Artist Paula Santos

Coconut Grove Art Festival last weekend was great...

Coconut Grove Art Festival 2013's poster was created by Romero Britto.

It was only $10 to get in per person and worth every penny. Art was absolutely spectacular. I took my husband with me along with my son Noah and his girlfriend. They has a great time too.

they also had lots of food vendors to choose from

The weather was fabulous and the turnout to the event was great (around 150,000 people. Hope you enjoy the photos.
©2013 PaulaSantos

Artfest Fort Myers, Florida

On February 3rd I dragged my husband and 2 sons all the way to Fort Myers, Florida for the Artfest. Boy... it was a very long ride mainly because the boys were complaining almost the whole time about. Stating they could think of better ways to spend their sunday. But I didn't let their complaining deter me from dragging them to the festival with me. Sometimes it's good to expose them to something they might not necessarily choose to do. The bottom line is that once we got there they had a great time. The food was great and this festival was huge. Although we were not allowed to take photos of the artwork here are some of the artists that were present and that we loved (there were a lot more artists but we choose only a few to give you an idea):
www.tardysculpture.com this artist was amazing, the boys including the hubby choose this as their favorite
www.harryroagallery.com - most original jewelry I have seen, exquisite
www.kurtruby.com - metal work art
www.tericausey.com - loved this mixed media 2d artist
www.kimberlywillcox.com - very nice - mixed media 3d artist
www.alanfeldmesser.com - amazing painter
We spend a fabulous day outside, viewing art, eating good food and enjoying the great location of the fair, waterfront.

In conclusion this is an artfest I would definitely consider participating in. The crowd was friendly and there's no better way to spend a sunday than to enjoy art in the outdoors.
have a great day :0)
©2013 PaulaSantos

Art Festivals/Fairs...Downtown Delray Beach Craft Festival

On February 2nd I dragged my husband and one of my sons to the 16th Annual Downtown Delray Beach Craft Festival (Delray Beach, FL. Even though they weren't too thrilled at first we all ended up having a great time. The festival was held on 4th Avenue and Atlantic Avenue. A great combination of art, crafts and food.

The venue was organized by:
ArtFestival.com
Howard Alan Events & American Craft Endeavors
Producer of the Nation's Finest Juried Art Shows and Craft Festivals

I would definitely participate in this type of festivals. It was well organized and had a great turnout (the weather was fabulous too).
©2013 PaulaSantos

Art Fair & Festival Research...Pinecrest Gardens Art Festival

Since resigning from my job at the end of 2012, I'm trying to find a path to a new career in the art world. The past month has been a journey of doubt and resolutions. So many questions and not enough time in a day to find all the answers. So sometimes it's just best to go with your gut feeling and push fear aside. For is it not fear that keeps us from following our dream. For me it's fear of the unknown but mostly fear of failure. For the past 3 weekends I've dragged my family to art fairs/festivals because I wanted to find out if selling at such venues was feasible for me. It was exciting and fun! The first venue we went to (just me and the hubby) was "Pinecrest Art in the Garden". The gardens were wonderful and they had some really great artists. The only thing I didn't like was the fact that the booths were scattered all over the place so it was difficult to figure out whether we had seen everything or not. It was busy but not overcrowded. Final vote was: it's not a fit for me.

Pinecrest Gardens Address: 11000 SW 57th Ave, Pinecrest, FL 33156 Phone:(305) 669-6990 Hours: Thursday hours 9:00 am–6:00 pm
Thanks for reading and if you have any interesting fairs/festivals etc. in your area shoot me an email. I always enjoy hearing from other people. Have a great day :0)
©2013 PaulaSantos

2013 New Year & New Beginnings

Took some time off and just enjoying the family and friends. It was great. My old Kitchenaid dishwasher went on the blink and so I had to call a repairman. Nixed the idea of fixing it when I was told the pump motor had to be replaced at it cost over $350 just for the parts. So today I got my brand new Bosch dishwasher installed and hopefully it will be as good as consumer reports claims it to be. On another note I'm currently trying to finish my website. I need to start selling all the stuff that is taking up so much room in my studio. Jewelry, paintings, cowls, scarves, bags, totes etc. will all be available soon on my online store. I'm currently sketching some folk art paintings as you can see and I hope to have them finished in the next couple of days.

