I got a couple new pieces finished...

'Watching Over Me'

12" x 16"

Acrylic on gallery wrapped canvas.

I will list this painting early Monday (today) morning.

"Who's Afraid Of the Dark?"

9" x 12"

Acrylic on cotton canvas sheet (will need to be framed)

I will be listing this piece late Monday afternoon or early Tuesday morning.

I love the cat of this piece...I'll be doing more with her!

***************

I've got an original ACEO (that I forgot to take pictures of.), that I finished late last week. I worked it with acrylics, prismacolor pencils, and markers....I really like the outcome..not sure why I keep forgetting to get it listed.

I want to squeeze that little piece in between these...if I don't forget again!!

A week-end...without rain???

I'm pretty much tired of the rain...and it has rained, part of, every week-end for the last month or two...at least it seems so.
I need the sunshine...it's just so hard for me to see what I'm doing with all of the artifical lighting in my studio and my home. I have to be able to do the basics when the sun is out and shining brightly through the windows in my studio.
Another problem, with all of the rain....it's started raining in my bedroom...and has soaked my bed. True, the day it rained several inches in less than an hour...backed up in my rain gutters and ran in under the edge of the roof...came through my bedroom ceiling...into my light fixture and all over my bed, I didn't catch it in time to keep it from getting soaked. Now...whenever it rains hard...I grab the shower curtain I had bought to replace my old one and throw it over my bed...my mattress is still pretty new and I really don't want it ruined.
I need it to dry out for at least a week, so my son in law can see if he can fix the problem with the roof...or figure out a way to divert the rain so it doesn't come into my bedroom.

So anyway...I did get 'off track a bit'...I'm looking forward to a week-end without rain...so I can really get to work and see how much I can accomplish. I really need to get quite a bit done for my Rustic Goth Shop, as well as for my CMZ Art Shop.

Next week is looking to be a busy week. We've got the Fourth coming up...I've got some personal projects I really need to finish. Jaime and I bought a 'hoopty' ...and it will need to be insured and licensed...so we can put it to good use. I'll have to have John (my trusty son in law) do a bit of work to it...so that it is good and mechanically sound. I don't care if a car looks great..but it has to run great!!

Reconsidering....

After some reconsideration..and rereading the 'tale'...I have decided not to list my digital photo manipulated piece 'The Girl Without Hands' (the picture posted here is of my oil painting of the same 'tale'...sold in 2007.) I don't know why but, people don't think this piece is as graphic as the photo manipulated piece??

While reading the tale, I was struck at how obedient the children of the era must have been.

One of the many good qualities my children possess is that of self-sacrifice..especially for family and loved ones.

But, I have this vision (in my mind's eye) of me saying...."Oh yeah...well...I made this deal with the devil....and...uh...well, it kind of 'back-fired' on me. So...uh...I'm going to need to cut the hands off of one of you! You see...uh...well...if I don't...then, he's going to come along...and...well..he's going to kill me off!"

Trust me..as much as each one of them may love me...I'm pretty sure their response would be..."What the hell???!!! What are you doing chatting with the devil in the first place???? Hey...you need a kidney...a blood tranfusion...some money..........we're there!!! But, cutting off our hands...sorry...you''re just going to have to "re-negotiate!"

Those Grimms Brothers...they must have had one Disturbed Childhood!

I WAS going to do soooo much yesterday...

Then, I started updating my website. That took me all night...and it's still not really done. I have a feeling I'm going to have to dedicate a day or three or seven...just trying to get the darned thing looking right.

I am hoping my canvas order arrives today...it was supposed to be here yesterday...which was why I ended up on my website...(I had been putting that off..since it was in more of a mess than I wanted to deal with at the moment.)

Next week is the fourth...and I know that I'll have family pretty much the entire week-end. Since I get most of my paintings done on week-ends...I want to get a lot done over the next few days...hopefully, I will.

On second thought...

I have just listed this piece..'In the Fields of Innocents' is what I decided as an appropriate title.

But, on second thought and after some 'tepid feedback' from family members...I may not list 'The Girl Without Hands'.
I did an oil painting of this same fairy tale last year...but everyone thinks this piece is a little more macabre than is my style...so I'm having some second thoughts.

I think I will, at least, hold off and see how I feel about the piece in a couple of days or so.

A Couple New Digital Pieces....

I'm going to be listing a couple of new digital originals in my shop in the next day or two...either late Thursday or Friday.

