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Marzipan and Ginger, sitting behind me, wanting to play - the typical afternoon.

“mom, come play with us!! we want to go outsideeee *whine whine whine*” lol

Having them sit there, looking at me with such sad eyes, makes it hard to work. It happens everyday after lunch - David goes back to work, I turn on my music, and they suddenly appear wanting attention. They wait till I want to work. Sometimes it is so totally frustrating lol but how can I say no??

Just look at that little face!!

They sooo need to go to the groomers - Marzi got into a mud hole that our friend’s dog dug…ohh my, was she ever dirty! You can’t really tell in these two pics, but she is not her usual white-self lol. I think this weekend we will take them in.

I printed out my first sheet of Art Cards today. I think they look pretty good! Once again my camera skills are the suck, but you can get the idea.

That is Ginger in the corner - she was curious :P.
They are so much brighter in person! Next step is to cut them out and take some good photos of them with thier envelopes. I think I will get David to help me with the pics - he is a good photographer, and with the two of we could try to take the photos outside. Better lighting ftw!

I have been trying to use Twitter, but I am unsure what to do with it. None of my friends in Canada seem to use it, so I am kinda at a loss. So far I just have a few artists that interest me (like Natasha and Suzi) …but because there is no one on there that knows ME, I don’t see the point in updating it. I guess it may be something I will get into once I make more online friends. We will see.
Utterz is still next on my list - I am actually excited about trying it out! I have been browsing people’s pages, and it seems like a real cool community. So yah, definitely going to start that up this week.

On Thursday, David and I go get our hair cut - I am planning on getting into a shorter bob! lol I came down to Texas with long hair, but have since got it cut shorter each time we see Nikki (our hair stylist). I used to have REALLY short hair, like maybe an inch long, back in high school - but got bored with it and started to grow it out again. Now I am back with wanting it really short. Maybe after the appointment I will get some pics together to show my hair over the years. lol could be fun!

Wow, I have written a ton here. Oopsy!
This is a good example why the Utterz thing would be a benefit to me - I talk way to much and some people would rather hear it than read it

Okey dokey, so I hope you all had a wonderful Monday!

Toodles!

This is what happens when you can’t get to sleep.
You play with different colour schemes lol.

I plan on redoing my logo/title thing at the top too, but I think I am done for tonight.

I joined Twitter today, but I am not sure if I will keep it. I always seem to be on the computer lol, so I don’t think I need the quick little updates. I think I will try Utterz though - Natasha Wescoat wrote a post on her blog about micro-blogging, so I am going to try the three programs she recommends. I chose Twitter today, and sometime in the next week I will get on Utterz.
Oh boy, lol just what I need….another distraction All these social networks are wayyy too addicting.
I just hope to make some new artist friends. I used to blog a TON back in college -  I would start a post and keep adding to it throughout the day, and I would do this every day. I was so totally addicted and obsessed lol.  The blog was on msn spaces, when it first came out, and it was so much fun reading others posts and commenting. There was a great little community that I was a part of.
Here, however, I am not connected to a blogging community, so I am starting to branch out. I like being on my own here, attached to my website (that needs to be majorly updated, I know lol), but I am a wee bit secluded. Sooooo I am going to try other things like Twitter and Utterz, and we will see where I go from there.

Okay, so enough rambling.
I think I am off to bed. Or atleast to read in bed.

Nighty night tout le monde!

Not much progress with my second musical-girl, but I like where it is going.

can you tell I love stripes and checkers? lol
I really can’t get enough of them!! My house has checkers in almost room - a bench in the foyer, a mirror in the hallway, two red checker carpets in the living room/foyer, and a heart paining in the master bedroom. Actually hearts are a close second. I just love patterns and shapes

I finished another mini-print today. It is a valentine mouse!

I think he is quite sweet hehe.
I know I am way late with putting up these prints. I have not printed on anything bigger than 8.5×11 paper, so I am really scared I am going to mess up and waste a HUGE piece of paper. Silly of me , I know.
I will get over it.

So I know I am not the only artist out there that HAS to listen to music while they work, so I thought I would share a particular music label that I ADORE!! Omg they have some of the best artists, including the Stars, Feist, Los Campesinos!, New Buffalo, Broken Social Scene, and Apostle of Hustle.
They are the one and only Arts & Crafts
and what a perfect name eh?
Everyone should totally check this label out - totally awesome music!! AND its Canadian - woot!!

Oh, and if anyone out there has suggestions for music, please feel free to comment!! I love discovering new bands, especially if they are Canadian and/or indi.
Some other favourties of mine include The Faint, Fischerspooner, The Bird and the Bee, Metric, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The New Pornographers, and Regina Spektor.
I also love Philip Glass - love love LOVE his work.

