Art Licensing

I've been working so hard...

I've got just a few things to finish on my last

commissioned painting..

I am 'shooting' for the end of the week to have

it completely done.

Since it is an oil painting, it will probably be another two weeks before I can

mail it...I'm hoping it doesn't rain too much so it will dry quickly.

When I'm not working on the commissioned piece,

I have been drawing out some very NEW character pieces...

I'm hoping to have them listed in the shop

by the week-end.

And, I'm 'studying' up on everything I can find..

at no cost..

about art licensing.

I've plans to license some of my

Rustic Goth art,

beginning with my 'Melancholy Girls'.

CMZ Art 1000 Markets

I signed up for a new shop

at 1000 Markets

over the week-end.

What with the problems at Etsy...

with their updates that sometimes affect views...and sales...

and then Zibbet going down

because of so many Etsy sellers grabbing Zibbet

shops...

it's all been quite the 'shake-up'...

well..I decided to add 1000 Markets to

my online shops..

along with Etsy and Zibbet.

Since closing my CMZart Etsy Shop

last week...I've been kind of at a loss

about what to do with the pieces I enjoy creating...

that aren't Rustic or Goth...

so 1000 Markets seemed like a good fit

for a CMZ Art Shop.

But...I decided that what I would do there..was to put

ALL of my art styles...

and I started with a few of my Rustic Goth pieces.

My shop was approved yesterday...

and today

I learned that 

'The Aviator'

was featured as one of the

"Staff Picks".

I don't yet have much in this shop...

but after this exposure I will make it a priority..

and get a lot more into the shop

by the week-end.

I Keep Changing Banners

I've used each one of these banners

for my Etsy Shop banner 

at some point this past month.

What I'm trying to do is establish

some kind of 'identity'

for my Rustic Goth art.

Honestly...my art styles are so varied 

there are times I feel borderline

schizophrenic.

Before I lost my husband..I did very little

'dark' art...

The first two or three years

after... I did very little 'light'

art...

but..this past year my dark art has

gotten lighter and lighter...

I guess I've reached the

'acceptance' stage.

But...anyway...

I don't want to do away with

my different styles...

I have fun doing them all..

but I do need to find 'homes' for all of them

and that's what I'm working on now.

Cabin Fever

I am 'finally' participating in the

Etsy Bloggers Team

blog carnival.

I don't really know what I'm doing...but I'm just going to jump

in with both feet.

The 'theme' for this post is..

Cabin Fever...'What are you doing or planning to do to escape the doldrums?"

I found this wonderful old photo over on the
Public Domain Clip Art Blog
and thought it fit in so well with this theme.

To be honest...I wasn't really 'aware' that I was experiencing some
'cabin fever' until I realized how long it had been since I'd left my
house (other than to go out and check the mail)
and it was the beginning of February..

so I'd say I am having a bit of  'cabin fever'...

What I'd really LOVE to do...
go out to some Estate auctions...

that's what my husband and I used to do
every March and April...
when the weather started warming up...
before he got sick.

I 'scored' some wonderful "finds" at a couple of these auctions...
especially the vintage Tupperware bowls
that have since 'found' there way to my childrens' cupboards...
though they all claim that they don't have them:)

What I'll probably do instead....
some much needed
Spring House Cleaning.

I don't really have room for auction 'finds' and to make room
for what I do have...I really need to do some major cleaning.

Last year I went all Spring and Summer with a horrid leak in my kitchen and
bedroom.
They finally got it fixed in the fall, after many failed attempts...
now I need to patch up my ceilings and do some major
painting.

Besides...a clean house ALWAYS sparks my imagination
and since 
I'm planning on putting a lot of
brand new pieces in my Etsy shop
in the coming weeks,I really need that right now!

Rustic Goth in a 'Capsule'

I wrote a post, on my other blog,

a Squidoo Lens

I have...

it then occurred to me

that I haven't posted...or linked...my

Rustic Goth Squidoo Lens

on this blog either.

