ART update

Just a little Samm Wehman Art update of the growth and latest and greatest from me and my art business. What started off as a frustrating year has turned into one of the BEST I've had so far with me finding true success and self-worth and value as an artist. If you've been supporting me and my business' growth over the years, I appreciate your good energy more than you know! For those that are fellow artists, you absolutely know and can relate to the daily struggles and battles we all face as artists. Internal battles - such as wondering if our stuff is good enough to share with the world and physical struggles such as marketing, keeping a steady following that includes reoccurring and a constant flow of customers, and new opportunities for exposure are all constant priorities among the hustle and bustle of admin tasks to run a business and of course plenty of time to actually CREATE the material an art business is all about! I planted a seed a while ago - I dug it deep and nurtured it. A lot of its watering came from tears of frustration but it's finally grown and is starting to blossom.  Although I'm nowhere near famous, I'm finally basking in and enjoying the growth of all my hard work and efforts and the biggest goal of all - HAPPINESS - has been achieved and is here to stay. If you need some encouragement or inspiration, just know that you WILL get there with the right attitude, lots of initiative, creating creating creating!, and plenty of persistence. There's much more that goes into success than actually making the art, but the longer you're in it and the more dedicated you are to being a professional artist, you will get there. If YOU are confident about your work it will shine to the world.

Painting with a Pit

This year I have been able to totally expand and blossom with my Painting with a Pit fundraising efforts! So far we have done a total of NINE fundraiser to benefit local animal organizations, and have at least 3 more in the works in the coming months.

Painting, creating, and embracing the heat of summer

Around this time of year, art shows and festivals tend to come to a close for the summer for me. Here in Florida, outdoor events slow down as they are just starting to pick up everywhere else in the country. It's just too damn hot here.

two of my newest pieces - toucan and opossoms on repurposed fan blades

FAN BLADE QUEEN

My latest obsession....

Old fan blades.

Who would have thought.

Custom Pet Portrait Gifts for the Holidays!

Custom Pet Portraits for the Holidays!

For those who read my blog but don't know... my side hobby and business is putting my artistic skills to work to create commissioned pet portraits and animal artwork. For the holidays, my specialty is custom pet portraits on clam shells that are the perfect and unique gift, or addition to your tree! Ornaments are only $18 this holiday season, and can be picked up locally or shipped. To see more of my art and a full list of prices, check out my website :) If you're on Facebook, check out and like my page! You can also follow me on instagram @sammwehmanart. You can email me at Sammwehman@gmail.com to inquire about placing a custom order of any kind-- I also paint wine glasses, beer mugs and coffee cups, canvas and more! To see my pre-made items check out my upcoming art shows! You'll find my booth this weekend at the Gainesville Downtown Festival and Art Show, and on Dec 2-3 at the humongous UF Craft Show in the O'Connell Center on campus in Gainesville. Both are excellent events to check out for all your holiday shopping needs with HUNDREDS of artists present!

Last call for custom Mother's Day Orders

Hey all! As an artist, I offer customized services to fulfill your needs for hand painted pet portraits and animal artwork. I tend to get busy with orders around the holidays since custom gifts often make the best gifts! I'm going to be traveling for work starting the second week of May and will need any last minute orders to be placed by the end of this week for me to finish and get them to you in time for Mother's Day! At this time I will probably not be able to finish a large canvas in time but smaller portraits and gifts can still be ordered. I try to keep my prices as low as possible because I want to be able to offer personalized art that people will enjoy for a price they can afford.

Santa Fe College Spring Arts Fest

This past weekend I had my biggest art show yet, at the Santa Fe College Spring Arts Fest!

Free spider coloring book!

Calling all spider lovers! 

Bully Breed Coloring Book

I'm finally able to announce that the second edition of Color Me A Forever Home (an awesome series of coloring books promoting animal adoption and raising money for non-profit shelter & rescues) is finished!!

