A wonderful winter storm came blowing through the Pacific Northwest this past month. I do not know about you, but to me snow is magical--probably because we don't get it very often. Everything is so clean and peaceful after a snowfall.
In this newsletter, I will share how I met an incredible artist in Nigeria and formed a friendship over our mutual love of art. I then explore the question of how I described snow to someone who has never seen it in my latest chapters of Rebby the Gallant and how I did it in real life. Next, things are taking an adorable turn in the Land of Dragons, where new characters are being created--and painted. Finally, I will show you some of my newest new Easter-themed (or Bunny-themed) art greeting cards.
This photo of me and Clyde, taken by the amazing Victoria Blachly was recently recreated into this incredible graphite drawing by artist David Praise of Nigeria.
Forging International Relations over Art in a social media world.
About two and one-half years ago, I joined Facebook and Instagram to market my book, Ebby the Magnificent. I resisted having a social media presence for 20 years, but finally caved at the recommendation--dare I say insistence--of every single writers' group, author, and marketing expert. To say I dreaded the thought of putting myself out there in the world is an understatement. From the start, I resolved to share only objectively positive content. I channeled Ebby into my online persona and let her dictate what I did. Staying out of the fray has been rewarding. I have avoided being trolled, and have yet to start a single fight. Quite the opposite has occurred. I have met the most amazing people, many who are now my actual (as opposed to virtual) friends.
I do not pretend to understand Facebook's algorithms, but once in a while I have gotten a new post in my feed that sparks my curiosity. One such post came from a 22-year-old Nigerian artist who goes by David Praise or David Praise Art. David posted pictures of his graphite drawings that were so realistic they could be mistaken for a black-and-white photo. We started commenting on each other's posts. Soon, we started chatting online. I sent him pictures of my travels in Croatia and other places he had never been. The one thing that struck me about David was the kindness, respect, and courtesy he showed me in every communication.
Let me clear the air right now, before your minds take you places I don't want them to go. Nigeria, and Nigerian "princes" have been the subject of many scams and the butt of many jokes. I am fully aware of that. I also have an extra big place in my heart for the people of Africa because my mother and her family were born there and I know many wonderful Africans. About 224 million live people in Nigeria. Treating every one of them as a scammer is unfair to the 223.75 million Nigerians who work hard every day to support themselves and their families. Imagine if we were all treated like (fill in the blank with any stereotype you would hate to be lumped in with).
Back to David. We discussed art and the difficulty of finding buyers for his artwork. The average Nigerian makes about $350.00/month (yes, a MONTH)--most people there do not have a lot of spare change to buy art. Being from a smallish town in Nigeria located far from the main economic hubs, with frequent blackouts make it 1000 times harder for David to sell his art than the typical artist in the US or Europe. In December, out of the blue, David started working on a graphite portrait of me, using my Facebook profile picture as his reference. By the time he was halfway done with it, I told him I wanted to buy it. We agreed on a price, which included postage, because the cost of shipping from Nigeria is in US dollars, and it is not cheap. When he finished it, after making sure I was 100% satisfied with it, the next issue was figuring out how to send him the money securely. Turns out, that was easy. I used a money transfer app called Wise to send him half of the money up front. We agreed I would send him the other half when I received the portrait. This is where our mutual trust and hope in the goodness of others came into play. Two weeks later, the portrait showed up at my door.
We had a video call when I opened the package so we could "meet" for the first time and he could see my reaction to receiving his artwork. It was heartwarming. I can still get tears of joy thinking about seeing him and meeting his parents and sister. It was also fun getting to see his reaction when I sent the second half of the payment (with a little extra). If you would like to watch a short video of me opening the package and talking to David, click here.
If any of you are interested in having David do a portrait of you or someone you love, please let me know and I will put you in touch and help you with the details. He is currently working on his examinations to get a Masters in Public Health and the money he receives for his amazing art will got to help support his education and his family. And if you are on Facebook or Instagram, please check out his pages and follow him.
How do you describe snow to someone who has never seen or felt it?
