"Scanning Three"

(to the tune of "Let it Be," with sincere apologies to Paul McCartney)

If you find yourself in times of trouble,
BUY ONE SCAN GET TWO FOR FREE!
Scanning slides and artwork,
TWO FOR FREE! TWO FOR FREE!

Yep you sang it right! This month we are offering INCREDIBLE savings on premier drum and art copy scans: Buy ONE, get TWO for FREE! Are we crazy? Probably. But that's never stopped us before. So hurry and take advantage of our lapse of judgment before August 31 or we come to our senses, whichever comes first!

Spread the word! This is a great deal and who knows if we'll ever be nuts enough to do it again!

The FINE PRINT:

All three premier scans must be ordered at the same time.
You may order as many sets of three as you like.
We anticipate this will be a popular special. Allow us extra time.
This special does not apply to raw scans.
If you mix and match premier scans, you will pay for the higher priced scan.

Please mention this special when ordering to get your FABulous savings!

There is an energy, a freshness, associated with painting from life. Painting on location- 'plein air'- and capturing the scene all at once- 'alla prima'- has excited artists and collectors since the turn of the century. Jeanne Mackenzie joins a select group of artists that share their love of nature by capturing the moment from life.

Jeanne Mackenzie's style of painting is a blend of impressionism and realism. Her paintings are done in oil with rich warm tones and a painterly application. These reflect the bold light and striking contrasts of her favorite still lifes and western landscapes.

The subject matter comes from favorite found objects, her travels, backpacking trips with llamas or her local rural surroundings. "Painting on location and from life really hones your powers of observation and helps to create your own style of interpreting nature. Nature keeps me honest and the skills learned are invaluable tools to bring back into the studio".

Jeanne Mackenzie is a Colorado resident living in the Fort Collins area where she is one of the founding members of the Rocky Mountain Plein Air Painters. Graduating with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and Teaching Credential from San Diego State University she eventually fell in love with and devoted herself to oils. "I am continually learning new ways to make my paintings more expressive and spontaneous. The art of learning to 'see' is the foundation for a good painting and my constant lesson". Her paintings are featured in several fine art galleries in Colorado and Arizona.

Her artwork has earned Merit Awards and shown at juried shows throughout the United States including the Oil Painters of America Show and Arts for the Parks-Top 100. She has been featured in Southwest Art Magazine's Best of the West, American Artist Workshop Magazine and International Artist Magazine-Master Artists. Jeanne shares her love of art by teaching national painting workshops and she is on staff at the Denver Art Museum teaching color theory, composition and painting.

(This article first appeared on the Art for Conservation blog.)

First, let me introduce myself, and tell you what you should expect to read about in my blog postings.

My name is Maria Montano, and I am the Web Mistress for Art for Conservation and Fine Print Imaging. I have first hand knowledge of the non-profit world having served on the board for multiple organizations in the Fort Collins community. I also use my photography as an advocacy tool to help raise awareness in the community on a wide range of issues, from sexual assault to donating images to the Save the Poudre coalition.

My blogs on Art for Conservation will be mostly about two subjects: how to work with non-profits to help raise awareness for the causes you care about, and using the internet to promote your work and those causes.

This first blog will be about taking the first steps toward working with a cause in your community. I have found that a lot of photographers and artists want to help, but don't know how to get involved. Not only does working with non-profits help them, it is a great way to raise your profile as an artist within the local art community, as well as the broader community that you live in.

Introduce yourself

The first thing that you'll want to do is call or e-mail the volunteer coordinator; this is generally the person responsible for setting up volunteer opportunities within the organization.
When you show up to your meeting, look professional. Be respectful of their time. Show up no more than 10 minutes early and never arrive late for your appointment.

Take a 6-minute journey through America's Southwest from the Grand Canyon to the white gypsum dunes of New Mexico. Go behind-the-scenes of nature photographer Ian Shive's new book, The National Parks: Our American Landscape, and tune-in to Current TV on your local cable provider to see episodes 2, 3 and 4 throughout the month of August and September.

Recently we were asked if Fine Print Imaging would consider "going green." The question took us back a bit, because we assumed everyone knew that we have been striving toward environmentally sound business practices and products for a very long time. But, we've sort of done it in a quiet, behind-the-scenes way because we just believe it is the right thing to do. However, we have come to realize that you might like to know what steps we've taken to be "green," and that we continue to look for ways to decrease waste and increase sustainability.

Fine Print has been around since 1975 and we have always been conservation conscious. We have used Bamboo paper since its introduction and are now testing Sugar Cane paper (although we still have some issues with it.) All cotton papers are recyclable and most are produced from waste cotton produced by the clothing industry. We use no petro based photo papers in our ink printing. We switched a while ago from a oil-based to an aqueous spray for our canvas prints. We do use Fuji Crustal Archive photo paper in our wet process area, but reclaim silver waste from the process - our recovery system exceeds all EPA and local regulations by a significant amount.

Mark Lukes, Fine Print president, works closely with Joe Zammit-Lucia in insuring that the industry maintains the highest of standards when it comes to green printing.

We have been 100% alternative energy powered here for years and were the second business in our city to get on the EPA Green List - years ago.

In 2008, we were selected as the Green Business of the Year in our City of Fort Collins.

We are the founders and primary funders of the 12 year old $5000 NANPA Philip Hyde Conservation Grant.

We are the select Fine Art printer for the International League of Conservation Photographers (ILCP) and have done and continue to do printing for conservation related organizations like the Nature Conservancy, NANPA, Conservation International, Disney's Animal Kingdom, the Smithsonian, the Wild Foundation, No Water-No Life, the Planetary Coral Reef Foundation and Earth Justice, among others.

In addition, all our staff is involved in recycling our paper waste, plastics, glass and aluminum. We stopped using paper plates a few years ago. Each Spring we do an extensive clean-up at the natural area/pond behind our building.

We're not trying to brag - we just thought you'd like to know that the prints you get from Fine Print are produced as "green" as possible.

Tip #1: Looking for a place to sell your prints? Check out our online gallery. Now it is even easier than ever to offer prints for sale. With our easy self-upload feature, you can sign up for an account today and be selling your prints within a few days. Check it out!

Tip #2:Subscribe to this blog for some interesting ideas and tips creating on "green" art.