The first piece...is the first in my 'Grimms Fairy Tales' digital series...and it is titled..."The Girl Without Hands"............here is an excerpt from that tale...

So he went to the girl and said, my child, if I do not cut off both your hands, the devil will carry me away, and in my terror I have promised to do it. Help me in my need, and forgive me the harm I do you. She replied, dear father, do with me what you will, I am your child. Thereupon she laid down both her hands, and let them be cut off.

The second piece....( still untitled ) was started, after I ran across the lyrics of an Evanescence song...

Field of Innocence
Evanescence

I still remember the world

From the eyes of a child

Slowly those feelings

Were clouded by what I know now

Where has my heart gone

An uneven trade for the real world

Oh I... I want to go back to

Believing in everything and knowing nothing at all

...it kind of took on a 'life of it's own'...and didn't really stay within the 'perimeters' of the lyrics...but, I like it...so I let it 'do it's own thing'.

I spent the evening...

...reading blogs. There are a lot of good ones out there. I wished I had the time to read even more of them. I tend to get too 'involved' with the ones I really like and it takes the time from the new one's I run across. So, I bookmark those to read later...and I do!

I know I should be working...but, seriously...everyone needs to take some time to relax every now and then. Certainly, I'll have to work twice as hard today..but, well...that's okay!

Here's a couple of 'gems' I've recently found:

Maddie and Mommy -- check out the fried green tomatoes.

Stiletto Heights -- kept my interest.

Now...I'm off to get myself busy! I've got packing and shipping to do...before I fall behind!


Oh yeah...I did take the time to make a new banner for this blog! I rather like it....

New Paintings In The Shop This Week

"I Can't Let You Go"

12" x 16" Acrylic on Gallery Canvas

"My Heart Goes Out"

12" x 16" Acrylic on Gallery Canvas

"Poison Apple"

9" x 12" Acrylic on Canvas Sheet

Paintings will be listed by

Tuesday -- 6/24

2:00 pm

I Watch COPS..

I confess...I watch COPS...three or four times a week..on Fox, on Court TV, on Tivo....I'm not sure why I watch it--but, in my defense, most of the time it is just 'background' noise, so that I can concentrate while I write my blogs, send my business emails, do my listings, etc...I have to have some noise..my husband called it...'constructive noise'...different than the noises that come from different parts of my house, or the sounds of cars racing up and down the block, or dogs barking at imagined intruders.





If I have a lot of work to do on the computer, and COPS is just TOO interesting, I have to turn it to the Weather Channel...I mean, ...honestly, ...how much weather can a person really get interested in...? It works, just like COPS, great 'constructive noise'. I cannot watch any of the programs I regularly follow like; Saving Grace, the Closer, Lost, Prison Break, any of the 'CSIs'...and way to many others....and I also cannot watch 'disaster' shows like; 'Storm Chasers' or 'Seconds From Disaster'....I tend to watch more and work less..so I'm better off not turning them on at all.

New Prints In The Shop...

"The Girls Meet The Raven"

is now available

only

as a 5" x 7" Print

"A Mother's Work..."

is a print of my original painting, with a few subtle changes.

"The Waiting Begins"

is offered as a 5" x 7" Print

and as a 8" x 10" Print

All of these new prints are now (or will be soon) available in my Rustic Goth Etsy Shop.

ALSO....

A few of my prints can now be found at

Black Heart Inc.

New paintings will be available in the Shop

on Monday...June 24th!

So....

...about once a month, I feel the need to 'take a break'. I'm not actually taking a break...just doing some 'restructuring'.

I've got several paintings in the works...

I need to get my 'dolls' from the 'design' stage to the 'finished' stage...

I'm designing a new digital art series...based on 'The Brothers Grimm'

So....I'm not actually taking a break...just trying to get some work done.

Break time...

June 18th

June 18th....my world tends to stop...at least for that day! But, I do count my blessings for thirty five of the best years of my life!!!

Just What I Need

It's Tuesday morning and all is quiet...for now! I've got a delicious cup of steaming hot coffee and just turned the weather channel on, hoping we don't get too much more rain.

(Last week it was raining in my bedroom...from the ceiling..yikes!! My bed was absolutely soaked, the light fixture was filled with water and the tornado sirens were blaring for well over an hour!)
I can do without any more of that kind of weather...but, it still isn't as bad as what the poor folks in Iowa are going through right now!