I've also signed up for some art classes at the Coral Springs Museum of Art. Although I often experiment with different painting techniques it's always nice to meet new artists because you can always learn from them. Visit my etsy store to view some of the items I just listed plus I will be listing some more of my crochet creations in my etsy shop sometime this evening.

Thanks for your visit and have a wonderful day.
©2013 PaulaSantos

Lauderdale-by-the-Sea...Aruba Beach Cafe... Today I spent some quality time with the boys by dragging them to Aruba Beach Cafe for lunch in Lauderdale by the Sea. I have to admit that since going there a few weeks ago with the hubby it's become one of my favorite spots. Today they had someone playing the calypso drums and it felt like we were on a tropical island somewhere. The food is pretty good and the views are great (I always ask to be seated outside). As you can see on the photos there is a fabulous pier, benches to sit on and relax. The location of the restaurant is practically right on the beach as you can see. Soon I will be getting ready to join my husband at B Ocean Fort Lauderdale to Celebrate the New Year. Overall today was a great day to end off 2012. Happy New Year my friends. May 2013 bring you good health, total happiness, lots of love and much success. Cheers!!!

Simple Sunday...lazy and quiet.... I know I shouldn't be complaining about the weather we're having here in south florida especially since most of my family and friends up north are freezing their arses off...but where the heck is the sun. Temperature is okay but the sun is missing :0( Still it's the perfect day to laze around surfing the net, reading a good book, or watching tv (or like the hubby just taking a nap). So with time on my hands and since I'm really not inspired today to create anything I'm mainly doing some research online. Putting a list together of all the places I want to visit in south florida. It's amazing just how much there is to do. First stop next weekend will probably be Calle Ocho in Little Havana (Miami). Haven't been there in years and want to go on a discovery journey. Even South Beach will have to be re-discovered since I can't remember the last time I went there. Here are some photos of the last time I visited.

Can you recommend any places worth going to in south florida? send me a note. thanks and have a great sunday :0) live,laugh, love...
©2013 PaulaSantos

I decided to tackle one side of my house today. Everything was so overgrown that you couldn't even see the back fence (photo posted yesterday). I did make some headway but have to admit that my hands took a beating. Guess I'm not used to gardening anymore and for next time - garden gloves are a must. As much as I love ferns, they are extremely invasive and have taken over the side of the house so I will need to spend quite some time getting them under control. Here is what it looks like so far.

And I've also starting posting some items for sale in MY ETSY SHOP
Here are 2 paintings I just listed:

Taling a much needed break today and then probably doing a little baking. Have a wonderful day and see you later. paula
©2013 PaulaSantos

A new Chapter.
Wow...I can't believe that I finally got the courage to start working on my own little business. I have to admit that leaving the Sheraton Suites Plantation as sales manager was much harder than I anticipated. At times it almost feels like I'm having withdrawal symptoms. It's hard to go from working 50 to 60 hours a week to being at home working on my own stuff. Mind you right now I'm just taking some time to organized the house and my studio (and trust me organization is really needed since it's been neglected for quite some time). I finally have the opportunity to walk around the house and see all that needs to be done...and there's a lot. First I'll work on the inside but even the outside has been neglected. One side of the house really needs some clean-up since everything is overgrown. And the front of the house isn't much better as you can see.

So NO whinning allowed, just some good old fashioned elbow grease, organizing and most important de-cluttering for the next week or so. And at the same time I'm also taking photos of my jewelry and art so that I can finally finish my website. And if I'm lucky I'm able to take an hour or two a day to actually do what I love...create. And that my dear friends is why at the end of the day I need a full glass of some homemade sangria.