Back to Work!

I've had some friends in from out of town recently and it had been such a whirlwind, trying to get stuff done while spending as much quality time as I possibly could with them. It's great having people visit...I got to do all this touristy stuff that I hadn't done in years, sight-seeing and spending time in the city, staying out till all hours of the morning, and most importantly, taking time off work and having some fun in the sun! I haven't had a chance to upload all the photos yet but here's just one from the past Saturday night out..

But I do have to get back into it this week. My studio is a mess as usual with massive piles of clutter. It may appear to an outsider that I live in only one room of my house; I have developed the skill of hiding junk and papers everywhere. The madness really has to stop. I have hoarded so much over the years that I have to start donating and giving things away in order to make room for uh....dare I say, more junk???!! I wanted to snap a few pics of the insanity that is my home, but I think I will leave the embarrassing fire hazard photos for another day.

So I've been playing around with Photoshop lately. I've had this Wacom Tablet for ages but for some reason am extremely intimidated by it. There are soo many amazing artists out there that are wizards on the computer and I can safely say that I am not one of them. It's really challenging for me but I am slowly learning and attempting a few new techniques daily. Am loving the girlie-hot-jessica-rabbit-looking-over-the-shoulder doodle right now. Will post more pics of some of the decent results as I create them!...XOXO with love

Before....

I used to have a completely different style of painting. I mean for a short while, I tried out some home-decor, around-the-house type of stuff. So I had all these mini 4x4 canvasses for the bathroom and for the kitchen etc. They were fun and sold well enough at craft shows, but I got a bit tired of that particular mode. So I decided to switch it up a bit. Anyhow, from time to time, I do get bored and restless of what I am working on and will switch back and forth between several different projects. This often leaves me with heaps and piles of unfinished canvasses just lying around my studio! These are just a few examples from that phase:

















Well, my goal for the next few months (more like years really), is to be able to generate enough freelance work for myself so that I am able to travel and paint from anywhere in the world. That way, I am not tied to Toronto, or my house and my little studio for any extended period of time. It's all coming together very slowly but surely....I'm so excited!!

My Own Illustration Friday

So I've never participated in IF before and as soon the topic gets e-mailed around this afternoon, I will get right on it! They are usually quite intriguing but I've never bothered to actually sit down and submit anything that I've done. So we'll see if I can work with today's topic.
I'm posting some photos of a series of paintings that I have created for a local eatery in town. The owners are Penny and Chad (also the Chef), so I tried to make these 2 particular pieces a little more fun and geared specifically toward each of them. I really hope they like what Ive come up with...they haven't actually seen any pf the finished pieces and I'm having them uh framed and matted before their approval! Well, they let me have creative control, so I ran with that.

Anyhow, off to work right now. It is sooo incredibly lovely and warm out here this afternoon that I really just want to hang out on my patio and enjoy the sun. Instead though, I will spend the rest of the day holed up at the restaurant serving beer and ribs....

XOXO with love

Honorable Mention

It's really a lot of fun to read through artists blogs. Sometimes, I find myself lost in these sites for hours and hours. It's kinda comforting to know that other people have been faced with some of the same challenges that I have encountered. It's also interesting to see where other artists pull their ideas from creatively and what inspires them. It has pretty much been an eye-opener to be able to start from scratch both personally and professionally, and just be able to look back and see how far it is that I have come.

That being said, I am truly humbled to be mentioned on the following site...hopefully I can get a little more work out of it! Please read all about me:
http://fashiontribes.typepad.com/fashion/2009/04/a-few-fun-fabulous-fashion-illustrations.html.

Artist Co-op

I wanted to share some photos of some of my paintings that are for sale at a local artisan co-operative that is about 30 minutes out-of-town.
You can check out the website at: http://www.agiftof-art.com.

The photos that I took aren't fantastic, but you get the general idea!

Never Satisfied...

I can usually begin a painting project and work on it for hours and hours...days even, and in the end I feel like it has hardly changed at all. I am very critical of my work and if it were always up to me, I would be constantly changing and retouching even the final pieces!

Today has been pretty uneventful, just been working on some pieces that I have been creating for a local restaurant in town. I'm attaching a photo of a painting that I'm finishing now. Will post a better picture once it's completed.

xoxox

Happy Easter Everyone!

Well Easter has almost come and passed with nothing eventful to report. I wish I could say that I spent this weekend enjoying tasty delicacies with friends or family, but alas, I have had to work this entire time.

I think that I was really looking forward to keeping up this blog as a day-to-day journal and art diary (so to speak). But it has now occurred to me that I will definitely have to censor myself in order not to offend family or close friends. Code words, aliases and "please read between the lines" effective immediately! I was given the feedback that I was being a bit "dark" the other day. In all fairness, I will admit that I can be rather depressing at times, but seriously, am I not allowed to moan about the uninspiring crap that is a huge part of my life right now? It's my blog and I'll bitch if I want to!

Anyhow, I haven't had a chance to post anything new in a while, so I will take this time to upload some in-progress and completed work that I have spent the last few days on.





That's all for now.
xoxo

Work Rant

I despise working. Correction, that emotion is specific to my parttime job. Typically, I only work a few nights a week, but those few hours have given me some of the worst stress and anxiety ridden panic attacks of my life. There is one person in particular who works there who physically makes my stomach turn every time I think of her. She’s condescending, rude; she berates and belittles me on a daily basis: she’s just outright mean. Honestly, I wonder how people like that have come so far in life, treating others with such little respect. It’s a wonder she’s not fearful for her safety, lest a disgruntled ex-employee should come in, go all nuts up in there and she eats it. (Hmm, that was a bit too dark).

SIGH.

The clock is ticking and my mind is full of things that I want to start, resume or finish but I seem to be at a roadblock. I am the constant procrastinator and I have about a hundred unfinished or barely started projects. I sometimes feel that my current economic crisis has rendered me unfocused and disinterested in everything. All I can think about are the things that I need or want to accomplish and yet all I seem to do is make lists and imagine what I should be doing instead of actually just doing them.

Anyhow, will upload some progress pics of some new paintings.

Till then...

Monday Blues

Today is a blue day and have to be at work in a few hours. Barely had any sleep for the past few nights and have not been inspired to finish my current project. Must keep motivated so I can get paid for this job ASAP!

Does sulking and staying in your bathrobe all day constitute being productive? I hate Mondays. It's such a BLAH, boring, rainy day today. Worst of all, I have to work tonight. Going to your day job at night really sucks. I wonder if they will let me serve tables in my PJs???

Want to get back to drawing every day in order to keep creative juices flowing....

Till later then, XOXO

Finally!

So I’m going to try to keep up this blog as best as I can.
I’m still not entirely sure why I want to blog at all. I don't think that I am all that interesting and presumably, most people are not going to want to spend their time reading about the rantings of an out-of-work-artist. That being said, I myself do love to read the blogs that are really personal, especially those of artists sharing their creations and works in progress. It’s inspiring to look into someone else’s studio and temporarily become a part of their world.
Someday, I hope to be brave enough to post pictures of my at-home-studio as well as my creations in progress. Self-criticism can really get the better of me, let alone putting my work out there for the world to judge (seriously though, the world, wow, what an ego!). It took me forever to even set up my own website. I’m working on a web store right now and a few other ventures that will hopefully set me heading in the right direction. What a challenge it is attempting to turn a hobby into a career. How on earth do so many succeed at this??

Please send suggestions immediately!