'Maple Twist' 18x36 acrylic *sold* Prints & cards available
With the madness of holiday shows done and a relaxing 3 week trip to Costa Rica and Nicaragua under my belt Jan-March brought more time in the studio and lots of time to create new paintings! *Yeah!*. I focused a little more on creating more with the Evergreen Trees which many of my followers had been asking for. "Forrest Attraction" & "Evergreen Lofts" have arrived!
Forrest Attraction 24x36 acrylic on canvas $960 for sale
'Evergreen Lofts' 8x24 each $225 each or $775 set. For Sale
Its funny when I get on a roll with painting.. the ideas just keep on rolling and I feel there is not enough time in a day to keep up with all the painting my body and mind want to do! My studio is an array of paintings all at different stages.. its exciting when they all start to come together and I can see and share the finished projects!
'Oak Twist' 18x36 acrylic $720. For Sale.
'Lovebird Lust' 16x20 acrylic on wood. $360. For Sale.
"Magnolia View" 24x29 acrylic. Will be framed in reclaimed window!
'The Lofty Barn Owl 2 & Stellars Jay' 6x36 original acrylics $210 each. For Sale.
'Owls wearing..... ' 6x6 originals on wood. $60 each for sale.
Im looking forward to showing you my new works in Person! Come and see them at the Make It Show Edmonton April 12-14 & Make it Show Vancouver April 19-21!
www.Makeitproductions.com
Over the past few years I have been creating more and more commissioned/custom work for special occasions (birthdays, weddings, baby showers) or special spaces (new home, over the couch, over the fireplace, in the bathroom). People often say to me "so.. how does the whole commission thing work'" Customers often say they are nervous to ask for custom work because they are worried it will be expensive or a complicated process. Not true! Let me tell you how it works!
First off, if you are looking for a special piece, a certain size, color or theme, then a custom piece might be the way you want to go. We will start the conversation by you telling me which of my current paintings you really like and what elements of them you would like in your painting. Maybe you love the colors in one, the certain tree in another and the look of the sky in another. I can combine all of these elements for you. Or maybe you have something totally different that you do not see in my work.. lets talk about it. Please keep in mind that I do paint in my own unique style so your request must work well in my particular style (ie it is unlikely I will be able to paint a watercolor portrait of your uncle..lol).
Once we have decided on a size, color, theme ect the painting begins! Usually I require a 6 week time frame in which to work because it is likely I have other commissions I am working on and might be getting ready for an upcoming show. (if you need the painting earlier we can talk about this) At this time I require a 50% deposit with the remaining balance due when the painting is complete. What about cost you say!? Commissioned work is slightly more expensive then my 'pre-done' work due to the custom nature and need for back and forth negotiation. The cost is based on size and is $175 per sq foot (to figure this out muliple the dimentions, divide by 144 and multiply by 175. ie 16x20 = 320 / 144 = 2.22 x 175 = $388.50) . If you would like metal added this is 20% extra. Prices subject to HST. Here are a few of the commissioned paintings I have done for customers. To view my album of commissioned work click HERE. If you have questions, comments or want to get going on your very own commissioned painting please contact me yapespaints@gmail.com
Coastal Seasons- 3.5ft x 8ft. acrylic with metal by April Lacheur and Renato Horvath. created for Wave dentistry office in White Rock BC.
Life's a Hoot. 24x48 acrylic on canvas by April Lacheur. Created for a 'learning room'
'Will You' 24x30 acrylic and metal on wood. Created to celebrate a wedding anniversary.
'New Arrival' 18x24 acrylic on canvas by April Lacheur. To celebrate the arrival of a new baby!
As an artist, I often wonder what happens to my work when it leaves my studio, my market booth or one of my retail locations and taken home with my wonderful customers. Its really quite cool to think that people are taking something I have created home to decorate their personal space! what an honor that people enjoy my work so much they want to look at it on a daily basis!
This desire to see what kinds of homes my work has found led me to hold a contest in February (Yapes Paints' 4th Birthday month) that asked customers to share photos of my work (prints, cards, calendars and originals) in their space. Winning prize (a 16x20 giclee canvas prints) would go to the 'best' photo which had to show not only the work but its surroundings.
I was lucky enough to get many amazing entries.. but let me tell u this made it HARD to choose a winner! In the end I asked a jury to help me choose the top 3 photos and had my facebook followers and newsletter receivers vote on which image they liked best.. the winner? Jessica Adams of Squamish BC. Here is her awesome photo:
Original painting 'Out of the Blue' in her gorgeous home!
Runners up were: 1) Laurel with her great photo of her original painting 'Urban Serenity'. LOVE her cute pup in the pic! This painting was commissioned by Laurel and her husband Ty as a wedding gift to themselves (the best kind of gift ;>).. the painting was hung at their actual wedding reception.. how cool is that?!
Runners up: 2) Amy with her great photo of original painting 'Twilight Roots' in her living room.. how great are those cushions with the painting.. and I love the touch of the guitar, headphones.. music! another great source of art!