For now though, I am just 'taking in the quiet'...before too long I'll have my two youngest grandkids...toddlers...seeing how much they can get in to, before I turn on 'Dora' or 'Backyardigans'.
But, in the meantime...the coffee is... 'just what I need'!

A sneak peek at the week...

"A Melancholy Spirit"

Acrylic on 11" x 14" Gallery Wrapped Canvas

"The Last Balloon"

Acrylic and Textures on 20" x 24" Gallery Wrapped Canvas

I will be listing these two new paintings in my Rustic Goth Etsy Shop this afternoon (Monday).

I am moved..up...and 'in business'

Well, actually I was 'mostly' moved a week ago...I just hadn't had the opportunity to get up into the studio and get everything unpacked and organized.
While the studio was in the basement I turned the kitchen/ dining area into my studio...excellent counter space..cupboard space..big sink....really nice! Then I used about half of the 'living room' area for office/ shipping. The rest for drying space/ box storage..etc.

Now I have one separate room for office/ print center/ packing and shipping. The larger room is my studio (right next to the bathroom - for the sink) and I have a little sewing center in a little corner...with space for the grandkids to play (while I work)...set up tables for different projects..etc.

I think it's going to work out just fine!

My oldest daughter...

...spent Friday afternoon in the Emergency Room. She's had a serious headache all week that she hasn't been able to get rid of. They needed to do a Cat Scan to rule out aneurism...it turns out (it's a pulled muscle...???) really...in your head???
She has three kids...Nathaniel, Christopher and Eliana...Christopher was just so worried...I'm sure he remembers his 'grampy' in the hospital during this time two years ago...and it just scared him...I felt so bad for him.
Wendy just got promoted to manager at her job...I am thinking that stress might have something to do with it too...

In The Treasury....It made the front page Friday afternoon!

I love doing the digital photo manipulation collages...like this one here...'A Long Forgotten Past.'

It is currently in a Treasury entitled 'White Rabbit.' This Treasury expires shortly after 1 am on Sunday, June 15.

Tomorrow! I'm going to organize my studio so that I can finally get some paintings done....in the meantime...look for a couple of new prints of my paintings in the next day or so.

***Note..

This piece made the front page of Etsy today...(Friday-June 13)...and got tons of hits.

You Know what I love about blogger...

....I love that I can write a week's worth (if need be) of posts and then schedule them on the dates and times I want them to publish.

I don't do this often...(tho I might do a day or two at a time) but, it has been a real blessing this past few weeks. I don't like to go onto one of my blogs and see that it has been two weeks since my last post. It never seems like that much time has passed...and it makes it appear that I'm not interested....or maybe that I am really, really busy --- which I am!

Etsy's Dark Side Street Team

It seems I have been moving forever!! I am still not entirely moved...my daughter and I are planning to spend the afternoon organizing my studio tomorrow...(I do, at least, have my print center/ packing-shipping center/ office space/ completed.)



I felt like I could finally spend a few hours going over everything on Etsy's Dark Side Street Team...and I'm anxious to get more involved.



To find more about this wonderful group...you can visit



Etsy's Dark Side at Ning



Etsy's Dark Side Street Team Website



Dark Side My Space

Sneak Peek....

What I've been "up to"....

So....this is what I've been working on....designing and making a line of dolls based on the 'creeper' characters found in many of my original paintings.
As my very first creation, this little guy will not be offered for sale. For more than twenty five years, I have always sold completely out of my creations and because of a flooded basement, I don't even have pictures of those creations. Some were so special and unique that I really wished I had kept, at least, one of the original pieces from some of these creations for my own collection.

I have worked on several designs, for these little guys (and gals), and have elected to go with a painted head and hands finish with yarn hair...the hair on this guy is called 'eyelash yarn'. I found it at Joann's Fabrics.
The body is muslin, stuffed with fiberfill and weighted with rice. I am looking for a spray on finish to protect the painted surfaces of the dolls.

I still have a few 'kinks' to work out before I can put them in the shop...but, I have to tell you, I do have some really cute little guys in various stages of completion.

I'm hoping that I can have them ready by this time next week.

In the meantime...I have listed a few new original ACEO paintings...and I hope to paint a few more by the week-end.

This week....June 9

Yay...I managed to get a couple of new ACEO paintings done this week-end.

"Go Ask Alice".... has just been listed in my Rustic Goth Etsy Shop.

Inspired by Grace Slick and Lewis Carroll.

