| | | | | | | | Dear friends, family, colleagues + art-lovers:
Happy New Year!! I hope everyone had a happy and healthy end to 2024. As with life in general, my year had plenty of ups and downs. For every success there were as many disappointments, and for every gain a loss, but I like to think of every year as its own chapter with its own life lessons.
Every January I spend a lot of time catching up on organizing/archiving all of my completed commissions and client info (you should see the pile of paperwork sitting next to me that needs to be dealt with) and over the next month or so I'll be doing some major website updates. In all the years that I've been issuing monthly/quarterly newsletters though, I think this is the first time I've done a comprehensive Year in Review where I've specifically isolated selected highlights from the previous 12 months. Obviously, it would be impossible to comment on every painting/project that I worked on this year, but this sums up some of the most memorable.
2024 will be remembered for my epic 40th birthday in Hawaii, getting to spend a lot of quality time with my sister and nephew in Maryland, and starting on some improvements to my home and studio that I'll be able to share about later this year. It's also the year that I started sleeping with a carpal tunnel brace (I call it my "sock puppet") so taking the beginning of January to catch up on admin work is a welcome rest for my dominant right hand and wrist and log some extra daytime hours wearing said sock puppet.
Professionally, I'm the most excited about my contributions to the 2024 holiday season: in addition to the MANY custom paintings I created as holiday gifts, I also made significant contributions to the Philadelphia area's Christmas and New Year's celebrations!! I created a large-scale installation for Longwood Gardens' annual Christmas display AND painted the scenery for the Ferko String Band's performance in the Mummers Parade on New Year's Day! If I made an impact on your 2024 Holiday Season I would really love to hear about it! Please fill out this quick questionnaire about your experience.
Until the next newsletter, thank you as always for your continued interest and support!
Erica
Above: a still from my interview with Caroline Kearney at Powell Lane Arts, June 2024. | | | | | | | | Posing with my Gingerbread House Portral for Longwood Gardens' annual Christmas display.
One of the brightest highlights of 2024 was being able to participate in A Longwood Christmas, a popular holiday tradition throughout the Delaware Valley. In conjunction with the opening of Longwood Reimagined, my life-sized gingerbread house portal was a main feature of the Peppermint Palace display in the Music Room of the main conservatory. I spent much of the summer hand-fabricating and faux-finishing each cake, cookie, peppermint, pretzel, and swirl of frosting as well as giant gumdrops and bon-bons! I had SO much fun creating such a playful and whimsical display and want to make more work like this!! If you may be interested in something similar for your home or business for the 2025 holiday season, contact me!
For more information about the creation of this year's Music Room display, check out the Longwood Gardens Blog!
Want to see more photos, including some behind the scenes? Click here to visit my portfolio!
A Longwood Christmas runs from November 22, 2024 to January 12, 2025, but the Gardens are open to visitors year-round!
If I made an impact on your 2024 Holiday Season I would really love to hear about it! Please fill out this quick questionnaire about your experience. | | | | 2025 Mummers Parade: Ferko String Band performs "Melodias de los Muertos" | | | | Joseph A. Ferko String Band lining up for their New Year's Day performance in front of Philadelphia's City Hall.
Not only did I get to make a significant contribution to one of Greater Philadelphia’s annual Christmas traditions this year- I also got to participate in the city’s annual Mummers Parade that takes place in Center City Philadelphia on New Year’s Day! While I don’t normally accept outside gigs from mid-November through early January, the Ferko String Band called me in to deal with an Art Emergency after having to excuse their original painter on December 1st……and I just couldn’t leave them stranded! In 16 on-site days (10-14 hour days, to be precise!) I painted the band’s entire set for their performance of Melodias de los Muertos (while ALSO juggling Holiday Commission Season! I'M EXHAUSTED!).
While the judges’ score was disappointing, I’m really proud of the heart, talent and dedication displayed by my new friends, and, TBH- I’m just relieved I managed to pull it off. I was in Full-Blown Panic Mode until about December 29th! Looking forward to working with the band again this year- but planned WELL in advance, this time!). Click here to watch the Ferko String Band's official 2025 performance!