It's kind of a

Rustic Goth 'capsule'

with a few pictures..some info...a few links

and a couple of videos.

I think it's a neat little site..

but I've been so busy lately that

I'm afraid I've neglected it terribly.

Spring Cleaning Sale

I'm a little 'OCD'...

I really don't want to have less than 125 or

more than

150 items in my shop

at any given time.

I don't know why...it's just the number I set for

myself and it's really as many items as I can

reasonably manage.

Occasionally you might see 151 items...but if you look..

you'll notice the 1 item over is a 

custom order...and that is okay.

Anyway...I do digress...having 150 items in my shop

has also made me a little 'lazy'...

I've done very few new things in the past

month or so.

With this lull in visitors...it seemed like a good time

to start doing some new pieces...

and I wanted to work for a week or two before

I began listing them...

so...with this in mind..I decided to do some

'spring cleaning'

my daughter suggest that I have a 

'spring cleaning sale'

so that's what I decided to do.

I did get a bit 'carried' away...

I put 37 items in my 

Spring Cleaning Sale...all 50% off..

and

the way it's going to work...

as the 'spring cleaning' items sell..

I won't be relisting them...

and

when the sale ends..next week...

I'll be taking everything that hasn't

sold out of the store and replacing them

with all NEW items.

It's really quite exciting.

I'm also doing away with print sets

and mini prints...

I plan to be finished with my last commissioned painting

later this week...and I'll have plenty of time

to work on lots of new pieces.

So...if you have a favorite piece that is included in

my sale.....

Little Things Please Me...

I've gotten busy enough that I have

to write myself notes and all kinds of little

reminders to 'remind' me of what all I need to do.

I made some changes to shipping a while back..

(I only ship once a week)

so that I could make the time to get

all the things done that I need to

in the course of doing business online...

and I've done a few other things

to organize and streamline...

but there are a few things that have been

'added' to my workload

that I haven't yet made part of my daily routines...

and I just discovered

that I can set up a

'Yahoo Reminder'..
through my Yahoo calendar..

and it will send me an email of what it

is I need 'reminded' of...

...how cool is that...

okay...this is probably not a new thing to most people..

but it is to me...

and it pleases me to no end:)

For LOST Fans...

I have watched LOST since the very beginning...

I watch it with, at least one of my children.

But...we're all fans...and it's something we discuss,

even if only for a few minutes,

whenever we get together..

anyway..

they have this 

'Fan Promo Video'

Contest

going on at the ABC Lost Website

and my daughter

and my son in law..

each made a 

LOST Fan Promo Video...

please take a look..

and if you like them..

give them a rating...

they really would appreciate it..

even if they don't win..

everybody likes to get a "thumbs up"

from time to time...

here are the links to the videos...

Jaime's

and

Mike's

Project Wonderful

I decided I would do a little

'experimenting'

with Project Wonderful advertising.

I've been interested in trying

to find a way to place some ads on other sites...

and this site is actually a pretty good one...

I do need to figure it out a bit though...

I've run two 24 hour campaigns

which were to be 1.00 a day and 2.00 overall...

I've been charged 2.17 for one

and 1.67 for the other...
then I ran a 3 day campaign
at 1.00 a day..3.00 overall
and that one cost 2.97
so...I'm sure I did something right on that
last campaign...
I'm just not sure what...

so I'll have to "play" with a bit...so that I know for sure

what it is that I am buying...

but I do like it and will continue with it.

I also decided to

some Project Wonderful ads on my blogs...

I figure if I can make enough

to pay for my own advertising..it will be

worth it.
 

New Limited Edition ACEOs

I've replaced all of the ACEOs in

my Art Cards Wanted Shop

with a selection

of very Limited Edition

ACEO prints.

This is the first time I've offered these

prints as ACEOs

and Art Cards Wanted will

be the only site

on which these will be available.

A Few Faves

This is one of my images

on a wonderful pendant in the Etsy Shop

of 

Enchanted Glass.

She's got a lot of cool things in her shop...
check them out and see for yourself.