Righto, so I think I will go do some pilates now, before David gets home.
We have to get a bathroom trash bin that closes, since Ginger constantly pulls things out and eats them….you dont know want to know what she ate today…omg ew. lol

Have a wonderful Thursday tout le monde!

tada!

it is done! I had soo much fun working on this piece! There are a few mistakes (like the obvious red smear by the foot) but I still love it. I am unsure whether I am going to sell it or not - I think I will frame it and then decide.

I am working on another musical girl, but trying some different techniques. She is a watercolour drawing that will be pasted on top of the music, instead of drawn on that sheet. The smudge on the first illustration was made from the glue being painted on and overlapping with the pencil crayon, so I will have to try something else - I do NOT want that happening again.

initial sketch

watercolour with pencil crayon shading

trying to find a layout

Making these little originals reminds me of being in elementary school - getting to cut and paste and colour with crayons hehe - it is just so much fun!!
I do plan on scanning these in - my pictures are quite poopy lol and I would like everyone to get to see each drawing at its best. Right now it is chilly and rainy outside (suprising, i know!! lol) so my pictures are being taken inside with bad lighting.

Oh oh!!! and I have put up my wee sale on Etsy!!
All non-limited art prints are 20% off!
Plus if you buy 4 or more, you will get upgraded shipping!

WOOT!

lol so go check it out!

David and I went to see Juno last night - and omg it was awesome!! Soooooo funny and brilliant acting. Totally deserves all those rave reviews and hype.
Go see it!!

We have also been working out alot more - the elliptical thing has been put on hold, and instead have been focusing on doing the Kettlebells and Pilates. So far, so good! I am already seeing a difference, yays!!
I have been doing pilates off and on for years now, and I still LOVE it. The main thing I am missing is my Irish Dancing *sighs*. I used to dance alot, but down here I would have to drive like 1.5 hours each way to get to classes….not going to happen. I will just have to wait till we move up to Oregon. It is more popular up on the west coast.

Okey dokey, so I have rambled on here long enough.
I have some vacuuming to do, as well as lots of art to be made!
I think the art will come first.

Happy Tuesday tout le monde!

Soooo, I did not put those prints up this past weekend due to not having my paper - booooo!! We went to Houston, but the shop was closed *sigh* so I had to order it off Amazon. The paper arrived yesterday evening; however, I now need the envelopes! Yah, I’m a wee bit of a scatter brain….ordered one thing and not the other. So I am hoping to get them up this weekend, as well as put on my first SALE :O

The sale will be buy two prints for $35, and of course if you buy 4 or more you get an upgrade to UPS!
This is my first sale, so we will see how it goes.
I just want a few more people to notice my little art shop on Etsy, so hopefully this will do the trick.

But now having said that….does having a sale for my art prints make me a “cheaper” artist? Am I not giving myself enough credit? I don’t know….hmmmm

I found an amazing artist on Youtube (through SuziBlu) last night, and she makes videos about how to help sell your art. She has made me really think about my own art. Her name is Natasha Wescoat, and I have linked her wonderfully informative blog under both “Art sites” and “Artists I admire”. I have yet to read all the links and articles she has written, but finding her now, when I am just really getting into the art market, is just so perfect. I believe I will learn alot from her and grow as an artist.
Oh, and you HAVE to check out her art - it is soooo awesome!! I am totally going to save up some money to buy one of her pieces (hopefully a little doggie one hehe). Finding Natasha Wescoat is definitely like finding a pirate’s booty for me.

Check her out Natasha Wescoat

Alrighty, so back to my art
I have been working on my first mixed media piece, and I am super excited it about it. Suzi Blu has also inspired me to learn and grow as an artist and not be afraid to take risks. Sooooooo I got out an old piano book, tore out a page, sketched-out some whimsy designs, and came up with this

yes lol it is a woman walking her bunny
here are the next few stages of this illustration.

And here is the one from today

I used acrylics, and pencil crayon over it for shading. I found out that it is not as easy as watercolours + pencil crayons, but the effect is still nice. I have to finish the background still and add some more layers. I have found that time just passes by soooooo quickly what I am painting. It is a totally different feeling than using the computer to create my work. With the computer I constantly get distracted by the internet. I also tend to lean forward more so I can see the tiny points I am pushing around - which leads to more back pain. I am really enjoying creating this piece, and I have yet to decide if I am going to sell it - the hardest part for me is letting go of the art.

Oh! and on a completely different note, we broke our second kettle! lol I have been down here in Texas for about a year and a half now and this is the second one to bust on us….I don’t think they like me down here.
So this is our new one!

I actually like it better than the last - it’s super cute eh??
I was boiling water when I took the pic, so that is why it looks a little odd

Okey dokey, that is all for now!

Remember to check out Natasha!! She totally rocks!!

have a super awesome Wednesday tout le monde!!