Color Me A Forever Home

Love to color? Myself and a bunch of talented artists have put together an incredible adult coloring book called "Color Me A Forever Home" which was created to promote adoption and to raise funds for animal shelters and rescues. The first edition, which was released 2 weeks ago, features 13 drawings of various artists who have contributed to help animals. The books include not only the gorgeous hand-drawn designs of dogs and cats but include information about all of the featured artists. The books are only $5 each, and the best part about them is that every single bit of the money is going right to shelters and rescues.

Custom Sharpie Mugs

Since I've been steering out of my comfort zone of acrylic painting and getting a little more into pen and ink drawings, I've been making more sharpie mugs as gifts and for ourselves. They're fast, fun, and totally useful.

Think ahead for holiday gifts!

It's that time of year that we are caught in the addiction of fall weather, Halloween decor and scary fun, and pumpkin everything and often forget that the holidays are right around the corner! Don't let them sneak up on you this year! If you're looking for the perfect holiday gift for that special someone who happens to be an animal lover, please consider my custom artwork as your avenue for gifting.

New Year's Raffle!

Would you like to win a custom hand-painted shell of YOUR pet or favorite animal?!

Enter the raffle for Samm Wehman Art! What all you have to do is go to my art's Facebook page and either get 10 friends to like it, or share a picture of a piece of Samm Wehman Artwork that you already have (preferably in a creative way  or with your painted pet!) Winner picked and announced tomorrow!

Doin' Business

I've slowed my art business down since moving to Florida and having a full time job working at the museum. However, as the holidays approach, I'm working on plenty of my own personal projects for holiday gifts, and also making some sales. I've gotten offers to sell my artwork at different businesses, such as Burgundy Square Cafe in Venice, FL, and a new Aquarium in St. Petersburg, FL that hasn't even opened yet! Back home in Cape May, various shops and small businesses sold my shells on consignment, but these new offers are not asking for any percentage of my sales, which is amazing. At the cafe, you can find prints of my artwork for sale in various sizes, and I will soon be working on custom shells for the Aquarium.

Although I'm not in any place to take the abundance of custom orders I have in the past, I am open to orders for small pet portraits and custom shell ornaments right now. Because of the interest in 2 of my popular paintings, the rainbow monarch and monarch elephant (pictured below), I'm offering a holiday special on 4x6" framed prints of them. Only $10! To purchase, check out my Etsy page.

Thanks to all my supporters out there who keep me doin' business :)

Multicolored Monarch Painting

You won't ever see this variation of Danaus plexippus in real life, but I have been envisioning this painting now for a while and finally finished! It's acrylics on a recycled 29"x39" canvas.

DIY Wedding Party Gifts

I finally want to share some of the gifts I made for my wedding party. Not going to lie.. it took me months to complete everything since it was all done by hand, especially because we had a larger wedding party.. but it was SO worth it to make personalized gifts filled with love and thought instead of something generic that was store-bought. In addition to these, I put a bunch of fun little accessories and memorabilia in my girls' tote bags to accompany them on the big day.

Piping plover mural

So I haven't done many murals before, but when my good friend and one of my former "bosses" from my job at a biologist for NJ Division of Fish & Wildlife last year asked me to do a mural on her brand spankin' new office wall with piping plovers on it... I couldn't resist.

Some recent pet portraits

Some of the more recent commissioned pet portraits I have done, all acrylics on canvas. If interested in your own pet portrait please email me @ sammwehman@gmail.com. I am getting married in 3 months and have lots of wedding planning and DIY to do, so I am taking orders for small canvas sizes only at this time.

"Daisy"

"Maya, Dexter & Max"

"Faith & Chelsea"

"Jake, Jack & Tabby"
(For a Winnie-the-Pooh fanatic)

V-day Sharpie Dish

Here's a fun craft for Valentine's Day or a nice gift for any occasion. A pinterest favorite, this craft has been all over the internet. Usually one to veer away from fads and trends though I had to try it for myself. It's basically decorationing a ceramic item with sharpie markers, and making the design adhere permanently by baking it in an oven. Here is the dish (I saw it in a shop in town) that was my inspiration.