TAKE A DEEP BREATH!!! YOU DID IT!

Well 2009 proved to be a very successful year for Shannonjex.com.  As most of you blog-followers remember, my site (and blog) launched in January 2009.  Acceptance was immediate and expansion soon followed.  I think a big milestone for me was when I got my first client that was not a friend or a family member. What I mean, is that it was a random hire....not because he knew me...but because he actually liked my artwork. WHOA! It was a young man from Virginia that wanted me to draw something for his wife.  That was this summer and since then I can officially say I do more artwork for clients I have never met than for friends and family.  What a cool feeling.  I never thought I would here someone say "oh, you are Shannon Jex, I love your artwork"....but when it happened it felt better than I ever dreamed it would!!

So let me recap the last part of 2009 with a summation of artwork (since I have been too busy painting to blog).  I wish I had the time to write a story on every single piece but  I will share responses I got to receiving the artwork.  I don't have pictures of all of them but I will share what I did get!

1. 8x10" Barn Drawing for a client in New Orleans, LA.  Medium used: Prisma color on drawing paper with pen and ink for the address at the bottom.
   
2. 8x10" House Drawing for a client in New Orleans, LA.  Medium used: Prisma color on drawing paper with pen and ink for the address at the bottom.
   
   
3. Collage of images and quotes for a wall in my home. Took some of my favorite quotes and played with fonts and formats to create a focal wall in one of the guest bedrooms. (pictures to come)
4. 2- 24x24" canvas drawings with the words "Good Morning" and "Good Night" in 15 languages for a client in Houston, TX.  Medium Used: Acrylic Paint on canvas/cotton fabric.  The client made them into pillow shams for her guest room.
   
5. 8x10" House Drawing for a client in Stillwater, Minnesota.  Medium used: Prisma color on drawing paper with pen and ink for the address at the bottom. (Pictures to come)
6. 20x24" Painting of a baseball player for a client in Oxford, MS. Medium used: Acrylic on canvas. Clients response:  Just wanted to tell you thank you again for Rickeys painting. I will get some pics to you soon and all the details of how we gave it to him, etc.. he CRIED! just had tears in his eyes.. its hanging in the living room of our new precious little house and we LOVE it.
   
7. Painted cooler for a client in Caledonia, MS.  Theme was Ole Miss.  Top was painted with Colonel Reb and client's name and the sides had the Hotty Toddy chant. Medium used: Acrylic paint and a large rolling cooler.
8. Painted cooler for a client in Brandon, MS.  Theme was the clients name drawn in pipes running through large snow-capped mountains.  The client works on the pipeline in Alaska.  Medium used: Acrylic paint and a large rolling cooler.
9. Painted cooler for a client in Jackson, MS.  Theme was Ole Miss.  Top was painted with Colonel Reb and client's name and the sides had the Hotty Toddy chant. Medium used: Acrylic paint and a large rolling cooler.
10. Painting auctioned at a charity event for the WeeDream Foundation in Houston, TX
11. 20x24" Nursery Painting of Noah's Ark for a client in Vicksburg, MS.  Medium was pastel acrylic paint on canvas. (Pictures to come)
12. 12x30" Pet Portrait: Dachshund for a special client in Houston, TX.  Medium was acrylic paint on canvas.
    
13. 24x30" Painting: Campbell's Soup Themed for a special client in Houston, TX.  Medium was acrylic paint on canvas.                                                         
    
14. 24x48" Monochromatic painting of Johnny Cash for a special client in Hubert, North Carolina. Medium was acrylic paint on canvas. (see client response in #15)
    
15. 24x48" Monochromatic painting of Waylon Jennings for a special client in Hubert, North Carolina.  Medium was acrylic paint on canvas.  Client Response:  I have to describe this one myself since it was very special to me.  A special person in my brother's life ordered a painting of Johnny Cash as a Christmas gift for him and I gave him Waylon Jennings.  I was busting at the seams with anticipation as I waited for Christmas Eve Eve to get here when she was giving him the first painting.  Right before we open gifts I told Zach- "i just cannot wait until Christmas to give him mine..I have to do it now!"  So I ran upstairs to my secret painting hiding place and retrieved Waylon.  Cory opened Johnny first.  He just stood there staring.  Does he like it?  Is he happy?  How the heck can you tell what a marine is thinking??  Cory had one hand on his side and his other hand on his head.  He was speechless!! (desired reaction achieved!!) I could see in his eyes he was so happy at that very moment.  But I couldn't let the joy stop there...i signaled to Zach to bring in the other one as I said "hey Cory, Zach is getting something for you to hang that with" (Cory was thinking a screw or frame wire) Then came Waylon.  Same size, same monochromatic style...same reaction, speechless.  As I saw Cory's eyes well up with tears I lost it.  I am the emotional one and he is the marine so you can only imagine what a "top-of-the-world-cloud-nine" moment this was for me.  It ranks right up there with giving PaPa's painting to him last year.  It was the mast amazing response (from the entire family) that I have ever gotten from a piece.  It was a cherry on my already delicious "hot fudge sunday" moment when dad hugged me and say "Shay these are amazing.  You are an amazing artist...I cannot believe you did these".  If that is not the best moment of a daughter's life I am not sure what is! So we spent the rest of the weekend staring that those ginormous painting in the living room.  They were staring hopefully because they were in love and I was staring in total disbelief that I actually finished those in time for Christmas (with a whole day to spare!).
16. Painted Cowboy Boot for a special client in Holly Lake, TX.  Medium was acrylic paint on vintage Cowboy Boot.
    
17. Custom Pet Portrait Painting auctioned at a fundraising event for the Krewe of Phoenix in Natchez, MS
18. 21 Hand Painted glass ornaments for each of our Christmas dinner guests.  Each had our home hand painted on the front on their name on the back with "Christmas 2009, Natchez, MS" as a little memory from our wonderful Christmas. Guests loved them!
    
    
    
19. Painted the backdrops for a Mardi Gras ball in Natchez, MS.  Theme was Hot Vegas Night and I recreated 6 Vegas Hotels: The Bellagio, Paris, New York New York, Circus Circus, Caesar's Palace, and Planet Hollywood.  Mediums: acrylic paint, clue, boat-loads of glitter, and 4'x8' sheets of foam board. (Pictures to come)
20. Address 350 wedding invitations.
21. Apple for our new kitchen. Acrylic on canvas.
    

So I am taking the last half of the month of January off to pat myself on the back and say to myself...YOU DID IT!  I never thought I was going to make it but 11 of those pieces were ordered AND delivered in December.  I have to thank my loving and thoughtful husband who kept pushing me to "keep painting" in December and was so encouraging!  Poor guy spent a lot of time alone while I was up in the studio.  And also thanks to him, I will be partaking in an hour long massage next week.  Thanks babe...do you think it would be odd if I asked her to focus on relaxing the muscles in my right wrist?!? 

So 2009 was a HUGE success.  Now...take a deep breath, Shannon!! You did it!

Now on to 2010 and all the magical creativity it has in store!

Thanks for reading...and reading!

Cheers!

Shannon