Happy Halloween!!!

This looks almost like

a duplicate of my

other blog...

and I have some pictures to

show you...

I just have to upload them

first!

I just wanted to say

"Happy Halloween"

before it is completely past!

I got a few

uploaded...so here they are...

Mike and Jaime

were invited to a

Costume Party!

Except for the 'Darth Vader' helmet

they made the rest of their

costumes themselves.

It took several hours to paint

all of the detail on Jaime's face, body and headpiece.

I think they look great!

Simon is munching down on

a lollipop...

just one of the many treats

he got in his

little 'Thomas The Train'

Halloween bucket!

Ava is checking out her stash of candy...looking cute as ever as a little 'pink kitty'.

Their mother made their costumes and did a fabulous job!

I had two of the other grandchildren come by

but, for some reason their pictures didn't come out!

Wendy did such a good job with their make up!

Just a fun day for all!

Taking Stock

I'm glad I've taken some time off

of painting and creating

new pieces for my Etsy Shop.

It's given me time to take stock, evaluate

and re-evaluate

what I need to do in the

weeks and months ahead.

One of the things I've decided to do

is limit the 'Tragedies in Literature' series

to the three pieces I currently

have listed.

Ophelia

Desdemona

Cleopatra

I will continue to offer the original digital prints

in the shop

and I am going to take

the images and introduce some new

merchandise

in my Rustic Goth Zazzle Shop

this next week.

I'll preview that merchandise here

when it's ready.

In the meantime, my Rustic Goth Squidoo Lens

has almost reached the Top 100

in the Arts Category.

I am very proud of this lens...and I invite

you to pop on over and give it a look!

Harry Potter Trivia

Yes...I am a 'Harry Potter' fan!

I love, love, love the books...the movies...everything Harry Potter!

I think J.K. Rowling is remarkable!

Sooo....I wrote a Squidoo Lens

titled

'Harry Potter Trivia'

I'm sure I'll have a lot

of fun with this lens.

I am especially proud

of my

Rustic Goth Lens

Please visit one...or both..

of these lenses

and see what you think!

I invite you to visit...

My new improved

Rustic Goth Squidoo Lens.

Please leave me a comment,

rate my lens

or just give it a look!

I really would appreciate it!

I am quite buried...

What I thought would only

take me a few days...

has turned out to be more in-depth

that I anticipated!

I wanted to do some computer clean-up...and still must..

I ended up instead,

knee-deep in several other of my sites...

and I'm getting in deeper.

Needless to say

It's going to be a week or two...

before I have anything new to put in the shop,

unless I make myself take a

time out..to paint!

We'll just have to see what unfolds!

Behind the scenes...

I've been kind of

like a 'ghost' this week...

I've been here..

but not necessarily visible.

There are so many things that HAVE to be

done

'behind the scenes'

that I haven't been doing as often as I should...

that I could no

longer

put them off.

Number one among those things...

to 'clean up' the computer I most often use.

It has gotten so sluggish

I should imagine from all of the pictures

I have uploaded.

The only 'new' pices

I'm currently entertaininng

would be some

print packages...

and some notecards with envelopes.

These are still in the

'entertaining'

stage...so I haven' made

a definite decision

yet!

I'm sticking to my word...

I'm sticking to my word

and taking some time off.

With all of the illness going round...and I'm

still feeling 'not my usual self'...it seems like a good

time for a bit of a change.

Since I'm not sure what to do with myself

if I don't create something new, at least, once a week...

I'm sure I'll have something new to list

in the shop

later this week...or...

early next week.

In the meantime...I'll just

plan on taking some "me" time!

It's that time again...

It's time for me to take another

'working vacation'

which actually means...

I'm not going to be 'as available as normal' on Etsy...

and that I may take a day or two...away from this blog..

if there isn't really anything to blog about.

This time..

I won't be working as much on

new pieces as on...

cleaning my computer.

It's gotten quite frustrating lately..

I use my laptop for most of my work..and it is soooo loaded

with pictures...and who knows what else...

that it is running slower..and slower...and slower.

I really need to clear as much as possible off...and see if I can get

it to run better...

before it quits running entirely.

Wish me luck!!!

A nice turn...

I think it is very nice when I find one or more of my

items

in someone else's blog.

Perhaps I should do that more often...

Maybe when I can get myself organized

a bit better...I'll think seriously about

doing so...every so often.

A busy week-end...

I'm hoping I can have a

really busy week-end...

I have so many things planned

and

time seems to be

a luxury

at the moment!

A new character -- Bella Donna

I have been working on some

brand new characters for paintings

and such.

This is 'Bella Donna'

not really a 'deadly nightshade'

but a cute little Goth Girl.

I adore her!

The top painting...

" After The Rain "

will be listed later today or tomorrow.

"In The Forest"

is now listed in the Shop.

Favorites

If I'm 'Up' To It..

I really do hope that I hurry up and

get over this 'bug'...

whatever it is...