If you’re not from the Delaware Valley you may not have ever heard of the Mummers- and/or you may just associate them with the drunken buffoonery associated with the Comics and Wench brigades. The string bands, however, put on a spectacular and highly competitive performance each year with flamboyant costumes, makeup, scenery, special effects, and of course- live marching bands! Click here for more on the history of the Mummers Parade in Philadelphia.
Want to see more photos of my scenery, including a bunch from behind-the-scenes? Click here!
If I made an impact on your 2024 Holiday Season I would really love to hear about it! Please fill out this quick questionnaire about your experience. | | | | | | | | | | | | Six murals created in 2024!
2024 was a good year for murals! I completed six large-scale wall paintings this year (including two temporary window murals)- including both public and private projects. I was also a semifinalist for a large public project in Swarthmore, PA- while I did not receive the commission I am honored to have made it to the final round of applications!
First row: Public Indoor mural for the Massanutten Resort in Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley; Public Outdoor mural located at 39 E. Lancaster Ave, Ardmore, PA on the side of Best Auto Tags. Second row: Residential Outdoor mural in Center City, Philadelphia; Residential Indoor mural in Salisbury, MD
Third row: Two temporary window murals (Outdoor, Public) located at Lansdowne Urban Farms (23 S. Lansdowne Ave), Lansdowne, PA. Please visit my portfolio for more examples of past murals and scenic projects. In addition to what's being featured in this month's newsletter, I also worked on projects for Tac-Ops Laser Tag in Princeton, NJ, Real Escapes in Massanutten, VA , Philadelphia Riverwards Votes and the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. While I have a handful of small projects already tentatively scheduled for 2025, it’s not too late to think about a mural for your home or business this year! Contact me for more information. | | | | A Few of my Favorite Studio Commissions | | | | | | Four memorable studio commissions of 2024.
I just completed my custom painting business’s FIFTH annual Holiday Commission Season!! While I accept orders for commissioned/custom paintings year-round, the December gift-giving season is hands-down my BUSIEST time of year!! If you're reading this, you're probably aware that in addition to my large-scale work creating murals and scenery, my background is in studio art. I offer custom watercolors and oil paintings of homes, businesses, churches/temples/mosques, schools/universities, landscapes, interiors, pets, vehicles, and all sorts of special requests: created from your reference photos!
Throughout January and February I will be sorting and archiving all of my completed commissions from the past few months and doing a substantial overhaul of the Custom Paintings section of my website. Thank you in advance for your patience as there may be some construction mess for a while ;) Meanwhile, here are a memorable favorites from 2024 (of which I have MANY. Wait till you see them all!)
Clockwise from top left: A ketubah with the couples' vows hand-lettered by my dear friend Patti Paulus. It was so much fun to collaborate with her (and we would LOVE to do it again....wink wink if you're getting married in 2025). Also, by pure coincidence, the couple got married on my 40th birthday!
A painting of a lake house that was a group gift for a 60th birthday. Several families chipped in for the painting and framing costs in order to create something really special for the recipient! This painting was fun because it was on the larger size for watercolor and it was also a SQUARE! (Yes! Custom dimensions are always available upon request).
This painting is a still-life depicting wedding centerpiece decor. The couples' last names were "Fez" and "Walker"- can you figure out the pun? ;) It's not too often that I get to make funny paintings so I really appreciate when I get a commission request for something a little strange.
A portrait of my own cat, Rufus! It was a Valentine to my husband last year. While normally I am the first in line to criticize my own work, I happen to think that this is the most beautiful cat portrait ever created in the history of the world. ;P
If you are considering a custom painting as a Valentine’s Day gift (perhaps of your home, your pet, your wedding venue, or another place that is special to your beloved- such as the site of your first date, where you got engaged, shared a first kiss etc) **PLEASE order by January 24th to ensure on-time completion and delivery. If you’re running behind you can always order a personalized gift certificate to be redeemed later.**
You can either order directly from my website (recommended if you're local to Greater Philadelphia and want to pick up your painting from my studio) or from my Etsy shop (recommended if you require shipping!).
Please note: my Etsy shop is on vacation until January 10th as I am on “Hand/Wrist Rest.”
