Wow!!  This is such a huge, and amazingly humbling milestone, the "Art that Colors the Soul" Facebook page has reached 25,000 followers...25,000!!  I am so appreciative of each and every one of you, it means the world to me to be able to share my art and connect with all of you, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

As a celebration for this amazing milestone I would like to extend the following discounts to all of my followers:

1.  25% off all SALE paintings and Collector's Limited Edition Prints, use code: 25000
2.  50% off my portion of proceeds at my Fine Art America Print Gallery, use code: RPVJVU

And...some of my licensing partners are also having sales featuring my art that I want to share with all of you :)

4.  Deny Designs is having 15% off everything through August 5th, use code: FRESHENUP
5.   50-60% Off my prints at iCanvas Art ends August 1st (goes through the day) Use code: 50SUMMER OR 60SUMMER (if over $299).
6.  Modern Crowd is having a sale on metal art with my images, discounts already taken on site.

Thank you all so much!!  I wouldn't be where I am in my art career without all my collector's and followers, you are my inspiration and the driving force behind my dream to create as much beautiful art as I am capable of. 

Shipping out my fun little Mini PoP "Kissable" today to a new collector.  I love these little paintings, they are my new obsession!  Lot's of new one's in the works, you can see the available one's here, and I will be listing more soon.

I like to personalize these little paintings when shipping and make it a memorable experience for the collector when opening up their package.  I know whenever I receive anything in the mail, even stuff I order (I'm an Amazon junkie, hahaha), it feels a little like my birthday or Christmas, so I want to extend that feeling to my collector's when they receive an original MADART painting in the mail.  I package the Mini PoP in a beautiful sheer organza bag and include one of my coloring cards and a business card, and then safely wrap it all up in bubble wrap and place it in a clean white box.  I even add little round MADART stickers to the outside of the clean white box and use a stickable mailing label.  Sometimes I just use plain paper and tape the label to a box, but for this size these label's are just perfect and complete the perfect presentation.  

I can't wait for my MADART collector to receive their new Mini PoP in the mail!!

These days it's hard to go online and not read something negative, or people insulting each other, calling each other names, even horrible comments, such as "I wish you would die", etc., etc.  And most times these are comments and attacks from complete and total strangers.  It's a very disturbing "trend" that is the ultimate form of bullying.  But, there are things that you and I can do to help minimize this negativity in our online interactions.  See some of my guidelines below to disengage from a negative online situation.

I like to be happy, I seek out things and people that create a feeling of happiness in my life, and try to avoid drama at all costs, it's just not worth it!  This is why I paint happy art, it's part of who I am, how I live my life and reflects my personality, so dealing with online negativity can be very draining and counter productive to my creativity.  So, I work hard to avoid getting wrapped up in negative online situations.

The problem is that a lot of people have so much negativity in their lives that it spills over into what they say online.  It is much easier for people to hide behind a computer screen and let the negativity take over. They think there aren't any repercussions because a lot of times the people they are being combative with are complete strangers in another part of the world.  But, the reality is, they are perpetuating the negativity in their own lives and to the people they are engaging with and/or attacking online.  It's a vicious circle that needs to end, do your part and step away from any negativity that you may start to become embroiled in online.  For your overall mental, emotional and physical well being, avoid the negativity.

I myself had to do this a few days ago when I made a comment about choosing healthy foods for children over buying prepackaged, processed food.  I was instantly attacked by numerous people for an innocent comment about looking for other healthy food options, it was really quite ridiculous and at first I tried to defend myself and my opinion, but the rudeness and insecurities of some of these people was so over the top I realized there was no point in continuing the conversation where it was only going to spiral into an even darker hole.  So, I stopped my engagement in the conversation, even though I had more to stay, it wasn't worth reading the negative comments and letting it bother me.  I would rather live my life positively and engage in worthwhile discussions with people who don't need to resort to ugliness online. There are plenty of people who can have great debatable conversations without attacking others for their opinions or thoughts, these are the people we need to focus on having discussions with and perpetuating a positive online experience with friends, families and strangers.

Guidelines to Disengage from Negativity Online:

Don't engage with people who are already in a negative state of mine, even friends and family.  All this does is frustrate you and feed into their negativity, it's best just to step away and let them work it out themselves.  You can immediately tell if someone is in an argumentative or negative mood by the first comments they post; if they instantly want to argue, dismiss your opinion as having no value, etc. be aware of the signs to avoid engaging with them unnecessarily. 

Even if you post an innocent comment in a discussion that is hotly debated, you will most likely get at least one person who is going to want to argue with you just for the sake of arguing, do not engage with them, simply step away from the conversation.

Don't post inflammatory comments that you know will get people riled up, don't be the reason for negativity in any aspect of your life or anyone else's.  

If someone innocently misinterprets what you said, don't get angry and react with negativity, instead try to diffuse the situation from escalating by nicely explaining what you initially meant.  If they don't chose to see the harmlessness, or value in your opinion, than they are not someone you should be in a conversation with.  You can initially give someone the benefit of the doubt, but if it quickly becomes clear they are just looking for drama, disengage.

These are just a few signs and ways of avoiding negativity online, what are some of the ways you stay out of "online drama and bullying" situations?  I would love to hear your thoughts!!

So excited about the new Deny Designs Furniture line!  The products are fabulous and so contemporary, check them out with my "Glorious Colors" pixel art on them!!  Click on any photo to be taken to Deny Designs where there are hundreds more images and products to choose from by MADART that would coordinate and compliment the new furniture pieces below.  My "Glorious Colors" pixel art (shown below) is currently the only MADART design on these new products for the launch, but keep checking back to see when new images are added to the line :)

I'm personally coveting the credenza and cubes, love them; which is your favorite?

So excited about this new giveaway I'm teaming up with on Instagram!  Myself and other bloggers are going to be giving one lucky winner a $400 gift card to Airbnb, so you can vacation anywhere in the world you want!  $400 will go a long way with Airbnb locations :)  Visit my Instagram and look for the photo below to enter, good luck!!

I personally used Airbnb to book a fabulous little space in Costa Rica a couple years ago with my husband. It was a little studio apartment underneath the home of the owners, who were super accommodating and the place was fabulous!!  We had a view of the ocean, luscious vegetation, and the best part....the howler monkey's would swing through the trees every morning right in front of our place!  We had our own kitchen, porch, masseuse, all the amenities of home and then some.  My next vacation I will definitely be looking to Airbnb for an exceptional travel experience!!  Here are a couple of photos of our little home away from home we stayed in Costa Rica :)  I hope this gets you excited for the possibility of winning the giveaway, fingers crossed for the lucky winner!

The Dubai skyline painting "The Luxe Life"© is all finished up!!  The colors in this are so bold and vivid, I love it!!  Lot's to look at and take in, makes me want to check this one off my bucket list, I HAVE to visit Dubai one day soon.  What travel locations are on your bucket list?

It's always fun to see a painting come alive from inception to finish, enjoy these Work in Progress Pics!