to end this dry spell and get back to work. I was pretty happy with how it was coming along, and took a picture of the work in progress to post.

 

This is another page for my coloring book series and I since taking the photo, I have added quite a bit more detail to make it more fun to color. I will create a high resolution scan and write the description and other information for my spreadsheet soon, so look for the finished drawing in the Adult Coloring Gallery Page of my website.

 

"Spring Paradise", ink drawing for coloring book series, draft in progress

The Future is Now

So that brings me to today. I will always be creating art as much as I can. I have switched my focus so that I can have more of a balance with the marketing and business end of my art business. And I am very excited at the prospect of making connections with other artists who also want to be smart about building their art business.

 

Thank you for reading this. I hope you will check out my art while you are on my website and remember to check back often to join me in my journey as I grow as an artist.

What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.~William Shakespeare

 

Names are really important. Think about your name. Whether your parents followed tradition or came up with something totally new, the letters that come together to form your unique label are important because they identify you.

 

If you have a child like I do, you can relate to the struggle of finding that one perfect name that will stick with them the rest of their life. Will they like it? Will it fit their personality? Will kids make fun of them? What do their initials spell?

 

To be completely honest, I didn’t like my name much when I was younger. Danielle. No one else had my name. Girls were supposed to have names like Jennifer, Michelle, Christie or Amy; the common names at my school. As the third girl in my family, I was supposed to be a boy. Daniel. That was supposed to be my name. No matter how many times people told me how much they liked my name, I spent a lot of my childhood thinking my name was supposed to be a boy’s name. Thankfully, I grew into my name. Though, I still don’t let anyone call me Dani-cringe!

 

According to www.babycenter.com, the name Danielle hit a high of 14th most popular baby name for girls in 1987. If you are interested in searching popular names, top names over time, or getting ideas for baby names, this is a great website. My name is also now popular as a middle name.

 

You might ask what this name stuff has to do with art? Well, when it comes to my art, I Iove being able to personalize art for people. Since drawing actual people isn’t my thing, I would rather paint or draw letters and names, first names and/or last names, alone or put them into other art as a collage.

 

Looking through my collection of drawings the other day, I realized I should share some of these on my website. I love to create art into names and the ideas are endless--wall art, coloring pages, watercolor art, etc.

 

Below are some of the names I have drawn as gifts for friends or created on commission. At times, the point is to read the name clearly, other times, the name is a bit more abstract.

 

"Emily", pen and ink drawing.

 

"Scott", pen and ink drawing.

 

"Kyla", pen and ink drawing.

 

"John", pen and ink drawing.

 

I was approached to create a piece of art for a friend's grandson. She said she wanted it drawn in my art style, with color. The only parameters were that I include his name and I was told he loves vegetables and gardening, and she didn't want the art to look to babyish.  

 

"Colton", watercolor and ink mixed media.

 

I am glad I have grown into my own name. Especially since I have one niece named after my first name and one named after my middle name. I can’t run around saying I don’t like my name with two beautiful girls using it.

 

Letters and monograms are also fun to make as art. I shared The Letter 'E' in my previous blog. The Letter 'S', shown below, is hand drawn on a monogrammed greeting card and is available for sale.

 

"The Letter 'S'"

 

What name or letter would you like to see as a piece of art? I would love to create something special for you or someone you love!