If I made an impact on your 2024 Holiday Season I would really love to hear about it! Please fill out this quick questionnaire about your experience.
| | | | New + Improved Paint Skin Collages | | | | | | A few of my favorite Paint Skins!
In 2020 I started a series of over 300 small collages (no exaggeration) that include paint peeled from mixing buckets when I’m working on a large-scale project, such as a mural or parade scenery. In 2024 I revisited this series and began to incorporate additional collage elements (cut paper, etc) to create little vignettes! One in particular was accepted into the National Collage Society’s 40th Annual Juried Exhibition at MICA back in the fall, and several more will be on display at Black Moth Tattoo and Gallery in Ardmore PA this coming February!
As always, you can browse all available work on Etsy! Please note: my Etsy shop is on vacation until January 10th as I am on “Hand/Wrist Rest.”
| | | | | | | | | | *New Work AND new frames!!
In 2024 I upgraded my frames and expanded my color selection: in addition to the original black and white I now also carry blonde and brown for 5x7" paintings and 8x10" paintings.
2024 also welcomed new watercolors based on my trip to Maui (a few examples shown above) as well as some spooky cemeteries for Halloween and some fun new Philly doors. Shop online at ericaharneyartist.etsy.com.
Please note: my Etsy shop is on vacation until January 10th as I am on “Hand/Wrist Rest.”
| | | | | | | | LONG overdue........
If I were ranking the items in this newsletter in order of importance, this would be towards the tippy top of the list! Even though I've been working full-time as an artist since 2006 (and 100% self-employed since 2020) it NEVER occurred to me to have a professional logo for my business (yes, I am aware how ignorant that sounds. I'm as embarrassed for me as you are!!!). Anyway, thanks to my friend Jennifer and her team at Hoff Communications Inc., I was able to realize my very own logo!!! If we've interacted professionally within the past six months you've probably seen it in person- my new logo is now on all of my letterhead, business cards, promo material and even packaging stickers.
If you're an artist or small business with similar needs, contact Jennifer and Michael and tell them I sent you! | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 2024 Art Fairs / Festivals | | | | | | In 2024 I participated in Arts Fairs in Media, Philadelphia, Swarthmore + Lansdowne, PA
If you were following me in 2023 you might remember that I had FIVE out of SIX arts fairs get cancelled due to the weather. At the risk of jinxing myself, NONE of my scheduled events in 2024 were cancelled due to rain, wind, snow, hurricanes, Canadian wildfires or global pandemics. (I still don't quite believe it myself, haha) While I have yet to figure out my 2025 festival schedule you can expect to see me at some or all of these events, and maybe some different ones too (fingers crossed).
Not local to Philly? Not a problem! Check out my Etsy shop and website: I can ship pretty much anywhere in the world! | | | | 2024 Lansdowne Arts Committee Highlights | | | | | | This is what I do for fun!
Aside from my own work, I am also a member of the Lansdowne Arts Committee, a subdivision of the Lansdowne Economic Development Corporation (LEDC). I've been installing and deinstalling all of the exhibitions in our beautiful 20*20 House Gallery since we got permission to reopen during the Pandemic autumn of 2021. I also help to organize and facilitate our Spring and Fall Arts and Crafts Supply Free Fairs, most recently held in October at UtilityWorks. I love being able to actively give back to my community- plus, I have met so many interesting and creative people through my work on the Arts Committee!
Follow the Lansdowne Arts Committee for more info on past and upcoming exhibitions and updates on our next Free Fair- tentatively scheduled for Spring 2025!
| | | | | | | | | | | | Thank you!!!
As always, thank you for taking the time to read this newsletter. Your continued support is greatly appreciated! Thank you to everyone that hired me, commissioned me, bought a painting, liked or commented on my social media, shared my info with a friend or network, visited me while on a job or while gallery-sitting and/or even read this newsletter. Here are a few more highlights from the year like my 40th Birthday trip to Maui, the time I met Jennifer Garner, my "sock puppet," the beginning of additional storage space in my studio, and another year of assistance and companionship from my little Rufus Theodore!
-Erica
| | | | | | | | | | Our mailing address is: Erica Harney Studios Lansdowne, PA 19050
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