March Madness Re-Do

Apparently I have lost my mind. I was planning to take a break from editing and instead, do something fun like work on a new painting series, probably the Hauz Katz. However, the past week was chopped up with various errands and events making it impossible to have time enough to get any serious work done, so I thought; I’ll just get started with a new project on March 1. Well, in the interim between happenings, I decided to edit a few Hare Terra paintings in an attempt to leave off on break with something light and pretty to display after the stark controversy of The Feminist Ink series.

The week started off on a positive note. I finally wrote the general description text for The Legend of Hare Terra series to accompany the images. Here is the example describing the painting above:

“Castle Garden Glamour” is part of The Legend of Hare Terra Collection, an original fairy tale series created by artist and author Amy E. Fraser. The Legend of Hare Terra was inspired by the opulent fairy tales of the Golden Age of Illustration and by folk and decorative arts from numerous cultures worldwide. This series represents a culmination of the artist’s diverse interests and artistic explorations, propelled into one epic fantasy experience. The Legend of Hare Terra strongly exemplifies Amy E. Fraser’s lifelong connection to animals and nature, influenced by real life experiences in the artist’s own woodland wildflower wonderland located in the beautiful state of New Hampshire. These intricately detailed works showcase her infatuation for color and design and for creating bold floral patterns. The Legend of Hare Terra features a unique breed of magical Hares, whose somewhat grumpy personalities and silly antics are based on Amy’s own beloved house rabbits. The Legend of Hare Terra also features a distinctive human heroine, known as Hare Majesty, the Queen of Hare Terra. The Queen is where Amy’s enthusiasm for fashion, designing fun and fabulous dresses, elaborate crowns and for inventing big, over the top hair styles really comes into play. The Legend of Hare Terra has been a long term passion project for Amy; she began working on the series in 2009 and continues to work on it to this day.

To discover more about The Legend of Hare Terra, a journey into a secret world, visit Amy E. Fraser’s website: thelegendofhareterra.com

“Castle Garden Glamour” (The Legend of Hare Terra Collection) by Amy E. Fraser was hand drawn in pen and ink and painted in acrylic glaze on 140lb cold press watercolor paper. The Legend of Hare Terra artworks are one of a kind originals copyrighted by Amy E. Fraser. Any use without written permission from Amy E. Fraser is prohibited. All rights reserved.

The description shown above is presented with each Legend of Hare Terra image. I felt like it covered the basics while leaving plenty of wiggle room for the upcoming stories that will eventually be published on The Legend of Hare Terra website.

Next, after writing the description and updating all of the current Legend of Hare Terra images, I then chose a small subseries of paintings to edit as my project in between projects. It was a set of five ¾ length portraits of the Queen, Hare Majesty posing in moonlit castle gardens with her darling bunnies. So here I was, working away, editing for days, posting each painting as I completed them. I was feeling really happy to be moving forward… but, underneath, I was getting a terrible nagging sensation that something wasn’t quite right. I finally realized what my problem was! The original photographs I was working from could be SO much better. Of course when this dawned on me I had to review all of the Hare Terra painting photos right away! Once I saw that they were not all 100% perfect, I knew that was what was digging away at my subconscious.

In all honesty I shouldn’t be revealing any of this behind the scenes drama, but the thing is photos of my work that seemed pretty great a few years ago are not nearly as fabulous as the photos I am able to produce now. Since I first started this venture I have learned so much more about how to photograph the work. Technology is always improving and my techniques have been rapidly evolving through trial and error. I have also discovered that there is a real art to transforming paintings into amazing reproductions. And while, to most, the quality of the images originally posted is already perfectly acceptable (I know this is true because they have sold without complaint or return), I still want the best of “my” best for my own personal satisfaction.

What can I say? I am a perfectionist who may or may not suffer from obsessive compulsive disorder. Or I might secretly be a masochist who enjoys painful time consuming editing torture. Whatever the case, I am replacing the original files with new, better, larger files. And you will be happy to know that since this “less than perfect” epiphany forced me to haul the entire collection of Hare Terra paintings out of storage to reshoot them, it means I will be introducing additional Hare Terra paintings for prints in the very near future.

The reason I decided to share this behind the scenes story is to illustrate that the images on the screen don’t just magically happen. Artists put their blood, sweat and tears into the art, from the point of its original creation until its transformation for print and display online. This is often done and redone, more times then we care to admit. This work is my life; my livelihood, the results are pieces of my being that represent me out there in the universe; I care about the end result. So of course I want to present the highest quality imagery possible. If that means starting over from the beginning, then that’s what I do.

By the way, by the time you read this, it will be done. You will never have known the difference or that I ever had a momentary crisis of imperfection. Each file will be quietly replaced with larger, clearer, images as crisp, bright and beautiful as the Queen, Hare Majesty shown above. I’m that dedicated. I also want you to know that you are respected and appreciated and I create prints and products worthy of you and your financial investment. I want you to be completely thrilled with the art you receive so every purchase comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee. I am sincerely grateful for your support. You are my customer, the whole reason why I do what I do. Thank You!

Amy E. Fraser’s art series The Legend of Hare Terra is available for purchase at AEFraser.com in partnership with Pixels.com and Fine Art America. Prints are produced on acid-free papers using archival inks to guarantee that they last a lifetime without fading or loss of color.