Here are some of my other favorite entries from the contest:
You can see why I had a hard time choosing!! To see more photos of my work in customers homes visit my new 'Happy Customers' page on my website by clicking
HERE. A huge thank you to everyone who participated in my contest. I would love to see more photos of my work in customers homes.. if you would like to share your photos please email it to me at YapesPaints@hotmail.com and I will include it on my website! ;>
When the lovely Wendy of the White Rock Dental office contacted me via email saying that she loved my work and would I be interested in doing some commissioned paintings for the new office my answer right away was.. 'of course!' I was thrilled. Wendy had found my business card at the '30 Minute hit' (click
here for all the deets) in South Surrey, a place I frequent to get in my high intensity workouts between nursing work, paintings and all the other things that come along with running your own biz. (check it out you..will love it!)
Wendy asked me to do my largest painting to date for her conference room... a 3.5ft x 8ft painting capturing a 'west coast' feel and tying in with the new name for the office 'the wave'. The result? an acrylic and metal painting titled 'Coastal Harmony'. The metal work is done by my awesome husband Renato Horvath.. we had so much fun collaborating on this piece!
I was also asked to do an original for the dentist's office.. another piece incorporating metal by Renato. A 24x30 painting titled 'coastal serenity'.
Then it was time for some decoration in the waiting room and the bathroom. I had 2 large limited edition Giclee prints on canvas done and they turned out beautifully! 'Valley Views' and 'Among the birch'
A big thank you to Wendy, Dr Gaudet and team for choosing my work for their gorgeous new office! If you are interested in some work (originals, canvas prints, framed prints) to decorate your office I would love to chat with you about it! Please contact me at yapespaints@hotmail.com. ~ April
New Years resolution #1: Blog more!. Since this is my 1st blog post since April of 2011 it wont be hard to make an improvement! lol.
With the start of a New Year comes a time for reflection on the last year. It certainly has been a great year for 'Yapes Paints'. Here is the year in review:
* I created many new paintings and have expanded my themes to include my popular 'loft birds', cityscapes and have worked with my husband Ren on more paintings incorporating metal which have become more intricate.
* I married the person that supports me most in my art career. Ren and I eloped July 23 in Deep cove and spent our honeymoon in Hungary and Greece !
* 39 of my original paintings found new homes this year*I sold my most expensive painting to date for $3600.00 * I painted my largest painting to date which was 3.5ft x 8ft. * I painted for the first time ever on a concrete floor. Check out my leaves and branches on the floor of 'The Eco Floor Store' in Langley* I took my first ever art class since high school in 'encaustic painting' (painting with wax) and hope to do more of this in 2012
*I had my own solo show at Lut Boutique on Main st in Vancouver including wine and cheese opening night! so fun! * I participated in many great art events including the Make it Market Vancouver, The Arnold Mikelson Festival of the arts White Rock, The Bloom Market Fort Langley, The Out of Hand show Victoria and the One of Kind Show Vancouver. *Online store sales have doubled since last year. More people are shopping at www.YapesPaints.bigcartel.com. Yeah! *I met so many wonderful customers. Their kind words of encouragement are what keep my creativity flowing* I have met many other inspiring artists that I hope to continue to to grow relationships with. Looking ahead to 2012 Im excited for new work, new events and continuing to grow my business... but I think thats another blog post all together:> For now some Pictures of highlights from 2011! Ren and April elope in Deep Cove July 23 2011.
Opening night of my Solo Show at Lut Boutique Main st Vancouver
Painting on the floor of 'The Eco Floor Store' in Langley!
Some of the finished project at the 'Eco Floor Store'
Photo Shoot for the 'Bloom Market' in Fort Langley. Amazing photo by awesome Langley Photographer Desiree Patterson.
www.spiritwestphotography.com
I have been meaning to work on my artist statement for quite a while now ... it can be such a hard thing to nail down since it is such an evolving thing... it really has changed so much since I started on my artist path over 3 years ago. Here it is as it stands now... will be interesting to see how it changes over the years!
April Lacheur- Artist Statement 2011
I love the feeling of creating a flowing line with ink and a brush, the excitement and emotion bold colors evoke and the place I loose myself too each time my brush hits the canvas.
It starts with an inspiration from a life experience; something small like a lovely walk outside or something huge like a life lesson just learned. I choose a color signifying the feeling of that experience. I’m not much of a planner when it comes to my paintings. I have the general concept in my mind and let the piece progress organically as I’m working with the acrylic paint. One of my favorite parts of painting is that the end result is often a pleasant surprise. I may also add other mediums including fabrics, metals and papers to my work giving life to some elements such as tree trunks or bird feathers. My work is always finished with clean lines of acrylic ink. My style is unique and has developed over a long time, ever since I was a child. Bold colors, crisp lines, trees with twisting roots, birds with long legs and florals with dancing petals are common themes in my work.
The message in my work is always positive and may be different for every admirer. I use painting as a positive balancing element in my life and I think my true love and passion for it is reflected in my work. I am most well known for my whimsical trees with twisting trunks and reaching branches. They signify deep roots, strong growth and tall ambition.
I show my work in art fairs, galleries, cafes and retail locations around BC. My original paintings are part of private collections in Canada, USA, Australia, Asia and the UK. I plan to continue to create and share my work and am excited to see how my style and skills develop. It’s the start of a long and creative path ahead!
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