YOWZA! It's the Sunday Featured Artist...Bella Jean!

The artist I'd like to introduce you today snuck her artwork into my mailbox in a rather "secret" way...I "won" a set of notecards from Bella Arte by Bella Jean on Etsy & when they arrived in the mail, I fell in photography love! You see, Bella Jean, also known as Dani, is a photographer. She's a small town girl, an animal lover & though she has no formal training in photography, she has an artistically gifted eye!

I've got a couple of her postcard prints on the way. I'm planning on framing the Old Pick-Up Truck fine art postcard for my dad & his mechanic shop. And I'm keeping the Vintage White Noise fine art postcard for myself!

My favorite piece of hers is one that came in my set of four notecards. It's a view of some buildings in a city. Click HERE to take a peek.

But, I'll stop blabbing now & let Dani tell you a bit more about herself...
Where were you born, where are you from, where did you grow up, & where are you living now? I was born and raised in Ponca City, Oklahoma. Now I live in Geuda Springs, Kansas. It is a very small town (around 200) and while it is great to live in the country, it is a pain sometimes because we have to drive to get gas or groceries.
What inspires you?
Everything! Since I live in the country, I always find myself looking at old abandoned items/houses and thinking how cool they look!

How long have you been taking pictures?
I have been taking pictures since I was little girl. My Grandma gave me a Kodak when I was little and I took pictures of all sorts of stuff. I also had a Polaroid and liked to take pictures of my Donny & Marie dolls in different outfits!

Share about, or describe your favorite piece.
I think my favorite piece is the Sleeping Sunflowers images (print or postcard). A few years ago I saw this field of dying sunflowers and thought how cool they looked. They looked sad or like they were sleeping with all of their heads down. By the time I thought about taking a camera, they had cut the field down so I had to wait until the following year to capture the image!

What's your favorite color?
It would have to be blue. All shades of blue!

What one thing did you believe as a child, that as an adult you now realize was silly?
That using real eggs in my mudpies would make them better. -How much time do you spend on your craft?It depends, sometimes I take oodles of pics but other times I don’t. One of these days I will post some ACEO’s that I have done but those are collage/paint that I do sometimes!

What were some of your most recent purchases from other Etsy artists?
A soy wax candle from Epicurious (so lovely!):http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=5453480
A notecard from JaredKS (love his work!):http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=5426423
An ACEO card from StilettoHeights (one of my fave artists):http://www.etsy.com/view_transaction.php?transaction_id=5397806

What's the best piece of advice you've been given on pursuing your art?
Just Do It!

What are your goals or dreams in regards to your art?
I would love to take some classes sometime so I can really understand everything there is know about photography. I also want to develop my own images in a darkroom someday!!

What else would you like people to know about you?
I would like people to know that I have fibromyalgia. I was diagnosed in November of 2006 and it has been a real struggle to deal with. I want people to become more aware of this illness because there seems to be a lot of misinformation out there. This website: http://www.fibrohugs.com/ has a lot of great information and I urge anyone reading this blog to check it out!

Thanks Dani!!

Check out Dani's Etsy shop & purchase any one of her (very reasonably priced) postcards, prints, bookmarks, notecards, stationery, or magnets! You will not be disappointed! Trust me!!