The Only Way Out
is one of Jaime Best's very cool
fantasy art paintings.
Together, with her husband Mike,
they have a lot of wonderful art
in their
Best Art Studios Etsy Shop.

Brynn
is one of the
"Curious Creatures"
in the Etsy Shop of
DycheDesigns. 

I am especially fond of this little
curious creature
and wanted to share with you all.

I have soooo many favorites on Etsy...
and I've decided to
share a few at a time
here on my blog.

Hope you like these as much as I do.

Rustic Goth "News" of the Week -

I don't really have a lot of 'news'...

but I do have some..

I was featured on 

"The Grand Design" 

Blog

yesterday...

Thanks C.J.

 I've got a  Print SALE in my Shop...

it runs through March 15th.

I posted my very first advertisment with

Project Wonderful...it went

rather well.

I've got a blog post coming up this

next week, explaining a little more about this experience.

My

'Ides of March'

print made two

'Ides of March Treasuries'

"Beware...the Ides of March"

by Englefelt

and
"beware the Ides of March"

by

EGVintage.

Though they share the same name..

they are very different Treasuries with some

wonderful selections in both.

I was the EBSQ

'Blogger of the Week'

on March 2nd..

Actually...it was a little more of

an interview..

but I was very honored to be asked..

and here it is..in case you didn't

already catch that post.

 I reached 500 fans
on Facebook
this past week.
I am so 'stoked' about this!
You can check that out
here!

Finally....

I am almost ready to send my

Rustic Goth website live.

I am building the site from 'scratch'...so

it's taking me a very long time..

considering I don't really know what I

am doing...

but it is coming along and I

am wanting to publish it sometime around

March 15th.

SALE in my SHOP

I'm having a SALE on all of the prints

in my Etsy Shop.

Purchase one print and get the next one

free.

It also carries over to the print sets...

by a print set and 

get the second print set free.

Sale runs through March 15th!

Custom Paintings

I did this quick little 'photoshop sketch'

of a custom painting that I

should have completed later today...I hope.

It's based on

Edgar Allan Poe's

"Cask of Amontillado"

This painting is one I'm doing in oils...

it's coming along..though I wished it were more 

complete since I started it last month.

It's been so darned 'wet'

with all the snow and now the rain..

that the painting is taking sooo long to dry

between layers.

But..they're coming along...and that's a good thing.

Bookmarks at Best Art Studios

Mike and Jaime now have some very

cool bookmarks listed in their

Bestartstudios2  Etsy Shop.

These really are so very cool..

I just HAD to 'share'.

More..computer woes!

This little cartoon
is rather cute...
now..I wasn't nearly as 'cute' while
on the phone with the Tech Guys at Time Warner Cable
on Wednesday last.

I had actually checked my email and my shop
per my usual "have my coffee/wake up" routine..
and all seemed just fine.
Then, I clicked on a page in my shop
and a "letter" from Road Runner
popped up to inform me that I would need to 'secure'
my computer due to 'suspicious activity'
from a computer connected to my modem.

Long story short...and an entire afternoon and evening
doing spyware and virus scans..
deleting anything I didn't think I needed...
putting all of the files I didn't want to lose on my zipdrive...
I still ended up having to send my computer in
to have it restored to factory settings.

Now...I have a whole other set of problems....
but..
I'm trying very 'patiently' to work through them.

Hopefully no one got 'flooded' with bogus
emails from me..
as a result of the 'suspicious activity'.

The last time this happened,

I got an email from my own email address

trying to sell me 'viagra'.

March Charity Listing..

When I first created this piece
I decided that
"Ides of March"
would be

my March Charity Listing...
this month's charity is
'Save the Children'.

EBSQ Blogger of the Week

This is a piece

I began working on a couple of weeks ago.

I've been having so many intermittent internet problems..

and I'm working on several custom orders...

so I haven't had a chance to finish it yet.

I was able to complete an interview

with this fine artist,

to become this week's

EBSQ Blogger of the Week.

It was fun to do...

I hope you like it.