apartment therapy

leslie, the editor of SF apartment therapy, was kind enough to add me to their fabulous blog...

my power cord for my computer died and i have been patiently waiting on my new one to get here. i have missed the internet. apparently, i was on the Etsy front page again. i wish i had more inventory to keep in my store there, but i DO plan on changing that soon!!! i really want it to be the place where you can purchase prints and paperie of my work.

i finished and installed my new 15 paintings up at Kerby Lane this afternoon. i will get the images on my website over the weekend. as i will be working on my stuff for the online gallery sale on tuesday.

yay.

ROAR

my new nephew, Bennett, and the cutest boy in the world.

randomness and lockdown, once again

i have been preparing for a show I'm installing this Thursday at Kerby Lane Cafe. after coming home from Houston after my nephew's birth, i have been somewhat overwhelmed with unsatisfactory feelings in regard to my art. let me preface this with, don't be fooled..all artists go thru this..not all blog about it..we aren't always that put together and happy with our work....i have just chosen to write about it so it might give you a glimpse into my process. this last week i have all of the sudden wanted to quit it all. do something totally different...not art related. i have been so depressed by this. no inspiration, motivation, sensory overload and boredom had set in. it made me so sad, because the last 10 years i have worked to get to this point...a full time artist. and now, I'm not satisfied????? WTF? I'm an extremist sometimes and this was one of those moments when i just wanted to walk away completely.

i played the lotto.

Jean and i were at dinner, and i was talking to her about all of this. then, serendipity stepped in. as we were chatting i opened my fortune cookie and low and behold it said "your creativity takes you to great heights." HELLO! okay universe, i get it. talk about tapping you on the shoulder. anyways, we started talking about money (because that has something to do with my dissatisfaction) and decided that if there was ever a time to play the lotto with the numbers off a fortune...this was that time.

needless to say, we didn't win. poo.

BUT, i was warmed and comforted by two things during this. as i was drifting off to sleep that serendipitous night, of course i fantasized about what i would do with all that money. my thought was to have a ceramics studio....and i would give my art away. i like that thought. the other, was a discussion with my friend Dewayne that made me feel like a valued artist and that i deserve to be successful and happy. for some reason, i believe him.

i'm currently obsessed

with John Taylor. i had a dream the other night that i was in a group that won to be the photographers at a Duran Duran photoshoot. i woke up the next morning and searched for recent pics of him.

i was obsessed in middle school....i mean, posters everywhere.

but, much to my denial, he is an old man now! gasp. i mean, he's not really that old at all, but he's not the cutey pie i remember from the 80's. i keep finding pictures of him and am in total disbelief. when did this happen? oh yeah, in the last 20 years i haven't paid attention to Duran Duran. HA.

still, i am disappointed to have found time didn't stand still in order to allow my never ending love for Mr. JT to stay young.

welcome home...

well, i've been in Houston all week as my little sis had her baby!!!! i LOVE him....he is precious and sooooooooooo handsome. it was tremendously hard leaving today to come back to work.

i did arrive to find one of my paintings on the front page of etsy! hello!!!

and i was also in another treasury too...multiple times!! that was exciting too.

production

whew...it is H O T. and of course, today was lots o labor day for me. i thought i'd give you a glimpse into part of the process i go thru to make you beautiful paintings. this is the grunt work...building boxes to paint on.

a fun Lowe's trip to buy lumber (that there is 32 pieces of 1x2's to make the cradle).

i have 4'x8' sheets of 1/4" plywood cut down (to fit into my car) and then i cut it into the desired size in my garage.

then, thru the magic of not taking anymore pics of the process (going to my former workplace at a frame shop and building the actual boxes) voila there are some boxes...now i am going to sand them down so i can paint!

branding

there are several things i am proud of when it comes to running my own biz. one of the things that i have been wishy washy about is my branding. now, i realize i have a recognizable style...however i keep waivering when it comes to the small things like a "logo" or a website skin. i change my biz card design every time i order new ones. i am always criticizing my headers for blog and etsy. and fonts....oh don't get me started.

porch time & micheladas

my dear friend over at The Grackle and I spent some quality time together Wed night as we drank these really darn good micheladas at Scoot Inn and listened to the bartenders wicked cool itunes (i wanted it so bad). porch time rocks, i love it...one on one time with those you love...nothing is better.

Micheladas (wicked good altered recipe)

1 salt rimmed pint glass filled to the rim with ice
juice of one lime
some olive juice
crushed olives
mexican beer (XX)
top off with a little bloody mary mix

YUM.

i got a job

don't worry, it's super part time. i've started sub teaching at the Dougherty Arts Center, a great arts school here in Austin. pre-schooler art...it's so fun. and i'm doing it to conquer a fear i have had since graduating college 10 years ago...teaching.

and now today i think i got a job Dirty Dog, self serve doggie wash just one day out of the week. that will be the fun get me out of the studio job.

Oh My Goodness

okay, i am in awe now of the power of the internet and women run blogs!! i have been hosting my online gallery sale now for a while, and this month i decided to send out on official press release to some of my FAVE bloggers. little did i know that i would receive so much support. i believe it is thanks to these ladeez and their readers that my sale yesterday was an incredible success. i had a record amount of hits on my website too.

that is why i have to give the biggest shout outs to these blogs, because without ya'll, we all wouldn't know where to find all these exceptional designers and artists you find.

a humble thank you to:

Bloesem
Beach Bungalow
Desire to Inspire
Black Eiffel
Happy Living
Treasuring
Poppytalk

i think that's it. ya'll seriously should put these blogs on your list of daily reads!!!!!

THANK YOU ALL FOR ALL THE SUPPORT. you rock!

burning the midnite oil