Monday's agriculture website of interest: AGRICULTURE LAW

Monday's website of agricultural interest is Agriculture Law. Agriculture is ever changing and farmers, ranchers and affiliated businesses need to be aware of the changes affecting their industry. The site writes about the current legal issues facing agriculture in addition to the bills being debated and voted upon by congress. This website is maintained by a law office specializing in agriculture and farm policies

Friday's website of interest to art enthusiasts: KINDERART

Today's website of interest to artsy folks is Kinderart. While I'm up front about the difficulty in navigating the site because of the advertisements, there is some great content about easy, inexpensive art projects to do with children ages 10 and under.

A conversation with Julia Swartz: Part 2

How did you get started?

I always drew or painted as a child. I can remember as a child using my Mom's oil paints, she was an artist and painted at home for fun. After I got married, I took painting classes with Jay McVey, a local oil painter. When I had my children, I would draw and paint them as babies and toddlers. When my youngest child went to kindergarten, I started studying more seriously. I joined the local art association and took classes to learn watercolor. I started winning prizes right away so we jumped in the business. We bought some framing equipment, got some prints of my work and started framing and selling my art. We started by going to several local juried art shows and eventually were doing 18 to 20 shows a summer from NY to VA and MI to NJ. After several years of juried art shows we decided to join the arts movement in Lancaster PA and opened a gallery on Gallery Row. See more information at www.lancasterarts.com. It's been two and one half years in the gallery I am having more fun then ever.

Picture credit: A view of Julia Swartz's gallery in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

Oil painter Shannon Grissom joins Cow Art and More

Award-winning oil painter, Shannon Grissom, now has work for sale on Cow Art and More. Compelled by a single note of color, Shannon uses vibrant hues to express the relationship between color, her subjects, their environment, and the ever-present music in her life. Shannon mostly paints portraits of people, animals and things. Her paintings are large (on average 3 feet by 3 feet), allowing her to get intimate with the subject.

Picture credit: "Van", oil on canvas

Click here to go to Cow Art and More to learn more about this oil painting

A conversation with Julia Swartz: Part 1

Why do you paint?

Because I love to. It's fulfilling to me. I have to paint. It is who I am. I have to be creating one way or another. Right now it is painting on canvas.

Picture credit: Julia Swartz painting in her studio in Pennsylvania.

Monday's agriculture website of interest: FARMERS FEED US

Monday's agricultural website of interest is the Farmer's Feed Us website. This website aims to introduce consumers to the farmers that produce the food people eat. As this group puts it, "Farmers and ranchers work each day to produce the food you and your family enjoy. To us, farming is much more than our chosen profession. It is a commitment to providing you with safe, nutritious and affordable food, caring for our animals and our land, and giving back to our communities."

August featured artist: Julia Swartz

Cow Art and More is excited to feature oil and watercolor painter Julia Swartz for August. Julia paints and maintains her own art gallery in southeastern Pennsylvania. She is best known locally for her ability to capture the local Amish community in art form.

Julia's work will have free shipping for the entire month.