I've got so much work to do

first...

but, I'm so anxious to get

started on a series

that I've been wanting to start

getting sketched and painted.

I have listed a couple new pieces of jewelry

and a few new prints

in the Shop.

I had hopes...

I had hoped to have a really

productive

week-end...

I'm going to quit 'planning' for those...

I've picked up a bug..

hopefully

it won't have me

down too long!

Why I'm Not Rich....

Yahoo had an article today...

"Why You're Not Rich"...

It gave 10 reasons why you're not rich..

and then '10 (more) reasons..'

Among the 10 More...

=

"You care what your car looks like.."

This is a picture of my car..

it's pretty beat up and battered..

and one of the headlights keeps blowing out,

so I can't even drive it after dark....

...and note the grass growing up in the driveway and sidewalk...

it brings me to the reason...

'You care what your neighbors think'...

My next door neighbor mows his lawn 2 or 3 times a day (or so it seems)...I think he's pretty horrified at the condition of my lawn!

I concede to the points...

..'having bad habits'...

and

..'not being prepared'..

I think the picture of the clutter...that is my home...speaks to that.

But...

I am pretty diversified..

I do what I enjoy...

I LOVE to learn...

I'm not really sure why I'm not rich..

maybe NEVER having enough money to pay for the necessities

has something to do with it...????

But...I never give up...though it's sometimes a struggle...

so you never know...

maybe there's hope yet!!

Newest Piece

'Goth Girl and Friends'

This is my latest little

painting...

approx 4.5" x 6.5"

(I need to remeasure before I list it)

acrylic paints on cotton canvas sheet.

I did this piece

to put in one of the frames I

found on a 'Thriftventure'

but,

since I still haven't

repurposed the frame

I decided to go ahead and list

this little piece

and do something different for the frame

AFTER I get it finished.

I'll be listing this little piece

in the shop,

at some point

later today or tomorrow!

Creepy

This is a 'propaganda poster'

from WW II...

I think it rather

Creepy....

Thought I'd share!

Time for Research.

I've spent a huge part of the past

two days

doing some long overdue

'research'.

What I've discovered...

"if it 'tugs' at your 'heart strings' "

it probably WILL sell!

Oh..oh..

I may be in trouble!

A New Banner for Rustic Goth

It's time

for a 'redress'

at least for my shop.

Bits and pieces

of my 'Ghostlings' series

went into the newest

Banner

for the shop.

I want to get

very caught up

with all of my work

then take some

time to design several new

banners for the shop

that I can just

change out every so often.

I think that sounds fun...

but

for now

it's back to

work..work..work!

New Paintings

I stayed up late, late, late

Saturday Night/ Sunday Morning

painting.

I got five paintings

yes...four of them are small pieces...

finished.

Here are three of those pieces...

I love them all.

I'm especially excited about those that I've

painted just for these wonderful little frames I found

(while out on a 'thriftventure').

I painted the frames with thinned black acrylic paint

then,

a light coat of varish to seal the paint.

They're coming out great...

see the last picture...

These little paintings will

come WITH the Frames!

Anyway...

I've already listed the top piece...

the rest of the paintings will be listed in

the shop, sometime

between now and Wednesday.

Later today....

I hope to get,

at least,

one or two paintings

listed.

I was able to paint 5

brand new pieces

over the week-end.

I won't list everything today...

but, maybe...

the majority!

We'll see!

I think I might like to see..

'Running With Scissors'

I drew a blank...

I'm not sure what was going on with

me yesterday...

clear up to the wee hours of this morning.

Try as I might...I just drew a blank!

I could think of nothing to paint..draw...

anything!!

Maybe it's that I have been taking

Wednesdays off

(not intentionally...it just worked out that way)

and I worked like crazy this Wednesday.

Anyway...I got a day off...but not really!

I ended up stressed out..

not at all relaxed and refreshed...

it was so frustrating!

oh well...

I guess I'll cut my losses

and see if I have a better day today.

I just won't put as much

pressure on myself.

I'll get done what I can get done...

always my sold items

take priority..

so they will come first!

GHOSTS OF GOMORRAH

These are the

GHOSTS OF GOMORRAH

a wonderfully DARK painting

that I wanted to share.

In the words of the artist

(with his permission)

"This is one of my favorite paintings...ever. It is absolutely an attention grabber...I cannot stop staring at it.

Everyone who enters my studio is mesmerized and caught up in all of the action...and all of the hidden treasures throughout the piece.

It is hard to describe what was going through my head over the last few weeks as I created this piece...obviously I have been confused and thoughtful in this time hugely important moment in history.

This painting is a reflection of everything that I have been feeling and thinking."

This is another painting

in the series

THE DISENCHANTED FOREST

It is titled

"Caught In The Shadows"

I went thrifting...

Jaime and I went

'thrift store shopping'

yesterday.

I found some of the best

small frames...just perfect to 'house' some new

little paintings.

I plan to work today on a couple of those pieces...

hopefully I'll have something to show for my

efforts in the next couple of days.