Constant Dreamer

Trade Secrets

I'm super excited because my first batch of Ampersand Deep Cradled Hardbord surfaces arrived. They are perfect and I can't wait to use them for my original works. I usually work on illustration board, but it's not very good for display. It curls when painted on and needs to be mounted and matted and framed. Too much nonsense for me. I like the simplicity of having art ready to hang right away.

I know sharing supplies and sources is generally a no-no in this competitive world, but I had to share. I don't mind if you plan to steal that idea. It's a good one.

Now, I am just waiting on my new printer and I will be quite content.:)

I Heart Tea

I joined a craft swap with a tea theme over at Craftster. It's my first swap and I'm getting excited to get going on my projects. I need to make a trip to JoAnn's for a few things crafty. I'll also be including a few things arty. Well, at least one thing.

This piece was something I was working on while contemplating joining the swap. It's acrylic and ink on board. 7x9 inches.

Speaking of tea, I'm low on caffeine. Need to make another cup.

Tortoise Redoux

Here's my second version of that tortoise/turtle/whatevah that I posted yesterday. I like this one much better. I know that I use a lot of blue in my work. It's an addiction. An addiction to blue paint.

7.5x6 inches. Acrylic and ink on board.

Tortoise

I've been reading a lot recently on the debate over whether or not to watermark web images. One party says you should and it shows you care about your work (uh...okay- I'd venture to guess most all artists care). The other side says that your image will be stolen anyway and the waterwarks often look terrible. I can say that I've seen a few instances where the watermark didn't destroy the work. I'm still on the fence.

If anyone is going to steal my images, they will only get a lossy 72 DPI jpeg not not anywhere near the original quality. Plus there's that bad karma for thieving...

This tortoise is about 7.5x6 inches. Acrylic and ink on board. Also, now that I'm seeing it on my blog, I'm not entirely sure it's done. That figures. Ha.

UPDATE- I completely wiped out all that crap in the backgound. Too much stuff going on (even for me). Right now, I have a cute little turtle (tortoise??) floating in negative space. I'll post the new image as soon as I can.

On the Hunt

I am deep into some professional printer research over here. Currently, anything I have made into prints gets sent to me from New York. No big deal, except I live in Minnesota.

I think I may have spotted the perfect specimen, but I'm not going to jump the gun and gush until I have more information. I AM finding that pretty much anything under $2K has issues. Thank goodness for tax deductions. Yikes.

Hare

I'm not quite done with the tortise yet. Maybe tomorrow. This one is acrylic and ink on board. 9x7 inches.

I applied to and got accepted on Trunkt! Woo hoo! The site is absolutely full of very talented artisans. Go and take a look.

SO cool :)

I just went perusing through my website stats to see who has been visiting and I found out that I have been posted about on not one, but TWO blogs! The first one is Danielle's blog Unstable and Bitchy and the second is Roadside Scholar. The former is a warm and thoughtful Mama blog and the latter is an insightful collection of art from all over. Go check them out!

Bees Redoux

I created a second version of my 2004 Bees piece. The original is too large to be scanned at home and therefore cannot be made into prints. I think the second version conveys the energy of the first quite well in spite of having fewer bees and a cleaner appearance (that's because I used ink instead of graphite this time). It's acrylic and ink on board (the usual) and about 4.5x9 inches.

I have several pieces in various stages of completion on my desk. I need to get working on them later today (sometime after my caffeine kicks in). I'm excited to get them done :)

Momentum

I know! It's the chicken again (and so soon, too). This week's Illustration Friday topic is "Momentum" and it fits perfectly. It had to be posted again. My little chicken has to have momentum to make it up that hill- especially with that rickety old wheel. Poor chicken.

Original is 9x7 inches. Ink and acrylic on board.

Open For Business

My Etsy Store is finally up and running! I got my prints today and they are perfect. Once my refund is posted, I will be ordering more prints and adding them to the mix.

My next goal is to figure out how to put an Etsy Mini link in my sidebar. Good thing I had some coffee this evening because this might take awhile...

UPDATE- I did it and it "only" took an hour to find an answer.

Yay me!