"He Needs A Home"... this sad, pallid little gal holds such a sweet little owl. He needs a home, I wonder if she'll take him home.

"It's All Mine" ... is a kind of 'follow up' to another of my paintings, "Give It Back"...

The first piece has been listed...the others will be listed by day's end, Tuesday.

Something old...something new...

...something borrowed... something ....................

I have to confess that I am not as extroverted as I would like to be. I left the corporate world of insurance in 2004, and since then I have become quite introverted.

Partly because of my husband's illness and the year we spent fighting his cancer..and losing.

Partly because, I really don't leave my house very much anymore.

And, partly because...well, I'm not sure why...I just don't have as many 'opinions' as I used to have...so I guess I've become somewhat boring.

So....I'm hoping to change some things up....I don't like being boring and introverted....and I spend far too much time with my T.V.....I've got some new projects in the works and I'm thinking about pulling a couple really...really...late nights (early mornings for me) to see if I can't get them ready.

What Is Love?

Some of my art, set to the Haddaway song (from 'Night At The Roxbury'---and the Pepsi Commerical)...'What Is Love?"

This is in my videos on You Tube.

Admittedly A Few Birds Did Act Strange

Title: "ADMITTEDLY A FEW BIRDS DID ACT STRANGE"

Size: 6" x 8"

Media: Original Digital Art Print (Only One Will Be Printed)

Date: 2008

------------------------------------

This is my first digital art print that I intend to be a "one of a kind" original art print. I spend a lot of time .... way more time than I spend on a painting .... creating an original digital art creation. I really do like my digital pieces...but, I'm a little 'O.C.D'...and I really don't want to list more than 65 to 75 items in my shop at any given time...and of those...I want a certain number to be ACEOs...Paintings...Open Edition Prints...Prints of My Paintings...etc.

My newest shop category is "Digital One Of A Kind" ... I plan to keep about 5 'one of a kinds' in my shop as often as possible.

I'm so excited...

I've got some new projects in the works. I love painting...I really do...but, sometimes I just need to do something else...otherwise, I tend to struggle a bit (and find myself coming up with all kinds of excuses for why I'm not painting.) At these times...I have to switch to something else.

Hopefully, by doing this, I'll be able to maintain the passion and love for all forms of my art.

I'll be previewing these projects here, as they are completed.

Some days....

Some days just seem to go so much faster than others. Today is one of those days. For one thing...we had our 'weekly outing' of grocery, fabric, crafts and painting supply shopping today.. with a two year old and a four year old in tow....wow...they can be a handful. Thankfully they weren't cranky...they just wanted to touch sooo many things.

This is one of those days that I am only just able to do more than a minute or two's work on the computer. I'm not complaining, mind you...in fact, it was a welcomed change of pace.

The Business of Painting...

When I first started selling my art online four years ago..I foolishly thought I would be able to spend most of my time...painting.

I learned fast that there was more to the business of painting...than just painting.

There are listing descriptions to write, online portfolios to maintain, packaging and shipping to do, bookkeeping to keep on top of, marketing to figure out, and much..much more.

The trick to all of this...is to figure out what to do....when!

Even after four years...I'm still trying to figure it all out...but, I'll get there...eventually!

A Few Notes....

This is something new in Jaime's "Bellatrix Art Etsy Shop" I'm sharing it here because I think it is a gorgeous piece...especially in person. She has a few other pendants in her shop...these are the first pieces she has offered beyond the paintings and prints.

We will be working together on some new projects in the coming weeks. Stay 'tuned' to find out what those are.

I have a pair of turtle doves that live somewhere close by....I often see them sitting on my backyard fence...it's a little like having pets. Since I can't have them inside....my landlord is dead set against pets....I bought some wild birdseed...so I can feel some connection with them.

I also spotted my hummingbird feeder perched high on a shelf in my basement and found the packaged nectar. I'm thinking I'll have the grandbabies help me clean the feeder tomorrow and see if we can't get it set up somewhere out back.

Getting All Set Up...

I'm pretty much moved to the second floor..and we hooked up a window unit air conditioner this evening...much nicer up there now. I've still got a few things left to move...and a lot of setting up that still needs to be done..............but, hopefully I'll be "back in business" later in the week.

I take Sundays off...it's family day and my day to 'rest'...more or less.

So, I'll start getting things ready come Monday and as soon as I'm happy with the lay out of the studio I'll be able to start painting again.