I recently completed writing several chapters in my new book, Rebby the Gallant, Tails of an Elusive Baby Bunny, which take place on the top of the highest mountain in the Land of Dragons. I remember when my aunt Celina first came to the US from Tanzania. We lived in Colorado and took her to the top of Mt. Estes where there was snow year round. She was so surprised to touch it and find out how cold it was. This got me thinking. How do you explain snow to someone who has never experienced it?
Rebby's father tries to explain the concept of snow to him. This is an excerpt from my book, starting with Rebby asking his dad what snow is:
“What is snow?”
“Little pieces of clouds that fall from the sky when it gets cold.”
“Does it hurt if it hits you?”
“No. The pieces are so small you can’t feel them when they land.”
“What happens when the snow comes?”
“All the flowers die and the grass gets covered with snow flakes."
Not very informative, is it? It's solid, it melts, every snowflake is different, etc.
I got some actual practice trying to explain snow to David. It snowed in Vancouver a few days after I received my portrait from him. I thought it would be fun to have a video call with him in Nigeria and show him snow falling from the sky. John and I showed him how you can make snowballs, threw a couple around, and showed what the flakes looked like when they landed on our plants. He watched in surprise as I ate some. It's dry, it's wet, it's soft, it's hard. Wow! That's a lot to wrap your head around!
There's something soft, fluffy, and fully of love coming in Rebby the Gallant.
I just finished painting this adorable Bernese Mountain puppy. He is a character in my new book and I am so happy with how he turned out! His role is not big, but one of the best things about being the author AND illustrator of my own books, is that I get to decide what I want to paint and how many illustrations I want to put in my book. This second book will be every bit as beautiful and unique as Ebby the Magnificent.
As always, when painting an animal, I started with his eyes first. If you can nail the eyes, everything else seems to fall into place. I posted a series of time lapse videos on my Facebook and Instagram pages. If you aren't on either of those, you can watch a 30 second video of me painting him here.
I have also made brand new art greeting cards featuring this cute little guy. I personally make each card and I sell them on my website, or in person, for just $5.00 each. Check out my website or reach out to me if you would like to order some. Don't forget Easter is around the corner and I'll be heading back to the Land of Stones soon, so get your orders in.
Art Greeting Cards are the perfect way to share your love of Art.
These are some of the over 60 paintings I have done that are now available as art greeting cards or as Giclee prints. These two bunny cards at the end are perfect for Easter or for the bunny lover in your life.
These are two of the most popular in the John J. Collection. Created by my sweet husband, these are perfect for every occasion.
Shown here are the newly improved "Ebby the Magnificent" Card Collection and the "Sunset" Collection, two of the new sets of cards available now at my online store www.jwjulian.com.
Now there's even more in "store" for you!
I am so pleased to introduce you to my new handmade art greeting cards. I have switched from the dark craft paper cardstock to a new cream colored cardstock and added more colorful rhinestones to each card. The cream background really makes the pictures POP. With over 60 original paintings to choose from, and 8 different card sets, picking your new favorite has just gotten more fun! The cards are blank inside, making them perfect for any occasion.
You will also find more Giclee prints, available in 11 x 14" prints or you can custom order the size you want.
Additionally, all hand embellished canvas prints in stock are on sale for 50% off while they last!
Don't see your favorite paintings (including my most recent ones) in a card or print on the website or you would like to create your own card set? No problem! Just contact me and tell me what you want and I will make it especially for you at no extra cost. Now is the perfect time to stock up in Elusive Baby Bunny merch for every Bunny on your list!
We LOVE our readers and LOVE getting reviews!!
Reviews are a great way for you to tell other people about the book and are extremely important for independent self-published authors. If you enjoyed Ebby, please consider sharing your thoughts with your friends, your book club, your colleagues, on Amazon, Goodreads, with me, or wherever you write reviews. As an independent, self-published author, word of mouth is my BEST advertisement. Want to have your review featured here? Just write one up! This is my most recent review from Bob and another from Shirley in September.
Happy reading and hoppy adventures!
J. W. Julian
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